Good morning.
My name is Bo. I'm one of the elders in the church.
Today we will be talking on Psalm 102.
I hope I will do justice to this great psalm.
Before we start, shall we pray?
May I pray?
Lord, help us to pressure all the pressure that we have in Christ.
Help us through this psalm to get to know you and worship you aright.
Thank you, Father. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
So for today I've got three M's.
First of all, I'd like to share with you how to read psalms.
That's from my own experience. Hopefully that will help.
Some of you to appreciate the psalms.
And then we'll go to Psalm 102 in particular, how we can read it.
And then we'll talk about afflictions or suffering.
All right?
So for me, I learned, I mean, psalms usually is quite hard in terms of reading psalms for many years
until I learned how to read psalms.
First of all, psalms are prayers.
And so sometimes it's shocking to see the expression in the psalms.
But they are prayers, and God wants us to pray to Him truthfully.
And so they are very raw feelings.
And there's no makeup in the expression.
There's no fancy dressing.
And so we need to understand that it's deep feeling of people who pray to God through psalms.
And there's psalms, the prayers, or psalms are the words that God has given to us to speak to Him.
Okay, that's one thing.
Second one is that we need to understand Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 very well to know the psalms.
Because the other psalms usually refer back to Psalm 1 and Psalm 2.
If we do not understand Psalm 1 and Psalm 2, it's very hard to understand the other psalms.
So that is the second tip.
The third one is psalms are written in the structure of like climbing a mountain.
Okay, so there's an ascend, and then there's a summit, and there's a descent.
So we will see that the summit, as it climbs up the mountain,
it will come up with a different sort of emotion.
And then in the summit, it will immerse in the glory of the summit,
like someone climbing a mountain.
And then he descends, there's a different emotion.
And the summit is usually roughly in the middle of the psalm.
So if you want to know what is the most important part of the psalm,
usually you go to the middle part, okay, or somewhere there.
And so these are the three things that help me to read the psalms.
So Psalm 102, we can go through that structure.
To start with the ascend, the ascending part, so the part one,
we can see that the psalmist is ascending with a lot of emotion
in the suffering that is affecting him, and also his people.
Okay, it's not only him.
He talks about his people, the city of Zion.
And there are three parts of suffering that we can see that he's expressing.
One is the physical one, so it could be due to illnesses,
or famine, or enemy invasion.
We don't know exactly what the psalmist was suffering,
but at least we know that the city of Zion was destroyed,
and that would be the enemy taunting him and invading him.
So the psalmist himself may be sick as well.
We are not sure.
There's a mental affliction.
So he said all days his enemies teased him and used his name as curse.
And the third part is relational afflictions.
So he was suffering alone.
His friends and God seemed to have abandoned him.
So the psalmist, Peter with God to rescue him,
but it seems that God has hidden his faith from him.
So that's how he was ascending to the mountain.
And then he gets to the psalmist in verse 12.
So the psalmist said,
But you, O Lord, are entorned forever.
So there is a psalmist for the psalm.
So he said that God is in control and in charge forever.
God is there for all generations.
And because of that,
there's three things also change to the perception of the psalmist,
to his suffering.
First of all,
in terms of time,
he said that God is forever.
So he's comparing his suffering,
his life,
with God's eternity.
So suddenly,
his suffering becomes less of an issue
in the sense that
his suffering is only transient.
And there's eternity with God.
So it changes perception in there.
So first one is time.
Secondly,
it's to do with white.
White has been heavy.
So when we are suffering,
we think that it's so hard to bear,
so difficult to go through this.
It's weighing on us.
But when we see God's glory,
as he saw that,
the glory of God transformed his perception
of affliction and shame.
Because the glory of God is such a big thing
that it just overwhelms him,
his own suffering becomes insignificant.
And so the second thing is white.
The third thing is purpose.
He sees God's sovereignty,
and so that reassures him
that God knows about his suffering
and cares about that.
And so the perception of suffering
is changed as he went up to the summit.
So the three things,
time, weight, and purpose.
And then he descends the mountain.
And as he descends,
you can see the change
in his focus of things.
He was praying for the restoration of Zion,
the restoration of the nations,
the restoration of worship towards God.
Okay, so there's a three part
of Psalm 102.
Now how do we apply to us
and how does it affect our life?
Then there are three ways
for us to read the Psalms or anything,
at least three ways.
Think of, as we approach life,
we can approach it
with three different sort of mindsets
or mixture of it.
I'll call them devotional,
rational, and emotional.
You can read that
in the Buridding Kawa
about those three mindsets
that we use to approach life.
Let us try to read the Psalm
mainly with just an emotional mindset.
If we just use it,
read it from the point of emotion
and feelings.
So the first half of the Psalm
is full of feelings.
So with this mindset,
we could feel the desperation,
the fear,
the pain,
and the loneliness of the Psalmist.
In the first two verses alone,
the Psalmist pleaded with God five times
to listen and respond to him,
to do something about his suffering.
The Psalmist is describing his afflictions
as if he is living in hell.
He's being burned,
and his life is passing away like smoke.
His heart is so depressed
that he does not enjoy his food anymore.
He's eating ashes,
possibly as a sign of deep grieving.
He feels that nobody is standing with him.
He thinks he's suffering alone,
and God does not seem
to have done anything to help him.
God seems to have led his enemies
to triumph over him.
He thinks that God has conspired against him,
as God has taken him up
and thrown him down.
And he wants to enjoy good health
and respect from others.
Now he's sick.
And his name is used for a curse.
It's quite easy for us
to think like this in life.
I have a patient come in and said,
she's a Christian,
she said,
in the past,
I don't have any illness.
I was too well.
God was good to me.
I said,
isn't God good to you now?
He was taken aback
when I asked him this,
asked her these questions.
She couldn't answer me.
So this is how,
if you just use emotional mindset
to assess or approach things in our life.
So even if we look at this psalmist
as he approached the mountain top,
if we use the emotional mindset alone
to understand the psalm,
we can sense that
the psalmist may be resentful to God.
He was maybe saying that,
oh God,
you are enthroned forever up there
and I am suffering down here.
It's not fair.
I mean,
why is this one happening?
Why is this happening to me?
If he just uses this mindset
to read the psalm,
it will be very difficult
for us to understand
the second half of the psalm.
It doesn't make sense
except verses 23, 24
when the psalmist complains again
about God shortening his life.
So I would like to add
a rational mindset
to the reading of the psalm.
So we are now reading it
with both emotion and logic.
So I said,
I feel sick.
I feel depressed.
I feel persecuted by others.
So besides feeling sorry
and sad for myself,
I start to think about my afflictions.
Are my afflictions caused
by my own doing,
other people's doing,
or God's doing?
The psalmist has concluded
that it was all God's doing
because in verse 10,
it said,
because of your indignation and anger,
for you have taken me up
and thrown me down.
And verse 23,
he has broken my strength
in mid-cost.
He has shortened my days.
The psalmist does not explain
why God was doing
such a thing to him.
Maybe he does not understand either.
However, the psalmist understands
that his afflictions
are tied with the destruction of Zion.
He suffers more intensely
as he thinks about Zion,
as he holds on to the dust,
the broken stones of Zion
in his hands.
So to the Old Testament people,
Zion was such an important place.
So if you don't understand it,
it will have to understand this psalm.
So Zion was a place
of God's temple
and God's king.
It was the only place on earth
where a person could meet God
without being consumed
by God's holiness.
Now the city of Zion
had been destroyed.
Where could the psalmist
meet God?
His only hope
was if God
would restore Zion.
Only then
would the prayer
of the destitute
be heard by God.
So the rational mindset
helps us to understand
the psalm better.
But still,
not enough
for us to understand it
fully and well.
For what purpose
would God
break the psalmist's strength
in midcourse
and shorten his days?
While his suffering
is most likely related
to the collective
rebellion
of his nation
against God,
how is his suffering
related to the hope
of having a people
yet to be created
to praise the Lord?
And the kingdoms
gather to worship
the Lord?
And the children
of the Lord's servant
having a secure dwelling?
So it doesn't
explain all this
just by reasoning
or logic.
So from my
interactions
with patience,
I realize that
many people
approach life
mostly with
an emotional mindset.
We do the same
when we say,
I feel comfortable
or I do not
feel comfortable
about something.
The criterion
for approving
or disapproving
something
has become
how we feel.
Even in ministries,
we focus more
on making people
happy
than helping people
to be holy.
We pray more
for comfort
than for confirmation
to the image
of Jesus.
Patients
with chronic illness,
especially chronic pain,
find it very difficult
to cope with
the persistent
affliction.
They tend to
blame others,
including the
doctors for their
persisting pain.
Some patients
try to understand
the afflictions.
Do I inherit
this from my parents?
Is my affliction
caused by my choices
of activities
and diet
during my younger days?
Is my affliction
caused by the
environment I live in?
So understanding
the cost
helps a bit.
But the affliction
remains difficult
to live with.
It is only
when they have
something bigger
than themselves
to live for.
They could start
to be free
from the torment
of the affliction.
Now let's
add devotional mindset
to the psalm.
This is a radical
change in mindset
because the focus
is no longer
on the author's
feeling or reasons.
The focus
is now shifted
to God.
So God
is enthroned
forever.
The psalmist
has seen history
and his own experience
with God
being center
of the universe.
His main concern
is God's will
and God's glory.
So to understand
the psalm better
we refer to
Psalm 2.
So Psalm 2
verse 6
God says
As for me
I have set
my king on Zion
my holy hill.
By the time
Psalm 102
was written
the city of Zion
had been destroyed.
The temple
had been destroyed
and her king
was suffering.
The writer
of Psalm 102
could be the king
then
or at least
the leader
of God's people.
With a devotional
mindset
we can see
that while
the psalmist
was in pain
and shame
by his enemies
his main concern
was not so much
of his own
pain and shame
his concern
was with God's
honor.
What
happened to
God's promise
in Psalm 2
that his king
would be in Zion?
How could
a good
a great God
let his
anointed king
suffer?
his anointed
city be
captured?
His temple
be destroyed?
How do we know
that?
This was the
writer's concern.
So that's from
the second
half of the
psalm.
So as a
psalmist
descended the
mountain
he was
longing for
something.
He did not
pray for his
own comfort.
He prayed for
one,
nations who
fear the
name of the
Lord.
Two,
Zion to be
rebuilt.
Three,
a people to
be created
to worship
the Lord
and for
the prayers
of the
destitute
and the
prisoners
will be
heard and
their afflictions
will be
transformed to
God's
praises.
So at
this point
we can
appreciate
that this
psalm is
actually
written
by Jesus
Christ.
It's a
prayer of
the Lord
Jesus Christ
because he
is the
only one
who will
fit in
this
picture
because he
is the
only person
who can
rightfully
expect God
not to
hide his
faith from
him.
So when
we look
at
Psalms,
many times
the
psalm has
asked God
not to
hide his
faith from
them.
In actual
fact,
if we pray
the same
way on
our own,
we could
not expect
God not to
hide his
faith from
us,
from our
sinful
nature.
And it
would be
illogical
just to
pray like
that,
except if
the person
is without
sin.
And so
Jesus Christ
is the
only one
who can
rightfully
expect God
not to
hide his
faith from
him.
But God
did hide
his faith
from him.
And Jesus
Christ is the
only person
who does
not deserve
any suffering
because he
never sinned.
But he
was afflicted
and shamed
unjustly.
He was
not only
afflicted,
he was
afflicted so
severely that
his bones
cling to
his flesh,
as the
son said.
And also
he was
afflicted
alone with
all his
allies
leaving him.
And
thirdly,
Jesus Christ
is the
only person
who can
expect to
live forever
because of
his obedience
and relationship
to God.
But he
was condemned
by God
and his
life was
shortened
in God's
wrath.
So we
can refer
this to
Isaiah
53
verses 3
to 6.
It says
that he
was despised
and rejected
by man,
a man of
sorrow and
acquainted with
grief.
And as
one from
whom men
hide their
faces,
he was
despised,
and we
esteem him
not.
Surely
he has
borne our
grief and
carried our
sorrow,
yet we
esteem him
stricken,
smitten by
God,
and afflicted.
But he
was wounded
for our
transgressions,
he was
crushed for
our
iniquities.
Upon him
was the
chastisement
of that
brought us
peace,
and with
his stripes
we are
healed.
All we
like sheep
have gone
astray,
we have
turned
every one
of us
to his
own way,
and the
Lord has
laid on
him the
iniquity
of us
all.
So,
through
these
Isaiah
verses,
we can
understand
what Psalm
1 or 2
is primarily
about.
We are
thankful that
the Psalm
does not
just end
there.
In
verse 22
and 23,
Jesus was
saying that
his days
have been
cut short.
He's
appearing to
the fact
that God
is eternal,
and it's
unthinkable
that as the
Son of God
there's an
ending to
his days.
So,
how do
we know
this Psalm
is about
God's
Son,
about Jesus
Christ?
Because
Hebrews 1
8 tells
us that
if we go
to the
book,
Hebrews
chapter 1
verse 8,
it has
got the
exact
code from
verses 25
to 21
in that
book,
and it
says that
it's
applying to
Jesus
Christ.
These
verses
tell us
that
Jesus'
days
will
never
come to
an end.
In
fact,
they tell
us that
Jesus is
the one
who decides
the days
of all
creation.
these
verses also
foretold the
resurrection of
Jesus because
his days
would never
come to
an end.
So,
when he
stays the
end in
order to
take away
our
condemnation,
he needs to
be resurrected
because otherwise
his days
would come to
an end.
So,
he foretold
us about
his
resurrection,
and he
was raised
again to
prove that
he is a
rightful king
who will
secure and
establish his
kingdom.
Jesus was
condemned so
that those
of us who
are in
Christ are
no longer
condemned.
Jesus was
afflicted.
Does that
mean that
those of
us who
are in
Christ will
no longer
be
afflicted?
I think
there are
two different
issues here
when we
think about
affliction.
Jesus'
affliction was
for our
justification.
Our
affliction is
for our
sanctification.
Jesus was
afflicted when
he bore
our
condemnation.
We,
as Christians,
are afflicted
because we
live in the
world,
and God
is also
changing us
through
affliction.
So,
in John 16,
33,
Jesus told
his disciples,
in the
world,
you will
have
tubulation,
but take
heart,
I have
overcome
the
world.
In
Romans 8,
17,
we are
told that
provided we
suffer with
Christ,
in order
that we
might also
be glorified
with him.
Whether we
are Christians
or not,
suffering is
part of
life.
The
question is
not if
we can
avoid
suffering,
the
question is
if we
suffer with
Christ or
suffer without
Christ.
I have
seen many
patients
suffering
without
Christ.
They usually
suffer not
only physically
but mentally
as well.
They become
depressed and
irritable.
They are
difficult to
live with.
They often
complain to
me how rude
their families
and friends
were towards
them.
Suffering
without
Christ has
changed them
into someone
who constantly
craves for
sympathy from
others but
who is unable
to consider
the need
of others.
Among
my patients
mostly are
elderly and
retired.
I only have
very few
people who
are working.
But even
among those
very few
working people,
I've got
four patients
who have
been in
dispute
with their
workplaces
for unfair
treatment.
They feel
being discriminated,
regulated,
persecuted
by their
supervisors.
Cases
like this
are very
hard to
resolve
because the
employers
want to
side with
the
supervisors.
It's very
difficult to
resolve.
They want
justice.
They want
fairness.
One of the
patients
have been
in dispute
with her
employer
for about
five years.
She's not
been working
for five
years.
She just
wanted her
supervisor
to be
punished
by the
employer.
When she
saw me
recently,
she said
that particular
supervisor
has left
the company,
no longer
working there.
She was
at loss
as how
she could
be vindicated
now.
She's just
so depressed.
She could
not get
out of
that.
She wants
to be
vindicated,
but now
the person
is not
even there
in the
company
anymore.
What do
you do?
So she's
just become
her own
prisoner
in terms
of wanting
to get
justice
and
fairness.
And this
is the
mental
torment
that is
going
through.
So some
of us
here are
struggling
with
physical
afflictions.
I think
some of
us have
migraine
headaches
quite often,
arthritis
or other
disabilities.
Some of
us are
suffering
from mental
afflictions
or being
infertile
or being
lonely.
I think
the most
common
afflictions
are
relational
in terms
of how
we feel
that people
are treating
us.
Have you
ever been
misunderstood
and you
could not
explain
yourself?
Have you
ever been
falsely
accused
and you
could not
defend
yourself?
There are
times that
you might
wish those
who are
close to
you would
understand
your
aspirations
and actions
but they
keep giving
you negative
remarks.
The
afflictions
of being
bullied
or misunderstood
are difficult
to bear.
We appear
to many
venues
to vindicate
ourselves.
Sometimes
it's just
not possible
to get
justice.
It could
be that
our
opponent
is simply
too
powerful
or there
is not
enough
evidence
or we
cannot
fully
explain
ourselves.
Sometimes
when we
are in
an argument
with someone
we know
that we
will create
more
conflict
when we
try to
win
an argument
so we
buy our
tongues
and feel
the resentment
inside.
And if
you are a
leader in
any capacity
in the
church or
at home
you tend
to get a
lot more
criticism
when you
try to do
something
new.
And that's
life and
that's what
we will
go through.
So how
should we
cope with
all these
afflictions?
Firstly
we need to
examine our
hearts to
make sure
that we
are not
the ones
who are
afflicting
others.
So Paul
in 1
Corinthians 6
7
8 says
to have
lawsuits
at all
with one
another is
already a
defeat for
you.
Why not
rather suffer
wrong?
Why not
rather be
defrauded?
But you
yourself wrong
and defraud
even your
own brothers.
Paul was
dismayed that
the Corinthian
Christians were
not only not
willing to
suffer wrong,
they were
afflicting
others.
We are
called to
suffer with
Christ.
Secondly,
we trust that
God is always
in control
and he cares.
The writer of
Psalm 102
was suffering
alone and
his enemies
were making
fun of him.
His only
venue of
appeal was
to God.
God turned
his face
away from
the psalmist
because his
affliction
anticipates
the affliction
of Christ.
When we are
suffering with
Christ,
we know that
God will
never turn
his face
away from
us again.
Thirdly,
we suffer
with Christ.
What does
suffering with
Christ mean?
When Christ
suffered,
he did not
focus on
vindicating
himself.
He appealed
to God
and prayed
for the
restoration
of God's
kingdom.
He trusted
that God
is entorned
forever.
He knew
that nothing
would happen
outside God's
control.
He thought
of others
who were
suffering as
well.
He looked
forward to
a people
who would
be created
to praise
the Lord.
He longed
for the
gathering
of people
to worship
the Lord.
So that's
how Christ
suffered.
Fourthly,
we know
that our
affliction
is good
for our
sanctification.
Psalm
119,
verse 71,
it is good
for me
that I was
afflicted,
that I might
learn your
statutes.
Through
affliction,
God is
changing
us.
Affliction
helps us
to grow
in our
trust in
God and
His
promises.
Affliction
helps us
to learn
to forget
ourselves
and hope
in God's
kingdom.
Affliction
helps us
not to
love this
world and
long for
the city
that is
to come.
One of
the reasons
why the
church in
our generation
is so weak
is because
it focuses
too much
on our
individual
afflictions.
We spend
a lot of
resources to
vindicate
ourselves,
to keep
ourselves
comfortable
or to
collect
sympathy
from
other
people.
Paradoxically,
when we
learn to
suffer with
Christ,
we start
to care
for the
church of
Christ,
and our
own
afflictions
become
bearable.
More than
that,
as Romans 5
tells us,
we rejoice
in our
suffering.
The writer
of Psalm 102
knows that
unless Zion
is restored,
his own
affliction
could not
be resolved.
When we
are afflicted,
we can
pray Psalm 102.
We know
that God
will hear
our prayer
because of
the blood
of Jesus.
God may
not remove
the
afflictions,
but he
will give
us peace
that will
guard our
hearts and
our minds
in Christ
Jesus.
We do
not suffer
alone because
Jesus has
suffered
alone,
and Jesus
is now
with us
until the
end of
the age.
our days
on earth
may be
cut short,
but we
know that
we are
secure in
Christ and
we will
never perish.
With such
an assurance,
we can
turn the
focus of
our
afflictions to
greater
things.
We might
then pray
that God's
church may
be established.
We might
pray for the
destitute and
those who are
suffering,
and we
might ask
God's kingdom
to come.
I will
end with
Hebrews 11
verses 24
to 26.
By faith,
Moses,
when he was
grown up,
refused to
be called
the son of
Pharaoh's
daughter,
chosen rather
to be mistreated
with the
people of
God than
to enjoy
the fleeting
pleasures of
sin.
He
considered the
reproach of
Christ greater
wealth than
the treasure
of Egypt,
for he was
looking to
the reward.
Moses had
the opportunity
to live an
affliction-free
life.
He gave it
up because
he was
looking for
something much
greater than
the feeding
pleasures of
this world.
He chose to
suffer with
Christ in
order that he
might be
glorified with
him.
Let us
pray.
O Father
God,
we want
to look
to our
Lord Jesus
Christ,
the founder
and perfecter
of our
faith,
who for
the joy
that is
set before
him,
enjoy the
cross,
despising the
shame.
O Father,
help us
to live
for the
Lord Jesus
Christ,
to live
for something
greater,
and help
us to
turn our
afflictions
to your
glory and
honour.
Thank you,
Lord.
We pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.