Psalm 102:12-22 - God Will Not Forget You

In Psalm 102, we have been talking about how everything is in a state of change. The writer is an anonymous man who was going through a time of affliction a time of suffering as he was dealing with a lot of issues and he was despondent, discouraged, and maybe depressed. But after he took his eyes off of himself and his problems, and lifted up his eyes to Jehovah, everything changed. As we said in verses 12 through 22, he mentions Jehovah 7 times, Yahweh the covenant name of God with his nation Israel.   We mentioned how in Leviticus chapter 26, God made a covenant with Israel and basically said, “When you do what I ask you to do, and you keep my commandments, I will bless you. I'll send rain, you'll be prosperous, you'll be protected, I'll take care of you and your enemies will flee before you.” But then after this, He says in verse 18 of Leviticus 26, “If you do not obey me then I'll punish you seven times more for your sins, I will break the pride of your power, I'll make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze, and your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land will not yield its produce nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit.” Basically, God says if you walk contrary to Me and disobey Me, I will have to punish you, but you'll still be in My heart.   Then in Deuteronomy 29:1, where Moses repeats the law of God just before the new generation goes into the land, God says, “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel…” And He goes on to remind them how the Lord delivered them out of the land of Egypt, and how God did all these great wonders when He brought you out, and how He provided for and took care of them. Then He goes on to say and if you obey me, I will bless you but if you disobey me, I'll punish you. Now in Psalm 102, the writer is no doubt is remembering these words and he is confident that God is going to restore the nation after they've been in captivity and it's a wonderful testimony to all the nations around him. That's why he says in verses 15-16, “So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, And all the kings of the earth Your glory. For the LORD shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.”   This is a messianic Psalm. It's looking forward to the day Jesus Christ comes back and sits on the throne of David, and rules from His throne in Jerusalem for 1000 years. That is when in verse 17, “He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise their prayer.”    What makes us destitute is when God has to punish us for our sins, and we get knocked down and He breaks our pride down so that we have to look up. I've always said when you're lying on your back in a hospital bed and you're going through a time of affliction, guess what direction you are looking?  You are looking up!  Yes my friend, the bed of affliction causes us to look up to God, and in our pain, and in our hurt and our sorrow we cry out and say, “Oh God help me!” And that's what this psalmist did and the Lord heard him. And not only that God heard Him, but in verse 18, this is “written for the generation to come”.  God is a covenant God with the nation of Israel.   Israel has been around for 4000 years and they're going to continue to be around till Jesus comes and sets up his Kingdom and they will rule and reign with Him in from the city of Jerusalem. You can trust the Lord to keep his covenant. Jesus is keeping his covenant with you and me today! He saved us, and He says, “I give you eternal life and you will never perish neither shall any man pluck you out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). Jesus said, “He that comes to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).   God will not forget you! You can trust Him today!   God bless!