Yet hope was unquenchable, and with her fear kept pace a driving and relentless spirit.”
–Zane Grey (The Border Legion)
“For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”
“For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.”
–Job 5:18 (NKJV)
———————————–
I hope you didn’t stay in the mulligrubs from where I left off last Monday with the first part of Psalm 102. We left in the “woes” of pain, sorrow, despair, and discomfort. But take heart, it is in those times that we learn to pray, where we moan for the Lord to help us. Stephen Marshall wrote, “A man that is destitute knows how to pray. He needs not an instructor. His miseries indoctrinate him wonderfully in the art of prayer. Let us know ourselves destitute that we might know how to pray.” Friend, without the Lord we are truly destitute.
12 — But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 — You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come.
14 — For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and show favor to her dust.
15 — So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 — For the LORD shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.
17 — He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer. (NKJV)
Right from the start, we see that the Psalmist recognized the character of God. His greatness and mercy. It is important in the midst of the uncertainties of the times, in the midst of our personal trials that we know–we know–that God sits on the throne. He is working, always, and in due time He will arise to act. This is true, not only for us as individuals, but in this case referring to Israel.
God is a builder, but He is also a rebuilder. Here we see that Jerusalem is in rubble, yet the people take pleasure in the stones and the dust. How? Why? Because they know that God will keep His covenant. He will rebuild Jerusalem. John wrote, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:10, NKJV)
The Lord will appear, He will reign out of the City of David, the whole earth, every country, every kingdom, every leader will bow to Him. All will fear and show reverence to the Lord of Glory. The prayers of the downtrodden and destitute will be answered in completeness. But this is not only about the Millennial Reign of Christ; it is not just about the restoration of Jerusalem and Israel–it is about each of us as well. We have walls that have crumbled in one way or another. We cry out for the Lord to hear us. It may be feeble, but He does hear. He will build and rebuild our lives, but we need to cry out to Him, and even in this day, in this hour, He will not despise our prayer, but will reach down to bring us to Him.
“Lord, teach us how to pray aright
With reverence and with fear;
Though weak and sinful in your sight,
We may, we must draw near.”
–James Montgomery
———————————–
I hope you didn’t stay in the mulligrubs from where I left off last Monday with the first part of Psalm 102. We left in the “woes” of pain, sorrow, despair, and discomfort. But take heart, it is in those times that we learn to pray, where we moan for the Lord to help us. Stephen Marshall wrote, “A man that is destitute knows how to pray. He needs not an instructor. His miseries indoctrinate him wonderfully in the art of prayer. Let us know ourselves destitute that we might know how to pray.” Friend, without the Lord we are truly destitute.
12 — But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations.
13 — You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favor her, yes, the set time, has come.
14 — For Your servants take pleasure in her stones, and show favor to her dust.
15 — So the nations shall fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth Your glory.
16 — For the LORD shall build up Zion; He shall appear in His glory.
17 — He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, and shall not despise their prayer. (NKJV)
Right from the start, we see that the Psalmist recognized the character of God. His greatness and mercy. It is important in the midst of the uncertainties of the times, in the midst of our personal trials that we know–we know–that God sits on the throne. He is working, always, and in due time He will arise to act. This is true, not only for us as individuals, but in this case referring to Israel.
God is a builder, but He is also a rebuilder. Here we see that Jerusalem is in rubble, yet the people take pleasure in the stones and the dust. How? Why? Because they know that God will keep His covenant. He will rebuild Jerusalem. John wrote, “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:10, NKJV)
The Lord will appear, He will reign out of the City of David, the whole earth, every country, every kingdom, every leader will bow to Him. All will fear and show reverence to the Lord of Glory. The prayers of the downtrodden and destitute will be answered in completeness. But this is not only about the Millennial Reign of Christ; it is not just about the restoration of Jerusalem and Israel–it is about each of us as well. We have walls that have crumbled in one way or another. We cry out for the Lord to hear us. It may be feeble, but He does hear. He will build and rebuild our lives, but we need to cry out to Him, and even in this day, in this hour, He will not despise our prayer, but will reach down to bring us to Him.
“Lord, teach us how to pray aright
With reverence and with fear;
Though weak and sinful in your sight,
We may, we must draw near.”
–James Montgomery