When Life Falls Apart!
Notes
Transcript
Main Idea: It is possible to be greatly shaken and still trust in God.
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
Heman, the son of Joel, was a temple musician during the reign of David (1 Chron. 6:33, 37; 15:17; 16:41–42; 2 Chron. 35:15) and is the most likely candidate for the authorship of this psalm. Second choice is Heman, the son of Mahol, one of the wise men during the reign of King Solomon (1 Kings 4:31). The Hebrew words mahalath and leannoth mean “sickness” and “for humbling.” The first word probably refers to a sad melody to accompany this somber song, and the second might identify the purpose of the psalm, to bring us low before the Lord. This is the last “sons of Korah” psalm in the psalms and is perhaps the most plaintive song in the entire book.
In the Hebrew text, the psalm ends with the word hoshek, “darkness,” and there is no closing note of triumph as in other psalms that begin with pain and perplexity. The psalm speaks of darkness (vv. 1, 6, 12, 18), life in the depths (vv. 3–4, 6), the immanence of death (vv. 5, 10–11), feelings of drowning (vv. 7, 16–17), loneliness (vv. 5, 8, 14, 18), and imprisonment (v. 8).
Heman, a servant of God who was suffering intensely and did not understand why, persisted in praying to God and did not abandon his faith. Not all of life’s scripts have happy endings, but that does not mean that the Lord has forsaken us. From Heman’s experience, as recorded in this psalm, we discover four instructions to follow when life falls apart and our prayers seemingly are not answered.
Come to the Lord by Faith (vv. 1–2)
1 O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you. 2 Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
Heman’s life had not been an easy one (v. 15) and now it had grown even more difficult, and he felt that death was very near (vv. 3, 10–11). But he did not give up! He still trusted in God, whom he addressed as “Lord—Jehovah” four times in this prayer (vv. 1, 9, 13, 14). “Jehovah” is the name of the Lord that emphasizes His covenant relationship with His people, and Heman was a son of that covenant. Heman also addressed Him as “God—Elohim,” the name that expresses His power. The phrase “God of my salvation” indicates that Heman had trusted the Lord to save him, and the fact that he prayed as he did indicates that his faith was still active. Three times we are told that he cried to the Lord, and three different words are used: verse 1—“a cry for help in great distress”; verse 2—“a loud shout”; verse 13—“a cry of anguish.” He was fervent in his praying. He believed in a God who could hear his prayers and do wonders (vv. 10, 12), a God who loved him and was faithful to His people (v. 11). All of this is evidence of faith in Heman’s heart, even though he spoke as though he was ready to give up. He prayed day and night (vv. 1, 9) and trusted that no obstacle would come between his prayers and the Lord (v. 2; 18:6; 22:24; 35:13; 66:20; 79:11). No matter how we feel and no matter how impossible our circumstances, we can always come to the Lord with our burdens.
Tell the Lord How You Feel (vv. 3–9)
3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol. 4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength, 5 like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. 6 You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep. 7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8 You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 9 my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.
There is no place for hypocrisy in personal prayer. One of the first steps toward revival is to be completely transparent when we pray and not tell the Lord anything that is not true or that we do not really mean. Heman confessed that he was “full of troubles” and felt like a “living dead man.” He was without strength and felt forsaken by the Lord. Old Testament believers did not have the full light of revelation concerning death and the afterlife, so we must not be shocked at his description of sheol, the world of the dead. The Lord does not forget His people when they die, nor does He cease to care, for “to be absent from the body” means to be “present with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6–8). (See 25:7; 74:2; and 106:4.)
But Heman also told the Lord that He was responsible for his servant’s troubles! God’s hand put him into the pit (sheol, the grave), and God’s anger was flowing over him like breakers from the sea (see 42:8). Whatever sickness he had was caused by the Lord and made him so repulsive that his friends avoided him (see 31:1). He was without health, without light, and without friends—and he felt like he was without God! He was a prisoner and there was no way to escape. Like Job, Heman wanted to know why all this suffering had come to him.
State Your Case Before the Lord (vv. 10–14)
10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah 11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 12 Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13 But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?
Hamen’s argument is simply that his death will rob God of a great opportunity to demonstrate His power and glory. Of what service could Hamen be to the Lord in sheol?
The spirits of the dead will not arise in the world of the dead and do the Lord’s bidding (see Isa. 14:9–11), but Heman could serve the Lord in the land of the living. (See 30:8–10; 115:17.) Before he went to the sanctuary to assist in the worship, Heman prayed to the Lord for healing and strength, and at the close of a busy day, he prayed again. During his daily ministry, he heard the priestly benediction: “The Lord bless you, and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace” (Num. 6:24–26, nasb)—but the blessing did not come to him! He felt rejected and knew that God’s face was turned away from Him. But he kept on praying!
Wait for the Lord’s Answer (vv. 15–18)
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless. 16 Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me. 17 They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together. 18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.
We do not know what affliction came to Heman early in life, but it is painful to think that he suffered all his life long and all day long (vv. 15, 17). He could not even look back to a time in his life when he enjoyed health and peace. The billows that almost drown him (v. 7) now became fiery waves of torment (v. 16) as God’s “burning anger” went over him (see 42:7). The flood was rising and he felt he was about to drown (see 130:1), and there was nobody near enough to rescue him. He was alone! The darkness was his friend because it hid him from the eyes of those who observed his sufferings and may have said (as did Job’s friends), “He must have sinned greatly for the Lord to afflict him so much!”
But he continued to pray and to look to God for help! “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him” (Job 13:5). “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Big Idea
In its deep desolation this psalm takes us all the way to the cross, where we confront a deeper desolation.
Key Themes
■ When hope does not materialize, it still sustains.
■ Sometimes we have to live with death on the edge of life.
■ When we cry out to God, who saves, we are not hopeless.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord” (Ps. 27:13–14, nasb). The Lord always has the last word, and it will not be “darkness.” We should never doubt in the darkness what God has taught us in the light.
Pastor Jim Kelley
(910) 340-7034
pastorjim@ec.rr.com