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 Father, thank you for your word. Thank you that you are not silent, but you are a God who speaks and that you have spoken through your word.

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 We thank you for Jesus. We thank you, Father, that he is not only Emmanuel, God with us, but he is also the one who died on the cross for us to make us right with you.

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 And we ask, Lord, that the Holy Spirit would move with might and power and deep conviction in each of our lives at this time as we reflect upon your word, as your word speaks into our hearts.

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 And we ask that you would grip us again with who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

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 And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your son and our savior. Amen.

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 We're going to be looking at Lamentations chapter three. If you have your Bibles, you might want to turn to that.

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 And as I was sharing last week, it's a way of pastors, ministers and Bible study leaders can often refer to themselves as referred, talk as if they're going to tackle a book.

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 And the book of Lamentations week after week has been tackling me.

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 Part of it is that it talks about a God who causes suffering.

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 And it obviously raises questions in everybody's mind as to how and why anybody would believe in a God that causes suffering.

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 And not only is that going to be walked towards again this week in the text, but it also talks about God not forgiving.

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 And how on earth can you believe in a God that doesn't forgive?

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 Or at least it seems as if he doesn't forgive or doesn't want to forgive.

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 And one of the things which is so wonderful about the book of Lamentations is it walks right into these problems.

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 And it doesn't walk into these problems like a philosophical argument.

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 It's a poem.

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 It's not clear whether it would have been just something that was just merely a poem, so to speak, that you would read like a poem if it's meant to be sung.

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 But it's five separate poems, each of them connected and related to each other.

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 And it's a poem that speaks deep into our heart and into our experience.

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 And not giving away the ending, one of the things that I think the book of Lamentations does regularly is there's enough light to understand who God is and enough light to understand who you are.

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 And on the other hand, it doesn't force itself on us.

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 And that rather than actually being something which condemns God, it's something which reveals who we are and who we really are in the real world in light of the reality of the living God and how we should then live.

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 So let's look at chapter 3, verse 1.

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 And we'll see right off the bat that it's talking about very, very serious issues because it begins like this.

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 Actually, just before I read it, well, no, let's read it.

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 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath.

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 And the his is referring to God.

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 I'm just going to read that again.

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 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath.

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 This is a poem that has a lot of pain in it.

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 And it's a poem that's going to wrestle and articulate hopelessness and even despair.

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 And in fact, one of the things I guess that the poem is going to set before us isn't that there should be no point in time when you're hopeless.

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 It isn't that there should be never a time that you experience despair.

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 In fact, one of the things that the book does is it doesn't shame you if you, in fact, as you read it, are feeling despair or hopelessness.

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 The book doesn't shame you.

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 It doesn't keep on telling you that, okay, real, you know, real authentic human beings never experienced this.

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 Real Christians never experienced this.

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 It's going to articulate these things without shaming them.

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 But it will also pose the question, is the hopelessness and despair to be a moment or a way of life?

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 Is the pain to be a moment or a way of life?

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 Obviously, people do choose despair and hopelessness as a very long season and maybe even a way of life.

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 But because we Christians believe that this is ultimately God's word written, the question is, does God, who doesn't shame you over feeling despair or hopelessness,

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 is he calling you to a way of life centered around pain or despair or hopelessness?

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 So here again it is.

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 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath.

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 And just, it's very, very concrete poetry.

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 And it goes like this, it continues on.

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 He has driven and brought me into darkness without any light.

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 Surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long.

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 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away.

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 He has broken my bones.

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 He has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation.

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 He has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.

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 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape.

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 He has made my chains heavy.

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 Though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer.

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 He has blocked my ways with blocks of stones.

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 He has made my paths crooked.

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 He is, just sort of pause before we read verse 10.

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 You notice the power of this imagery.

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 And one of the things about this poem that we have to understand is that it's taken from, in a sense, the point of view of the speaker, the observer.

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 Just as in other completely different sermons, or apparently different but not really different,

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 that the talk, when it talks about things which we would call scientific things, is always observational language.

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 And observational language, in a sense, isn't wrong, because you just speak about what you observe.

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 If you read about the sun rising, or if somebody says the sun is rising in the east, they obviously, you know that they're just talking about how it looks from your point of view.

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 And one of the things about this poem is he's talking about things from his point of view, how he's experienced them.

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 And, you know, even here, you have this double image that God, on one hand, has walled him in and constrained his life.

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 On the other hand, he's made his way crooked.

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 And there's these constant, multiple, very, very concrete images from his point of view.

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 And the poem is a bit of a, it will move you through things.

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 And as it goes through to verse 18, it's going to move to this conclusion that his hope is completely and utterly gone, and he's caught in despair.

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 Continue reading at verse 10.

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 He is a bear lying in wait for me.

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 In other words, to kill me.

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 He, a lion in hiding.

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 He turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces.

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 He has made me desolate.

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 He bent his bow and set me as a target for his arrow.

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 He drove into my kidneys the arrows of his quiver.

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 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the object of their taunts all day long.

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 He has filled me with bitterness.

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 He has sated me with wormwood.

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 He has made my teeth grind on gravel and made me cower in ashes.

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 My soul is bereft of peace.

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 I have forgotten what happiness is.

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 So I say, my endurance has perished.

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 So has my hope from the Lord.

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 Now, some of you, before you came to this service, might have been in a good mood.

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 Some of you might have been trying to get into a good mood.

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 Some of you are thinking, wow, that describes exactly how I feel.

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 Just before we go anything further, you know, Christians are ones who understand that Jesus is their Savior and Lord.

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 And they've come to trust him as their Savior and his disciples.

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 And a disciple is one, in a sense, who follows another person, who trusts another person to be the wise guide, the leader, the model, the emulator, the one who provides.

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 And one of the things that Christians learn from Jesus is that ultimately the words of Scripture, God uses many, many different authors.

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 But ultimately the word of Scriptures are the words that God wanted to have there.

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 And if you think about it for a second, this gives these words very, very, very great power.

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 God wanted this expression of hopelessness and despair to be in his word.

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 Like God wanted it.

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 It wasn't as if he was sort of, he got caught up with watching angels play.

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 And while he got caught up watching angels play, some human being snuck this in or God's enemy snuck this in or the devil snuck this in.

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 And, you know, then, you know, after a couple of centuries of God watching angels play, he sees and he goes, oh, dang, this part, I didn't want this to get in the Bible.

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 What's this doing there?

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 That's not what happens at all.

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 That, in fact, this very, very powerful language of being broken, of ruin, of hopelessness, God wanted this text to be in the Bible.

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 Now, before I go any further on this, I need to tell you something about, so, you know, just give me a bit of mercy for a second here.

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 There's a bit of a grammar geek moment, a little bit of mercy.

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 But some of us love different grammar and structural things.

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 Other of us go, okay, here's my time for a nap.

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 But it's actually really, really important here to understand something that's going on in this.

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 If it wasn't for the fact that the poem is an acrostic, and that means that every, the first, like, the Hebrew equivalent of the letter A begins the first verse.

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 And, in fact, actually this, if you go back and you look at it, one of the reasons you can understand that this is the heart of the whole book of Lamentations is that, so an acrostic is where the first word of the first line begins with, in a sense, our letter A, then B, then C, then D.

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 The second word of this, the second verse, you know, is B and C.

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 And chapter 1 and 2 are acrostics.

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 There's 22, at this time of, in Hebrew, there's 22 letters in the alphabet.

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 And so chapter 1 and chapter 2 are acrostics.

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 But chapter 3 is like an acrostic on steroids.

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 It is, if you're reading it in the original language, it's like, okay, that's an acrostic.

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 Whoa.

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 That's an acrostic.

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 Whoa.

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 And then you go, whoa, this is an acrostic.

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 Because chapter 1 and chapter 2, every, in a sense, verse or stanza has three poetic lines.

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 But it's only the first word of the first line that has, in a sense, the first letter.

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 But when it comes to chapter 3, there's still, in a sense, three poetic lines for every letter of the alphabet.

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 But every single line begins with the letter A in the first three.

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 And then in chapter, and then verses 4, 5, and 6, in a sense, the Hebrew letter for B, every word is like that.

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 And so the way the whole book is structured, it's an acrostic and it's an acrostic.

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 Whoa, this is like really a huge acrostic.

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 It draws your attention to it, which is what, in a sense, God wants.

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 God wants your attention to be drawn to the despair.

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 But he also wants your attention to be drawn to what happens next.

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 And this is the other thing which is really cool about this, is that if this was like a book like Isaiah or Ezekiel or the book of Proverbs,

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 because in the book of Proverbs, like the first ten chapters are a whole group of, in a sense, psalms or poems.

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 And so scholars try to debate about whether, you know, this poem here connects with this poem or this poem or this poem or this poem.

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 And chapter 4 is, chapter 3 is actually four different poems.

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 Verses 1 to 24, verses 25 to 39, verses 40 to 47, and verses 48 to 66 are all actually four separate poems.

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 But because it's an acrostic, you understand that the author is holding them all together and you're to understand them all together.

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 And so here we come up to verse 18 in this poem.

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 And we have this very powerful, you know, look again at verse 17.

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 My soul is bereft of peace.

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 I have forgotten what happiness is, so I say my endurance has perished.

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 So is my hope from the Lord.

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 We're coming to the end of the first poem.

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 And then verses 19 and 21, there starts to be a little bit of a transition.

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 It goes like this,

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 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall.

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 In the Bible, usually when they use the word remember, it's asking the God to do something.

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 It's not just remembering.

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 But because you now look, because I have returned to you and I'm asking you,

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 can you note this and do something about it?

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 So it begins to be a bit of a transition from this thing of my hope is, my endurance has perished.

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 My hope has perished.

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 Verse 19, Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall.

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 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

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 But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.

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 And then listen to these next three verses, which is the end of the psalm.

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 But it's all part of this bigger poem that makes up chapter three.

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 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

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 His mercies never come to an end.

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 They are new every morning.

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 Great is your faithfulness.

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 The Lord is my portion, says my soul.

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 Therefore, I will hope in him.

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 Now, just a couple of things.

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 I shared this in the first week.

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 This is the best known part of the Book of Lamentations.

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 In fact, many people, it's the only part of the Book of Lamentations they know.

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 And it's not unusual for those verses to be in a little prayer card or a little fridge magnet

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 or to be a little greeting card or something like that.

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 And it's very, very interesting that usually when these verses,

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 if you could put this image up now, that would be very helpful.

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 Usually when these verses come up, it's with something like this.

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 You have a beautiful scene of a cottage at a lake or you have a beautiful scene of a farm in the middle of the countryside

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 and everything is green and everything is lush and everything is peaceful and everything is wonderful.

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 And that's how people see and understand this verse.

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 But now you understand that to see that card like that, and I'm not going to diss that card.

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 I'm not saying that if you have that card in your fridge and you find it helpful, throw it in the garbage.

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 I'm not going to say that at all.

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 If that works and helps for you, that's good.

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 But in a sense, it's a type of a romantic view of what life is like.

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 And it doesn't speak to people who are caught in despair.

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 If you could put up the second image, this would be very, very helpful.

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 You have to understand that these five poems have been written, are being written,

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 while somebody sits in the ruins like this.

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 In fact, I was just thinking that maybe I should ask Amy to make a postcard card with those ruins and the words.

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 And the words,

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 And that is something to put on your fridge, because that's exactly the context within which this is being said.

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 The person who says this, the poet, is saying these words, singing this song, praying this prayer,

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 making this confession in the midst of the ruins.

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 In the midst of the ruins.

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 And in fact, you won't understand the rest of the poem, or you won't understand chapters 4 and 5,

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 the poems that finish after this, if you don't understand,

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 that just because the poet comes to this recognition,

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 doesn't automatically mean that his reality is now like being in a farm,

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 or in the countryside, or in a cottage, or wherever your happy place is,

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 and everything is green, and everything is prosperous, and everything is safe, and everything is peaceful.

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 The poet comes to this profound realization.

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 And as they come to this profound realization, they're still in the ruins.

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 And they're going to be in the ruins tomorrow,

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 because ruins don't get, in a sense, unruined or rebuilt,

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 just instantly.

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 This text isn't talking about magic.

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 Now look again at the text.

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 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

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 His mercies never come to an end.

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 They are new every morning.

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 Great is your faithfulness.

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 The Lord is my portion, says my soul.

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 Therefore, I will hope in him.

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 This is the heart of the whole poem.

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 In one level, you might say,

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 George, that doesn't make any sense,

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 that all of a sudden, he's just gone through this profound experience

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 of speaking of hopelessness, and his endurance is gone,

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 and now all of a sudden, this pops up.

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 But I would like to suggest to you that that's exactly realistic.

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 That's exactly realistic.

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 I've had many, many, many times when I've just felt very, very, very down,

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 very, very completely overwhelmed,

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 and all of a sudden, something like this pops into my mind.

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 You know, I've had many, many times when I've just felt angry at the world

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 or nobody loves me or completely down,

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 and all of a sudden, unbidden, so to speak,

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 or maybe I've shot up the odd little prayer,

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 God, why don't you do something about that,

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 and all of a sudden, something will come up into my mind,

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 some act of kindness, some act of love,

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 some person who does love me,

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 some person who does care for me,

00:18:10.059 --> 00:18:11.399
 some memory of joy.

00:18:11.400 --> 00:18:14.980
 And part of the problem for we as human beings have,

00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:19.000
 and this is, this, you see, that's exactly how these things happen.

00:18:19.540 --> 00:18:21.480
 Part of the question then is, what do we do with it?

00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:22.460
 Where do we go with it?

00:18:23.360 --> 00:18:25.880
 I mean, I know for me, there are many, many times in my life

00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:28.160
 that I hang on to the suffering.

00:18:28.340 --> 00:18:29.780
 I hang on to the sorrow.

00:18:30.019 --> 00:18:31.480
 I hang on to the bitterness.

00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:33.500
 I hang on to the pain.

00:18:34.220 --> 00:18:34.840
 I, in a sense,

00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:38.179
 the door opens to think about something different,

00:18:38.179 --> 00:18:41.159
 and it's as if I do all in my power to shut that door,

00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:42.379
 to close that window,

00:18:42.679 --> 00:18:44.099
 to cover the light,

00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:47.500
 to repress that moment of hope,

00:18:47.659 --> 00:18:49.039
 or joy,

00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:49.859
 or love,

00:18:49.919 --> 00:18:50.500
 or peace,

00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:53.599
 or truth that comes to start to flood me

00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:54.740
 in the midst of my pain.

00:18:54.740 --> 00:18:58.740
 So I would say that rather than being artificial,

00:18:59.720 --> 00:19:01.740
 this actually describes human experience.

00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:06.240
 Some of us might not think of the human experience as being like this

00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:07.900
 because we've become so accustomed

00:19:07.900 --> 00:19:09.339
 to almost,

00:19:10.019 --> 00:19:11.799
 without even thinking about it,

00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:13.759
 the second that there is a pleasant thought,

00:19:13.980 --> 00:19:14.839
 a hopeful thought,

00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:16.519
 that we close that door immediately.

00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:19.920
 And that's why one of the things about this whole poem,

00:19:20.039 --> 00:19:21.059
 from the beginning to the end,

00:19:21.099 --> 00:19:23.259
 is such an important thing for us to reflect upon

00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:24.700
 and enter into.

00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:29.299
 Because it starts to maybe show a little bit into us.

00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:31.299
 There's several things.

00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:32.879
 As the poem goes on and continues,

00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.079
 and chapter four and chapter five goes on,

00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:37.819
 pain doesn't go away quickly.

00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:40.519
 It doesn't go away instantly.

00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.639
 This isn't like a technique or magic.

00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:46.940
 It isn't as if reality is like a bank machine

00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.060
 where you put your card in,

00:19:48.120 --> 00:19:49.200
 you just press the options,

00:19:49.380 --> 00:19:51.259
 and the options just mechanically follow.

00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:52.800
 And God isn't the sort of God.

00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:54.280
 Like, why would you think,

00:19:54.620 --> 00:19:56.100
 I mean, it's as if we want a God

00:19:56.100 --> 00:19:57.340
 who's like a cash machine,

00:19:57.460 --> 00:19:58.920
 but if, like, why would we worship that?

00:19:58.940 --> 00:19:59.900
 I know we worship money.

00:20:00.380 --> 00:20:02.940
 Why would we want a God who works like a machine

00:20:02.940 --> 00:20:04.240
 that you just press a button

00:20:04.240 --> 00:20:06.040
 and then something transpires?

00:20:06.100 --> 00:20:06.980
 The fact of the matter is,

00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:07.759
 is that emotionally,

00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:09.600
 we can live,

00:20:10.060 --> 00:20:10.900
 we can be in pain.

00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:12.060
 I mean, the pain might be real.

00:20:12.059 --> 00:20:13.720
 The ruin might continue to be real.

00:20:13.859 --> 00:20:15.980
 We are dealing with the ruin of our relationship,

00:20:16.179 --> 00:20:17.279
 the ruin of our finances,

00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:19.079
 the ruin of our friendships,

00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:21.220
 and those things don't get solved or healed

00:20:21.220 --> 00:20:22.000
 just right away,

00:20:22.059 --> 00:20:23.339
 and the pain that goes away with it

00:20:23.339 --> 00:20:24.159
 doesn't go right away.

00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:24.980
 And in that sense,

00:20:25.059 --> 00:20:27.519
 this poem and the whole book of Lamentations

00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:30.899
 is profoundly emotionally accurate.

00:20:34.019 --> 00:20:35.339
 But at the same time,

00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:39.439
 at the same time,

00:20:39.879 --> 00:20:41.639
 even in the midst of pain,

00:20:41.899 --> 00:20:43.539
 part of the reason that pain is pain

00:20:43.539 --> 00:20:44.659
 and that suffering is suffering

00:20:44.659 --> 00:20:45.639
 and ruin is ruin,

00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:48.439
 is that we have in our very, very deep bones

00:20:48.439 --> 00:20:50.019
 that that's not what we were made for.

00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:55.119
 That it's out of whack.

00:20:56.459 --> 00:20:58.799
 That it's not our true resting place.

00:20:58.799 --> 00:21:01.519
 That our true resting place

00:21:01.519 --> 00:21:03.099
 is somewhere quite different.

00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:05.419
 And so one of the things

00:21:05.419 --> 00:21:06.339
 which is so remarkable,

00:21:06.339 --> 00:21:07.599
 I'm going to be spending longer time

00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:08.500
 on this verse, obviously,

00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:09.539
 because it's so important

00:21:09.539 --> 00:21:11.299
 to understand our experience

00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:12.940
 and the message of the book of Lamentations

00:21:12.940 --> 00:21:14.119
 and what happens next.

00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:15.379
 But this,

00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:17.500
 these three lines

00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:18.779
 make these powerful lines,

00:21:18.859 --> 00:21:20.359
 the steadfast love of the Lord

00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:20.799
 never ceases.

00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:24.720
 That it's part of God's essential nature

00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:27.839
 that he is a God of steadfast love.

00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:28.339
 And actually,

00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:29.559
 a better way to understand it

00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:30.900
 is covenant love.

00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:33.299
 It's not just that God is love,

00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:36.600
 but it's a covenant language.

00:21:36.740 --> 00:21:38.420
 It's relationship language.

00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:41.019
 It's the language of God

00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:43.579
 desires to have people

00:21:43.579 --> 00:21:45.019
 who are his children

00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:46.000
 who are his

00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.180
 and his love for his children

00:21:48.180 --> 00:21:49.720
 never ceases.

00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.200
 It's clear relational love.

00:21:52.319 --> 00:21:53.319
 It's not an emotion.

00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:55.179
 Although it's not

00:21:55.179 --> 00:21:56.899
 separate from emotion,

00:21:57.019 --> 00:21:58.579
 but it's not primarily emotional.

00:21:58.899 --> 00:22:00.899
 It's a conscious willing

00:22:00.899 --> 00:22:01.919
 for relationship

00:22:01.919 --> 00:22:02.980
 in the good of the other

00:22:02.980 --> 00:22:04.439
 and a delight in the other.

00:22:04.839 --> 00:22:05.559
 It's in a sense

00:22:05.559 --> 00:22:06.500
 everything that you want

00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:07.279
 from a friend

00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:09.079
 to a spouse

00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:10.839
 to relationship with children

00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:11.460
 to pets

00:22:11.460 --> 00:22:12.079
 to places.

00:22:12.399 --> 00:22:14.419
 It's all of the senses of love

00:22:14.419 --> 00:22:15.700
 all woven together

00:22:15.700 --> 00:22:18.019
 in the context of relationship.

00:22:18.259 --> 00:22:20.139
 And this is part of God's

00:22:20.139 --> 00:22:20.980
 essential nature

00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:22.059
 that never ceases.

00:22:22.059 --> 00:22:24.359
 His mercy

00:22:24.359 --> 00:22:25.940
 never comes to an end.

00:22:26.019 --> 00:22:26.960
 He never stops

00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:28.359
 being a merciful God.

00:22:29.379 --> 00:22:31.319
 And they are new every morning.

00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:32.500
 Great is your faithfulness.

00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:33.500
 There's this idea that

00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:34.339
 it's got,

00:22:34.519 --> 00:22:35.460
 as I said in the attitudes,

00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:36.579
 it's not that God is old

00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:37.220
 and stale,

00:22:37.419 --> 00:22:38.740
 but that he is eternal

00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:39.839
 and new every day.

00:22:39.919 --> 00:22:41.720
 It's as if he is him

00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:43.339
 for the very first day.

00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:44.940
 Everything is fresh.

00:22:45.299 --> 00:22:46.460
 It's never stale.

00:22:46.460 --> 00:22:48.900
 And that his faithfulness,

00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:50.940
 his faithfulness

00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:52.620
 is something

00:22:52.620 --> 00:22:53.799
 which characterizes him.

00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:55.860
 He's unstoppably himself.

00:22:57.360 --> 00:22:58.980
 And the Lord is my portion.

00:22:59.360 --> 00:22:59.880
 In other words,

00:23:00.600 --> 00:23:01.940
 that's this sense

00:23:01.940 --> 00:23:03.640
 that I belong to the Lord

00:23:03.640 --> 00:23:05.140
 and he belongs to me.

00:23:05.720 --> 00:23:07.860
 That that's where my identity

00:23:07.860 --> 00:23:08.779
 and my destiny

00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:10.000
 ultimately is rooted.

00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:12.039
 That if there isn't a God

00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:13.400
 like this that does exist,

00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:15.040
 then I have no hope.

00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:16.500
 And despair, in fact,

00:23:16.560 --> 00:23:17.500
 should just be the rest

00:23:17.500 --> 00:23:18.360
 of the way of my life

00:23:18.360 --> 00:23:19.300
 unless I can grab

00:23:19.300 --> 00:23:20.519
 a few moments of joy.

00:23:21.800 --> 00:23:22.700
 And one of the things

00:23:22.700 --> 00:23:23.460
 which is so wonderful

00:23:23.460 --> 00:23:23.980
 about this

00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:25.519
 is that the writer of this,

00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:28.280
 writing this amidst the ruins,

00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:30.420
 all he can do

00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:31.940
 is think back to the Exodus

00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:33.300
 and think back

00:23:33.300 --> 00:23:35.880
 to how God deals with Israel

00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:37.940
 on Mount Sinai

00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:39.080
 and he can think back

00:23:39.080 --> 00:23:39.680
 about maybe

00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:41.120
 what happened,

00:23:41.259 --> 00:23:42.600
 how Gideon defeated Midian

00:23:42.599 --> 00:23:43.459
 and he can think back

00:23:43.459 --> 00:23:44.240
 to things like this.

00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:45.339
 But for we as Christians,

00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:47.500
 this text poses riddles

00:23:47.500 --> 00:23:52.039
 that only Jesus fulfills.

00:23:53.019 --> 00:23:53.659
 See, one of the things

00:23:53.659 --> 00:23:54.539
 which is so different

00:23:54.539 --> 00:23:56.879
 between Jesus and Buddha

00:23:56.879 --> 00:23:57.359
 is this,

00:23:57.899 --> 00:23:59.539
 that Buddha constantly said,

00:23:59.719 --> 00:24:00.679
 look not to me,

00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:01.799
 look to my Dharma.

00:24:02.459 --> 00:24:03.379
 Don't look at me.

00:24:03.659 --> 00:24:04.899
 Like some Buddhists will tell you,

00:24:04.939 --> 00:24:05.599
 if you see the Buddha

00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:06.579
 on the road, kill him.

00:24:07.659 --> 00:24:08.579
 As this sense

00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:09.679
 that it's not about Buddha,

00:24:09.819 --> 00:24:10.839
 it's about his way,

00:24:10.959 --> 00:24:12.119
 it's his doctrine.

00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:14.119
 And the Buddha keeps saying,

00:24:14.519 --> 00:24:15.419
 okay, it's not about me,

00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:16.919
 it's about my doctrine.

00:24:17.500 --> 00:24:18.879
 But the thing which is different

00:24:18.879 --> 00:24:19.579
 about Jesus

00:24:19.579 --> 00:24:21.719
 is it is about him.

00:24:22.000 --> 00:24:22.519
 Jesus says,

00:24:22.639 --> 00:24:23.539
 I am the way,

00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.639
 the truth, and the life.

00:24:25.139 --> 00:24:26.459
 And so what we understand

00:24:26.459 --> 00:24:28.119
 is that everything

00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:29.619
 in the Bible

00:24:29.619 --> 00:24:31.500
 is pointing to Jesus.

00:24:32.299 --> 00:24:33.319
 That those things,

00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:34.240
 the part of the Bible

00:24:34.240 --> 00:24:35.219
 that are written before him

00:24:35.219 --> 00:24:35.659
 in a sense

00:24:35.659 --> 00:24:37.879
 are posing riddles

00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:42.000
 or jumps of faith

00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:44.020
 which only start

00:24:44.020 --> 00:24:44.960
 to become clear

00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:47.060
 when Jesus arrives.

00:24:48.340 --> 00:24:48.940
 You see,

00:24:49.860 --> 00:24:51.340
 Jesus is described

00:24:51.340 --> 00:24:52.100
 as Emmanuel.

00:24:52.800 --> 00:24:53.840
 In other words,

00:24:54.080 --> 00:24:55.280
 Jesus is with you

00:24:55.280 --> 00:24:56.280
 in your mess.

00:24:56.660 --> 00:24:57.700
 Jesus is with you

00:24:57.700 --> 00:24:58.760
 in your ruins.

00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:00.700
 Jesus is with you

00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:02.460
 in your despair.

00:25:02.580 --> 00:25:03.280
 He is with you

00:25:03.280 --> 00:25:03.980
 in your pain.

00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:05.059
 He is so with you

00:25:05.059 --> 00:25:06.079
 that ultimately,

00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:07.299
 even though he himself

00:25:07.299 --> 00:25:08.039
 had never broken

00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:09.339
 his relationship with God

00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:10.220
 and was sinless,

00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:12.059
 he is so with you

00:25:12.059 --> 00:25:14.079
 that he takes upon himself

00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.759
 the sin and the punishment

00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.339
 that is proper to you.

00:25:18.380 --> 00:25:20.059
 And he's also Savior

00:25:20.059 --> 00:25:21.440
 that on the cross

00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:22.460
 he doesn't die

00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:23.000
 for the things

00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:23.819
 that he has done

00:25:23.819 --> 00:25:24.880
 wrong himself,

00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:26.500
 but he in a sense

00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:27.980
 the ruin that you deserve,

00:25:28.100 --> 00:25:28.580
 the punishment

00:25:28.580 --> 00:25:29.440
 that you deserve

00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:30.740
 is laid on him

00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:33.980
 and the destiny

00:25:33.980 --> 00:25:35.960
 that he deserved

00:25:35.960 --> 00:25:37.640
 and was properly his

00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:38.760
 is offered to you.

00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:40.980
 And even this language

00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:42.940
 of God's compassion

00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:44.900
 and his steadfast love,

00:25:45.300 --> 00:25:45.660
 once again,

00:25:45.740 --> 00:25:46.220
 that only makes,

00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:47.240
 those are all

00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:48.520
 relationship languages

00:25:48.520 --> 00:25:49.960
 but only the God

00:25:49.960 --> 00:25:51.060
 revealed by Jesus.

00:25:51.280 --> 00:25:52.580
 It's only when we understand

00:25:52.580 --> 00:25:53.960
 that there's the Father,

00:25:54.100 --> 00:25:54.440
 the Son,

00:25:54.440 --> 00:25:55.360
 and the Holy Spirit

00:25:55.360 --> 00:25:57.400
 and that Jesus is God,

00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:58.580
 the Son of God,

00:25:58.680 --> 00:25:59.420
 made flesh,

00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:01.160
 it's only when we understand

00:26:01.160 --> 00:26:02.180
 that from all eternity

00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:03.100
 there was the Father,

00:26:03.220 --> 00:26:03.460
 the Son,

00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:04.160
 and the Holy Spirit.

00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:05.240
 So from all eternity

00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:06.460
 love could truly exist

00:26:06.460 --> 00:26:07.920
 in no other system

00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:08.380
 of thought,

00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:09.539
 no other spirituality,

00:26:10.100 --> 00:26:11.259
 no other religion.

00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:15.039
 Is there a proper understanding

00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:16.019
 that, like,

00:26:16.100 --> 00:26:17.380
 where does love come from

00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:18.039
 in any of those?

00:26:18.100 --> 00:26:19.140
 Like, if everything is one,

00:26:19.380 --> 00:26:20.420
 how can there be love?

00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:22.000
 If everything just comes about

00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:22.640
 from chance,

00:26:22.740 --> 00:26:23.799
 like, how does love

00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:24.519
 make any sense?

00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:26.519
 If God is a singular God

00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:27.000
 like Allah,

00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:28.659
 then how can there be love?

00:26:28.839 --> 00:26:30.259
 Does he have to create

00:26:30.259 --> 00:26:31.359
 to have somebody to love?

00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:34.519
 But this profound insight

00:26:34.519 --> 00:26:36.639
 that God's love

00:26:36.639 --> 00:26:39.259
 is unending,

00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:42.180
 this is posing a riddle

00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:45.000
 that only Jesus in the Gospel

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:46.200
 starts to explain.

00:26:46.200 --> 00:26:51.180
 that long before there were

00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:51.740
 human beings

00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:52.440
 there was love.

00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:54.360
 And God did not have

00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:55.440
 to create human beings

00:26:55.440 --> 00:26:56.539
 so that he had someone

00:26:56.539 --> 00:26:57.080
 to love.

00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:59.039
 Long before there were angels

00:26:59.039 --> 00:26:59.759
 there was love.

00:27:01.380 --> 00:27:02.819
 And that when any one of you

00:27:02.819 --> 00:27:03.640
 have a sense

00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:04.420
 that the ruin

00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:05.580
 of my relationships,

00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:06.960
 the ruin of my life,

00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:08.799
 the ruin of my hopes,

00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:10.000
 that there's something wrong

00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:11.160
 and broken with that

00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:12.660
 and that something like love

00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:13.600
 must be real,

00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:15.219
 if you have that longing

00:27:15.219 --> 00:27:15.879
 and yearning,

00:27:16.319 --> 00:27:17.839
 only the biblical Gospel

00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.799
 makes it clear.

00:27:21.199 --> 00:27:22.319
 Only the biblical Gospel

00:27:22.319 --> 00:27:24.759
 is love from beginning to end

00:27:24.759 --> 00:27:26.379
 and is an invitation

00:27:26.379 --> 00:27:27.379
 for you

00:27:27.379 --> 00:27:29.480
 to enter into

00:27:29.480 --> 00:27:31.019
 love took flesh

00:27:31.019 --> 00:27:32.279
 and died for you

00:27:32.279 --> 00:27:34.399
 because he loved you.

00:27:34.400 --> 00:27:36.759
 and to know him

00:27:36.759 --> 00:27:38.019
 is to know a love

00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:39.080
 that would die for you,

00:27:39.320 --> 00:27:40.960
 that would take your ruin

00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:42.380
 into his life,

00:27:42.660 --> 00:27:43.920
 that you might know

00:27:43.920 --> 00:27:45.300
 the destiny of love.

00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:49.060
 Only the Gospel.

00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:53.300
 So now it changes.

00:27:54.040 --> 00:27:55.040
 If you look at it

00:27:55.040 --> 00:27:56.600
 in your English language Bibles

00:27:56.600 --> 00:27:57.580
 very, very closely,

00:27:57.720 --> 00:27:58.940
 you'll notice the transitions

00:27:58.940 --> 00:28:00.280
 because it goes from the singular

00:28:00.280 --> 00:28:01.180
 to the plural

00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:02.400
 and it goes...

00:28:02.400 --> 00:28:03.240
 So now in a sense

00:28:03.240 --> 00:28:05.300
 he's going to talk about this

00:28:05.300 --> 00:28:05.960
 a little bit more.

00:28:06.100 --> 00:28:07.380
 What we're going to see now

00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:09.240
 is that it's as if he...

00:28:10.340 --> 00:28:11.880
 Well, look what happens

00:28:11.880 --> 00:28:12.840
 in verse 24.

00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:17.960
 Sorry, verse 25.

00:28:18.780 --> 00:28:20.340
 Because 25, the poem changes.

00:28:20.460 --> 00:28:21.700
 The Lord is good to those.

00:28:22.160 --> 00:28:23.019
 See, now he's no longer

00:28:23.019 --> 00:28:23.720
 talking about me.

00:28:23.780 --> 00:28:24.259
 I am the man.

00:28:24.320 --> 00:28:25.100
 He's talking to those.

00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:26.620
 He's talking to the people.

00:28:27.740 --> 00:28:28.840
 The Lord is good to those

00:28:28.840 --> 00:28:29.540
 who wait for him,

00:28:29.600 --> 00:28:30.940
 for the soul who seeks him.

00:28:31.420 --> 00:28:32.100
 Just notice that.

00:28:32.099 --> 00:28:32.639
 Isn't that like...

00:28:32.639 --> 00:28:34.099
 It's a very, very profound...

00:28:34.719 --> 00:28:35.980
 It's a verse well worth

00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:36.759
 meditating upon

00:28:36.759 --> 00:28:37.919
 in the spiritual life.

00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:39.719
 That on one hand

00:28:39.719 --> 00:28:40.879
 what we do is we wait

00:28:40.879 --> 00:28:41.459
 and on the other hand

00:28:41.459 --> 00:28:42.039
 we seek.

00:28:42.719 --> 00:28:43.619
 You see, it's the language

00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:44.439
 of relationship.

00:28:44.659 --> 00:28:45.899
 It's the language of persons.

00:28:46.059 --> 00:28:46.439
 Isn't it?

00:28:47.159 --> 00:28:48.099
 That like...

00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:49.299
 What does a husband

00:28:49.299 --> 00:28:50.139
 and a wife do

00:28:50.139 --> 00:28:50.799
 in their marriage?

00:28:50.859 --> 00:28:51.519
 On one hand

00:28:51.519 --> 00:28:52.399
 they seek the love

00:28:52.399 --> 00:28:52.799
 of the other.

00:28:52.859 --> 00:28:53.339
 On the other hand

00:28:53.339 --> 00:28:54.519
 in a sense they wait.

00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:56.559
 There's this dance,

00:28:56.699 --> 00:28:57.399
 this balance

00:28:57.399 --> 00:28:58.879
 between seeking and waiting.

00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:00.600
 And it's woven here

00:29:00.600 --> 00:29:01.360
 into the structure

00:29:01.360 --> 00:29:02.060
 of the poem.

00:29:02.420 --> 00:29:03.100
 It's one of the ways

00:29:03.100 --> 00:29:04.060
 that reading a poem

00:29:04.060 --> 00:29:05.240
 like this helps

00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:06.320
 to structure you

00:29:06.320 --> 00:29:07.240
 to understand

00:29:07.240 --> 00:29:07.840
 what it means

00:29:07.840 --> 00:29:08.760
 to have a relationship

00:29:08.760 --> 00:29:09.780
 with the living God.

00:29:10.220 --> 00:29:11.620
 And by better understanding

00:29:11.620 --> 00:29:12.200
 the relationship

00:29:12.200 --> 00:29:13.080
 with the living God

00:29:13.080 --> 00:29:13.720
 through Jesus,

00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:14.320
 it helps you

00:29:14.320 --> 00:29:15.400
 to understand yourself

00:29:15.400 --> 00:29:16.340
 and your relationships.

00:29:16.580 --> 00:29:18.340
 But it's a very wonderful

00:29:18.340 --> 00:29:19.420
 verse to meditate upon.

00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:20.020
 I'll read it again.

00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:20.700
 Verse 25.

00:29:20.700 --> 00:29:21.319
 The Lord is good

00:29:21.319 --> 00:29:22.420
 to those who wait for him,

00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:24.240
 to the soul who seeks him.

00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:25.480
 It is good

00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:27.059
 that one should wait quietly

00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:27.900
 for the salvation

00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:28.519
 of the Lord.

00:29:28.640 --> 00:29:29.720
 It is good for a man

00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:30.640
 that he bear the yoke

00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:32.080
 in his youth.

00:29:33.080 --> 00:29:34.539
 And just sort of pause here.

00:29:34.620 --> 00:29:36.220
 There's a bit of a play here

00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:36.920
 and a bit of a point

00:29:36.920 --> 00:29:37.440
 to Jesus.

00:29:38.120 --> 00:29:39.539
 In chapter 1,

00:29:39.600 --> 00:29:40.519
 verse 14,

00:29:40.900 --> 00:29:41.819
 we bear the yoke

00:29:41.819 --> 00:29:42.740
 of our sins.

00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:46.200
 Now the poet is saying,

00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:47.640
 if you understand

00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:49.680
 great is the faithfulness

00:29:49.680 --> 00:29:50.100
 of God,

00:29:50.180 --> 00:29:51.200
 his steadfast love

00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:52.000
 endures forever,

00:29:52.259 --> 00:29:53.940
 it is good to wait for him

00:29:53.940 --> 00:29:55.360
 and to bear that yoke,

00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.440
 the yoke that comes

00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:58.160
 from the God

00:29:58.160 --> 00:29:59.060
 whose compassion

00:29:59.060 --> 00:30:00.539
 never comes to an end.

00:30:01.060 --> 00:30:02.299
 And this points us through

00:30:02.299 --> 00:30:03.740
 to Matthew chapter 11

00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:04.440
 where it says,

00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:05.080
 Jesus says,

00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:06.060
 my yoke is easy

00:30:06.060 --> 00:30:07.620
 and my burden is light.

00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:09.259
 And there's this,

00:30:09.640 --> 00:30:10.259
 once you see that,

00:30:10.480 --> 00:30:12.380
 when you look at this verse

00:30:12.380 --> 00:30:13.440
 in 1.14

00:30:13.440 --> 00:30:14.420
 and then you realize

00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:15.720
 how Jesus is fulfilling

00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:17.460
 these two things.

00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:19.299
 Verse 29.

00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:22.980
 Verse 28,

00:30:23.080 --> 00:30:23.500
 I should say,

00:30:23.620 --> 00:30:24.480
 let him sit alone

00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:25.120
 in silence

00:30:25.120 --> 00:30:26.220
 when it is laid on him,

00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:27.019
 that is the yoke.

00:30:27.560 --> 00:30:28.500
 Let him put his mouth

00:30:28.500 --> 00:30:29.180
 in the dust.

00:30:30.060 --> 00:30:30.500
 In other words,

00:30:30.539 --> 00:30:31.000
 that is just,

00:30:31.100 --> 00:30:31.420
 in a sense,

00:30:31.480 --> 00:30:32.100
 to make yourself

00:30:32.100 --> 00:30:33.380
 prostrate before the Lord,

00:30:33.480 --> 00:30:34.100
 to make yourself

00:30:34.100 --> 00:30:35.259
 helpless before him.

00:30:36.140 --> 00:30:37.519
 There may yet be hope.

00:30:37.680 --> 00:30:38.720
 Let him give his cheek

00:30:38.720 --> 00:30:39.700
 to the one who strikes,

00:30:39.820 --> 00:30:40.519
 let him be filled

00:30:40.519 --> 00:30:41.380
 with insults.

00:30:41.380 --> 00:30:42.560
 And what this is just

00:30:42.560 --> 00:30:43.400
 really talking about

00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:44.779
 is that if you understand

00:30:44.779 --> 00:30:46.599
 that the steadfast love

00:30:46.599 --> 00:30:47.440
 of the Lord never,

00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:49.119
 that if you understand

00:30:49.119 --> 00:30:50.220
 that the steadfast love

00:30:50.220 --> 00:30:51.279
 of the Lord never ceases,

00:30:51.420 --> 00:30:52.480
 his mercies never come

00:30:52.480 --> 00:30:52.879
 to an end,

00:30:52.940 --> 00:30:53.899
 they are new every morning,

00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:55.019
 great is your faithfulness.

00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:56.019
 The Lord is my portion,

00:30:56.139 --> 00:30:56.660
 says my soul,

00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:57.759
 therefore I will have hope.

00:30:58.660 --> 00:30:59.440
 And when you start

00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:00.200
 to understand that,

00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:00.599
 in a sense,

00:31:00.680 --> 00:31:01.819
 that God is the God

00:31:01.819 --> 00:31:02.920
 who really does exist

00:31:02.920 --> 00:31:03.899
 and that he's calling you

00:31:03.899 --> 00:31:04.680
 into a relationship

00:31:04.680 --> 00:31:05.319
 with himself

00:31:05.319 --> 00:31:06.420
 and he will accept you

00:31:06.420 --> 00:31:07.240
 if you come to him

00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:08.279
 in the person of Jesus,

00:31:08.779 --> 00:31:09.940
 not weighing your merits

00:31:09.940 --> 00:31:10.819
 and your accomplishments,

00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:13.119
 but parting your offenses,

00:31:13.119 --> 00:31:13.959
 there is a sense

00:31:13.959 --> 00:31:15.199
 that there can be purpose

00:31:15.199 --> 00:31:16.559
 even in seasons

00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:17.719
 of pain and punishment.

00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:21.379
 Verse 31,

00:31:21.539 --> 00:31:21.979
 For the Lord

00:31:21.979 --> 00:31:23.439
 will not cast off forever,

00:31:23.979 --> 00:31:25.619
 but though he cause grief

00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:26.639
 or sorrow,

00:31:27.119 --> 00:31:28.639
 he will have compassion

00:31:28.639 --> 00:31:30.199
 according to the abundance

00:31:30.199 --> 00:31:31.719
 of his steadfast love,

00:31:32.139 --> 00:31:34.219
 for he does not willingly afflict

00:31:34.219 --> 00:31:36.239
 or grieve the children of men.

00:31:36.759 --> 00:31:37.839
 I just want to pause here.

00:31:38.659 --> 00:31:40.419
 These three verses

00:31:40.419 --> 00:31:42.000
 combined with 22 to 24

00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:43.099
 are in some ways

00:31:43.099 --> 00:31:44.940
 the high water mark

00:31:44.940 --> 00:31:46.119
 of the doctrine of God

00:31:46.119 --> 00:31:47.480
 which is being presented here.

00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:49.200
 And they're very key

00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:49.900
 to understanding

00:31:49.900 --> 00:31:50.720
 what's going on.

00:31:51.539 --> 00:31:52.279
 For the Lord,

00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:53.099
 verse 31 again,

00:31:53.160 --> 00:31:53.539
 For the Lord

00:31:53.539 --> 00:31:54.940
 will not cast off forever,

00:31:55.880 --> 00:31:57.279
 but though he cause grief

00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:57.859
 or sorrow,

00:31:57.960 --> 00:31:59.059
 he will have compassion

00:31:59.059 --> 00:32:00.740
 according to the abundance

00:32:00.740 --> 00:32:01.960
 of his steadfast love,

00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:04.180
 for he does not willingly afflict

00:32:04.180 --> 00:32:05.740
 or grieve the children of men.

00:32:06.880 --> 00:32:07.960
 Here's what it's saying.

00:32:07.960 --> 00:32:10.740
 Punishment is a moment,

00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:12.600
 but God's love is forever.

00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:17.000
 Punishment is a moment,

00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:19.180
 but goodness is forever,

00:32:19.480 --> 00:32:20.400
 love is forever,

00:32:21.180 --> 00:32:22.160
 truth is forever,

00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:23.420
 justice is forever,

00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:24.920
 mercy is forever.

00:32:26.720 --> 00:32:29.920
 Those are God's fundamental attributes.

00:32:30.440 --> 00:32:32.120
 The fundamental attribute of God

00:32:32.120 --> 00:32:33.000
 is not punishment.

00:32:33.000 --> 00:32:35.220
 The fundamental attribute of God

00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:36.519
 is not anger.

00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:41.140
 He is properly angry at evil,

00:32:41.660 --> 00:32:46.079
 but he punishes

00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.799
 and the punishment is done,

00:32:48.299 --> 00:32:49.000
 and in a sense,

00:32:49.099 --> 00:32:49.559
 the punishment

00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:51.619
 has a beginning and an end.

00:32:51.940 --> 00:32:52.839
 But God's goodness

00:32:52.839 --> 00:32:54.019
 has no beginning,

00:32:54.160 --> 00:32:54.759
 no end.

00:32:55.299 --> 00:32:56.779
 His love has no beginning,

00:32:56.940 --> 00:32:57.519
 no end.

00:32:57.779 --> 00:32:59.259
 His mercy has no beginning,

00:32:59.559 --> 00:33:00.160
 no end.

00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:01.160
 God's love is not

00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:03.460
 that who he fundamentally is,

00:33:03.759 --> 00:33:05.200
 and that's what this text

00:33:05.200 --> 00:33:06.340
 is capturing

00:33:06.340 --> 00:33:07.900
 in poetic language.

00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:09.600
 See, once again,

00:33:09.640 --> 00:33:10.640
 I mentioned this a little bit,

00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:10.920
 I think,

00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:11.740
 in my last sermon,

00:33:11.860 --> 00:33:12.960
 but it's a very,

00:33:13.100 --> 00:33:13.960
 very important point

00:33:13.960 --> 00:33:14.779
 to understand

00:33:14.779 --> 00:33:16.340
 that many people

00:33:16.340 --> 00:33:17.060
 in our culture,

00:33:17.500 --> 00:33:18.880
 when they talk,

00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:19.779
 they talk as if

00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:20.740
 what really is needed

00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:21.240
 is a God

00:33:21.240 --> 00:33:22.420
 who is beyond good and evil.

00:33:23.460 --> 00:33:24.080
 And I said,

00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:25.380
 I challenge this,

00:33:25.420 --> 00:33:26.300
 that's what we really want.

00:33:26.360 --> 00:33:27.140
 Like, if you think about it

00:33:27.140 --> 00:33:27.620
 for a second,

00:33:27.619 --> 00:33:30.279
 if your son or your daughter

00:33:30.279 --> 00:33:31.359
 said that I'm going to pursue

00:33:31.359 --> 00:33:32.379
 a life that is beyond

00:33:32.379 --> 00:33:33.039
 good or evil,

00:33:34.299 --> 00:33:35.179
 would you be happy

00:33:35.179 --> 00:33:36.139
 if they said that?

00:33:36.239 --> 00:33:37.079
 Well, maybe you would.

00:33:37.479 --> 00:33:37.919
 But maybe,

00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:38.339
 let's say,

00:33:38.379 --> 00:33:40.119
 you're seeking to enter

00:33:40.119 --> 00:33:41.379
 into a relationship

00:33:41.379 --> 00:33:42.059
 with somebody,

00:33:42.159 --> 00:33:43.699
 you'd like to have a boyfriend

00:33:43.699 --> 00:33:44.500
 or a girlfriend,

00:33:44.699 --> 00:33:45.819
 and if you start to get

00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:46.599
 to know the person,

00:33:46.699 --> 00:33:47.000
 they say,

00:33:47.059 --> 00:33:47.399
 by the way,

00:33:47.399 --> 00:33:48.319
 I'm pursuing a life

00:33:48.319 --> 00:33:49.439
 that is beyond good or evil.

00:33:49.539 --> 00:33:50.419
 Well, would you be happy

00:33:50.419 --> 00:33:50.919
 about that?

00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:51.579
 Like, what on earth

00:33:51.579 --> 00:33:52.919
 can that possibly look like?

00:33:53.539 --> 00:33:54.619
 Like, if you think about it,

00:33:54.619 --> 00:33:55.819
 a person pursuing

00:33:55.819 --> 00:33:57.799
 a life beyond good or evil

00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:58.919
 would be the type of person

00:33:58.919 --> 00:33:59.359
 who could,

00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:00.739
 in the morning,

00:34:01.379 --> 00:34:02.539
 early in the morning,

00:34:02.659 --> 00:34:04.079
 capture a cat and kill it,

00:34:04.619 --> 00:34:06.279
 and then later on in the day

00:34:06.279 --> 00:34:07.979
 could maybe do an experiment

00:34:07.979 --> 00:34:09.339
 against their will

00:34:09.339 --> 00:34:10.119
 on a human being,

00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:10.920
 and then after that

00:34:10.920 --> 00:34:11.500
 they could listen

00:34:11.500 --> 00:34:12.299
 to some Bach,

00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:13.299
 and then maybe

00:34:13.299 --> 00:34:14.420
 they could go to church,

00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:15.199
 and then maybe

00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:16.559
 they could tell you

00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:17.339
 how much they love you

00:34:17.339 --> 00:34:18.119
 and give you roses.

00:34:18.839 --> 00:34:19.539
 And in a sense,

00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:20.259
 if you had a person

00:34:20.259 --> 00:34:21.239
 who could do all of those

00:34:21.239 --> 00:34:21.940
 types of things

00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:23.259
 with no type of sense

00:34:23.260 --> 00:34:24.240
 that there was anything

00:34:24.240 --> 00:34:26.000
 inconsistent about it,

00:34:26.180 --> 00:34:26.940
 what you would think

00:34:26.940 --> 00:34:27.700
 is that there was something

00:34:27.700 --> 00:34:29.340
 broken in that person,

00:34:29.520 --> 00:34:30.440
 something missing

00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:31.620
 in that person.

00:34:32.460 --> 00:34:33.560
 Because the fact of the matter

00:34:33.560 --> 00:34:34.640
 is that we never want

00:34:34.640 --> 00:34:35.660
 a God that is beyond

00:34:35.660 --> 00:34:36.160
 good or evil,

00:34:36.240 --> 00:34:37.380
 just as we would never want

00:34:37.380 --> 00:34:38.360
 to date a person

00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:39.520
 who is beyond good or evil.

00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:40.580
 We would never want

00:34:40.580 --> 00:34:41.860
 to be married to somebody

00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:43.300
 who is beyond good and evil.

00:34:44.140 --> 00:34:45.140
 We want to be married

00:34:45.140 --> 00:34:46.240
 to somebody who's good.

00:34:47.580 --> 00:34:48.640
 We'd want our children

00:34:48.640 --> 00:34:50.920
 to be kids who are true,

00:34:51.240 --> 00:34:52.220
 that are loving,

00:34:52.219 --> 00:34:54.879
 not beyond good and evil.

00:34:55.959 --> 00:34:56.239
 In fact,

00:34:56.319 --> 00:34:57.119
 what we want,

00:34:57.239 --> 00:34:57.759
 ultimately,

00:34:57.980 --> 00:34:59.059
 is what the Bible here

00:34:59.059 --> 00:34:59.799
 is describing,

00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:01.299
 that the good and the true,

00:35:01.459 --> 00:35:02.079
 the just,

00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:04.159
 things which are just

00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:05.179
 and things which are loving,

00:35:05.359 --> 00:35:06.339
 things which are beautiful

00:35:06.339 --> 00:35:07.559
 and things which are mercy,

00:35:07.859 --> 00:35:08.659
 that these things

00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:10.000
 never come to an end

00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:11.339
 and they never stop,

00:35:11.439 --> 00:35:12.559
 and that if you press

00:35:12.559 --> 00:35:14.059
 into any one of them,

00:35:14.399 --> 00:35:16.099
 it isn't that the others fade

00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:17.619
 or become contradictory,

00:35:17.879 --> 00:35:18.559
 but that the more

00:35:18.559 --> 00:35:20.279
 you press into goodness,

00:35:20.480 --> 00:35:21.859
 the more you press into love,

00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:23.260
 the more you press into truth,

00:35:23.380 --> 00:35:24.900
 the more you press into justice,

00:35:25.039 --> 00:35:26.380
 the more you press into mercy,

00:35:26.380 --> 00:35:28.099
 and you want a reality,

00:35:28.240 --> 00:35:29.140
 you want a God

00:35:29.140 --> 00:35:29.440
 that,

00:35:29.780 --> 00:35:30.220
 in fact,

00:35:30.280 --> 00:35:31.500
 as you go more into goodness,

00:35:31.660 --> 00:35:32.240
 more into truth,

00:35:32.340 --> 00:35:32.980
 more into justice,

00:35:33.120 --> 00:35:33.599
 more into love,

00:35:33.640 --> 00:35:34.180
 what they do

00:35:34.180 --> 00:35:35.599
 is they illuminate each other

00:35:35.599 --> 00:35:37.460
 and are at harmony

00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:38.260
 with each other

00:35:38.260 --> 00:35:39.140
 and are at one

00:35:39.140 --> 00:35:39.760
 with each other

00:35:39.760 --> 00:35:40.880
 yet remaining themselves.

00:35:43.099 --> 00:35:44.019
 And that which is

00:35:44.019 --> 00:35:44.740
 your true longing

00:35:44.740 --> 00:35:45.400
 of your heart

00:35:45.400 --> 00:35:46.559
 is that which is revealed

00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:47.559
 here in this poem.

00:35:47.559 --> 00:35:50.820
 We need to wrap this up.

00:35:51.239 --> 00:35:52.079
 Let's continue.

00:35:52.239 --> 00:35:53.019
 Verse 34.

00:35:53.619 --> 00:35:54.539
 To crush underfoot

00:35:54.539 --> 00:35:55.159
 all the prisoners

00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:55.699
 of the earth

00:35:55.699 --> 00:35:56.860
 to deny a man justice

00:35:56.860 --> 00:35:57.559
 in the presence

00:35:57.559 --> 00:35:58.279
 of the Most High

00:35:58.279 --> 00:35:59.299
 to submerge a man

00:35:59.299 --> 00:36:00.299
 in his lawsuit

00:36:00.299 --> 00:36:01.299
 the Lord does not approve.

00:36:01.400 --> 00:36:02.460
 It's just poetically saying

00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:03.840
 God never thinks

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:04.980
 that these things are right,

00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:05.980
 by the way.

00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:07.599
 Verse 37.

00:36:07.739 --> 00:36:08.360
 Who has spoken

00:36:08.360 --> 00:36:09.259
 and it came to pass

00:36:09.259 --> 00:36:10.679
 unless the Lord commanded it?

00:36:11.039 --> 00:36:12.079
 Is it not from the mouth

00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:12.860
 of the Most High

00:36:12.860 --> 00:36:14.000
 that good and bad come?

00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:15.559
 Why should a living man

00:36:15.559 --> 00:36:16.139
 complain,

00:36:16.260 --> 00:36:16.679
 a man,

00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:17.500
 about the punishment

00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:18.239
 of his sins?

00:36:18.320 --> 00:36:19.719
 This is a very important verse.

00:36:19.820 --> 00:36:20.820
 Why should any one of us

00:36:20.820 --> 00:36:21.519
 complain?

00:36:22.380 --> 00:36:23.460
 See, this is the heart.

00:36:24.260 --> 00:36:25.099
 The memory verse

00:36:25.099 --> 00:36:25.800
 for this week

00:36:25.800 --> 00:36:27.139
 is the difference

00:36:27.139 --> 00:36:28.400
 between godly grief

00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:30.079
 and worldly grief,

00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:31.019
 godly sorrow

00:36:31.019 --> 00:36:32.139
 and worldly sorrow.

00:36:32.800 --> 00:36:34.219
 And in a sense,

00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:35.360
 worldly sorrow,

00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:36.239
 worldly grief,

00:36:36.340 --> 00:36:37.179
 we can be upset

00:36:37.179 --> 00:36:38.500
 that we got punished.

00:36:38.619 --> 00:36:39.320
 We can be upset

00:36:39.320 --> 00:36:40.380
 that we got caught.

00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:41.739
 But the heart

00:36:41.739 --> 00:36:42.639
 of godly grief

00:36:42.639 --> 00:36:43.940
 is a sorrow

00:36:43.940 --> 00:36:44.920
 that we actually

00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:45.799
 had done something

00:36:45.799 --> 00:36:46.859
 which is wrong

00:36:46.859 --> 00:36:48.940
 and a hope

00:36:48.940 --> 00:36:50.359
 that there is some way

00:36:50.359 --> 00:36:51.879
 that that can be paid for,

00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:53.299
 that that can be amended,

00:36:53.519 --> 00:36:54.859
 that that can be dealt with,

00:36:55.519 --> 00:36:56.719
 that the sorrow

00:36:56.719 --> 00:36:57.359
 and the pain

00:36:57.359 --> 00:36:57.980
 that we have,

00:36:58.039 --> 00:36:58.739
 that we would have done

00:36:58.739 --> 00:36:59.839
 something like that

00:36:59.839 --> 00:37:00.900
 which was both wrong

00:37:00.900 --> 00:37:01.579
 and hurtful,

00:37:01.659 --> 00:37:03.079
 that there can be a day

00:37:03.079 --> 00:37:04.839
 that that can be mended

00:37:04.839 --> 00:37:08.379
 so that there's both

00:37:08.379 --> 00:37:09.739
 a sorrow for the wrong

00:37:09.739 --> 00:37:10.500
 that is done

00:37:10.500 --> 00:37:11.299
 and a longing

00:37:11.299 --> 00:37:12.379
 for mending

00:37:12.380 --> 00:37:14.300
 as opposed to merely

00:37:14.300 --> 00:37:15.500
 how dare you punish me,

00:37:15.559 --> 00:37:16.260
 how dare you say

00:37:16.260 --> 00:37:16.960
 that that was wrong,

00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:18.140
 how dare you question me,

00:37:18.180 --> 00:37:18.920
 how dare you,

00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:20.640
 how dare you cut me off

00:37:20.640 --> 00:37:21.760
 because if I did that

00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:23.880
 and feel sad and sorrowed,

00:37:23.880 --> 00:37:25.260
 not because

00:37:25.260 --> 00:37:27.400
 you've done anything wrong,

00:37:27.519 --> 00:37:29.940
 but because you have consequences.

00:37:31.160 --> 00:37:31.740
 And this psalm

00:37:31.740 --> 00:37:33.320
 is raising this particular issue

00:37:33.320 --> 00:37:34.619
 in a very powerful way,

00:37:34.720 --> 00:37:35.360
 this poem.

00:37:36.920 --> 00:37:38.059
 And if we believe,

00:37:38.440 --> 00:37:39.760
 it's from our point of view,

00:37:39.840 --> 00:37:40.920
 because God isn't responsible

00:37:40.920 --> 00:37:41.860
 for moral evil,

00:37:41.860 --> 00:37:42.960
 from our point of view,

00:37:43.019 --> 00:37:43.400
 it's pain,

00:37:43.480 --> 00:37:44.360
 from our point of view,

00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:44.880
 it's sorrow.

00:37:45.240 --> 00:37:46.780
 That's what we experience.

00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:48.380
 But if God is,

00:37:48.480 --> 00:37:48.740
 in fact,

00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:49.920
 not in control

00:37:49.920 --> 00:37:51.360
 of things that cause pain,

00:37:51.440 --> 00:37:52.340
 how can we believe

00:37:52.340 --> 00:37:53.320
 that he is in control

00:37:53.320 --> 00:37:54.059
 of things

00:37:54.059 --> 00:37:55.500
 which are good?

00:37:56.880 --> 00:37:58.159
 If he is not in control

00:37:58.159 --> 00:37:58.659
 of things

00:37:58.659 --> 00:37:59.880
 that cause you sorrow,

00:38:00.139 --> 00:38:01.500
 how can we believe

00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:02.360
 that he is going to be

00:38:02.360 --> 00:38:02.840
 in control

00:38:02.840 --> 00:38:03.780
 of those things

00:38:03.780 --> 00:38:05.420
 that bring you joy

00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:06.180
 and blessedness

00:38:06.180 --> 00:38:06.760
 and peace,

00:38:07.700 --> 00:38:08.159
 that in fact

00:38:08.159 --> 00:38:09.139
 will bring you salvation?

00:38:09.139 --> 00:38:12.359
 Verse 38,

00:38:12.519 --> 00:38:12.799
 it is,

00:38:13.319 --> 00:38:14.339
 is it not from the mouth

00:38:14.339 --> 00:38:15.059
 of the Most High

00:38:15.059 --> 00:38:16.019
 that good and bad

00:38:16.019 --> 00:38:16.699
 has come?

00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:21.319
 Why should a living man

00:38:21.319 --> 00:38:22.159
 complain a man

00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:22.839
 about the punishment

00:38:22.839 --> 00:38:23.619
 of his sins?

00:38:24.239 --> 00:38:24.879
 That's the end

00:38:24.879 --> 00:38:25.699
 of the second poem.

00:38:26.500 --> 00:38:27.259
 Now the poet

00:38:27.259 --> 00:38:28.900
 urges people to pray.

00:38:29.500 --> 00:38:30.259
 He goes like this,

00:38:30.319 --> 00:38:30.960
 let us test

00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:32.039
 and examine our ways

00:38:32.039 --> 00:38:33.079
 and return to the Lord.

00:38:33.420 --> 00:38:34.279
 Let us lift up

00:38:34.279 --> 00:38:35.259
 our hearts and hands

00:38:35.259 --> 00:38:36.059
 to God in heaven.

00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:37.980
 We have transgressed

00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:38.460
 and rebelled

00:38:38.460 --> 00:38:39.599
 and you have not forgiven.

00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:41.500
 You have wrapped yourself

00:38:41.500 --> 00:38:42.099
 with anger

00:38:42.099 --> 00:38:42.920
 and pursued us,

00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:43.840
 killing without pity.

00:38:43.960 --> 00:38:44.940
 You have wrapped yourself

00:38:44.940 --> 00:38:45.599
 with a cloud

00:38:45.599 --> 00:38:46.420
 so that no prayer

00:38:46.420 --> 00:38:47.159
 can pass through.

00:38:47.260 --> 00:38:47.940
 You have made us

00:38:47.940 --> 00:38:49.199
 scum and garbage

00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:50.000
 among the people.

00:38:50.139 --> 00:38:50.860
 All our enemies

00:38:50.860 --> 00:38:51.639
 open their mouths

00:38:51.639 --> 00:38:52.320
 against us.

00:38:52.740 --> 00:38:53.619
 Panic and pitfall

00:38:53.619 --> 00:38:54.440
 have come upon us,

00:38:54.539 --> 00:38:55.260
 devastation

00:38:55.260 --> 00:38:56.360
 and destruction.

00:38:57.619 --> 00:38:58.159
 Now how does that

00:38:58.159 --> 00:38:58.900
 fit in with the other things?

00:38:59.039 --> 00:39:00.139
 We have to go back

00:39:00.139 --> 00:39:00.920
 to the sermon

00:39:00.920 --> 00:39:01.820
 I did last week,

00:39:01.920 --> 00:39:03.360
 but required forgiveness

00:39:03.360 --> 00:39:04.800
 is privilege

00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:05.599
 and abuse.

00:39:09.120 --> 00:39:10.599
 And what the poet

00:39:10.599 --> 00:39:11.300
 is saying

00:39:11.300 --> 00:39:12.039
 is that God

00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:14.099
 never gives privilege

00:39:14.099 --> 00:39:16.240
 and he never abuses.

00:39:17.300 --> 00:39:18.320
 I talk about more

00:39:18.320 --> 00:39:18.800
 in the sermon

00:39:18.800 --> 00:39:20.120
 that I go through yesterday,

00:39:20.380 --> 00:39:21.840
 but the whole point

00:39:21.840 --> 00:39:23.320
 that he is saying this

00:39:23.320 --> 00:39:24.260
 in light of verses

00:39:24.260 --> 00:39:25.420
 22 to 24

00:39:25.420 --> 00:39:26.539
 and what's going to happen

00:39:26.539 --> 00:39:27.480
 next is he's

00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:28.559
 all saying,

00:39:28.700 --> 00:39:28.900
 listen,

00:39:29.019 --> 00:39:29.840
 these things have come

00:39:29.840 --> 00:39:30.380
 upon us,

00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:31.559
 we have done these sins,

00:39:31.559 --> 00:39:32.599
 we have done these things

00:39:32.599 --> 00:39:33.340
 which are wrong.

00:39:33.679 --> 00:39:34.920
 It's because of our

00:39:34.920 --> 00:39:36.039
 wrongdoing

00:39:36.039 --> 00:39:38.099
 and our unrepentant heart

00:39:38.099 --> 00:39:39.199
 that God has closed

00:39:39.199 --> 00:39:39.739
 his ears,

00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:40.820
 that God doesn't want

00:39:40.820 --> 00:39:42.559
 to hear about what,

00:39:42.639 --> 00:39:43.599
 just like if

00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:45.320
 somebody has hurt you

00:39:45.320 --> 00:39:46.099
 and then they want you

00:39:46.099 --> 00:39:46.719
 just to pretend

00:39:46.719 --> 00:39:47.759
 as if nothing has happened

00:39:47.759 --> 00:39:48.699
 and you close your ears

00:39:48.699 --> 00:39:49.039
 to them,

00:39:49.360 --> 00:39:51.219
 that's not your fault,

00:39:51.299 --> 00:39:51.940
 that's their fault.

00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:53.199
 And anybody who demands

00:39:53.199 --> 00:39:54.920
 that you change

00:39:54.920 --> 00:39:55.900
 while they are unchanged

00:39:55.900 --> 00:39:56.779
 is wrong.

00:39:56.940 --> 00:39:57.820
 And he's just saying,

00:39:57.880 --> 00:39:58.099
 listen,

00:39:58.519 --> 00:39:58.840
 you guys,

00:39:58.900 --> 00:39:59.779
 we've turned our back

00:39:59.779 --> 00:40:00.299
 on God,

00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:01.259
 we've complained

00:40:01.260 --> 00:40:01.860
 about the fact

00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:02.560
 that he's punishment,

00:40:02.720 --> 00:40:03.260
 all we've done

00:40:03.260 --> 00:40:04.220
 is blame shifting,

00:40:04.420 --> 00:40:04.920
 all we've done

00:40:04.920 --> 00:40:05.580
 is these things,

00:40:05.720 --> 00:40:06.800
 it's time to return

00:40:06.800 --> 00:40:07.280
 to the Lord

00:40:07.280 --> 00:40:08.580
 because his steadfast love

00:40:08.580 --> 00:40:09.640
 never comes to an end

00:40:09.640 --> 00:40:10.600
 and his mercies

00:40:10.600 --> 00:40:11.500
 are new every morning,

00:40:11.600 --> 00:40:12.520
 return to the Lord.

00:40:14.140 --> 00:40:14.880
 And that's how

00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:15.700
 the poem ends

00:40:15.700 --> 00:40:16.880
 from verses 49,

00:40:17.100 --> 00:40:17.620
 but once again

00:40:17.620 --> 00:40:18.560
 it ends

00:40:18.560 --> 00:40:19.800
 verses 48 to the end,

00:40:19.840 --> 00:40:20.440
 it ends within

00:40:20.440 --> 00:40:21.560
 the context of pain.

00:40:22.680 --> 00:40:24.080
 It ends with the sense

00:40:24.080 --> 00:40:24.900
 that the Lord

00:40:24.900 --> 00:40:25.380
 is going to be

00:40:25.380 --> 00:40:26.200
 the final word

00:40:26.200 --> 00:40:27.700
 and it ends

00:40:27.700 --> 00:40:28.440
 with the sense

00:40:28.440 --> 00:40:29.599
 that not only

00:40:29.599 --> 00:40:31.639
 do we understand

00:40:31.639 --> 00:40:32.599
 that there is somehow

00:40:32.599 --> 00:40:34.039
 in the mystery of God

00:40:34.039 --> 00:40:35.320
 that in his mercy

00:40:35.320 --> 00:40:38.440
 he has paid

00:40:38.440 --> 00:40:39.539
 the price of forgiveness,

00:40:39.840 --> 00:40:41.260
 that in his mercy

00:40:41.260 --> 00:40:42.880
 he is both punished

00:40:42.880 --> 00:40:43.519
 and even though

00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:44.000
 we are now

00:40:44.000 --> 00:40:45.400
 not still perfectly righteous

00:40:45.400 --> 00:40:46.440
 that somehow or another

00:40:46.440 --> 00:40:47.720
 he has made a way

00:40:47.720 --> 00:40:48.360
 for this,

00:40:49.420 --> 00:40:53.360
 that even those

00:40:53.360 --> 00:40:55.039
 who've been responsible

00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:55.760
 for the pain,

00:40:55.760 --> 00:40:56.280
 in the enemies,

00:40:56.440 --> 00:40:57.260
 they also too

00:40:57.260 --> 00:40:58.040
 will be judged.

00:40:59.600 --> 00:40:59.940
 I think,

00:41:00.340 --> 00:41:01.480
 let's just read it

00:41:01.480 --> 00:41:02.000
 very quickly,

00:41:02.120 --> 00:41:02.780
 verse 48,

00:41:03.480 --> 00:41:04.840
 my eyes flow

00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:05.980
 with rivers of tears

00:41:05.980 --> 00:41:06.980
 because of the destruction

00:41:06.980 --> 00:41:07.520
 of the daughter

00:41:07.520 --> 00:41:08.240
 of my people.

00:41:08.940 --> 00:41:09.980
 My eyes will flow

00:41:09.980 --> 00:41:10.760
 without ceasing,

00:41:10.860 --> 00:41:11.640
 without respite

00:41:11.640 --> 00:41:12.280
 until the Lord

00:41:12.280 --> 00:41:12.800
 from heaven

00:41:12.800 --> 00:41:13.920
 looks down and sees.

00:41:14.660 --> 00:41:16.240
 My eyes cause me grief

00:41:16.240 --> 00:41:16.780
 at the fate

00:41:16.780 --> 00:41:17.580
 of all the daughters

00:41:17.580 --> 00:41:18.300
 of my city.

00:41:19.020 --> 00:41:19.960
 I have been hunted

00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:20.580
 like a bird

00:41:20.580 --> 00:41:21.360
 by those who are

00:41:21.360 --> 00:41:22.660
 my enemies without cause.

00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:23.760
 They have flung me alive

00:41:23.760 --> 00:41:24.360
 into the pit

00:41:24.360 --> 00:41:25.640
 and cast stones on me.

00:41:26.120 --> 00:41:26.960
 Water closed

00:41:26.960 --> 00:41:27.740
 over my head.

00:41:27.820 --> 00:41:28.160
 I said,

00:41:28.220 --> 00:41:28.860
 I am lost.

00:41:29.380 --> 00:41:30.360
 I called on your name,

00:41:30.440 --> 00:41:30.740
 O Lord,

00:41:30.780 --> 00:41:31.380
 from the depths

00:41:31.380 --> 00:41:31.900
 of the pit.

00:41:31.980 --> 00:41:32.960
 You heard my plea.

00:41:33.460 --> 00:41:34.560
 Do not close your ear

00:41:34.560 --> 00:41:35.960
 to my cry for help.

00:41:36.340 --> 00:41:37.040
 You came near

00:41:37.040 --> 00:41:38.140
 when I called on you.

00:41:38.380 --> 00:41:38.860
 You said,

00:41:38.940 --> 00:41:39.640
 Do not fear.

00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:41.080
 You have taken up

00:41:41.080 --> 00:41:41.680
 my cause,

00:41:41.740 --> 00:41:42.040
 O Lord.

00:41:42.100 --> 00:41:43.360
 You have redeemed my life.

00:41:43.460 --> 00:41:44.000
 You have seen

00:41:44.000 --> 00:41:44.980
 the wrong done to me,

00:41:45.020 --> 00:41:45.280
 O Lord.

00:41:45.420 --> 00:41:46.400
 Judge my cause.

00:41:46.960 --> 00:41:47.480
 You have seen

00:41:47.480 --> 00:41:48.400
 all their vengeance,

00:41:48.600 --> 00:41:49.240
 all their plots

00:41:49.240 --> 00:41:49.860
 against me.

00:41:49.940 --> 00:41:50.520
 You have heard

00:41:50.520 --> 00:41:51.180
 their taunts,

00:41:51.180 --> 00:41:51.580
 O Lord,

00:41:51.660 --> 00:41:52.400
 all their plots

00:41:52.400 --> 00:41:53.000
 against me.

00:41:53.120 --> 00:41:54.040
 Their lips and thoughts

00:41:54.040 --> 00:41:54.940
 of my assailants

00:41:54.940 --> 00:41:55.920
 are against me

00:41:55.920 --> 00:41:56.820
 all the day long.

00:41:57.519 --> 00:41:57.900
 Behold,

00:41:57.980 --> 00:41:58.380
 they're sitting

00:41:58.380 --> 00:41:59.079
 and they're rising.

00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:00.000
 I am the object

00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:00.920
 of their taunts.

00:42:02.019 --> 00:42:02.980
 You will repay them,

00:42:03.099 --> 00:42:03.340
 O Lord,

00:42:03.920 --> 00:42:04.740
 according to the work

00:42:04.740 --> 00:42:05.380
 of their hands.

00:42:05.480 --> 00:42:06.200
 You will give them

00:42:06.200 --> 00:42:07.000
 dullness of heart.

00:42:07.099 --> 00:42:07.720
 You will curse.

00:42:07.719 --> 00:42:09.859
 your curse will be on them.

00:42:10.559 --> 00:42:14.299
 A blessing is,

00:42:14.299 --> 00:42:14.759
 in a sense,

00:42:14.819 --> 00:42:16.239
 a bestowal of energy

00:42:16.239 --> 00:42:18.359
 towards thriving.

00:42:19.079 --> 00:42:19.659
 And a curse,

00:42:19.799 --> 00:42:20.259
 in a sense,

00:42:20.359 --> 00:42:21.559
 is a removal

00:42:21.559 --> 00:42:22.459
 of that blessing

00:42:22.459 --> 00:42:23.719
 so that the normal

00:42:23.719 --> 00:42:24.919
 forces of entropy

00:42:24.919 --> 00:42:26.399
 take place.

00:42:27.259 --> 00:42:27.879
 Verse 66,

00:42:28.039 --> 00:42:28.859
 You will pursue them

00:42:28.859 --> 00:42:29.259
 in anger

00:42:29.259 --> 00:42:30.159
 and destroy them

00:42:30.159 --> 00:42:32.219
 from under your heavens,

00:42:32.500 --> 00:42:33.139
 O Lord.

00:42:33.500 --> 00:42:34.139
 The final word

00:42:34.139 --> 00:42:34.579
 is Lord.

00:42:34.579 --> 00:42:34.900
 Lord.

00:42:35.559 --> 00:42:37.360
 And a theme

00:42:37.360 --> 00:42:37.799
 is going to be

00:42:37.799 --> 00:42:38.559
 addressed more

00:42:38.559 --> 00:42:40.000
 in the next two.

00:42:40.719 --> 00:42:41.480
 But the heart of it

00:42:41.480 --> 00:42:43.219
 is this fundamental idea

00:42:43.219 --> 00:42:44.860
 that from beginning

00:42:44.860 --> 00:42:45.500
 to the end,

00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:46.279
 God is just,

00:42:46.420 --> 00:42:47.139
 God is merciful,

00:42:47.299 --> 00:42:47.940
 God is loving.

00:42:48.559 --> 00:42:50.039
 And we have sinned

00:42:50.039 --> 00:42:50.799
 and we need to call

00:42:50.799 --> 00:42:51.460
 upon him.

00:42:52.460 --> 00:42:53.619
 And those who are

00:42:53.619 --> 00:42:54.679
 completely and utterly

00:42:54.679 --> 00:42:55.460
 repentant,

00:42:55.559 --> 00:42:56.500
 all they will know,

00:42:57.559 --> 00:42:58.239
 in a sense,

00:42:58.319 --> 00:42:59.179
 is God's punishment.

00:42:59.179 --> 00:43:01.339
 But for those of us

00:43:01.339 --> 00:43:02.079
 who understand

00:43:02.079 --> 00:43:03.599
 that we are not perfect,

00:43:04.319 --> 00:43:06.279
 we can call upon him

00:43:06.279 --> 00:43:06.940
 for mercy.

00:43:07.319 --> 00:43:08.379
 And God comes,

00:43:08.659 --> 00:43:09.480
 relates to us,

00:43:09.519 --> 00:43:10.519
 not weighing our merits,

00:43:10.659 --> 00:43:11.819
 but pardoning our offenses.

00:43:12.419 --> 00:43:13.399
 He'll do that for you.

00:43:13.480 --> 00:43:14.460
 He will do that for me.

00:43:14.899 --> 00:43:16.119
 He has done that for me.

00:43:16.779 --> 00:43:17.219
 So,

00:43:17.419 --> 00:43:18.639
 in the midst of your pain,

00:43:19.319 --> 00:43:20.319
 in the midst of the ruin,

00:43:21.019 --> 00:43:22.980
 there is a Lord

00:43:22.980 --> 00:43:24.219
 who does hear your prayers

00:43:24.219 --> 00:43:25.239
 who will be with you.

00:43:25.539 --> 00:43:27.319
 Jesus is Emmanuel.

00:43:27.320 --> 00:43:27.519
 He will.

00:43:28.019 --> 00:43:28.860
 Let's bow our heads

00:43:28.860 --> 00:43:29.280
 in prayer.

00:43:31.880 --> 00:43:32.280
 Father,

00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:34.300
 we give you thanks

00:43:34.300 --> 00:43:34.940
 and praise

00:43:34.940 --> 00:43:38.600
 that you do not shame us

00:43:38.600 --> 00:43:40.360
 for feeling sorrow.

00:43:40.500 --> 00:43:41.600
 You do not shame us

00:43:41.600 --> 00:43:42.920
 for feeling pain.

00:43:43.039 --> 00:43:44.720
 You do not shame us

00:43:44.720 --> 00:43:46.240
 when we call out to you

00:43:46.240 --> 00:43:47.300
 and cry out to you

00:43:47.300 --> 00:43:48.080
 in confusion

00:43:48.080 --> 00:43:49.039
 and in anguish.

00:43:50.140 --> 00:43:51.600
 That you are a big God,

00:43:51.680 --> 00:43:52.480
 a God of love,

00:43:52.559 --> 00:43:53.840
 and that you can hear

00:43:53.840 --> 00:43:55.960
 this honest expression

00:43:55.960 --> 00:43:56.640
 of our pain

00:43:56.639 --> 00:43:57.679
 and of our confusion.

00:43:58.420 --> 00:43:59.400
 And we give you thanks

00:43:59.400 --> 00:44:00.279
 and praise, Father,

00:44:00.359 --> 00:44:01.639
 that often unbidden

00:44:01.639 --> 00:44:02.920
 comes into our lives

00:44:02.920 --> 00:44:03.699
 at different points,

00:44:03.819 --> 00:44:04.839
 remembrances of you

00:44:04.839 --> 00:44:05.480
 or longings

00:44:05.480 --> 00:44:06.420
 and yearnings for you.

00:44:06.879 --> 00:44:07.599
 And we ask that you

00:44:07.599 --> 00:44:08.279
 help us, Father,

00:44:08.339 --> 00:44:09.019
 to be gripped

00:44:09.019 --> 00:44:10.639
 by the message here

00:44:10.639 --> 00:44:12.619
 of Lamentations 3,

00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:13.359
 to be gripped

00:44:13.359 --> 00:44:14.279
 by the idea

00:44:14.279 --> 00:44:15.659
 that your steadfast love

00:44:15.659 --> 00:44:16.519
 endures forever.

00:44:16.659 --> 00:44:17.420
 Your faithfulness

00:44:17.420 --> 00:44:18.920
 never comes to an end,

00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:19.539
 that they are new

00:44:19.539 --> 00:44:20.259
 every morning.

00:44:20.839 --> 00:44:21.980
 That you are, in fact,

00:44:22.059 --> 00:44:22.480
 a God

00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:23.859
 who is both good and true,

00:44:24.359 --> 00:44:25.159
 loving and beautiful,

00:44:25.159 --> 00:44:26.219
 just and merciful,

00:44:26.480 --> 00:44:27.420
 and it never comes

00:44:27.420 --> 00:44:27.920
 to an end.

00:44:27.980 --> 00:44:28.920
 And you have provided,

00:44:29.659 --> 00:44:29.879
 Father,

00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:30.980
 for our great need

00:44:30.980 --> 00:44:31.500
 in the person

00:44:31.500 --> 00:44:32.119
 of your Son.

00:44:32.859 --> 00:44:33.799
 And we ask, Father,

00:44:33.879 --> 00:44:34.579
 that even though

00:44:34.579 --> 00:44:35.199
 our emotions

00:44:35.199 --> 00:44:36.299
 might not change

00:44:36.299 --> 00:44:37.039
 very quickly,

00:44:37.119 --> 00:44:37.940
 that we still have

00:44:37.940 --> 00:44:38.659
 to live with

00:44:38.659 --> 00:44:39.659
 the situation

00:44:39.659 --> 00:44:40.339
 that we are in,

00:44:40.399 --> 00:44:41.359
 that you are the God,

00:44:41.500 --> 00:44:42.379
 you are our God,

00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:43.239
 you are our God

00:44:43.239 --> 00:44:44.199
 of love and justice

00:44:44.199 --> 00:44:44.719
 and mercy

00:44:44.719 --> 00:44:45.159
 in the midst

00:44:45.159 --> 00:44:45.699
 of the ruins.

00:44:46.399 --> 00:44:46.940
 And we ask

00:44:46.940 --> 00:44:47.559
 that the Gospel

00:44:47.559 --> 00:44:48.599
 would so grip us

00:44:48.599 --> 00:44:49.980
 that we can call out

00:44:49.980 --> 00:44:50.379
 to you,

00:44:50.739 --> 00:44:51.819
 looking for that day

00:44:51.820 --> 00:44:53.000
 when we will see you

00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:53.740
 face to face

00:44:53.740 --> 00:44:55.480
 and all tears will end,

00:44:55.700 --> 00:44:56.680
 all suffering will come

00:44:56.680 --> 00:44:57.240
 to an end,

00:44:57.600 --> 00:44:58.660
 and we are in your presence

00:44:58.660 --> 00:44:59.019
 forever.

00:44:59.380 --> 00:45:00.160
 And we ask this

00:45:00.160 --> 00:45:01.120
 in Jesus' name.

00:45:01.460 --> 00:45:01.740
 Amen.