Psalm 102

What’s Happening?

In Psalm 102, a suffering man (perhaps the king of Jerusalem after Babylon destroyed it) asks God to restore him and the city he lives in. The man begs God to save his life, which is fading like smoke (Psalm 102:1-3). Misery has pushed him to the brink of death, and his enemies have taken the opportunity to demolish his reputation (Psalm 102:8, 11). Grief deteriorates his health and gnaws at his bones (Psalm 102:3-11). His diet, on the occasion he remembers to eat, is ashes and tears (Psalm 102:9). Overwhelmed, he laments that Jerusalem has fallen because God has allowed it (Psalm 102:10). In righteous anger over his people’s corruption and evil, God allowed Babylon to burn it down. And when he lies awake and alone at night, these thoughts haunt him (Psalm 102:6-7).

But the man also knows that Jerusalem’s destruction cannot be God’s final action towards the capital of his people. The man knows God both loves Jerusalem and is able to rebuild the ruined city (Psalm 102:13-16). So, the man prays for its resurrection. Even though his life is being cut short, he knows God can rebuild his people (Psalm 102:23-24). He begs God to feed the starving, to answer their cries for rescue, to release prisoners, and to pardon those on death row (Psalm 102:17-20). If not for his people’s sake, then for the fact that in his rescue, all of Jerusalem and the world could not help but acknowledge that God is the one who resurrects his king and rebuilds his kingdom (Psalm 102:21-22). The man knows that if God existed before the world began and created everything on earth, he can easily answer his prayers and raise the people he loves from their ruin (Psalm 102:25-26). The man knows that if God truly is eternal, his love and power will not change. So, in the song’s last line, he prays God would be consistent with his eternal character and find a way to raise his people from their death (Psalm 102:27-28). 

Where is the Gospel?

Jesus is the suffering man and king of Psalm 102. As a man, he experienced hunger, persecution, hardship and was well acquainted with suffering (Matthew 2:13-15; 4:1-2; 8:20; Isaiah 53:3). And as a descendant of Israel’s royal line, he was a king and the heir to Jerusalem’s throne (Matthew 1:17; Luke 2:4-5). Like the suffering king of Psalm 102, Jesus knew that resurrection could only come after death (Luke 24:7). So he willingly surrendered himself to his enemies who were out to destroy his body and reputation (Mark 14:56; 15:16-20). Jesus willingly let his life be cut short because he knew God could rebuild him and his kingdom on the other side of suffering. After three days in the tomb, Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection was more than a miraculous one-time event; it prefigures the resurrection of the whole world (1 Corinthians 15:20; Revelation 21:5). Because Jesus is also the God who made the entire world, his rising from death is a guarantee that his world and his people will be resurrected and rebuilt, too (Hebrews 1:10-11). 

Everywhere we look today, we see that the world is not as God intends it to be. Depression, grief, and armies terrorize individuals and cities alike. No matter where we live, we see that the world needs to be rebuilt by Jesus’ resurrection power. But because of Jesus, our experience of suffering will never be God’s final action towards the people he loves—resurrection will be. So, like the psalmist, we too can cry out for God’s rescue and restoration, and we know that he will give it.

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who resurrects his people and his kingdom. And may you see Jesus as the one whose resurrection guarantees the resurrection and restoration of the entire world.