Today’s Word
Ego, Again
My enemies have taunted me all day long; those who deride me have used my name as a curse. Psalm 102:8 NASB Deride – The psalmist finally gets down to the real reason for his complaint. It took a while. All those verses about how he feels—abandoned, anxious, abused, avoided, alone—come down to this: “My enemies taunt me and…
The Kitchen Window
I lie awake, I have become like a solitary bird on a housetop. Psalm 102:7 NASB Solitary – From the kitchen window of our home in Parma, we look out on the roof of the condominium next door. Nearly every day a pigeon flies to the corner of that roof and sits. I assume it is…
Ornithology
I resemble a pelican of the wilderness; I have become like an owl of the ruins. Psalm 102:6 NASB Pelican/ owl – Why pelican? Why owl? First, let’s address the Christian mythology about the pelican. It starts with Thomas Aquinas. During the breeding season, the Dalmatian pelican’s pouch turns blood red, and the birds often press…
The Dead Speak
Because of the loudness of my groaning my bones cling to my flesh. Psalm 102:5 NASB Loudness – Read this again. How can the volume of my groaning be the cause of bones clinging to flesh? Does sound have anything to do with the consequences of malnutrition? In fact, severely malnourished human beings, bones exposed because of…
The Lawnmower
My heart has been struck like grass and has withered, Indeed, I forget to eat my bread. Psalm 102:4 NASB Has been struck – We might use the idiom “Go pound sand!” but I’ve never heard anyone say, “Go beat grass!” That makes me wonder what the psalmist had in mind when he chose this verb, nākâ. Certainly…
The Sacrificed Life
For my days have ended in smoke, and my bones have been scorched like a hearth. Psalm 102:3 NASB Have ended – Legacy. Does that term bother you? Do you think about what you will leave behind? Ecclesiastes suggests that your legacy better not be money, fame, or power. Those ephemeral status symbols won’t mean much after…
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