Psalms102:18-23

Pastor Bruce Smith asked me to fill in for him this Sunday, so I thought that I would post this Sunday's Lesson for all the enjoy.



Psalms 102:15-28

Psalm 102:15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

1. Why will the nations fear the name of the Lord?
2. Who is the Psalmist writing about here?
• Some commentators see this passage as referring to the surrounding nations. The Hebrew word used here for the phrase (will fear ) seems to indicate a future event. Given the context here, we have to assume this will be in the distant future. When the Scriptures say that all the kings of the earth, we have to take God at his Word and not read something that is not there. So we should ask ourselves this one question. Do all the kings of the earth fear the Lord? From what we can see in our present day or in the history of this planet, has there ever been a time where all the nations on this planet feared God or the nation’s leaders given God the glory He deserves? We can with certainty say no. But since we know that God is faithful and never goes against his word, we must conclude that this will be in the future.
3. The question then arises. When will this take place?
• We must always compare scripture with scripture because the Bible is always the best commentator. Let us compare the following passages with this verse. (Zechariah 8:20-23, Revelation 11:15, and Revelation 21:24). Comparing this passage in Psalms with these other prophetic passages, we must therefore conclude that the Psalmist is looking far into the future. Father into the future than even our immediate future. What the Psalmist sees is the New Heaven and the New Earth where the chosen of God, Jew and Gentile come before the throne of Grace to worship and glorify the King of the Universe, the triune God.

Psalm 102:16 For the LORD has built up Zion; He has appeared in His glory.

1. Here we see another section of prophetic vision of the Psalmist. Here he declares that God is the one who builds up Zion and appears in his glory. Some modern day “bible commentators” see the nation of Israel as the fulfillment of this passage of scripture and this would correlate with (Zechariah 2:6-13). But can this verse actually be two prophetic passages in one? It could be. There are other passages in Scripture that bear this out. (Isaiah 9:6) is a classic example. So the phrase He has appeared in his glory could refer to the second coming? I tend to see this verse in its entirety and see this as the time when Christ returns and sets up his Millennial Kingdom here on earth. Certainly we can assume take the Scriptures at their face value when we read about the Great Tribulation in the book of Revelation, only the Lord himself could perform such a miracle to restore the beauty of his creation after mankind brought nothing but death and destruction because of their sin.

Psalm 102:17 He has regarded the prayer of the destitute and has not despised their prayer.

From this passage, what can we deduce?

• God will never hear the prayers of those that approach him with a heart of pride. In fact the Hebrew word here for “destitute” could also be translated “naked”. The old hymn, “Rock of Ages” in one of its verses declares:

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the fountain fly;
Wash me, Savior, or I die.

• God resists the Proud but gives Grace to the humble. (James 4:6)


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

• We may ask, who is this generation to come? From the Psalmist’s perspective, this is a future people that will give praise to the Lord. These are the remnant of God. The Psalmist is foreseeing those that will carry the message of God to all the peoples of the earth. (Isaiah 43:7 Isaiah 43:21)

Psalm 102:19-22 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.

• Man, since the sin of Adam has been in a prison of sin. Enslaved to it by the nature that is passed down from generation to generation. Because man is enslaved by his sinful nature, he can not free himself from this dungeon. He needs a Savior. God is holy. Pure and simple. Because he is holy, the purity of his holy nature demands a righteous sentence against sin. It is payment that man cannot pay, so God condescends to men and calls some to repentance that He might save some. Those that he saves, give him Glory. In the Westminster Catechism we read these words: Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man? Answer: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.
• What attributes do we see here in these verses?
• Answer: The Sovereignty of God, The Mercy of God, The Holiness of God, The Solitariness of God, The Power of God, The Grace of God.
• A.W. Pink offers us an excellent insight into the attributes of God.
• "Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee" (Job 22:21). "Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty glory in his might, let not the rich glory in his riches: But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands, and knows Me, that I am the Lord" (Jeremiah 9:23,24). A spiritual and saving knowledge of God is the greatest need of every human creature.
• The foundation of all true knowledge of God must be a clear mental apprehension of His perfections as revealed in Holy Scripture. An unknown God can neither be trusted, served, nor worshipped. In this booklet an effort has been made to set forth some of the principal perfections of the Divine character. If the reader is to truly profit from his perusal of the pages that follow, he needs to definitely and earnestly beseech God to bless them to him, to apply His Truth to the conscience and heart, so that his life will be transformed thereby.
• Something more than a theoretical knowledge of God is needed by us. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him, submit to His authority, and regulate all the details of our lives by His holy precepts and commandments. "Then shall we know, if we follow on (in the path of obedience) to know the Lord" (Hosea 6:3). "If any man will do His will, he shall know" (John 7:17). "The people that do know their God shall be strong" (Dan. 11:32). You can read Pink’s insights here.

• How little we know of God and we as his children are woefully inadequate to convey His message to those in need. All to often we are like the healed lepers who are so joyful to be cured that we fail to go to the Master and thank him. We are like the Hebrews to which the letter in the New Testament. We take are Salvation for granted and never go back to the prison to bring good news to the captives that Jesus Saves.


Psalms 102:23-28 He has weakened my strength in the way; He has shortened my days. I say, "O my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, Your years are throughout all generations. Of old you founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of your hands. "Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. "But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end. "The children of your servants will continue, And their descendants will be established before You."

• What attributes of God can you see in verses 23 to 27?
o 23: God is eternal and Man is finite.
o 25: God is Solitary and Supreme
o 26: God is Powerful, Eternal, and Supreme, while his creation is subject to the second law of thermodynamics. The amount of energy given to sustain us will eventually be expended. Like the old rag, we will cease to exist.
o 27 God is immutable. In a world that is always in a constant state of flux and discombobulating, God never changes. He is like a Rock. He is the forever Rock of Ages in Deuteronomy 32:4. We have that promise to us of his immutability given to us in Malachi 3:6 For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
• What promises do you see in verse 28?
o God always will have a remnant. God will always have those who will be faithful. They will persevere to the end. There will always those that will not bow the knee to Baal.