³ For my days vanish like smoke;
my bones burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
I forget to eat my food.
⁵ In my distress I groan aloud
and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl,
like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake; I have become
like a bird alone on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes as my food
and mingle my drink with tears
¹⁰ because of your great wrath,
for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.

¹² But you, Lord, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
¹³ You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
¹⁴ For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶ For the Lord will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.

¹⁸ Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
¹⁹ “The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high,
from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death.”
²¹ So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem
²² when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship the Lord.

²³ In the course of my life he broke my strength;
he cut short my days.
²⁴ So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
your years go on through all generations.
²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
and they will be discarded.
²⁷ But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.
²⁸ The children of your servants will live in your presence;
their descendants will be established before you.”

Reflect

This psalm records a heartfelt cry to God from someone described as “afflicted and faint.”  His lament to God offers some helpful direction to us when we face difficult times that can be summarized in two words…honesty and perspective.  In the midst of his pain, the psalmist is honest with God.  His prayer contains no pretence, just an honest expression of how he is feeling.  God invites us to come to him honestly.  The second word is perspective.  In verses 25-28, the psalmist sets his struggles (which are temporary) against the timelessness and unchanging nature of God.  Tough times can overwhelm us if we lose God’s greater perspective.  If you find yourself feeling anxious and defeated by life’s circumstances, follow the psalmist’s example and honestly lift your heart’s cry to God, asking Him to renew your perspective.

Pastor Lyle

 Pray

• Pray that God’s Spirit would work powerfully and effectively in all the various activities taking place on our church calendar this weekend.
• Pray for our Property Development Team.
• Pray for these missionaries our church supports, Nick & Iris Hung in Nigeria.
• Pray for the NAB Conference in Chicago.
• Pray for the nation of Canada. Pray that God would bring spiritual renewal to Edmonton and the churches in our land.