November 6
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LIKE AN OWL OF THE RUINS
Hear my prayer, LORD!
And let my cry for help come to You.
2 Do not hide Your face from me on the day of my distress;
Incline Your ear to me; On the day when I call answer me quickly.
3 For my days have ended in smoke,
And my bones have been scorched like a hearth.
4 My heart has been struck like grass and has withered,
Indeed, I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the loudness of my groaning
My bones cling to my flesh. 6 I resemble a pelican of the wilderness;
I have become like an owl of the ruins. 7 I lie awake,
I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop. – Psalm 102:1-7
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This psalm is entitled “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the LORD.” According to a commentary from enduringword.com, this afflicted one borrowed his tone and some of his phrasing from Job, who is the Old Testament’s greatest example of affliction. Many phrases also match others in the psalms.
This psalm describes Jerusalem (Zion) in a state of ruin. If this is taken as literal ruin, the psalm may have been written by those in exile who mourned over both their personal and national affliction. Adam Clarke followed this thinking and suggested the author could be Daniel, Jeremiah, or Nehemiah. However, it may be that the ruin of Zion described is more poetic in nature and the psalm is pre-exilic. In traditional Christian liturgy, this has been regarded as one of the seven penitential psalms (along with Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 130, and 143).
In verse 5, as in Job 19:20, he was so weak and thin that there seemed to be nothing between his bones and his skin. He felt like a lonely and restless bird. According to Spurgeon, the psalmist likens himself to two birds (pelican and owl) which were commonly used as emblems of gloom and wretchedness.”
Being overwhelmed is the state of the author of this psalm. When we allow the world to run our whole being, we become confused and discouraged, we resort to complaining. It is interesting how the psalmist compares himself to the owl in the ruins.
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REFLECTION
• Why is it okay to complain and run to God rather than to men?