Welcome to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. Check us out online at www.sharonrpc.org. We pray that this message will be a blessing to you and that the Lord will use it to transform your faith and your life. Well, good morning. Good to have you this Saturday morning. Thanks so much for joining me. This is where every day we get together, we get into God's Word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2021, we'll make it through all of the wisdom literature. Well, today we are at Psalm 102. Psalm 102. We're almost caught up, so we'll do devotions today, and then we'll also do them tonight at 9 o'clock. And then we'll start on our normal daily at just 9 a.m. starting tomorrow. So thanks so much for joining me. Why don't we go ahead and we'll have some coffee. We'll pray and we'll get into God's Word. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for your listening ear and your loving disposition towards us. Father, we pray that we might hear these words, that you might apply them to our hearts. In Jesus's name, amen. All right, why don't we go ahead and turn over to our Bible now. Here we go, Psalm 102. A prayer for the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. I just want to stop right there and say, isn't it amazing that this psalm's title is a psalm or a prayer of the afflicted. Again, this is one of the things I love about the psalms. They're so raw and honest. Do you have a complaint that you need to bring before the Lord? Do you have a tribulation, a trial, something that's burdening your soul that you need to bring to the Lord? Well, here, the Lord shows us that this can be done. Well, let's go ahead and read the body of the psalm here. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to you. Do not hide your face from me in the day of my trouble. Incline your ear to me in the day that I call. Answer me speedily, for my days are consumed like smoke. and my bones are burdened like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass so that I forget to eat my bread. Because of the sound of my groaning, my bones cling to my skin. I am like a pelican of the wilderness. I'm like an owl of the desert. I lie awake and I'm like a sparrow alone on the housetop. My enemies reproach me all day long. Those who deride me swear an oath against me. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and have mingled my drink with weeping. Because of your indignation and your wrath, for you have lifted me up and cast me away. My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass. I just want to stop real quick. Do you hear the heart of the psalmist here? Know that the Lord sympathizes with those who are weak. He empathizes with those who are hurting. This is inspired by God. This crying out to the Lord. God himself wrote these words. He inspired these words. It's amazing the raw honesty that there is in there. My heart is stricken and withered like grass so that I forget to eat my bread. Have you ever cried so much that the tears are like drops coming out of your eyes and dripping down. I remember reading a letter when I was doing my research for my master's thesis. And as this woman had gone to her daughter's grave for the first time, she wrote a letter to her husband. And I couldn't make out all the words in the letter because some of the ink was blotched and runny from her tears. The picture here is that the psalmist is crying so bad that the tears are dropping into the very cup that they're going to drink from. They've lost all sense of hunger. Maybe you've been in that place, that place of grieving, that place of trial, that place of anxiety and concern and worry that you haven't even been able to eat your food, your appetite is gone. The Lord hears you at those times. You can cry out to him in the darkest of pain, in the loneliest of hours, in the times of trouble. But you, O Lord, shall endure forever. And the remembrance of your name to all generations, you will arise and have mercy on Zion. for the time to favor her. Yes, the set time has come for your servants take pleasure in her stones and show favor to her dust. So the nation shall fear the name of the Lord and all the kings of the earth. your glory for the lord shall build up zion he shall appear in his glory he shall regard the people of the destitute and shall not despise their prayer the time has come right what does this part start with as it turns but you oh lord shall endure forever see brothers and sisters i don't know the dark hour that you might be in right now I don't know the anguish that might be in your soul right now. I don't know if you're in that place that you're praying right now with prayers beyond groanings that only the spirit can understand what you're saying. But I'm telling you that this is only the night. The dawn will come. And the Lord endures forever. The Lord raises up and he remembers his people. Delight in him. Wait for him. Have hope in him. Dawn comes after the night. This will be written for the generations to come, that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord, for He looked down from the heights of His sanctuary, from the heavens the Lord viewed the earth, to hear the groaning of the prisoner, to declare those appointed to death, to declare the name of the Lord in Zion and His praises in Jerusalem. When the peoples are gathered together and the kingdoms to serve the Lord, comes and he loves. He looks down from the heavens and he sees those who love him. He remembers those who have come to worship him. My weakness and my strength in the way, he shortened my days. I said, oh my God, do not take me away in the midst of my days. Your years are throughout all generations. Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, they will all grow old like a garment, like a cloak. You will change them. They will be changed, but you are the same, and your years will have no end. the children of your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before you." Do you see how the psalmist comforts? Do you see where the psalmist finds their hope? God is of old. From everlasting to everlasting. He was there before the mountains. He'll always be there. And what does the last word say? But you are the same and your years will have no end. The children of your servants will continue and their disservants will be established before you. Again, I don't know. I don't know the struggle you're going through right now. Maybe you are on your deathbed, but do you know that the children of the Lord will endure forever? that in the light of eternity, our life is just a drop in the bucket of our existence with God forever. This is why we die in the Lord. This is why we're those who do not mourn without hope, but we mourn with hope. Because the Lord, the Lord doesn't change. The Lord's eternal. He remembers His people. He remembers them forever. In this dark time, go to the light. Trust in God. Hope in Him. Light comes after the darkness. Let's pray. Father, we thank You so much for the hope that You give us. We thank You for Your love and Your mercy, Your kindness and Your goodness. Father, we pray that we would walk after you. Love you with all of our hearts. Please give us a joy that never ends. In Jesus's name, amen. May the Lord comfort your heart today with the light of his peace. I'll see you tomorrow. Or no, I'll see you tonight. Bye. Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.