Let me tell you something: life will have its ups and downs.  But you already know that don’t you?  And sometimes the downs seem to win out.  That or we feel those downs more than the ups.  Or maybe it’s the change from the mountaintops of the ups to the valleys of the downs that gets us.  The writer of Psalm 102 was definitely aware of the downs.  Listen to some of the words he used to describe his life at times: “cry, trouble, consumed, smitten, withered, groaning, reproach, weeping, and shadow.”  I’d say he was definitely facing the downs.  However, with all he was facing, he knew the one key for victory.  That key is found, first of all in verse 12.  “But Thou, O Lord….”  He lifted his eyes from the down and looked up to His God.  Sometimes we use the word “but” and it carries us in the wrong direction.  In this case though, his use of the word “but” was what saved him.  “But Thou, O Lord….”  What was it about His Lord that carried him and lifted him up?  “But Thou, O Lord, shalt endure forever” (v. 12), and “But Thou art the same” (v. 27).  With all the changes, all the ups and downs, and all the uncertainties, the writer never forgot the unchanging nature, the unchanging presence, and the unchanging power of God.  Yes, life will keep having ups and downs.  So, in those downs, remember “But Thou, O Lord.”  And by the way, it’s something to remember in the ups, too!  But that’s another thought for another “Pastor’s Heart.”