WEBVTT

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 Father, sometimes your word touches things in us that make us very, very worried and very much afraid.

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 And Father, we're going to be looking at a text today and over the next few days that would be one of those texts

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 that triggers within us deep worries and concerns and fears about ourselves, about you,

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 about, well, just about ourselves and about you and about the world.

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 And so, Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would move with might and power and deep conviction upon us as we look at this text.

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 We thank you, Father, that you speak to us, that you love us, that you sent Jesus to die upon the cross for us,

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 that you desire that we be restored to you.

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 And so, Father, we thank you for this and bring your word and your gospel home to us very deeply today.

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 And we ask this in Jesus's name. Amen.

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 Amen. I have a bit of a tickle in my throat.

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 Hopefully I won't cough during this. You can pray that I won't.

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 I'm not sure if we did, in fact, disable the YouTube comments today.

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 We didn't. I don't know if we did or not.

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 We talked about it.

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 And one of the reasons we talked about it is that there was an attempt to have a social media mob against an organization that I'm involved with and actually against us.

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 And this sort of just erupted on Monday.

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 And, in fact, actually, it took a lot of my emotional and calendar time and prayer time this week.

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 I had to write the council and everything an email about it.

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 I'm the chair of an organization called Dig and Delve that does apologetics events.

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 And this past Friday we had a live apologetics event featuring Jojo Ruba.

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 And the original advertisement for the event was Finding a Better Sexual Identity.

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 Sorry.

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 Christian Reflections on Conversion Therapy and Sexual Identity.

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 And then after some conversations with Jojo, we changed the title to Finding a Better Sexual Identity, Gender, Sexuality in Jesus.

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 Because I don't know if all social media mobs work like this, but probably many of them lamentably do.

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 Some person decided he was going to stir up an attempt to stir up a cancel culture mob against us.

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 And as is often the case, he took sort of one or two words, built an entire narrative of his own that had nothing to do with what we were going to say or, in fact, did say since the event happened this past Friday.

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 In fact, I encourage you to Google, not stay with me for the sermon, but after the sermon, go to Dig and Delve and look up the talk and watch it.

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 Jojo Ruba did a spectacular job addressing this topic.

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 Anyway, he builds his own narrative about what's going on.

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 Very, very hostile.

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 We have blood on our hand.

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 We need to be ashamed of ourselves.

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 We're on the wrong side of history.

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 We tried to mobilize some other people.

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 Named the different sponsors.

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 Tried to get all of the sponsors, every one of the sponsors, to cancel the event.

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 And anyway, it was an interesting week.

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 On Monday, it sort of exploded in a small way.

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 And I wasn't sure if that was going to be something that would escalate and escalate or whether it would fizzle or whether it would stay around the same level.

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 You know, thanks be to God, it didn't escalate into the thousands or anything like that.

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 But it still is hard and was hard for some of the sponsors because they literally did want to punish and try to have people be maybe even businesses closed over it.

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 It was very, very serious.

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 And I mention this because it's not the case.

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 I mean, sometimes life can be very, very hard.

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 This ended up not being that hard.

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 And on the scale of things going on in the world, gosh, this is just like a teensy-weensy little thing in the scale of things that are going on in the world.

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 And maybe even in the scale of some of the things that are going on in your own lives, it's a very, very tiny thing.

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 We're thankful God answered prayer in this case and it just continued on, has caused some trouble.

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 You know, but, you know, we didn't cancel and we didn't withdraw our sponsorship and we're going to continue to speak about these types of issues.

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 But sometimes life can be very, very hard.

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 And how do you live, how do you pray in times when it is very, very hard?

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 We're going to walk through one of the most difficult books in the Bible, the book of Lamentations.

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 It's a very, very, very difficult book.

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 In fact, when I was looking at reading it very carefully now because I'm preaching on it, and I'll point this out one day.

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 It almost looks like a book that one of God's enemies wrote.

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 It sometimes feels, when you're reading it, as if you're reading a deconversion blog or story, if you know what those are.

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 How people have now seen the light, so to speak, and they've given up on the Christian faith.

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 And in some ways it almost sounds like one of those blogs, yet it's in the Bible.

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 And it talks about suffering.

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 It talks about very, very profound suffering.

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 And it will have, I don't think it is, some very disturbing images, even images of cannibalism, believe it or not, when we go through the five chapters.

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 We're just going to go through chapter one.

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 And here's one of the problems that we have when we approach this book.

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 And here we're going to have, Andrew's going to put up an image, so you'll hear my voice and you're going to see an image.

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 And here's one of the issues.

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 The book of Lamentations is actually most famous for a particular verse, a couple of verses.

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 It's, in fact, what Jono led us in singing.

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 Great is thy faithfulness.

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 Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord.

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 Your mercies are new every morning, new every morning.

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 Great is thy faithfulness.

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 The steadfast love of the Lord never faileth.

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 Your goodness never comes to an end.

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 That comes from the book of Lamentations.

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 And usually when you see that quote, you see it with an image, something like what you're seeing right here, hopefully on the screen right now.

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 You see something of which is somewhere we'd all like to go.

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 First of all, we'd maybe like it to not be snow and winter right now.

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 But even if we had a winter version of this, it would be a cabin with snow, a roaring fire, you know, maybe a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, a nice meal.

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 And this text goes along with it.

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 And some of you might even have images like that to go along with the verse.

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 Now, I'm not going to say that you should get rid of those things.

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 If those verses and those images help you, thanks be to God.

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 That's all I want to say.

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 Thanks be to God.

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 But part of the problem is that for most of us, life isn't like that all of the time.

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 And it can almost create a type of a romanticism about a romantic spirit.

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 Like, and I'm using it not in terms of romantic love, but that the movement of romanticism is if everything can be good and well in the world.

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 And there's a way to manage the world and control the world and wrestle and tackle the world so that everything is just hunky-dory.

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 And there's just pleasure.

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 There's just peace.

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 There's just contentment.

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 And that verse looks as if it just fits right into it.

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 But Andrew's going to put up another image right now.

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 And this is really the image you need to have in your mind when you read the book of Lamentations.

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 In fact, it might even be helpful because I'm going to encourage you to read all five chapters over this coming week.

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 In fact, one of the things I really love is when you read the five chapters, if you have questions, comments, things you'd like me to address, send me an email.

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 I can't promise that I'm going to eat.

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 And I'll try to see if I can weave those comments and questions, objections into the course of the sermons over the next few weeks.

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 I can't promise I'm going to deal with all of them.

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 It depends how many come.

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 But I will try to.

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 But if you are reading it, it might be very helpful if you had an image like this before you as you read.

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 A city in ruins.

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 Because the fact of the matter is, that is really how that would actually be a far better thing to have.

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 The steadfast love of the Lord never faileth.

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 His mercies never come to an end.

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 They are new every morning, new every morning.

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 Great is thy faithfulness.

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 This image that you're seeing right now is actually what should go with the text.

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 Because that's what the book of Lamentations is about.

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 So, in Jewish tradition, it was written by Jeremiah the prophet after the destruction of Jerusalem.

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 The temple's destroyed.

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 The people are destroyed.

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 They're carried away.

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 Hardly anybody is left.

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 The city is in complete and utter ruins.

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 Complete and utter ruins.

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 And throughout this, I'm not going to refer to the author as Jeremiah because it's actually an anonymous book.

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 Jewish tradition gives it to Jeremiah.

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 I'll probably refer to the poet or the prophet as the writer of this book.

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 But this book is written after the destruction of Jerusalem amidst the ruins.

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 And by the end of the poem, the poet is still in the ruins.

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 And it's talking to God in the midst of ruins.

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 That's what this book is about.

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 Talking to God in the midst of ruins.

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 So, let's look at the text.

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 And it's Lamentations chapter 1.

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 It's sort of almost immediately in the beginning at the middle of your Bibles.

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 Just slightly to the right of the middle of your Bibles.

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 And here's how it goes.

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 We're going to read through it.

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 It's 22 verses.

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 And we'll read it.

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 I'll make a couple little comments as I read it.

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 And then we're going to just sort of try to reflect upon it a little bit.

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 And here's how it goes.

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 How lonely sits the city that was full of people.

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 How like a widow has she become.

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 She who was great among the nations.

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 She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.

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 Now, just before I read any farther, our Jewish friends.

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 This is a very important book to our Jewish friends.

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 I'll talk about this more in one of the following weeks.

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 But the Jewish people believe that the first and second temples were destroyed on the same day.

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 Obviously separated by about 600, 650 years.

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 And that not only that, there's several other key things in Jewish history that all got destroyed on the same day.

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 And in the month of July is a day in the Jewish liturgical calendar to remember these acts of destruction.

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 And it's a day of fasting for Jewish people.

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 And in that day of fasting, they recite the entire book of Lamentations.

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 For those of you who are from a bit of a more traditional Anglican background,

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 the Jewish people actually do something very similar to what Christians do on Maundy Thursday.

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 I found it very odd at first, but after a while, the Maundy Thursday service,

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 back when we still owned a church building, was my favorite church service of the year in an odd way.

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 But what happens is Maundy Thursday is the day that Jesus institutes the Last Supper.

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 And after the Last Supper, he goes to the Garden of Gethsemane.

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 And in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prays, of course, with his disciples.

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 And then the soldiers come and capture him.

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 The next day, he dies on the cross.

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 And that day, Maundy Thursday, in the service in the evening,

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 we remember both the institution of the Lord's Supper and we remember Jesus' capture.

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 That's how the service ends.

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 And the way the service ends is that while usually something like Psalm 22 or Psalm 51

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 or some other lament psalm is being read slowly,

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 all of the decorations of the church are removed.

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 All of the decorations, anything that looks nice, is removed from the church, the worship area.

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 And as the articles that look nice and fine and beautiful are removed,

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 the church gets darker and darker and darker,

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 and the service ends in complete and utter darkness and silence.

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 And it symbolizes or tries to help us to enter into this,

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 the darkness having now got hold of Jesus in its attempt to extinguish the light.

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 And our Jewish friends have a similar type of thing for those in their synagogue services

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 for this very solemn day in the Jewish calendar,

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 where they remember these many acts of destruction.

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 And for our Jewish friends, we of course call this book Lamentations as part of the Old Testament.

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 Our Jewish friends would refer to it as the Tanakh or the Torah.

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 And it has a different name in the Jewish Bible, so to speak.

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 And that actually is, the name of the book is How,

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 from the very first word that appears in the book.

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 And this word how is used at times of great lament, great mourning, great tragedy.

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 How could this happen?

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 How could this happen with God?

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 How could this happen to us?

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 How is this possible?

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 And many of the Psalms, almost a third of the Psalter, the book of Psalms, deals with laments.

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 And often this word in Hebrew will appear at key moments throughout it.

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 And that's the name of the book in what our friends call the Tanakh,

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 our Jewish friends, and what we call the Old Testament.

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 So we have a different name.

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 But it's a valid name.

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 How, as a book title in English, just wouldn't have the same resonance or power that it would

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 for those for whom Hebrew is their heart language and the language that they know.

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 But you see right off the bat, it's talking about destruction.

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 And it's giving us these contrasts between a full city and a lonely city,

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 a great to nothing, princess to slave.

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 Verse 2, it continues.

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 She, now referring to the city, weeps bitterly in the night with tears on her cheeks.

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 Among all her lovers, she has none to comfort her.

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 All her friends have dealt treacherously with her.

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 They have become her enemies.

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 Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and hard servitude.

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 She dwells now among the nations but finds no resting place.

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 Her pursuers have all overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

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 Now just sort of pause here, just to make sure you understand the great tragedy which is being

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 described, to go among the nations.

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 I mean, I jokingly say, I mean, I'm looking forward to being able to travel.

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 I'm looking forward to maybe being able to go across the border or go somewhere else,

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 to go among the nations.

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 This is describing homelessness.

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 This is describing the fact that the people have now scattered.

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 It would be, not to make it too scary for you, but for those who have families,

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 it's as if some great tragedy happens.

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 Imagine a movie and in the midst of the movie, one child goes somewhere else, another child

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 goes somewhere else, the wife goes somewhere else, the husband goes somewhere else, the

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 entire family is scattered and you don't know where they are.

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 And all around you is ruins and around the ruins are enemies.

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 And your lovers and your counselors and your strong towers of defense are all now ignoring you or in fact

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 gloating over you and are being revealed as having never loved you or cared for you,

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 that they've always just used you.

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 Verse 4, the roads to Zion.

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 This is another name.

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 I'll talk about this probably in one of the next sermons about the significance of some of these names.

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 But we're once again still talking about the same group of people, the same city.

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 The roads to Zion mourn, for none come to the festival.

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 All her gates are desolate, her priests groan, her virgins have been afflicted,

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 and she herself suffers bitterly.

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 Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper.

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 Because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions.

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 Now this is a gobsmacking statement.

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 And for many Canadian Christians, maybe every single Canadian Christian,

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 this creates a high amount of anxiety.

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 And you can see, when I said at the beginning that in some ways the book of Lamentations

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 sounds like a book written by the triune God's enemies,

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 you can start to see why I said that.

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 When I said that in many ways this looks exactly like a blog

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 written by those deconversion blog sites,

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 you can start to see why I said that.

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 For a Christian who accepts that Jesus is their Savior and their Lord,

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 and accepts how Jesus understood the Bible,

00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:36.000
 then I have to accept the Bible the same way Jesus does,

00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:40.559
 and that is that this is actually, God caused this to be written.

00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:45.460
 Not his enemies, but the triune God caused this to be written.

00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:50.839
 Now, this aspect here, which is very difficult,

00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:55.639
 I am going to talk about this a little bit after I finish reading chapter one of Lamentations,

00:17:55.819 --> 00:17:58.779
 but some of you are going to be a little bit dissatisfied.

00:17:58.859 --> 00:18:00.539
 I hope none of you will be dissatisfied.

00:18:00.679 --> 00:18:04.319
 I hope we'll all be challenged by this text in a way which is very, very good.

00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:09.439
 But because this theme, this idea, recurs in every one of the five chapters,

00:18:09.619 --> 00:18:13.720
 I'm going to sort of look at little bits of aspects of this particular thing

00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:15.980
 every week over the five chapters.

00:18:16.659 --> 00:18:19.059
 But I want to make sure you noticed it.

00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:23.639
 You see, one of the things, those of you who might be chancing to watch this,

00:18:24.099 --> 00:18:29.200
 at the Church of the Messiah, we believe that it's wisest to read through books of the Bible.

00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:31.399
 The Bible is written as books.

00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:35.560
 In fact, the book of Lamentations is one of the most ornately,

00:18:36.220 --> 00:18:38.740
 carefully structured books of the Bible.

00:18:38.920 --> 00:18:42.120
 It's very, very, each one of the, I'll talk about it more in another week,

00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:45.060
 but the structure is actually very, very intricate.

00:18:45.660 --> 00:18:49.840
 Five separate poems, but they're all linked.

00:18:50.620 --> 00:18:54.240
 And the themes are linked, and some of them develop over time.

00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:58.160
 So I will talk a little bit about this at the end of the text,

00:18:58.360 --> 00:19:00.259
 and I'll talk a little bit about it every week.

00:19:00.259 --> 00:19:02.599
 And that's one of the things you can do, is you can pray for me,

00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.160
 and pray for yourselves as you read this text.

00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:07.539
 I'll read it again, verse five again.

00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:11.839
 Her foes have become the head, her enemies prosper,

00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:17.000
 because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions.

00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:21.220
 Her children have gone astray, captive before the foe.

00:19:21.220 --> 00:19:24.740
 In fact, just before I go anything farther,

00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:29.920
 it's as if it goes, on one hand, it's given the type of thing

00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:33.120
 that a poet or a journalist would talk about if they went to Aleppo,

00:19:33.880 --> 00:19:36.160
 if they went to some place that had been destroyed.

00:19:37.039 --> 00:19:40.220
 And we were just talking about things naturalistically,

00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:42.140
 what happened, what didn't happen.

00:19:42.140 --> 00:19:49.700
 And now all of a sudden there's this profound theological part of the whole discussion.

00:19:50.820 --> 00:19:51.259
 Verse six,

00:19:51.980 --> 00:19:55.020
 From the daughter of Zion all her majesty has departed.

00:19:55.160 --> 00:19:58.280
 Her princes have become like deer that find no pasture.

00:19:58.420 --> 00:20:00.320
 In other words, they're starving to death, they're doomed.

00:20:01.020 --> 00:20:03.660
 They fled without strength before the pursuer.

00:20:04.800 --> 00:20:06.820
 In other words, the pursuer will capture them.

00:20:06.819 --> 00:20:10.579
 And by the way, this actually is what happened.

00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:15.399
 One of the things that happens when Nebuchadnezzar is responsible for the fall of Jerusalem,

00:20:15.500 --> 00:20:19.720
 one of the horrific things that he did is he captures the final king.

00:20:21.259 --> 00:20:23.439
 And then he has the final king,

00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:28.000
 and I guess they must have forced his eyes open and his head in one position.

00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:32.419
 And one by one, all of his friends and all of his children are killed.

00:20:32.420 --> 00:20:37.759
 And when they kill the final one of his friends and the final one of his children and family,

00:20:37.860 --> 00:20:41.960
 then they blind him so that the very last things he ever sees

00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:46.480
 is the death of his loved ones and his advisors and his family.

00:20:47.320 --> 00:20:48.380
 They don't kill him.

00:20:50.300 --> 00:20:53.019
 They want to torment him and torture him.

00:20:54.740 --> 00:20:55.539
 Verse seven,

00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:59.060
 Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering

00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:01.960
 all the precious things that were hers from days of old

00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:04.220
 when her people fell into the hand of the foe

00:21:04.220 --> 00:21:05.900
 and there was none to help her.

00:21:06.380 --> 00:21:07.860
 Her foes gloated over her.

00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:09.380
 They mocked at her downfall.

00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:11.740
 Jerusalem sinned grievously.

00:21:12.240 --> 00:21:14.319
 Therefore, she became filthy.

00:21:15.740 --> 00:21:17.840
 All who honored her despise her,

00:21:18.460 --> 00:21:20.319
 for they have seen her nakedness.

00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:23.120
 She herself groans and turns her face away.

00:21:23.559 --> 00:21:27.059
 I just want to notice what's been said here.

00:21:27.059 --> 00:21:30.599
 In verse five is this shocking idea that God is responsible

00:21:30.599 --> 00:21:37.559
 at some real level for the destruction and the ruin of Jerusalem.

00:21:38.059 --> 00:21:41.960
 And now we see here something which is actually also quite shocking.

00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:49.159
 The poet acknowledges that they have sinned.

00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:53.779
 There's going to be complaints before God,

00:21:54.620 --> 00:21:57.500
 cries of anguish before God about what has gone on,

00:21:58.080 --> 00:22:02.320
 puzzlement before God as to why this has befallen her and not her enemies as well.

00:22:02.800 --> 00:22:04.460
 Like why, how come her?

00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:05.420
 How come them?

00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:09.940
 But one of the things which is quite shocking and striking here,

00:22:10.060 --> 00:22:11.880
 and you will see it continually throughout the book,

00:22:11.900 --> 00:22:13.000
 if you read it carefully,

00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:15.420
 if you, in a sense, overcome your fear,

00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:17.220
 and you read the text,

00:22:17.300 --> 00:22:20.779
 you'll see that there's an acknowledgement of guilt on their part.

00:22:22.580 --> 00:22:23.180
 Verse eight,

00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:24.880
 Jerusalem sinned grievously.

00:22:25.060 --> 00:22:26.340
 Therefore, she became filthy.

00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:28.220
 All who honored her despise her,

00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:29.380
 for they have seen her nakedness.

00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:31.259
 She herself groans and turns her face away.

00:22:31.320 --> 00:22:32.100
 That's what I just read.

00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:32.680
 Verse nine,

00:22:33.300 --> 00:22:34.920
 her uncleanness was in her skirts.

00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:37.340
 She took no thought of her future.

00:22:37.900 --> 00:22:39.400
 Therefore, her fall is terrible.

00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:40.840
 She has no comforter.

00:22:41.560 --> 00:22:43.240
 Oh, Lord, behold my affliction,

00:22:43.580 --> 00:22:44.920
 for the enemy has triumphed.

00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.900
 Two things here.

00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:47.460
 First of all,

00:22:47.880 --> 00:22:52.000
 she acknowledges that she took no sense of the consequences of her action.

00:22:53.360 --> 00:22:55.380
 And now the consequences have come.

00:22:56.620 --> 00:22:58.060
 And in verse nine,

00:22:58.180 --> 00:22:59.960
 this last little third bit,

00:23:00.100 --> 00:23:01.960
 Oh, Lord, behold my affliction,

00:23:02.080 --> 00:23:03.160
 for the enemy has triumphed.

00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:04.320
 For the first time,

00:23:04.920 --> 00:23:07.039
 now there's going to be different things in the Hebrew.

00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:08.560
 I might or might not tell you about it.

00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:12.600
 Part of the ornateness about second voice and third voice and all of that stuff.

00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:18.060
 But here is the first time now that the poet addresses the Lord,

00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:19.320
 the triune God.

00:23:19.660 --> 00:23:20.779
 It's a prayer.

00:23:20.779 --> 00:23:25.200
 It's going to happen again in verse 11,

00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:30.000
 and it's going to end versus the last few verses are going to end in prayer as well.

00:23:30.259 --> 00:23:32.420
 And here's that little arrow prayer,

00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:33.099
 so to speak,

00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:34.799
 not a long ornate prayer,

00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:37.920
 but just this quick little arrow prayer.

00:23:38.180 --> 00:23:38.660
 Oh, Lord,

00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:39.399
 behold,

00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:41.139
 my affliction,

00:23:41.379 --> 00:23:44.339
 for the enemy has triumphed.

00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:45.159
 And by the way,

00:23:45.199 --> 00:23:46.319
 in the original language,

00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:48.000
 it's actually,

00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:50.480
 and it's captured quite well here with the enemy.

00:23:50.639 --> 00:23:53.419
 The implication is that it's not only the enemy of Jerusalem,

00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:54.559
 but it's the enemy of God.

00:23:55.679 --> 00:23:58.720
 That these people who have triumphed

00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:01.319
 and brought about the ruin of this man's life

00:24:01.319 --> 00:24:02.699
 and the ruin of the city,

00:24:03.480 --> 00:24:05.179
 that they're also God's enemies.

00:24:05.180 --> 00:24:07.519
 You see,

00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:13.680
 this text is so nuanced in terms of reflecting upon life.

00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.840
 But let's continue on in verse 10.

00:24:17.100 --> 00:24:20.460
 The enemy has stretched out his hands over all her precious things,

00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:24.180
 for she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary,

00:24:24.380 --> 00:24:27.220
 those whom you forbade to enter your congregation.

00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:28.120
 In other words,

00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:29.740
 they've entered by force to destroy.

00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:32.140
 Haven't entered by faith to worship.

00:24:32.140 --> 00:24:35.380
 They haven't entered by faith to seek,

00:24:35.600 --> 00:24:36.600
 to seek him,

00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:37.300
 to know him,

00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:38.900
 to enter into relationship with them,

00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:41.460
 but they've entered as enemies to destroy.

00:24:42.720 --> 00:24:43.160
 Verse 11,

00:24:43.300 --> 00:24:46.000
 all her people groan as they search for bread.

00:24:46.720 --> 00:24:50.060
 They trade their treasures for food to revive their strength.

00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.320
 And here's now the second prayer.

00:24:52.440 --> 00:24:53.700
 It's a little arrow prayer.

00:24:53.860 --> 00:24:58.480
 I use it in terms of it's just this quick one shot up to God,

00:24:59.340 --> 00:25:00.540
 looking to the Lord,

00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:02.500
 talking now not to people around,

00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:06.200
 not to himself or herself,

00:25:06.379 --> 00:25:07.460
 could have been written by a woman,

00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:11.819
 but looking right to God and says,

00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:12.159
 Lord,

00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:12.839
 O Lord,

00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:13.819
 look,

00:25:13.940 --> 00:25:14.339
 O Lord,

00:25:14.399 --> 00:25:14.940
 and see,

00:25:15.180 --> 00:25:16.779
 for I am despised.

00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:19.319
 Verse 12,

00:25:19.579 --> 00:25:20.899
 is it nothing to you,

00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:22.599
 all you who pass by,

00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:23.519
 look and see,

00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:24.279
 is,

00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:26.839
 if there is any sorrow like my sorrow,

00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:27.519
 which is brought,

00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:29.299
 which was brought upon me,

00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:31.940
 which the Lord inflicted on the day of his fierce anger.

00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:33.519
 From on high,

00:25:33.639 --> 00:25:35.279
 he sent fire into my bones.

00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:36.400
 He made it descend.

00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:38.019
 He spread a net for my feet.

00:25:38.299 --> 00:25:39.259
 He turned me back.

00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:40.680
 He has left me stunned,

00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:42.500
 faint all the day long.

00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:45.279
 My transgressions were bound into a yoke.

00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:46.359
 By his hand,

00:25:46.440 --> 00:25:47.700
 they were fastened together.

00:25:48.079 --> 00:25:49.859
 They were set upon my neck.

00:25:49.940 --> 00:25:51.799
 He caused my strength to fail.

00:25:51.799 --> 00:25:55.819
 The Lord gave me into the hands of those whom I cannot withstand.

00:25:56.379 --> 00:25:59.440
 The Lord rejected all my mighty men in my midst.

00:25:59.839 --> 00:26:03.960
 He summoned an assembly against me to crush my young men.

00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:06.200
 The Lord has trodden as in a winepress,

00:26:06.299 --> 00:26:07.879
 the virgin daughter of Judah.

00:26:08.359 --> 00:26:09.879
 For these things I weep.

00:26:09.960 --> 00:26:12.159
 My eyes flow with tears.

00:26:12.579 --> 00:26:14.460
 For a comforter is far from me,

00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:16.079
 one to revive my spirit.

00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:19.299
 My children are desolate,

00:26:19.299 --> 00:26:20.960
 for the enemy has prevailed.

00:26:21.799 --> 00:26:23.000
 It does sound a little bit,

00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:23.399
 doesn't it,

00:26:23.460 --> 00:26:24.279
 apart from the prayers,

00:26:24.399 --> 00:26:26.180
 as if it's written by one of the Lord's enemies,

00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:27.139
 rather than the Lord.

00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:28.319
 I mean the poet,

00:26:28.539 --> 00:26:30.619
 and now included by the Lord in his word.

00:26:30.879 --> 00:26:34.539
 The Lord being the ultimate writer of the scripture.

00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:35.819
 Verse 17,

00:26:35.940 --> 00:26:37.500
 Zion stretches out her hands,

00:26:37.839 --> 00:26:39.440
 but there is none to comfort her.

00:26:40.059 --> 00:26:41.779
 The Lord has commanded against Jacob

00:26:41.779 --> 00:26:43.460
 that his neighbors should be his foes.

00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:46.019
 Jerusalem has become a filthy thing among them.

00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:50.799
 The Lord is in the right.

00:26:51.799 --> 00:26:56.419
 Isn't that shocking?

00:26:58.919 --> 00:27:01.539
 Is this so that the writer is a bit of a masochist?

00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:04.259
 I mean,

00:27:04.299 --> 00:27:06.099
 I guess some might say that.

00:27:06.359 --> 00:27:08.019
 It shows a type of masochism,

00:27:08.139 --> 00:27:11.500
 a type of doormat type of mentality.

00:27:11.500 --> 00:27:16.779
 One of those types of ideas that we rebel against in our culture,

00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:19.259
 because we are to be the master of our fate,

00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:21.299
 we are to be the master of our castle,

00:27:21.460 --> 00:27:23.880
 we are to be the master of our circumstances,

00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:28.779
 and anything which does not encourage us to be the master of our karma,

00:27:28.920 --> 00:27:30.119
 the master of our destiny,

00:27:30.259 --> 00:27:31.619
 the master of our salvation,

00:27:31.799 --> 00:27:33.160
 the master of our marriages,

00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:34.680
 the master of our wealth,

00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:36.680
 is looked down upon.

00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:39.720
 It's to deny this idea that there's these techniques,

00:27:39.900 --> 00:27:42.400
 these ways of handling and managing yourself,

00:27:42.779 --> 00:27:43.440
 your emotions,

00:27:43.660 --> 00:27:44.299
 your fears,

00:27:44.840 --> 00:27:47.160
 your vision of the future,

00:27:47.340 --> 00:27:47.980
 your children,

00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:48.779
 your family,

00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:49.539
 your job,

00:27:49.660 --> 00:27:50.220
 your neighborhood,

00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:51.140
 your country,

00:27:51.560 --> 00:27:52.920
 the weather,

00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:54.460
 the movement of the stars.

00:27:54.620 --> 00:27:54.740
 Oh,

00:27:54.740 --> 00:27:55.220
 one moment.

00:27:55.880 --> 00:27:56.859
 As soon as I say that,

00:27:56.920 --> 00:27:57.660
 we start to realize,

00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:00.740
 maybe there's a problem with this view.

00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:04.099
 And maybe part of the problem,

00:28:04.180 --> 00:28:04.359
 you see,

00:28:04.440 --> 00:28:06.120
 here's one of the things which I'm going to suggest.

00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:10.180
 The problem we have with the Bible is that it's too realistic.

00:28:11.279 --> 00:28:12.920
 We think we are realistic,

00:28:13.500 --> 00:28:15.019
 and that when we read the Bible,

00:28:15.160 --> 00:28:16.900
 we're reading something which is unrealistic.

00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:21.700
 But what actually is the case is that the Bible is too realistic for us

00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:30.180
 who dwell amongst delusions and illusions and fantasies of our greatness and of our mastery.

00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:36.240
 And because we constantly are consumed with illusions, delusions, and lies,

00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:38.600
 we, in our arrogance,

00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:40.360
 think that when we come upon the Bible,

00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:43.140
 we are reading something which is not in the real world.

00:28:43.220 --> 00:28:44.200
 But the fact of the matter is,

00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:47.519
 is that the Bible is vastly too realistic for most of us to handle,

00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:48.940
 including myself.

00:28:48.940 --> 00:28:51.840
 See, that's one of the reasons, friends,

00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:52.920
 that, you know, for me,

00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:54.140
 you begin with the gospel,

00:28:54.299 --> 00:28:56.420
 you begin with Jesus and what he has done for you

00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:57.160
 and how he gripped,

00:28:57.460 --> 00:29:00.620
 how he has dealt with that which keeps you far from him,

00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:03.120
 and he has done that which makes you right with him.

00:29:03.200 --> 00:29:04.259
 And it's, in a sense,

00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:06.660
 in a very, very real and powerful sense

00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:08.880
 that it's the gospel which is to grip us

00:29:08.880 --> 00:29:11.360
 and to start to give us a bit of a comfort

00:29:11.360 --> 00:29:14.380
 to go and look at these very, very difficult texts

00:29:14.380 --> 00:29:18.140
 which describe the reality of who we are at the level of our heart.

00:29:18.940 --> 00:29:21.980
 In the context of the triune God and the real world,

00:29:22.080 --> 00:29:23.320
 not the fantasy world

00:29:23.320 --> 00:29:26.460
 that we keep trying to impose upon the real world.

00:29:28.140 --> 00:29:29.160
 Verse 18 again,

00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:30.660
 The Lord is in the right,

00:29:31.060 --> 00:29:32.940
 for I have rebelled against his word.

00:29:33.060 --> 00:29:34.779
 But hear, all you peoples,

00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:35.820
 and see my suffering.

00:29:35.920 --> 00:29:38.500
 My young women and my young men have gone into captivity.

00:29:38.900 --> 00:29:40.100
 I called to my lovers,

00:29:41.180 --> 00:29:42.279
 but they deceived me.

00:29:43.019 --> 00:29:45.200
 My priests and elders perished in the city

00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:47.380
 while they sought food to revive their strength.

00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:51.240
 This poem closes with prayer.

00:29:51.360 --> 00:29:54.040
 Verses 20, 21, and 22 closes with prayer.

00:29:54.840 --> 00:29:57.320
 Look, O Lord, for I am in distress.

00:29:57.440 --> 00:29:58.720
 My stomach churns.

00:29:58.800 --> 00:30:00.600
 My heart is wrung within me

00:30:00.600 --> 00:30:02.940
 because I have been very rebellious.

00:30:03.380 --> 00:30:05.260
 In the streets, the sword bereaves.

00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:07.260
 In the house, it is like death.

00:30:07.760 --> 00:30:08.820
 They heard my groaning,

00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:10.680
 yet there is no one to comfort me.

00:30:10.760 --> 00:30:12.580
 All my enemies have heard of my trouble.

00:30:12.680 --> 00:30:14.280
 They are glad that you have done it.

00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:16.440
 You have brought the day you announced.

00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:18.500
 Now let them be as I am.

00:30:18.899 --> 00:30:21.339
 Let all their evil doing come before you

00:30:21.339 --> 00:30:23.460
 and deal with them as you have dealt with me

00:30:23.460 --> 00:30:25.180
 because of all my transgressions.

00:30:25.579 --> 00:30:27.180
 For my groans are many,

00:30:27.399 --> 00:30:29.279
 and my heart is faint.

00:30:30.160 --> 00:30:31.079
 And Christians say,

00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:32.160
 this is the word of the Lord,

00:30:32.639 --> 00:30:33.680
 and we try to respond,

00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:34.559
 thanks be to God.

00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:37.920
 Now, just a couple of things

00:30:37.920 --> 00:30:39.379
 as we reflect upon this.

00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:41.160
 The first thing is,

00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:42.399
 if maybe all of a sudden

00:30:42.399 --> 00:30:43.099
 I could ask Andrew

00:30:43.099 --> 00:30:44.899
 to put up that very, very first image.

00:30:45.539 --> 00:30:47.079
 The steadfast love of the Lord

00:30:47.079 --> 00:30:47.899
 never faileth.

00:30:47.959 --> 00:30:49.699
 His mercies never come to an end.

00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:50.919
 They are new every morning,

00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:51.779
 new every morning.

00:30:51.879 --> 00:30:53.039
 Great is thy faithfulness.

00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:54.980
 That's actually as we're going to see,

00:30:55.099 --> 00:30:56.619
 and actually I'll just read it right now

00:30:56.619 --> 00:30:58.119
 because we'll come back to it.

00:30:58.199 --> 00:30:58.639
 If you go to,

00:30:58.959 --> 00:31:00.019
 it's not going to be on your text.

00:31:00.099 --> 00:31:01.099
 I should have had that.

00:31:01.179 --> 00:31:02.059
 You just have to read the Bible.

00:31:02.219 --> 00:31:03.259
 Trust me that it's there.

00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:05.279
 And next week,

00:31:05.399 --> 00:31:06.879
 I'll make sure I have Andrew

00:31:06.879 --> 00:31:08.379
 have it up on the screen or whoever.

00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:09.539
 The steadfast,

00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:10.879
 chapter 3, verse 22,

00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:12.020
 to sort of the very center

00:31:12.020 --> 00:31:13.440
 of the entire book

00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:16.940
 is this part of the book

00:31:16.940 --> 00:31:18.460
 which is radically different

00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:18.880
 than the rest.

00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:20.000
 I'll talk about it more in a moment,

00:31:20.140 --> 00:31:21.380
 but here's how it goes.

00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:22.900
 The steadfast love of the Lord

00:31:22.900 --> 00:31:23.700
 never ceases.

00:31:24.260 --> 00:31:26.060
 His mercies never come to an end.

00:31:26.140 --> 00:31:27.380
 They are new every morning.

00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:31.160
 Great is your faithfulness.

00:31:31.860 --> 00:31:32.860
 But you can see

00:31:32.860 --> 00:31:34.420
 that to have this text read

00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:35.540
 with the image,

00:31:35.600 --> 00:31:37.220
 which I think is still in front of you,

00:31:37.220 --> 00:31:38.799
 is not to actually understand

00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:39.360
 where the book,

00:31:39.700 --> 00:31:40.960
 where that verse comes from.

00:31:42.059 --> 00:31:42.740
 So, Andrew,

00:31:42.839 --> 00:31:44.160
 if you could put up the other image,

00:31:44.240 --> 00:31:45.440
 the image of the ruined city,

00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:46.000
 or Claire,

00:31:46.120 --> 00:31:46.759
 I think it's Claire

00:31:46.759 --> 00:31:47.600
 putting up the images.

00:31:49.339 --> 00:31:49.740
 This,

00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:52.940
 the book of Lamentations,

00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:54.339
 the poet writes it

00:31:54.339 --> 00:31:55.460
 amidst the rubble.

00:31:56.420 --> 00:31:57.660
 And by the end of the book,

00:31:57.720 --> 00:31:58.600
 he's still in the rubble.

00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:01.759
 And in the very middle

00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:02.859
 of the whole,

00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:04.259
 of the five prayers,

00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:07.079
 the five laments,

00:32:07.879 --> 00:32:09.759
 is this profound text.

00:32:11.219 --> 00:32:12.859
 The steadfast love of the Lord

00:32:12.859 --> 00:32:13.619
 never ceases.

00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:15.339
 His mercies never come to an end.

00:32:15.419 --> 00:32:16.339
 They are new every morning.

00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:18.139
 Great is your faithfulness.

00:32:18.159 --> 00:32:19.759
 And there's other texts

00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.779
 along that same line

00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:21.459
 that come after it

00:32:21.459 --> 00:32:22.299
 that we'll look at more

00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:23.799
 when we come to chapter three.

00:32:25.059 --> 00:32:26.779
 So, here's just a couple of ways

00:32:26.779 --> 00:32:27.719
 to try to get our minds

00:32:27.720 --> 00:32:28.640
 around what's happening.

00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:31.160
 By the way,

00:32:31.259 --> 00:32:32.180
 I really understand

00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:33.440
 that my primary job

00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:36.120
 is to hopefully be one with you

00:32:36.120 --> 00:32:37.519
 as you,

00:32:37.779 --> 00:32:39.220
 to help you read the text

00:32:39.220 --> 00:32:39.880
 for yourself.

00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:41.259
 Because God wrote this text

00:32:41.259 --> 00:32:41.799
 for you and I

00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:43.100
 to read it and to pray it.

00:32:43.880 --> 00:32:44.839
 Our Jewish friends

00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:46.000
 pray this text

00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:47.380
 as part of their synagogue worship

00:32:47.380 --> 00:32:49.220
 when they remember

00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:50.819
 these acts of destruction

00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:52.000
 that have befallen their people.

00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:52.940
 And obviously,

00:32:53.059 --> 00:32:54.440
 it's had a very special poignancy

00:32:54.440 --> 00:32:55.319
 since the Holocaust

00:32:55.319 --> 00:32:57.839
 happened to them.

00:32:59.939 --> 00:33:01.299
 But here's the first thing.

00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:02.939
 Many of us have a very,

00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:04.119
 very, very hard trouble

00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:05.439
 with this whole idea

00:33:05.439 --> 00:33:06.879
 that God could be involved

00:33:06.879 --> 00:33:08.299
 in their punishment.

00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:09.879
 But here's the fact,

00:33:09.960 --> 00:33:10.480
 the matter is,

00:33:10.659 --> 00:33:11.700
 and here's where I say

00:33:11.700 --> 00:33:12.240
 the text,

00:33:13.419 --> 00:33:14.399
 if we get beyond

00:33:14.399 --> 00:33:16.799
 our just childish response,

00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:18.679
 our unreflective response,

00:33:18.899 --> 00:33:21.319
 and in our age of social media,

00:33:21.439 --> 00:33:22.779
 unreflective responses

00:33:22.779 --> 00:33:24.180
 is primarily what we see

00:33:24.180 --> 00:33:25.019
 in social media

00:33:25.019 --> 00:33:25.980
 and lots of the world.

00:33:26.420 --> 00:33:28.139
 And it reflects just who we are.

00:33:28.399 --> 00:33:29.379
 That we take the Bible

00:33:29.379 --> 00:33:30.079
 after it's read that

00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:30.940
 and we throw it away.

00:33:31.500 --> 00:33:32.319
 How dare you?

00:33:32.399 --> 00:33:33.180
 I hate that.

00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:33.980
 And we stomp

00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:36.240
 and we just sort of say,

00:33:36.299 --> 00:33:37.139
 that's one of the reasons

00:33:37.139 --> 00:33:37.980
 I'm not a Christian.

00:33:38.079 --> 00:33:38.779
 That's one of the reasons

00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:40.399
 I hate Christianity.

00:33:40.399 --> 00:33:41.319
 That's one of the reasons

00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:42.779
 I hate Christians.

00:33:43.339 --> 00:33:44.019
 But let's just pause

00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:44.379
 for a moment

00:33:44.379 --> 00:33:45.279
 and just ask ourselves,

00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:46.240
 this is the first

00:33:46.240 --> 00:33:47.500
 of five separate questions

00:33:47.500 --> 00:33:48.180
 that we'll look at,

00:33:48.559 --> 00:33:49.259
 at least five,

00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:50.379
 over the next few weeks.

00:33:50.380 --> 00:33:51.780
 In the real world,

00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:53.460
 you always have consequences,

00:33:53.620 --> 00:33:54.000
 don't you?

00:33:54.180 --> 00:33:54.820
 You think about it

00:33:54.820 --> 00:33:55.280
 for a second.

00:33:56.700 --> 00:33:58.280
 I'm getting older.

00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:00.460
 The other day,

00:34:00.600 --> 00:34:00.840
 I was,

00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:02.140
 somebody who was 30

00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:02.860
 said that they were

00:34:02.860 --> 00:34:04.180
 already entering middle age.

00:34:04.700 --> 00:34:05.740
 And I said that

00:34:05.740 --> 00:34:06.920
 I planned to live

00:34:06.920 --> 00:34:07.800
 to over 120,

00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:09.480
 so I've just entered middle age.

00:34:10.440 --> 00:34:11.280
 And they hadn't

00:34:11.280 --> 00:34:12.119
 entered middle age,

00:34:12.420 --> 00:34:13.840
 yet not even clear

00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:14.780
 at the quarter age.

00:34:15.140 --> 00:34:15.660
 Of course,

00:34:15.720 --> 00:34:17.079
 I won't live to 120.

00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:18.400
 But you know what?

00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:21.700
 If in the real world,

00:34:21.880 --> 00:34:23.720
 nature has consequences.

00:34:25.260 --> 00:34:25.519
 I mean,

00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:26.220
 if all of a sudden

00:34:26.220 --> 00:34:27.160
 I was to decide

00:34:27.160 --> 00:34:28.539
 that from now on

00:34:28.539 --> 00:34:29.180
 I'm going to have

00:34:29.180 --> 00:34:30.780
 a cheese omelet

00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:31.820
 with sausage

00:34:31.820 --> 00:34:32.619
 and bacon

00:34:32.619 --> 00:34:33.760
 and white toast

00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:34.720
 with lots of butter,

00:34:35.059 --> 00:34:35.539
 and that would be

00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:36.900
 my breakfast every day,

00:34:37.079 --> 00:34:38.200
 and the rest of the day

00:34:38.200 --> 00:34:39.240
 it would be alternating

00:34:39.240 --> 00:34:41.559
 between extra cheesy,

00:34:41.860 --> 00:34:42.720
 meaty pizza,

00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:43.559
 Big Macs,

00:34:43.579 --> 00:34:44.160
 and poutine,

00:34:44.420 --> 00:34:45.660
 and that's all I ate,

00:34:45.740 --> 00:34:46.000
 well,

00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:47.019
 you would expect me

00:34:47.019 --> 00:34:48.519
 to have particular consequences

00:34:48.519 --> 00:34:49.199
 from that.

00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:50.800
 They wouldn't be good.

00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:51.880
 I wouldn't end up

00:34:51.880 --> 00:34:53.119
 looking like the rock

00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:54.320
 by the end of it.

00:34:54.579 --> 00:34:55.659
 And I wouldn't live

00:34:55.659 --> 00:34:56.599
 to be 120.

00:34:57.880 --> 00:34:59.519
 Nature has its consequences.

00:35:00.059 --> 00:35:02.480
 You drink too much alcohol,

00:35:02.860 --> 00:35:04.820
 you often have liver problems,

00:35:04.940 --> 00:35:05.860
 you smoke cigarettes,

00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:08.539
 the odds are going up

00:35:08.539 --> 00:35:09.559
 of you having cancer.

00:35:09.960 --> 00:35:11.099
 You go on and on and on.

00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:12.159
 The fact of the matter is

00:35:12.159 --> 00:35:13.639
 that's separate from the fact

00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:16.219
 that if you ever watch the movie,

00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:17.619
 it's a really funny movie

00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:18.519
 with Will Ferrell

00:35:18.519 --> 00:35:19.539
 and I should have,

00:35:20.039 --> 00:35:20.920
 and Mark Wahlberg.

00:35:21.019 --> 00:35:21.500
 I think it's called

00:35:21.500 --> 00:35:22.239
 The Other Guys,

00:35:22.359 --> 00:35:22.779
 and at the beginning

00:35:22.779 --> 00:35:23.219
 of the movie

00:35:23.219 --> 00:35:25.539
 they have these macho cops

00:35:25.539 --> 00:35:26.339
 that you see.

00:35:26.679 --> 00:35:26.839
 In fact,

00:35:26.859 --> 00:35:27.980
 I think it's acted by The Rock,

00:35:28.039 --> 00:35:28.519
 and I can't remember

00:35:28.519 --> 00:35:28.920
 who the other,

00:35:29.019 --> 00:35:30.579
 oh, maybe Samuel L. Jackson,

00:35:30.960 --> 00:35:31.759
 and it's really funny.

00:35:31.839 --> 00:35:32.739
 At the beginning of the movie,

00:35:32.799 --> 00:35:32.940
 you know,

00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:34.500
 they're invincible, etc.,

00:35:34.500 --> 00:35:35.199
 and there's this time

00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:36.039
 when the bad guys

00:35:36.039 --> 00:35:37.460
 sort of are all surrounding them,

00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:38.119
 and they're at the top

00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:39.460
 of a 20-story building,

00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:40.139
 and they decide

00:35:40.139 --> 00:35:41.099
 their way to escape

00:35:41.099 --> 00:35:42.000
 is to jump off it,

00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:43.239
 and of course in movies

00:35:43.239 --> 00:35:44.599
 people survive these falls

00:35:44.599 --> 00:35:45.179
 all the time,

00:35:45.239 --> 00:35:46.239
 but of course in this movie

00:35:46.239 --> 00:35:46.739
 they die,

00:35:47.059 --> 00:35:48.039
 because if you jump off

00:35:48.039 --> 00:35:48.940
 a 20-story building,

00:35:49.119 --> 00:35:49.759
 you die.

00:35:50.099 --> 00:35:51.539
 Like, nature has consequences.

00:35:52.019 --> 00:35:53.619
 So if nature punishes

00:35:53.619 --> 00:35:55.199
 things against nature,

00:35:55.279 --> 00:35:56.119
 why can't God?

00:35:58.400 --> 00:35:58.679
 In fact,

00:35:58.819 --> 00:35:59.659
 think about it more.

00:36:00.739 --> 00:36:02.039
 You punish other people.

00:36:03.960 --> 00:36:05.319
 You punish other people.

00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:07.019
 You do.

00:36:07.699 --> 00:36:09.380
 If they do something against you,

00:36:09.500 --> 00:36:10.420
 you try to punish them.

00:36:10.420 --> 00:36:11.680
 If you can't punish them

00:36:11.680 --> 00:36:12.780
 because they're more powerful

00:36:12.780 --> 00:36:13.159
 than you,

00:36:13.220 --> 00:36:14.059
 then often you deal

00:36:14.059 --> 00:36:15.480
 with revenge fantasies

00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:17.039
 where you enter into depression.

00:36:17.460 --> 00:36:18.400
 But the fact of the matter

00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:19.519
 is you punish people

00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:20.579
 when they go wrong against you,

00:36:21.159 --> 00:36:22.220
 so why can't God?

00:36:23.619 --> 00:36:25.039
 The fact of the matter is,

00:36:25.519 --> 00:36:27.740
 if the government punishes people,

00:36:27.880 --> 00:36:28.059
 I mean,

00:36:28.119 --> 00:36:28.720
 one of the things

00:36:28.720 --> 00:36:30.000
 which is going on

00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:31.260
 with this lockdown right now,

00:36:31.320 --> 00:36:31.680
 those of you

00:36:31.680 --> 00:36:32.740
 who are watching this live,

00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:34.380
 is that two things.

00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:35.039
 First of all,

00:36:35.500 --> 00:36:37.079
 I don't care what the polls say,

00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:39.079
 most people are in some ways

00:36:39.079 --> 00:36:40.360
 breaking the protocols.

00:36:42.259 --> 00:36:42.639
 You know,

00:36:42.719 --> 00:36:43.539
 they give themselves

00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:44.799
 mulligans and passes

00:36:44.799 --> 00:36:46.279
 for small infringements,

00:36:46.340 --> 00:36:46.900
 and one of the things

00:36:46.900 --> 00:36:47.679
 which is keeping them

00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:49.079
 from bigger doing it

00:36:49.079 --> 00:36:50.059
 is in many cases

00:36:50.059 --> 00:36:50.799
 that they're afraid

00:36:50.799 --> 00:36:51.539
 that their neighbors

00:36:51.539 --> 00:36:52.719
 will tattle on them

00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:53.980
 and have huge fines.

00:36:54.299 --> 00:36:55.159
 But the government

00:36:55.159 --> 00:36:56.019
 punishes people.

00:36:56.099 --> 00:36:57.420
 Why can't the triune God?

00:36:57.599 --> 00:36:58.779
 You punish yourself.

00:36:58.780 --> 00:37:02.160
 Why can't the triune God

00:37:02.160 --> 00:37:02.780
 punish you?

00:37:05.300 --> 00:37:07.180
 And in a sense,

00:37:07.820 --> 00:37:08.760
 and this, by the way,

00:37:08.780 --> 00:37:09.220
 is a problem

00:37:09.220 --> 00:37:10.420
 in all of our relationships,

00:37:10.540 --> 00:37:11.220
 if we're just very,

00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.440
 very honest about it.

00:37:12.600 --> 00:37:13.300
 Because, you see,

00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:14.300
 the fact of the matter is

00:37:14.300 --> 00:37:14.960
 is that we feel

00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:16.400
 quite self-righteous

00:37:16.400 --> 00:37:17.980
 and justified

00:37:17.980 --> 00:37:19.519
 in punishing other people.

00:37:19.620 --> 00:37:20.940
 Like this attempt

00:37:20.940 --> 00:37:21.620
 by the person

00:37:21.620 --> 00:37:23.080
 to create the social media storm.

00:37:23.860 --> 00:37:24.780
 There were attempts

00:37:24.780 --> 00:37:25.660
 to reach out to him

00:37:25.660 --> 00:37:26.440
 very early on

00:37:26.440 --> 00:37:27.180
 just to clarify

00:37:27.180 --> 00:37:27.880
 what we were

00:37:27.880 --> 00:37:28.640
 and were not doing,

00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:29.199
 and in fact,

00:37:29.299 --> 00:37:30.339
 what he said we were doing

00:37:30.339 --> 00:37:31.039
 was not at all

00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:31.719
 what we were doing.

00:37:31.819 --> 00:37:33.519
 What we were proposing

00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:34.319
 was not at all

00:37:34.319 --> 00:37:35.299
 what we were proposing.

00:37:35.739 --> 00:37:36.719
 But the fact of the matter

00:37:36.719 --> 00:37:37.500
 is that was irrelevant.

00:37:37.619 --> 00:37:38.599
 They just wanted to punish.

00:37:39.839 --> 00:37:41.699
 And that's a very real thing

00:37:41.699 --> 00:37:42.599
 for many of us as well

00:37:42.599 --> 00:37:43.599
 that we just want to punish.

00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:45.900
 But one of the main problems,

00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:46.839
 whether it's with friends,

00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:47.859
 whether it's in families,

00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:49.039
 whether it's in workplaces,

00:37:49.199 --> 00:37:50.299
 whether it's in societies,

00:37:50.440 --> 00:37:51.099
 that we want to have

00:37:51.099 --> 00:37:52.099
 a different standard

00:37:52.099 --> 00:37:53.519
 applied to ourselves

00:37:53.519 --> 00:37:54.859
 or our buddies

00:37:54.859 --> 00:37:57.500
 than we apply to our enemies

00:37:57.500 --> 00:37:59.599
 or those who are standing

00:37:59.599 --> 00:38:00.860
 in the way of what we want.

00:38:01.260 --> 00:38:01.840
 But isn't that

00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:02.880
 what really happens?

00:38:03.840 --> 00:38:05.599
 So what happens

00:38:05.599 --> 00:38:06.880
 in your friendship

00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:08.480
 and your friend says to you

00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:09.420
 that it's obvious

00:38:09.420 --> 00:38:10.199
 you think there's

00:38:10.199 --> 00:38:10.960
 a different standard

00:38:10.960 --> 00:38:12.079
 that should be applied to you

00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:12.559
 than is applied

00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:13.179
 to everybody else,

00:38:13.239 --> 00:38:15.360
 but why do you get that pass?

00:38:15.719 --> 00:38:17.159
 Why do you get that mulligan?

00:38:17.619 --> 00:38:18.460
 Why do you get it

00:38:18.460 --> 00:38:19.699
 and nobody else gets it?

00:38:20.539 --> 00:38:21.239
 Like, isn't that just

00:38:21.239 --> 00:38:22.139
 part of the normal life?

00:38:22.139 --> 00:38:22.839
 And if that's what

00:38:22.839 --> 00:38:23.859
 normal life is,

00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:24.239
 in fact,

00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:25.379
 if you think about it

00:38:25.379 --> 00:38:25.960
 for a second,

00:38:27.059 --> 00:38:30.079
 we in fact encourage people

00:38:30.079 --> 00:38:31.179
 to punish.

00:38:32.940 --> 00:38:33.859
 That, in fact,

00:38:33.920 --> 00:38:35.759
 if one of you said something

00:38:35.759 --> 00:38:37.960
 like if one of you came

00:38:37.960 --> 00:38:39.099
 and your husband,

00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:40.179
 it was fun that your husband

00:38:40.179 --> 00:38:41.219
 had cheated on you

00:38:41.219 --> 00:38:42.179
 and you told people

00:38:42.179 --> 00:38:42.539
 and you said,

00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:43.059
 I don't think I'm going

00:38:43.059 --> 00:38:43.719
 to do anything about it,

00:38:43.739 --> 00:38:44.019
 they'd say,

00:38:44.099 --> 00:38:44.859
 what are you thinking?

00:38:45.659 --> 00:38:46.599
 What are you thinking?

00:38:47.079 --> 00:38:48.440
 You're going to let him do that

00:38:48.440 --> 00:38:49.159
 and not have him

00:38:49.159 --> 00:38:50.400
 have any consequences?

00:38:50.400 --> 00:38:52.940
 So if it's all right

00:38:52.940 --> 00:38:53.619
 for us to think

00:38:53.619 --> 00:38:54.360
 and talk that way,

00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:55.280
 why is it not right

00:38:55.280 --> 00:38:55.820
 for God,

00:38:56.119 --> 00:38:57.059
 the triune God?

00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:00.220
 Why is it that you think

00:39:00.220 --> 00:39:01.000
 you get a pass?

00:39:02.980 --> 00:39:03.960
 But you think about it

00:39:03.960 --> 00:39:04.400
 for a second.

00:39:04.519 --> 00:39:04.840
 By the way,

00:39:04.880 --> 00:39:05.519
 this goes on with,

00:39:05.680 --> 00:39:06.440
 in Islam,

00:39:06.599 --> 00:39:07.840
 in all of the Eastern religions,

00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:08.740
 in paganism,

00:39:08.800 --> 00:39:10.039
 there's always consequences.

00:39:10.039 --> 00:39:11.539
 So whether you're a naturalist

00:39:11.539 --> 00:39:12.260
 and just think there's

00:39:12.260 --> 00:39:13.059
 the natural order

00:39:13.059 --> 00:39:13.800
 and nothing else,

00:39:14.180 --> 00:39:14.980
 whether you believe

00:39:14.980 --> 00:39:15.920
 there is some type

00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:16.880
 of Eastern religion

00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:17.820
 and there's karma

00:39:17.820 --> 00:39:18.720
 and consequences,

00:39:18.900 --> 00:39:20.119
 whether you're a Muslim

00:39:20.119 --> 00:39:20.779
 and you believe

00:39:20.779 --> 00:39:21.639
 there's some type of,

00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:22.739
 you know,

00:39:22.779 --> 00:39:23.739
 in that particular case,

00:39:23.839 --> 00:39:24.639
 Allah can just sort of

00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:25.659
 do whatever Allah wants.

00:39:25.739 --> 00:39:26.119
 There doesn't even have

00:39:26.119 --> 00:39:26.659
 to be a reason.

00:39:26.759 --> 00:39:27.500
 You can just do it.

00:39:28.599 --> 00:39:29.699
 But that leads us

00:39:29.699 --> 00:39:30.719
 to our second thing.

00:39:31.839 --> 00:39:32.839
 What do you do

00:39:32.839 --> 00:39:33.940
 in the midst

00:39:33.940 --> 00:39:35.059
 of these consequences?

00:39:36.579 --> 00:39:37.480
 Where can you go?

00:39:38.759 --> 00:39:39.119
 Now,

00:39:41.119 --> 00:39:41.739
 what are the things

00:39:41.739 --> 00:39:42.139
 that we,

00:39:42.759 --> 00:39:42.960
 yeah,

00:39:43.099 --> 00:39:43.739
 where do you go?

00:39:43.980 --> 00:39:44.159
 Like,

00:39:44.219 --> 00:39:45.000
 if you think about it,

00:39:45.299 --> 00:39:46.480
 there's nothing I can do

00:39:46.480 --> 00:39:47.099
 when nature,

00:39:47.099 --> 00:39:49.799
 and when I violate things,

00:39:49.839 --> 00:39:51.079
 if I jump off a building,

00:39:51.619 --> 00:39:52.500
 there's nowhere

00:39:52.500 --> 00:39:53.759
 I can appeal to

00:39:53.759 --> 00:39:56.619
 in terms of having violated it.

00:39:57.199 --> 00:39:58.420
 And if it turns out

00:39:58.420 --> 00:39:59.139
 that five years

00:39:59.139 --> 00:40:00.019
 after my diet

00:40:00.019 --> 00:40:01.440
 of extra cheesy omelets

00:40:01.440 --> 00:40:02.420
 with lots of bacon

00:40:02.420 --> 00:40:02.940
 and sausage

00:40:02.940 --> 00:40:04.400
 and white toast buttered

00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:05.420
 and a diet

00:40:05.420 --> 00:40:06.319
 of extra cheesy

00:40:06.319 --> 00:40:07.839
 meat lovers pizza,

00:40:08.239 --> 00:40:09.039
 Big Macs,

00:40:09.299 --> 00:40:10.199
 double Big Macs

00:40:10.199 --> 00:40:10.900
 or even better,

00:40:11.219 --> 00:40:11.920
 and poutine,

00:40:12.579 --> 00:40:12.659
 I,

00:40:13.099 --> 00:40:13.420
 like,

00:40:13.539 --> 00:40:13.839
 I can't,

00:40:13.900 --> 00:40:14.980
 can I appeal to biology

00:40:14.980 --> 00:40:15.280
 for,

00:40:15.360 --> 00:40:15.539
 like,

00:40:15.619 --> 00:40:16.400
 there's nothing I can do.

00:40:16.440 --> 00:40:16.820
 There's nowhere

00:40:16.820 --> 00:40:17.619
 that I can appeal

00:40:17.619 --> 00:40:18.860
 to the natural order.

00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:21.260
 Excuse me.

00:40:22.440 --> 00:40:23.460
 In a sense,

00:40:23.500 --> 00:40:23.840
 there's nowhere

00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:24.900
 to appeal with karma.

00:40:25.639 --> 00:40:26.199
 There's nowhere

00:40:26.199 --> 00:40:27.619
 to appeal even with Allah.

00:40:28.760 --> 00:40:29.599
 Where do you go?

00:40:30.659 --> 00:40:30.880
 See,

00:40:30.960 --> 00:40:32.099
 the fact of the matter is,

00:40:32.380 --> 00:40:33.099
 is that what is,

00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:33.639
 one of the things

00:40:33.639 --> 00:40:34.659
 which we find

00:40:34.659 --> 00:40:35.440
 so surprising

00:40:35.440 --> 00:40:36.240
 about the text

00:40:36.240 --> 00:40:37.099
 is that not only

00:40:37.099 --> 00:40:37.860
 have they admitted

00:40:37.860 --> 00:40:39.440
 that

00:40:39.440 --> 00:40:42.039
 they have done wrong

00:40:42.039 --> 00:40:43.039
 and they are experiencing

00:40:43.039 --> 00:40:44.019
 God's punishment

00:40:44.019 --> 00:40:44.659
 and they're admitting

00:40:44.659 --> 00:40:45.340
 this in the midst

00:40:45.340 --> 00:40:45.940
 of the ruins,

00:40:46.179 --> 00:40:47.179
 they didn't admit it

00:40:47.179 --> 00:40:48.159
 while they thought

00:40:48.159 --> 00:40:48.980
 they could get by

00:40:48.980 --> 00:40:50.059
 with no consequences,

00:40:50.659 --> 00:40:51.719
 they didn't admit it

00:40:51.719 --> 00:40:52.219
 when they thought

00:40:52.219 --> 00:40:53.099
 that their solution

00:40:53.099 --> 00:40:54.619
 was to go to more lovers

00:40:54.619 --> 00:40:56.900
 or more idols.

00:40:58.139 --> 00:40:59.259
 But now that everything

00:40:59.259 --> 00:41:00.139
 has been destroyed,

00:41:00.659 --> 00:41:02.019
 they cry out to God

00:41:02.019 --> 00:41:02.659
 and they realize

00:41:02.659 --> 00:41:03.659
 that where else

00:41:03.659 --> 00:41:04.300
 can you go?

00:41:05.679 --> 00:41:06.039
 You see,

00:41:06.119 --> 00:41:06.820
 the fact of the matter

00:41:06.820 --> 00:41:07.179
 is,

00:41:07.219 --> 00:41:07.860
 is that the,

00:41:08.300 --> 00:41:09.480
 in the biblical worldview,

00:41:09.639 --> 00:41:10.860
 the rightness of God

00:41:10.860 --> 00:41:11.860
 is both the source

00:41:11.860 --> 00:41:12.559
 of punishment,

00:41:12.559 --> 00:41:15.179
 but also is their only hope,

00:41:15.460 --> 00:41:16.380
 our only hope

00:41:16.380 --> 00:41:17.279
 in the midst

00:41:17.279 --> 00:41:19.219
 of the ruins.

00:41:21.019 --> 00:41:21.799
 Think about it

00:41:21.799 --> 00:41:22.320
 for a second.

00:41:23.320 --> 00:41:24.519
 You can't appeal to nature,

00:41:24.779 --> 00:41:25.820
 you can't appeal to Allah,

00:41:26.920 --> 00:41:28.079
 you can't appeal to,

00:41:28.139 --> 00:41:28.900
 at the end of the day,

00:41:29.739 --> 00:41:30.699
 in Eastern religions

00:41:30.699 --> 00:41:31.519
 or in Buddhism,

00:41:31.719 --> 00:41:32.460
 there's nowhere

00:41:32.460 --> 00:41:34.420
 to appeal to.

00:41:34.960 --> 00:41:36.239
 There's not even a God.

00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:38.779
 And at the end of the day,

00:41:38.820 --> 00:41:39.679
 even within Hinduism,

00:41:39.759 --> 00:41:40.000
 I mean,

00:41:40.119 --> 00:41:41.599
 obviously in lived Hinduism,

00:41:41.599 --> 00:41:42.500
 because it's too hard

00:41:42.500 --> 00:41:43.519
 for us to live this

00:41:43.519 --> 00:41:44.839
 emotionally and psychologically,

00:41:44.839 --> 00:41:45.699
 you can appeal

00:41:45.699 --> 00:41:46.639
 to the different gods

00:41:46.639 --> 00:41:47.920
 and goddesses

00:41:47.920 --> 00:41:49.960
 within the broader,

00:41:50.139 --> 00:41:51.139
 more popular type

00:41:51.139 --> 00:41:51.679
 of Hinduism.

00:41:51.679 --> 00:41:53.000
 But at a philosophical level,

00:41:53.119 --> 00:41:53.799
 in a sense,

00:41:53.880 --> 00:41:55.400
 there is no one

00:41:55.400 --> 00:41:56.480
 to appeal to.

00:41:56.599 --> 00:41:57.500
 But in Christianity,

00:41:58.679 --> 00:41:59.819
 in the triune God,

00:42:00.339 --> 00:42:01.360
 the Father,

00:42:01.480 --> 00:42:01.779
 the Son,

00:42:01.819 --> 00:42:02.759
 and the Holy Spirit,

00:42:03.940 --> 00:42:05.239
 love and goodness

00:42:05.239 --> 00:42:06.360
 from all eternity,

00:42:06.739 --> 00:42:07.000
 other,

00:42:07.440 --> 00:42:07.980
 the other

00:42:07.980 --> 00:42:08.920
 from all eternity,

00:42:09.039 --> 00:42:10.019
 yet just one God.

00:42:10.019 --> 00:42:11.059
 the very,

00:42:11.199 --> 00:42:12.219
 very rightness

00:42:12.219 --> 00:42:13.259
 and justice

00:42:13.259 --> 00:42:14.440
 and goodness

00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:15.239
 of God,

00:42:15.619 --> 00:42:16.820
 which is the source,

00:42:16.980 --> 00:42:17.420
 ultimately,

00:42:17.599 --> 00:42:18.599
 of us ignoring

00:42:18.599 --> 00:42:19.840
 his warnings,

00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:21.880
 thinking there are

00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:22.960
 no consequences

00:42:22.960 --> 00:42:23.659
 and someday

00:42:23.659 --> 00:42:24.599
 there finally is

00:42:24.599 --> 00:42:25.280
 consequences,

00:42:25.539 --> 00:42:26.840
 that very same

00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:27.840
 God's character

00:42:27.840 --> 00:42:29.179
 is also the source

00:42:29.179 --> 00:42:29.800
 of our hope.

00:42:31.280 --> 00:42:31.659
 See,

00:42:31.719 --> 00:42:32.119
 that's why

00:42:32.119 --> 00:42:34.159
 the poet can pray,

00:42:34.280 --> 00:42:34.420
 you know,

00:42:34.480 --> 00:42:34.699
 Lord,

00:42:34.800 --> 00:42:35.159
 look,

00:42:35.960 --> 00:42:36.259
 Lord,

00:42:36.360 --> 00:42:36.880
 remember,

00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:37.639
 Lord,

00:42:37.800 --> 00:42:38.259
 note.

00:42:38.260 --> 00:42:40.780
 they are

00:42:40.780 --> 00:42:41.420
 in the midst

00:42:41.420 --> 00:42:42.220
 of the ruins,

00:42:43.220 --> 00:42:45.100
 both not hiding

00:42:45.100 --> 00:42:45.720
 at all

00:42:45.720 --> 00:42:46.520
 or pretending

00:42:46.520 --> 00:42:47.800
 that the real world

00:42:47.800 --> 00:42:48.840
 isn't the real world.

00:42:48.960 --> 00:42:49.580
 They are fully

00:42:49.580 --> 00:42:50.080
 and utterly

00:42:50.080 --> 00:42:51.020
 in the real world

00:42:51.020 --> 00:42:52.160
 and in the real world

00:42:52.160 --> 00:42:52.620
 there is,

00:42:52.780 --> 00:42:53.020
 in fact,

00:42:53.080 --> 00:42:53.640
 a God

00:42:53.640 --> 00:42:54.900
 who is just

00:42:54.900 --> 00:42:55.680
 and right

00:42:55.680 --> 00:42:56.800
 and desires

00:42:56.800 --> 00:42:57.540
 rightness

00:42:57.540 --> 00:42:59.460
 and is the only one

00:42:59.460 --> 00:43:00.500
 who can restore

00:43:00.500 --> 00:43:01.560
 rightness.

00:43:02.840 --> 00:43:03.740
 And that's why

00:43:03.740 --> 00:43:04.600
 it's part of the wonder

00:43:04.600 --> 00:43:05.340
 of the whole book

00:43:05.340 --> 00:43:05.680
 is that

00:43:05.680 --> 00:43:06.940
 it's the importance

00:43:06.940 --> 00:43:07.659
 of the story.

00:43:07.780 --> 00:43:08.380
 One of the problems

00:43:08.380 --> 00:43:09.179
 that Christians have

00:43:09.179 --> 00:43:09.679
 is that we read

00:43:09.679 --> 00:43:10.059
 the Bible

00:43:10.059 --> 00:43:10.539
 as if it's just

00:43:10.539 --> 00:43:11.579
 a series of quotes.

00:43:12.639 --> 00:43:13.059
 But in fact,

00:43:13.139 --> 00:43:13.420
 it's not

00:43:13.420 --> 00:43:15.260
 that the steadfast love

00:43:15.260 --> 00:43:15.639
 of the Lord

00:43:15.639 --> 00:43:16.380
 never faileth.

00:43:16.440 --> 00:43:17.300
 It's not just a quote

00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:18.099
 to put on our fridge.

00:43:18.220 --> 00:43:19.099
 It's part of the middle

00:43:19.099 --> 00:43:19.900
 of the whole book.

00:43:21.079 --> 00:43:23.039
 It's as the poet

00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:23.639
 is beginning

00:43:23.639 --> 00:43:24.519
 to call out

00:43:24.519 --> 00:43:25.159
 to the Lord,

00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:26.059
 remembering who

00:43:26.059 --> 00:43:26.800
 the Lord is,

00:43:26.840 --> 00:43:27.880
 that he is the one.

00:43:28.159 --> 00:43:29.720
 Only he is right.

00:43:30.500 --> 00:43:32.440
 He tolerates no evil.

00:43:32.639 --> 00:43:34.400
 He tolerates no injustice.

00:43:35.099 --> 00:43:36.760
 He tolerates none of that.

00:43:36.760 --> 00:43:37.980
 He is only good.

00:43:38.420 --> 00:43:39.460
 He has punished us

00:43:39.460 --> 00:43:41.040
 because we have violated that.

00:43:41.440 --> 00:43:42.700
 And now we call out to him

00:43:42.700 --> 00:43:44.200
 because he is the only hope

00:43:44.200 --> 00:43:45.200
 we have in the midst of it,

00:43:45.220 --> 00:43:45.980
 but he is a God

00:43:45.980 --> 00:43:46.760
 who hears.

00:43:48.300 --> 00:43:49.520
 And for us as Christians,

00:43:49.700 --> 00:43:50.240
 we see this

00:43:50.240 --> 00:43:51.880
 because the book

00:43:51.880 --> 00:43:52.560
 of Lamentations

00:43:52.560 --> 00:43:53.900
 is part of a bigger story.

00:43:55.260 --> 00:43:55.820
 For us,

00:43:55.900 --> 00:43:56.340
 we see that

00:43:56.340 --> 00:43:57.680
 in the bigger story

00:43:57.680 --> 00:43:58.840
 that this true

00:43:58.840 --> 00:44:00.080
 and greater mercy,

00:44:00.500 --> 00:44:01.480
 the steadfast love

00:44:01.480 --> 00:44:01.900
 of the Lord

00:44:01.900 --> 00:44:02.600
 never faileth.

00:44:02.640 --> 00:44:03.120
 His mercies

00:44:03.120 --> 00:44:04.140
 never come to an end.

00:44:04.200 --> 00:44:05.140
 They are new every morning.

00:44:05.220 --> 00:44:05.920
 They are new every morning.

00:44:05.920 --> 00:44:07.220
 And this great promise

00:44:07.220 --> 00:44:07.800
 in the middle

00:44:07.800 --> 00:44:08.240
 of the book

00:44:08.240 --> 00:44:09.039
 of Lamentations,

00:44:09.260 --> 00:44:09.400
 we,

00:44:10.059 --> 00:44:10.780
 for the writer,

00:44:10.920 --> 00:44:11.619
 all he could do

00:44:11.619 --> 00:44:12.519
 is two types of things.

00:44:12.599 --> 00:44:13.260
 The poet could both

00:44:13.260 --> 00:44:14.380
 look back at the Exodus

00:44:14.380 --> 00:44:15.599
 and about God's defeat

00:44:15.599 --> 00:44:16.220
 of Midian

00:44:16.220 --> 00:44:17.180
 and God's defeat

00:44:17.180 --> 00:44:19.420
 of the Persian Empire.

00:44:19.740 --> 00:44:20.780
 And at the same time,

00:44:20.920 --> 00:44:21.800
 I guess that's sort of

00:44:21.800 --> 00:44:22.240
 the future.

00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:22.980
 He hasn't defeated

00:44:22.980 --> 00:44:23.720
 the Persian Empire

00:44:23.720 --> 00:44:24.659
 when this is being written.

00:44:24.860 --> 00:44:25.860
 I got that out of order.

00:44:26.320 --> 00:44:26.800
 You also think

00:44:26.800 --> 00:44:27.619
 you can just sort of

00:44:27.619 --> 00:44:28.059
 look forward

00:44:28.059 --> 00:44:29.240
 to all those prophecies

00:44:29.240 --> 00:44:30.820
 and Isaiah and Jeremiah

00:44:30.820 --> 00:44:31.460
 and Ezekiel,

00:44:31.579 --> 00:44:32.720
 contemporaries of the poet

00:44:32.719 --> 00:44:34.339
 of some day

00:44:34.339 --> 00:44:34.879
 in the future.

00:44:34.879 --> 00:44:36.219
 And we can look at it

00:44:36.219 --> 00:44:37.299
 and understand how

00:44:37.299 --> 00:44:38.539
 the ruin,

00:44:39.739 --> 00:44:40.980
 he was ruined

00:44:40.980 --> 00:44:42.339
 in my place

00:44:42.339 --> 00:44:44.379
 that I

00:44:44.379 --> 00:44:45.259
 restored

00:44:45.259 --> 00:44:46.500
 will stand.

00:44:46.959 --> 00:44:48.500
 He was ruined

00:44:48.500 --> 00:44:50.439
 in my place

00:44:50.439 --> 00:44:51.199
 that I

00:44:51.199 --> 00:44:51.779
 restored

00:44:51.779 --> 00:44:52.579
 will stand.

00:44:53.399 --> 00:44:54.039
 That that

00:44:54.039 --> 00:44:55.539
 is preparing us

00:44:55.539 --> 00:44:56.480
 to understand

00:44:56.480 --> 00:44:57.219
 the great

00:44:57.219 --> 00:44:57.899
 punishment

00:44:57.899 --> 00:44:59.819
 that I deserve

00:44:59.820 --> 00:45:00.620
 that falls

00:45:00.620 --> 00:45:01.519
 on him

00:45:01.519 --> 00:45:02.140
 that I

00:45:02.140 --> 00:45:02.880
 can stand

00:45:02.880 --> 00:45:03.940
 before him

00:45:03.940 --> 00:45:04.980
 righteous

00:45:04.980 --> 00:45:05.920
 and right

00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:06.580
 with God.

00:45:08.160 --> 00:45:08.800
 And that

00:45:08.800 --> 00:45:10.280
 in the overarching

00:45:10.280 --> 00:45:11.280
 story,

00:45:11.519 --> 00:45:11.980
 there's this

00:45:11.980 --> 00:45:13.519
 constant understanding

00:45:13.519 --> 00:45:14.660
 that all have

00:45:14.660 --> 00:45:15.340
 sinned and fall

00:45:15.340 --> 00:45:15.940
 short of the glory

00:45:15.940 --> 00:45:16.420
 of God.

00:45:16.519 --> 00:45:16.980
 And we're going to

00:45:16.980 --> 00:45:17.400
 look at this

00:45:17.400 --> 00:45:17.860
 in the future,

00:45:17.960 --> 00:45:18.600
 that there's none

00:45:18.600 --> 00:45:19.240
 that are righteous,

00:45:19.380 --> 00:45:19.900
 not one,

00:45:20.240 --> 00:45:21.240
 including especially

00:45:21.240 --> 00:45:21.700
 me.

00:45:22.200 --> 00:45:23.120
 But in the overarching

00:45:23.120 --> 00:45:24.360
 story of the Bible,

00:45:24.519 --> 00:45:25.019
 God creates

00:45:25.019 --> 00:45:25.740
 everything good,

00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:26.559
 human beings

00:45:26.559 --> 00:45:27.900
 desiring to be

00:45:27.900 --> 00:45:28.620
 like God,

00:45:28.619 --> 00:45:29.639
 to give

00:45:29.639 --> 00:45:30.199
 themselves

00:45:30.199 --> 00:45:30.799
 passes,

00:45:31.059 --> 00:45:31.920
 to take

00:45:31.920 --> 00:45:32.599
 his place.

00:45:32.739 --> 00:45:33.219
 They bring

00:45:33.219 --> 00:45:33.880
 evil and

00:45:33.880 --> 00:45:34.639
 destruction and

00:45:34.639 --> 00:45:35.339
 ruin into the

00:45:35.339 --> 00:45:35.639
 world.

00:45:35.739 --> 00:45:36.339
 And then God

00:45:36.339 --> 00:45:36.960
 begins to

00:45:36.960 --> 00:45:37.539
 promise that

00:45:37.539 --> 00:45:38.179
 he will

00:45:38.179 --> 00:45:39.259
 restore what

00:45:39.259 --> 00:45:39.799
 human beings

00:45:39.799 --> 00:45:40.599
 cannot restore.

00:45:40.699 --> 00:45:40.940
 And this

00:45:40.940 --> 00:45:41.279
 book of

00:45:41.279 --> 00:45:41.900
 Lamentations

00:45:41.900 --> 00:45:42.619
 comes within

00:45:42.619 --> 00:45:43.539
 that part,

00:45:43.759 --> 00:45:44.400
 looking to

00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:44.920
 Jesus.

00:45:45.699 --> 00:45:46.159
 And Jesus

00:45:46.159 --> 00:45:47.019
 has come and

00:45:47.019 --> 00:45:47.699
 the ruin that

00:45:47.699 --> 00:45:48.440
 I deserve and

00:45:48.440 --> 00:45:49.119
 you deserve is

00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:50.000
 laid on him

00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:50.900
 so that I

00:45:50.900 --> 00:45:51.759
 restored to

00:45:51.759 --> 00:45:52.380
 God might

00:45:52.380 --> 00:45:53.079
 stand.

00:45:53.559 --> 00:45:54.059
 And now we

00:45:54.059 --> 00:45:54.460
 live in the

00:45:54.460 --> 00:45:55.359
 already not yet,

00:45:55.440 --> 00:45:55.980
 that on one

00:45:55.980 --> 00:45:56.579
 level this is

00:45:56.579 --> 00:45:57.380
 true of everyone

00:45:57.380 --> 00:45:58.000
 who puts their

00:45:58.000 --> 00:45:58.440
 faith and

00:45:58.440 --> 00:45:58.900
 trust in

00:45:58.900 --> 00:45:59.179
 Jesus,

00:45:59.300 --> 00:45:59.700
 that Jesus

00:45:59.700 --> 00:46:00.380
 will never

00:46:00.380 --> 00:46:01.360
 let you

00:46:01.360 --> 00:46:01.840
 go.

00:46:02.559 --> 00:46:02.840
 That your

00:46:02.840 --> 00:46:03.340
 faith,

00:46:03.460 --> 00:46:03.960
 your hope,

00:46:04.200 --> 00:46:05.000
 is not how

00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:05.740
 strong your

00:46:05.740 --> 00:46:06.460
 grip is on

00:46:06.460 --> 00:46:06.900
 him,

00:46:07.340 --> 00:46:07.920
 because your

00:46:07.920 --> 00:46:08.519
 grip, if it's

00:46:08.519 --> 00:46:09.200
 all like me,

00:46:09.280 --> 00:46:09.700
 there will be

00:46:09.700 --> 00:46:10.440
 times your

00:46:10.440 --> 00:46:11.340
 grip completely

00:46:11.340 --> 00:46:11.840
 and utterly

00:46:11.840 --> 00:46:12.440
 lets go,

00:46:12.579 --> 00:46:13.240
 but he will

00:46:13.240 --> 00:46:13.900
 never lose

00:46:13.900 --> 00:46:14.599
 his grip of

00:46:14.599 --> 00:46:14.880
 you.

00:46:16.480 --> 00:46:17.720
 Even if you

00:46:17.720 --> 00:46:18.460
 are hearing

00:46:18.460 --> 00:46:19.059
 this in the

00:46:19.059 --> 00:46:19.539
 midst of the

00:46:19.539 --> 00:46:20.159
 ruins of your

00:46:20.159 --> 00:46:21.019
 finances, the

00:46:21.019 --> 00:46:21.679
 ruins of your

00:46:21.679 --> 00:46:22.340
 family, the

00:46:22.340 --> 00:46:22.920
 ruins of your

00:46:22.920 --> 00:46:24.079
 emotions, the

00:46:24.079 --> 00:46:24.440
 fact of the

00:46:24.440 --> 00:46:25.019
 matter is,

00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:26.599
 as at some

00:46:26.599 --> 00:46:27.099
 point in time

00:46:27.099 --> 00:46:27.599
 the final

00:46:27.599 --> 00:46:28.719
 word, earthly

00:46:28.719 --> 00:46:29.159
 word about

00:46:29.159 --> 00:46:29.480
 you, will

00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:29.980
 be ruined,

00:46:30.139 --> 00:46:31.960
 because you

00:46:31.960 --> 00:46:32.779
 will die, as

00:46:32.779 --> 00:46:33.159
 will I.

00:46:35.339 --> 00:46:35.719
 But the

00:46:35.719 --> 00:46:36.940
 story continues,

00:46:37.079 --> 00:46:37.420
 which is why

00:46:37.420 --> 00:46:37.920
 we had the

00:46:37.920 --> 00:46:38.199
 book of

00:46:38.199 --> 00:46:39.179
 Revelation read,

00:46:39.299 --> 00:46:39.799
 is at the

00:46:39.799 --> 00:46:40.779
 end, there

00:46:40.779 --> 00:46:41.259
 will be a

00:46:41.259 --> 00:46:41.819
 new heaven and

00:46:41.819 --> 00:46:42.239
 a new earth,

00:46:42.299 --> 00:46:42.819
 all tears

00:46:42.819 --> 00:46:43.380
 will be wiped

00:46:43.380 --> 00:46:43.940
 away, all

00:46:43.940 --> 00:46:44.519
 justice will

00:46:44.519 --> 00:46:45.500
 be final, and

00:46:45.500 --> 00:46:46.159
 we will stand

00:46:46.159 --> 00:46:46.759
 before the

00:46:46.759 --> 00:46:47.719
 throne, not

00:46:47.719 --> 00:46:48.440
 because we

00:46:48.440 --> 00:46:49.099
 were particularly

00:46:49.099 --> 00:46:49.579
 righteous

00:46:49.579 --> 00:46:50.460
 ourselves, but

00:46:50.460 --> 00:46:51.259
 because of the

00:46:51.259 --> 00:46:51.880
 lamb who was

00:46:51.880 --> 00:46:53.119
 slain, who

00:46:53.119 --> 00:46:53.699
 has made us

00:46:53.699 --> 00:46:54.819
 righteous, because

00:46:54.819 --> 00:46:55.819
 the ruin that I

00:46:55.820 --> 00:46:56.519
 deserved was

00:46:56.519 --> 00:46:57.260
 laid on him,

00:46:57.340 --> 00:46:58.100
 that I in

00:46:58.100 --> 00:46:58.940
 him restored

00:46:58.940 --> 00:47:00.380
 might be to

00:47:00.380 --> 00:47:01.440
 stand before the

00:47:01.440 --> 00:47:02.059
 presence of the

00:47:02.059 --> 00:47:02.900
 triune God for

00:47:02.900 --> 00:47:03.460
 all eternity.

00:47:04.220 --> 00:47:04.820
 And that can be

00:47:04.820 --> 00:47:05.420
 the final word

00:47:05.420 --> 00:47:05.940
 about you.

00:47:06.180 --> 00:47:07.039
 If you are in

00:47:07.039 --> 00:47:07.720
 Christ, that is

00:47:07.720 --> 00:47:08.300
 the final word

00:47:08.300 --> 00:47:08.780
 about you.

00:47:08.880 --> 00:47:09.500
 If you are not

00:47:09.500 --> 00:47:10.519
 yet in Christ,

00:47:10.660 --> 00:47:11.920
 that can be the

00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:12.539
 final word about

00:47:12.539 --> 00:47:12.780
 you.

00:47:13.500 --> 00:47:14.140
 So just as we

00:47:14.140 --> 00:47:14.840
 close, I've

00:47:14.840 --> 00:47:15.260
 already gone

00:47:15.260 --> 00:47:15.860
 longer than I

00:47:15.860 --> 00:47:16.280
 intended.

00:47:18.460 --> 00:47:19.059
 One of the

00:47:19.059 --> 00:47:19.660
 wonderful things,

00:47:19.700 --> 00:47:20.059
 we'll look at

00:47:20.059 --> 00:47:20.740
 this every week,

00:47:21.120 --> 00:47:22.460
 is you can say

00:47:22.460 --> 00:47:23.200
 this to God.

00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:23.239
 God.

00:47:24.299 --> 00:47:24.679
 That's one of

00:47:24.679 --> 00:47:25.500
 the hopeful

00:47:25.500 --> 00:47:26.119
 things that you

00:47:26.119 --> 00:47:26.739
 can have by the

00:47:26.739 --> 00:47:27.019
 book of

00:47:27.019 --> 00:47:27.599
 Lamentations.

00:47:27.679 --> 00:47:28.099
 It's one of the

00:47:28.099 --> 00:47:28.719
 reasons why it's

00:47:28.719 --> 00:47:29.419
 not helpful for

00:47:29.419 --> 00:47:30.179
 us to only have

00:47:30.179 --> 00:47:31.139
 the pleasant

00:47:31.139 --> 00:47:32.399
 images on the

00:47:32.399 --> 00:47:33.559
 magnets.

00:47:33.679 --> 00:47:33.980
 And then you

00:47:33.980 --> 00:47:34.659
 almost feel as

00:47:34.659 --> 00:47:35.279
 if you can't

00:47:35.279 --> 00:47:36.199
 bring this

00:47:36.199 --> 00:47:37.679
 complaint and

00:47:37.679 --> 00:47:38.319
 anger and

00:47:38.319 --> 00:47:39.039
 puzzlement to

00:47:39.039 --> 00:47:39.539
 God, like

00:47:39.539 --> 00:47:40.159
 where can you

00:47:40.159 --> 00:47:40.439
 go?

00:47:40.539 --> 00:47:41.419
 But Lamentations

00:47:41.419 --> 00:47:42.119
 shows you that

00:47:42.119 --> 00:47:42.819
 you can say

00:47:42.819 --> 00:47:43.460
 this to God.

00:47:43.619 --> 00:47:44.239
 Pour out your

00:47:44.239 --> 00:47:44.980
 heart to him.

00:47:45.639 --> 00:47:46.119
 And we'll look

00:47:46.119 --> 00:47:46.739
 at more of that

00:47:46.739 --> 00:47:47.480
 in the weeks to

00:47:47.480 --> 00:47:47.679
 come.

00:47:47.980 --> 00:47:48.399
 Let's close

00:47:48.399 --> 00:47:48.879
 our eyes in

00:47:48.879 --> 00:47:49.079
 prayer.

00:47:50.359 --> 00:47:52.759
 Lord, we ask

00:47:52.760 --> 00:47:53.220
 that you bring

00:47:53.220 --> 00:47:53.880
 your word home

00:47:53.880 --> 00:47:54.300
 to us.

00:47:54.420 --> 00:47:54.920
 We ask that you

00:47:54.920 --> 00:47:55.240
 bring the

00:47:55.240 --> 00:47:56.060
 gospel home to

00:47:56.060 --> 00:47:56.260
 us.

00:47:56.320 --> 00:47:56.640
 If there are

00:47:56.640 --> 00:47:57.260
 any here who

00:47:57.260 --> 00:47:57.760
 have not yet

00:47:57.760 --> 00:47:58.180
 given their

00:47:58.180 --> 00:47:58.640
 lives to

00:47:58.640 --> 00:48:00.000
 Jesus, we ask

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:00.440
 that this would

00:48:00.440 --> 00:48:01.040
 be the day that

00:48:01.040 --> 00:48:01.840
 they call out to

00:48:01.840 --> 00:48:02.260
 you and say,

00:48:02.380 --> 00:48:03.100
 Lord, be my

00:48:03.100 --> 00:48:03.500
 savior.

00:48:03.680 --> 00:48:04.400
 I thank you that

00:48:04.400 --> 00:48:05.540
 the ruin that I

00:48:05.540 --> 00:48:06.400
 deserved has been

00:48:06.400 --> 00:48:07.160
 laid upon you.

00:48:07.260 --> 00:48:08.040
 All the ruin,

00:48:08.220 --> 00:48:09.100
 all the ruin of

00:48:09.100 --> 00:48:09.940
 my past, my

00:48:09.940 --> 00:48:10.520
 present, my

00:48:10.520 --> 00:48:11.340
 future has been

00:48:11.340 --> 00:48:12.120
 laid on you,

00:48:12.500 --> 00:48:13.460
 that I might be

00:48:13.460 --> 00:48:14.540
 restored to you

00:48:14.540 --> 00:48:15.460
 and stand before

00:48:15.460 --> 00:48:16.260
 you forever as

00:48:16.260 --> 00:48:17.700
 your child, your

00:48:17.700 --> 00:48:18.620
 loved and beloved

00:48:18.620 --> 00:48:19.200
 child.

00:48:19.860 --> 00:48:20.360
 And so, Father,

00:48:20.420 --> 00:48:21.000
 we ask that you

00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:21.900
 help us to be more

00:48:21.900 --> 00:48:22.500
 gripped with the

00:48:22.500 --> 00:48:23.200
 gospel, that you

00:48:23.200 --> 00:48:23.980
 help us to be more

00:48:23.980 --> 00:48:24.820
 honest in our

00:48:24.820 --> 00:48:25.160
 prayers.

00:48:25.519 --> 00:48:26.039
 And we ask,

00:48:26.260 --> 00:48:26.599
 Father, that you

00:48:26.599 --> 00:48:27.420
 help us to pray for

00:48:27.420 --> 00:48:28.180
 our city and for

00:48:28.180 --> 00:48:28.980
 the world, to not

00:48:28.980 --> 00:48:29.820
 look down upon the

00:48:29.820 --> 00:48:30.720
 world as we pray,

00:48:30.820 --> 00:48:32.340
 but as we see the

00:48:32.340 --> 00:48:33.599
 hard parts of the

00:48:33.599 --> 00:48:34.200
 world, that that

00:48:34.200 --> 00:48:35.160
 would cause us to

00:48:35.160 --> 00:48:36.180
 call out in prayer

00:48:36.180 --> 00:48:36.720
 for them.

00:48:37.280 --> 00:48:37.880
 And all these

00:48:37.880 --> 00:48:38.599
 things we ask in

00:48:38.599 --> 00:48:39.380
 the name of Jesus,

00:48:39.599 --> 00:48:40.900
 your son and our

00:48:40.900 --> 00:48:41.220
 savior.

00:48:41.740 --> 00:48:42.059
 Amen.