Psalms
102
– 104
Verse 102:2 makes me think about how most of us pray to God:
Do not hide from me
when my days are filled with anguish;
Lend Your ear to my wailing,
and answer me quickly when I call.
Why is it we cry out to God mostly in “anguish” and not in
joy? I am just as guilty as the next one even with experiences that should be
filled with praise and joy. Think about how many people who claim no belief in
a higher power seem to call on God at their death. We need to really fill our
prayers with gratitude more than “anguish” since “anguish” will always be
there.
As you read Psalm 102 you will see he changes from “wailing”
to praise. We are nothing when you think about it, we live in a huge world
which has a long history and a long future, with millions more dealing with the
same problems. Think about that next time you are “wailing” to God and He
responds to you. That alone should be joy and happiness!! Praise God first and
then petition Him with your wailing.
Verse 103:12 gives us an illustration of God’s grace:
You see, God
takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and
removes them.
As far as east is from the west, He removes
them from us.
The only warning that should go with this is it’s not an
excuse to just go crazy. God is wonderful and His grace covers all our sin.
Once we confess them, our slate is wiped clean. I really think the key to this
is in Jesus’ words “go and from now
on avoid the sins that
plague you.” (John 8:11) As God will forgive us of our sins, our responsibility
is to sin no more. So walk the narrow path in God’s will and don’t run back to
him for forgiveness, especially when you know you are doing wrong.
Verse 104:13 talks about the water cycle:
And the clouds, too, drink up
their share,
raining it back down on the mountains from the upper
reaches of Your home,
Sustaining the whole earth with what comes from You.
And the earth is satisfied.
You have two ways to look at the earth. One is this
intricate system of life just randomly happened without help. The other is God
created and worked out every detail. Think about it the water cycle described
here is one of those details that one actually has to have more faith in
believing it’s random than planned. Why?
Based on nature we see a cause and effect cycle, the sun
heats the salty sea and causes evaporation. The water vapor rises and cools
causing it to form clouds. Once the clouds grow to a point the water vapor
starts to combine and fall back to the ground as pure water as rain. The rain
collects to form creeks and rivers that eventually replenish the seas
evaporation. Believing this all happened in nature randomly requires more faith
than believing there was a “causer”. I
could write a book about God’s influence on creation vs nature just happening.
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