Saint Louis, Missouri, United States - 2014 Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Reverend Wayne Palmer "Poured Out" for Thursday, 27 March 2014 - Read Psalm 102

Saint Louis, Missouri, United States - 2014 Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Reverend Wayne Palmer "Poured Out" for Thursday, 27 March 2014 - Read Psalm 102: A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before Yahweh.
1 Hear my prayer, Yahweh!
    Let my cry come to you.
2 Don’t hide your face from me in the day of my distress.
    Turn your ear to me.
    Answer me quickly in the day when I call.
3 For my days consume away like smoke.
    My bones are burned as a torch.
4 My heart is blighted like grass, and withered,
    for I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning,
    my bones stick to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness.
    I have become as an owl of the waste places.
7     I watch, and have become like a sparrow that is alone on the housetop.
8 My enemies reproach me all day.
    Those who are mad at me use my name as a curse.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
    and mixed my drink with tears,
10 Because of your indignation and your wrath,
    for you have taken me up, and thrown me away.
11 My days are like a long shadow.
    I have withered like grass.
12 But you, Yahweh, will remain forever;
    your renown endures to all generations.
13 You will arise and have mercy on Zion;
    for it is time to have pity on her.
    Yes, the set time has come.
14 For your servants take pleasure in her stones,
    and have pity on her dust.
15 So the nations will fear Yahweh’s name;
    all the kings of the earth your glory.
16 For Yahweh has built up Zion.
    He has appeared in his glory.
17 He has responded to the prayer of the destitute,
    and has not despised their prayer.
18 This will be written for the generation to come.
    A people which will be created will praise Yah.
19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary.
    From heaven, Yahweh saw the earth;
20 to hear the groans of the prisoner;
    to free those who are condemned to death;
21 that men may declare Yahweh’s name in Zion,
    and his praise in Jerusalem;
22 when the peoples are gathered together,
    the kingdoms, to serve Yahweh.
23 He weakened my strength along the course.
    He shortened my days.
24 I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the middle of my days.
    Your years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth.
    The heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will endure.
    Yes, all of them will wear out like a garment.
    You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed.
27 But you are the same.
    Your years will have no end.
28 The children of your servants will continue.
    Their offspring[a] will be established before you.”
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 102:28 or, seed
TEXT: I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint (see Psalm 22:14).
Jesus is exhausted. He spent the previous night in prayer, pleading with His Father to take away the cup-the suffering that was about to befall Him. Jesus didn't fear death, but He struggled with being forsaken by His Father and being lashed with His fiery wrath at our sins. Three hours later He came out of the garden composed and ready-but physically drained.
That was only the beginnings of His sufferings. After condemning Him, the Jewish high court punched, slapped and struck Him. Pilate's soldiers savagely flogged Him, drove a crown of thorns down over His head, and struck Him over the head repeatedly with a reed. The heavy cross bar was placed on His bloody shoulders, and He was forced to carry it to the place of execution. He was a strong man, a carpenter, but the abuse He suffered for our sins was so great He collapsed under the weight. Too weak and weary to carry it all the way Himself, the Roman soldiers finally ordered a bystander in the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, to carry it the rest of the way.
Psalm 22 masterfully describes this exhaustion, "I am poured out like water." 
Then King David adds an incredible prophetic detail, "All my bones are out of joint." In this grisly form of execution, the weight of the body hangs on the arms, putting tremendous strain on the joints in the arms and shoulders. It's as though He was stretched on the rack. What makes this passage so remarkable is that King David was completely unfamiliar with crucifixion, yet he describes it in incredible detail. And those details will become even more striking in the verses to follow.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, what sufferings You endured to free me of my sins and God's wrath. Receive my heartfelt gratitude and praise forever. Amen.
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