WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.120 And then we're going to read 2 Samuel chapter 1, verse 17 to 27, which is on page 304. 00:00:07.219 --> 00:00:08.259 You should have found it in your Bible. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:11.779 And Vanessa is going to come and read for us in a moment. 00:00:12.900 --> 00:00:17.300 David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:22.219 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bone. 00:00:22.900 --> 00:00:24.839 It is written in the book of Jasher. 00:00:24.839 --> 00:00:30.079 A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. 00:00:30.740 --> 00:00:32.539 How the mighty have fallen. 00:00:33.859 --> 00:00:35.179 Tell it not in Gath. 00:00:35.700 --> 00:00:38.179 Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.019 Lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad. 00:00:41.760 --> 00:00:44.120 Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:50.679 Mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain. 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:53.960 May no showers fall on your terraced fields. 00:00:53.960 --> 00:00:57.679 For there the shield of the mighty one was despised. 00:00:58.160 --> 00:01:01.140 The shield of Saul no longer rubbed with oil. 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:05.519 From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.540 the bow of Jonathan did not turn back. 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:12.019 The sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied. 00:01:13.620 --> 00:01:15.180 Saul and Jonathan. 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:18.240 In life they were loved and admired. 00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:20.960 And in death they were not parted. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:23.379 They were swifter than eagles. 00:01:23.919 --> 00:01:25.579 They were stronger than lions. 00:01:25.579 --> 00:01:29.759 Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul. 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:32.579 Who clothed you in scarlet and finery. 00:01:33.039 --> 00:01:35.819 Who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold. 00:01:36.819 --> 00:01:39.299 How the mighty have fallen in battle. 00:01:40.340 --> 00:01:42.439 Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 00:01:43.719 --> 00:01:46.000 I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. 00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:48.219 You were very dear to me. 00:01:48.900 --> 00:01:52.099 Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:55.339 How the mighty have fallen. 00:01:56.219 --> 00:01:58.780 The weapons of war have perished. 00:01:58.780 --> 00:02:01.939 Thanks, Vanessa. 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:05.079 Now, like I mentioned with the children, 00:02:05.320 --> 00:02:12.699 we were looking last week at the narrative of that story of David receiving news from the Amalekite escapee 00:02:12.699 --> 00:02:14.819 that Saul and Jonathan were dead. 00:02:15.340 --> 00:02:22.639 And we looked at how Jesus is really the fallen Messiah King who forgives our sins. 00:02:22.639 --> 00:02:26.059 Now, this week's passage is set at exactly the same time. 00:02:26.579 --> 00:02:32.979 And here it is David writing a sad song as he hears the news of Saul and Jonathan's death. 00:02:33.059 --> 00:02:38.399 If you look down at verse 17, you'll see that there is a special word that the Bible uses for sad song. 00:02:38.519 --> 00:02:39.899 It's the word lament. 00:02:40.659 --> 00:02:41.079 Lament. 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:44.939 In the Hebrew, the word lament comes twice in that verse. 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:52.439 It literally reads, David lamented with his lamentation or David was sad with his sad song, you might say. 00:02:53.560 --> 00:03:00.000 But the important thing to notice for us as we set out this morning is that this sad song that David is singing 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.099 is not just a sad song for him in this situation. 00:03:04.919 --> 00:03:10.520 If you look down at verse 18, you'll see this sad song is to be taught to the people so that they could sing along too. 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:12.620 David orders it, you notice. 00:03:12.620 --> 00:03:17.219 He ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the birth. 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:22.960 He even includes it in a special book, the book of Jashar for future generations as well. 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:27.039 Now, I suggest to you that that's really important as we set out this morning, 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:33.659 because it means that this is not only a lament for David at this particular point in history, 00:03:33.659 --> 00:03:36.599 but it is also, if you like, a model lament. 00:03:36.599 --> 00:03:47.240 A model sad song for the people of Judah at that time, but also for them to sing at different points in their future. 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:50.819 David's assumption here, which is a right one, isn't it? 00:03:50.819 --> 00:03:51.799 And we know it's right. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:59.400 David's assumption here is that Saul dying is not going to be the only sad thing that God's people face. 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:03.900 And God's people need sad songs to sing. 00:04:04.700 --> 00:04:10.099 Now, when it comes to learning the song, it's actually quite easy because the theme of the song is summarized in a catchy line, 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:11.879 which gets repeated three times. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:16.139 It's there in verse 19, in verse 25 and in verse 27. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:21.159 So that if you're too young to pick up the rest of the song, you might have at least been able to pick up this line, 00:04:21.719 --> 00:04:24.339 how the mighty have fallen. 00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.000 That's the lament, how the mighty have fallen. 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:35.879 Now, I know that it's not always the case that you follow sermons all the way through. 00:04:36.259 --> 00:04:37.819 I know this is a big revelation to you. 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:42.560 You may not know that I know this, but I know that your attention sometimes drifts off. 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.920 So in order just to make sure that you are following along this morning, 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:51.459 I want us together, every time we see that on the screen, that we read it aloud together. 00:04:51.939 --> 00:04:53.579 How the mighty have fallen. 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:55.840 So you fell at the first hurdle. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:04:59.060 How the mighty have fallen. 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.120 And it gets repeated in this song, and it's going to get repeated through our sermon, 00:05:03.540 --> 00:05:08.560 and so that you can say it with me, and I can know that you're still listening, and we can learn that line. 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:16.160 Now, if the mighty falling is the repeated theme, then the title is there in verse 19. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:17.519 Look down at verse 19. 00:05:17.660 --> 00:05:21.600 A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. 00:05:22.660 --> 00:05:27.920 Now, it's a clever line to title the song, because the word gazelle here is really also the word for glory. 00:05:28.319 --> 00:05:32.040 Some translations actually put, your glory lies slain. 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:39.300 And David's image here is like Saul being like a stag, looking strong on a hill in the distance, 00:05:39.540 --> 00:05:47.500 a mighty stag, glorious, impressive even, who has now been shot down, lying dead. 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:52.340 And David sings, how the mighty have fallen. 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:59.259 Now, what David does in the rest of the song is essentially give us five falls, if you like, 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:02.039 five pictures of the mighty falling. 00:06:02.180 --> 00:06:07.519 And I'm just going to go through them briefly with you, and then come to consider about how this might apply for us. 00:06:08.099 --> 00:06:10.599 So the first fall is sin winning. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:12.379 Sin winning. 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:16.159 This is what David means in verse 20 when he sings, 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:20.319 tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon. 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.980 Gath and Ashkelon were Philistine cities, 00:06:23.980 --> 00:06:30.379 and David knows, doesn't he, because Saul is dead, there's going to be singing in Gath and Ashkelon. 00:06:30.980 --> 00:06:33.800 The daughters of the Philistines will be rejoicing, he says. 00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.860 And in case you haven't got the message, in the last line of verse 20, he calls the Philistines the uncircumcised. 00:06:40.500 --> 00:06:41.280 Here's the picture. 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:45.759 It is that sin pictured by God's enemies have won. 00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:47.780 The wicked are the winners. 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:50.780 See, it's difficult for us to see the force of this, 00:06:50.779 --> 00:06:56.479 but for Saul and Jonathan to die in battle, it's not just a kind of strategic loss for God's people, 00:06:56.659 --> 00:07:00.219 but it is seemingly a defeat for God and his covenant people. 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:05.019 God has promised to be with his people, to rule with them and reign with them. 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:08.579 And here, Saul and Jonathan are cut down dead. 00:07:09.359 --> 00:07:12.319 Israel are God's special people, living in the land that he's given them, 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:13.839 where he promised he would bless them, 00:07:14.239 --> 00:07:18.139 where he met with them in the tabernacle while offerings for forgiveness were made. 00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:20.419 And the Philistines were opposed to all of that. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:22.939 And they win. 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:24.879 They hated God. 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:26.379 They hated his people. 00:07:26.819 --> 00:07:29.560 They wanted them out of the land and they won the battle. 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:35.319 And David is just repulsed by that thought that in Gath and Ashkelon, 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.839 they're going to be singing songs of victory. 00:07:38.219 --> 00:07:39.659 Don't tell them, says David. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:40.800 Don't tell them. 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:41.699 Don't publish it there. 00:07:41.699 --> 00:07:45.459 We don't want them singing because sin is one, he says. 00:07:46.740 --> 00:07:48.459 Instead, he sings this sad song. 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:49.959 Lament with me, he says. 00:07:50.899 --> 00:07:51.920 Weep with me. 00:07:52.719 --> 00:07:54.079 Because the wicked have won. 00:07:55.120 --> 00:08:00.240 Let me tell you, I think it's really important that we learn to sing that kind of song together. 00:08:00.240 --> 00:08:03.579 You know, we live in a part of the world, don't we, 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:06.519 where church buildings are getting turned into mosques or temples, 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:12.100 where Islam seems to be advancing, the Christian church is retreating. 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:17.000 And actually, the truth is that that sort of news should make you lament. 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:19.860 We should sing a sad song about it. 00:08:19.900 --> 00:08:20.699 We shouldn't ignore it. 00:08:20.759 --> 00:08:22.240 We shouldn't get frustrated by it. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.600 We shouldn't presume that God has somehow lost the plot because of it. 00:08:25.639 --> 00:08:26.500 We shouldn't assume that. 00:08:26.500 --> 00:08:28.180 But we should lament it. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:30.259 Tell it not in Gath. 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:31.860 Sing it not in Ashkelon. 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:36.639 We live also, don't we, in a world where people shoot the innocent and take them captive, 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:40.720 where retaliation leads to hospitals being bombed and innocent people dying. 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:43.940 We live in a world where nations go to war with one another, 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.299 where people are treated appallingly just because of the color of their skin 00:08:47.299 --> 00:08:49.899 or the country they're from or even just their social class. 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:52.779 And we should lament that as well. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:54.860 We look at our world and we say, 00:08:54.860 --> 00:08:55.460 well, do you know what? 00:08:55.460 --> 00:08:56.400 It seems like sin is winning. 00:08:56.500 --> 00:08:57.379 Tell it not in Gath. 00:08:58.540 --> 00:08:59.660 Sing it not in Ashkelon. 00:09:01.340 --> 00:09:03.139 Actually, it's much more personal than that, isn't it? 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:09.860 I think if we're really honest, it often seems to me that sin wins not only out there, 00:09:10.400 --> 00:09:12.340 but often in here too. 00:09:12.800 --> 00:09:13.860 Doesn't it seem like that to you? 00:09:14.820 --> 00:09:17.240 So often sin seems to win in my day to day. 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:23.440 Angry outbursts, lustful thoughts, cold-heartedness towards the needs of others, 00:09:23.680 --> 00:09:25.580 lovelessness in my relationship with the Lord. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.220 We need sad songs, don't we? 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.680 Because at times sin seems to win. 00:09:30.679 --> 00:09:35.759 And if we don't learn how to lament at that, we won't really know how to live the Christian life 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:40.379 because the truth is there will be times in your Christian life when you shock yourself. 00:09:41.579 --> 00:09:43.620 You'll be shocked at what you're capable of. 00:09:44.339 --> 00:09:46.399 You'll be shocked at the thoughts that go through your mind. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:48.059 You'll be shocked at the actions that you do. 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:52.299 You'll be surprised that sins that you thought you'd moved past long ago still draw you in. 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:55.659 Things that you judged others for doing, you find yourself doing. 00:09:56.980 --> 00:09:57.799 Our sin is won. 00:09:59.579 --> 00:10:01.179 At times the Philistines will win. 00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:04.399 Even if in the end you know they're going to be defeated, 00:10:04.699 --> 00:10:06.639 you and I better learn how to lament it. 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:12.139 Because if all the songs that we know are ones of big promises and great victories, 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:14.399 then we'll get lost in life. 00:10:14.399 --> 00:10:18.019 We won't know how to turn to the Lord when it seems like sin is winning. 00:10:18.899 --> 00:10:21.379 Sin has won today, says David, and so he laments. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.819 The Philistines are partying about it. 00:10:24.600 --> 00:10:28.340 So he says, how the mighty have fallen. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:29.959 And then you go, almost. 00:10:30.139 --> 00:10:31.059 How the mighty have fallen. 00:10:31.439 --> 00:10:34.100 Secondly, strong places breaking. 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:35.340 Strong places breaking. 00:10:35.980 --> 00:10:41.220 If you're going to fight a battle, the best place to go do it is up a hill, right? 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:45.759 That way your enemies have to walk up the hill in order to fight you. 00:10:45.779 --> 00:10:48.860 And they're going to be out of breath, even before they get a chance to wave their sword at you. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:54.420 And in 1 Samuel 31, we are told that when the Philistines started to win the battle against the Israelites, 00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:56.279 they fled up Mount Gilboa. 00:10:56.620 --> 00:10:58.180 And that's a pretty good place to run to. 00:10:58.259 --> 00:10:59.460 It should have been easy to defend. 00:10:59.460 --> 00:11:01.060 But it wasn't. 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:03.660 And Saul and Jonathan were killed there. 00:11:03.780 --> 00:11:09.300 In the place where they should have found refuge, instead, they were killed. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:12.879 It should have been a place to wash down his shield and to oil it. 00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:14.800 But instead, he was there defeated. 00:11:15.139 --> 00:11:19.420 And so David sings in verse 21 that Mount Gilboa shouldn't get the rain anymore. 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:21.220 Don't rain on Gilboa anymore. 00:11:21.800 --> 00:11:26.080 In the footnote, it shouldn't be a place where the fields of offerings are grown. 00:11:26.400 --> 00:11:27.840 Because it let the king down. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.620 He ran there for safety and it didn't work. 00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:34.100 Strong things broke, says David. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.139 Again, it's not hard to see how we can sing that too as well. 00:11:38.019 --> 00:11:39.940 You know, we're not fighting a war with the Philistines, are we? 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:41.000 But still life is hard. 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:45.879 And like Saul, often the places that we run to for safety let us down, don't they? 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:55.560 Healthcare, financial investments, a good education, a uni place, a strong family, a good job, a new country even. 00:11:55.559 --> 00:12:00.459 All of those high grounds can and will eventually let you down. 00:12:01.119 --> 00:12:03.219 And you and I have to learn to lament that. 00:12:03.819 --> 00:12:06.479 Because sometimes Mount Gilboa will let you down. 00:12:06.619 --> 00:12:08.219 Sometimes the family will break up. 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.099 Sometimes parents will separate. 00:12:10.659 --> 00:12:12.419 Sometimes redundancy will come. 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:14.759 Sometimes health will fail. 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:20.220 And we will have to learn to sing how the mighty have fallen. 00:12:21.379 --> 00:12:24.700 The third fall in the song is human strength failing. 00:12:25.179 --> 00:12:29.580 In verses 22 to 23, David tells you how strong Saul and Jonathan were. 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:35.540 From the blood of the slain and from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back. 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:38.639 The sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:41.600 Saul and Jonathan, in life they were loved and admired. 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:43.400 And in death they were not parted. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:44.720 They were swifter than eagles. 00:12:45.180 --> 00:12:46.500 They were stronger than lions. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:52.680 We're told that Jonathan was a master archer, fearless, even in the face of the mighty. 00:12:52.679 --> 00:13:00.139 In 1 Samuel chapter 14, there's a story of Jonathan single-handedly taking on the Philistines and winning. 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:02.299 Saul is no wimp either. 00:13:02.419 --> 00:13:04.179 His sword has done a lot of damage. 00:13:04.739 --> 00:13:09.699 Besides, they are stronger than lions and swifter than eagles, says David in verse 23. 00:13:09.859 --> 00:13:13.019 But still, for all of that power and might, they are killed. 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:15.939 In death they were not parted, we are told. 00:13:16.079 --> 00:13:18.479 Human strength was just not enough and they died. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:23.659 And again, it's not hard, is it, for us to see that that is still true. 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:26.600 That you and I must face the fact. 00:13:27.019 --> 00:13:36.080 In fact, more than just facing the fact, we need to learn to lament the fact that our strength will not be enough for us. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:40.920 Even if you're young and strong like Jonathan, still you need to know a sad song. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:44.480 Because there will be a time when your strength will run out. 00:13:44.480 --> 00:13:51.519 If you've not already found it, then one day it will find you, all of us. 00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:57.920 If your hope for the future is in your fitness or in your brains or your skill or any other human strength, 00:13:58.300 --> 00:14:03.980 you are doomed because David will tell you that human strength in the end fails. 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:08.740 Let me give you an amazing example in some ways. 00:14:08.820 --> 00:14:11.440 This is the bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime. 00:14:11.580 --> 00:14:13.980 Some of you might remember Arnold Schwarzenegger and his movies. 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:14.940 This is him in his prime. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:16.300 This is him more recently. 00:14:17.800 --> 00:14:21.600 And we say, how the mighty have fallen. 00:14:22.060 --> 00:14:23.180 Human strength gives way. 00:14:23.820 --> 00:14:27.700 The fourth fall here is the fact that riches are vanishing. 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:29.060 Riches are vanishing. 00:14:29.059 --> 00:14:33.139 In verse 24, David turns his attention specifically to the daughters of Israel. 00:14:33.779 --> 00:14:38.859 Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, 00:14:39.059 --> 00:14:41.759 who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold. 00:14:42.679 --> 00:14:46.619 His point is that particularly the daughters of Israel should weep 00:14:46.619 --> 00:14:50.059 because the life of easy money is over. 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:51.259 It's gone. 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:56.979 While Saul was king, the nation prospered and they could wear fine scarlet clothes and ornaments of gold. 00:14:56.980 --> 00:14:58.820 But now Saul is dead. 00:14:58.920 --> 00:14:59.560 Jonathan is dead. 00:14:59.639 --> 00:15:01.120 There's no promise of that anymore. 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:03.600 The flow of money will stop. 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:06.740 Their husbands weren't returning from battle. 00:15:06.840 --> 00:15:08.100 Their king was not returning. 00:15:08.800 --> 00:15:11.460 So the flow of money will stop and they should weep instead. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:18.759 Apparently in 1929, the Wall Street financial crash started what became the Great Depression. 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:24.440 In the years before, people had thought that the economy would just continue to grow and grow and grow. 00:15:24.519 --> 00:15:25.759 Confidence was really high. 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:29.139 People borrowed lots of money, traded lots of money on the stock market, 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:32.779 and pretty much in two days, they lost everything. 00:15:33.100 --> 00:15:34.120 Unemployment soared. 00:15:34.220 --> 00:15:35.259 The rich became poor. 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:39.240 And the only event in history that's come anywhere near that is what? 00:15:40.700 --> 00:15:43.059 The economic slump caused by COVID-19. 00:15:44.319 --> 00:15:45.679 We should know this, right? 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:47.860 Riches vanish. 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:51.059 Money lets you down. 00:15:51.059 --> 00:15:57.039 And the truth is, how the mighty have fallen. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:01.079 The final fall in the song, I think is probably the saddest. 00:16:01.239 --> 00:16:02.659 It's friendship's end. 00:16:02.919 --> 00:16:03.599 Friendship's end. 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:04.819 Look down at verse 26. 00:16:04.820 --> 00:16:07.100 I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. 00:16:07.960 --> 00:16:09.400 For you were very dear to me. 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:11.640 Your love for me was wonderful. 00:16:11.740 --> 00:16:13.400 More wonderful than that of women. 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:17.600 Well, Samuel tells us the story of David and Jonathan's friendship. 00:16:17.860 --> 00:16:19.860 And here, David laments that it is over. 00:16:19.860 --> 00:16:25.620 Noting that the companionship of Jonathan was better than that of any of his wives. 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:29.899 Not because Jonathan and David were in a comparable relationship. 00:16:30.019 --> 00:16:32.080 This is not a plug for gay relationships. 00:16:32.279 --> 00:16:33.600 Don't read that into it at all. 00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:34.539 That's not what's going on. 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:40.120 Rather, the point is that David's marriages, I think, largely were for accomplishing power and influence. 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:43.539 And the friendship of Jonathan stood out against all of that. 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:50.679 Here was my soulmate, my closest friend, my dear companion, who lies dead. 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:52.039 It's gone. 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.060 David is distressed by that. 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:55.519 Death has ended his friendship. 00:16:55.860 --> 00:16:57.720 And it still does, doesn't it? 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:02.120 And many of us in this room know exactly what that feels like. 00:17:02.980 --> 00:17:08.119 So much so that while friendships are a great blessing, something that we should treasure and make time for, 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:10.000 Well, still in the end, they will let us down. 00:17:10.519 --> 00:17:11.479 They will come to nothing. 00:17:11.699 --> 00:17:14.279 Even the strongest friendships fail. 00:17:15.979 --> 00:17:16.379 Why? 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:19.699 Well, because how the mighty have fallen. 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:22.599 Now, that's where David's song ends. 00:17:22.879 --> 00:17:30.599 Sin winning, strong places breaking, human strength failing, riches vanishing, and friendships ending. 00:17:31.219 --> 00:17:32.559 Now, this is a proper sad song. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.039 There's no last minute key change in David's song. 00:17:36.159 --> 00:17:36.539 There's no way. 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:36.939 Woo! 00:17:36.940 --> 00:17:37.500 Don't worry. 00:17:37.600 --> 00:17:39.120 It's all going to be okay in the end. 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:41.480 Instead, this is a proper lament. 00:17:41.660 --> 00:17:45.200 This is a proper sad song from beginning to end. 00:17:45.600 --> 00:17:50.720 David stares the darkness of the situation right in the face, and he sings about it, 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:58.480 realizing that everything that he leans on, whoever or whatever it is, will at some point let him down. 00:17:58.480 --> 00:18:01.279 And that time is now, says David. 00:18:01.279 --> 00:18:09.240 Now, let me ask you, before we go any further this morning, do you know what it's like to feel that? 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:11.620 To sing a song like this? 00:18:11.620 --> 00:18:12.299 To sing a song like this. 00:18:12.299 --> 00:18:15.940 I think perhaps most of us do, don't we? 00:18:15.940 --> 00:18:18.019 We know what it's like to fall into sin. 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:19.960 We know what it's like when a friend dies. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.559 We know what it's like when our health fails. 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:25.579 We know what it's like when our hopes and our dreams for the future evaporate. 00:18:25.579 --> 00:18:29.119 We know what it's like when life takes an unexpected turn for the worst. 00:18:29.439 --> 00:18:34.259 And the truth is, like we started with this morning, you and I need to know some sad songs. 00:18:35.059 --> 00:18:39.799 Because there will be times when a sad song is the most appropriate thing for us to sing. 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:42.659 But there's more to say than just that. 00:18:42.660 --> 00:18:49.519 Because if you take another look at that list with me, just imagine for a moment what the opposite of each of those things would be. 00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:55.480 You know, if this is, if you like, if this is the sort of the archetype sad song, 00:18:55.940 --> 00:19:00.600 this is the sad song of what we should learn because this is what sadness looks like. 00:19:00.740 --> 00:19:03.240 Then what does the opposite of these five falls look like? 00:19:03.300 --> 00:19:06.600 Well, instead of sin winning, sin would be defeated. 00:19:07.840 --> 00:19:08.740 Wickedness would lose. 00:19:08.820 --> 00:19:10.140 It would be taken away and destroyed. 00:19:10.140 --> 00:19:13.580 There's no singing in the streets of Gath, not because they haven't heard that sin's won, 00:19:14.540 --> 00:19:16.120 but because sin has been defeated. 00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:17.300 It's been crushed. 00:19:18.120 --> 00:19:22.680 The opposite of strong places breaking would be a fortress being built. 00:19:23.360 --> 00:19:28.259 Some that we could turn to and rely on that wouldn't be taken away from us. 00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:30.440 Something better than Gilboa. 00:19:31.520 --> 00:19:33.640 A place with a shield that won't let you down. 00:19:33.780 --> 00:19:36.759 Protection that will hold us in the face of death and sin. 00:19:37.600 --> 00:19:39.780 What's the opposite of human strength failing? 00:19:40.820 --> 00:19:42.740 Divine strength prevailing. 00:19:42.900 --> 00:19:43.740 That's what it is. 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:50.540 Where someone stronger than us, God himself with a power that doesn't fail, keeps going where we give up. 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:53.520 Where our strength goes, his might continues. 00:19:54.580 --> 00:19:56.259 What's the opposite of riches vanishing? 00:19:56.259 --> 00:19:59.920 Well, could you imagine a treasure that lasts? 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:01.700 Lasting treasure. 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:07.160 Something of such great value that it will outlast stock market crashes, global pandemics. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.039 Something more solid than a bank. 00:20:09.180 --> 00:20:11.900 Somewhere where moths can't eat it. 00:20:12.019 --> 00:20:13.339 Where rust doesn't destroy it. 00:20:13.400 --> 00:20:15.259 Where thieves can't break in and steal it. 00:20:15.539 --> 00:20:17.379 That would be lasting treasure, wouldn't it? 00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:22.940 The opposite of friendships that end would be some kind of eternal friend. 00:20:23.020 --> 00:20:23.980 Can you imagine that? 00:20:23.980 --> 00:20:28.980 An eternal, close, unbreakable friendship. 00:20:29.160 --> 00:20:31.240 Someone who won't abandon you even in death. 00:20:31.339 --> 00:20:33.480 Someone who would stick closer to you than a brother. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:36.980 Even when you're at your worst and your weakest. 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:44.579 Now, of course, if that is the archetype of a sad song, the opposite is joy, right? 00:20:45.360 --> 00:20:46.720 True joy. 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:49.200 Deep, lasting joy. 00:20:49.779 --> 00:20:54.079 You know, the opposite of the template of sadness is the template of joy itself. 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:56.319 And you know what I've done, don't you? 00:20:56.339 --> 00:20:57.579 You can see what I've done. 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:00.000 I've painted for you a picture of who? 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:01.960 Jesus Christ. 00:21:03.259 --> 00:21:06.400 You know, you've seen already, but if you jump forward in history, 00:21:06.400 --> 00:21:09.860 a thousand years after King David, you meet King Jesus. 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:15.160 King of God's heavenly kingdom, mightier and greater than either Saul or David. 00:21:15.660 --> 00:21:20.060 He enters this sad world, and he too dies on a hill. 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:25.080 But not on Mount Gilboa, where the mighty have fallen, but at Calvary. 00:21:25.800 --> 00:21:28.380 Where it looked for a moment like sin had won again. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:33.500 But when human strength was failing, it turned out that divine strength was prevailing. 00:21:33.500 --> 00:21:40.160 Jesus was victorious over death and sin, bearing all the judgment and wrath that our sins deserved, 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:42.200 and freeing us from its power and its penalty. 00:21:43.099 --> 00:21:48.519 There on the cross, Jesus builds a fortress, a place where anyone at any time can run to. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:51.079 A place where you'll find hope and security. 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:54.099 Where you'll not be treated by your moral performance. 00:21:55.399 --> 00:21:57.000 Or your religiosity. 00:21:57.859 --> 00:22:04.039 But where God and his grace and his mercy will meet you with forgiveness and shelter and hope and a future. 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:13.720 Then again, divine strength prevails as the Spirit raises Jesus from the dead and promises eternal life with him. 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:19.099 Amazingly, death, which spelt the fall of Saul, spells victory for Jesus Christ. 00:22:19.099 --> 00:22:26.819 Now let me tell you that the point of this is not trust in Jesus and all your sadness will be over. 00:22:27.379 --> 00:22:29.139 That is not the point. 00:22:29.959 --> 00:22:35.059 If you hear someone telling you, trust in Jesus and just claim victory over all the sadness. 00:22:35.639 --> 00:22:37.879 All the sadness will go away when you trust in Jesus. 00:22:37.879 --> 00:22:42.059 If you hear someone preaching like that, let me tell you, you're listening to a liar. 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:43.980 Because it's not true. 00:22:44.439 --> 00:22:45.219 It's not true. 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:47.639 Jesus knew sadness. 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:48.080 Sadness. 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:50.540 David knew sadness. 00:22:51.060 --> 00:22:55.220 The Bible in your hands on your lap is full of sad songs to sing. 00:22:55.460 --> 00:22:57.820 Because sadness will be part of life. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.960 It's not come to Jesus and all your sadness will be over. 00:23:01.300 --> 00:23:04.480 In fact, if anything, it is the opposite of that. 00:23:04.840 --> 00:23:10.440 The truth is that trusting in Jesus allows you to be properly sad. 00:23:11.160 --> 00:23:12.200 Appropriately sad. 00:23:12.620 --> 00:23:14.300 It allows you to lament deeply. 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:16.580 To confront the darkness and the sadness of life. 00:23:16.579 --> 00:23:20.859 Honestly, trusting in Jesus allows you to face sin. 00:23:21.819 --> 00:23:23.179 Not pretend that it doesn't matter. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.039 But to see it and know it and lament it. 00:23:27.399 --> 00:23:32.679 Because you know that in Jesus, everything sad and lamentable about this life will one day be undone forever. 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:36.119 So I don't have to turn down the volume on my lament. 00:23:36.359 --> 00:23:39.199 Because I'm not afraid of hopelessness or despair. 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:42.960 Let me try and give you an illustration of what I mean. 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:44.200 Imagine this, right? 00:23:45.900 --> 00:23:49.279 It was Elise's 17th birthday yesterday and she learned to drive. 00:23:49.340 --> 00:23:50.200 So this is on my mind. 00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:50.420 Okay. 00:23:50.600 --> 00:23:53.019 Imagine that you crashed a car. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:53.740 Okay. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:55.200 Elise didn't crash a car. 00:23:55.240 --> 00:23:55.460 Don't worry. 00:23:55.460 --> 00:23:57.720 Imagine that you crash a car. 00:23:58.299 --> 00:23:59.480 We know what that's like, don't we? 00:23:59.500 --> 00:24:00.960 A few of us have probably done that. 00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.559 I've done that. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:06.240 You crash a car and you take your crashed car to a friend and you show a friend. 00:24:06.340 --> 00:24:10.039 What does the friend say when they see your crashed car? 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:13.440 Well, they say, listen, don't worry about it. 00:24:13.500 --> 00:24:15.039 It's not that bad, is it? 00:24:15.059 --> 00:24:16.880 I can still open and close the door. 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:20.200 I reckon probably that scratch there, it will polish out. 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:21.720 Don't worry about it. 00:24:21.720 --> 00:24:22.360 It's all right. 00:24:22.419 --> 00:24:23.339 I know you're okay. 00:24:23.699 --> 00:24:25.240 It probably wasn't your fault. 00:24:25.819 --> 00:24:26.799 Everything's going to be fine. 00:24:26.919 --> 00:24:28.219 Give the car a good wash. 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:29.819 You'll never notice it. 00:24:29.919 --> 00:24:32.659 You know, approach the car from the other side and you won't notice that there's a big 00:24:32.659 --> 00:24:33.379 dent in that side. 00:24:33.679 --> 00:24:34.240 It'll be fine. 00:24:34.279 --> 00:24:34.779 Don't worry. 00:24:34.879 --> 00:24:35.339 Don't worry. 00:24:35.419 --> 00:24:35.839 Don't worry. 00:24:36.679 --> 00:24:38.599 Now, that's what friends do, isn't it? 00:24:38.699 --> 00:24:41.219 Why do friends talk to you like that about a crashed car? 00:24:41.659 --> 00:24:42.159 Let me tell you. 00:24:42.199 --> 00:24:42.899 I'll let you into a secret. 00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:44.079 This is why they tell you that. 00:24:44.439 --> 00:24:46.879 It's because they have no hope of fixing it. 00:24:47.719 --> 00:24:48.979 No hope of fixing it. 00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:52.839 Your friend is useless at fixing your car when it's been crashed. 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:54.660 They have no hope of fixing it. 00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:58.140 So the best they can do is just pretend that it's not really that bad. 00:24:58.220 --> 00:24:59.200 That's all they can do for you. 00:24:59.500 --> 00:25:00.200 They can just pretend. 00:25:01.059 --> 00:25:04.940 Now, imagine that you take the same car to the menders, right? 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:06.660 What does the mender do? 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:08.839 Well, she walks around your car, doesn't she? 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:11.339 And she says, that is really bad. 00:25:11.339 --> 00:25:15.399 We're going to have to have that car in for a week. 00:25:15.899 --> 00:25:17.699 We're going to have to strip that door down. 00:25:17.819 --> 00:25:21.159 We're going to have to put a new side on the car here, a new wing here. 00:25:21.220 --> 00:25:24.639 We're going to have to put it in the jig and pull it straight again because you've twisted this car. 00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:25.779 It's really bad. 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:31.379 We're going to have to re-spray the whole of this because otherwise you'll see the scratches 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:34.680 and, you know, you'll notice the dents and they won't wash out. 00:25:35.580 --> 00:25:37.380 Why can they talk to you like that? 00:25:37.860 --> 00:25:38.960 Let me let you into a secret. 00:25:39.100 --> 00:25:42.120 They can talk like that because they can fix it for you. 00:25:43.320 --> 00:25:47.360 Now, that's the same with the sadness and the sin in our world. 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:51.500 If you're a Christian this morning, you can sing a sad song. 00:25:51.840 --> 00:25:52.180 Why? 00:25:53.080 --> 00:25:56.820 Because you know who can fix it, Jesus Christ. 00:25:56.819 --> 00:26:02.919 The only hope that anyone else can offer you is just to pretend that things are not really as bad as they really are 00:26:02.919 --> 00:26:05.759 because they have no hope of fixing it. 00:26:07.879 --> 00:26:12.819 So in Christ, I can lament the loss of things because I know in Christ Jesus, 00:26:13.159 --> 00:26:17.859 the sin-crushing, fortress-building, divinely strong, lasting treasure, faithful friend. 00:26:18.159 --> 00:26:21.460 So I lament, not in hopelessness, but in hope. 00:26:22.159 --> 00:26:23.059 You see, let me end with this. 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:26.039 Here's the double invitation of 2 Samuel chapter 1 for us this morning. 00:26:26.039 --> 00:26:27.139 Firstly, it's this. 00:26:27.259 --> 00:26:28.240 Don't be afraid of sadness. 00:26:28.359 --> 00:26:29.299 Don't be afraid of sadness. 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:32.019 Let me encourage you this morning. 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.299 Don't be afraid to cry. 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:40.099 Don't be afraid to face how bad things really are. 00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:45.879 Don't think that to be a godly Christian, you have to pretend that things are better than they really are. 00:26:46.539 --> 00:26:50.200 Don't think that to be a Christian, a godly Christian, you have to cover over your weakness. 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:51.240 You don't. 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:54.859 Don't think that to be a Christian, you have to fake it, that you're perfect. 00:26:54.859 --> 00:27:00.199 Don't live like your problems will polish out or if you approach the car from the other side, you won't notice it. 00:27:00.500 --> 00:27:02.819 You don't have to live like that anymore. 00:27:04.719 --> 00:27:11.139 Because Jesus is not threatened by our sin or by our suffering or our injustice that we're facing. 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:22.620 And to show us that God allows suffering in our lives and our world, not as a contradiction of his existence, but that we might see who he really is in all his glory and majesty. 00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:27.379 You see, the Christian can cry freely, can't they? 00:27:28.179 --> 00:27:31.379 The atheist has no explanation for their tears. 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:34.640 Because they can't account for the sadness. 00:27:35.380 --> 00:27:37.660 And they have no hope in the sadness. 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:40.580 But you're Christian, you can cry freely. 00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:41.620 You can sing, can't you? 00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:42.340 Something like this. 00:27:42.339 --> 00:27:44.779 Dark, dark, dark is the valley. 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:47.359 Faint the light at my feet. 00:27:48.299 --> 00:27:51.179 But whatever may face me, my God is all I need. 00:27:52.179 --> 00:27:54.480 He is my strength when I cannot go on. 00:27:54.980 --> 00:27:56.839 Peace when all my power is gone. 00:27:57.319 --> 00:27:59.819 Hope although the night is long and deep. 00:27:59.939 --> 00:28:02.419 He is my song for he has rescued me. 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:05.740 Brief, brief are my days here. 00:28:06.439 --> 00:28:08.039 Soon my journey complete. 00:28:08.039 --> 00:28:11.460 But I look to my saviour where God has met my need. 00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:13.000 Yes, he has met my need. 00:28:13.619 --> 00:28:15.859 He is my strength when I cannot go on. 00:28:16.319 --> 00:28:18.099 Peace when all my power is gone. 00:28:18.279 --> 00:28:20.740 Hope although the night is long and deep. 00:28:21.159 --> 00:28:25.619 He is my song for he has rescued me. 00:28:26.779 --> 00:28:28.779 The second invitation is this though. 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:31.559 Don't settle for less than true joy. 00:28:32.740 --> 00:28:33.579 See, this is the point. 00:28:33.579 --> 00:28:39.839 If I won't learn the sad song, I won't really understand the joyful news. 00:28:40.619 --> 00:28:46.919 If I won't stare the temporary victory of sin in the face, I won't know the joy of Jesus' ultimate victory. 00:28:47.699 --> 00:28:55.659 If I won't see the weakness of my strength or the strength of others, then I'll settle for something less than the mighty fortress of Jesus Christ. 00:28:56.379 --> 00:29:00.579 If I won't be honest about my weakness, I can't go to him for strength. 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:08.539 If I won't admit that I'm at the end of myself, I have nothing to offer, then I will not know the true joy of divine strength. 00:29:09.939 --> 00:29:14.859 Listen, if you're not a Christian this morning, or maybe you're just not quite sure where you stand. 00:29:15.159 --> 00:29:20.799 Or actually maybe, to be honest, if you're a Christian and you've been a Christian for a long time, but you're just a bit wobbly. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:26.819 Or even if you're going great guns, let me tell you this morning, being a Christian is about being honest. 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:28.180 That's what it's about. 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:30.759 Being a Christian is about being honest. 00:29:31.240 --> 00:29:35.759 Islam will pretend to you that your wickedness will polish out. 00:29:36.940 --> 00:29:38.659 That you could fix it with a bit of obedience. 00:29:38.759 --> 00:29:40.779 Just pray regularly and fast and everything will be okay. 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:43.559 But you know that it's worse than that, don't you? 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:47.419 And Jesus invites you to be honest. 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:50.940 Buddhism asks you to pretend that all the answers lie within yourself. 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:53.179 If you only go and look for them, please just go and look for them. 00:29:53.819 --> 00:29:55.419 But again, you know it's worse than that. 00:29:56.379 --> 00:29:59.919 Secularism will pretend to you that you're just a lump of meat, that the suffering is an illusion. 00:30:01.579 --> 00:30:02.519 It has no meaning. 00:30:02.659 --> 00:30:04.379 But you know that's not right, don't you? 00:30:04.740 --> 00:30:05.839 You can't live like that. 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:11.839 Only Jesus Christ, only Jesus Christ invites you, me, to be honest. 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:13.799 I'm a sinner. 00:30:14.459 --> 00:30:15.519 I'm weak. 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:17.379 I have nowhere to run. 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:18.699 I have nowhere to turn. 00:30:19.179 --> 00:30:21.199 My friends die and leave me. 00:30:22.379 --> 00:30:24.720 Lord Jesus, I need you. 00:30:25.199 --> 00:30:26.259 I have no other hope. 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:34.779 So Jesus invites us in the midst of the sad song to come to him. 00:30:35.179 --> 00:30:38.799 And whoever you are this morning, whatever situation you find yourself in, 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:40.740 can I invite you to come to Jesus? 00:30:40.740 --> 00:30:43.519 To hear that he can defeat your sin. 00:30:43.620 --> 00:30:45.319 He can give you a fortress to run to you. 00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:47.160 He can be lasting treasure in glory. 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:48.799 He can be a friend for eternity. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:50.839 And you can sing in Jesus Christ. 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:54.180 Though I may not see what the future brings. 00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.940 I'll watch and wait for the Savior King. 00:30:57.500 --> 00:31:02.880 Then my joy complete, standing face to face in the presence of the ancient of days. 00:31:03.279 --> 00:31:04.299 None above him. 00:31:04.740 --> 00:31:05.980 None before him. 00:31:05.980 --> 00:31:07.579 All of time in his hands. 00:31:07.860 --> 00:31:10.279 For his throne it shall remain and ever stand. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:11.240 All the power. 00:31:11.900 --> 00:31:12.880 All the glory. 00:31:13.360 --> 00:31:15.220 I will trust in his name. 00:31:15.640 --> 00:31:19.740 For my God is the ancient of days. 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:22.019 Let's pray and then we'll sing that song together. 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:22.559 Let's pray. 00:31:22.559 --> 00:31:22.660 Amen. 00:31:22.660 --> 00:31:33.560 Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning. 00:31:35.300 --> 00:31:36.480 We can't pretend. 00:31:36.580 --> 00:31:39.900 We don't want to pretend that our lives are any better than they really are. 00:31:40.440 --> 00:31:42.779 That our morality is any better than it really is. 00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:46.400 That our strength is any stronger than its great weakness. 00:31:46.400 --> 00:31:47.680 Lord, we are weak. 00:31:47.800 --> 00:31:48.480 We are sinful. 00:31:49.220 --> 00:31:50.360 Our world is sad. 00:31:50.500 --> 00:31:52.560 Our lives at times are sad. 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:56.960 And we lament that sometimes sin wins. 00:31:57.940 --> 00:31:59.420 Our strength does not prevail. 00:31:59.560 --> 00:32:00.200 It gives way. 00:32:00.980 --> 00:32:04.300 Strong places turn out not to be the fortresses that we hope. 00:32:05.259 --> 00:32:08.000 Money, riches vanish. 00:32:09.040 --> 00:32:10.680 Friends leave us. 00:32:10.680 --> 00:32:15.460 And so, Lord, we lament and turn to the Lord Jesus. 00:32:16.259 --> 00:32:22.680 The sin-crushing, faithful friend, mighty fortress, risen saviour. 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:27.279 And we turn to him, none above him, none before him. 00:32:28.019 --> 00:32:30.519 All the power and the glory belong to him. 00:32:30.560 --> 00:32:32.360 And we will trust in his name. 00:32:33.100 --> 00:32:36.019 For my God is the ancient of days. 00:32:36.660 --> 00:32:36.980 Amen. 00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:37.160 Amen.