The consensus on the organization of this particular psalm is divided. Very many commentators call this a penitential psalm. It is also one of the Messianic psalms as well. May we observe today and next week in this psalm a comparison between the experience and the expectations of this unknown psalmist. There is also here the clash of realities as well. The all to very human reality of struggle compared with the triumph of God's will in Christ Jesus.

We may divide this psalm into three parts. In verses one through eleven we sense the suffering that we share with Christ in our earthly struggles. In verse twelve through twenty-two we share in his eager anticipation of the Kingdom to come. And finally in verses twenty-three to twenty-eight we hear the words from God that we know barely half of His glorious plan and providence. Today, we will consider on the first two portions.

We know that the prayer and praise of this psalm is Messianic in nature from the letter to the Hebrews. Verses twenty-five to twenty-seven are quoted almost verbatim in Hebrews 1: 10-12. Derek Kidner tells us that "The epistle opens our eyes to what would otherwise be brought out by the LXX of verse 23f, namely that the Father is here replying to the Son, 'through whom all things were made'; and this implies that the sufferer throughout th psalm is the Son incarnate." And it is to the Lord's anointed that the final section is addressed directly from God the Father. Let us carefully consider this experience and expectation credited to our Lord and Savior.

This psalm begins as do many prayerful psalms, "Hear my prayer, O Lord". Our Lord here understands our own human experience because He became as we are that God's plan and purpose to save us might be fulfilled. In this section He knows our temporary estate, He understands our limited vision and He feels the contempt of the world around us. How many times in the last few years have I heard from many of you that friends who were close before conversion have drifted away with your acceptance of Jesus as Lord. It is this pain the Christ here suffers in that the world created by Him has rejected Him. It is our honor and high privilege to share in that worldly experience as well. But, that experience is difficult. Notice the psalmist's understanding of the passing of time. It is like smoke. And the older we grow the shorter are the winters and other three seasons. Time rolls along bearing, as the hymn tells us, "all its sons away".

In verse six the psalmist compares his experience to that of a lonely bird inhabiting the ruins. Spurgeon likens this verse to our position in the last hundred years in a declining Church. As the Church, which was once taken up in verse ten and then thrown aside, we can certainly appreciate the general decline in orthodoxy and spirituality. The taunt of enemies is increasing, the actions of biblical Christians are cursed. Truth is labeled falsehood and grievous sin has become the established normality. One Christian commentator observed ten years ago, that the worst of the Sodomites are more welcome at Washington parties than the least offensive of evangelical Christians.

Like Christ's very human experience we of His Church appear to be like the evening shadow and the world waits for us to wither away like grass. "But you, O Lord", declares the psalmist, "shall endure forever". In these words, the psalmist turns the corner from experience to expectation. Our psalmist expects the reality of Christ's eventual triumph, even as the author of Hebrews places these prayerful words into the mouth of Jesus. In Him was the appointed time which came. It was His compassion and tears that were directed towards Zion. Even the stones that were scattered in the Roman destruction were precious, as was the dust which aroused His pity. Even the destruction of Zion and the weakening of the Church will not keep God's plan from being perfected. The nations will fear the name of the Lord and all the kings of the earth will revere Christ's glory.

Just as the Eastern block has fallen and the expectant Church raised up, so will the Lord restore His own. If His saints will but pray He will not despise their plea. I wonder if so much energy displayed in Wichita had been focused on gathering larger crowds for public prayer might not have been more effective? How many more people would be willing to gather for prayer rather than protest? Will God continue to ignore the pleadings of His people to bring an end to our social and economic tyrannies? God will act, of that the psalmist is certain. Of course we must understand the fact that His timing will not be our own. Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones in Great Britain spent his life praying for revival in the United Kingdom. We still wait for the rebuilding of Christ's Church even as the psalmist waited for the appearance of God's glorious Messiah.

His words were written to be passed on to a future generation. People not yet alive would hear His words and praise the Lord for His fulfillment. God our psalmist asserts has a bird's eye view of space and time. He hears the groans of those who are prisoners to sin and He plans the release of those condemned to death for their sins. Because of His complete awareness of the limiting factors within which we live He will provide deliverance. Look at verse twenty-one. There is His plan. The name of the Lord will be declared and His Church will praise Him. But notice the limiting factor there in verse twenty-two: "when the peoples are gathered together and the kingdoms, to serve the Lord." This is why we assemble in order that through our worship His Name might be declared and the praise of His Church might publicly be displayed. May our faithfulness in prayer, worship and witness serve the cause of Christ as we eagerly await His coming and the triumph of His cause. Amen.