Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Ps 102.1 and following. Indeed, thetitle of this psalm (verse 1) focuses our eyes on the Supreme Afflicted: Jesus in his sufferings. “He is overwhelmed and spreads his complaint.” But it is a complaint that contains neither impatience nor murmur; everything is perfect submission. A complaint that spreads before God, not before men! Who, by the way, could have understood the Lord, even among His disciples? Verses 7 and 8 reflect his complete moral loneliness here on earth. A man feels all the more lonely because he is different from others. And Christ was isolated because of his perfection. It was therefore not only at the hour of the cross, but throughout his life that he experienced this loneliness. Crying was his drink, his daily part verse 10). And He was not outraged only in the few circumstances reported by the Gospels. He was “all day” the object of hatred of his enemies (verse 9). He knew on the cross this fury of man against Himself, and, even more terriblely, the wrath of God when He substituted himself for us to meet it (verse 11). But this same moment became for God “the time to use grace” (verse 14). To the Zion of Israel, but also for the benefit of all who believe in Him right now.
God considered from heaven Satan’s prisoners, doomed to eternal death. He heard their groan (verses 20, 21). He wanted to untie them so that they could praise Him (verse 22). And for this purpose He sent His Son here on earth. True man, Christ begged the One who could save him from death (verses 25, Hb 5.5-11). But in the same verse 24, an extraordinary consolation answers “the prayer of the destitute” (verse 18). It is as a man that Christ prayed, it is as God that He gets the answer. And we are allowed to hear the wonderful conversation between God the Father and God the Son. This is the unscrubled mystery! Who, then, is this afflicted, this lonely man burdened with outrages and measuring his weakness? It is the One who “once founded the earth” and unfurled the heavens (Micah 5:1)! Half of his days? But his years will not end! Creation will age and pass; the Creator subsists forever. He is the Same eternally. And the epistle to the Hebrews that quotes these verses adds that the Son, in whom all the glory of God shines, is also the One who did “by himself the purification of sins” (Hb 1:1-14). Infinite value of such a work accomplished by such a Person!
We have something quite different here. This psalm opens with the complaint of the “Man of Sorrows”. He sees himself abandoned by those who followed him, outraged by his enemies, and suffering the righteous wrath of God, – the indignation and anger deserved by others falling on him (vs. 2-12). We then hear God’s response to this cry: He receives the promise of life, of a kingdom, and the assurance of appearing in His glory. At the same time, the theme of praise that Israel and the nations will then ascend to him (vs. 13-23) is recalled. Then a second time we hear the lonely Messiah evoking his affliction (vs. 24-25); and God likewise answering him again – making him remember, so to speak, the glories that were his at Creation, and renewing to him the promise of life, of a kingdom, and of a seed (vv. 26-29). This structure and character of the psalm seems to emerge from the quotation made of it in Hebrews 1; indeed, it shows us that verses 26-28 are the words addressed to the Son by God, which leads us to think that the same is true of verses 13-23. Hence the structure indicated above.
Correlatively we can make a remark: the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who builds. And this allows us to consider Christ as the head of all dispensations- the one who operates powerfully in each one – whether in Creation, among the patriarchs, at Mount Sinai, or as the God of Israel throughout the history of the people. He made the worlds – ordained the ages (Hb 1:2). He built the Mosaic dispensation, just as He built every house of God (Heb. 3:3). And it is to the same Christ that God addresses in this psalm as to the One who founded the earth and who survives, in his glory, all created things – the same Christ who was once the wounded and struck man. Wonderful mystery! What beauty and greatness in this psalm so touching! He evokes Jesus in Gethsemane, when, seized with sorrow to death, he walked away and prayed again, saying the same words even though they were heard each time by his God – an angel of heaven strengthening him in the garden, as Jehovah responds to him in this psalm by strengthening him (Luke 22:43).
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
Distress and hope
- Hidden face of God because of sin
Dt 31:18 And I will hide my face on that day, because of all the evil he has done, turning to other gods. Ps 44:25 Why are you hiding your face? Why do you forget our misery and oppression? Isaiah 1:15 When you stretch out your hands, I turn my eyes away from you; When you multiply the prayers, I do not listen: Your hands are full of blood. Ez 39:23 And the nations will know that it is because of his iniquities that the house of Israel has been brought into captivity, because of his infidelities towards me; So, I hid my face from them, and I delivered them into the hands of their enemies, that they might all perish by the sword.
- Loss of appetite
1 S 1:7 And so it was every year. Every time Anne went up to the house of Jehovah, Peninna mortified her in the same way. So, she cried and didn’t eat. 1 Sam 28:23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. His servants and the woman also pressed him, and he surrendered to their authorities. He got up from the ground, and sat on the bed. Ps 102:5 My heart is struck and dries out like grass; I even forget to eat my bread. Ps 107:18 Their souls abhorred all food, and they touched the gates of death.
- Punishment of sin, forsaken by God
Jg 16:20 She then said: The Philistines are upon you, Samson! And he woke up from his sleep, and said: I will get away with it like the other times, and I will get out. He did not know that Jehovah had withdrawn from him. Ps 81:13 Then I delivered them to the inclinations of their hearts, and they followed their own counsel. Mt 23:38 Behold, your house will be left deserted; Acts 7:42 Then God turned away, and delivered them to the worship of the army of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: Have you offered Me victims and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, the house of Israel?…
- Security of the saints, they are firmly established
2 Ch 20:20 The next day they set out early in the morning for the tekoa desert. When they left, Jehoshaphat introduced himself and said: Listen to me, Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem! Trust in Jehovah, your God, and you will be strengthened; trust in His prophets, and you will succeed. Ps 40:3 He removed me from the pit of destruction, From the bottom of the mud; And He set my feet on the rock, He strengthened my steps. Col 2:7 being rooted and founded in Him, and strengthened by faith, according to the instructions given to you, and abound in thanksgiving. 2 Thess 2:17 console your hearts, and strengthen you in all good work and word!
From all the above, we note that inthese prayers of Jesus and the divine answers they receive, this psalm reveals to us what we learn doctrinally through other passages, namely that: the glories of Jesus are the consequence of his sufferings. “Unless the grain of wheat, falling into the ground, dies, it remains alone; but if he dies, he bears much fruit.” This psalm speaks of “the sufferings that were to be the part of Christ and the glories that would follow.” For the Lamb on the throne is the Lamb who was first on the altar. His bow remains firm, but it is the bow of the One against which the archers once fired. All of Scripture teaches us this; and this is what these cries of Jesus show us, and the admirable answers given to them. The same is true of our blessing. It depends entirely on the same sufferings of Christ. We must not tolerate any thought about God’s love that would diminish the demands of His righteousness. God’s love is limitless, it is true. But it’s not just a feeling. This is what has provided – and this at an inexpressible price – for the redemption of the guilty. And if we look at love without believing that it has provided for what justice demanded and demanded, we are simply dealing with a thought of our own mind, not God’s revelation. Very poor are the highest thoughts of the religion of man – how different from the moral greatness and perfection of the Gospel of Christ. We learn in it that God is just and justifying the sinner who believes in Jesus. We also learn that he brought his creatures away from him, and welcomed his prodigal sons, while fully maintaining the glories of his throne of righteousness, finding in himself and providing himself an answer to all his demands. The cross of Christ is the secret and center of it all. Our prayers are with you all.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may shine in my life right now.
Thank you, Lord Jesus, for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby waterpoint to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and for centuries of ages. Amen!
I would be happy to react to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow ” Curse pronounced on him who betrayed and oppressed the afflicted and the poor (Ps 109).”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.