LIKE A PELICAN, OWL, and SPARROW

"I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop" (Psalm 102:6-7)

The Psalmist pours out his heart to God as one that is being afflicted. He has been cut off, as it was, from people, and finds no solace in the presence of any of his peers. He feels alone and forsaken, and likens himself to mournful fowls of the air, noted for hiding in caves and dens, and bleating strange sounds. Other versions refer to these birds as "an owl of the wilderness . . . little owl of the waste places . . . . a lonely bird on the housetop." All of them are dwellers in desolate and foreboding places: wilderness, desert (waste places), and housetop. Isaiah and Zephaniah tell us such birds are associated with abandoned and uninhabited places (Isa 34:11-15; Zeph 2:14).

This is what the "sweet Psalmist" of Israel felt like–a mournful bird in an uninhabited place, without company or songs of joy. This is, as the KJV says, "A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed." Like Job, the Psalmist felt like "a companion to owls" (Job 30:29).

How is it that a person trusting in God can be reduced to such despair–a forlornness that constrains them to be alone, and makes them melancholy? Some would deny such experiences ever occur in the saints. Others view such a thing as sin, and are crushed with guilt when they happen. Those living by faith, however, acknowledge the occurrence of such things, and seek to comprehend them.

This is part of being a "stranger and pilgrim" in this world (1 Pet 2:11; Heb 13:14). In the experience, it is confirmed that we are NOT of this world, but are being prepared for the "world to come." These are times when God hides His face (Isa 45:15), revealing more fully our absolute dependency upon Him. In this experience, the creative mind can no longer create. The strong and able person is no longer strong and able. The conclusive frailty of what we are by nature is brought before our eyes.

It is then that we know we must be led to "to the rock that is higher than I" (Psa 61:2). By the grace of God, faith must waft us into higher realms, where nature is overshadowed with glory!

The experience depicted in this Psalm is a "door of hope" in a spiritual wilderness. It is the means our Lord uses to bring us into a fuller realization of His power and glory. It is a way He employs to help us let go of the flesh.