#833 Patriotic Affliction

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

let my cry come to you!

2 Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress!

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call!

3 For my days pass away like smoke,

and my bones burn like a furnace.

4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;

I forget to eat my bread.

5 Because of my loud groaning

my bones cling to my flesh.

6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,

like an owl of the waste places;

7 I lie awake;

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.

8 All the day my enemies taunt me;

those who deride me use my name for a curse.

9 For I eat ashes like bread

and mingle tears with my drink,

10 because of your indignation and anger;

for you have taken me up and thrown me down.

11 My days are like an evening shadow;

I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;

you are remembered throughout all generations.

13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;

it is the time to favor her;

the appointed time has come.

14 For your servants hold her stones dear

and have pity on her dust.

15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,

and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.

16 For the Lord builds up Zion;

he appears in his glory;

17 he regards the prayer of the destitute

and does not despise their prayer.

18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,

so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:

19 that he looked down from his holy height;

from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,

to set free those who were doomed to die,

21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,

and in Jerusalem his praise,

22 when peoples gather together,

and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23 He has broken my strength in midcourse;

he has shortened my days.

24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away

in the midst of my days—

you whose years endure

throughout all generations!”

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26 They will perish, but you will remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,

27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.

28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;

their offspring shall be established before you. Psalm 102 ESV

A Psalm or "prayer of the afflicted."

Let my cry come to you - This is not someone who prays for the exercise of it, he believes in God, and knows there is within the Creator all the ability to hear, understand better than the prayer can speak, and to answer. If you have nothing to sorrow over, nothing to pray about, nothing that is above or beyond your present ability, then you are blind, and you therefore have much to petition God about.

…17 in order that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him. 18 I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,… Ephesians 1: 17-19

For my days pass away like smoke - He has asked and hoped for a speedy reply because of urgency. His internal resources are spent, dried up, and if he has been faithful in this then they are like incense almost used up. 

- The psalmist was moved to grief by a view of national calamities, and these so wrought upon his patriotic soul that he was wasted with anxiety, his spirits were dried up, and his very life was ready to expire. There is hope for any country which owns such a son; no nation can die while true hearts are ready to die for it. - C. H. Spurgeon

I forget to eat my bread - So much is he bothered by this, that not by choice of fasting, but through the course of overwhelming sorrow, anxiety has taken away his appetite. This is a most hurtful place to be, and to remain there will drive a man insane, tearing down the body and the mind all at once. It is surely, in our minds, the end, but hope will still petition that we die in favor at the very least, yet it may not be the end at all.

Like an owl of the waste places - He is alone, and I think Spurgeon shared his laments when he saw the church of his day falling away. We strutted like game cocks, boasting of numbers and programs, but was the Lord in that place? Where are these lone owls, hurt over the walking away from sound doctrine, in tears over the cross being made into an industry? I shall not defend myself any longer, but God please take all these things out of me. Let the mourning come, let sorrow shape me and let it be known that You are the restorer of my soul, if my countenance comes back then let men praise You. Again, let my honor be that Christ was glorified. 

Those who deride me use my name for a curse - 

13 Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 just as many were appalled at You— His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness— 15 so He will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For they will see what they have not been told, and they will understand what they have not heard.… Isaiah 52: 13-15

…3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 4 Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. 5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.… Isaiah 53: 3-5

But You, O Lord, are enthroned forever - Outside of my ticking clock, Your decrees have been established, and Your word cannot fail, though I may faint and wither like the grass, You are Lord forever. I shall make my appeal to the top, the outside and beyond, Lord save this place, restore it to the joy of Your salvation. God, please bring about a true revival, changed hearts and renewed minds. Forgive this country for the blood of innocence that covers all our hands, for greed, for pride, because the prayer of the broken and contrite You will hear. Make us so.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come - What is true religion in his day will be in the next, for God does not change. It has been said that we are always only a generation away from forgetting, from demise, and the lifting up of ourselves to a throne in Babel once again. Bring up a child in the way that they should go, not the way they want, not in the way of culture or superstition, but in humility before the God of the universe. I went far away from what my mother taught me. I loved the world and the things of the world, but many years later God so graciously breathed into my life, and those things I was taught long ago now appeared as light. If we do not raise our Children in a way that shows them that our affections are turned toward God and the things of God, that knowing Him is our priority, then we have made them spiritual orphans. 

To set free those who were doomed to die - Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. 

…17 the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: 18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”… Luke 4: 17-19

They will perish, but You will remain - God is without beginning or end, wrap your mind around that and then you will see how little you understand, and how great a God we may petition through Christ. This present state is not permanent, our oppressors are temporary, so pray.

…34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away. 36 No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.… Matthew 24: 34-36