WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.279 We enter into the summer series this morning. We wrapped up a short series from Easter till last Sunday on Ezra and Nehemiah. 00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:18.160 Now in the Bible there are two separate books, but in the original Hebrew text there would be one specific book and we wrapped that up last week. 00:00:18.580 --> 00:00:23.940 Now we're in a summer series on the Psalms, specifically the second book of the Psalter. 00:00:23.940 --> 00:00:30.859 So this morning I'll open up the second book, Psalms 42 and 43. 00:00:31.300 --> 00:00:37.140 Again, separated in our Bibles, but very, very likely to be one solid Psalm. 00:00:38.039 --> 00:00:42.540 So why don't I pray and ask the Lord's blessing and we will jump right into it. 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:46.820 Lord, thank you that we have your word and specifically that we have the Psalter. 00:00:47.540 --> 00:00:52.780 Lord, it is a wonderful collection of prayers for your people. 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:54.640 Prayers by your people. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:58.359 And Lord, some of the prayers are bold prayers. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:04.299 Some of the prayers are spicy prayers and aggressive prayers and prayers of woe. 00:01:05.079 --> 00:01:11.340 And Lord, it teaches us that you desire us to talk to you exactly where we're at. 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:16.579 Lord, you want us to be authentic and honest and real and raw to you. 00:01:16.579 --> 00:01:22.599 So Lord, this morning as we open up your word and take a look at Psalm 42 and 43. 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:31.439 Lord, help us this morning to see the great benefit and blessing that it is that we can pray such prayers. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:36.579 And Lord, even more than that, remind us afresh that your hope is steadfast. 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:42.079 And it is the only true, eternal, long-lasting hope that we could have. 00:01:42.539 --> 00:01:43.840 We pray this in Christ's name. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:44.400 Amen. 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:44.980 Amen. 00:01:45.780 --> 00:01:49.880 I'll be dabbing my brow and drinking a whole bunch of water this morning. 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:50.579 It's hot in here. 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:54.960 So if you do that too, that's great. 00:01:55.180 --> 00:01:55.780 We'll do it together. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:05.359 In preparation for today's message, I spent some time listening to a talk given by Dr. Chen Hellman. 00:02:05.359 --> 00:02:14.340 He's a professor at the University of Oklahoma and a founder of the Hope Research Center. 00:02:14.419 --> 00:02:25.180 Now, I hadn't heard of that before, but I wanted to see kind of the best of the best in terms of what academics and psychologists would say about hope. 00:02:25.180 --> 00:02:27.800 And it was a great video. 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:29.040 It was a 20-minute video. 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:33.280 And in it, he shared his own story about hopelessness as a teen. 00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:36.260 And he was homeless at a certain point. 00:02:36.420 --> 00:02:37.900 He was a very broken young man. 00:02:37.900 --> 00:02:48.500 And he desired to escape his trauma and stressors so much so that it led him to a plan for suicide. 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:55.919 This was until a trusted educator and mentor came up to him. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:03.840 And the way he described it as, this man sat beside him and leaned into him and said nothing for two or three minutes. 00:03:03.939 --> 00:03:07.000 Now, try saying nothing for two minutes beside somebody. 00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:08.460 Kind of uncomfortable. 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:14.360 But two to three minutes, he sat beside this guy, leaned into him, and then got up and said to him, 00:03:14.420 --> 00:03:16.900 Chen, it's going to be all right. 00:03:16.900 --> 00:03:26.340 And for whatever reason, this was the beginning of this transformational hope in his life away from suicide and towards meaning. 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:29.140 It's a really interesting story. 00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:40.980 Hope saved this man's life from suicide and sparked in him a desire to explore and to research hope and the nature of it. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:46.800 And it seems like they've done some great work at this Hope Research Center in Oklahoma. 00:03:46.900 --> 00:03:56.840 In the same talk, Dr. Hellman would go on to say that our connectedness to others and to something greater than ourselves, outside of ourselves, 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.920 is one of the single greatest predictors of hope. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:07.040 The longer one lives, the more one realizes that life can be difficult to navigate. 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:20.519 Disappointments, pain, trauma, loss, betrayal, sickness, death, all can be terribly crippling to our outlook and prospects for the future 00:04:20.519 --> 00:04:27.680 because they rob us of hope that things will improve or that our future will be better than our present. 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:34.639 The longer we live, generally speaking, the more we see that life is tough. 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:42.319 This is how depression can move in and make a home in our lives when hope begins to disappear. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:50.459 So Psalm 42 and 43 are incredibly honest about depression and incredibly honest about hope. 00:04:51.399 --> 00:05:00.219 It's honest about depression because it talks about its causes and what it may look like and how to acknowledge our depression. 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.579 But more importantly, how to combat it. 00:05:02.579 --> 00:05:05.359 And it will be with hope. 00:05:06.539 --> 00:05:10.500 So these two psalms, like I mentioned, are likely one psalm originally. 00:05:11.180 --> 00:05:14.459 And in it, there's three fairly distinct sections. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:21.839 So we're going to treat the psalm as, in a sense, one poem with three distinct sections. 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.699 And we're going to see what hopelessness and depression looks like. 00:05:26.740 --> 00:05:30.799 And specifically, we'll see that it looks like spiritual dryness sometimes. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:34.879 Other times, it'll be spiritual oppression. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:37.360 And other times, spiritual injustice. 00:05:37.520 --> 00:05:45.199 And I tack spiritual in front of those three descriptors of depression 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:48.540 because ultimately everything is a spiritual reality. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:55.460 We are not just human beings that dabble in some spirituality here and then. 00:05:55.500 --> 00:05:56.500 We are deeply spiritual. 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:58.500 We are a body. 00:05:58.819 --> 00:05:59.639 We are a mind. 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:00.480 We are a soul. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:06.800 So, in a sense, depression is a spiritual reality. 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:11.680 So, spiritual dryness, spiritual oppression, spiritual injustice. 00:06:12.500 --> 00:06:16.879 But more importantly, this psalm will teach us how God can combat that. 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:17.500 How? 00:06:18.139 --> 00:06:21.580 With reminders of the past that testify to what he will do in the future. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:25.579 Also, with his strength and stability. 00:06:25.579 --> 00:06:28.379 And then finally, with his truth and his light. 00:06:28.379 --> 00:06:30.379 So, why don't we jump right into it? 00:06:30.379 --> 00:06:34.180 We'll look at chapter 42, verses 1 to 4 to begin. 00:06:34.180 --> 00:06:39.199 If you have a Bible, please follow along. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:44.900 There should be some Bibles in the back that you can grab at any point in the service. 00:06:44.899 --> 00:06:47.419 Let's look at verses 1 and 2. 00:06:47.419 --> 00:06:53.739 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:56.799 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 00:06:57.399 --> 00:06:59.359 When shall I come and appear before God? 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:05.520 The parched spirit is the human desire to find eternal meaning and belonging. 00:07:07.080 --> 00:07:10.500 Mankind desires meaning above all else. 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:15.720 We don't simply work to get food, to eat it, to go on our way. 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:19.640 We want something that we can engage in, that is bigger than us. 00:07:19.700 --> 00:07:21.120 Something that we're working towards. 00:07:22.320 --> 00:07:25.780 The feeling that we are complete and whole. 00:07:25.940 --> 00:07:31.140 That we have a purpose in our day-to-day and worthwhile goals that are achievable in the future. 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:33.580 This is our search for meaning. 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:36.700 But more than that, we have a desire. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:40.700 And it looks different from different people and different cultures. 00:07:40.700 --> 00:07:45.120 But I would put forward to you that across human history and across human culture, 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:50.660 that we have a desire to be fully known, accepted, and loved. 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:59.500 And not for a moment, not for a couple days or for a season, but forever, for eternity. 00:08:01.260 --> 00:08:10.760 St. Augustine's famous opening, and we've mentioned this throughout this opening season in our church plant, 00:08:11.320 --> 00:08:15.500 but St. Augustine's famous opening to his confessions articulates this perfectly. 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:16.360 It says, 00:08:16.420 --> 00:08:17.880 You have made us for yourself. 00:08:18.040 --> 00:08:20.520 We are restless until we find our rest in you. 00:08:21.440 --> 00:08:25.560 The human heart longs for fellowship and communion with the living God, 00:08:25.640 --> 00:08:27.740 and it is restless until it finds God. 00:08:27.780 --> 00:08:30.920 Or better, until God finds the human heart. 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.259 Whether we can articulate that or not, 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:41.500 that is the heart that is the motivation of humanity. 00:08:42.700 --> 00:08:47.620 So coming to faith in Jesus Christ is the achievement of our greatest desire, 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:50.899 the satisfaction of our most deeply held desires. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:53.980 We get to know God and be known by Him. 00:08:54.340 --> 00:08:57.919 The perfect peace that comes to our restless hearts. 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.399 But here's the thing about Psalm 42. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:07.500 It is not a psalm that is prayed by an unbeliever or a spiritual seeker, 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:10.319 but by one of God's own children. 00:09:10.479 --> 00:09:14.179 And yet, there's still this kind of parched spirit, 00:09:14.719 --> 00:09:15.679 this brokenness, 00:09:16.360 --> 00:09:17.799 this longing after God. 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:20.299 I thought I was supposed to be corrected when somebody comes to faith. 00:09:25.179 --> 00:09:26.579 This is the choir master. 00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:31.120 He is not some person who has been a Christian for maybe, 00:09:31.439 --> 00:09:33.259 you know, a couple months or even a couple years. 00:09:33.719 --> 00:09:37.299 This is the person that leads the worship of God 00:09:37.299 --> 00:09:39.559 by the people of God. 00:09:40.439 --> 00:09:41.879 A leader in the faith community. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:44.419 He is calling out to God with a longing heart 00:09:44.419 --> 00:09:48.679 as if God was actually completely absent. 00:09:50.220 --> 00:09:51.759 Is this a fall from grace? 00:09:52.460 --> 00:09:54.200 Has this man lost his salvation? 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:58.379 Is he a terrible spiritual seeker? 00:09:58.500 --> 00:09:59.860 Is he just some big hypocrite 00:09:59.860 --> 00:10:01.419 who's finally come to his wits end 00:10:01.419 --> 00:10:02.539 and said, 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:04.740 God, okay, it's a big charade. 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:06.659 Now I want to get right with you. 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:08.080 I'm not sure. 00:10:08.860 --> 00:10:10.779 But I would put forward to you 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:11.579 that it is, 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:13.539 it's not the case at all. 00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:14.220 I mean, listen, 00:10:14.319 --> 00:10:15.039 this is the reality. 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:16.259 We come to faith in Christ. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:17.259 We know his forgiveness. 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:19.980 We enjoy the fellowship with the Father. 00:10:20.079 --> 00:10:22.679 We trust that by the Holy Spirit's power. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:25.399 We grow in holiness and righteousness, 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.259 desiring the things that God desires. 00:10:29.379 --> 00:10:32.240 We might even have a spiritual experience 00:10:32.240 --> 00:10:34.740 or a season of spiritual experiences 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.059 that excites our very being 00:10:37.059 --> 00:10:40.379 and then a disappointment rattles us to the core. 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:43.839 Jars our faith. 00:10:43.939 --> 00:10:46.759 We become jaded with church and religion 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:51.559 because miracles and faith, 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:55.980 they seem to become increasingly implausible to our minds. 00:10:57.659 --> 00:11:01.039 Maybe a scandal or an incident of abuse in the church 00:11:01.039 --> 00:11:02.720 pushes us away. 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:05.480 All of a sudden, 00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:09.019 we find ourselves feeling as though God is not close 00:11:09.019 --> 00:11:10.920 or maybe even He does not exist. 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:14.040 And this is on the other side of coming to faith. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:15.500 This is the faithful person praying here. 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:18.340 Listen, the psalmist continues. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:20.820 Look with me in verse 3 and continue on. 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:23.340 My tears have been my food day and night. 00:11:23.480 --> 00:11:23.879 That's, 00:11:24.379 --> 00:11:25.600 he's essentially saying, 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:27.759 I am so distraught, 00:11:27.820 --> 00:11:29.220 I can't even bring myself to eat. 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.200 While they say to me all the day long, 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:32.980 where is your God? 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:35.879 These things I remember as I pour out my soul, 00:11:36.440 --> 00:11:38.220 how I would go with the throng 00:11:38.220 --> 00:11:39.660 and lead them in procession 00:11:39.660 --> 00:11:41.820 to the house of God with glad shouts, 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:43.200 songs of praise, 00:11:43.340 --> 00:11:43.860 a multitude, 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:44.720 keeping, 00:11:45.060 --> 00:11:45.480 festival. 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:48.820 Notice that the psalmist feels spiritually depleted. 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:54.180 The accusations of those around him 00:11:54.180 --> 00:11:56.560 are what he is feeling himself to a degree. 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:57.360 Where are you, God? 00:11:58.340 --> 00:11:59.500 Like, where are you? 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:02.120 You're supposed to come through. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:02.980 Where are you? 00:12:04.420 --> 00:12:06.060 It's a very honest response. 00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:07.560 And I'll put forward to you 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:10.019 that it is not a sign of a lost faith, 00:12:10.379 --> 00:12:12.060 but of a restless heart 00:12:12.060 --> 00:12:13.560 that desires to rest in God. 00:12:13.559 --> 00:12:18.339 Notice that the psalmist is pouring out his heart. 00:12:18.419 --> 00:12:21.479 It says it in verse 4. 00:12:21.859 --> 00:12:24.699 These things I remember as I pour out my soul. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:26.919 This is an honest man here. 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:30.659 There's an authenticity and rawness being displayed. 00:12:30.839 --> 00:12:34.539 He's not numbing the restlessness with distractions. 00:12:35.579 --> 00:12:36.419 I'll tell you, 00:12:36.699 --> 00:12:39.439 that is a growing problem amongst us, 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:40.219 amongst me. 00:12:40.220 --> 00:12:43.460 Nor is he accusing God of being anything 00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:44.800 other than he claims to be. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:45.440 God, 00:12:46.639 --> 00:12:49.660 you said you'd come through 00:12:49.660 --> 00:12:51.580 and you're not keeping up your end of the bargain 00:12:51.580 --> 00:12:53.200 to hell with you. 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:54.519 He's not saying that. 00:12:55.660 --> 00:12:56.980 He's not cursing God, 00:12:57.060 --> 00:12:59.139 nor is he pretending that God doesn't exist. 00:12:59.620 --> 00:13:00.759 Instead, what is he doing? 00:13:01.220 --> 00:13:03.040 He's being honest and pouring out 00:13:03.040 --> 00:13:04.019 his heart, 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:05.000 his very guts, 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:05.740 to God. 00:13:05.740 --> 00:13:08.060 And this is what he does 00:13:08.060 --> 00:13:09.000 in the midst of this. 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:10.440 He remembers the past. 00:13:11.560 --> 00:13:13.580 And this is the key to this next portion. 00:13:14.940 --> 00:13:16.340 He remembers the past 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:17.680 of what the Lord has done 00:13:17.680 --> 00:13:21.080 and is remembering that God, 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:23.700 if he is faithful in the past 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:25.019 and he is unchanging, 00:13:25.500 --> 00:13:27.700 then surely he's going to be faithful in the present. 00:13:29.399 --> 00:13:31.259 But I'll just say one of these things. 00:13:31.299 --> 00:13:33.120 And this is one of the examples 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:34.000 that I didn't give 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:35.240 that might rattle your faith. 00:13:36.779 --> 00:13:38.340 Maybe there's embarrassment 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:40.700 about a past spiritual experience you've had. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:42.700 You come from a charismatic background 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:45.379 or you had a zeal in your 20s 00:13:45.379 --> 00:13:47.460 that might be rather embarrassing 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:50.399 in your 30s, 40s, or 50s. 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:55.440 That maybe you used to clap in church. 00:13:57.360 --> 00:13:58.960 You'd encourage people 00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:01.720 in maybe overly sentimental ways. 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:02.960 Whatever it may be, 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:04.460 you're a bit embarrassed of it now. 00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:08.019 Maybe it's some of the things you believed 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:09.000 that you held to 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.100 that clearly after some time in God's Word 00:14:12.100 --> 00:14:13.680 and years studying 00:14:13.680 --> 00:14:17.360 and sitting under Bible teaching, 00:14:17.460 --> 00:14:20.259 you realize maybe that wasn't the right thing to believe. 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:22.060 But you're embarrassed of it now. 00:14:24.420 --> 00:14:26.060 You know, I'll just say this. 00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:29.359 The zeal of a young person 00:14:29.359 --> 00:14:30.659 should not be an embarrassment 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:33.299 to that same person when they're older. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:35.399 Because the heart was there. 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:37.619 And I don't want to get overly sentimental 00:14:37.619 --> 00:14:38.979 with talking about the heart. 00:14:39.359 --> 00:14:40.119 He had the right heart. 00:14:40.359 --> 00:14:42.299 I mean, that's a terrible excuse 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:43.439 for a lot of things, okay? 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:45.559 But for the young person 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:46.439 that is moved 00:14:46.439 --> 00:14:48.939 to worship God 00:14:48.939 --> 00:14:50.519 in such a way that you look back 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:51.339 and it's kind of cringy, 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:52.599 don't look back 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:53.820 and cringe. 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:56.100 Look back and see the Lord's faithfulness 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:57.019 as a youth. 00:14:59.040 --> 00:15:00.399 See that zeal and say, 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:03.259 Lord, thank you for that wonderful season. 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:05.019 Could you do something similar? 00:15:05.779 --> 00:15:07.220 But for me today, 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:09.100 not 20 years back me. 00:15:10.680 --> 00:15:14.420 Trust that the experience of the past 00:15:14.420 --> 00:15:15.560 is not so embarrassing 00:15:15.560 --> 00:15:17.160 that you forget God in the present. 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:21.800 Having a season where God feels distant 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:23.359 is something that all Christians feel. 00:15:24.399 --> 00:15:26.359 But like in verses 1-4, 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:28.279 God is not so absent 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:30.259 that He doesn't hear the prayers. 00:15:31.219 --> 00:15:32.779 This man is praying to God. 00:15:33.339 --> 00:15:35.179 God clearly isn't absent. 00:15:35.379 --> 00:15:35.979 He is there. 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:38.399 He just is not there 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:43.779 in the way that is giving this man rest. 00:15:46.459 --> 00:15:48.000 So let's pause here quickly. 00:15:48.479 --> 00:15:50.579 You'll notice I'm skipping over verse 5. 00:15:50.580 --> 00:15:51.800 I will skip over three verses 00:15:51.800 --> 00:15:53.100 and then we'll get to them at the end. 00:15:53.540 --> 00:15:54.500 We'll skip verse 5. 00:15:54.560 --> 00:15:56.400 So we see that there is a spiritual dryness 00:15:56.400 --> 00:15:56.940 that comes. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:58.860 It's a reality for God's people 00:15:58.860 --> 00:16:02.480 and it comes from all sorts of different avenues. 00:16:02.740 --> 00:16:04.240 But let's look at this next section, 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:05.300 verses 6-11, 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:07.620 where it's not a spiritual dryness, 00:16:07.680 --> 00:16:09.320 but rather a spiritual oppression. 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:14.340 Before we read, 00:16:14.460 --> 00:16:17.680 you'll notice that the imagery of verses 1-5 00:16:17.680 --> 00:16:18.680 was that of a desert. 00:16:19.040 --> 00:16:24.080 Here the imagery is this oppression, 00:16:24.260 --> 00:16:25.580 these feelings of being overwhelmed. 00:16:26.040 --> 00:16:30.580 It's an image of being by a waterfall, 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.040 a fast-moving current, 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:35.300 water that is both, I'm sure, 00:16:35.299 --> 00:16:36.259 beautiful to watch, 00:16:36.359 --> 00:16:38.519 but destructive to enter into. 00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:40.599 Read with me verses 6-10. 00:16:40.599 --> 00:16:44.439 And my God, 00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:46.599 my soul is cast down within me. 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:48.179 Therefore I remember you 00:16:48.179 --> 00:16:49.939 from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:51.919 from Mount Mitzar. 00:16:52.599 --> 00:16:53.839 Deep calls to deep 00:16:53.839 --> 00:16:55.500 at the roar of your waterfalls. 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:57.319 All your breakers and your waves 00:16:57.319 --> 00:16:58.539 have gone over me. 00:16:59.379 --> 00:17:00.679 By day the Lord commands 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:01.639 His steadfast love 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:03.319 and at night His song is with me. 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:05.799 A prayer to the God of my life. 00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:08.700 I say to God, my rock, 00:17:09.420 --> 00:17:10.720 why have you forgotten me? 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:12.820 Why do I go mourning? 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:15.340 Because of the oppression of the enemy. 00:17:16.279 --> 00:17:16.720 Verse 10, 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:19.100 As with a deadly wound in my bones, 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:20.660 my adversaries taunt me 00:17:20.660 --> 00:17:23.420 while they say to me all the day long, 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.740 where is your God? 00:17:24.820 --> 00:17:26.559 The second time that question comes up, 00:17:26.620 --> 00:17:27.519 where is your God? 00:17:28.080 --> 00:17:29.880 Now He is being oppressed and taunted. 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:34.720 Here we have a picture of a person 00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:36.460 who is completely overwhelmed 00:17:36.460 --> 00:17:37.600 by opposing forces. 00:17:38.500 --> 00:17:40.420 Again, like in the previous section, 00:17:40.540 --> 00:17:42.180 we are not told what the specifics are. 00:17:42.940 --> 00:17:44.380 In some way that's a beauty of the Bible 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:46.140 in sections like this 00:17:46.140 --> 00:17:48.300 because it helps us to then apply it 00:17:48.300 --> 00:17:50.160 to any situation in our own lives. 00:17:50.920 --> 00:17:52.060 We see in verse 9 and 10 00:17:52.060 --> 00:17:54.100 that these enemies are causing great anguish, 00:17:54.580 --> 00:17:55.160 they're mocking, 00:17:55.460 --> 00:17:56.020 they're taunting. 00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:58.720 He is caught in a torment. 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:01.700 Sorry, He is caught in a torrent. 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:04.240 He is slammed by untamable waves 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:05.180 and waterfalls. 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:08.319 This deep calls out to deep. 00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:10.200 On one hand, 00:18:10.339 --> 00:18:13.259 it's this beautiful kind of lyric and songs 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:14.960 and a prayer that we could pray, 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:17.440 and it might be that symbolically. 00:18:18.059 --> 00:18:19.660 We might read it in such a way, 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.379 but in the original language here 00:18:22.379 --> 00:18:24.559 in Psalm 42, 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:27.019 deep calls to deep is, 00:18:27.740 --> 00:18:30.200 it's like massive body of water 00:18:30.200 --> 00:18:31.539 slamming onto me. 00:18:31.980 --> 00:18:32.819 Calls to another one, 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:35.000 come over here, slam onto him. 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:36.700 It's this picture of 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:40.019 these destructive forces crashing 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:42.259 non-stop onto this person. 00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:44.220 Complete overwhelmed feeling. 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.019 It's like being underneath 00:18:47.019 --> 00:18:50.240 Niagara Falls. 00:18:50.559 --> 00:18:51.700 Where is your hope? 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:53.019 How can you possibly fight 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:54.059 against a waterfall? 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:55.200 You can't. 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:57.359 You are completely overwhelmed. 00:18:57.539 --> 00:18:59.019 And this is what is happening 00:18:59.019 --> 00:18:59.740 to this person. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:01.240 He is being overwhelmed 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:02.319 by opposing forces. 00:19:03.679 --> 00:19:05.200 He is in great anguish. 00:19:05.539 --> 00:19:06.720 The mocking and the taunting 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:07.799 is something that he just, 00:19:08.019 --> 00:19:09.339 he can't stand up. 00:19:10.039 --> 00:19:11.299 He has lost his footing. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:12.659 He is thrashing around. 00:19:12.660 --> 00:19:16.080 Has God forgotten him? 00:19:16.560 --> 00:19:17.420 Again, verse 10. 00:19:17.600 --> 00:19:18.880 Where is your God? 00:19:18.980 --> 00:19:20.320 Where are you, God? 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:22.640 Sometimes we are overwhelmed 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:24.360 by situations and ideas 00:19:24.360 --> 00:19:26.180 that either run counter to 00:19:26.180 --> 00:19:28.240 or distract us from 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:30.240 the call of faith in Christ. 00:19:31.120 --> 00:19:33.360 It feels like an unending barrage 00:19:33.360 --> 00:19:35.300 that causes us to be disoriented 00:19:35.300 --> 00:19:37.279 and causing our footing to slip. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:38.420 That we can't seem, 00:19:38.420 --> 00:19:41.180 we can't seem to stand upright. 00:19:42.180 --> 00:19:43.819 And it might cause us to doubt 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:45.960 and it might sap our courage. 00:19:47.079 --> 00:19:48.720 So, in our culture, 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:50.559 in our day in Ottawa, 00:19:50.740 --> 00:19:51.960 in Canada, 2024, 00:19:51.960 --> 00:19:54.900 the most obvious barrage 00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:56.380 that is against people 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:57.900 that want to take their faith seriously 00:19:57.900 --> 00:19:58.920 in the triune God 00:19:58.920 --> 00:20:02.720 is around gender identity ideology 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:04.319 and it runs counter to 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:06.740 and rejects the unchanging tradition 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:07.900 of male and female 00:20:07.900 --> 00:20:08.960 created in God's image. 00:20:09.500 --> 00:20:10.340 And it is hard, 00:20:10.860 --> 00:20:12.440 it is very hard to stand firm 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:15.220 when it is a constant feature 00:20:15.220 --> 00:20:17.240 from media and from friends 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:18.779 and co-workers and family. 00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:20.259 It's like a torrent. 00:20:20.259 --> 00:20:22.420 How do you stand 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:25.099 for what the scriptures say 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:27.619 of a biblical anthropology 00:20:27.619 --> 00:20:29.779 when it seems like 00:20:29.779 --> 00:20:31.940 deep is calling out to deep 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:33.299 and barraging us 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:33.859 in such a way 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:34.599 that we don't have footing 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:35.440 and we can't stand? 00:20:36.879 --> 00:20:37.740 If we do stand, 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:38.259 what do we do? 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:40.000 I mean, we risk being labeled 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:41.579 as intolerant or hateful 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:43.839 or fear the loss of promotion 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.720 or income or opportunities. 00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:46.920 It's very difficult. 00:20:48.180 --> 00:20:48.879 Wave after wave 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:50.700 comes crashing down on our heads. 00:20:51.020 --> 00:20:53.060 We may even feel hopeless. 00:20:55.320 --> 00:20:56.760 Friends, in a sense, 00:20:56.860 --> 00:20:57.840 this only proves 00:20:57.840 --> 00:20:58.880 that we can't manufacture 00:20:58.880 --> 00:20:59.460 our own hope. 00:20:59.560 --> 00:20:59.840 Remember, 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:01.960 I have no idea, by the way, 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:03.080 if Dr. Chen 00:21:03.080 --> 00:21:04.800 from the University of Oklahoma 00:21:04.800 --> 00:21:05.720 is Christian or not, 00:21:05.800 --> 00:21:07.140 but remember what he said 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:07.600 about hope. 00:21:08.320 --> 00:21:10.380 That it must, in a sense, 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:12.000 come from outside of us. 00:21:12.640 --> 00:21:14.100 From some external source. 00:21:14.099 --> 00:21:15.539 We can't manufacture hope. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:17.419 That kind of strength 00:21:17.419 --> 00:21:18.459 within us. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:21.079 Notice in verse 9, 00:21:21.139 --> 00:21:22.019 this is exactly what 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:24.179 the psalmist recognizes as well. 00:21:24.359 --> 00:21:24.639 He says, 00:21:24.980 --> 00:21:25.719 I say to God, 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:26.299 my rock. 00:21:26.859 --> 00:21:28.259 Now, he goes on to say, 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:29.899 why have you forgotten me? 00:21:30.740 --> 00:21:32.199 Now, God hasn't forgotten him, 00:21:32.339 --> 00:21:35.019 but God is the rock. 00:21:35.099 --> 00:21:36.319 He is the firm foundation. 00:21:37.459 --> 00:21:38.619 Not ourselves. 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:40.059 Not our own resolve. 00:21:40.240 --> 00:21:41.039 Not our own ability 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.019 to grit our teeth 00:21:42.019 --> 00:21:42.740 and push back 00:21:42.740 --> 00:21:44.279 in an endless war 00:21:44.279 --> 00:21:45.099 against the culture. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:47.139 That will run you 00:21:47.139 --> 00:21:47.720 into the ground. 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:49.119 Now, there are times 00:21:49.119 --> 00:21:50.019 to stand for truth, 00:21:50.059 --> 00:21:50.519 of course, 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:51.639 but that, 00:21:52.180 --> 00:21:53.139 by your own strength, 00:21:53.240 --> 00:21:53.839 will run you 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:54.539 into the ground. 00:21:55.899 --> 00:21:57.440 God is the rock. 00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:58.399 He is our only hope. 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:00.720 So, for those 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:01.879 that do not subscribe 00:22:01.879 --> 00:22:03.500 to a biblical worldview 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:04.759 or struggle to believe it 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:05.779 within our congregation, 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:09.059 consider this. 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:09.980 The ideas 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:10.960 that so deeply 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:12.099 are cherished today 00:22:12.099 --> 00:22:13.700 quickly become ridiculed tomorrow. 00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:15.799 It seems like it's, 00:22:16.700 --> 00:22:17.440 we have a failure 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:18.579 to remember this. 00:22:19.500 --> 00:22:20.599 Okay, 400 years ago, 00:22:20.839 --> 00:22:22.700 the transatlantic slave trade 00:22:22.700 --> 00:22:23.980 wasn't opposed 00:22:23.980 --> 00:22:24.860 by every corner 00:22:24.860 --> 00:22:26.099 of the world, 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:27.319 by everybody 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:28.640 who lives and breathes. 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:32.299 People of different ethnicity, 00:22:32.700 --> 00:22:33.019 namely, 00:22:33.839 --> 00:22:35.400 black West Africans, 00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:36.759 were seen as inferior, 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:37.640 non-humans. 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:40.140 who holds that today, 00:22:40.300 --> 00:22:41.000 by and large? 00:22:41.360 --> 00:22:42.320 And the fringe groups 00:22:42.320 --> 00:22:42.960 that do, 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:46.140 we rightfully reject. 00:22:47.500 --> 00:22:48.940 How about 150 years ago, 00:22:49.060 --> 00:22:50.240 King Leopold of Belgium, 00:22:50.620 --> 00:22:51.259 he justified 00:22:51.259 --> 00:22:52.620 one of the most brutal 00:22:52.620 --> 00:22:54.320 colonizations of Congo, 00:22:54.460 --> 00:22:54.920 of the Congo. 00:22:56.100 --> 00:22:56.340 Now, 00:22:56.520 --> 00:22:56.960 that was, 00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:58.520 that was mainstream thought. 00:22:59.940 --> 00:23:01.100 Nobody would agree 00:23:01.100 --> 00:23:01.660 with that today. 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:02.100 How about 00:23:02.100 --> 00:23:03.500 Margaret Sanger, 00:23:03.500 --> 00:23:05.519 who championed eugenics 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:07.059 in some of the poorest 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:08.079 neighborhoods in America, 00:23:09.299 --> 00:23:10.079 among 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:12.059 some of the poorest 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:13.019 communities of color 00:23:13.019 --> 00:23:13.700 in America. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:15.680 Eugenics was, 00:23:16.019 --> 00:23:16.259 friends, 00:23:16.400 --> 00:23:17.279 it was the science 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:17.759 100, 00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:18.940 120 years ago. 00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:20.960 That's what you held on to. 00:23:21.420 --> 00:23:21.779 Now, 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:23.460 well, 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:24.200 maybe it's still, 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:24.680 in a sense, 00:23:24.819 --> 00:23:25.559 held on to it, 00:23:25.619 --> 00:23:26.519 but by and large, 00:23:26.579 --> 00:23:27.319 eugenics is seen 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:28.160 as a terrible thing. 00:23:29.220 --> 00:23:30.259 50 years ago, 00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:32.420 Henry Morgenthaler, 00:23:32.500 --> 00:23:33.500 a Holocaust survivor, 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:35.299 normalized genocide 00:23:35.299 --> 00:23:36.680 among unborn children 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:38.379 in the sterile rooms 00:23:38.379 --> 00:23:39.599 of clinics across Canada. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:40.619 And today, 00:23:40.700 --> 00:23:41.299 healthy people 00:23:41.299 --> 00:23:42.940 are having irreversible surgeries 00:23:42.940 --> 00:23:45.180 to affirm mental instability. 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:46.440 Why do I say all this? 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:47.359 Because 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:48.579 what is held 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:49.359 today 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:49.960 as 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.299 rock-solid truth 00:23:52.299 --> 00:23:53.140 will tomorrow, 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:54.220 God willing, 00:23:54.940 --> 00:23:55.579 be seen 00:23:55.579 --> 00:23:56.200 as 00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:57.460 broken 00:23:57.460 --> 00:23:58.220 and outdated 00:23:58.220 --> 00:23:58.720 and, 00:23:58.940 --> 00:23:59.559 by and large, 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:00.220 embarrassing. 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:00.940 as a culture. 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:02.460 We will lament about it. 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:04.700 That's why 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:06.240 our hope 00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:07.779 is not in our own ability 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:09.000 to navigate this, 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:10.220 but in the solid rock 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:10.799 who is God. 00:24:12.099 --> 00:24:13.240 He talks about here 00:24:13.240 --> 00:24:14.160 that God, 00:24:14.379 --> 00:24:14.960 His love, 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:16.519 is steadfast. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:17.940 Now, 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:19.160 if the rock of God 00:24:19.160 --> 00:24:20.140 who is steadfast 00:24:20.140 --> 00:24:21.599 that is unchanging 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:22.740 will go on 00:24:22.740 --> 00:24:23.279 through eternity 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:24.220 and be able to give us 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:24.599 footing 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:25.960 in a very 00:24:25.960 --> 00:24:27.940 tumultuous time, 00:24:28.279 --> 00:24:29.140 should we not 00:24:29.140 --> 00:24:30.180 trust in that? 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:30.759 God, 00:24:30.759 --> 00:24:33.099 it's not easy. 00:24:33.180 --> 00:24:33.799 I'm not suggesting 00:24:33.799 --> 00:24:34.339 it's easy 00:24:34.339 --> 00:24:35.599 and I'm not suggesting 00:24:35.599 --> 00:24:36.859 we look down our nose 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:38.200 at those 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:39.019 that are outside 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:39.519 of the church 00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:40.500 or those inside 00:24:40.500 --> 00:24:40.819 of the church 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:41.559 that struggle 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:43.200 with a Christian 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:43.720 worldview. 00:24:44.400 --> 00:24:45.299 It is hard. 00:24:45.839 --> 00:24:46.379 That's why we look 00:24:46.379 --> 00:24:46.940 to the Lord 00:24:46.940 --> 00:24:48.019 and we trust 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:48.519 that He 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:49.400 is compassionate 00:24:49.400 --> 00:24:50.140 and merciful, 00:24:50.519 --> 00:24:51.920 that His steadfast love 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:52.579 will endure. 00:24:52.579 --> 00:24:57.240 Let's pause there. 00:24:57.579 --> 00:24:57.980 We'll jump to 00:24:57.980 --> 00:24:59.240 verse 43. 00:25:00.339 --> 00:25:00.720 So, 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:02.899 if this psalm 00:25:02.899 --> 00:25:03.419 teaches us 00:25:03.419 --> 00:25:04.099 about a spiritual 00:25:04.099 --> 00:25:04.659 dryness 00:25:04.659 --> 00:25:05.279 and a spiritual 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:05.740 oppression 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:07.019 and how God 00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:07.939 combats both 00:25:07.939 --> 00:25:08.779 with His strength 00:25:08.779 --> 00:25:10.199 and His 00:25:10.199 --> 00:25:10.919 reminder 00:25:10.919 --> 00:25:13.859 of what He has done 00:25:13.859 --> 00:25:14.720 in the past 00:25:14.720 --> 00:25:15.639 with His faithfulness, 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:16.919 then the third 00:25:16.919 --> 00:25:17.859 aspect, 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.539 and we'll see this 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:19.480 in chapter 43 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:20.519 is spiritual 00:25:20.519 --> 00:25:21.039 injustice. 00:25:21.859 --> 00:25:22.059 So, 00:25:22.159 --> 00:25:22.639 read with me. 00:25:22.720 --> 00:25:23.720 Only five verses here. 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:25.259 We'll read one to four. 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:27.059 Vindicate me, 00:25:27.139 --> 00:25:27.579 O God, 00:25:27.720 --> 00:25:28.859 and defend my cause 00:25:28.859 --> 00:25:29.920 against an ungodly 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:31.119 people from the 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:32.519 deceitful and unjust 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:32.899 man. 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:33.480 Deliver me. 00:25:34.220 --> 00:25:35.119 For You are the God 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:36.599 in whom I take refuge. 00:25:37.200 --> 00:25:38.059 Why have You 00:25:38.059 --> 00:25:38.960 rejected me? 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:40.220 Why do I go 00:25:40.220 --> 00:25:41.039 about mourning 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:41.680 because of the 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:42.879 oppression of the 00:25:42.879 --> 00:25:43.139 enemy? 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:45.059 Send out Your light 00:25:45.059 --> 00:25:45.980 and Your truth. 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:47.180 Let them lead me. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:48.500 Let them bring me 00:25:48.500 --> 00:25:49.500 to Your holy hill 00:25:49.500 --> 00:25:50.779 and to Your dwelling. 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:52.079 Then I will go 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:53.259 to the altar of God, 00:25:53.579 --> 00:25:54.859 to God my exceeding joy, 00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:55.920 and I will praise You 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:57.079 with the lyre. 00:25:57.180 --> 00:25:57.759 O God, 00:25:58.259 --> 00:25:58.960 my God. 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:02.660 Another such example here, 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:03.920 deception 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:04.900 and injustice. 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:07.119 Think of 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:08.700 how 00:26:08.700 --> 00:26:09.579 people 00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:10.259 aren't given 00:26:10.259 --> 00:26:11.339 an honest shake. 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:12.240 They're not 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:14.200 steel man, 00:26:14.279 --> 00:26:15.019 they're straw man. 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:16.660 They're slandered, 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:17.400 they're rejected, 00:26:17.619 --> 00:26:18.019 oppressed, 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:18.720 canceled. 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:20.220 They are, 00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:22.160 sound bites are taken 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:23.639 and used as fodder 00:26:23.639 --> 00:26:25.220 to eliminate them 00:26:25.220 --> 00:26:26.059 from the public 00:26:26.059 --> 00:26:27.180 scene altogether. 00:26:28.139 --> 00:26:28.960 This feeling of 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:30.079 rejection and oppression 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.460 boils down to lies. 00:26:33.819 --> 00:26:34.879 And lies are awfully 00:26:34.879 --> 00:26:35.379 powerful. 00:26:37.019 --> 00:26:38.579 So the cry is for God 00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:39.720 to send out His light 00:26:39.720 --> 00:26:40.619 and His truth to it, 00:26:40.859 --> 00:26:41.839 expose the lies 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:42.960 for what they are, 00:26:43.019 --> 00:26:44.019 to expose the darkness 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:44.900 for what it is, 00:26:44.900 --> 00:26:46.620 and to lead 00:26:46.620 --> 00:26:47.900 this person, 00:26:48.100 --> 00:26:48.780 this man, 00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:50.759 back to intimacy 00:26:50.759 --> 00:26:51.620 and joy. 00:26:52.280 --> 00:26:54.019 To remember that God 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:55.519 is a God 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:56.920 who keeps His promises, 00:26:57.580 --> 00:26:58.940 that wants to 00:26:58.940 --> 00:27:00.540 have us know 00:27:00.540 --> 00:27:02.200 that He knows us, 00:27:02.920 --> 00:27:03.640 and that it will 00:27:03.640 --> 00:27:04.860 result in joy. 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:06.720 This man, 00:27:06.800 --> 00:27:07.920 looking with me again, 00:27:08.060 --> 00:27:08.820 excuse me, 00:27:09.400 --> 00:27:10.080 in verse 4, 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:11.899 then I will go to the altar 00:27:11.899 --> 00:27:12.419 of God, 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:14.119 to God my exceeding joy. 00:27:14.699 --> 00:27:15.679 I will praise you 00:27:15.679 --> 00:27:16.399 with the lyre, 00:27:16.460 --> 00:27:16.960 O God, 00:27:17.019 --> 00:27:17.519 my God. 00:27:18.220 --> 00:27:18.539 Listen, 00:27:18.939 --> 00:27:20.000 this is what God can do. 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:21.279 He exposes lies. 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:23.059 He leads us into all truth. 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:25.240 And the fear for us 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:26.319 is that if we embrace 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:27.839 God's truth and light, 00:27:28.079 --> 00:27:29.099 we will be miserable. 00:27:29.319 --> 00:27:30.319 But the reality is 00:27:30.319 --> 00:27:31.099 we will have joy. 00:27:31.099 --> 00:27:34.939 And this is where 00:27:34.939 --> 00:27:35.819 we must take 00:27:35.819 --> 00:27:36.399 God's word 00:27:36.399 --> 00:27:37.219 by faith. 00:27:39.240 --> 00:27:40.219 Here's the conclusion. 00:27:40.699 --> 00:27:41.500 Now I skipped over 00:27:41.500 --> 00:27:43.459 verses 5 00:27:43.459 --> 00:27:44.839 of chapter 42, 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:45.559 verse 11 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:47.000 of chapter 42, 00:27:47.159 --> 00:27:48.379 and verse 5 00:27:48.379 --> 00:27:51.039 of chapter 43. 00:27:51.159 --> 00:27:51.819 And I'll read them 00:27:51.819 --> 00:27:53.659 all right now. 00:27:54.099 --> 00:27:56.819 Why are you downcast, 00:27:57.179 --> 00:27:57.879 O my soul, 00:27:57.939 --> 00:27:58.459 and why are you 00:27:58.459 --> 00:27:59.559 in turmoil within me? 00:27:59.659 --> 00:28:00.679 Hope in God, 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:01.560 for I shall again 00:28:01.560 --> 00:28:02.100 praise Him. 00:28:02.380 --> 00:28:03.720 My salvation in my God. 00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:04.799 Verse 11 00:28:04.799 --> 00:28:06.220 Why are you downcast, 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:06.880 O my soul, 00:28:07.000 --> 00:28:07.980 and why are you 00:28:07.980 --> 00:28:09.120 in turmoil within me? 00:28:09.620 --> 00:28:10.600 Hope in God, 00:28:10.660 --> 00:28:11.940 for I shall again 00:28:11.940 --> 00:28:12.519 praise Him. 00:28:13.299 --> 00:28:14.000 My salvation 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:14.640 and my God. 00:28:15.299 --> 00:28:16.600 And then chapter 43, 00:28:16.700 --> 00:28:17.200 verse 5 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.200 Why are you 00:28:18.200 --> 00:28:18.940 cast down, 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:19.640 O my soul, 00:28:19.860 --> 00:28:20.900 and why are you 00:28:20.900 --> 00:28:22.120 in turmoil within me? 00:28:22.580 --> 00:28:23.799 Hope in God, 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:25.340 for I shall again 00:28:25.340 --> 00:28:25.980 praise Him. 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:27.840 My salvation 00:28:27.840 --> 00:28:28.900 and my God. 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:33.220 Friends, hope in a God that has experienced spiritual dryness. 00:28:34.140 --> 00:28:36.240 Jesus Himself upon the cross, 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:38.080 fully man, fully God, 00:28:38.160 --> 00:28:38.820 what does He cry out? 00:28:38.840 --> 00:28:40.740 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:28:41.040 --> 00:28:42.540 Except that unlike in here, 00:28:42.880 --> 00:28:46.880 God forsook Jesus so that we would be accepted by Him, 00:28:46.980 --> 00:28:48.840 brought into His fold. 00:28:49.960 --> 00:28:53.120 Hope in the God that has experienced spiritual oppression 00:28:53.120 --> 00:28:55.800 and feelings of being completely overwhelmed. 00:28:55.800 --> 00:28:57.840 Jesus, as He's headed to the cross, 00:28:57.839 --> 00:29:01.099 He says this in Luke 22, 42. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:01.759 He says, 00:29:01.959 --> 00:29:04.659 Father, if You're willing, remove this cup from Me. 00:29:04.759 --> 00:29:07.799 Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done. 00:29:07.879 --> 00:29:09.720 And it goes on in verse 44. 00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:12.779 And being in agony, Jesus prayed more earnestly, 00:29:12.980 --> 00:29:15.299 and His sweat became like great drops of blood 00:29:15.299 --> 00:29:16.919 falling down to the ground. 00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:22.059 Jesus knows what it's like to feel oppressed. 00:29:23.679 --> 00:29:24.679 He does. 00:29:25.399 --> 00:29:27.579 Which means that we can put our trust in Him. 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:30.659 Hope in that God. 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:32.240 And finally, friends, 00:29:32.299 --> 00:29:33.759 hope in the God that has experienced 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:35.619 complete spiritual injustice, 00:29:36.359 --> 00:29:38.659 the kind that none of us can relate to. 00:29:39.339 --> 00:29:41.059 For Christ hung upon a tree, 00:29:41.159 --> 00:29:43.079 the Creator dying for His creation, 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:45.539 the most unjust punishment 00:29:45.539 --> 00:29:47.639 for the most innocent and perfect person, 00:29:48.199 --> 00:29:49.779 completely rejected for you, 00:29:50.439 --> 00:29:53.539 so that you will be accepted by God the Father. 00:29:53.539 --> 00:29:56.359 God hears you. 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:00.180 If you're going through a spiritually dry time, 00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:02.539 or you're feeling oppressed and overwhelmed, 00:30:02.700 --> 00:30:06.159 if you're feeling that there's just lies upon lies, 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:08.319 and people are misjudging you and mishearing you, 00:30:08.379 --> 00:30:10.319 and there's just a sense of injustice 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:13.639 that you are experiencing, 00:30:13.859 --> 00:30:14.980 know that He hears you, 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:16.039 that He is not distant. 00:30:16.039 --> 00:30:17.879 He is not distant, 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:22.339 because He has come down in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:30:22.460 --> 00:30:23.220 He hears you. 00:30:23.500 --> 00:30:25.639 You're not crazy if you continue to talk, 00:30:26.700 --> 00:30:28.680 and it feels like you're just talking to the walls. 00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:29.639 He hears you. 00:30:32.579 --> 00:30:33.680 And He will speak, 00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:34.960 primarily through His Word, 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:36.519 is God's Word written. 00:30:36.600 --> 00:30:37.920 He will speak to you through the Scriptures. 00:30:38.700 --> 00:30:40.720 He will remind you of His truth 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:42.279 and His faithfulness in the past. 00:30:43.299 --> 00:30:44.519 He will remind you 00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:46.100 that as you look to Him, 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:47.600 as you hear His voice, 00:30:48.059 --> 00:30:50.180 that He will not leave you or forsake you. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:53.259 And you can only, in a sense, 00:30:53.759 --> 00:30:56.420 experience that if you put your hope in Him. 00:30:57.779 --> 00:30:59.519 If you look outside of yourself, 00:31:00.420 --> 00:31:01.140 to Him, 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:04.559 to the rock that will never be moved, 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:06.059 then that will never be changed. 00:31:06.859 --> 00:31:07.440 And friends, 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:09.220 maybe not today, 00:31:09.379 --> 00:31:10.879 maybe not this week, 00:31:11.480 --> 00:31:13.619 but if you put your hope in Christ, 00:31:14.399 --> 00:31:15.779 you will have joy. 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:17.899 And the type of joy 00:31:17.899 --> 00:31:19.960 that will bleed into eternity. 00:31:20.139 --> 00:31:20.839 It will be wonderful. 00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:23.220 Let's pray. 00:31:23.940 --> 00:31:26.559 Lord, thank You for Psalm 42 and 43. 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:28.500 Thank You that the Psalms 00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:30.139 help us to pray honest prayers. 00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:33.839 Thank You that they also give us hope, 00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:34.899 not in ourselves, 00:31:35.139 --> 00:31:36.220 not in things, 00:31:36.619 --> 00:31:37.299 or people, 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:38.639 or in money, 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:40.659 or in prestige, 00:31:40.879 --> 00:31:41.599 or reputation, 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:43.299 but in the unchanging God 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:45.699 that always leads to life 00:31:45.699 --> 00:31:46.839 and light. 00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:48.059 Lord, 00:31:48.179 --> 00:31:48.259 we, 00:31:48.639 --> 00:31:49.799 and to truth. 00:31:49.899 --> 00:31:50.019 Lord, 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:51.039 we thank You for this. 00:31:51.879 --> 00:31:52.079 Lord, 00:31:52.159 --> 00:31:53.039 for those of us, 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:53.879 myself included, 00:31:54.819 --> 00:31:56.359 that struggle with courage, 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:58.779 that feel like 00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:00.859 we are overwhelmed 00:32:00.859 --> 00:32:02.719 with what it means 00:32:02.719 --> 00:32:03.899 to follow You 00:32:03.899 --> 00:32:05.299 and to be Your people 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:06.059 in this day. 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:06.699 Lord, 00:32:06.719 --> 00:32:07.839 help us to be people of prayer, 00:32:08.019 --> 00:32:09.099 to encourage one another, 00:32:09.240 --> 00:32:10.359 to pray for one another. 00:32:11.579 --> 00:32:11.979 And Lord, 00:32:12.219 --> 00:32:13.799 we ask and expect 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.679 that You will come to meet us. 00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:18.279 We thank You, 00:32:18.359 --> 00:32:18.519 Lord. 00:32:19.259 --> 00:32:20.459 We pray this in Christ's name. 00:32:21.139 --> 00:32:21.579 Amen. 00:32:21.579 --> 00:32:21.699 Amen. 00:32:21.699 --> 00:32:21.759 Amen. 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:21.779 Amen. 00:32:21.779 --> 00:32:21.799 Amen. 00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:21.819 Amen.