Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 6 (1)
Pray Psalm 102.15-21
So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD,
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
For the LORD shall build up Zion;
He shall appear in His glory.
He shall regard the prayer of the destitute,
And shall not despise their prayer.
This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary;
From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To release those appointed to death,
To declare the name of the LORD in Zion,
And His praise in Jerusalem…
Sing Psalm 102.15-21.
(Leominster: Not What My Hands Have Done)
Then let the nations fear the glory of the LORD!
For He shall in His Church appear to heed our sighing words.
Then let our children learn to praise the LORD above.
He hears their groans and knows they yearn to dwell within His love.
Read Psalm 102.1-28; meditate on verses 12-17.
Preparation
1. How would you describe the mood of this psalm? Does the mood change?
2. How does this psalm point us forward in time?
Meditation
This psalm finds the psalmist—and the people of God—in a time of decline and captivity. They are out of place, not where they belong, and deeply troubled (vv. 3-7). Enemies are oppressing them, and it seems as if God has turned His wrath against them (vv. 8-11).
He prays for God to arise and rebuild the city of Zion, so that even its fine dust particles will be cherished and find their place for glorifying God (vv. 12-16). Then the nations will see the glory of the LORD (v. 16) and God will meet the needs of His people (v. 17). The psalmist wrote all this down before it came to pass so that the generations that followed his would know the greatness and faithfulness of the LORD and would praise and serve Him (vv. 18-28).
This psalm, and the plight of Israel in captivity, foreshadows the work of Jesus, Who rose from the dead to build His Church (Matt. 16.18). In any generation, when it seems the Church is stalled in its progress or captive to its culture—as in our day—Jesus will arise to rebuild His Church and shine His glory and salvation through us to the world. But we must seek Him for this, calling on Him for repentance, and to turn away His wrath and send revival. We long for a revival of the churches of the Lord so that His glory will reach to all nations and so that the generations that follow us—our children and theirs—will praise and serve Him (v. 28). Use this psalm to seek the Lord for revival, calling on Him to further His work of building His Church so that not even the gates of hell can prevail against us.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
When Hezekiah was sick and near death, he prayed: “O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me!”, and he prayed that God would heal him. And God chose to do so.
Isaiah was sent to tell him the news, and this is the prayer Hezekiah prayed in thanksgiving:
“What shall I say? He has both spoken to me, and He Himself has done it…Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness; but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back…The living, the living man, he shall praise You, as I do this day; the father shall make known Your truth to the children” (Is. 38.14, 15, 17, 19).
The psalmist prayed in much the same vein, when he said: “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; incline Your ear to me; in the day that I call, answer me speedily…Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will have no end. The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before you” (Ps. 102.1, 2, 25-28).
Both Hezekiah and the psalmist shared a hope in God, and an appreciation and thankfulness for answered prayer. Their examples are “written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD” (Ps. 102.18). Through many generations this Word has come to us, and now we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that [we] may proclaim the praises of Him Who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Pet. 2.9, 10).
Peter goes on to say: “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable…that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation…For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God…Fear God” (1 Pet. 2.11, 12, 15-17).
We have all been given the opportunity to obey, or not. History goes on to tell us that Hezekiah totally squandered the extra fifteen years that God gave him and instead of making known God’s truth to his child he instead raised up a treacherous king (see 2 Kgs. 21.1-18). Hopefully, the psalmist’s recovery from his travails led to a more obedient and fruitful life for himself and those around him.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection were accomplished for salvation and for good; not to be squandered by those of us who are the redeemed. As Jesus Himself said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10.10).
The Triune God never changes. His Word never changes. His expectations for His chosen people never change. His love never changes. His salvation never changes. And His desire for His Church to be built and His will to be done—Never changes.
“For You, O LORD, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of your Name to all generations” (Ps. 102.12).
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13.8).
Hezekiah to the psalmist to us. How will we build His Church?
Reflection
1. What spiritual gifts do you sense that God has given you for working to build His Church?
2. What opportunities do you have for exercising those gifts?
3. Do you pray daily for your church to be revived? What could you do to be more consistent in praying for this?
It is surely no ordinary consolation to know that the love of God towards us is so great, that he will have his glory to shine forth in our salvation. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on the Psalm 102.16
Pray Psalm 102.12-14, 22-24.
Pray for revival in the churches of the Lord and renewal in our mission to make all the nations disciples. Pray that you will know the Presence of the Lord today, guiding and empowering you as His witness.
Sing Psalm 102.12-14, 22-24.
(Leominster: Not What My Hands Have Done)
But You, O LORD, abide forever in Your place.
Arise and stand on Zion’s side and lavish us with grace!
Revive Your Church, O LORD! Let all her dust and stones
be strengthened by Your mighty Word, and compact be as one.
Yet let us tell God’s Name and praise His glorious grace;
let all as one His love proclaim together in this place.
Though now our strength is low; though shortened grow our days,
our God will not forsake us so, but keep us in His ways!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
