Download discussion questions:  Psalm 102

This week’s Calvary Institute discussion on Psalms of Lament was led by Dereje, a church-planting intern at Calvary Restoration Church.  We read Psalm 102 aloud, each person reading a verse from his/her own translation.

Translations

The first question that came up related to the differences in translations.  For example, at the end the psalmist says, “The children of your servants shall dwell secure” (v. 28, ESV).  However, other translations say “will live in your presence” (NIV), or “will continue” (NASB), or even “will have a good place to live” (MSG).  (The BibleGateway web site can display dozens of translations for comparison.)

Those observations of differences led to a brief discussion about translations.  Someone pointed out that the ESV (English Standard Version) is widely used at Calvary Restoration Church.  Another person commented that the differences were not changing the meaning but rather were different expressions of moving the psalmist’s words from Hebrew to English.  Comparing the various translations (in a group or in an individual study) can often provide helpful insight into the breadth of meaning of one word in Hebrew (or Greek in the New Testament).

Then Dereje asked for overall impressions or reactions to the psalm.

• “My misery, your greatness” was the first summary.
• Another person mentioned the honesty of this psalm as well as in many others. The psalmist did not seem hesitant to pour out his deepest emotions.  Someone commented that most Christians are not that bold, perhaps for fear of what God will think.  What others think is just as much of a deterrent to our honest sharing.  The sermon after our Calvary Institute meeting was on John 12, including John’s comments about fear of others’ opinions in v. 42.
• One person suggested that the psalm moves from the psalmist’s misery (v. 3-9) to his recognition that ultimately God is behind his circumstances (“because of your indignation and anger, for you have taken me up and thrown me down” v. 10).

Dereje provided some background for the psalm, that perhaps the setting was during Israel’s captivity in Babylon.  That backdrop would explain the psalmist’s anguish.  Dereje also shared some of the trials and health crises facing his family in Ethiopia.  He described this psalm as a reminder of our eternally secure foundation in God.

Psalms of Lament, as Dereje pointed out, often contain similar elements:

• Address
• Complaint
• Trust
• Deliverance
• Praise

We examined Psalm 102 under this outline.

Address

Verses 1-2 are the psalmist’s appeal addressed directly to God.  One comment was that he cried out with faith that God acts on behalf of His people.  Another person suggested the desire for intimacy of God’s face to see and His ear to hear the cry.  Dereje was very open about his own crying out to the Lord over the last few weeks regarding his family.

Our group discussed the importance of directing our cry to God Himself.  Someone said that too often our complaint is not to God but rather against other people or about our circumstances.  Perhaps those misdirected protests go back to the earlier comment about our fear of what God will think of us.

Complaint

The psalmist expresses the content of his complaint in verses 3-11.  As one person noted, his focus could be titled, “What I’m Going Through” or “My Miserable Circumstances.”  Dereje shared some more information about the likely historical setting of the psalm and the distress caused by exile in Babyon.

• Depression and a sense of purposelessness, a life like smoke vanishing (v. 3a)
• Physical pain, perhaps from overwhelming emotions, like burning in bones (v. 3b)
• Emotional turmoil, a broken or withered heart (v.4a)
• Loss of appetite because of continuing anxiety (v. 4b)
• Social isolation, like an owl in the wilderness (v. 6-8). This point produced the most reaction in our group (and is the longest part of the psalmist’s complaint.  Someone pointed out that an owl is a lonely image:  owls don’t flock together.  Owls are nocturnal, acting alone when no one else is around.  Owls don’t give the impression of an eagle, often used as a picture of strength.
• Ridicule and bad food (v. 8-9) would certainly be part of being enslaved by Babylon. Ashes or dust are often used as symbols of mourning in many cultures.  The psalmist takes the mourning to a new level.  Instead of putting ashes on his head (cf. 2 Samuel 13:19) or sitting in the ashes (Job 2:8) he describes his despair as eating ashes.

At this point the psalmist recognized God as the ultimate cause of his misery.  If the setting is Israel’s Babylonian captivity, the cause was God’s punishment for His people’s sin, His righteous “indignation and anger” (v. 10).  He begins to see the end of his life, or at least a future with only dark, distressing possibilities (v. 11).

Trust

As someone pointed out, up to this point the psalmist has focused on “me” and “my complaint.”  The focus shifts with the word “but” beginning verse 12.  The attention turns from erratic events to God’s eternal stability and majesty, “But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever” (v.12a).  That one assertion changed the writer’s perspective.

That change in perspective helped the psalmist to find renewed hope in God’s plans for His people in Zion (v. 13, 16, 21).  He remembers that Jerusalem (v. 21) has a part in the future of all nations in the worship of God (v. 22).

Deliverance

In verses 23-27 the writer expresses his passion for God’s continued deliverance, based on God’s unchanging character.

Praise

The psalmist ends with confidence (v. 28), settled in God’s presence and trusting in His faithful promises.

Trust (continued)

Because of our limited time, the last two parts of Dereje’s outline (“Deliverance” and “Praise”) were cut short.  We had an extended discussion under the “Trust” heading about the practical application:  How do we get from “My misery” to “Lord you are enthroned forever”?  We spent even more time on the related question:  How do we help another person make that transition?

We all agreed that simply “speaking truth” and telling the person to change their attitude seldom works.  God is the One who changes hearts, and He certainly could act in that situation.  More commonly the process is more complicated.  As one person pointed out, there is often a journey inside one’s self that must be travelled.  That journey of self-examination, of confession, of facing unpleasant truths can often be painful, adding to the pain of the external circumstances.  Reminding the person in the middle of that turmoil that “God is good” or that “the Lord is enthroned forever” may be “speaking truth.”  However, the leap from spiraling emotions and self-pity to those glorious truths may be too much, too hard, too soon.  Our tendency is to offer the first “truth” that comes to mind, even though our understanding of the actual struggle may be limited or even inaccurate.  As often as not, those well-intentioned comments can end the conversation (and maybe the relationship).

One member suggested that the process of that interior journey is often side-tracked by self-pity spiraling into more self-pity.  The most helpful and loving truth that a friend can provide is often simply listening.  There may be a time for “speaking truth” later, but listening to the person (and to the Holy Spirit as we listen to the person) can help us better understand the inner battle the person is facing.  Better understanding will mean that we are more likely to speak the most appropriate truth after we have heard more about the person’s struggles.

A comment from the group expressed it well.  When the struggling person cannot hear God’s love from Him, He can use us to display His love by listening.  That expression of God’s love by a patient, caring listener may be enough to begin their movement toward, “But You, O Lord are enthroned forever” and the trust, deliverance, and praise experienced by the psalmist.