“But You, O LORD.” These four words mark a significant turning point in Psalm 102. The psalmist has been describing his frail and vulnerable condition. He is like smoke that vanishes and grass that withers. He is distressed by illness, feeling both lonely and rejected (v 1-11). Is everything hopeless then? By no means, for he trusts in a God who is not at all like that. “But You, O LORD, are enthroned forever; You are remembered throughout all generations” (v 12). These words are not spoken out of bitterness, as if the psalmist resents how such a majestic God would care so little about his own feeble state. And they are not spoken with a demanding attitude, as if God owes him a better life. It may sound spiritual when someone claims a healing in Jesus’ name, but it is not a Biblical way of praying. God does heal, and we are not wrong to ask for such blessings. But perfect health is not our right, and God may accomplish a higher purpose through our sickness. So like the psalmist, we should simply turn to the LORD in humble faith, reminding ourselves that God is sovereign and our circumstances are no accident. Whatever happens, no matter how unstable your life becomes, you can anchor yourself in the eternity of God. Now that the psalmist has turned his focus from self to God, he finds himself thinking about other situations and other people. Some disaster has left his city in ruins, and many have become destitute or imprisoned. Seeing a parallel between his own condition and that of his city, he prays for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, which he realizes is the greater of the two disasters (v 13-17). But not only does he pray for his own people, the psalmist’s concern actually extends to all the nations of the world, whom he sees coming to worship the LORD at some future day. This is nothing less than a worldwide missionary outlook, a reminder to us that people of every tribe and tongue need to hear the gospel of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ (v 15, 21-22). One of the most fascinating things about the transformed perspective of the psalmist is that it extends not only outward geographically but also forward into time. He is confident that what God is about to do in delivering His people will be recorded in writing as a source of blessing for future generations. By God’s grace, this includes us! In every era God is at work, creating a new generation of His people. As the New Testament puts it, once we were “not a people,” but through the new birth we are re-created to be “God’s people.” There will always be those who are praising God for how He frees them from their bondage to sin and saves them from the death sentence (v 18-20). For further meditation: