<a href=”http://www.ilmaarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/eugenia-falls-and-chasing-clouds-579.jpg”>November 7
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YOU, LORD, REMAIN FOREVER
My enemies have taunted me all day long;
Those who deride me have used my name as a curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mixed my drink with weeping
10 Because of Your indignation and Your wrath;
For You have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a lengthened shadow,
And I wither away like grass.
12 But You, LORD, remain forever,
And Your name remains to all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion;
For it is time to be gracious to her,
For the appointed time has come.
14 Surely Your servants take pleasure in her stones,
And feel pity for her dust.
15 So the nations will fear the name of the LORD,
And all the kings of the earth, Your glory. – Psalm 102:8-15
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In verse 8, according to enduringword.com, the psalmist’s affliction came from more than poor health; he had enemies set against him. They opposed him with constant disapproval and rejection. In verse 9, he seemed to be in constant mourning. The marks of mourning such as ashes and weeping were as familiar to him as food and drink. In verse 10, the mourning was all the more bitter because of the sense that this affliction came as some kind of punishment from God. Spurgeon comments on verse 10 says that “He felt that God was treating him as wrestlers treat one another, when a man deliberately lifts up his opponent in order that he may give him the worse fall.” In verse 11, the psalmist was overwhelmed with a sense of divine rejection; he felt that his life was short and had little meaning. In verse 12, the psalmist’s tone changes. We note the contrast between the first 11 verses, which were filled with personal references (I, me, and my) and verses 12 and following. With the words, but You, the focus changes and is set on God. What a difference it makes when we change our focus from ourselves to God!
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REFLECTION
• Why do we need to focus on God’s infiniteness instead of our fleeting lives?