WEBVTT 00:00:14.520 --> 00:00:16.719 If you've got a copy of the Scripture this morning 00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:18.140 and you want to follow along, it will be in the 00:00:18.140 --> 00:00:20.320 Old Testament, the book of Psalms, chapter 42. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.219 As we look into the Psalms, 150 chapters in all, 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:27.219 this book served as the hymn book and the prayer 00:00:27.219 --> 00:00:30.710 book for Israel. You may be familiar with the 00:00:30.710 --> 00:00:33.630 introductory verse of Psalm 42. We looked at 00:00:33.630 --> 00:00:35.670 it this morning as we were called to worship. 00:00:36.289 --> 00:00:39.649 But as we get into this psalm a little more, 00:00:39.829 --> 00:00:42.590 we see it is very deep and it is very complex. 00:00:43.210 --> 00:00:45.109 And we're going to be challenged by the text, 00:00:45.170 --> 00:00:47.909 I believe, this morning on our desires for God, 00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:51.350 on our worship, and what life looks like during 00:00:51.350 --> 00:00:56.750 hard seasons of suffering and hardship. A little 00:00:56.750 --> 00:00:58.969 background and context to this psalm before we 00:00:58.969 --> 00:01:02.909 get into it. The occasion of Psalm 42 is unknown, 00:01:03.189 --> 00:01:06.549 and that's not rare in the psalms. There's some 00:01:06.549 --> 00:01:08.670 thought that it could have been written by David 00:01:08.670 --> 00:01:13.260 as he was exiled. fleeing from Absalom during 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:16.400 his rebellion. And then it was given to the sons 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:18.260 of Korah, as your superscription would read. 00:01:18.859 --> 00:01:21.299 There's some that feel it's just a representative 00:01:21.299 --> 00:01:25.780 of an exiled Israel, as they're in Babylon. Lastly, 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:27.920 the sons of Korah themselves could have written 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.280 it. They longed to be in God's house, in His 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:33.900 presence, but they cannot be due to exile. They're 00:01:33.900 --> 00:01:38.769 removed from Jerusalem. regardless of who actually 00:01:38.769 --> 00:01:42.069 wrote it, the situation we'll see is very intense. 00:01:42.730 --> 00:01:45.250 It's very hard, and we see some severe mocking 00:01:45.250 --> 00:01:48.450 also throughout the entire psalm. Derek Kinder 00:01:48.450 --> 00:01:50.930 is one of the most regarded commentators on the 00:01:50.930 --> 00:01:54.129 book of psalms, and he says this in his commentary. 00:01:54.189 --> 00:01:56.510 He says, this psalm, Psalm 42, is one of the 00:01:56.510 --> 00:02:00.310 most sadly beautiful in all of Psalter. This 00:02:00.310 --> 00:02:03.349 psalm is several things. It is a mass kill. There's 00:02:03.349 --> 00:02:06.930 only 13 psalms out of 150 that are such. And 00:02:06.930 --> 00:02:09.349 that's a psalm that is instructive, a psalm that 00:02:09.349 --> 00:02:12.689 is meant to impart wisdom, to teach God's people 00:02:12.689 --> 00:02:15.629 how to think and believe and respond faithfully 00:02:15.629 --> 00:02:19.009 to similar circumstances in our lives. But it's 00:02:19.009 --> 00:02:23.830 also a psalm of lament. And to lament is a prayer 00:02:23.830 --> 00:02:25.949 in pain that leads to trust. And when we think 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:28.250 about lament, that is the language that we speak 00:02:28.250 --> 00:02:32.370 to God in our sorrow. Lament is a linkage between 00:02:32.370 --> 00:02:35.729 a holy God and a fallen world. And as we think 00:02:35.729 --> 00:02:39.710 about lament psalms, of which there's 56, we 00:02:39.710 --> 00:02:42.430 see that we are not, as believers, we are not 00:02:42.430 --> 00:02:47.150 to repress grief. Rather, faith brings grief 00:02:47.150 --> 00:02:49.849 honestly before God while continuing to trust 00:02:49.849 --> 00:02:53.199 His covenant. And this is the language, this 00:02:53.199 --> 00:02:55.800 language of lament that believers speak as we 00:02:55.800 --> 00:03:00.439 refuse to let go of God even when we cannot understand 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:04.110 His providence. We'll start here in chapter 42. 00:03:04.110 --> 00:03:06.750 This is actually the beginning of book 2 in the 00:03:06.750 --> 00:03:08.969 Psalms. You'll see on the slide real quick, there's 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:10.789 actually five different books of Psalms and how 00:03:10.789 --> 00:03:13.189 they're broken apart. But we'll start here in 00:03:13.189 --> 00:03:16.550 the second book of chapter 42. And the way this 00:03:16.550 --> 00:03:20.250 Psalm is broken up, verses 1 to 4, we see a longing 00:03:20.250 --> 00:03:22.889 for God. There's then a refrain. Verses 6 to 00:03:22.889 --> 00:03:25.389 10, we see suffering and hope. And in verse 11, 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:28.810 we see that refrain again. So let's look firstly 00:03:28.810 --> 00:03:32.199 in that longing for God, verses 1 and 2. It says, 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:35.979 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:39.750 my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, 00:03:39.889 --> 00:03:43.050 for the living God. When shall I come and appear 00:03:43.050 --> 00:03:46.270 before God? Now we're going to see two different 00:03:46.270 --> 00:03:50.409 uses this morning of powerful water imagery to 00:03:50.409 --> 00:03:53.030 express the psalmist's need for God and this 00:03:53.030 --> 00:03:55.469 feeling of being removed from his presence. Here 00:03:55.469 --> 00:03:58.610 we find the first. And we find it in this deer 00:03:58.610 --> 00:04:00.810 panting for the water brooks. And as we look 00:04:00.810 --> 00:04:02.990 into the text, this idea of searching endlessly 00:04:02.990 --> 00:04:06.930 until they find that water. The immediate picture 00:04:06.930 --> 00:04:09.330 here is like an accident. Agonizing thirst during 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:13.330 a drought. The next line though, so pants my 00:04:13.330 --> 00:04:16.810 soul. And the word soul often in the Bible refers 00:04:16.810 --> 00:04:20.329 to the whole person when we see that. What is 00:04:20.329 --> 00:04:22.209 the psalmist's chief desire that we see here 00:04:22.209 --> 00:04:25.910 in verses 1 and 2? A longing for fellowship with 00:04:25.910 --> 00:04:28.870 God. He's distressed by a dry soul that is very 00:04:28.870 --> 00:04:31.189 distant from the Lord's presence. In fact, in 00:04:31.189 --> 00:04:33.410 verse 2 it says, my soul thirsts for God, for 00:04:33.410 --> 00:04:36.100 the living God. a God of all creation, a God 00:04:36.100 --> 00:04:38.560 that this psalmist has known intimately. God 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:40.740 is the source of life, and in the Bible, many 00:04:40.740 --> 00:04:43.899 times His salvation is described as living waters. 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:47.680 But what does it mean to long for God, as we 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:49.779 see the psalmist speak of here? I mean, these 00:04:49.779 --> 00:04:51.319 verses are very encouraging, but they're also 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:54.259 very convicting to us at the same time. The psalmist 00:04:54.259 --> 00:04:58.420 seeks deep fellowship. with God as a necessity 00:04:58.420 --> 00:05:01.079 for his very existence. It's not some sort of 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.759 optional luxury, but something that he is concluding 00:05:04.759 --> 00:05:08.120 is absolutely necessary. This deep fellowship, 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.699 this intimate communion with God. But how often, 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:15.889 though, in our own personal lives... Do we almost 00:05:15.889 --> 00:05:18.970 see God as optional? Life gets very busy in the 00:05:18.970 --> 00:05:21.370 hustle and bustle. We work and we plan and we 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:23.589 do. We've got very busy schedules. And we put 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:28.149 some time in where we can, where it fits. Maybe 00:05:28.149 --> 00:05:30.569 tomorrow I'll get more intentional. Maybe tomorrow 00:05:30.569 --> 00:05:34.319 I'll go deeper. And maybe someday. I can be more 00:05:34.319 --> 00:05:36.420 intentional with my walk with God. We can be 00:05:36.420 --> 00:05:39.160 very passive if we're not careful. Just a sermon 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:41.279 a week is good. I made it to church. I did that. 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:43.759 Check the box. I was moved by something I saw 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:47.220 on socials. But that's not what we see expressed 00:05:47.220 --> 00:05:50.720 in these first two verses. As much as one longs 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:52.759 to have their thirst quenched after walking through 00:05:52.759 --> 00:05:56.360 a dry and arid land, so it is the desire of the 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:58.939 child of God to have regular rhythms of spiritual 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:02.949 food and living water. To fellowship and commune 00:06:02.949 --> 00:06:06.629 with God regularly. The living God, the psalmist 00:06:06.629 --> 00:06:09.629 says, through the means which He has provided 00:06:09.629 --> 00:06:13.509 us. Prayer, reading God's Word, taking the sacraments, 00:06:13.509 --> 00:06:16.029 and gathering together for the regular preaching 00:06:16.029 --> 00:06:19.470 of God's Word. Verse 3, the psalmist says, My 00:06:19.470 --> 00:06:22.870 tears have been my food day and night. While 00:06:22.870 --> 00:06:26.589 they continually say to me, where is your God? 00:06:26.829 --> 00:06:29.410 We start to see the lament part of this psalm 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:33.089 now. And we see language like this used all throughout 00:06:33.089 --> 00:06:35.610 psalms of lament. My tears have been my food 00:06:35.610 --> 00:06:40.009 day and night. And we are no different from the 00:06:40.009 --> 00:06:41.730 writer here, and I think that's very important 00:06:41.730 --> 00:06:46.329 to say. Most godly believers who have been saved 00:06:46.329 --> 00:06:49.230 for any length of time will go through times 00:06:49.230 --> 00:06:52.629 of spiritual distress and suffering in this life. 00:06:52.870 --> 00:06:55.350 My suffering will look different than your suffering. 00:06:55.470 --> 00:06:58.329 Yours may be more severe than mine. There are 00:06:58.329 --> 00:07:01.689 different levels and varying ways. But the psalmist 00:07:01.689 --> 00:07:04.089 here expresses that he can't even hardly eat. 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:06.740 because of the amount of suffering and anguish 00:07:06.740 --> 00:07:09.800 and pain that he is feeling at this moment. And 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:11.860 he says he's even been mocked. That some have 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:14.959 questioned, in all this going on, where is your 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:17.420 God now? Where is your God in all this if you 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:21.300 are afflicted in this way? And we may have some 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:24.899 of those same questions at various points in 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:28.500 our lives. Times that we show up and find out 00:07:28.500 --> 00:07:30.720 we don't have a job anymore, that that's been 00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:32.920 removed from us, a place that we've maybe even 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:35.019 dedicated our lives to and given so much time, 00:07:35.139 --> 00:07:38.199 they just don't need us anymore. Maybe it's when 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:41.120 a loved one or someone near to us is suffering 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:44.000 from a long -term illness. Maybe when a loved 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:47.100 one passes very suddenly, or we experience a 00:07:47.100 --> 00:07:51.720 myriad of life's challenges. But when we begin 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:55.430 to experience hardship, It is in that moment 00:07:55.430 --> 00:07:59.529 that we must cling to Christ. Charles Spurgeon 00:07:59.529 --> 00:08:02.009 said it this way, the wicked know that the worst 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.949 misfortune, that our worst misfortune would be 00:08:04.949 --> 00:08:08.670 to lose God's favor. Hence, their diabolical 00:08:08.670 --> 00:08:10.829 malice leads them to declare that such is the 00:08:10.829 --> 00:08:14.389 case. Now, we have a spiritual enemy, right? 00:08:14.449 --> 00:08:16.990 His name is Satan. We know who he is. Knowing 00:08:16.990 --> 00:08:19.209 that he cannot destroy God's children, often 00:08:19.209 --> 00:08:21.629 he uses such tactics as Spurgeon commented here 00:08:21.629 --> 00:08:25.430 to discourage believers. And knowing that and 00:08:25.430 --> 00:08:28.449 anticipating this, we should be very alert to 00:08:28.449 --> 00:08:31.230 not allow mocking, hard as it may be. Imagine 00:08:31.230 --> 00:08:34.360 this psalmist, where is your God now? In all 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:35.720 this trouble and all this hardship, why would 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:37.419 your God let this happen to you if He is the 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:39.340 Creator and if His reign is from everlasting 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:41.419 to everlasting as you've said? Where is your 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:43.759 God in all this? But it's during those times 00:08:43.759 --> 00:08:47.980 that we don't allow those mockings to affect 00:08:47.980 --> 00:08:52.059 us or allow them to come into us as such thoughts 00:08:52.059 --> 00:08:54.720 that we've been abandoned by God. Even if in 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:57.600 our person we feel that way, It's not true. And 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.179 we can't allow those things to take up our headspace. 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:04.899 In our life, life is very hard. And we can begin 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:07.679 to ask in particular seasons of our life, where 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:11.480 is God in all of this that's going on right now? 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:13.340 Because this is not what I planned. This is not 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.509 what I envisioned. This is very hard. Paul reminds 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:19.470 us of this in Romans 8, 38 and 39. And Paul reminds 00:09:19.470 --> 00:09:22.230 us of the trust that we must cling to during 00:09:22.230 --> 00:09:24.929 the very hard seasons of our lives. He said, 00:09:24.950 --> 00:09:28.350 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor 00:09:28.350 --> 00:09:33.529 angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things 00:09:33.529 --> 00:09:35.870 to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor 00:09:35.870 --> 00:09:39.340 anything else in all creation. will be able to 00:09:39.340 --> 00:09:41.820 separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:44.460 our Lord. Paul writes this in the first century. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:46.899 And what I love when I read this verse is towards 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:49.139 the end there, he says, nor anything else in 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:52.000 all creation. Nothing in time or space or something 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.879 that may have not even been invented yet in the 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:56.539 first century. Even that, nothing will be able 00:09:56.539 --> 00:10:00.899 to separate God's children from Him. The writer 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:05.639 here feeling very overwhelmed in trials. I said 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.019 we are much the same. We do good in our humanity 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:12.919 to feel the weightiness of those hard sufferings 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.000 when they come upon us. We can't help but feel 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.940 them. We carry that. And it can almost get like 00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.379 we don't know how we're going to make it from 00:10:21.379 --> 00:10:23.940 day to day. That we just don't know what to expect 00:10:23.940 --> 00:10:26.620 next. That there's something behind every turn. 00:10:26.820 --> 00:10:29.559 And it is in those seasons that we must hold 00:10:29.559 --> 00:10:31.879 fast to God's goodness and the doctrine of that. 00:10:32.039 --> 00:10:34.399 And we have to affirm that both things can be 00:10:34.399 --> 00:10:37.019 true at the same time. That God has been good. 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:39.879 That God is good in the present. That God will 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:42.179 be good to His children in the future. But life 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:46.480 is also very hard for me right now. And it's 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.679 good theology to affirm that both of those things 00:10:48.679 --> 00:10:51.679 can be true simultaneously and at the exact same 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:54.419 time. But we must understand that when hardship 00:10:54.419 --> 00:10:57.080 comes into our lives, providence has declared 00:10:57.080 --> 00:11:01.320 it, and we must submit. Verse 4, the writer says, 00:11:01.500 --> 00:11:03.960 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:06.659 within me, for I used to go with a multitude. 00:11:06.940 --> 00:11:09.659 I went with them to the house of God, with the 00:11:09.659 --> 00:11:12.000 voice of joy and praise, with the multitude that 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.779 kept a pilgrim feast. Now you see some language 00:11:14.779 --> 00:11:17.179 there. First of all, it says, when I remember. 00:11:17.419 --> 00:11:19.200 Now that remember is not you and I remember. 00:11:20.100 --> 00:11:21.720 The Old Testament wasn't written in English. 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:25.899 That I remember is not just a recall. It is the 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:29.220 beginning of a prayer arising from memories of 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.100 worship in the past. And the writer says, I remember 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:35.320 and I pour out my soul, yielding to the tears 00:11:35.320 --> 00:11:39.679 of deep grief. We must pour ourselves out before 00:11:39.679 --> 00:11:42.470 an almighty God. And it is... Good that we do 00:11:42.470 --> 00:11:45.309 so, that we lay ourselves out bare before the 00:11:45.309 --> 00:11:48.690 Lord because you or I are not self -sufficient. 00:11:49.049 --> 00:11:51.830 God did not create us to carry the burdens of 00:11:51.830 --> 00:11:54.409 this life on our own. I'm not able to do it. 00:11:54.450 --> 00:11:57.289 You are not able to do it. When we try, that 00:11:57.289 --> 00:11:59.990 is when we start to break apart and fall apart 00:11:59.990 --> 00:12:03.389 because we cannot carry the loads that come on 00:12:03.389 --> 00:12:06.649 us in particular seasons of life. God is our 00:12:06.649 --> 00:12:11.220 creator. He has made us. Who else could we lay 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:13.460 ourselves bare before and tell Him all of the 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:16.019 goings on in our hearts? He knows them already. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.460 We're not going to hide anything from the Lord. 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:20.059 We're not just going to pull ourselves up by 00:12:20.059 --> 00:12:21.379 our bootstraps and say, I'm going to make it 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:23.240 through this hardship. I'm going to make it through 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.620 this sickness of a loved one. You're not. And 00:12:26.620 --> 00:12:31.299 I'm not either. Our God is more than just a sounding 00:12:31.299 --> 00:12:33.940 board. Praise Him for that. The Psalms are clear. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.960 He is a refuge. He is a strong tower. He is a 00:12:37.960 --> 00:12:40.539 place of shelter. One more important thing to 00:12:40.539 --> 00:12:43.259 notice here is that the psalmist talking about 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:45.679 walking with so many people and going to feasts 00:12:45.679 --> 00:12:47.639 at the house of God and thinking about all these 00:12:47.639 --> 00:12:50.000 things, which are good. He's drawing on fellowship 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.200 and all those things are good. But the heart 00:12:52.200 --> 00:12:54.340 of the matter in this particular verse and in 00:12:54.340 --> 00:12:56.700 this whole psalm, in the matter of public worship, 00:12:56.860 --> 00:13:00.679 was the presence of God Himself. It wasn't just 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:02.700 about the building. It wasn't just about the 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:04.059 people. It wasn't just about the fellowship. 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:07.340 It was primarily about being in God's presence 00:13:07.340 --> 00:13:11.039 Himself. When we gather here on top of this hill, 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:14.820 here at Mamre Baptist Church, on a Lord's Day 00:13:14.820 --> 00:13:19.419 morning, we need to be keenly aware that we are 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:22.639 coming together as God's people. Not just as 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.980 individuals, not just as nuclear family groups 00:13:24.980 --> 00:13:28.039 any longer, but as we... Come into this church. 00:13:28.299 --> 00:13:30.940 This is a building. And what's beautiful is as 00:13:30.940 --> 00:13:33.580 we do come in as individuals and we do come in 00:13:33.580 --> 00:13:37.360 as nuclear families, we begin to comprise Mamre 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:39.460 Baptist Church as each person is seated in this 00:13:39.460 --> 00:13:41.679 congregation. And we are brothers and sisters 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:44.000 in Christ, no longer individuals and nuclear 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.139 families who just happen to be in one particular 00:13:46.139 --> 00:13:51.759 building. And as we do so, we come in with intentionality 00:13:51.759 --> 00:13:55.279 and with purpose. That we worship the one... 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:58.879 true, holy God. And Pastor Ryan and I would both 00:13:58.879 --> 00:14:01.360 say we have a very high view of worship. Why? 00:14:01.519 --> 00:14:04.440 Because the elements of worship are only of value 00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:08.379 if they purpose to fix our hearts on Christ. 00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:14.039 God is made known in His church. And Christ is 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:16.960 present by His Spirit through His Word. In verses 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:20.159 1 -4, the psalmist has expressed a yearning to 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:23.750 know God in Christ. in the context of His gathered 00:14:23.750 --> 00:14:26.590 and rejoicing people. Look at verse 5. This is 00:14:26.590 --> 00:14:29.309 the first refrain that we come to. It says, Why 00:14:29.309 --> 00:14:32.549 are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted 00:14:32.549 --> 00:14:36.750 within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise 00:14:36.750 --> 00:14:42.129 Him for the help of His countenance. This is 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:44.049 the first refrain we see. We'll actually see 00:14:44.049 --> 00:14:46.509 it repeated in verse 11. But we first of all 00:14:46.509 --> 00:14:49.149 see a biblical model here in verse 5 to minister 00:14:49.149 --> 00:14:53.559 to our own downcast hearts. And there are descriptive 00:14:53.559 --> 00:14:56.299 words here used to express one who is restless, 00:14:56.539 --> 00:14:59.779 one who is unable to settle, one who is deeply 00:14:59.779 --> 00:15:02.000 troubled. And the question would be, what do 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.360 we do when we're faced with these kinds of fears 00:15:04.360 --> 00:15:07.159 and emotions and life is very hard? It's almost 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:09.679 as if we preach to ourselves. We preach the things 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:13.059 we know to be true about God. The promises that 00:15:13.059 --> 00:15:14.980 He has made to His people through His Word, we 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:18.250 then preach them to ourselves. Our culture attempts 00:15:18.250 --> 00:15:21.429 to encourage us by phrases such as this. Don't 00:15:21.429 --> 00:15:24.269 worry. Everything will be fine. Don't worry. 00:15:24.990 --> 00:15:27.470 Everything's going to work out. Or this one. 00:15:27.649 --> 00:15:30.049 You can handle it. It's okay. You're strong. 00:15:30.230 --> 00:15:32.830 You can do this. You can handle it. You can't 00:15:32.830 --> 00:15:35.759 handle it. I can't either. Why? Because we are 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:40.460 finite. We are finite, limited beings. And as 00:15:40.460 --> 00:15:44.259 believers, we endure to find true north by preaching 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:48.179 the truth of God to ourselves over and over and 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:50.940 over again. We pray it, we preach it, we speak 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:53.279 it to ourselves. The sovereign God, we take hope 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:55.960 in this, the sovereign God is not fazed by the 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:59.200 powers of our world. God is faithful and steadfast 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:01.080 in deliverance. Richard Phillips put it this 00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:04.460 way. When we appeal to God, we obtain almighty 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:07.220 help that is undaunted by any dangers in this 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:10.539 world. The more terrible storm, the more necessary 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:15.440 the anchor is. We're also exhorted also to hope 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.879 in God, in verse 5, to sit our hope, which is 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.019 a hope that there is no waiver. You and I use 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:25.840 the word hope very casually. I hope it doesn't 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:29.460 rain the rest of the day. I hope... maybe this 00:16:29.460 --> 00:16:31.879 might work out. When we see the word hope in 00:16:31.879 --> 00:16:34.220 the Bible, it is not that way. There is no waiver 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:36.259 in it, which is why the psalmist could say, set 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:39.639 your hope in the covenant promise and revealed 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:42.379 faithfulness of God that we see all throughout 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:45.700 the Scriptures. Regardless of how we feel now, 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:48.179 regardless of how you came in today, you may 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:49.919 have had the best week of your life or it could 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.620 have been extremely hard. Both of those are okay. 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:57.850 I am glad you are here. Even though life can 00:16:57.850 --> 00:17:00.830 be very real and it can be very hard, we must 00:17:00.830 --> 00:17:04.230 hope in God. Why? Because He has been ever faithful 00:17:04.230 --> 00:17:07.670 to His people throughout all times. There has 00:17:07.670 --> 00:17:10.529 never been a day where God was not faithful to 00:17:10.529 --> 00:17:13.549 His people. Look at verses 6 and 7. Here we start 00:17:13.549 --> 00:17:16.710 the second section of suffering and hope. The 00:17:16.710 --> 00:17:19.210 psalmist says, Oh my God, my soul is cast down 00:17:19.210 --> 00:17:21.950 within me. More lament there. Therefore I will 00:17:21.950 --> 00:17:24.849 remember you from the land of Jordan. and from 00:17:24.849 --> 00:17:27.509 the heights of Mount Hermon, from the hill Mizar, 00:17:27.730 --> 00:17:31.670 deep calls to deep, and the noise of your waterfalls, 00:17:31.730 --> 00:17:34.289 all your waves and billows have gone over me. 00:17:34.369 --> 00:17:36.890 Here's that second powerful water imagery that 00:17:36.890 --> 00:17:40.039 we see specifically in verse 7. But we see first 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:42.299 these words, I will remember framing better times. 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:45.500 Then there's this longing for worship in God's 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:47.380 house that we see in verse 6. But the writer's 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:50.380 far away, drawing on memories of communion and 00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:52.779 fellowship that he was able to once enjoy. But 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:54.900 we see this other water image in verse 7. But 00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:56.720 this one's of a dark connotation. The first one 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.819 was quite pleasant. Remember the deer panning 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:02.319 after the water. But here we see, deep calls 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:05.299 unto deep. All your waves and billows have gone 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:09.579 over me. I mean, that's pretty dark. And the 00:18:09.579 --> 00:18:11.039 writer here expresses that he feels that all 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:13.759 of God's waves have gone over him. I want you 00:18:13.759 --> 00:18:15.720 for just a moment to kind of imagine something 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:18.180 with me. If you've had the privilege of being 00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:20.039 in the ocean, you know exactly what this feels 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:23.799 like. You walk out in the water, and you begin 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:25.779 to feel waves. First, they're at your ankles. 00:18:25.900 --> 00:18:28.660 They come crashing in, and eventually you get 00:18:28.660 --> 00:18:30.660 up to about your knees, something like that. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:33.380 You get to your waist, and before too long, depending 00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:36.160 on the beach you're at, you can get out. quite 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:38.099 deep and that water's risen to a point that you 00:18:38.099 --> 00:18:40.079 can't even jump out of those waves anymore as 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.000 they're crashing and they start to go over your 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:43.920 head and then you're reminded that salt water 00:18:43.920 --> 00:18:46.299 isn't as pleasant as you'd remembered maybe however 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:48.279 long ago you were at the beach and it gets up 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.500 your nose and you start to you know you're looking 00:18:50.500 --> 00:18:52.579 for breath and all these things and you almost 00:18:52.579 --> 00:18:54.380 feel terrified because you've wandered out too 00:18:54.380 --> 00:18:56.079 far your feet are barely touching the bottom 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:58.380 and that's what the psalmist is expressing here 00:18:58.380 --> 00:19:01.819 he's in deep water and waves are crashing over 00:19:01.819 --> 00:19:03.930 his head and he said It's not just one wave, 00:19:03.930 --> 00:19:07.849 it's plural waves over and over again. And the 00:19:07.849 --> 00:19:09.589 question we find ourselves asking is, what is 00:19:09.589 --> 00:19:11.750 someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ to 00:19:11.750 --> 00:19:15.130 do when the waves of life wash over them over 00:19:15.130 --> 00:19:20.309 and over again? And at such moments, in our flesh, 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:23.589 there is a battle going on between our flesh 00:19:23.589 --> 00:19:26.789 and the spiritual side of our humanness. And 00:19:26.789 --> 00:19:30.569 we're tempted to drift towards coldness of heart 00:19:30.569 --> 00:19:34.319 instead of seeking true depth. with God. It is 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:36.980 in these moments where we feel so conflicted 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:40.039 that we run to Christ. The one who has his arms 00:19:40.039 --> 00:19:42.880 outstretched for his people, the one who said, 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:47.460 come unto me and I will give you rest. My yoke 00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:50.440 is easy, my burden is light. Look deeper into 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:53.319 that question in verse 8. The psalmist said, 00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:55.740 the Lord will command his loving kindness in 00:19:55.740 --> 00:19:58.400 the daytime and in the night his song shall be 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.180 with me. A prayer to the God of my life. Now 00:20:01.180 --> 00:20:03.400 something wonderful happens here in verse 8. 00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:07.240 It's very subtle. But if you notice with me, 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.940 up until this point in the psalm, you have seen 00:20:09.940 --> 00:20:13.740 God, translated God, over and over and over again 00:20:13.740 --> 00:20:17.500 in verses 1 -7. That word there is Elohim. normally 00:20:17.500 --> 00:20:20.259 you would see the word Elohim in God's role as 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:23.519 creator, as ruler over his creation. But here 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.640 in verse 8, you'll notice you see the word LORD, 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:28.660 all caps in your Bible, L -O -R -D. And the writer 00:20:28.660 --> 00:20:31.259 shifts from referring to God as Elohim to now 00:20:31.259 --> 00:20:33.940 referring to him as his covenant name, Yahweh. 00:20:34.099 --> 00:20:37.559 And why is that important? Because we've shifted 00:20:37.559 --> 00:20:39.720 from just emphasizing God who is the ruler over 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:41.200 all creation, the one who has all things in his 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.059 hand, to now the covenant keeping, covenant. 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:46.960 promise -keeping God, the one whom believers 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.460 are in covenant with. And he says, what will 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:53.640 Yahweh do? He commands his steadfast love. Why 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:56.059 is that so rich? Because verse 8 didn't say his 00:20:56.059 --> 00:20:58.700 sometimes love. It was very tactful, the way 00:20:58.700 --> 00:21:01.000 the writer did this. It didn't say God would 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.220 send his love when all was going well. It said 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:07.259 he would send his steadfast love to his people. 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:09.640 In the West, where we live here in America, we 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:13.940 are somewhat conditioned to believe that If things 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:16.259 are good, that means all is well in our life. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.099 That there's money in the bank, that the house 00:21:19.099 --> 00:21:21.500 looks good, the pantry's full of groceries, things 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:23.980 are good at work. Everything good in my life 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:26.440 is as good as it could possibly be, but that 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:31.099 has no biblical merit. God's people have suffered 00:21:31.099 --> 00:21:34.630 and suffered long throughout history. But God's 00:21:34.630 --> 00:21:37.930 love for His people is steadfast. It is unmovable. 00:21:37.950 --> 00:21:41.029 It is unchanging despite the individual circumstances 00:21:41.029 --> 00:21:45.430 in our lives. And that is powerful. Because when 00:21:45.430 --> 00:21:47.410 we're overcome with grief, when we're overcome 00:21:47.410 --> 00:21:49.349 with emotion, when we're overcome with sorrow, 00:21:49.650 --> 00:21:52.190 we start to believe these lies whispered in our 00:21:52.190 --> 00:21:54.250 ears. Where is your God now? The psalmist has 00:21:54.250 --> 00:21:55.730 written. And the reality is He's right where 00:21:55.730 --> 00:21:59.079 He's always been. Working on our behalf. for 00:21:59.079 --> 00:22:02.200 the good of His people. God has promised mercy 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:06.220 on those who call on Him through Jesus Christ. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:09.599 His grace for believers is as certain as the 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:13.720 fixed order of the seasons. It cannot be undone. 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:17.519 God has covenanted Himself to save and uphold 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:20.140 all who have believed in the name of the Son 00:22:20.140 --> 00:22:23.559 of God, and because so, He commands His steadfast 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:25.799 love in accordance with His sovereign promise 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:29.140 in Christ. You say, what does that mean? It means 00:22:29.140 --> 00:22:30.859 that God's reign is from everlasting to everlasting. 00:22:31.319 --> 00:22:35.240 And as a sovereign, he will with authority command 00:22:35.240 --> 00:22:39.380 mercy be reserved for his children. All those 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:40.960 who have called on the name of Christ will find 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:44.460 refuge under his wings. When we are tempted to 00:22:44.460 --> 00:22:46.880 doubt, we have to remind ourselves of who God 00:22:46.880 --> 00:22:50.160 is. what He has done, and what He has pledged 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:53.359 Himself to do. God has been faithful in every 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.079 generation. He has been faithful in the past. 00:22:55.180 --> 00:22:56.759 No matter what is going on in your life right 00:22:56.759 --> 00:22:58.799 now, God is faithful in the present, and He has 00:22:58.799 --> 00:23:02.279 promised He will be faithful in the future. He 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:04.400 has given His children, those who have trusted 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:07.559 Him in faith, a means of grace to seek a ministry 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:10.339 of God's Word, to seek the altar of grace in 00:23:10.339 --> 00:23:12.660 prayer, to look forward again to gathering with 00:23:12.660 --> 00:23:15.440 God's people for worship, and saving grace is 00:23:15.440 --> 00:23:19.099 secure in Jesus Christ. Look at verse 9 and 10. 00:23:19.779 --> 00:23:22.599 The psalmist says, I will say, God, my rock, 00:23:22.940 --> 00:23:26.359 why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning 00:23:26.359 --> 00:23:31.059 because of the oppression of my enemy? It's as 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:35.839 with the breaking of my bones. My enemies reproach 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:37.839 me, and while they say to me all the day long, 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:42.529 where is your God? Now we see despair again, 00:23:42.690 --> 00:23:45.150 and we also see hope, both of which contrasts 00:23:45.150 --> 00:23:47.670 here in verses 9 and 10. Why do I go mourning? 00:23:47.849 --> 00:23:50.390 The question's posed. The oppression is so severe, 00:23:50.410 --> 00:23:53.170 the psalmist says it's as if his bones are breaking 00:23:53.170 --> 00:23:56.430 at the reproach of his enemies. And they echo 00:23:56.430 --> 00:23:58.769 the same chant as earlier we saw in Psalm. Where 00:23:58.769 --> 00:24:01.809 is your God in all this? Where is your God? How 00:24:01.809 --> 00:24:03.569 could God who says he loves you let all this 00:24:03.569 --> 00:24:07.279 happen? But I love this. We see the honesty and 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:09.579 sincerity of the psalmist in these verses. In 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:11.539 the midst of judgment, he does cling to God and 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:16.259 says, I will say to God, my rock. Not just any 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:19.380 God, it's very personal. My rock. While the writer 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:21.380 admits his own doubts about everything going 00:24:21.380 --> 00:24:23.700 on around him, fears and even some complaints, 00:24:23.940 --> 00:24:25.500 he said, God, why have you forgotten me? Why 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:28.240 have you left me in this? This should encourage 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:30.839 authenticity in our prayer lives. God knows how 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:32.920 we're feeling. And we should be able to express 00:24:32.920 --> 00:24:36.539 ourselves very openly and transparently to Him. 00:24:37.140 --> 00:24:40.740 But as He's called My Rock, He remembers that 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:44.799 God is His Creator. And in the midst of all life's 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:48.259 hardships, we are to turn our hearts to Him in 00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:50.819 an attitude of faith and trust that what we can't 00:24:50.819 --> 00:24:54.019 see, God is ultimately working out for our good. 00:24:54.599 --> 00:24:58.250 But there is great despair in this verse. Have 00:24:58.250 --> 00:25:00.849 you forgotten me? I am oppressed. My bones feel 00:25:00.849 --> 00:25:02.690 as if they are breaking. I mean, that's a severe 00:25:02.690 --> 00:25:05.170 pain that I think is fully hard to comprehend 00:25:05.170 --> 00:25:07.230 unless you've walked some of life's hardest roads. 00:25:07.529 --> 00:25:10.529 It says, My enemies reproach me. But does any 00:25:10.529 --> 00:25:14.690 of this language sound familiar? My bones feel 00:25:14.690 --> 00:25:16.710 like they're breaking. I'm oppressed. Where is 00:25:16.710 --> 00:25:20.109 your God now? What is all this? Think back to 00:25:20.109 --> 00:25:23.910 the Garden of Gethsemane. God's Son, Jesus Christ, 00:25:23.990 --> 00:25:27.339 was overcome with great grief. He was all alone 00:25:27.339 --> 00:25:29.240 in the garden. In fact, he would say that his 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:32.240 soul was distressed. He told his disciples, my 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:35.779 soul is very sorrowful, even unto death, he said. 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:39.440 But he entered into our sorrows in order to deliver 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:44.279 us. And the truth is, we will never be alone. 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:48.980 We will never be forsaken by God. Why? Where 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:51.180 do we see Christ in the text? Because Christ 00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:54.519 was alone on the cross. Going through agony and 00:25:54.519 --> 00:25:57.759 shame, he cried out, Abba, Father, why have you 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:00.779 forsaken me? As he hung there, carrying the sins 00:26:00.779 --> 00:26:03.160 of all who would ever come to him in true, genuine 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:07.079 faith, because Christ endured hardship, suffering, 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:10.980 pain, and separation. We will never know that 00:26:10.980 --> 00:26:13.519 feeling of being forsaken by God because it was 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:16.660 Christ who has already suffered it on our behalf. 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:19.079 And because He was forsaken on the cross, you 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:22.259 will never be so as a child of God. And that 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:25.380 is heavy. And that is deep theology. If we are 00:26:25.380 --> 00:26:28.019 saved, we are God's children by the Spirit of 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:30.579 adoption. And not even the devil himself can 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:33.180 separate us from the love of God and the presence 00:26:33.180 --> 00:26:36.000 of His Holy Spirit abiding in our hearts. Last 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:39.890 verse, verse 11. We see this refrain again. Why 00:26:39.890 --> 00:26:42.750 are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you 00:26:42.750 --> 00:26:45.809 disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall 00:26:45.809 --> 00:26:49.630 yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and 00:26:49.630 --> 00:26:52.309 my God. Now this refrain is the same as verse 00:26:52.309 --> 00:26:56.490 5, but it's also a great assurance for us. When 00:26:56.490 --> 00:26:59.650 we consider Israel's history, the ancient Israelites 00:26:59.650 --> 00:27:03.690 had waited many times for God. They waited in 00:27:03.690 --> 00:27:06.920 Egypt. For hundreds of years. For his deliverance 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:08.839 from slavery in the wilderness, they wandered 00:27:08.839 --> 00:27:10.940 around for 40 years as they waited to go into 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:14.400 the promised land. In exile in Babylon, 70 years, 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:16.940 they waited to return to Jerusalem and to the 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:19.960 presence of God and to rebuild the temple. And 00:27:19.960 --> 00:27:22.099 when we find ourselves in circumstances where 00:27:22.099 --> 00:27:25.720 it almost seems like God is absent, when our 00:27:25.720 --> 00:27:28.000 very being feels as though the weight of the 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:31.940 world is upon us, May we be able to speak these 00:27:31.940 --> 00:27:35.779 words of refrain in verse 5 and 11. Wait for 00:27:35.779 --> 00:27:41.099 God, for I will again praise Him. You say, this 00:27:41.099 --> 00:27:43.619 is really good, but what about us? What are the 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:47.539 takeaways here today? Church, because Christ 00:27:47.539 --> 00:27:51.079 has bridged the chasm between a holy God and 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:54.359 fallen man by His cross, we can rejoice even 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:57.460 in the darkness of the cross. Jesus rejoiced 00:27:57.460 --> 00:28:00.660 in the hope of God's resurrection promise. And 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:03.640 this is a promise that we share, that if we have 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:06.759 trusted in Christ, He pledges that nothing will 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:09.200 be able to separate us from the love of God in 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:13.319 Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ's saving work should 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:16.759 lift up our downcast souls from any form of distress, 00:28:17.079 --> 00:28:21.940 hard though as our day -to -day may be. The psalmist 00:28:21.940 --> 00:28:24.480 said, I shall again praise Him, my salvation 00:28:24.480 --> 00:28:28.660 and my God. It's personal. Not just a God, not 00:28:28.660 --> 00:28:31.980 one of many gods, but the one true God who has 00:28:31.980 --> 00:28:35.220 delivered you as an individual from many untold 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:38.180 circumstances. The one true God in whom you have 00:28:38.180 --> 00:28:42.599 seen work miracles in your very own lives, in 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:44.480 the lives of your children, in the lives of your 00:28:44.480 --> 00:28:48.380 family. the one to whom we praise for even just 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:51.339 the small ways, that we see God show up in our 00:28:51.339 --> 00:28:55.640 mundane lives from day to day. That is the God 00:28:55.640 --> 00:28:59.000 who will never forsake us and raise us up on 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:01.099 the last day. The promises of the gospel are 00:29:01.099 --> 00:29:04.710 this. And they are what we must preach to ourselves 00:29:04.710 --> 00:29:07.769 as a psalmist did when he said, why are you so 00:29:07.769 --> 00:29:10.869 downcast, O my soul? We have to realize that 00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:14.470 this life is hard. And it can be very hard. There 00:29:14.470 --> 00:29:16.430 are going to be some seasons that are much harder 00:29:16.430 --> 00:29:18.069 than others. There are also going to be seasons 00:29:18.069 --> 00:29:21.309 of celebration. Celebration of joy in your life. 00:29:21.369 --> 00:29:24.349 If you look back on it, there were many seasons 00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:27.349 where children were born and the house was expanding 00:29:27.349 --> 00:29:30.609 and things were so good. But there are hard seasons 00:29:30.609 --> 00:29:36.750 also. But these hard seasons are temporary. They 00:29:36.750 --> 00:29:39.950 will not last forever. They feel like it now 00:29:39.950 --> 00:29:42.849 because it's your constant reality. And there 00:29:42.849 --> 00:29:45.529 are some saints who have suffered long and suffered 00:29:45.529 --> 00:29:47.609 hard. And even as I say that, some people might 00:29:47.609 --> 00:29:50.990 even be coming in to your memory. Yet the moment 00:29:50.990 --> 00:29:54.130 they left this life, all those afflictions ceased 00:29:54.130 --> 00:29:57.569 as they experienced ultimate glorification, seeing 00:29:57.569 --> 00:30:01.680 the one who they have served face to face. We 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:04.519 see in this psalm that the whole point of lament 00:30:04.519 --> 00:30:08.220 is not to get rid of grief, but to draw near 00:30:08.220 --> 00:30:11.839 to God. Why? Because it's in lamenting that we 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:16.279 draw strength, courage, and refuge in the midst 00:30:16.279 --> 00:30:19.359 of our grief. Now that does not mean that life 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:22.059 circumstances are not hard, but it does mean 00:30:22.059 --> 00:30:25.539 that we will never walk through any hard season 00:30:25.539 --> 00:30:28.980 alone. God is always gone before us. There is 00:30:28.980 --> 00:30:30.599 nowhere His children will go that He has not 00:30:30.599 --> 00:30:34.000 already went out before them. Paul David Tripp 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:36.819 said this, Our suffering does not belong to us. 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:40.839 It belongs to the Lord's purposes. Our purpose 00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:43.339 is to glorify God, to worship Him through our 00:30:43.339 --> 00:30:46.119 deeds, our thoughts, our heart, and to love our 00:30:46.119 --> 00:30:49.259 neighbor as ourselves, even when we don't feel 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:51.380 it. There are so many days when we don't just 00:30:51.380 --> 00:30:54.420 feel it, when life is hard. And in those days 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:56.890 when we don't feel it, We must profess and believe 00:30:56.890 --> 00:31:00.809 that God has been good, is good, and will continue 00:31:00.809 --> 00:31:04.089 to be good to His people. That every hard thing 00:31:04.089 --> 00:31:06.910 that enters our lives was not by chance. There 00:31:06.910 --> 00:31:09.410 is no chance, there are no accidents, but by 00:31:09.410 --> 00:31:13.210 His hand of providence. And so we learn to speak 00:31:13.210 --> 00:31:16.250 the language of lament as a church body. To cry 00:31:16.250 --> 00:31:18.710 out to God, to trust Him deeper than we ever 00:31:18.710 --> 00:31:22.430 have before. Because church, God has shown great 00:31:22.430 --> 00:31:25.410 grace. To each and every one of us. Sending his 00:31:25.410 --> 00:31:28.410 own son to bear and remove the curse of our sin. 00:31:29.190 --> 00:31:32.009 Because of that, let us long for fellowship. 00:31:32.430 --> 00:31:35.569 Let us long for communion and worship with him. 00:31:35.710 --> 00:31:39.549 And may we with fervor echo the passion we saw 00:31:39.549 --> 00:31:42.829 expressed in verse 1. As the deer pants for flowing 00:31:42.829 --> 00:31:48.009 streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. Amen, 00:31:48.029 --> 00:31:50.130 church. The word of the Lord. May he be greatly 00:31:50.130 --> 00:31:55.109 praised. We come to this time at the end of our 00:31:55.109 --> 00:31:58.130 service each week here at Mamre that we set aside 00:31:58.130 --> 00:32:01.450 to come together and engage in a means of grace 00:32:01.450 --> 00:32:03.549 that God has given to His church that will come 00:32:03.549 --> 00:32:06.450 to the table and take these sacraments, the bread 00:32:06.450 --> 00:32:08.809 and the cup. And we certainly invite you to that 00:32:08.809 --> 00:32:11.369 table with us this morning. It is the Lord's 00:32:11.369 --> 00:32:14.730 table. As we do so, we see this as a memorial, 00:32:14.910 --> 00:32:17.970 but also as we engage in a common means of grace 00:32:17.970 --> 00:32:20.069 looking forward to the return of our Lord Jesus 00:32:20.069 --> 00:32:24.200 Christ. And as we invite you to partake, we just 00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:26.680 ask that the qualifications the Lord has given 00:32:26.680 --> 00:32:27.400 us...