WEBVTT 00:00:00.650 --> 00:00:03.149 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:06.209 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.870 --> 00:00:08.750 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.750 --> 00:00:11.169 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:14.150 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:16.469 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10am in 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:18.809 the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.329 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.609 --> 00:00:25.030 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:30.609 sermon. God Bless. Lord, thank you for your holy 00:00:30.609 --> 00:00:33.189 word. Thank you that you give it to us out of 00:00:33.189 --> 00:00:36.810 love, to guide us in your paths, to teach us 00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:40.670 of you, to teach us about ourselves. God, I pray 00:00:40.670 --> 00:00:43.130 that this morning we would know you better, that 00:00:43.130 --> 00:00:46.109 we would look to you. Maybe that we would do 00:00:46.109 --> 00:00:49.509 some good self -assessment and that we would 00:00:49.509 --> 00:00:53.609 see Jesus. God, bless now the words of my mouth. 00:00:53.689 --> 00:00:56.299 Bless the meditations of our hearts. Would they 00:00:56.299 --> 00:00:58.219 be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our rock and 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:02.619 our Redeemer? Amen. All right, we are back in 00:01:02.619 --> 00:01:06.079 the Psalms. Actually, you all were back in the 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:10.159 Psalms last week, but we are back in the Psalms 00:01:10.159 --> 00:01:12.780 together. And actually, this is the 12th summer 00:01:12.780 --> 00:01:17.500 that we've been in the Psalms together. My first 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:20.859 Sunday with you all was the last Sunday of June 00:01:20.859 --> 00:01:26.319 in 2015. That makes this the 12th summer. And 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:31.599 we began with Psalm 1 long ago. I've told you 00:01:31.599 --> 00:01:33.219 this in the past, but I'll tell you again, there's 00:01:33.219 --> 00:01:34.799 a few different reasons why we've done this. 00:01:34.799 --> 00:01:36.540 Some of them are practical reasons. Let me give 00:01:36.540 --> 00:01:38.379 you a couple of practical reasons why we do the 00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:41.140 Psalms in the summer. One of the practical reasons 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.640 is because the Psalms are kind of one -offs, 00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:49.819 meaning that if you look at Psalm 76, you don't 00:01:49.819 --> 00:01:52.280 necessarily have to jump to 77 to understand 00:01:52.280 --> 00:01:54.459 76. Actually, you don't really have to do that. 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:56.680 You know, but if we're looking at many of the 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:58.719 books in the Bible and you, oh, I don't know, 00:01:58.719 --> 00:02:02.319 you're on vacation for a week or two or three 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:03.900 or however many times you're gone during the 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:05.819 summer, it's going to be hard to follow that. 00:02:06.040 --> 00:02:07.780 It's going to be hard to follow kind of the argument 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:09.580 that's being made in a given book of the Bible. 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:11.620 But with the Psalms, they're good. It's a good 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:14.659 series for vacations. You guys, you know, you're 00:02:14.659 --> 00:02:16.860 going to be gone. I was gone last week. We can 00:02:16.860 --> 00:02:19.099 kind of jump back in. So that's one practical 00:02:19.099 --> 00:02:21.379 reason. Some Psalms go together, Psalm 1 and 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:24.870 2, Psalm 9 and 10. Some Psalms, so the people 00:02:24.870 --> 00:02:26.610 think those were actually written to go together. 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:28.629 Some Psalms just work really well together. Psalm 00:02:28.629 --> 00:02:32.030 104, 105, that kind of thing. But many of the 00:02:32.030 --> 00:02:34.610 Psalms are one -offs. And so it invites the summer 00:02:34.610 --> 00:02:37.210 kind of life of in and out that so many of us 00:02:37.210 --> 00:02:40.050 live in. But there's another reason, another 00:02:40.050 --> 00:02:42.689 practical reason is, and that's that most preachers 00:02:42.689 --> 00:02:46.889 have preached a Psalm. And so for me, sometimes 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:48.370 I have a hard time finding somebody to preach 00:02:48.370 --> 00:02:50.530 for me, not so much now that Jed's around and 00:02:50.530 --> 00:02:53.129 Dale's here. Sometimes it's been really hard 00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:56.229 to find somebody. Like last week, I asked five 00:02:56.229 --> 00:02:57.889 different people about serving communion. We 00:02:57.889 --> 00:03:00.229 believe that the Bible teaches that ordained 00:03:00.229 --> 00:03:02.629 ministers are ordained to word in sacrament and 00:03:02.629 --> 00:03:05.310 the sacraments are to be administered by pastors. 00:03:05.490 --> 00:03:08.750 And so I can't find anyone. And sometimes that 00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:10.689 actually has happened in the past with preaching. 00:03:12.289 --> 00:03:14.250 Jonathan knows this because it's happened. It's 00:03:14.250 --> 00:03:15.710 been kind of stressful for the session. What 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:18.770 do we do? Peter plans to be away. We can't find 00:03:18.770 --> 00:03:21.629 anybody. Well, oftentimes I can call somebody 00:03:21.629 --> 00:03:23.129 and say, hey, all you have to do is just bring 00:03:23.129 --> 00:03:25.729 your psalm. And they're like, oh, good. OK, I've 00:03:25.729 --> 00:03:30.270 got that. So it's kind of practical. Anyway, 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:32.430 as practical as some of the reasons are, there's 00:03:32.430 --> 00:03:35.050 also just some theological reasons, some spiritual 00:03:35.050 --> 00:03:37.870 reasons why we come back to the Psalms each summer. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:42.460 And partly I just want to say it's for our spiritual 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:46.560 good that we sit in the Psalms. Two quick reasons 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.199 why it's for our spiritual good. One, I think 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:51.979 it's a good healthy diet of the Bible. Right 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:53.939 the fall we do Old Testament New Testament from 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:55.699 about Christmas to Easter. We're in the Gospels 00:03:55.699 --> 00:03:57.680 We do a series like ten commandments and we come 00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:59.979 back to the Psalms and part of that is is just 00:03:59.979 --> 00:04:02.439 like how in our in our Services we have the Old 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:04.780 Testament the New Testament and the Gospels in 00:04:04.780 --> 00:04:06.599 the Psalms That's often how the Bible is broken 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:08.780 down into these like major categories. The Psalms 00:04:08.780 --> 00:04:12.580 are its own category often and So to have a healthy 00:04:12.580 --> 00:04:15.620 diet of scripture is to at least spend some time 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:17.699 in the Psalms. We believe that all scripture 00:04:18.029 --> 00:04:21.589 is given by God and it's useful for us for our 00:04:21.589 --> 00:04:23.329 correction, for our training in righteousness, 00:04:23.470 --> 00:04:25.230 for all the rest that we would be equipped for 00:04:25.230 --> 00:04:27.850 every good work. And all scripture, and a big 00:04:27.850 --> 00:04:31.930 part of all scripture is the Psalms. So one spiritual 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:34.149 reason is it's a Bible diet. Another spiritual 00:04:34.149 --> 00:04:37.029 reason is that the Psalms are the devotional 00:04:37.029 --> 00:04:40.430 book of the Bible, devotional book in church 00:04:40.430 --> 00:04:44.860 history for sure. They are songs. Actually, this 00:04:44.860 --> 00:04:48.720 one, did you notice that it was given? It said 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:53.680 that it's a song and that it's according to Juddathan, 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:58.079 which is probably a tune. Sounds like kind of 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.579 a funny tune name, but it's a song, it says, 00:05:00.779 --> 00:05:02.860 and it's actually written for a specific tune, 00:05:02.939 --> 00:05:05.199 which is kind of interesting, but they're songs. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:08.319 which is say that this is a hymn book, but it's 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.259 also a prayer book. People have always said that 00:05:10.259 --> 00:05:12.899 this is the great prayer book of the Bible. We 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:15.759 say this is the great sort of devotional book 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.319 of the Bible. One thing that we were at a camp 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.100 this week, a family camp, Christian family camp, 00:05:22.259 --> 00:05:24.920 and the speaker actually referred to the Psalms 00:05:24.920 --> 00:05:29.959 as the journals of the Bible. He said they're 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:31.800 journals for the journey. They go all the way 00:05:31.800 --> 00:05:38.459 through the journey of life. So I hope that that's 00:05:38.459 --> 00:05:39.839 what problems are for you, that they actually 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:41.800 kind of give voice to the different experiences 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:44.459 that you have in life, because God wants us to 00:05:44.459 --> 00:05:47.220 bring all of life to Him, all of it. He wants 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:50.660 us to live all of our lives with Him, which means 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:52.980 that, you know, the days that you want to just 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:55.120 roll the windows down, driving down Front Street, 00:05:56.060 --> 00:05:58.100 or if I don't think any of you have a convertible, 00:05:58.120 --> 00:05:59.500 but it's, you know, the days where you just want 00:05:59.500 --> 00:06:00.959 to have a convertible and you want to turn up 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:04.420 the tunes and you want to sing. I'm gonna have 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:07.600 a, oh wait, how's it go? Thank you, that's what 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:09.279 I was thinking. That's what I was thinking. I'm 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.720 about to have a good day in every single way. 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:16.800 You know, just like, yeah. But also the days 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:18.779 when you're like, I don't want to get out of 00:06:18.779 --> 00:06:22.819 bed. I don't want to get out of bed today. You 00:06:22.819 --> 00:06:26.160 know, Psalm 13, I'm sleeping the sleep of death. 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:30.639 That's what it says. Because God, where are you? 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:33.699 How long? Why have you forgotten me? That's all. 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.860 Because God wants you to bring all of your life 00:06:36.860 --> 00:06:40.199 to Him, all of it. And that's my desire for you 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:43.259 is to kind of learn this summer in, summer out. 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:47.100 God is always saying, bring it all to me. Live 00:06:47.100 --> 00:06:50.639 your life with me. That you will have this in 00:06:50.639 --> 00:06:54.439 your bones, this devotional life with God, that 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:56.519 you'll find it your joy to live all of your life, 00:06:56.620 --> 00:07:00.240 even the stuff you want to hide. with God. So 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.259 journal entries. It's one way to think about 00:07:02.259 --> 00:07:08.620 the Psalms. And I like that because I do think 00:07:08.620 --> 00:07:10.339 there's a temptation to think that you need to 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:14.240 go to God as a good Christian. You know, do you 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:18.540 know this? Like, I'm feeling good about my life 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:20.579 and so I'm going to show up to church. I think 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:22.839 I can bring myself to God today, even though 00:07:22.839 --> 00:07:25.160 we confess our sins every week, right? We kind 00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:27.050 of feel like we kind of... We've got to go to 00:07:27.050 --> 00:07:29.170 God as good Christians. That's what we sometimes 00:07:29.170 --> 00:07:32.670 think. It's kind of like how we post on social 00:07:32.670 --> 00:07:36.050 media, right? We normally post... We don't post 00:07:36.050 --> 00:07:41.949 the sink full of dishes pictures. We don't post 00:07:41.949 --> 00:07:43.629 the pictures of ourselves after we've had too 00:07:43.629 --> 00:07:46.230 much pasta and you just feel kind of bloated. 00:07:46.689 --> 00:07:49.350 That's not going up on social media, right? It's 00:07:49.350 --> 00:07:52.529 like, I got a nice fresh dew. I'll do that. Okay, 00:07:52.529 --> 00:07:56.009 that sounds better. And we're tempted to kind 00:07:56.009 --> 00:07:58.569 of go to think of our life with God like that. 00:07:58.610 --> 00:08:00.949 I'm not going to show him this stuff. I'm going 00:08:00.949 --> 00:08:04.629 to show him that stuff. But the Psalms invite 00:08:04.629 --> 00:08:08.209 us to bring all of it, all of it to him. All 00:08:08.209 --> 00:08:10.449 of our doubts and our struggles and our questions. 00:08:10.550 --> 00:08:13.189 That's part of what's in Psalm 77, our questions. 00:08:15.569 --> 00:08:18.610 Some of our struggles with not having maybe sufficient 00:08:18.610 --> 00:08:20.810 answers for some of the big questions in life. 00:08:20.990 --> 00:08:23.750 just all of it. God wants us to bring all of 00:08:23.750 --> 00:08:27.269 it to Him. And so we come to Psalm 77. It's kind 00:08:27.269 --> 00:08:30.709 of a long introduction back into the Psalms, 00:08:30.709 --> 00:08:34.570 but also to this Psalm. We come to this Psalm, 00:08:34.990 --> 00:08:40.090 and Psalm 77 is a Psalm of lament. Lament. What's 00:08:40.090 --> 00:08:44.590 lamenting? Lamenting is expressing sort of sorrow, 00:08:45.909 --> 00:08:51.000 maybe frustration. questions about the pain and 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.440 the wrongness of things, the wrongness of the 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:56.980 world, the wrongness of our lives. Lament gives 00:08:56.980 --> 00:08:59.559 voice to the reality that things are not as they 00:08:59.559 --> 00:09:03.539 should be. And I don't know, if you're a new 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:05.299 Christian, maybe this would surprise you. Maybe 00:09:05.299 --> 00:09:06.500 if you've been a Christian a long time, maybe 00:09:06.500 --> 00:09:08.399 you haven't heard this, but lament is the largest 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:12.200 category of the Psalms. Isn't that interesting? 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:15.559 When you come to sing to God, don't you often 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.389 think you come and you sing song? songs of praise. 00:09:18.970 --> 00:09:21.470 Lord, we worship you. You know, we want to clap 00:09:21.470 --> 00:09:24.409 our hands. That's in the Psalms too. But the 00:09:24.409 --> 00:09:27.190 largest category of Psalms are, what's going 00:09:27.190 --> 00:09:34.269 on here? Why is it like this? Lament. There's 00:09:34.269 --> 00:09:38.269 actually 65 Psalms of lament, and there's 150 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:41.409 Psalms, so it's almost half, like 40 % or so, 00:09:41.429 --> 00:09:44.649 a little over 40 % of the Psalms are Psalms of 00:09:44.649 --> 00:09:47.409 lament. And this is one of those And I think 00:09:47.409 --> 00:09:48.830 there's just something to learn just in that, 00:09:49.009 --> 00:09:52.090 okay, before we actually look at Psalm 77. There's 00:09:52.090 --> 00:09:55.610 something to learn in this. God wants your laments. 00:09:58.230 --> 00:10:01.870 He desires you to share them with him. God, why 00:10:01.870 --> 00:10:05.309 did this happen? And why am I so full of questions? 00:10:05.370 --> 00:10:08.710 Why do you seem so far off? Those are all in 00:10:08.710 --> 00:10:13.470 the Psalms, those questions. He gives us words 00:10:13.470 --> 00:10:18.549 to express back to him. how we lament that things 00:10:18.549 --> 00:10:23.710 are not as they're supposed to be. Yesterday 00:10:23.710 --> 00:10:26.450 we were driving home from the Adirondacks. It 00:10:26.450 --> 00:10:30.409 was raining the whole time. And one of my kids 00:10:30.409 --> 00:10:35.590 asked me quite a bit, how long, Dad? How long? 00:10:35.590 --> 00:10:37.210 How much longer? I was like, there's a Psalm 00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:39.129 for that. There is a Psalm for that. It's actually 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:41.769 the same one I mentioned earlier about sleeping 00:10:41.769 --> 00:10:45.539 the sleep of death, Psalm 13. How long, oh Lord, 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:47.299 will you forget me forever? How long are we going 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:51.320 to be on this car ride in this rain? Anyway, 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:56.039 Psalm 77 is a lament psalm. And this psalm is 00:10:56.039 --> 00:10:58.779 broken down into two main sections, but you probably 00:10:58.779 --> 00:11:00.500 heard when I read it that it's actually broken 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:02.259 into four sections, because there were three 00:11:02.259 --> 00:11:08.059 times that there was that word salah. Why that's 00:11:08.059 --> 00:11:10.039 salah and not an English word is because we actually 00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:12.980 don't necessarily know what it means. We think 00:11:12.980 --> 00:11:15.340 it means something like rest or peace, but we 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:18.059 don't know. That's why it's not translated. But 00:11:18.059 --> 00:11:19.960 it makes sense. A lot of times the psalmist use 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:23.399 it as a break. So it's probably like, hey, pause 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:25.759 here for a guitar solo, and then we'll get back 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:29.080 into it. It's instrumental pause possibly. We 00:11:29.080 --> 00:11:31.200 don't totally know. But it's broken down into 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:35.049 four sections, but it's two main sections. And 00:11:35.049 --> 00:11:36.809 I want to suggest that these two main sections 00:11:36.809 --> 00:11:40.529 first talk about our cries of remembrance, so 00:11:40.529 --> 00:11:43.509 our lament of remembrance, and then actually 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:46.110 our confession of remembrance, okay? Our cries 00:11:46.110 --> 00:11:47.870 of remembrance and our confession of remembrance. 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:50.870 So first, our cries of remembrance. And the first 00:11:50.870 --> 00:11:54.750 little section here, the first part, one to three, 00:11:54.769 --> 00:11:59.730 leading up to the first salah there, is cries 00:11:59.730 --> 00:12:03.690 in the night, cries in the dark places. It cries 00:12:03.690 --> 00:12:05.909 when you're kind of alone. So here's what it 00:12:05.909 --> 00:12:09.190 says, I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he 00:12:09.190 --> 00:12:12.450 will hear me. In the day of my trouble, I seek 00:12:12.450 --> 00:12:14.789 the Lord in the night. My hand is stretched out 00:12:14.789 --> 00:12:19.850 without wearying. My soul refuses to be comforted. 00:12:19.870 --> 00:12:23.950 When I remember God, I moan. When I meditate, 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:26.490 my spirit faints. It's actually kind of interesting. 00:12:27.070 --> 00:12:29.610 Commentators say this is kind of a tricky thing. 00:12:30.759 --> 00:12:33.600 Is he crying aloud to God and being heard or 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.120 not? Well, it seems like as you walk through 00:12:36.120 --> 00:12:38.960 it, he's crying out to God and he's saying, actually, 00:12:39.799 --> 00:12:45.220 I'm not getting any response here. I'm just moaning. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:52.740 Where are you, God? What seems to be the case 00:12:52.740 --> 00:12:56.059 is that Asaph here isn't seeing God responding, 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:58.019 isn't hearing him responding, isn't seeing him 00:12:58.019 --> 00:13:02.200 at work in his life. In the day of my trouble, 00:13:02.259 --> 00:13:05.200 I seek the Lord at my night. My hand is stretched 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:07.320 out without wearing, meaning it's not stopping. 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:11.000 He's reaching out to God. Reaching out your hands 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:12.940 in the Bible is oftentimes, at least towards 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:16.940 God, is the posture of prayer. That's partly 00:13:16.940 --> 00:13:20.159 why we often pray raising our hands. It's one 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:21.980 of the great postures of prayer in the Bible. 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:24.759 By the way, actually, the Bible never mentions 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:28.639 people praying seated. Isn't that interesting? 00:13:28.909 --> 00:13:31.049 but most often they're praying stretching out 00:13:31.049 --> 00:13:33.429 and so he's doing this he's doing it without 00:13:33.429 --> 00:13:35.370 weary but he keeps reaching out and it seems 00:13:35.370 --> 00:13:37.370 as though god is not answering his prayer that's 00:13:37.370 --> 00:13:41.370 what that image is my soul refuses to be comforted 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:43.450 he keeps reaching out and he's saying god where 00:13:43.450 --> 00:13:54.509 where are you when i remember god i moan um his 00:13:54.509 --> 00:13:58.899 spirit is fainting in his meditation Because 00:13:58.899 --> 00:14:02.299 though he's reaching out, he's going, God, where 00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:07.919 are you? Reaching out, saying, God bless me, 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:10.639 like we often do at the end of our services, 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:12.159 right? During the benediction, you reach out 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.039 and you say, Lord, please bless me. It's like 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:15.960 he's doing that. God, please bless me. And he's 00:14:15.960 --> 00:14:19.200 saying, I'm just crying out here in the night. 00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:22.500 And it seems as though I'm all alone and you're 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:29.960 not showing up. My spirit is fainting. Now I 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:33.879 want to say, I hope that you find that there's 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:37.019 something deeply refreshing actually about this. 00:14:37.379 --> 00:14:41.440 It's kind of raw, the idea of moaning before 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.100 God, but also, so it's kind of wild that this 00:14:44.100 --> 00:14:45.720 is there, but it's also very refreshing that 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:51.139 this is in the Bible, that the Bible actually 00:14:51.139 --> 00:14:55.269 knows our experiences, right? It's not trying 00:14:55.269 --> 00:14:57.610 to just sugarcoat things and say, ah, everything's 00:14:57.610 --> 00:15:01.289 going to be fine all the time. Don't worry about 00:15:01.289 --> 00:15:08.809 it. God actually knows our experiences, and he 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:12.029 gives us words to express them back to him. There's 00:15:12.029 --> 00:15:14.190 an Old Testament scholar, Herbert Leupold, he 00:15:14.190 --> 00:15:18.940 said, Why does God let things go on as long and 00:15:18.940 --> 00:15:22.139 as tragically as they do without giving any tokens 00:15:22.139 --> 00:15:26.059 of His interest and concern? Isn't it just kind 00:15:26.059 --> 00:15:27.700 of nice to know that there are people who are 00:15:27.700 --> 00:15:30.580 committed to following the Word, who love the 00:15:30.580 --> 00:15:33.039 Lord, and who know that that's part of our experience 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:36.059 in life? I mean, an Old Testament scholar is 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:38.039 saying sometimes it seems as though God doesn't 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:40.139 have concern for the trials that we're experiencing, 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:45.370 and Asaph is giving us voice words from Holy 00:15:45.370 --> 00:15:47.990 Scripture themselves to express that to God. 00:15:50.669 --> 00:15:52.889 Of course, this psalm, because of this reality, 00:15:53.370 --> 00:15:55.210 has resonated with lots of Christians over the 00:15:55.210 --> 00:16:00.350 years. So if you know of the great British London 00:16:00.350 --> 00:16:03.669 preacher, Charles Spurgeon, he was preaching 00:16:03.669 --> 00:16:06.529 in the latter half of the 19th century. He wrote 00:16:06.809 --> 00:16:09.350 three volumes on the Psalms. I consult them pretty 00:16:09.350 --> 00:16:11.370 much every time I'm preaching the Psalms. It's 00:16:11.370 --> 00:16:13.590 called the Treasury of David. And he worked on 00:16:13.590 --> 00:16:19.250 that for 20 years from 1865 to 1885. Well pretty 00:16:19.250 --> 00:16:22.750 much that whole time he was incredibly ill. He 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:27.710 had a lot of illness in his life. He had horrible 00:16:27.710 --> 00:16:29.690 health and it actually led to his death eventually 00:16:29.690 --> 00:16:32.490 in 1892. So about seven years after he finished 00:16:32.490 --> 00:16:37.429 his work on the Psalms. He had neuralgia, gout, 00:16:37.690 --> 00:16:40.429 he had terrible headaches, probably like migraines, 00:16:40.710 --> 00:16:45.309 and he had unbelievable deep, long bouts of depression. 00:16:45.710 --> 00:16:47.570 And a lot of people think that depression was 00:16:47.570 --> 00:16:50.450 so related to his health. But anyway, in Psalm 00:16:50.450 --> 00:16:53.070 77, this is part of what he wrote about Psalm 00:16:53.070 --> 00:16:57.190 77. He said, some of us know what it is, both 00:16:57.190 --> 00:17:00.269 physically and spiritually, to be compelled to 00:17:00.269 --> 00:17:04.359 use these words. this idea of moaning before 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:08.720 God. No respite has been afforded us by the silence 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:13.819 of the night. You want to get some rest at night 00:17:13.819 --> 00:17:18.279 and you can't? Our bed has been a rack to us, 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:21.960 our body has been a torment, and our spirit is 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:24.240 in anguish. It's one of the greatest preachers 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:26.779 of the 19th century. He knows the experience 00:17:26.779 --> 00:17:30.380 of your spirit being in anguish. Alas, my God, 00:17:30.420 --> 00:17:33.599 the writer of this exposition, meaning himself, 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:39.839 well knows what thy servant Asaph meant for his 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:43.539 soul, meaning his own Spurgeon's, is familiar 00:17:43.539 --> 00:17:47.500 with the way of grief, deep glens and lonely 00:17:47.500 --> 00:17:52.519 caves of my soul's depressions. My spirit knows 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:57.940 full well your awful glooms. I was one of the 00:17:57.940 --> 00:18:01.079 greatest preachers alive in the 19th century. 00:18:01.339 --> 00:18:08.240 knew the experience of this psalm. So there are 00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:12.099 cries in the night. There are cries of remembrance. 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:16.059 God, why? What's going on? I'm trying to remember 00:18:16.059 --> 00:18:17.759 you and I just feel like I'm moaning and my spirit 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:21.119 is fainting. And then the second part actually 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.920 moves towards the cries of remembrance, but they're 00:18:23.920 --> 00:18:27.099 remembering former days. So the next section. 00:18:28.119 --> 00:18:31.500 You hold my eyelids open. I'm so troubled that 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:35.559 I cannot speak. I consider the days of old the 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:40.299 years long ago. I said, let me remember my song 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:43.900 in the night. Let me meditate in my heart. Then 00:18:43.900 --> 00:18:48.480 my spirit made a diligent search. Will the Lord 00:18:48.480 --> 00:18:53.079 spurn forever and ever again be favorable? Has 00:18:53.079 --> 00:18:57.549 His steadfast love forever ceased? are his promises 00:18:57.549 --> 00:19:00.210 at an end for all time. Has God forgotten to 00:19:00.210 --> 00:19:04.269 be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?" 00:19:04.269 --> 00:19:06.690 So he's saying, let me remember what God has 00:19:06.690 --> 00:19:09.430 done. But then when he goes to remember it, he's 00:19:09.430 --> 00:19:11.009 crying in the present because he's saying that 00:19:11.009 --> 00:19:13.609 was back then. And I don't know if that's actually 00:19:13.609 --> 00:19:20.670 still the reality. Of course, as he does this, 00:19:20.829 --> 00:19:23.089 he then goes into these questions, right? These 00:19:23.089 --> 00:19:25.170 questions that you heard in seven to nine, but 00:19:25.170 --> 00:19:28.049 let me read them again for you. Will the Lord 00:19:28.049 --> 00:19:31.589 spurn forever and never again be favorable? Has 00:19:31.589 --> 00:19:34.910 His steadfast love forever ceased? Are His promises 00:19:34.910 --> 00:19:38.150 at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to 00:19:38.150 --> 00:19:42.650 be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His compassion? 00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:48.519 I mean, just this lament of where is he? Has 00:19:48.519 --> 00:19:57.339 he changed? Does the Lord reject us? Can he cease 00:19:57.339 --> 00:20:01.200 to love the ones that he once loved? Has his 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.339 character changed? And the answer, the right 00:20:03.339 --> 00:20:09.839 answer is no, right? No. But he's sitting in 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:12.519 this, he's sitting in all these questions. And 00:20:12.519 --> 00:20:14.500 I think that, again, there's just something almost 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:19.240 refreshingly powerful about this being in Holy 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:26.420 Scripture. So honest. It's honesty that's directed 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:32.660 God -ward. So, I actually don't have this in 00:20:32.660 --> 00:20:36.900 my notes here, but I want to pause here. Please, 00:20:38.259 --> 00:20:43.180 in your times of deep doubt, please go to God 00:20:43.180 --> 00:20:46.009 with them. Even if you're like, God, I'm not 00:20:46.009 --> 00:20:49.410 even sure that I believe you're around, that 00:20:49.410 --> 00:20:51.869 you care. You know, the big questions of religion, 00:20:51.970 --> 00:20:55.089 is God there? Does He care? I don't know if I 00:20:55.089 --> 00:20:57.549 believe those, but please ask Him that. Tell 00:20:57.549 --> 00:21:00.029 Him that. That's part of the invitation of the 00:21:00.029 --> 00:21:01.809 Psalms. That's part of this invitation right 00:21:01.809 --> 00:21:09.589 here. One writer wrote this, doubts are better 00:21:09.589 --> 00:21:12.869 put into plain speech than lying diffused and 00:21:12.869 --> 00:21:16.890 darkening. Just let it sit there give voice to 00:21:16.890 --> 00:21:22.250 it Like poison like poisonous mist it says a 00:21:22.250 --> 00:21:27.650 thought be a good or bad can be death Sorry dealt 00:21:27.650 --> 00:21:33.970 with when it's made articulate I Give words To 00:21:33.970 --> 00:21:36.430 this experience and give them God or that's the 00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:39.890 invitation of this song Bring your cries to God 00:21:39.890 --> 00:21:44.349 Bring your sleepless nights to God Bring your 00:21:44.349 --> 00:21:46.809 remembrances of how, man, and back then it felt 00:21:46.809 --> 00:21:49.809 like communion with the Lord was so sweet. I'm 00:21:49.809 --> 00:21:54.609 not feeling it now. Bring it to God. Bring your 00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:58.549 questions. Bring your doubts. Bring all of it. 00:22:00.509 --> 00:22:02.990 But here's something that this psalm is also 00:22:02.990 --> 00:22:05.569 doing. It's saying, you know, it's giving us 00:22:05.569 --> 00:22:07.650 these cries of remembrance of what's happened 00:22:07.650 --> 00:22:10.630 and it's inviting us to cry out. But it's also 00:22:10.630 --> 00:22:13.900 saying, bring your confession of remembrance 00:22:13.900 --> 00:22:18.059 also. There's this shift that happens. So verse 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:20.339 10, I'm gonna actually read this a couple of 00:22:20.339 --> 00:22:23.660 times, but verse 10 says this, then I said, there's 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:26.420 a shift after that second silah, I will appeal 00:22:26.420 --> 00:22:30.099 to this, to the years of the right hand of the 00:22:30.099 --> 00:22:33.900 Most High. So he's saying, wait a second, then 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:38.329 let me remember this other reality. Let me remember 00:22:38.329 --> 00:22:43.170 the confession of who God is. Verse 11, I will 00:22:43.170 --> 00:22:46.049 remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember 00:22:46.049 --> 00:22:51.410 your wonders of old. And then he starts confessing. 00:22:51.509 --> 00:22:54.369 He's not just crying out about his estate, but 00:22:54.369 --> 00:22:58.549 he's confessing who God is. And I want you to 00:22:58.549 --> 00:23:02.430 know something that is really important about 00:23:02.430 --> 00:23:05.569 this Psalm and really important about our our 00:23:05.569 --> 00:23:09.230 personal experiences that I think you'll notice 00:23:09.230 --> 00:23:11.410 if you sit in the Psalm for not very long, but 00:23:11.410 --> 00:23:13.390 when we just read it quickly and then I start 00:23:13.390 --> 00:23:17.890 talking about it, maybe you didn't notice. But 00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:21.390 for the first half of this Psalm, large ASAP, 00:23:21.970 --> 00:23:25.150 do I need more batteries? Is this coming in and 00:23:25.150 --> 00:23:29.390 out? You're following me fine. For the first 00:23:29.390 --> 00:23:32.450 half of this Psalm, ASAP is largely talking about 00:23:32.450 --> 00:23:35.779 himself. It's just his experience. He's just 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:38.519 looking at his situation and there's a whole 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:40.359 lot of I's, there's a whole lot of me's, there's 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:44.440 a whole lot of my's. In fact, in those first 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:49.480 six verses, the first person pronouns are used 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:55.720 18 times and God is mentioned six times. And 00:23:55.720 --> 00:23:57.940 I was reading this over and I was thinking about 00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:03.799 this and Listen to this, for example, verse six. 00:24:03.940 --> 00:24:08.180 I said, let me remember my song in the night. 00:24:08.299 --> 00:24:13.059 Let me meditate on my heart. Do you see how just 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:17.279 directed it is towards himself? He's in this 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:19.519 dark, deep place and he's wondering where God 00:24:19.519 --> 00:24:25.920 is, but he's so focused on him. So eight times 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:29.680 first person pronouns. Sorry, 18 times in those 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:31.579 verses, in those same verses, six references 00:24:31.579 --> 00:24:35.799 to God. And if you are looking at yourself three 00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:38.140 times as much as you were looking at God, this 00:24:38.140 --> 00:24:40.559 is often where you end up. Actually, let me say 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:43.559 this. When I am looking at myself three times 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:45.700 as much as I'm looking at God, this is often 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:51.900 where I end up. In a dark place, sleepless nights, 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:56.160 wondering, God, what's going on? Why this, why 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:03.730 that, what's going on? That kind of self -orientation 00:25:03.730 --> 00:25:07.309 often leads down this road, okay? And the turning 00:25:07.309 --> 00:25:09.650 point in this Psalm is when he begins to look 00:25:09.650 --> 00:25:14.710 more at the Lord, who he is, his character, what 00:25:14.710 --> 00:25:22.450 he's done, his redemption. So it says, I'll remember 00:25:22.450 --> 00:25:24.470 verse 11 and 12, I'll remember the deeds of the 00:25:24.470 --> 00:25:27.009 Lord. Yes, I'll remember your wonders of old. 00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:30.220 I will ponder all your work. and meditate on 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:34.720 your mighty deeds." So His character and His 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:36.440 redemption. A few things about God's character 00:25:36.440 --> 00:25:38.799 that we have mentioned really explicitly here. 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:42.460 One, if you look down at verse 13, it's read 00:25:42.460 --> 00:25:48.980 at 11 and 12. First, He says, God is holy. And 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:50.579 of course, there's lots that could be said about 00:25:50.579 --> 00:25:54.700 the holiness of God. There's a whole book that's 00:25:54.700 --> 00:25:58.569 titled, The Holiness of God. But for this psalm, 00:25:58.569 --> 00:26:00.210 and I think the point of this psalm, it's enough 00:26:00.210 --> 00:26:03.549 to say that the holiness, God's holiness, has 00:26:03.549 --> 00:26:06.869 to be, has to do with His being set apart and 00:26:06.869 --> 00:26:10.930 altogether distinct and different. Which is to 00:26:10.930 --> 00:26:17.569 say His ways are not our ways, right? His paths 00:26:17.569 --> 00:26:23.390 are not always our paths. Maybe you've heard 00:26:23.390 --> 00:26:28.519 pastors say this jokingly, I think. God loves 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:34.279 you and I have a great plan for your life. God 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:36.220 loves you and I have a great plan for your life. 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:39.059 It's called the hospitality team or something 00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:43.599 like that. But we actually like to say God loves 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:48.480 me and I have a great plan for my life. But instead 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:50.960 it's God loves you and he has a plan for your 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.539 life. And his plan for your life is so often 00:26:52.539 --> 00:26:55.200 so different than what you expect because he's, 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:59.829 of course it is, he's holy. He's different. He's 00:26:59.829 --> 00:27:03.190 beyond us. His ways are beyond our understanding. 00:27:05.630 --> 00:27:11.829 God is holy. He's sacred. He's set apart. God's 00:27:11.829 --> 00:27:16.750 ways can be trusted. We can walk in His paths 00:27:16.750 --> 00:27:20.190 and we can sometimes wonder what's going on with 00:27:20.190 --> 00:27:24.049 them, but His ways are holy. They're sacred, 00:27:24.190 --> 00:27:28.559 set apart. And often it's actually looking back 00:27:28.559 --> 00:27:30.980 on where he's brought us that we see that to 00:27:30.980 --> 00:27:35.819 be the case. So part of the ways that Asaph here 00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:37.440 remembers God's characters, he remembers his 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:39.960 holiness, his otherness, his sacredness, his 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:42.960 beyond us -ness. The other thing that he mentions 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:45.359 actually again there in verse 13 is that God 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:52.630 is great. What God is great like our God. All 00:27:52.630 --> 00:27:55.009 right, that's a good question to ask. What God's 00:27:55.009 --> 00:27:56.549 great like our God? And the answer, of course, 00:27:56.630 --> 00:27:59.150 is there's none other God that's great like our 00:27:59.150 --> 00:28:02.769 God. So verse 14 says, you're the God who works 00:28:02.769 --> 00:28:06.750 wonders. You've made known your might among the 00:28:06.750 --> 00:28:10.369 peoples, which is to say, when you say God is 00:28:10.369 --> 00:28:13.150 great, what's to say? God is able. What's he 00:28:13.150 --> 00:28:15.650 saying? God is holy. His ways are not my ways, 00:28:15.710 --> 00:28:18.470 but he's able. He's great. He can do as he pleases. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:23.759 God is able to take us through the deepest, darkest 00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:26.119 valleys of the shadows of death, the places where 00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:28.779 we want to lay down to sleep and be our last 00:28:28.779 --> 00:28:31.880 sleep. He can take us through the deep valleys 00:28:31.880 --> 00:28:37.460 and glens, as Spurgeon said, of depression, of 00:28:37.460 --> 00:28:42.279 darkness. There are things in this life, in our 00:28:42.279 --> 00:28:45.180 lives, like Asaph's life, that cause us to ask 00:28:45.180 --> 00:28:48.640 all the first questions that come up in this 00:28:48.640 --> 00:28:52.059 psalm. But it's the greatness of God that causes 00:28:52.059 --> 00:28:55.640 us to go, okay, you are able. You are able to 00:28:55.640 --> 00:28:58.140 take me through. God is great. The other thing 00:28:58.140 --> 00:29:00.900 that we see here is that God's caring. He's a 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:05.160 caring God. Verse 15, you with your arm redeemed 00:29:05.160 --> 00:29:09.599 your people, the children of Jacob and of Joseph. 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:11.779 And if you're, what you should be thinking about 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:15.440 there is the Exodus story. Remember, the people 00:29:15.440 --> 00:29:19.309 of God were down in Egypt for 400 years. And 00:29:19.309 --> 00:29:22.910 they were crying out to him, right? Come and 00:29:22.910 --> 00:29:25.210 redeem us. Bring us into the land that you promised 00:29:25.210 --> 00:29:28.890 our forefathers. And in some ways they were experiencing 00:29:28.890 --> 00:29:33.950 this dark experience that Asaph has. And God 00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:38.289 remembers and he redeems and he cares. He acts 00:29:38.289 --> 00:29:42.069 in love for the redemption of his people. God 00:29:42.069 --> 00:29:47.529 is caring. God is holy and he's great and he's 00:29:47.529 --> 00:29:51.420 caring. But after this last Salah, it kind of 00:29:51.420 --> 00:29:54.640 moves into this final section, this final section 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:57.220 here, and listen to this again, okay? When the 00:29:57.220 --> 00:30:00.779 water saw you, O God, when the water saw you, 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:04.940 they were afraid. Indeed, the deep trembled. 00:30:05.339 --> 00:30:08.180 The clouds poured out water, the skies gave forth 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:12.000 thunder, your arrows flashed on every side. The 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.460 crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind, your 00:30:14.460 --> 00:30:18.599 lightning lighted up the world. the earth trembled 00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:21.400 and shook. Your way was through the sea, your 00:30:21.400 --> 00:30:24.380 path through the great waters, yet your footprint 00:30:24.380 --> 00:30:27.099 was unseen. You led your people like a flock 00:30:27.099 --> 00:30:29.480 by the hand of Moses." And so this last stanza 00:30:29.480 --> 00:30:33.299 is Asaph remembering, so the last one was the 00:30:33.299 --> 00:30:36.099 character of God, but actually this is the acts 00:30:36.099 --> 00:30:38.720 of God, the mighty acts, the redemption. The 00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:40.519 story of redemption in the Old Testament is this 00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:43.269 right here. God brings his people out from Egypt. 00:30:43.589 --> 00:30:46.829 But the interesting thing about this little snippet 00:30:46.829 --> 00:30:48.930 that we have right here is what he's calling 00:30:48.930 --> 00:30:51.029 to remembrance is how the people were brought 00:30:51.029 --> 00:30:54.690 out from after the 10 plagues and Pharaoh finally 00:30:54.690 --> 00:30:57.109 lets them go and they're leaving and they get 00:30:57.109 --> 00:31:01.869 to the water and they've got chariots behind 00:31:01.869 --> 00:31:04.910 them. It's the place where they get to and they're 00:31:04.910 --> 00:31:10.740 like, we have no hope. We thought we were finally 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:15.180 saved and Now you brought us out to the Red Sea 00:31:15.180 --> 00:31:18.680 and we've got Pharaoh on our back and things 00:31:18.680 --> 00:31:23.279 pretty much couldn't be worse Right that the 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:25.339 part of the story that he's remembering is the 00:31:25.339 --> 00:31:27.299 part where they're probably going oh my word 00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:31.759 we thought that we were finally out of this and 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:34.539 Now we're in this situation where there's chariots 00:31:34.539 --> 00:31:36.339 coming after us and there's water in front of 00:31:36.339 --> 00:31:39.599 some wheat. We're not gonna make it through He's 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:42.400 remembering that time where it's like all hope 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:48.019 is pretty much lost. And what does he say? When 00:31:48.019 --> 00:31:51.660 the water saw you, O God, when the water saw 00:31:51.660 --> 00:31:57.279 you, they trembled. Which is to say there's nothing 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:59.220 that the Lord couldn't take his people through, 00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:03.339 right? That's what he's saying. In the darkest 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:05.519 places of my life, in the place where I come 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:07.559 to and I go, oh my word, there's cherries behind 00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:11.400 me, there's water in front of me, I'm gone. God 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:16.319 made a way. The waters themselves, they tremble. 00:32:17.799 --> 00:32:24.279 The sky commands it all. It's as though Asaph 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:28.349 was saying, of course he can care for me. When 00:32:28.349 --> 00:32:30.210 I'm laying in bed and I'm just thinking about 00:32:30.210 --> 00:32:32.869 how awful things have been and where God seems 00:32:32.869 --> 00:32:38.009 so absent. I mean, He's great. He's holy. He's 00:32:38.009 --> 00:32:43.910 caring. And He can part the Red Sea. I can trust 00:32:43.910 --> 00:32:50.690 Him. Now, of course, if this is the great redemption 00:32:50.690 --> 00:32:52.349 story of the Old Testament, which it is, which 00:32:52.349 --> 00:32:54.730 is why the Old Testament authors always are going 00:32:54.730 --> 00:32:56.730 back to the Exodus story because it's the great 00:32:56.730 --> 00:32:59.450 story of salvation. God giving his people freedom 00:32:59.450 --> 00:33:04.210 and new life when they were once slaves. But 00:33:04.210 --> 00:33:07.910 now we get to look back upon the cross of Christ. 00:33:09.289 --> 00:33:12.410 I mean, in our deep places, when we are actually 00:33:12.410 --> 00:33:14.950 crying out like Jesus does on the cross, my God, 00:33:14.950 --> 00:33:20.910 my God, why have you forsaken me? We get to think, 00:33:21.230 --> 00:33:24.200 we get to remember that there is nothing that 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:29.000 can separate us from the love of God. And if 00:33:29.000 --> 00:33:31.299 God is for us, who can be against us? And why 00:33:31.299 --> 00:33:34.900 can we say that even in those nights? Because 00:33:34.900 --> 00:33:36.859 he who did not spare his own son, how much more 00:33:36.859 --> 00:33:41.220 will he not give us all things? If God himself 00:33:41.220 --> 00:33:44.960 takes on flesh for you, if he goes to the cross 00:33:44.960 --> 00:33:50.480 and conquers Satan's sin and death for you, go 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:55.799 to him. in the dark night of despair. Cry out 00:33:55.799 --> 00:34:00.220 to Him. Share with Him your deepest, darkest 00:34:00.220 --> 00:34:06.019 places, your doubts that overwhelm you. And then 00:34:06.019 --> 00:34:10.420 remember that His ways aren't your ways, that 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:17.059 He is able, that He's caring, and all of that 00:34:17.059 --> 00:34:22.460 is seen most fully at the cross. All of it. That's 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:25.199 where you see the love of God. That's where you 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:28.420 see his character most known. That's where his 00:34:28.420 --> 00:34:32.300 mighty acts are revealed in their gratefulness. 00:34:33.539 --> 00:34:35.800 And that's where he shows us that he loves us. 00:34:36.039 --> 00:34:41.219 We are often wondering about that. That's where 00:34:41.219 --> 00:34:46.400 we see it. The cross. Let me pray. Lord, thank 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:50.099 you for the Psalms. These words that we get to 00:34:50.320 --> 00:34:54.800 sing to you, to pray to you. God, we're so grateful 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:59.239 that the Psalms don't shy away from places where 00:34:59.239 --> 00:35:01.079 we're just questioning everything. We're questioning 00:35:01.079 --> 00:35:04.519 what you're doing, your character, all this. 00:35:05.900 --> 00:35:09.300 That you invite us to live honestly before you, 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:13.579 to live openly before you. God, that doesn't 00:35:13.579 --> 00:35:15.880 offend you at all. God, I pray that we'd hear 00:35:15.880 --> 00:35:17.619 that. But Lord, I prayed this morning also that 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:22.000 we would hear that the turning point for Asaph. 00:35:22.420 --> 00:35:27.539 And the turning point for us is to look to Jesus, 00:35:28.179 --> 00:35:30.659 to look at the cross and the resurrection, the 00:35:30.659 --> 00:35:33.079 empty tomb, to look at the love that you have 00:35:33.079 --> 00:35:35.960 for us, that you won't even spare your own son, 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:40.820 but you'd give him up for us. God, please, Lord, 00:35:40.900 --> 00:35:43.239 I pray that we would be a people who fix our 00:35:43.239 --> 00:35:49.579 eyes upon Jesus. God, we are so prone. to navel 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:54.539 gazing. We are so prone to just looking at ourselves 00:35:54.539 --> 00:35:59.300 and our state, our place in this world. I pray 00:35:59.300 --> 00:36:03.480 that you'd lift up our eyes, please, to the cross, 00:36:04.139 --> 00:36:08.280 that we would fix our eyes upon Jesus and that 00:36:08.280 --> 00:36:13.820 you'd meet us in that movement, that you would 00:36:13.820 --> 00:36:17.260 meet us there and that you'd lift us out of these 00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:20.539 deep dark Places that we so often find ourselves 00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:23.260 in Lord. Thank you for your word Thank you for 00:36:23.260 --> 00:36:26.280 these words Thank you for the word made flesh. 00:36:26.280 --> 00:36:30.380 We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen Thank 00:36:30.380 --> 00:36:32.900 you for listening to second city sermons podcast 00:36:32.900 --> 00:36:35.340 We hope this sermon has encouraged you to worship 00:36:35.340 --> 00:36:38.280 God and to celebrate the gospel of Jesus Please 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:40.639 consider subscribing to this podcast and joining 00:36:40.639 --> 00:36:44.019 us in person each Sunday at 10 a .m You can find 00:36:44.019 --> 00:36:47.619 us online at secondcitychurch .org and on Instagram, 00:36:47.860 --> 00:36:50.300 Facebook, and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. 00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:51.239 God bless.