Faithful to All Generations – Psalm 102

“A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord.” Psalm 102 introduction

Psalm 102 corresponds with the Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 11:28, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” Prayer is an opportunity to cast our burden on the Lord. God invites us to speak freely to Him. In Psalm 55:22, we read, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.”

“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.” Psalm 102:1-2

We can pray with confidence. God invites us to seek Him and promises to answer our prayers. Jesus encouraged us to be persistent in prayer. I like the option here of praying for a quick reply.

“For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning my bones cling to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop. My enemies reproach me all day long. Those who deride me swear an oath against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, because of Your indignation and Your wrath. For You have lifted me up and cast me away.” Psalm 102:3-10

The enemies of God cannot tolerate anyone who is like Him. In John 1:10-11, we read, “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”

The religious leaders in Jerusalem vehemently opposed Jesus. In Matthew 15:13-14, Jesus advised His disciples concerning them, saying, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” They grieved the Lord to the point of exasperation.

In Philippians 3:18-19, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.”

When devotion to God is treated with contempt, it grieves those who love Him.

In Psalm 102:3-11, the bones of the Psalmist are burning. His heart is dry. He has lost his appetite. He is thin. He feels like a lonely pelican, owl or sparrow. His enemies have hit him with continuous waves of insults. His tears are flowing. He’s thinking that even God is against him.

Jesus experienced such grief. In Matthew 27:46, He cried out from the cross, saying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” According to Isaiah 53:4, Jesus bore our griefs and carried our sorrows but was esteemed by people as a person stricken, smitten and afflicted by God.

Isaiah 53:5 assures us that, “He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

“My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass.” Psalm 102:11

Finally, he sees himself as a dying man. [1]

“But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your Name to all generations.” Psalm 102:12

He rejoices that God lives forever. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus assured us that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church. Antichristian politicians, philosophers and popular stars will fade away, but our resurrected Savior Jesus Christ and those who love Him live forever and ever.

“You will arise and have mercy on Zion for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come.” Psalm 102:13

The psalmist rests in God’s grace and timing. God’s deliverance does not happen randomly, it happens at the appointed time. The seventy-year captivity in Babylon illustrates this truth. When the appointed time arrived, God restored His people to the Promised Land. [2]

For us who trust in God today, let us remember that the same God who hears a farmer’s prayer for rain, hears our prayer for a rainless day. He takes all things into consideration and does what is best for all who are involved, and does so at the right moment.

“For Your servants take pleasure in her stones and show favor to her dust.” Psalm 102:14

God’s servants loved Zion so deeply that they cherished even its scattered stones and dust. Their affection did not disappear when the temple was destroyed. True love for God’s Church remains steadfast in times of suffering as well as prosperity. Such concern in the hearts of God’s people is a sign of His Spirit moving among them. [3]

“So the nations shall fear the Name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory.” Psalm 102:15

As people of nations realize that God defends and blesses His servants, their attitudes toward Him change. Some will even be drawn to join themselves to the Lord, say with the words of Zechariah 8:23, “We will go with you, for we have seen that God is with you.” [4]

“For the Lord shall build up Zion. He shall appear in His glory.” Psalm 102:16

After Jesus died upon the cross for our sins, those who loved Him placed His body in a tomb. Those who hated Him assigned guards to ensure that His dead body remained in the tomb. However, the prophecy that the Lord shall build up Zion and appear in glory must be fulfilled, so three days later, the Lord appeared to His disciples. He ate with them and allowed them to touch His hands and side. It is this good news that builds up Zion. Jesus makes Himself real to us who believe in Him, and we give to Him GLORY!

“He shall regard the prayer of the destitute and shall not despise their prayer.” Psalm 102:17

Earthly rulers often overlook the poor, but God does not. The Lord listens carefully, and answers their requests. When they express fear, God assures them that He is with them and loves them.

God assures us in 1 John 2:1, “If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” In Hebrews 4:15, we read that Jesus Christ is the High Priest that is touched with the feelings of our infirmities because He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.”

“This will be written for the generation to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.” Psalm 102:18

God preserves the Bible. He wants all people to hear the Gospel and be saved.

“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.” Psalm 102:19-21

When God’s people were captives in Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon, He heard their cries. He restored His scattered people to the Promised Land. [5]

The fulfilled prophecies of God to Israel encourage us that He will keep His promises to us as well. In John 14:1-3, Jesus promised us, “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

We proclaim and praise the Name of the Lord because He keeps His promises to His people.

“When the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.” Psalm 102:22

When God gathers His people, others are often drawn to join them. The above passage points beyond the Old Testament to the gathering of Jews and Gentiles into the Church of Christ. [6]

Christ sets captives free. Through His Gospel, people from every nation have come together to worship the Lord and praise His Name.

“He weakened my strength in the way. He shortened my days.” Psalm 102:23

When the ten tribes disappeared into Assyrian captivity and the remaining tribes were nearly destroyed in Babylon, the nation’s strength seemed broken and its future cut short. In Ezekiel 37:11, they cried out, “Our hope is lost. We are cut off.” How could God’s promise of Messiah be fulfilled if the people of Israel ceased to exist? [7]

“I said, ‘O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days. Your years are throughout all generations.’” Psalm 102:24

God’s people must not be cut off before the promised Messiah arrives. Though Israel deserved judgment, she pleaded for mercy because of the blessing still contained within her. As God commanded in Isaiah 65:8, “Destroy it not! For a blessing is in it.” [8]

The promise of Messiah must be fulfilled if anybody is to inherit eternal life.

“Do not take me away in the midst of my days.” We want to live forever with God. Thus, we hold to the promise that Christ made to us in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

“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.” Psalm 102:25-28

The Apostle Paul applies these verses to Christ in Hebrews 1:10–12. [9] The world, as we know it now, will pass away, but Jesus Christ remains forever and so do those who serve Him.

As Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

His years cannot be shortened. His purposes cannot fail. [10]

The day is coming when the present heaven and earth will give way to a new creation. Like an old garment cast aside, the present order will be replaced by a new heaven and new earth.

Psalm 102 concludes with a comforting promise: “The children of Your servants shall continue.” Thus, we can release our burden for our children to God. He will be faithful to our future generations! Praise the Lord!


[1-10] Material edited and developed from Matthew Henry’s Commentary