Studies In Psalms – Psa 102:6-11 “Thou Shalt Arise, And Have Mercy Upon Zion”, Part 2

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Psa 102:6-11 “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion”, Part 2

Psa 102:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
Psa 102:7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
Psa 102:8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
Psa 102:9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
Psa 102:10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
Psa 102:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

The set time” (see verse 13) during which God shows favour and mercy upon Zion is the time when we are granted to be abased under the mighty hand of God and see the Lord arise in our heavens, where he battles the powers and principalities which we must overcome through him (1Pe 5:6-9, Eph 6:12, Eph 1:21, Php 4:13). God shows us in His word what we must do to humble ourselves in these verses in (1Pe 5:6-9). It is of the Lord that any one of us can be humbled under His mighty hand, and so this list is to be understood as an admonition that Christ is able to fulfill in our lives as He works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php 4:13, Php 2:13).

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1Pe 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

Col 1:23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:
Col 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Faith above all? Why? Because that shield of faith enables us to put on the whole armour of God found in Ephesians 6:11-17, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, and while you are standing you are then able to pray always as it says in Ephesians 6:18 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” This standing and praying really demonstrates to us what optimal spiritual health represents in the mind of Christ, and it is something that we must cry out for as we come to see our lack of faith and how we need to be lifted up by the Lord.

Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mar 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
Mar 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

Heb 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
Heb 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

The direct parallel in the flesh is when we see we don’t have optimal health physically we should, Lord willing, cry out to God to heal us and to bring us to that pool called “Bethesda, having five porches”(Joh 5:2). It is through Christ that we can reach that symbolic pool of physical healing and spiritual healing (Rom 2:4) and this story represents what we can do for each other spiritually as we bear each other’s burdens and help each other through this life, guiding each other toward the living waters (Joh 5:7-9, Heb 10:24).

The fruit of being blessed with that faith that God grants us in the measure that He gives is witnessed in our ability through Christ to live these words out in own lives (Mar 9:25-26) and to see it unfold in the lives of others… “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.”

Joh 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
Joh 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
Joh 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

This second part of our study with Psalm 102 will look at the deliverance of God and how that deliverance by God’s definition does not mean being delivered from our flesh necessarily, but rather being able to see “the set time” realized, which is the time that we go boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. It is the time when we have lost confidence in our own flesh [brought to our wits’ end] and understand that our lives can only be quickened by putting off that flesh and receiving the new life of Christ’s words that are spirit and that quicken the new man being formed within us.

Heb 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

There is wonderful imagery throughout this Psalm being used to bring us to understand the helpless condition to which God drags his people in our flesh and in our spirits so that we can learn of, and trust in, his mighty hand reconciling us to Himself as He delivers Zion, the body of Christ, by arising and showing us mercy at the throne of grace.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Psa 102:13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.

2Co 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Like all deliverance which God brings to us, it is done in a process and in an order that reassures us that we truly are more than conquerors through Christ and that He is the one granting the grace and faith that we need to endure unto the end.

Deu 7:22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

The trials and lessons which God gives us along the way are so critical to our maturing (Act 14:22) as we’re brought to the point where we are equipped through God’s spirit to save others, as typified so wonderfully in the life of Joseph when he gave his brothers messes of food and changes of raiment that represent the store and provision that God is laying up in the church today (1Ti 4:16, Eph 3:10).

Those who will be fed and clothed spiritually by us in the future will know in time that we had to endure unto the end and lose our life as Christ did for us, so that we could gain life and have that life of Christ formed in us to give to the rest of humanity (that life of Christ is represented by the food and clothing that Joseph gave his brothers). The love and care that we show to each other in Christ as we help each other endure through this life of trials and much tribulation is the needful and necessary training ground that is preparing us to be kings and priests under our Lord.

Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Gen 45:5 Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Gen 43:34 And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin’s mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.

Gen 45:22 To all of them he gave each man changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of raiment.

2Ti 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

God is in the process of showing His people “the set time” or the appointed time that he has determined to bring growth to the body of Christ through trials that mature us in this age (thinking within ourselves Dan 2:20-22, Rev 17:12-14, Rev 12:3). We must initially be bound by that great red dragon within and come to see that we have seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns that all must be destroyed by Christ who is going to do this in “the set time“.

That process of destruction will be looked at in this study, as we consider how God is sovereign over all the powers and principalities of our heavens that He is using to humble us in these marred vessels, in order to come to see his hand that has alway been about His business through our Lord Jesus Christ working within us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Luk 2:49, Php 2:13).

Psa 102:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
Psa 102:7 I watch, and am as a sparrowH6833 alone upon the house top.

Of these three birds mentioned in these two verses, only the sparrow, which is a song bird, was considered a clean bird (Lev 14, Luk 12:6-7).

H6833 tsippôr tsippôr – Phonetic: tsip-pore – Strong’s: From H6852; a little bird (as hopping): – bird fowl sparrow
Total KJV Occurrences: 40
•bird, 22 / birds, 10
Gen_7:14; Lev_14:6(3); Lev_14:7; Lev_14:51(2); Lev_14:52(2); Lev_14:53; Deu_22:6; Job_41:5; Psa_11:1; Psa_124:7; Pro_6:5; Pro_7:23; Pro_26:2; Pro_27:8; Ecc_12:4; Lam_3:52; Hos_11:11; Amo_3:5 / Gen_15:10; Lev_14:4; Lev_14:5; Lev_14:49; Lev_14:50; Deu_14:11; Psa_104:17; Ecc_9:12; Isa_31:5; Eze_39:4

•fowl, 5 / fowls, 1
Deu_4:17; Psa_8:8; Psa_148:10; Eze_17:23; Eze_39:17 / Neh_5:18

•sparrow, 2
Psa_84:3; Psa_102:7

In Leviticus 11:13-19 we learn of the birds that God considered an abomination for Israel to eat, and they included the pelican and the owl.

Lev 11:13 And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
Lev 11:14 And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
Lev 11:15 Every raven after his kind;
Lev 11:16 And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
Lev 11:17 And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
Lev 11:18 And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
Lev 11:19 And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.

These birds represent something symbolic, and so we are not talking about gastronomy when we look at the meaning behind these clean and unclean birds, but rather they are set in scripture to show us a pattern in our heavens that reveals that process by which we are being given dominion over those unclean birds in our heavens as we present ourselves a living sacrifice coming out of Babylon.

Rev 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
Rev 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Son 1:15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.

Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

1Jn 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

Lev 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:
Lev 14:7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

Lev 14:30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get;

It is interesting to note that three birds are mentioned, the first two being unclean and the third, the sparrow, is connected with the thought “I watch” and the “watch[ing] and pray[ing]” of Matthew 26:41, as well as the “watchman unto the house of Israel” of Ezekiel 3:17, with the second part of this verse “alone upon the house top”.

Psa 102:7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.

Mat 26:41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Eze 3:17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

We start off as fishers in the world like Peter or the solitary pelican (Mat 4:18-19) and then we are carried into Babylon, wise in our own conceits (Pro 3:7) saying we see (Joh 9:41), even while we yet abide in darkness, feeding like an owl does in the night (1Th 5:6-9) on unclean animals because, just like the desert, there is no stay of bread or water when we are in Babylon (Isa 3:1).

Mat 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
Mat 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Pro 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

Joh 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
1Th 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water, [referring back to verse 6 of our study: Psa 102:6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl].

Psa 102:8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.

Sin lies at the gate of our hearts “all the day”, and those who were sworn against Paul to destroy him are a type and shadow of the enemy within us at the gate, the flesh which is against the spirit (Gal 5:17) that must be overcome by Christ in us who is our hope of glory (Col 1:27). That hope of overcoming and the process thereof is described in these following verses:

Gen 4:7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Act 23:12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.

Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

Mar 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Mar 3:26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
Mar 3:27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.

We are the first fruits of God who are first to see that we are that wicked generation that is guilty of the blood of all the prophets (Mat 23:35) and only able to overcome because of the grace and faith of Christ that has been provided so that we can bound the strong man (Mar 3:27, Joh 8:36). The parable in (Mark 3:25-27 is talking about a house divided, and that house has a strong man in it by the name of Satan, and so we are learning that it is only through Christ that we can be more than conquerors as we overcome the “strong man” or the powers and principalities in our heavens by a far greater power found in Christ.

Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

1Jn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

The scriptures don’t say what the outcome was of those men who made a vow against Paul (Act 23:12), but symbolically they would represent that part of Paul’s heavens — because all things were for his and our sakes — that has to die. Regardless of whether those men ever ate again (and they probably were loosed from their vow – see “John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible” commentary on Acts 23:12 for an example), symbolically we are already dead men walking who had no stay of bread or water.

2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

Isa 3:1 For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water,

Luk 9:60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

Psa 102:9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping,
Psa 102:10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
Psa 102:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

These next three verses tie into the concept of not having any stay of bread or water, and coming to realize that you’re starving to death like the prodigal son of Luke 15, which represents the spiritually malnourished lives we first must live in Babylon (Luk 15:11-22).

That process we spoke of at the start of this study with that pelican of the wilderness, owl of the desert and sparrow alone upon the house top, is the same process that God takes us through in detail in these three last verses for tonight’s study. It is a glorious outcome that proceeds from having “eaten ashes like bread” and having “mingled my drink with weeping, explained to us in this parable of the prodigal, and it is something the Father makes happen “because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down”. As the Master Potter, He creates us marred in His hand and predestines us to fall a set amount of times (i.e. completely) so that, ultimately, we see how frail and temporary we are, and how we need to see “my days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.” It really is at that point that we come to our senses and cry out “How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!”

Luk 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
Luk 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
Luk 15:13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
Luk 15:14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
Luk 15:15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
Luk 15:16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
Luk 15:17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luk 15:19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
Luk 15:20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
Luk 15:23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
Luk 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

Next week, Lord willing, we will look at Part 3 of our study entitled “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion” as we look at more examples of what the status of our first man Adam must become if we are going to experience God’s mercy in this generation to see more deeply what that “set time is come”, is, was and will be.

Psa 102:12 But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
Psa 102:13 Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
Psa 102:14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof.
Psa 102:15 So the heathen shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
Psa 102:16 When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
Psa 102:17 He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
Psa 102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
Psa 102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
Psa 102:21 To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
Psa 102:22 When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
Psa 102:23 He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days.
Psa 102:24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
Psa 102:25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Psa 102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
Psa 102:27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
Psa 102:28 The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

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