How Long, O Lord? - 3

We are in a series that began two weeks ago series on the subject of biblical lament. The subject has intrigued me and I have found help for my own life and particularly this week in my prayer today is that you would find help as well. Every time I teach or preach or approach the word of God. It is my confidence that God's Word will not return unto him void, but it will accomplish everything that he send forth to do so is God's only purpose, and the only thing he wanted to accomplish is what he did in May this week.

I'm good with that. But I think you've gathered to find something for yourself and that's my prayer as well, making sense of life is not easy, particularly in the twists and turns of life with difficulty and pain and discouragement and partaken all that God's providence brings into our lives and we do know that in this life we see through a glass dimly, there's things that we do not see that God sees and we bow our knee and acknowledge that he sovereign that he makes no mistakes that he does all things well, but I'm glad for people who can put pen to paper and communicate that to us in ways that help us understand this is a poem written by John Oxon Hamm entitled God's handwriting. He writes he writes in characters to grand for our short site to understand. We catch but broken strokes and try to fathom all the mystery of weathered hopes of death of life, the endless war.

The useless strife, but there with larger, clearer site. We shall see, this is way was right's way was right and that's true.

However, we don't always feel that God's way is right, but his faithfulness does not depend on how we feel his faithfulness does not depend on our wavering emotions, but rather on his unchanging word so it's not a matter of how I feel but of what God says something that we never should grow tired of hearing because we need that admonition constantly. We don't apologize for feelings we don't apologize for our emotions.

Gods made us the way he's made sees constituted us with feelings and emotions as part of who we are, but we need to know and learn how to learn from our feelings and our emotions, but not allow them to hinder us and make difficulty.

Our journey in faith got two things that I want to do this morning.

One is to provide further explanation of what lament is, why were doing this. What purpose God has in lament, so the be a bit of an extended introduction. That is, under the heading of explanation, I think the whole subject is a bit foreign to us least. It was foreign to me. I got I knew about lament, but I really hadn't studied it much.

I I really until preparing for this series of messages was really ignorant of how significant a theme it is in the Scriptures, so a bit of an extended explanation and then an exposition of Psalm 13, so there are four things that I want to say to you about what lament is what a lament is it is number one, a prayer number two a song number three a means of grace and number four.

It is part of our journey.

So those four things in our introduction, and perhaps his eyes speak here of a prayer that lament is prayer language. It is a means in God's given to us to communicate to him to make our way through the difficulties of life lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the realities of pain in the promises of God's goodness, we know God's good, we know that God makes no mistakes but there are times that our experience is on a collision course with what we believe and what we feel and what were experiencing enter lament lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust lament is a prayer and pain that leads to trust and in those parts of God's word where we see lament and we been concentrating in the Psalms will be moving to the book of Lamentations in further on in the series but in those parts of God's word where we see lament.

We are encouraged to pray our struggles and our pains to pray our questions to God to pray our frustrations to him in lament is humbly turning to God in our pain in our sorrow and in our discouragement and it is seeking him in the midst of those things so lament is a prayer number two lament is a song is a song many of the lament songs are set to music directed to the chief musician in our context directed to the director of music as an entire congregation engages their hearts in worshipful singing. One third of the official songbook of Israel is lament one third 30 of the for 150 Psalms are lament Psalms in many of the lament Psalms have this superscription above the Psalm to the chief musician, a Psalm of David.

The one I read earlier in the service. Psalm 10 was to be sung congregation only accompanied by flute were not accustomed to singing in this way that we get a little bit uncomfortable. We say when you know that that's just, and that is heavy and that's just got a negative tone to it. It's meant to. It's meant to its elements. All in the foregoing, do grow in our worship in our singing of God. It needs to include this because it's part of what God is given to us. This is inspired text songs of lament. There meant to engender trust and confidence and engage our hearts and worship in the midst of our pain. There's something that we've got to fight in our minds that wars against this idea. We think you know I really can't and are in the warship the way I want to. The way I think God is honored in the midst of my pain in the midst of my struggle in the midst of my difficulty. If all these things would go away. Then I could no know God says those are intended by him to be a Avenue into warship.

It didn't hinder Joe. It's amazing what you read about Job after the last calamity that affected his family and his fortune happen. This is what we read.

Then then Job arose unthinkable when he rose what was he doing down the news was so devastating that it knocked his feet right under out from under.

Then Job arose, tore his robe shaved his head and he fell out of the ground and he did what he worshiped he worshiped.

Think about that.

In contrast to what Satan said of God said to God concerning Joe take his stuff from it. He worships you out of self-interest. He worships you because you're good to him take his stuff from him and he'll curse you to your face ditty no he warship that he warship in an intense way and so can we. So lament is a prayer. It is a song lament as a means of grace such as prayer language is not just a song. It is a means of grace lament shows us how to simultaneously grieve and trust the simultaneously struggle and belief, that's the Christian life is an to grieve and trust to struggle and believe in lament is how we bring our sorrow to God. I'm unconvinced that lament is an ordained means of grace to help us on our way to God to help us process the struggles and the sorrows of life to a deeper, more robust, more developed faith someone has said lament is how you live between a hard life for God's promises is how we learn to worship and sing when suffering comes our way been helped in my study reading a book entitled dark clouds and deep mercy by a pastor up in Indianapolis named Mark Rew got up and this is what he says without lament.

We won't know how to process pain silence bitterness and even anger can dominate our spiritual lives.

Instead, without lament, we won't know how to help people walking through sorrow instead will offer trite solutions, unhelpful comments or impatient responses once more without this sacred song of sorrow will miss the lessons historical events are intended to teach us lament is how Christians grieve, it's how to help hurting people lament is how we learn important truths about God, ourselves and the world. And then he says this final thing that I want to draw your attention a broken world and an increasingly hostile culture make contemporary Christianity, unbalanced and limited in the hope we offer if we neglect this minor key song we need to recover the ancient practice of lament and the grace that comes through it and finally lament is not only a prayer and a song in a means of grace. It is a journey lament is our song for our journey in this broken world as we hope in God, for the fulfillment of all his promises to us in the gospel. Biblical lament takes believers in their sorrow in their grief and their disappointment on a journey and I've pointed this out in my preaching in the pre-the two previous times that we've considered the subject, it's critical that you see these elements in the lament and there are four, and each one of the elements is part of the journey and what is our journey. Our journey is toward hope and confidence and renew trust in God so here these four elements I'll show them to you here in Psalm 13 we get to the exposition part of the sermon, but number one there is a turning to God in prayer. Prayer is what we encounter. At the very beginning one week.

Consider these lament Psalms Asaph or David or whoever else were considering they'll be Jeremiah and Lamentations. We find him lamenting he's in prayer is seeking after God and he is fervent zealous in his pursuit of God in prayer. So summer want to turning to God in prayer and these laments or followed by a complaint and sometimes the the seeking and requesting of God in the complaint are told they coalesce and it's hard to see them separately sometimes is very clear all he's praying now is complaining but, as we look at Psalm 13 you'll see these two things coalesce, come together. He's doing both in his prayer. He's complaining to God number three there is a movement from the why question of complaint to the who question of request so there's this shift takes place in these lament Psalms after Reese poured out his heart to God's complaint.

There is a shift and there is a clear moving to making a request of God and will again will see that in Psalm 13 there's a calling on God to act in accordance with his character and consistent with relief from the cause of my lament and finally nearly every lament ends with a statement of renew trust or an expression of praise to God and were alerted to that by a word of contrast sometimes is the word, but sometimes it's the word yet sometimes it's the word, however, when you see that word your alerted to okay there's a pivot going on here in this Psalm, and it is a pivot to where the author is making a statement of renew trust and confidence in God and expression of praise to God in the midst of his difficulty. So this morning I want to take a look at Psalm 13 with you and it contains these four elements that I just mentioned to you, David. He chronicles for us the language of the journey he's connecting lament and trust in others only six verses in the Psalm, but in short, six short verses there is dramatic movement is David's heart is transformed from perplexity to praise from sinking to singing. One commentator remarks. This Psalm begins with winter and ends with summer. It begins with low muffled homes of sorrow and ends with a rapture of praise you say I'm interested in that inch six short versus yes well again. Their six verses here. It divides very nicely into three parts. There are three things I want to show to you in verses one and two. I want you to see David's sorrow, David's sorrow in verses three and four want you to see David's supplication and then number three I want you to see in verses five and six. David's singing so sorrow supplication and singing. David comes to God in prayer and he brings his complaint expressed in four how long questions notice with me is sorrow.

Verses one into how long the Lord will you forget me forever. How long will you hide your face from me. How long shall I take counsel in my soul having sorrow in my heart daily. How long will my enemy be exalted over me for how long. Questions what is that suggest to us. This isn't a circumstance that showed up at 8 o'clock in the morning and is easily resolved. At 5 o'clock in the evening when were asking God how long that implies what duration a trial that is prolonged and it continues on, it seems to have no end to it and again this is home. This is David, the man after God's own heart and he's asking these two questions at the beginning how long the Lord will you forget me forever will you hide your face from me never entertain thoughts like that. Will you forget me forever will you hide your face from me.

Why are we inclined to entertain thoughts like that.

Why was David entertaining thoughts like that. I have two speculative speculative answers to that question number one I believe it's because of our emotions and our feelings that they are speaking louder to us than the promises of God's word in the sense we get the God has turned away from us that God is hiding himself from us. That's what it feels like that's what my emotions are telling me and it's dominating my life. That's what I think was happening in David's life. That's what happens in our life, our emotions are powerful, our feelings are powerful. I've had people say I know what the Bible says bed. This is the way I'm feeling in early days of my pastorate, I would get pretty and angry about that and just dismiss that out of hand, but the longer I've been a Christian in the longer I've pastored and try to help people. The more I realize that know that that's part of work that's fundamental to our struggle and God's constituted us with feelings and emotions. It's how we react and respond in process life in its happenings.

So why are we inclined to think that God is forgetting us that God is turned his face from us because of our strong feelings in our emotions that speak so loud to us that it seems to drowned out what we know about God and his word number two. I believe we think these kinds of thoughts because we misinterpret what God is doing. We determine that God is uninterested that God has forgotten us that God is hiding from us when he doesn't deliver us from whatever it is that is the source and the propagation of our struggle. If God really cared about me.

If he really was interested in may defeat wanted to show me that he hadn't hit himself primate.

Deliver me from this, but because he hasn't. I'm concluding that I'm not very high on his agenda. He's forgotten me. He's hiding himself for me.

Again we misinterpret what God is doing. When God's purpose isn't to deliver us from our immediate circumstances, it very well may be in many times is his purpose to deliver us from the prison cell of these damaging emotions and these on biblical thoughts that were entertaining about God. God wants this to see that despite what's going on in my life.

God is faithful. He can be trusted.

He is mindful of me. He hasn't forgotten me. He's not hiding from me, but if we think that God must deliver us and he doesn't then our minds go off and entertain thoughts about God that are not glorifying of him. You see, sorrow can create an invisible barrier between your soul and God that causes you to feel caught off and alienated from God and I'm concerned about all of us and our difficulties in our challenges, but I am particularly concerned. This morning I think have worn to be concerned about those who are have been called of God to walk the path where their life is marked by sorrow.

That is, day in and day out, week in, week out, month in month out. That seems to have no end there something very challenging and debilitating about those things that just endure and keep on keeping on what we can't see and then we can't see the light at the end of the tunnel and I know I'm not sure all the reasons why those types of trials are more difficult.

It could be it could be that those of us who been called to an enduring trial kind of get off the radar, so to speak and are so many more immediate needs that are clamoring for attention and were praying and these people that have been dealing with the same thing for months and years will wear not as earnest, were not as consistent were not as faithful be praying for them is what we are.

Some of these other needs and our failure to pray for our brothers and sisters is compounding the problem again. I'm speculating I'm just it might be because I've been a bit naïve this week but I have really been overly overly concerned about the health crisis that I that I went through this week. I've I felt the bow of the buoyancy of the Saints of God who prayed for me and encourage me and I think God heard those prayers and ministered to me through those prayers. So my challenge this morning is let's be particularly mindful of those whom God has brought into our acquaintance, who been called of God to endure a long trial. How long David says.

Shall I take counsel in my soul having sorrow in my heart daily daily Bible says weeping may endure for season but joy comes in the morning and that's a true statement. By the way. Weeping may endure for season but joy comes in the morning, but the problem with our comprehension of that verse is that our understanding of morning and God's understanding of morning are one and the same were thinking in 24-hour blocks of time, God's thinking in terms of errors in ages. This weeping may endure for season and that season may be long and it may be as long as were on this earth and joy will only come when we step on the shore of glory right it may be that day that God has in mind. Weeping may endure for season but joy comes in. What that bled morning so it's David sorrow followed by David supplication. In verses three and four. David says, consider and hear me oh Lord my God, enlighten my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed against him less those who trouble may rejoice when I am moved. Please take note of the quick movement here.

There is this turning to God in the midst of this complaint. He sported out to God and not what's he doing. He's asking boldly.

He specifically asking God to act in a manner consistent with who he is, that resolved his complaint. Consider consider what consider my condition. Consider my state consider the the prolonging nature of this trial in my sorrow. He's asking God. Consider and hear me oh Lord I think with me about the irony of his request, consider and hear me think of that in contrast with his complaint that God had forgotten him and had hidden his face from him. I want to say. Well if you're convinced that God has forgotten you and is turned his face away from you while you praying to him. See, I'm convinced that David didn't even believe what he was saying there. That's why I'm convinced that that's is a motion speaking losers feeling speaking is better. God hasn't turned away from him. He knows God hasn't forgotten him.

That's wise, praying, and I like to cite this way in your sorrow in your sorrow, ask make requests to the man of sorrows him who was what acquainted with grief, sorrowful tempted in all points such as we are yet without sin, we have what a great high priest touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

But again, don't miss the pattern here of turning to God in prayer of complaining and now he's asking he's asking of God. What is he asking.

Besides, Lord, consider near me. He says enlighten my eyes what is that me why think what he saying there is help me to see what you see.

Help me to understand what you're doing. Help me new view this trial from your perspective. I want to learn what I can learn so unlike my eyes so David sorrow David supplication notice with me. Number three David singing and again I alerted you to that word that that word of contrast. Here it is, but other places it's yet someplace it's however but verse five says, but I have trusted in your mercy, my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will saying to the Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me, David singing there three statements. The David makes here with you to see David circumstances haven't changed. I just circumstances haven't changed, but his heart has right, but his heart has, and although David's enemies long to rejoice in his demise and he mentions that at the end of verse four, lest my enemies say I have prevailed against him. David's enemies they longed to rejoice in his demise, but David is rejoicing in verse five.

In God's salvation, but I've trusted in your mercy, my heart shall rejoice in your salvation again in our journey in the journey were observing through lament, we must not lose sight of the destination. Some people here this complaining and just a David just rubs him as I will wait a minute I I'm not sure I had biblical war to be complaining to God while I'm not advocating complaining for complaining sake.

If all you're doing is complaining and is not moving you anywhere. Yeah, that's wrong because you become a person. Not many people want to be around. No, this lament has movement intended in it complaint and praying to God and asking of God is meant to move us to confident trust in the Lord. That's the destination to a place of growing trust and confidence in the Lord lament leads to trust and that's what we see happening.

David says but I have trusted in your mercy, I have trusted in your mercy, so there are again three statements a David makes here that evidences trust. What are the number one he says I have trusted in your mercy or your Hasid. That's a Hebrew word that speaks of God's covenant love I've trusted in your steadfast loving saying and he saying that God has a history with his people is people choose to trust him because that's the nature of our relationship which we trusted them initially for salvation and we continue to trust him with everything else in life is what it means to be in a saving relationship with our God. We walk through life in continual trust now. Seasons of suffering and sorrow make it harder and more difficult, but trusting is still how we live, we must live. Secondly he says my heart shall rejoice in your salvation, not David is connecting his trust to rejoicing in God's plan. Again, the sounds very elementary. We've heard this over and over and over again, but there's something about the way were wired. That doesn't think properly when suffering comes into our life. Suffering does not mean that God has forgotten or rejected his people are right but that's where David went in his mind. At the beginning of the Psalm, and that's where many times our line runs.

Now here's here's what's going on. This is a verse in Cooper's him that we signed last Sunday night. He says blind unbelief is short hair and scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter and he will make it plain so we affirm that God is his own interpreter, trusting that somehow his gracious plan is being worked out.

Even if we can't see it even if we can't connect the dots is not for us to connect the dots and then there's 1/3 statement that he makes here. I will sing to the Lord. I will sing to the Lord and I'm not certain of who I'm speaking to, and what sorrow and heartrate hardship is done to you, but my fear is, some have lost their song we lost her joy in the Lord with just sucked it up and become Stoics and well I guess is what life's about were going through the religious motions, but the heart is not in it, and perhaps some of just stop seeking the Lord altogether. You're so hurt your pain is so intense. Your sorrow is so multiplied. You just you've just you've got got off your given the appearance by being in church that your engagement know you're not in my prayer is that God's going to help some.

Some of us find our song again and find grace to persevere and make progress and get out of the rut.

We been in for however long we've been David's heart has been reoriented through lament. He's come a long way perplexity and sorrow and unwarranted questions to a place of praise, and rejoicing and again his circumstances haven't changed the things that were causing his sorrow and difficulty in questions are still there but is got his eyes now on the Lord. He's refocused his heart. He's been granted renewed life and vitality to his spiritual part. May God help us and do that for us. If that is our need this morning that spray father, thank you for your word. Thank you for its appropriateness.

How it comes to us and speaks to us at our very point of need. Or take your word in closet to bring healing to wounded hearts closet to bring renewed hope where despair has set in, strengthen weak and feeble faith, and may our trust be returned in a robust fashion.

May we rejoice afresh in the joy of our salvation or do that for us for our good and for your own glory. I pray in Christ name a man