Psalm 102: Birds
Vultures. Owls. Sparrows. This psalm is a veritable aviary.
Birds have long fascinated humans. Their beauty, their variety, and, of course, their ability to fly, something that was beyond the reach of our kind until just the last century. Nowadays, we can fly, even to the moon. But we still need the help of machines. Not so birds. They are made to fly. Yet hear they do something else: they scavenge and they are alone. Symbols of freedom have become emblems of desperation. Hope is lost. Yet, the psalmist knows that loss can be reversed by God; indeed, he's counting on it. Though he never writes as much, we can imagine the birds of his psalm once again taking flight, soaring above God's creation. And during Lent, we are a reminded that we too, empowered by a renewed relationship with our Creator and our Creator's people, can also take flight again.
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; *
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2 Incline your ear to me; *
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3 For my days drift away like smoke, *
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4 My heart is smitten like grass and withered, *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning *
I am but skin and bones.
6 I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, *
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake and groan; *
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8 My enemies revile me all day long, *
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes for bread *
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of your indignation and wrath *
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days pass away like a shadow, *
and I wither like the grass.
12 But you, O LORD, endure for ever, *
and your Name from age to age.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to have mercy upon it; *
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants love its very rubble, *
and are moved to pity even for its dust.
15 The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD, *
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For you, O LORD, will build up Zion, *
and your glory will appear.
17 You will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless; *
you will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, *
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
19 For the LORD looked down from the holy place on high; *
and from the heavens beheld the earth;
20 To hear the groan of the captive *
and to set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD, *
and the praise of our God in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the realms also, to serve the LORD.
23 The LORD has brought down my strength before my time; *
and shortened the number of my days;
24 And I said, “O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days; *
your years endure throughout all generations.
25 In the beginning, O LORD, you laid the foundations of the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26 They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all shall wear out like a garment; *
as clothing you will change them,
and they shall be changed;
27 But you are always the same, *
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants shall continue, *
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.”
Birds have long fascinated humans. Their beauty, their variety, and, of course, their ability to fly, something that was beyond the reach of our kind until just the last century. Nowadays, we can fly, even to the moon. But we still need the help of machines. Not so birds. They are made to fly. Yet hear they do something else: they scavenge and they are alone. Symbols of freedom have become emblems of desperation. Hope is lost. Yet, the psalmist knows that loss can be reversed by God; indeed, he's counting on it. Though he never writes as much, we can imagine the birds of his psalm once again taking flight, soaring above God's creation. And during Lent, we are a reminded that we too, empowered by a renewed relationship with our Creator and our Creator's people, can also take flight again.
1 LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come before you; *
hide not your face from me in the day of my trouble.
2 Incline your ear to me; *
when I call, make haste to answer me,
3 For my days drift away like smoke, *
and my bones are hot as burning coals.
4 My heart is smitten like grass and withered, *
so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of the voice of my groaning *
I am but skin and bones.
6 I have become like a vulture in the wilderness, *
like an owl among the ruins.
7 I lie awake and groan; *
I am like a sparrow, lonely on a house-top.
8 My enemies revile me all day long, *
and those who scoff at me have taken an oath against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes for bread *
and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of your indignation and wrath *
you have lifted me up and thrown me away.
11 My days pass away like a shadow, *
and I wither like the grass.
12 But you, O LORD, endure for ever, *
and your Name from age to age.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to have mercy upon it; *
indeed, the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants love its very rubble, *
and are moved to pity even for its dust.
15 The nations shall fear your Name, O LORD, *
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For you, O LORD, will build up Zion, *
and your glory will appear.
17 You will look with favor on the prayer of the homeless; *
you will not despise their plea.
18 Let this be written for a future generation, *
so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD.
19 For the LORD looked down from the holy place on high; *
and from the heavens beheld the earth;
20 To hear the groan of the captive *
and to set free those condemned to die;
21 That they may declare in Zion the Name of the LORD, *
and the praise of our God in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together, *
and the realms also, to serve the LORD.
23 The LORD has brought down my strength before my time; *
and shortened the number of my days;
24 And I said, “O my God,
do not take me away in the midst of my days; *
your years endure throughout all generations.
25 In the beginning, O LORD, you laid the foundations of the earth, *
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
26 They shall perish, but you will endure;
they all shall wear out like a garment; *
as clothing you will change them,
and they shall be changed;
27 But you are always the same, *
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants shall continue, *
and their offspring shall stand fast in your sight.”
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