Psalm 42 talking points
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
It is unknown fully of the background of this Psalm, but what we see in this psalm is deep agony and grief. Psalm 42 and Psalm 43 go hand in hand and in the Hebrew they are one psalm.
Psalm 42 is the agony of grief while Psalm 43 is the assurance of God’s presence.
Today we will tackle three points in this Psalm:
A. The call of Lament and what our soul yearns for.
B. How to to lament properly compared to the world
C. Our assurance is Christ
Before we begin let me assure you that Christians indeed can lament and indeed can fall into a state of depression. Elijah fell into deep depression and the Lord permitted a time of rest.
Christ himself, in the garden lamented the very hour He came to serve, and in this went to the Father in submission to His will.
Job, a book of how to lament was assured by God and restored to a state of peace.
O Pastor but these are men of scripture, too far removed from modern times; What of Charles Spurgeon a faithful minister of the gospel, who himself suffered deeply with depression and would have known deeply the prayers of lamenting.
Or to stand before you humbly, as a man who suffers in depression and walks in the prayers of lament.
So Christian do not be dismayed, Christians can lament and go through periods of agony within their soul; but it is where they look that matters.
Point 1: The Call of Lament
Point 1: The Call of Lament
This passage among many others in scripture reminds us that we are indeed human, created with a will thou bond initially in the first Adam, then given freedom in Christ the second Adam.
But we are a created people with emotions, one of which being sorrow. Now I am under the oppression sorrow and grief was absent from the Garden, but the emotion I believe was always there for God who is perfect even grieved himself after the fall.
Why is sorrow permitted? Or better yet why is suffering that leads to sorrow permitted. Because the call of sorrow among man is the pursuit of God.
Go into Genesis 6 when God states He was grieved; go to the cross when the Father had to remove himself from His only Son for the forgiveness of sin.
What of the heart of God?
The call of lament is to know God. Your suffering is to know God. Your suffering has purpose and that purpose is the will of God in your life.
First this is will is that will know Him and second it is that you will know Him deeper. Only in suffering can the soul truly learn who God is. No man is immune to the pain of loosing a love one, to pain of illness, to the thoughts of our enteral life. Man will suffer here, but the man that worships Christ in his suffering, is the man that knows God and while suffering is temporary praises God in the storm.
For it is in holy suffering that man knows God.
The call of lament is to know God.
The yearning for worship: The world’s response
The yearning for worship: The world’s response
As a deer pants for water, it is the call of worship. It is here we must look at that sung prayer.
The man who suffers in this world and looks to the world for relief of suffering will not know God.
The world will give answers to your suffering, hedonism the pursuit of self pleasure is the answer in the world. Man will worship, we are designed to worship.
Man will either worship himself in his grief, or God. If man worships himself it is evident.
This man will chase a career in hopes that it builds identity or relives pain.
The man will chase after substances, for at least for a time the pain is gone.
The man will chase after ungodly relations in hopes of some sort of control or security.
The man will chase after entertainment.
This man will work for others to the destruction of self, because of self-righteousness and the fear of death trusting in the Rome doctrine of faith plus works.
Or the man will conclude life is but pain and therefore I surrender to the darkness of my soul and choose death without Christ.
The world will give many answers to the sorrow of the soul; Jim Carry is recently noted as stating the following;
“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.”
Or look at Robin Williams, no one knew his pain. He threw himself into a successful career, but at least to my knowledge never to Christ.
The world will give you an answer, but her answers do not solve or give proper lamenting, but rather they kill in the present and lead to damnation of the soul.
The Christian and Lament
The Christian and Lament
Christian here is how you shall lament;
Embrace this as something not outside the will of God. Spurgeon is noted as saying not one dust particle moves without the will of God. Friends, not one hair on your head will be touched without the will of God. Yes, this leads to many profound theological questions. Many of which I don’t have the answer for as your Pastor, but the response is to worship God. First trust that God is sovereign over all things and nothing is outside of his providence. This includes your salvation.
Embrace the season of lament as a season to teach you to gaze upon Christ. As the deer pants, you must pant for Christ. Only when you see your need of Christ can you even begin to properly lament.
Prayer and the reading of God’s word. Indeed I have no doubt that maybe the season of lament you are in could be spiritual warfare for the hidden purposes of God. Prayer and being in His word is the only source of action you can take. His word is the sword. I have us as a church going through His word for this define purpose of learning and growing together.
4. Gathering together each Lord’s day in His house to worship Him and to worship all the time. But the Lord’s day when the church can gather is critical to the health of a believer even in season of non lament. You can not grow in your Christian walk which is to know God and glorify Him without the body of Christ.
Assurance
Assurance
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling!
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Christ is your assurance, there is nothing else you need. For He feeds the birds of air how much more will he care for you. He redeemed your soul from the darkness of hell, the wrath of God to which you and i deserve. He brings us in as children of God and the Father gives us to be the bride of Christ. The Spirit of God is given as our comfort and teacher.
O friends, if your not assured in Christ, let today be the day you are assured in Christ and Christ alone. I will plead Christ to you week and after week until the day you are with Him. I plead with you, your assurance is Christ.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Sorrow, the season of lament is to draw you deeper to Christ, to yearn for Him.
To teach you the heart of God when the Father laid His Son upon the cross with the love He is and has for the bride of His Son.
Lamenting is part of the Christians walk, it will be had and must be had. Let this Psalm and Psalm 43 teach you where to turn, how to worship in the season of Lament.
Look towards Christ as your assurance and know His Kingdom is here and to come. Where at the final hour we shall see the Lord in His glory and reign with Him forever in a Kingdom where lamenting is no longer.
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