BIRDWATCHING (Psalm 102)

When I sit at my desk in my study at home, I can see the bird feeder in the front yard just outside the window. It is one of my favorite spots. (You know you are getting old when you enjoy just sitting around watching the birds.)

One of my favorite authors, Vance Havner, was famous for birdwatching. He could walk through the woods and identify a bird just by its sound, telling you exactly what it was.

We are going birdwatching today in Psalm 102. What an amazing psalm it is. Rather lengthy at 28 verses, we will not study it all in this space but I want to bring you to one portion of it that I believe is the heart and soul of the psalm.

The inscription or title of the psalm contains these words: “A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pourers out his complaint before the Lord.” Psalm 102 was the prayer of an afflicted man. It might have been David at one of the many tumultuous times in his life. However, the author is not mentioned in the title, perhaps because it is an “everyman” prayer. We all have times when we are overwhelmed or afflicted, having to pour out our hearts to God. Psalm 102 is for all of us.

Most of all, it is a picture of the afflictions of the God-man, Jesus Christ. We cannot delve into that too deeply right now, but it is a messianic psalm. It has been called “the Psalm of Gethsemane,” and there are some keywords such as “withered” in verse 4 that paint a vivid picture of the death of Christ.

The word “weeping” in verse 9 is a picture of Gethsemane, and “wrath” in verse 10 suggests Golgotha. If you study and meditate on Psalm 102, you will see not only David but Jesus.

This psalm contains principles for every one of us. Interestingly enough, it is a patriot’s burden. The author was concerned for his nation of Israel, which should speak to us as our own nation is in deep need today.

But this great burden leads us to the smallest thing which reveals the heart of God. The understanding of the greatness of God is seen in a sparrow.

Verses 6-12: “I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top. Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping. Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.”

God shows us several things here, the first of which is the birds. Which ones does He choose?

Not the eagle. You don’t soar every day. The Bible says in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Notice the change from flying to running to walking. This is to emphasize that you don’t soar up in the skies all the time. God does not use the proud peacock or the selfish vulture to make His point. Sometimes you just put one foot in front of the other because you are simply a sparrow.

Notice the birds that are seen here. We have the pelican, which is a bird of solitude. Sometimes we feel like we are all alone. There is the owl, a picture of gloom and melancholy.

Then we are brought to the sparrow, the smallest and most insignificant of all birds. But I would remind you that not one sparrow falls to the ground without the Father’s knowledge. Jesus spoke of that in Matthew 10, a reminder of God’s love for the least.

You may feel very small, insignificant, and overwhelmed today, like “a sparrow alone” in verse 7. But you are not alone because God is with you. This verse gives us an image of a bird looking out over an entire city for a place of rest.

These birds are meant to remind us that while we are looking, God is looking at us. He shows us not only the birds but also their circumstances.

The pelican is in the wilderness, a place of barrenness. Are you dry and barren today?

The owl is in the desert, literally in the ruins. Maybe you are sitting in what feels like a shambles right now, wondering if things can ever be made whole again.

The sparrow is alone, with no companions. God has a way of getting us alone to bring us to Himself. Ultimately, God is not just showing us birds or their circumstances in Psalm 102. He is showing us Himself.

Verse 12: “But thou, O Lord, shall endure for ever.” Sparrows will come and go, but our God remains.

Verse 19: “For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth.” He is above all of the birds, high and low. He never changes.

Some days I soar. Some days I sit alone. But God is always on His throne.

Why does God use something as weak as a sparrow? Why does He allow us to get alone like the sparrow in this psalm?

Verse 23 begins, “He weakened my strength in the way.” I don’t like the sound of that at all. I have never prayed for my strength to be weakened. The Lord does this because He does not want us in our own strength. He wants us in His strength. The only way to get us there is to first get us to our weaknesses.

God chooses the weak things of the world to make strong.

The psalmist, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used the sparrow to remind us that we are nothing and God is everything.

David was a sparrow alone, but he knew God. Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was a sparrow alone, weak and wounded, but He rose from the dead.

Sometimes you will feel like a sparrow alone. But you are never alone; God is always with you.

Civilla D. Martin was an invalid woman living in New York, and she heard of a woman in great distress and discouragement. She rode 50 miles to read and sing to this woman, and she was a blessing as she ministered to her.

“Do you ever get discouraged?” the woman asked.

“How can I be discouraged when I know my Father watches over each little sparrow, and I know He loves and cares for me?”

Martin soon wrote the words that became the backbone of a timeless hymn: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

God has His eyes on every little bird today, and He has His eyes on you. Keep your eyes on Him, and you will find that the Lord will meet you in the most overwhelming moments of your life.