Joel M Bradshaw

18Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
19that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
20to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
21that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.–Psalm 102

Another hard, anonymous psalm. Anyone who is faithful to God and yet still has a hard life is comforted by Psalm 102. We don’t know who he was, but life was terribly difficult for him. It almost reads like a chapter of Job. But he still saw God as faithful and still called upon him for rescue knowing that God would provide.

Spiritually, all sinners are those prisoners doomed to die. Our sins have earned us death (Romans 6:23) and on our own we have no hope to rescue our own situations.

So as the groans of condemned sinners once reached God, the Son was sent. Jesus in Luke 4 with emphasis…

18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Even the great ones like Paul had no answer on his own to this captivity. He could only place his hope in the work of Jesus. Romans 7…

21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So the Father answered the psalmists prayer and furthered his great plan of salvation. Colossians 1…

 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

And Jesus accomplished the great deliverance of the prisoners. First Peter 2…

 24“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25For “you were like sheep going astray,”  but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

So now it’s our turn. We are that generation not yet created that the psalmist pictured. We have been delivered from our sins and shame by the saving work of Jesus. He has heard our groans. We respond in praise. So gather together at your churches this weekend in thanksgiving and worship to the one who has brought hope to your despair and freedom from sin’s captivity!–JMB