SBC Engagement Hour Many Counselers: Psalm 102

Introduction: Individual Lament - Corporate Hope

This Psalm is a lament Psalm likely written during Israel in exile.

This Psalm mixes individual agony with communal hope and lament.

Extreme, Honest Language

Feelings are not always true and the Psalmist leads Himself to his foundation of hope/trust

God’s Future Vindication/Deliverance of Israel and Raising Up Zion

Vs. 1-2: Common Introduction for Lament Psalms

The Psalmist asks God to hear him

Confidence that He will

He asks this knowing his passionate expression of his feelings.

APPLICATION: Be honest with God, don’t be afraid to share your burden with Him. Know He can handle it.

Vs. 3-11: Biblical Lament Part 1—Total Despair Expressed

vs. 3-5 - Physical Agony

vs. 6-8 - Isolation & Ridicule

Hebrew verb for “ridicule” means to swear a curse at him. It also has meanings of taunting and derision. A total attack upon this person.

Have you ever felt surrounded but alone? Have you ever felt targeted by the people you hoped to help you?

vs. 9-12 - Feeling Punished and Rejected by God

Graphic description of his misery.

10b is key: at the core of his misery is that he feels cast aside by God. As honest as it gets.

Biblical Lament Part 1: Total honesty with God about feelings of misery due a) outward forces, b) inward forces, or even c) God Himself.

Israel had such a strong belief and understanding in the providence of God over all things that at times they traced their suffering and misery back to God—usually due to their sin.

“Allen, Psalms 101–150, 20, explains, “He feels the victim of omnipotent violence and expresses this feeling as a complaint to God. What puts the lament into the category of a psalm of complaint is the reference to Yahweh’s own hostility. A strong sense of divine providence combined with monotheism caused Israel at times to trace suffering directly back to Yahweh.”

This is not Biblical lament if it does not finish with 12-17.

Vs. 12-23 Biblical Lament Part 2— Confident Confession of Trust/Hope in the Lord and His Final Intervention

First we have moved to “we” categories. We will come back to that.

In response to misery Psalmist puts hope in God’s future saving action for Israel.

vs. 14 points us forward to moments found in Nehemiah where the rebuilding of Jerusalem is experienced.

vs. 15 - Future Day of the Lord

Universal Submission to the Lord

Final Rebuilding of God’s People

Appearing of God in His Glory

The destitute and struggling will not be ignored

vs. 18 experience of pain can be used by God for future generations and others. God does not waste pain.

vs. 20 this future saving action will release even prisoners condemned to death. Israelites in prison, even on death row can be spared. Even in the worst settings God’s hope and work will not fail.

Why does he switch to talking about God’s people after using individual language?

Although it seems that the Psalm is about an individual I think 12-21 (even 23) points out that the Psalmist is speaking as a representative of Israel. God’s people were feeling punished, ridiculed, isolated and this is sourced in God’s judgement upon them in exile (for their sin).

Biblical Truth: Members of God’s people can pray for the group to God and the group can lament corporately. There are communal consequences for sin (we all suffer because of it whether through direct discipline from God or simply an extension of the sin) and therefore communal lament is needed.

Biblical Truth: This points us to our perfect and final corporate representative Jesus Christ: Lived, died, rose again, and present intercedes for us.

APPLICATION: We at Sparta Baptist Church need to be sensitive to moments and times when as a body of Christ we lament on behalf of other members or the whole in this body.

APPLICATION: Lament is not just an individual task or experience. It is often done communally as God’s people.

Vs. 24-28: Biblical Lament Part 3: Lament in Faith that He will be Our God and We will be His People

vs. 24 Request to not remove the people

vs. 25 God as Creator—This grounding truth is so often paired with God as redeemer in the Old Testament. Israel trusted that God as Creator could not be thwarted in His promises to them because He is Creator and cannot be challenged.

vs. 27 God Never Changes—God does not change based upon mood or even the actions of those whom He loves. He is faithful to His word and character and that is the foundation of our hope.

vs. 28 The fundamental Christian hope that undergirds biblical lament is a lament done in faith which expresses a trust in the future fulfillment of all that God promises for His people: that we shall see Him—face to face.