I'm not sure if you noticed, but a trailer dropped this week.
The sequel to Top Gun, Maverick, 30 years later.
I'm not sure if you saw that.
For me, that's like, I can't wait.
It makes you think of pilots.
It makes you think of training to be a pilot.
And did you know that for men and women who are in the process of preparing to be pilots,
part of their training is to be brought up into the air in a simulated stall,
which means this.
Their engine gets cut off.
And what that means is these pilots in training are put in a position where they nosedive,
engines are off, there's no thrust,
and they need to learn how to go through a protocol in order to regain the engine,
pull up on the yoke, and stabilize.
Could you imagine doing that?
Could you imagine being the trainer doing that with someone training?
As a Christian, we know what it's like to have,
it feels like our engines conk out.
We stall.
Something goes really sideways in our life.
We're just flying along just fine,
and then we get hit by a wind shear,
and engine conks out,
our nose starts to drop,
and we feel like we go into this tailspin,
and we start spiraling down.
Anybody, anybody,
anybody in the room identify with any of that?
I see that hand.
I see those hands.
The question becomes,
okay, for us as Christians who find ourselves in those dark places,
nose diving,
and the ground is coming up fast,
what do you do?
Maybe you came into the building feeling like God is a million miles away from you,
and so your engine is coughing.
It's starting to stall.
Or maybe you think that God has actually forgotten you,
and so your engine,
your propeller has stopped.
Maybe beyond that,
you think that God just hasn't forgotten you.
He's rejected you.
So not only has your propeller stopped,
your tail is starting to spin around.
You know what it's like
to fall into a tailspin of heartache.
These kinds of feelings
that Christians experience
of feeling abandoned by God,
whether that's distance,
or feeling forgotten,
or feeling rejected,
they're common among believers.
Believers of all ages.
There's a variety of circumstances
that can knock out your engine
and push you into a tailspin.
And so this morning,
I want to ask you,
in all sincerity,
do you feel like your nose is dropped,
engine's conked out,
and you're starting to spin?
If you do,
you're right where God wants you.
There's help for you.
Help in Psalm 42 and 43.
But if you're not in a tailspin right now,
don't worry.
It's just a matter of time
before you get a wind shear.
And so what you're going to hear this morning,
you need it.
Because down the line,
your engine's probably going to stall out.
And this morning,
we're going to continue this series
for the summer called
Psalms for the Helping.
Specific Psalms
that are designed to
help followers of Jesus
in specific situations.
And this morning,
we're looking at a situation
where you feel like your faith
has stalled,
and now you're in a nosedive.
God has Psalm 42 and 43 for you.
It's God's help for you.
It's what's called a psalm of lament.
The point of this psalm is pretty clear.
You're going to see it in the refrain.
It's basically saying,
hey, don't despair.
Hope in God
because He is your God.
So this morning's sermon,
I'm going to ask two questions.
I'm going to ask and answer two questions.
The first question is this.
What's unique about this psalm?
We're going to spend most of our time
on answering that question.
I want to walk you through Psalm 42 and 43.
But the second question is,
how does Psalm 42 and 43
help us?
And if we have time,
I've got five lessons
that Psalm 42 and 43 helps us with.
So let's start with asking this question.
What is so unique about the psalms,
this psalm in particular?
Well, let me start by answering that question
first by saying,
it's a psalm.
Psalm 42 and 43 is a psalm.
And what you need to understand
are the book of Psalms,
all 150 of them,
it's God's poetry for our souls.
And here's what you need to understand
about the psalms.
If you were to talk to a seasoned saint
who's been through a lot of hardship
and you're like,
hey, what have you learned
through those hardships?
They'll start talking about psalms
as if they are really good friends.
because the psalms give voice
to our souls,
to a variety of different circumstances,
to a variety of different emotions.
Now, it's possible to think of the psalms
as strictly human inventions
because they're so emotional.
There's so much humanity in it.
And you can just start thinking,
well, that's an interesting expression
of a man despairing and turning to God.
Well, that's fascinating.
But you can't forget
that what 2 Timothy 3.16 says.
It says,
all scripture is breathed out by God
and profitable.
The psalms have been breathed out by God.
The son of Korah who wrote this psalm
was moved by God's spirit
to write down every word in it
for your good,
to give voice to your soul,
to God.
So the first thing you need to understand
is that Psalm 42 and 43 is a psalm
and the psalms are God's poetry for our souls.
It gives us expression.
The psalms, unlike any other biblical writing,
give language for our souls
to speak to God.
And so, isn't God kind?
Isn't He so kind
to give us this treasury
as Spurgeon would say?
A treasury for our souls
to cry out to God,
whether that's in praise
or whether that is in lament.
The second thing that's unique about this psalm
is that it is a lament.
Now, here's how we know it's a lament.
Look at Psalm 42.
If you look at verse 2,
it says,
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
That's lament.
It's a question.
When am I going to see you again?
When am I going to behold your face?
Think about it as
His engine is starting to cough.
Those are signs of a stall happening.
If you look at
Psalm 42, verse 9,
we have another question.
Why have you forgotten me?
Laments are so honest.
They can almost come across
accusatory of God.
Why have you forgotten me, God?
Anybody in the room
asked that kind of question before?
If you look at 43, 2,
we have another question.
Another why question.
Why?
Why have you rejected me?
This psalmist,
writing this psalm,
feels distant from God.
He feels forgotten by God.
And he even is wrestling
with feelings of rejection
by God.
The engine of his faith
is stalling out
and he is nose diving
and entering into a tailspin.
And God has it for us
to learn from,
to give voice
to our souls.
If you're feeling abandoned
this morning by God,
you need to pull up.
Have you ever seen those movies
where there's this
airplane out of control,
nose diving,
and you have this siren
and this voice,
pull up,
pull up.
There's a refrain
throughout this psalm.
It's essentially saying,
downcast soul,
pull up,
pull up.
This is a lament.
Just as there are
variety kinds of literature
in your Bible,
there are variety kinds
of psalms.
There are wisdom psalms
like Psalm 119.
There's psalms of praise
like Psalm 150.
There's messianic royal psalms
like Psalm 2
and Psalm 110.
And then there are psalms
of lament.
And believe it or not,
the majority of the psalms
are laments.
And so what is a lament?
Well,
when I was studying
this past week,
I came across
a definition of a lament
by a pastor in Indy.
And this is how
we defined a lament.
And I think
if you're taking notes,
you're going to want
to write this down.
A lament
is a prayer
in pain
that leads
to trust
in God.
A lament
is a prayer
in pain
that leads
to trust
in God.
It's being aware
that your engine
is stalling,
you're feeling
the nose
of your airplane drop,
and you're starting
to feel the altitude
go down
and spin.
and yet,
you cry out
to God.
There are all
these typical
movement
in a lament.
You can see it
in Psalm 13
where it starts
off by
questioning God
because of pain,
and it turns
to trusting God
despite the pain.
A prayer of lament
is for people
who are experiencing
hardship,
people who are
in process.
what I'm very aware
of is this.
When we talk
about lament
in our culture,
I am very aware
that it seems
foreign to us
because happiness
is the premium
of our culture.
Happiness
at all costs.
And what the Bible
is showing us here,
no,
life is hard,
and we need
to learn
how to lament.
As I mentioned,
laments make up
the majority
of the Psalms,
which means this,
God's not surprised
when your engine
starts to stall.
He's not surprised
when your nose
starts to dip.
He's not surprised
when you start
to spin down.
In fact,
he's usually
the one orchestrating it
to bring you
to himself,
to teach you
to trust him.
So,
laments,
a lament
is a prayer
in pain
that leads
to trust in God,
and that is exactly
what Psalm 42
and 43 is.
The last thing
that I want to point out
that makes this Psalm
unique,
that makes it a lament,
and helps us
to see it,
is its actual structure,
the way it's designed.
Now,
I'm not sure
if you've noticed
this yet,
but you've heard me
talking about
Psalm 42 and 43
as separate Psalms,
yet we're to take
them together.
Do you know
how I know that?
Here's how.
You'll notice
that there's one heading
for both Psalms,
and that's after
Psalm,
in your Bible,
it says,
Psalm 42,
to the choir master,
a mascal
of the sons
of Korah.
And if you look
at all around
these Psalms,
every one of them
has a heading,
this does not.
So that means
we're to take
them together.
But even more
significantly,
Psalm 42
and 43
hold together
because of
the structure.
There are
two stanzas
in Psalm 42,
in one stanza
in Psalm 43,
and you are
to take them
together as
three stanzas.
And what we see
in these stanzas
is a movement.
First,
the psalmist
feels isolated,
then he goes
into complete
stall mode
and in turmoil,
and then
in the last stanza,
he pulls up.
There's hope.
Let's dial in
to get a closer
look at how
this psalm
is laid out
because it is
going to be
instructive
for you
when your engine
starts to stall
of what to do.
So let's start
seeing some
of the details here.
Stanza 1,
in verses 1-5
of Psalm 42,
it starts
with a lament.
So what you're
going to see here
is each
stanza
has a lament
and a refrain,
lament and a refrain,
lament and a refrain.
And they are all
moving us
to hope in God.
So what's the
lament
in stanza 1?
Well,
the psalmist
is comparing
his longing
to be in God's
presence
as a deer
panting for
life-giving streams
of water.
He's in a dry place,
verses 1 and 2.
He says,
When shall I come
and appear before God?
Somehow he feels
distant from God,
apart from him.
And then,
in verse 3,
we see these
taunts.
He's somewhere
apart from God
and people are
saying to him,
Where is your God?
And my impression
of this,
is because this
question gets asked
again in the next
stanza,
is that the psalmist
is starting to wonder
that question himself.
Where are you, God?
God?
In verse 3,
his wanting
to be satisfied
by the life-giving,
water-like presence
of God
is unquenched,
and he's got to settle
for his tears.
And in verse 4,
he goes all nostalgic.
He's like,
Oh, I remember
the good old days.
Man,
I remember
when I was on fire
for the Lord
and going to church,
I would go to
every service
and worship the Lord.
If you're a guy
and you've been
around the block
and you remember
what Promise Keepers
was,
this guy would be
saying,
I remember
Promise Keepers.
I remember
gathering stadiums
with tens of thousands
of men
and singing for hours
to the Lord.
Man,
those were the
good old days.
It's not uncommon
when we face hardship,
we go all nostalgic.
But what you need
to know
is fond memories
of past experiences
is not
the presence
of God.
And so here
we have this lament
resulting,
ending up
in nostalgia
and then there's
this
control panel.
There's this light
on this
psalmist's
cockpit.
Pull up.
It's the refrain.
This refrain,
why are you
cast out on my soul
and why are you
in turmoil
within me?
Hope in God
for I shall again
praise Him,
my salvation
and my God.
This refrain,
this same exact
refrain is repeated
three times.
Here in verse 5,
in verse 11
and in 43,
5,
this refrain
is going to be
the siren
in our cockpit
repeatedly calling us
to pull up.
Hope in God.
The psalmist
is speaking
to himself
despite how
he is feeling.
one would like
to think
that all you
need to do
is tell yourself
once,
right?
You're starting
to sense
your
heart,
your faith,
your faith engine,
it's starting
to conk out
and all you just
need to do
is say once,
oh soul,
why are you
so downcast?
Why the turmoil?
Put your hope
in God
and you would
think that's
all you need
and then you're
on your happy
way,
right?
Not according
to this psalm.
And it's
strangely encouraging
because when
he turned
to the second
stanza,
starting in
verse 6,
look where
the psalmist
is.
He says,
my soul
is cast
down within
me.
He's like,
okay,
my engine
started to
saw,
I saw
the lights
on my
display panel,
I tried
to pull
up,
but I'm
still cast
down.
And he
goes from
feeling isolated
from God
to now
going into
quite a
tailspin.
Look at
what happens.
We learn
more.
Therefore,
I remember
you from
the land
of Jordan
of Hermon
from Mount
Mizar.
We don't
know where
Mount Mizar,
but we do
know the
land of
Jordan
and Hermon.
And what
it is,
it's an
area located
north of
the Sea
of Galilee.
It would
have been
the headwaters
of the
Jordan River.
And so
this psalmist
is saying,
I am
displaced
from the
presence of
God.
Because when
he talks
about being
in God's
presence,
he's thinking
in Jerusalem
and in the
temple.
So he
feels displaced,
but we're not
told why.
We don't
know if he's
a refugee
or he's
in exile,
whether he
got sick
or he missed
the 455
bus to
Jerusalem.
We just
don't
know.
What we
do know
is he's
feeling
distant
from God
and it
is acute.
And not
just that,
look at
verse 7.
Deep calls
to deep
at the
roar of
your
waterfalls.
All
your
breakers
and your
waves
have
gone
over
me.
Not
only
does
he
feel
displaced,
he
feels
overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed
by God's
waterfalls.
Overwhelmed
by God's
breakers.
overwhelmed
by God's
waves.
It's a
soft blame.
There's
some
accusation
there.
Why are
you doing
this to
me?
Did you
guys see
the video
this week
of the
couple in
Hawaii?
They went
out to
take a
picture of
waves crashing
on this
rocky shore
and they
were taking
the picture.
This huge
wave came
in and
just pulled
them out.
And the
video is
of them,
their little
heads bobbing
in these
rough seas,
just one
wave coming
over them
after another.
If you
were there,
you would
have been
completely
horrified
and overwhelmed.
That is
what this
psalmist
is feeling.
Displaced,
overwhelmed.
Verse
eight,
he tries
to pull
up.
It's so
helpful to
see turmoil,
isn't it?
It's so
helpful to
see someone
struggling to
trust in the
Lord.
Verse
eight,
by day the
Lord commands
his steadfast
love and at
night his
song is with
me, a
prayer to
the God
of my
life.
I say
to God,
verse nine,
my rock,
why have
you forgotten
me?
It's complete
turmoil.
Yahweh,
steadfast
love.
I'm trying
to pray.
I'm trying
to sing.
I'm trying
to call
to my
mind that
you are
my rock.
Why have
you forgotten
me?
You feel
the turmoil?
You feel
the struggle?
Do you know
what that's
like?
He's
overwhelmed.
He's
displaced.
He's trying
to trust,
oppressed,
but he
still has
these
questions.
It seems
like he's
more
overwhelmed
by his
circumstances
than the
truth of
who his
God is.
And we've
all been
there.
He says
in verse
nine,
why do I
go mourning
because of
the oppression
of the
enemy?
That word
mourning is a
Hebrew word
that it can
be translated
darkness as
well.
Why do I
feel all the
lights are
out because of
this oppression?
I feel like
I've been cut
deep by a
deadly wound
to my bones
because those
who oppose me
are saying,
where is your
God?
He is so
aware of the
taunts.
Where is your
God?
Where is your
God?
Makes you
wonder if he's
wondering where
his God is.
What this is a
picture of is
not just a
sputtering engine,
but an engine
that has stalled
out,
propelled
stopped,
and the
nose is
now dropping.
And then
comes the
refrain.
Pull up.
Why are you
cast down,
O my soul,
and why are
you in turmoil
within me?
Hope in
God,
he commands
his soul,
for I shall
again praise
him.
That's hope.
That's faith.
Forward-looking
faith.
My salvation
and my
God.
Pull up.
When we turn
from the
second
sansa into
Psalm 43
and the
third
sansa,
we're met
by another
lament.
But now
something's
changed.
Something's
changed.
vindicate me,
O God,
and defend
my cause
against an
ungodly
people from
the deceitful
and just
man.
Deliver me.
Three commands
the psalmist
makes to God.
Three
imperatives.
Three faith-filled
calls to God
to act.
He says,
vindicate me,
defend my
cause,
deliver me.
Something has
happened.
He's no
longer so
aware of his
circumstances.
Now he's
focused on
God.
It seems as
though what
has happened
is that last
refrain for
him where he
addresses his
soul,
the engine
restarted.
And it
started to fire
again, and it
fired with the
noise of
vindicate me,
defend my
cause,
deliver me.
he's calling
on God
his salvation.
Rescue me.
But it's not
like he's out
of the woods.
It's not like
all the struggle
has gone,
because in
verse 2 you
read,
for you are
the God in
whom I take
refuge.
Why have you
rejected me?
Why do I go
about in mourning?
Because of the
oppression of
the enemy.
It's almost
identical to
42.9.
So it's not
like he's
completely out
of the woods.
It's not like
he's completely
unaware of the
hardship that
he's in.
But now
something has
changed.
His despair
is surrounded
by hope.
This crying
out of why
have you
rejected me
is preceded
by vindicate
me.
And then in
verse 3,
it follows
by saying,
send out
your light
and your
truth.
let them
lead me.
Why have
you rejected
me?
Why do I go
about mourning
in darkness?
And now the
psalmist says
to himself,
send out
your light
and your
truth.
It's kind of
like saying
this.
Okay, okay,
I'm pulling
up, God,
deliver me,
rescue me.
Would you
show me the
runway lights?
Would you
give me my
bearings?
Would you
show me
how to
land my
plane in
your presence?
Would you
bring me
home,
God?
This
tailspin,
he's
stabilizing.
The engine
has been
restarted.
There's
thrust.
He's pulling
up.
He gets
hit by a
shear in
verse 2
of,
why are you
rejecting me?
But he pulls
back out of
it.
He's
send out
your light.
Help me,
Lord.
Let them
lead me and
bring me to
your holy
hill and to
your dwelling
place.
Do you
remember what
he was calling
for in
verse 2
of chapter
42?
When shall
I come and
appear before
you?
And then he
starts talking
about the
good old
days of
past kind
of experiences
with God.
And in
verse 4,
he goes from
looking at the
past to
anticipating what's
about to
happen.
It's full
of hope,
full of
faith.
Come get
me,
come direct
me.
Verse 4,
then I will
go to the
altar of
God,
in God's
presence,
in God's
place,
and to
God my
exceeding
joy,
and I will
praise you
with a
lyre,
O God,
my God.
In this
third stanza,
something is
now operating
in the heart
of this
psalmist.
trust.
He has
got faith.
He's got
hope.
He's looking
forward.
It doesn't
mean he's
out of the
woods,
but he's
pressing on.
He's trusting
in his God
in a way he
wasn't before.
This lament
is moving
him from
questioning God
to trusting
God.
we've
looked at
quite a
distance that
he has
come.
A lament
is a
prayer in
pain that
leads to
trust in
God.
And what
we see by
this third
stanza,
this third
lament,
is that
this psalmist
is trusting
in God
in a way
that he
wasn't when
Psalm 42
started.
And by the
time we get
to the
refrain in
43.5,
why are you
cast down,
O my soul?
Why are you
in turmoil
within me?
Hope in God,
for I shall
again praise
him,
my salvation
and my God.
There's this
different sense
of that.
There's a
confidence.
There's a
yes to it.
He's pulled
back on the
stick.
He's pulled
out of the
nosedive.
He's been
able to
restart his
engine by
faith and
that thrust
now of
faith in
God is
able to
pull him
out of
the despair.
This morning,
if you're
feeling distant
from God,
if you're
feeling forgotten
by God,
if you're
feeling rejected
by God,
you need to
stop listening
to yourself
and you need
to start
talking to
yourself and
speaking to
yourself,
this pull
up,
pull up,
hope in
God,
yet I
shall praise
him.
He's my
salvation.
He's my
God.
So what
makes this
particular
psalm unique
is not just
that it is a
psalm,
it gives
voice to
our soul,
it is a
lament.
And what we
just saw was
this progress
in the
psalm of
one in
despair,
moving from
questioning
God to
trusting
God.
So now
the question
I want to
ask is,
how does
this psalm
uniquely help
us?
This psalm
uniquely helps
us in
five ways.
The first
is this.
This helps
us with
our expectations.
This psalm
helps us
with realistic
expectations.
We're not
going to be
happy all the
time.
Life is
hard.
You're going
to find your
engine stalling
mid-flight,
your nose
dropping,
perhaps your
tail starting
to spin.
What this
psalm helps
us with is
it sets the
expectation for
a reality which
we will all
experience.
If you
haven't
experienced
this despair
in this room,
you will
experience this
helplessness.
we don't
need to
fear it,
but we
will experience
this hopelessness
and feeling
overwhelmed,
this deep
wounding,
this walking
in darkness.
And so it
helps us
with reality.
But the
second thing
that it helps
us with
is it helps
us to learn
how to
lament.
I was
telling someone
before the
service that
many of us
were taught
how to
worship God
and pray
by the
acronym
ACTS,
Adoration,
Confession,
Thanksgiving,
Supplication.
And one
professor noted
there's something
missing.
It's the L
of lament,
of praying
to God in
pain,
letting that
lead you to
trust in God.
what this
lament does
is show us
two things.
It shows us
how to be
honest with
God,
honest when
we feel
distant,
honest when
we feel
forgotten,
honest when
we feel
rejected.
We're honest
with God
about those
things.
We speak
those to
Him in
faith,
expressing
our true
feelings.
But it
just doesn't
end with
being honest.
It means
being persistent
in hope
that we
continue to
speak the
truth of
who God
is and
what He's
done.
And so
what we see
in a lament
are two
things.
Honesty
with God
and hope
in God.
Honesty
with God
and hope
in God.
You see it
in the
refrain.
Why so
downcast?
Hope in
God.
Why so
downcast?
Hope in
God.
Why so
downcast?
Hope in
God.
Dr.
Martin
Lloyd
Jones,
he wrote
a book.
He was a
preacher from
a bygone
age and
an exceptional
preacher.
And he
wrote a book
called
Spiritual
Depression.
If what I'm
describing,
you're like,
man, I'm
living there
right now,
get it from
Amazon.
Martin
Lloyd
Jones,
Spiritual
Depression.
Well, in
that book,
he writes
this.
Have you
realized that
most of
your unhappiness
in life is
due to the
fact that
you are
listening to
yourself instead
of talking to
yourself?
Could you
imagine Psalm
42 and 43
without the
refrains?
Could you
imagine what
would happen
to the
psalmist if
there was no
42-5 and
no 42-11?
He would
nose dive.
What these
refrains do
is it gives
a Christian
the words to
speak to
himself and
herself to
pull us out
of a nosedive
by trusting
in God.
For us,
it's the
pilot training
of the
protocol when
the engine
stalls,
of knowing
what to do,
of not
panicking,
of focusing
in.
So the
second thing
that this
helps us
with is
to learn
how to
lament.
But the
third thing
that this
helps us
with is
it helps
us to
know our
hearts.
Because if
your heart
is like
mine,
when I'm
overwhelmed,
it takes
more than
one speaking
to myself
to pull
me out
of my
nosedive.
So we're
persistent in
speaking hope
to ourselves.
The fourth
thing that
this psalm
helps us
with is
this.
It helps
us remember
why we
can say
that the
God of
Psalm 42
and 43
is not
only the
psalmist
God,
but we
can say
he is
my God.
You want
to hear
it?
If you
look at
Psalm 43
verse 2,
there's a
really interesting
question.
The psalmist
says,
why have you
rejected me?
Do you
remember what
Jesus said
on the
cross on
Good
Friday?
My God,
my God,
why have
you forsaken
me?
Jesus
himself knows
what it
means to
be rejected
by God.
He knows
it because
he was
rejected by
God.
And the
reason why
he was
rejected by
God is
so that
you and
I can
be accepted
by God.
So that
we can
call on
God as
my God.
God.
And so
the
Jesus,
who was
really
rejected
by God
and said
something
very similar
to
43.2,
he did
that so
that we
can claim
the God
of the
Bible,
the God
of the
universe,
who's
sovereign
over all,
who's
all-powerful,
all-wise,
and all-loving,
and we can
say,
you are
my God
and I
feel like
I'm doing
a nosedive.
Pull me
out of it.
This
psalm helps
us remember
why we
can say
to this
God that
he is
my God.
It's
through
Jesus.
And the
last thing,
last helpful
lesson this
psalm teaches
us,
it's not
even in the
psalm,
it's in the
heading.
Look at
Psalm 42,
the heading,
to the
choir master.
psalm was
meant to be
sung.
This
psalm was
meant to
be sung
in the
company
of the
redeemed,
those who
can call
on God
as my
God.
This
psalm
allows us
to be
honest with
one another
when we
are feeling
distant,
forgotten,
and rejected
by God.
This
psalm
allows us
to sing
together
our hope
who can
pull us
out of
our despair,
stabilize
us,
and bring
us home.
So we're
going to
close,
I'm going
to close
in prayer,
and then
we're going
to sing
a new
song
together
this
morning
as a
response.
It's
Psalm 42,
put to
music.
So let
me pray,
and the
worship team
will come
on up,
and we'll
sing together
as it
was meant
to be
so.
God in
heaven,
we thank
you so
much for
Psalm 42
and 43.
Thank you
for the
help that
is in
this psalm,
not only
pointing us
to the
God who
is our
salvation,
our God
who is
my God,
but thank
you for
this psalm
and how
it instructs
us to
lament.
Would you
grow us
as a
church
in how
to lament
personally
and corporately,
and now
God,
would you
knit our
hearts
together
as we
sing and
search and
look to
you for
you to be
present in
our midst.
In Jesus'
name,
Amen.