Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble and I'm your host for the Bible recap.

It's a Psalm day, and we got three in a row this time, no flipping around.

We opened with Psalm 102.

It's a personal lament, but the Psalmist also applies his prayers and concerns to Israel

at large.

Whoever wrote this, feels certain God will hear him and even ask God to respond quickly.

He feels utterly alone and his body is breaking under the stress and sadness.

We don't know the reason for his distress, but it seems like he doesn't either.

And in that way, this Psalm is probably a comfort to you if you're in a spot where you

can't make sense of why things are happening to you the way they are.

In verses 9-10, the Psalmist attributes his pain to God's anger.

Maybe he's wrong and God's not angry, and this is just some emotion the Psalmist is feeling.

But if he's right and God's angry, then since God only ever gets angry at sin, we can

assume his circumstances are the result of his sin and he's being disciplined into repentance.

In verse 9, he also mentions ashes, which is another confusing reference that leaves us

uncertain about what's happening.

Ashes are common signs of both mourning and repentance.

So when he says he eats ashes, maybe he's mourning, but maybe he's repenting?

Then he juxtaposes his temporary affliction with God's eternal reign.

I think it's a wonderful transition, but it's also probably comforting to him.

By remembering the relationship God has with his people, he reminds himself that God will

rescue him somehow, someday. He knows that Yahweh will help Israel.

...