Psalm 102:24-27

New Living Translation

But I cried to him, “O my God, who lives forever,
    don’t take my life while I am so young!
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth
    and made the heavens with your hands.
They will perish, but you remain forever;
    they will wear out like old clothing.
You will change them like a garment
    and discard them.
But you are always the same;
    you will live forever.

For Encouragement

The best way to clear the fog of worldliness is to keep an eternal perspective in every situation. Everything in this world is temporal, here today and gone tomorrow. They serve their purpose and dance off the stage, a reminder of the fleeting nature of our earthly existence. We behold them today and dress in the pride of their beauty. They grab our affection and send us off to Wonderland, dulling our sensitivity to the only reality—God!

An individual with earthly perspectives, as was Solomon when he indulged in everything his heart desired (Eccl. 2:10). The refrain of his disappointment could aptly refresh our minds.

“Vanity upon vanity. All is vanity!” (11).

In his affliction, the Psalmist reflects on the temporary nature of his troubles in his lament before the Lord. Bereft of strength, he turns to God in Psalm 102 and pours his heart out int a plea for God’s favorable countenance and ear (1-2). He understands that his trouble overwhelms him, but he also knows that it is temporary and that he needs divine intervention.

Like Moses in Psalm 90, he acknowledges the brevity of his life, physical distress, pain, his enemies’ taunts, and the discomfort of desertion as he wastes away like grass (Psalm 102:3-11). How wise we would be to have such a perspective (Psalm 90:12).

The gloomy picture the Psalmist paints characterizes our human depravity and sorrow. Yet there is life beyond the dark shadows that surround us. The contrast is stark and refreshing. He turns into the light by turning to the Lord, eternally enthroned, and endures through all generations (Psalm 102:12). The fog is clearing, and visibility brings him hope. God will arise and have compassion in Zion, His chosen city. He will rebuild its glories as He returns to her. God will respond to the cry of His afflicted child, destitute and broken (13-17).

This section is the invigorating part. The Lord takes us through these experiences so that we may remember and tell posterity how He looked down from His lofty throne, had compassion on the suffering and groaning in prisons, and stooped down to rescue them. His people must raise this gracious concern as a memorial to guide and instruct future generations to praise His glorious name (18-20).

The most important thing to remember is that we are weak, and our days are fleeting. God can cut them short in midlife when we least expect it. Our cry, therefore, is to acknowledge and confess the eternality and immutability of God and plead for mercy. His creation is perishable, but He endures forever (24-27), just as the Hebrews writer alludes to about Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:10-12).

That is the confidence of the believer in Christ, today and forever; because of His eternality and immutability, we are secure in Him and assured of our place in His presence forever (28; Colossians 1:27). Hallelujah!

Pray with Me

Father, thank you that in my affliction and gloom, I can take comfort in your very nature and being and smile, knowing that all your creation and their stresses will pass away, but you have secured a place in your presence for me through Jesus, my Savior, and Lord. Amen.