2 Chron 4
Acts 20: 1-3
Psalm 102; Psalm 103; Psalm 104
July 15, 1806
Pike expedition sets out across the American Southwest
Zebulon Pike, the U.S. Army officer who in 1805 led an exploring party in search of the source of the Mississippi River, sets off with a new expedition to explore the American Southwest. Pike was instructed to seek out headwaters of the Arkansas and Red rivers and to investigate Spanish settlements in New Mexico.
Pike and his men left Missouri and traveled through the present-day states of Kansas and Nebraska before reaching Colorado, where he spotted the famous mountain later named in his honor. From there, they traveled down to New Mexico, where they were stopped by Spanish officials and charged with illegal entry into Spanish-held territory. His party was escorted to Santa Fe, then down to Chihuahua, back up through Texas, and finally to the border of the Louisiana Territory, where they were released. Soon after returning to the east, Pike was implicated in a plot with former Vice President Aaron Burr to seize territory in the Southwest for mysterious ends. However, after an investigation, Secretary of State James Madison fully exonerated him.
The information he provided about the U.S. territory in Kansas and Colorado was a great impetus for future U.S. settlement, and his reports about the weakness of Spanish authority in the Southwest stirred talk of future U.S. annexation. Pike later served as a brigadier general during the War of 1812, and in April 1813 he was killed by a British gunpowder bomb after leading a successful attack on York, Canada.
Psalm 102
THEME: Prayer of trouble and sorrow.
This is a messianic psalm that pictures the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane. The writer of this psalm is not mentioned. Since there have been all sorts of guesses as to who wrote it, I will guess that it was David. The inspired inscription of this psalm is “A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the LORD.” This psalm pictures the affliction and humiliation of our Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane. As we will soon find, the Holy Spirit has marked out this psalm as messianic in the New Testament.
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee [Psa 102:1].
Dr. Gaebelein's translation is: “Jehovah, hear My prayer and let My cry come unto Thee!” Here is a case where Jehovah prays to Jehovah! He came in humiliation; yet He was Jehovah manifested in the flesh. In Genesis we find a remarkable statement: “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” (Gen 19:24). In other words, Jehovah on earth asks Jehovah in heaven to bring down judgment. Dr. Gaebelein adds this comment: “But here in humiliation, facing His great work as the sinbearer, the fellow of Jehovah (Zec 13:7) cries unto Him ‘that was able to save Him out of death.’ We have here in prophecy ‘the prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears’ of Gethsemane (Heb 5:7).” And He was heard. But we find here that the wrath of the holy and righteous God fell upon Him because He bore your sins and my sins.
What a glorious and wonderful psalm this is!
Now here we see the deepest woe and agony that man can have:
Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me [Psa 102:8].
This expresses the depth of despair.
Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down [Psa 102:10].
The words indignation and wrath are the strongest terms you can use in the Hebrew language. The Lord endured this. Why? He did it “… for the joy that was set before him …” (Heb 12:2).
But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come [Psa 102:12-13].
Jay