Psalm 102 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study
Psalm 102 Short Summary:
Psalm 102 begins with the psalmist crying out for God’s support in a time of suffering and hardship. The author, and most likely his countrymen with him, were under the discipline of God. In the second half of the psalm, the writer expresses his confidence that God will show them mercy and restore Zion (Jerusalem) to better days.
Psalm 102 Summary
AUTHOR:
The author of Psalm 102 is unknown.
NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:
Hebrews 1:10-12
THEMES:
Hard days under the discipline of God.
God’s gracious restoration of Zion.
DEFINITIONS:
Zion (102:13) - Zion refers to the hill/mountain where David’s palace was built in Jerusalem. This area was on the southeast side of the city. Zion is sometimes used to refer to the city of Jerusalem as a whole.
OUTLINE:
HARD DAYS UNDER GOD’S ANGER (102:1-11):
Psalm 102 begins with the psalmist describing a period of personal distress, but the context suggests it was also period of distress for the entire nation.
He asked God to hear his cry for help. He felt his own strength shriveling.
He wrote, “For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. My heart is struck down like grass and has withered; I forget to eat my bread” (102:3-4).
The psalmist described his sense of loneliness by comparing himself to an owl in the desert and a lonely sparrow on a housetop.
His enemies were constantly taunting and cursing him.
It’s clear the author’s days weren’t filled with much joy as he described eating ashes for bread and drinking tears in his cup.
He attributed this troubling period of his life to the indignation and anger of God.
He felt God was punishing him and his nation for something they had done.
RESTORATION OF ZION (102:12-28):
Though in personal despair, the psalmist held on to confidence that God hadn’t given up on His people.
Though the nation was in distress, God was still enthroned in Heaven.
In this second section of the chapter, the writer declared God’s future blessing over Zion.
God had pity on Zion (the capital of the nation) and would move to restore it.
The restoration of the city would cause all nations to fear the Lord.
He would lift Zion’s residence out of their distress and deliver those “doomed to die.”
Zion would be moved to worship by the Lord’s kindness.
The psalmist drew the psalm to a close with a short meditation on the brevity of men’s lives vs. the eternal nature of God.
APPLICATION:
God's work in restoring the psalmist and Zion was a shadow of God's future blessing on the whole world.
This work of restoration was Jesus' work. In fact, the author of the Book of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 102:25-26 and attributes the actions in those verses to Jesus, see Hebrews 1:10-12).
Consider the parallels between God's restoration of Zion and Jesus' restoration of sinners into His Church.
The psalmist was troubled and afflicted by God's anger. We ought to be troubled by God's anger towards our sins.
The psalmist was hopeless apart from a work of God's grace to save him and his city. We are hopeless apart from the work of Jesus to save us.
God, the King enthroned forever, promised to build Zion from its ruins. Jesus, the King enthroned forever, promised to build His Church.
God's mercy set free those doomed to die (102:20). Jesus' blood redeemed those doomed to die for their sins.
Zion would praise the Lord for its restoration and promote their God among the nations (102:21-22). The saints should be continually worshiping the Lord for their restoration and spreading the good news of His grace across the world.
Those in Zion lived securely in complete protection (102:28). God's people live in perfect protection with no fear that their King will be overcome or that His Kingdom will be destroyed (Daniel 2:44).
