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Day 95

Psalm 102:23a "He weakened my strength..."

Day 95 – Psalm 102

“He weakened my strength…” Psalm 102:23a

RETURNING TO FACE PERSONAL PROBLEMS

The psalmist now returned to face his personal problems. The first part of Psalm 102 saw the psalmist barely able to keep his face above the waters. He then shifted his focus to dwell on the Lord instead of dwelling on his sorrows. How did he fare?

“He weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
I said, ‘O my God, do not take me away in the
midst of my days;
Your years are throughout all generations.'”
Psalm 102:23-24

1. Candid statements

a) “He weakened my strength in the way”
i) The trials of life had weakened him.
ii) The sorrows he endured had made him feel he had lost strength.
b) “He shortened my days”
i) He feared that he might die prematurely.
ii) He felt that God had shortened his days.
iii) He could not, of course, be certain that his statements were totally accurate!

2. Crying out to God for mercy

a) A heartfelt cry was made to God.
b) He pleaded that he would not die “in the midst of (the) days”.
c) His years were already so short in contrast to God’s years that endure throughout all generations.

3. A prayer of hope

a) God would look upon him from heaven favourably.
b) God would hear the cry of the destitute.
c) God could graciously “release those appointed to death” (Psalm 102:20b).