Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. It is impossible that any of
the sons of men could ever grasp the depths of the soul sufferings
of Christ. Yet for our learning and humbling
he has seen fit to give us a record of them in the Psalms. Psalm
102 is one of those Psalms. The very title of this Psalm
is a prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed and pours
out his complaint before the Lord. He begins this record by
calling upon the one in whom he trusted, and whose will he
came to perform in the earth. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let
my cry come unto thee. Christ became the afflicted for
us. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth
all his bones, not one of them is broken. For my days are consumed
like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. What anguish
of heart is upon him as he sees his life consumed and feels the
pain of the sin of his people in his very bones. Every day
of his life he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, and
not one of those for whom he underwent this suffering either
understood it, nor could any stand with him in the midst of
it. My heart is smitten and withered
like grass, so that I forget to eat my bread." We read that
he spent much time in prayer and fasting. His fasting was
not some religious exercise which he undertook out of habit or
conformity to dogma, but rather the burden of our sin which he
bore was so great, it occupied his mind and heart to the extent
that he forgot to eat. I am like a pelican of the wilderness,
I am like an owl of the desert. I watch, and am as a sparrow
alone upon the housetop. Both the owl and the pelican
are solitary birds. You will not find a flock of
owls, nor a group of pelicans. The Lord Jesus Christ had meat
to eat that the world knew not of. He trod the winepress of
God's wrath alone, and there was no beauty seen in Him by
the men of this world. While sparrows are generally
seen in great flocks, fleeting about here and there, yet he
likens himself to a single sparrow, which is indeed an oddity in
the natural realm. There is none like him. No one
else could or would have undertaken our redemption apart from him
who loved his own, even unto the death of the cross. Forasmuch
as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb
without blemish and without spot, thou shalt arise and have mercy
upon Zion for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come.
How glorious it is to consider that before the world was ever
formed, the Lord of Glory determined a particular hour wherein He
would manifest the deliverance of His people upon whom He would
show mercy. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law. Herein has
he demonstrated his great favor to Zion, which he chose in Christ
from before the foundation of the world. The whole creation
centers around this set time. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things. This is indeed that
set time which prompts all of creation to fall upon their faces
and worship Him who is the beginning and the end. The reign of Christ
is set forth as we see Him fulfill that new covenant which He promised
to give. I will put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God and they
shall be my people. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Not only has he canceled the
debt of sin which his people owed, but he has made an offering
which could and has taken away their sin, not only judicially,
but in their heart and mind. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified, that is, set apart. This is reconciliation. Those who were rebels by choice
and nature do now throw down their arms and worship at his
footstool, loving even the dust and stones of his kingdom. For
a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be
a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents
of wickedness. Are you reconciled unto him who
suffered for sinners? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.