Psalm 102 - Cry for Help
Unlike previous studies in this series, Psalm 102 is purposefully an interactive study, meaning that you are encouraged to write things down. When you force yourself to do this exercise, you may find yourself crying to God for help. Please commit to writing your answers out - either on a separate piece of paper or even in this book (as long as you don’t mind someone else seeing your responses if they happen to borrow your book). If you use a separate piece of paper, write the date on the paper and then fold it into this chapter. It might be interesting to see it again in a few years when you pull the book off the shelf.
The Superscription and Verses 1-2: The Cry
The psalm writer unabashedly asks the Lord for help. How do you feel about asking the Lord for help? As you answer the questions below, you may begin to help yourself understand what is appropriate and what is not appropriate in asking for God’s help.
A Prayer of the Afflicted when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. [Superscription to Psalm 102, NASB]
Hear my prayer, O Lord!
And let my cry for help come to You.
Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call answer me quickly. (Psalm 102: 1-2, NASB)
Below are some questions to help your thinking. Write your answers below each question. If you are doing this with a group, then discuss your responses when all have finished.
1) Is it ever appropriate to cry to the Lord for help? yes/no
(Ok, that was rhetorical, but the rest are not.)
2) When is it appropriate to cry for help?
3) When is it ever inappropriate to cry to the Lord for help?
4) Does the Lord ever help?
5) Does the Lord ever not help?
Verses 3-11: How I Feel
The psalm writer expresses their feelings while crying out to the Lord for help.
For my days have been consumed in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
My heart has been smitten like grass and has withered away,
Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the loudness of my groaning
My bones cling to my flesh.
I resemble a pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the waste places.
I lie awake,
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.
My enemies have reproached me all day long;
Those who deride me have used my name as a curse.
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.
My days are like a lengthened shadow,
And I wither away like grass. (Psalm 102: 3-11, NASB)
Each of us feels the things listed below at some point in life. Rate each on a scale of 1-5, where:
1 indicates that I have not felt this way very often, and
5 indicates that I feel this way a lot
_____ 1) can’t breathe - “consumed in smoke” (v. 3)
_____ 2) aches and pains - “bones scorched” (v. 3)
_____ 3) discouragement - “heart has withered away” (v. 4)
_____ 4) loss of appetite - “forget to eat” (v. 4)
_____ 5) moaning - “groaning” (v. 5)
_____ 6) loss of weight - “bones cling to my flesh” (v. 5)
_____ 7) distanced from others - “pelican in wilderness; owl in waste places” (v. 6)
_____ 8) sleeplessness - “lie awake” (v. 7)
_____ 9) lonely - “lonely” (v. 7)
_____ 10) hated - “reproached by enemies” (v. 8)
_____ 11) reviled - “used my name as a curse” (v. 8)
_____ 12) resentful - “eaten ashes” (v. 9)
_____ 13) weeping - “mingled tears with drink”( v.9)
_____ 14) distant from God - “Your indignation and wrath” (v. 10)
_____ 15) cast away by God - “You have lifted me up and cast me away” (v. 10)
_____ 16) slow movement of time - “days like a lengthened shadow” (v. 11)
_____ 17) loss of purpose - “wither away like grass” (v. 11)
Total your score to get a feel for your own emotional state. Total = ________
Compare your total with the scales below:
(lowest score = 17 = nothing bothers you - you need professional help!! :)
highest score = 85 = everything bothers you - you need professional help!! :)
somewhere in-between = you are a normal human being with emotions and sensitivity - welcome to the human race :)
Verses 12-17: Hopes and Affirmations
The writer expresses their hopes and affirmations of how God will respond to their cry for help.
But You, O Lord, abide forever,
And Your name to all generations.
You will arise and have compassion on Zion;
For it is time to be gracious to her,
For the appointed time has come.
Surely Your servants find pleasure in her stones
And feel pity for her dust.
So the nations will fear the name of the Lord
And all the kings of the earth Your glory.
For the Lord has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory.
He has regarded the prayer of the destitute
And has not despised their prayer. (Psalm 102: 12-17, NASB)
List five of the hopes and affirmations which the psalm writer expresses in these verses.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
How are these hopes and affirmations representative of your hopes and affirmations when you cry out to the Lord? Write out five of your hopes and affirmations.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
(If you are doing this with a group, after you and each person have written their list, discuss your list with others and evaluate the degree to which you think that God will honor each hope and affirmation. You may disagree on some things within your group - that’s ok - each person is free to express their personal views.)
Other hopes and affirmations mentioned by others which you did not write down:
Verses 18-22: Future Praise
In these verses, list only three of the possible reasons that the author proposes for why God might allow bad things to happen, by quoting phrases from the text.
This will be written for the generation to come,
That a people yet to be created may praise the Lord.
For He looked down from His holy height;
From heaven the Lord gazed upon the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoner,
To set free those who were doomed to death,
That men may tell of the name of the Lord in Zion
And His praise in Jerusalem,
When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord. (Psalm 102: 18-22, NASB)
1)
2)
3)
Then share your observations with others and list reasons that others mentioned:
What do you see as the general purposes of God in allowing bad things to happen? Finish the phrase below to arrive at a one-sentence summary of your observations and discussion.
“I think God allows bad things to happen because …
Share your summary sentences.
Verses 23-28: The Hourglass of Our Lives
There are 7.8 billion people alive on the earth right now. In 100 years, nearly every person will have transitioned through death, including each one of us. That works out to an average of 78 million people each year transitioning from life through death to life.
An hourglass illustrates the principle of transition: where the upper chamber is our current life; the middle of the hourglass is death; and the lower chamber is our existence on the other side of death, that is, our eternal life, which is either spent with God or without God.
Write the statements from the psalm corresponding to each of the hourglass parts.
A) The Upper Chamber = life now
B) The Middle of the Hourglass = the brief experience of death
C) The Lower Chamber = life after death/eternal life
Discuss how you view the hourglass and how you feel God views the hourglass.
Write down any meaningful thoughts which come from the discussion.
Summary: How We Cry for Help to God
If we agree that each of us cries out to God and that during difficult times we cry out even more often than in regular times, then how we cry out to God becomes more important. Write out a statement describing what for you is the appropriate way to cry out to God by completing the comment below. Share your comments with your group.
“When I cry out to God, I need to be sure that I … “