Thursday

March 19, 2009

Scripture

Psalm 102:12-17

But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;

your renown endures through all generations.

You will arise and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to show favor to her;

the appointed time has come.

For her stones are dear to your servants;

her very dust moves them to pity.

The nations will fear the name of the LORD,

all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

For the LORD will rebuild Zion

and appear in his glory.

He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;

he will not despise their plea.

Reflection
The hundred-second Psalm is the lament of a person afflicted with
some sort of disease. The Psalmist begins by describing his physical
pain – “My bones burn like glowing embers “(v.3) – as well as his deep
loneliness – “I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I
lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof”(v.6-7). This is
a person who feels near to death, who fears that God has forsaken him
(v.10-11).
The Psalmist interrupts his lament, though, with this song of
praise starting at verse 12. He sings of God’s everlasting, ever
compassionate nature. He sings of how God hears the praise of God’s
people always and will answer those prayers in time. The psalmist
writes for “a future generation, that a people not yet created may
praise the LORD” (v.18). The psalmist speaks with a conviction that
God is present and faithful in every time and every place, from times
past into times not yet conceived.
I think that during the Lenten season we can often feel
afflicted. For college students, the time of Lent corresponds to the
busy, sometimes chaotic heart of spring semester. It can be a time of
late nights writing dozens of pages for paper after paper or studying
for hours to get ready for midterms. And of course in any season we
may face other trials, both personal and those in the world around us.
But let us remember in these forty days of Lent and in every day that
as we move through crises personal, academic, relational, national, or
global, we can safely and securely rely on a God who is always
present, always faithful, and always moved with compassion, now and
forever.

Written by a PC Senior

Today Please Pray For:
PC Theatre department