Psalm 102:18
Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Psalm 102
We pick up Psalm 102 with verse 12. Up to this point, the psalmist is in great distress. He is isolated and lonely. His condition is in such despair that he forgets to eat. His friends have abandoned him and his enemies taunt him. But his greatest loss is that God has turned his back on him. The sin of the world is being placed on Jesus and God’s abandonment is almost more than he can bear.
But even in this depressed state, Jesus begins to praise God and acknowledge the eternal hope that his sacrifice will bring to the world. “The appointed time has come” (vs 13) for God to show His people how much He loves them. It’s time for the Messiah to take up the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice will bless the nation of Israel (vs. 13). This blessing will also extend to the Gentile nations and “all the kings of the earth will revere your glory” (vs. 15).
The psalmist tells us a specific prophecy in verse 16: “For the Lord will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory.” The reference to Zion is a reference to both the physical location of the city of Jerusalem as well as symbolic of God’s covenant with Israel. Through the kingship of Jesus, God will restore the nation of Israel and restore the earth from the curse of sin. We read about this future event in Revelation: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal” (Rev 21:10-11).
There’s a lot going on in this section of Psalm 102. The psalmist is speaking about the imminent event in his life where he will be crucified to show favor on his people. The psalmist is also speaking about the second coming of Jesus where he will establish his reign over the New Jerusalem. We also see the psalmist give reference to our generation between those two events. “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord” (vs. 18). What follows is a quotation of what was written specifically for us:
“The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death” (vs. 19-20).
God looked down from heaven and saw all the people who had not even been created yet, and sent his son to release us from the death sentence of sin so that we could praise the Lord. And again we hear the psalmist tell us that our response to God’s favor on us is to praise the Lord.
If this psalm is read from the perspective of Jesus, he is in great distress as God has abandoned him and placed the sin of the world on his shoulders. He is facing the pain and curse of the cross. And his thoughts turn to us, a future generation not yet created, and says it’s all worth it because he wants us to be free from the curse of sin. This is indeed worthy of our praise!
Christ in the Old Testament 
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