I want to ask you a question. See if you can remember. When was the first time you picked up
a Bible? Just think back. I praise God that was a long time ago, but I've seen it in movies and
I've seen other people do it. How do you approach this? Where do you start? Do you start at the
title page? Do you start somewhere in the middle? Do you flick through and pick?
Maybe you started the New Testament. The first Bible I remember receiving from someone
was a little New Testament. So it started in Matthew. But because I wanted to do a little
experiment this week, I got one of our church Bibles and I opened it up and I did the old
flick, flick, flick, flick point. And this is the verse where I landed.
How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? Psalm 13 verse 1.
Imagine those being the first words you ever read in the Bible. These questions that you
might have of God at that point would be fair. What kind of God is he? Does he even care about
people? Why is his special book seemingly complaining to him? Is being forgotten by God what I should
expect if he's real? There are some parts of the Bible that just don't seem to belong.
I described this psalm to one of our fellow staff members this week, Veronica, just over a coffee in
the morning. And she said, oh, that's a bit strange. Is that what you thought when Psalm 88 was being read out?
There are more parts of the Bible like it. There are more weird parts. There are more parts of the
Bible like Psalm 88 and they're called laments. They're difficult. They're outpourings of pain and grief,
loss and fear. They can seem really strange. They don't pull punches. They often contain questions
in complaints and complaints against God himself. So how do we read those without skipping past
or just shutting our Bibles? How do you sit here right now in church,
hear Psalm 88 and not walk out the door again? Is there anything to be gained by reading and praying
with or joining in with a lament like this? I don't know about you, but when I first read this psalm,
I didn't expect to see it in the Bible. Before we dive into it right now though, let me say something
with confidence. All of the Bible beginning to end is there on purpose, even if it looks like it's
warts and all. Each week at St. Paul's we preach a small part of all of it on purpose and without
leaving any of it out as we go. And we value what the Bible says as it says it. And to leave any of it
out would be a big mistake. It may be that Psalm 88 is exactly what you need right now.
It will push you to think differently, maybe challenge the way you think about God and perhaps
expose a shallowed or sheltered idea about him that you might have or about his path for you as a follower
of Jesus. Or this could be exactly how you're praying in your life right now.
But I believe that we all need lament in our lives, as difficult as they may seem in your season of life
right now. So as we tackle this, don't be afraid. Don't expect some sort of scandal. Oh, Steve's away.
Nick's doing whatever he wants. Rather, God's Word is a beautiful tapestry.
It's woven together with a skill unmatched by any human mind. It's planned and laid out with grace.
It's stitched together with the history of our world as we know it and painted on purpose with
all the colours of the spectrum, even the dark colours.
If you were an artist and you had to pick a book in the Bible to study, you would pick Psalms.
Psalms is a book of poems and songs and prayers gathered up over hundreds of years of Israel's
history, crafted together and bound as a prayer book for God's people and for us too.
There is wisdom to be found in there as Israel's history is taught through its pages.
Every expression you'd expect from an artist is in there. Exuberant praise, love and devotion,
darkest lament, they're all in there.
As the Psalms express joy in God's deliverance in Israel's history and excitement for his coming
salvation, they don't leave out anything true about God or about their situation.
They don't leave out authentic thoughts and feelings, all while they waited for God's promised
king to come.
So prayer for Israel was always a balance of remembering God's victories and hopefully praising
matched with this authentic outpouring out of where they were truly at.
And if you've ever read some of the Old Testament, heard about what Israel went through, they were
a country who were well acquainted with pain and struggle and suffering.
And many would say that that has never stopped for them.
As you peel back the pages of Psalms, you see pain and joy.
You see their lament and you see their praise.
As a young Christian, a very long time ago, I was taught that laments in the Bible always go
up at the end.
Most do, like Psalm 42.
Psalm 42 has this kind of up and down.
It's reflected in the song that we sing, Bless the Lord are my soul.
It sounds like this.
Things are going very wrong for the person singing this Psalm or praying.
But they decide to yet praise God and look forward with hope.
Verse 3 and verse 5, you can see it.
Day and night, my tears are my food.
That is a desperate lament.
In verse 5, it's followed by,
Why are you a downcast soul within me?
No, no, no, no, no, soul.
Hope in God.
For I will yet praise him.
That movement from pain to praise is a decision.
A decision that the prayer makes because of who God is.
For all he has done for them and his people in the past,
and because of his great promises to come.
And the book of Psalms itself kind of has this trajectory
where there are a lot of laments at the beginning
and lots of praise Psalms at the end.
It actually ends with this repeated Hallelujah Psalm theme.
It's like by the end it's just one genre
just dominating the mixtape.
Hallelujah Psalm.
It ends, the book ends on a huge up.
And that is the pattern that I expect when I read a Psalm.
Then how does a lament like Psalm 88 fit that pattern?
When it ends, as you would have heard before,
darkness is my only friend.
Does Psalm 88 belong?
What is it trying to say?
Let's take a dive right in and step through it.
We're going to do three things.
We're going to discover what the Psalm is saying
so that we can answer the question,
does it fit?
And that will help us discover what Psalm 88
and laments like it mean for us right now
as God's people.
For me, Psalm 88 is a huge challenge.
I always saw myself as quite in touch with my emotions,
but through seasons of depression
and crippling anxiety and fear,
I can say that I have never been able to pray like this.
Psalm 88 eats my understanding
and expressions of grief for breakfast.
And I want to say that's good news for me
and it's good news for you.
The Psalm reaches people who understand pain,
like Israel did and maybe like you do.
It gives us these words as a gift.
For when it is true that darkness is your closest friend,
because life really does suck sometimes.
And if it didn't,
we'd only have praise Psalms.
But laments are for the darkness.
So let's discover what this prayer is saying
and how it says it.
For those of you taking notes,
there are five parts to this Psalm.
That's not like the Psalmist goes through them in order.
Let me just give you the quick picture.
Praying to God,
sharing the situation with Him,
calling Him to do something about it,
ascribing the blame of what is happening
and questioning God Himself.
First, Psalm 88 is a prayer to God.
Verse 1, verse 9 and verse 13, all together.
Lord, You are the God who saves me.
Day and night I cry to You.
I call to You, Lord, every day.
I spread out my hands to You.
I cry to You for help, Lord.
In the morning, my prayer comes before You.
This is very significant
because you bring your complaint
to the person who can do something about it.
Here at St. Paul's at the moment,
we're not receiving any parcels.
I have no idea why.
It doesn't make any sense.
But I didn't go to the police with that problem.
I didn't go to the Ghostbusters.
I didn't even go to my mom.
I know there's only one source to go to
for that problem to be fixed.
Wisdom says go to the one
who can do something about it.
And that's what praying right looks like
when we're hurting and when we're in need.
We come to the God who saves.
Have a look at verse 1 there.
The psalmist summarizes God's previous faithfulness.
He doesn't say,
God, I know you can save.
Rather, he says,
God saves.
He has shown himself as capable of the past
and he'll be faithful with our future.
This prayer even reminds God of his own character.
Remember, do you say,
hey God, you're the God who saves?
It's pretty bold.
And this prayer is not doing what
I have found myself doing.
I'm not...
This psalm is not calling God to do the right thing
like a whinging entitled teenager does to a parent.
It's not like that.
Rather, the psalmist says,
Lord, you are the God who saves me.
I'm coming to you and you save me.
I believe you will because you have and you can.
Faith in God expressed in the middle
of the hardest of times
is what God wants to hear when we pray.
God doesn't need your recovery from an accident
or your healing after grief already done
to be ready for your motions of words.
No, he actually wants them in the middle
of your tears and your pain.
Take note, there's no line in this psalm that says,
now God, fix this.
Even though it's a desperate prayer,
it's not a list of things that God must take away.
It's a statement of faith first,
dressed up as an authentic expression
of emotions and fears and questions.
So is this permission to say what we really think to God?
Yes, I think this psalm is that permission.
Go to God and tell him how you feel
when you feel it.
Let's see how this prayer is told to God.
Go to verse 3, 4, 5 and 15
and this is the summary of how the psalmist prays.
They are overwhelmed with trouble.
Their life draws near to death.
They're weakened in a ditch.
They're set apart for slaughter.
They're bleeding out and buried alive.
Their youth means nothing because their sickness remains.
They're near enough to touch death
and darkness is their closest friend.
This prayer has few real strong details
and it kind of is as vague as it is extreme.
But remember, this book is songs and poetry
for a nation of people,
all living unique yet connected lives.
And I think this extreme yet general set of situations
are invitations for the one who laments
to insert their pain into those lines
and have those verses echo with their own experiences.
When Adrian read Psalm 88 out,
did any line grab you?
Did it give life to a memory long buried?
Have you ever felt close to death in some way
or trapped and unjustly excluded?
I can look out on this room and know
that that's true for some of you right now
and has been in the past.
This psalm is for praying word for word
while the images in it spark remembering an emotion within us,
helping us express our situations,
the things in our hearts that really hurt,
so that we can lift them up to God.
And we want God to fix these situations, right?
We want his action and justice, yeah?
Look and see what the psalmist does in verse 2.
As they call God to action, they say,
may my prayer come before you.
Turn your ear to hear my cry.
And that's it.
That's all they ask God to do.
Just look and listen.
When we first started parenting,
our little then three-nager, Judson,
he wasn't very good at listening sometimes
after he did something wrong,
especially when he'd done it wrong on purpose.
And I learnt for him that
listening required looking.
I remember gently touching his cheek
and saying, look in my eyes,
and if I didn't do that,
there would be no listening.
But if he turned his face to mine,
he would take in what I needed to say.
And I, or Sam,
could start resolving the problem
that he or we had created.
But that's what it took to get action.
I think that's what's being asked here.
The prayer knows that God hears,
but is so desperate that they're saying,
God, look in my eyes while I say this.
I need you to listen for real
and take action.
In the original language,
the word cry
is actually a stronger word
than cry in English.
It's more like a wail
and a scream together
directed at one person.
The expectation of the prayer
is that God saves.
So then if he truly hears a prayer
like God save me,
it follows that he would act to do so.
The prayer believed this
and I believe this,
but is God doing anything at all?
Is he taking action?
In fact, the psalm answers
by saying that God is taking action,
just not in the way
that we might expect.
In fact, the prayer reckons
that God is doing this to them.
Here's where we take the step together,
right into the confusion
about this psalm,
feeling out of place.
Psalm 88 doesn't lead us around
the discomfort around this.
It says it out loud
and pushes us right in.
I'm going to read some verses now
and these for me
are the hardest bits to hear.
Verse 6,
You have put me in the lowest pit
in the darkest depths.
Verse 7,
Your wrath lies heavily upon me.
You have overwhelmed me
with all of your waves.
Verse 8,
You have taken me
from my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
Verse 15,
From my youth I have suffered
and been close to death.
I have borne your terrors
and am in despair.
6, 10, 7, 8, 10.
Your wrath has swept over me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me
like a flood
and they've completely engulfed me.
You have taken from me
friend and neighbour.
God,
you are doing this to me.
It's a big step
to say God
does the bad things
in our lives
to us.
But in the way
this psalm expresses
prayer,
can you step around that?
While God may not be
the one deciding
to pull the trigger,
very often
he's the only one
who could stop the bullet.
Is God really
a control at that level?
Or is it safer
to think that God
is only in charge
over all things
when
over all things
means just the good things
that are happening
in our lives?
He does promise
that he will work
for the good
of those who love him.
It says that in Romans 8, 28.
But his good
for our lives
is woven through
a sometimes horrific mess
of selfish human
horridness
and circumstances.
And it can feel like
those things
are the only thing
in our lives
that is real.
But God
but God's good
for you
for me
and for all believers
through that mess
is real
and true.
Even if it's unseen
for now
for a while
or even if you
don't get to know
what is going on
until you can ask him
face to face.
I mentioned my boy
Judson
he is named
after a famous
missionary
who in the days
of the quill
and sailing ships
and unknown lands
decided to give up
a life of riches
and go to one of those
unknown lands
and tell them about
the gospel.
The gospel
had never been
to Burma
so he just went there.
he spent his life
translating
the Bible
into their language.
He preached
and he taught
and through his ministry
that country
as a whole
heard about Jesus.
There are 10,000
churches
and up
who can trace
their existence
back to his ministry.
but it came
at a cost.
Incredible persecution
torture
and sickness
mourning
and
lamenting
the loss
of his
wife
and then
his second
as well
the lives
of many
of his children
more than
I have fingers
on my hand
and eventually
his own life
as he got sick
he wrote
to his friends
back in America
and they sent a ship
when it arrived
he was so unwell
and in such pain
that he could barely speak
they put him on the boat
to send him home
to get well
and he died
somewhere
as they
circled around
the bottom of Africa
and they didn't have
anywhere to bury him
so they chucked him
in the sea
he did see
some of his children
live
and grow
he saw a flicker
of light
in his ministry
but it was not
the good
that he expected
no
but
we saw
the good
once he was gone
I can say
that God
was good
to Adoniram Judson
because I see
from my place
in time
how the good
Judson desired
was multiplied
with eternal good
and life saved
but I'm sure
that Psalm 88
was on the lips
of that dear man
more readily
than it is mine
as he battled
with the truth
in the midst
of horrific pain
that God
was being good
to him
do you
know
a shade
of Judson's
darkness
surely
it would be easier
if God just
fixed everything
let me say
God has
fixed two
of the only
important things
and he will
soon fix
everything
once and for all
but while those
things are true
and worthy of
your full acceptance
and confidence
we still battle
reality
mess and pain
and unknown
every single day
and sometimes
there is no
apparent good
of God
in our lives
at all
so if God
has the control
then how should
we proceed
with questioning
him
what can we say
to God
in our mess
that he is
in charge
of in our
lives
how do we
question him
well here's how
it sounds
in the psalm
verse 10
11 12
and 14
do you show
your wonders
to the dead
do their spirits
rise up
and praise you
is your love
declared in the
grave
is your faithfulness
in destruction
are your wonders
known
in the place
of the darkness
or your righteous
deeds
in the land
of oblivion
why Lord
do you reject
me
and hide
your face
from me
there are two
parts
to this
questioning
first
it has
God's fame
and reputation
in mind
in the midst
of your pain
are you
saying to
God
hey God
this looks
bad for you
in verses
10 to 12
the unknown
benefit
of God's
sovereign
ravaging
in their
life
brings
first
questions
about
God's
care
for his
power
and the
world's
perception
of him
how is
the good
and the
greatness
of who you
are going to
be received
it's a
first
call
on God
to stand
up for
himself
stand
by his
promises
and purposes
in full
view
of everyone
around
is that
what you
pray first
when life
falls apart
God
act
to preserve
your
reputation
for the
sake
of your
name
and your
fame
I care
more
about
that
I'm
not
reflexively
going to
care
about
God's
kingdom
if I'm
bleeding
out in
a
ditch
but
personal
grief
here
is
articulated
alongside
a
fully
Christ
centred
world
view
where
the
life
we
live
is
lived
for
God
with
his
priorities
always
in
view
namely
that
the
people
who
see
God
working
in
my
life
at
every
stage
of
my
life
would
respond
in
repentance
and
faith
and
know
God
too
this
is
something
that I
believe
that's
in
this
psalm
to be
learned
it's
written
in on
purpose
as
God's
word
builds
our
reflexive
care
for
the
people
around
us
that
they
would
know
this
great
God
who
we
come
and
worship
even
in
the
midst
of
incredible
personal
pain
but
it's
still
personal
pain
the
understated
simple
line in
verse 14
is
I feel
rejected
God
and you
aren't
seeing
what I'm
going
through
and this
is where
I think
we need
to be
encouraged
into
lamenting
how often
have you
felt hard
done by
or cheated
or defeated
or overwhelmed
with debt
overwhelmed
with what
we often
flippantly
call our
own
misfortune
how God
in this
psalm
undoes
that
word
this
psalm
is your
permission
to ask
those
questions
of God
without
polished
words
or manners
or formality
for he
is willing
to hear
you speak
them
he knows
that we're
sinful
and emotional
and brittle
Jesus himself
felt the
same
he knows
and understands
exactly how
a human
feels
rejection
he knows
the pain
of injustice
in our
hearts
and in our
fragile bodies
and while
those around
us suffer
those who
we love
our father
identifies
with us
he knows
the pain
of losing
those who
we love
or seeing
them suffer
as he
watched
his son
die on a
cross
he can
be trusted
and relied
upon
as gracious
with the
worst
you have
to share
with him
in the
middle of
the mess
from every
day
from now
to the
end of
your life
here on
earth
even if
it seems
he isn't
hearing you
or that
he's turned
away
every day
that is
dark
and there
might be
many
he wants
your lament
until
the dark
comes to
light
is that
what you
expected to
read in
the bible
a tool
for processing
pain and
expressing
yourself
to an
apparently
absent
god
that's not
what i
expected
let me
take this
a step
further
everyone
grab your
bible
that's got
psalm 88
open
if you
don't
do it
right
now
because
this
for us
right now
is the
hardest
part
to hear
because it
means that
we have
to do
something
have a
look at
the title
of this
psalm
psalm 88
a song
this was
written
to be
sung
in the
temple
by
everyone
gathered
in
worship
not just
an item
to be
processed
and prayed
through
by the
listeners
but as
something
to sing
to pray
and to
learn
together
can you
imagine
standing up
in church
and singing
and darkness
is my
best friend
no
certainly
a weird
choice
for a
Sunday
worship
song
or is
it
is it
counterproductive
to find
this in
the Bible
is it
counterproductive
to sing
this in
church
what is
this
let's
just
quickly go
back over
our five
steps that
we've been
through so
far looking
at this
psalm
remember
questioning
God is
a step
of faith
and
authenticity
we go
to our
God
who we
know
has saved
us
and say
that he
can
save
secondly
we share
what is
going on
because we
trust that
he sees
third
we call
on him
to hear
our
prayer
because
we trust
he wants
to
and will
for
we acknowledge
his sovereignty
over all
things
not just
the easy
to explain
happy bits
of our
lives
and five
we bring
exactly
where we
are to
him
even
if
it
seems
like
he
isn't
there
or
doesn't
care
humbly
with the
truth
of our
life
our love
for others
and his
grace
in full
view
that
sounds
like a
prayer
for the
Christian
to use
in a
season
of trial
and trouble
our God
knows
how hard
life is
and how
it works
and has
shown us
a path
toward
recovery
namely
that we
go to
him
wherever
we are
with all
that we
feel
to be
heard
and heal
I believe
that lamenting
rightly
before God
like this
should be
in the
Bible
as it's
a treatment
for the
silence
of pain
that our
culture
says is
normal
and permits
and equips
words to
fill our
mouths
to get
out
as we
grieve
and process
the
horrors
of our
lives
so how
do we
know
what to
say
after
hearing
Adrian
read it
do you
now
remember
this
psalm
certainly
not one
we've
taught
with a
snappy
memory
verse
in
kids
church
yet
let me
say a few
things about
lamenting
your life
and our
life as
a church
we need
to practice
in our
seasons
of joy
and blessing
for the
lamenting
in our
seasons
of horror
and hardship
I believe
that's why
this prayer
is a song
look back
at the title
it's written
by the sons
of Korah
the hit makers
of the time
written for the
music pastor
to the tune
of
Mahalalaleth
I'm sure
it sounds
better
in Hebrew
but it's
taken from
the main
praise and
lament
charts
of the
time
I deliberately
made that a bit
silly because
we like to
downplay art
in our
churches
as a
sideshow
as something
to use
in the rest
of our life
but not in the
important bits
yet God
really cares
that we
use art
he's created
for us
strategically
and not
leaving anyone
out
the activity
of singing
praise and
prayers and
proclamations
to and about
God
are worthwhile
they're never
the afterthought
of the corporate
worship pastor
because he's
worried that
Steve won't
have the time
in his sermon
to fill the
quota of a
service
no God
has given us
time together
each week
to train us
and teach us
and let him
speak to us
through these
songs
all together
in song
every week
at St. Paul's
unity of song
disarms
spoken
and unspoken
but unhelpful
rules
about emotional
honesty
in our
community
all culturally
driven
misguided
theological
expectations
about
how happiness
should work
for those
who do
the right
thing
they help
undo hopes
that God
does not
promise
in his
gospel
and together
we declare
as we sing
that if God
is for us
as the gospel
shows as we
sung before
that none
can stand
against us
but
we do stand
with enemies
against us
as Christians
there is nothing
that can take
our salvation
away
but we can
lose it
life
and it can
be unfair
as Australians
we can't
abide by
that
a fair go
is part
of our
values
but that's
not what
God promises
in fact
we get
something
better
than a
fair go
from God
we get
the reality
check
of the gospel
that unifies
man under
the banner
of sinful
and in need
and divides
us only
by those
who believe
in Jesus
and receive
his salvation
immeasurable
blessings
and riches
now
and forevermore
in Jesus
or not
that is the
promise
when we sing
a lament
like
blessed be
your name
on the road
marked with
suffering
though there's
pain in the
offering
blessed be
your name
we start
to turn
the corner
of grief
together
encouraging
movement
through the
process
of pain
taking
with us
who we
don't even
know yet
are hurting
amongst us
giving endurance
a chance
to continue
and remind
us of the
need to
support one
another
emotionally
this psalm
is meant
to be sung
together
so what's
the benefit
is this
how to do
lament
well it's
the start
to sing
psalm 88
together
is practicing
this type
of lament
prayer
and for
some
while we
practice it
and learn
it
it's going
to be
their real
time
cry
to god
this psalm
is here
for you
any time
of the day
every day
we're devoted
to pursuing
prayer as a
daily life
goal here
at St Paul's
and so
bring laments
like this
into the way
that you speak
to god
every day
in your
prayer
and practice
and pray
for real
psalm 88
pray
laments
with a
struggling
friend
when you
don't know
what to
say
give them
the gift
of words
that are
full of
pain
but directed
rightly
pray
them
in your
marriage
when things
are going
badly
own it
together
and bring
it to god
in lament
demonstrate
their value
with your
children
lament
together
and share
your heart
and turn
together
to our
saviour
it's only
then
that we
begin to
normalise
what is
counter-cultural
in this
that humble
authenticity
in the
area of
declaring
need for
help
in the
hardest
of
times
are you
ready
to start
practicing
today we're
going to
sing psalm 88
together
and that
might be a
curveball
for you
it was a
curveball
for me
today we're
going to
first
before we
do that
be reminded
of why
we can
say
you are
the god
who saves
me
as we
pray
and sing
we can
say that
because god
has already
delivered us
from the
worst thing
that has
happened
it's already
happened to
all women
and men
the world
over from
birth namely
that we've
cut ourselves
off from
the living
god through
our sin
sentencing
ourselves to
a spiritual
death in
this life
and for
eternity
but god so
loved all
peoples that
he sent his
only son to
die that
spiritual death
for us and
to be forsaken
by his
father
as he
put on
our sins
while he
felt and
endured our
punishment for
sin and died
upon the
cross while
he cried
out why
have you
forsaken
me to
his father
so that we
would never
be forsaken
no matter
what you
face as
you process
your grief
and loss
you know
that you
have a
god who
saves
who's
rescued you
from sin
and done
the impossible
to redeem
your life
from hell
he is
worthy
listening
and even
if he is
silent for
now he
will not
stay silent
he has
not always
been silent
and he
will always
be working
for your
god for
your good
this hymn
a recording
of it is
available on
our website
today and
on our
facebook
take it
into your
life and
learn it so
it's ready on
your lips to
pray in the
worst seasons
of your life
as you turn
to the god
who saves
let this be
your voice
for the
darkness
and if you
need to go
further today
with your
grief
and pray with
a brother and
sister i'm
here after the
service and
many more
here would
love to pray
with you and
speak with
you we are
all here to
share whatever
has happened
and whatever
will happen in
this life
together why
don't you stand
and join me in
this
all day and night
i cry for you
allow my prayer
before you
incline your ear to
hear my plight
lord turn your gaze
to me
see my weary hands
like shadows
touching death itself
where is your voice in
this darkness lord are you faithful to me where is your love that you promise
you are the god who saves me
you send me out abandon me to deep despair forgotten you drown my screams with ceaseless waves and pinned me to me to despair
you send me out abandon me to deep despair forgotten you drown my screams with ceaseless waves and pin me down with wrath blind and chains with ceaseless waves and pin me down with wrath
blind and chained with grief and sorrow near my grave from you
oblivion i call my home
with shame to sooth my fears where is your voice in this darkness lord are you faithful to me where is your love that you promise you are the god who saves me
will your assaults and horrors heal your praise swell while you slay me shall i proclaim your righteousness if all i love are love
nh drier
owa
Your prayers heal your praise well while you slay me.
Shall I proclaim your righteousness if all I love are lost?
Lord, why turn your back and shun me? Where are you, my God?
Your terrors strike and flood with doubt and darkness is my friend.
Where is your voice in this darkness? Lord, are you faithful to me?
Where is your love that you promised? You are the God who saves me.
You are the God who saves me.