When Darkness Falls

Intro: The story behind the song It is Well With my Soul is heartbreaking and beautiful. Horatio G. Spafford was a church attender in Chicago, and a shrewd business man. He attended church weekly and was close friends with many prominent Christians, including D. L. Moody. He had a successful legal practice and made many careful real estate investments. He had a wife, 4 daughters and a son, who he loved dearly and taught them to love God. However, in the years leading up to the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 Horatio Spafford’s life was about to take a drastic turn. Shortly before the Chicago Fire Horatio’s son died unexpectedly, and in 1871 Horatio lost his legal practice and all his properties in the Chicago Fire. Having gone bankrupt and tasting a loss that no parent should every have to taste, the worst was yet to come.

A Deceleration of who God is.

He is steadfast love that never ceases

After these disasters Horatio desired rest for his wife, 4 daughters and himself. Horatio had the opportunity to join D. L. Moody in Great Britain in a preaching and teaching campaign. So, Horatio planed everything out and sent his wife and 4 daughters ahead of him to Britain, and he would rendezvous with them after taking care of some last-minute business developments. However, on November 22 the ship carrying Horatio’s wife and daughters was struck by the Loch Earn, an English ship, and sank in 12 minutes. Having been rescued Mrs. Spafford phoned her husband to tell him that she alone had survived the ship wreck.

His mercies never end, and are new every morning.

Transition: Losing everything is something that, like Horatio, Jeremiah is wrestling with in our text today. Jeremiah is the author of Lamentations and he has good reason to write an entire book of lament. For generations Israel had been enjoying the fulfillment of God’s promise that Israel would control the land promised to them. However, this bright time in Israel’s history was about to come to a close. God raised up the Babylonian empire to conquer the Israelites, and they did just that. The Israel nation was decimated, and Jeremiah was sitting in the ruin of his former city. Both Jeremiah’s and Horatio’s situation brings up a huge question that we all have wrestled with, why do bad things happen? Now let me say up front that it is not my goal and nor am I capable of fulling answering this question, but I can offer one answer to this question.

He is faithful

These truths of God’s character is what gives us hope in times of trial.

1. Main Idea: v.27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

a. Illustrate: Do you remember the show Supernanny? It’s about professional nannies who are brought into homes that have incredibly, strong-willed, children. If you watch the show, you’ll see a common theme, the need for rules and discipline. After a time with these Super-nannies calling the shots the behavior of these children changes.

He is my souls portion

Portion: Portion, tract, territory

He is the territory of someone who has just lost his home land.

b. Explain: The behavior of these kids changes because they bear the yoke of the super-nannies. This is exactly what Jeremiah is talking about when he says it is good to bear our yoke in our youth. Now, I don’t want you to think I’m saying that if you suffer as a child you won’t suffer as an adult, any adult in the room knows that’s not true. But what Jeremiah is getting at here is that if, at a young age, we submit to the teachings and yokes that God puts on us we will be more mature and better equipped to handle them when we are adults.

Because He is my portion my hope is in him

c. Explain: Jeremiah makes a clear distinction in his text. In verse33 he says, “he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.” What Jeremiah is saying here is that God does not give us affliction because he enjoys it but because he knows it is good for us. illustrates this well, it says, “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”

This is in contrast to v. 18 where he has lost his endurance and in turn his hope.

The idea of hope is stated in 22 and again in 24.

d. Apply: You see church there are two reasons presented here as to why we suffer, the first is that it refines us, like metal in the furnace, it makes us stronger. The second reason is that God is a good father who loves his children, so he will discipline us.

The Hebrew verb for hope “o-hil” means to wait in one place and anticipate or expect something

Transition: See church it is good that we go through seasons of suffering, it refines us, and it shows us that God loves us. But how do we respond, and how should we respond?

“You can cut all the flowers but you can’t stop spring from coming.” - Pablo Neruda

“You can cut all the flowers but you can’t stop spring from coming.” - Pablo Neruda

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

2. Main Idea: Most of this book is a lament, or a crying out, so it is rightly named. And all too often this is where we sit in times of pain. We sit in out laments, we remain in a posture crying out. And this is exactly what Jeramiah was doing up until this point in our text, he was crying out, ‘woe is me Lord!’ and rightfully so. But then he stops, and he chooses to shift his posture and it changes the rest of this chapter. Instead of focusing on his negative situation he calls to mind, he remembers that there is hope in a desperate, hopeless situation. And because of his shift of mindset he is able to change his posture.

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

2.

a. Explain: v.24 “hope in him” O-hil: to wait in one place and anticipate or expect something to happen.

Verses 25-33 shifts to the 3rd person as an invitation for readers to do the same work that he has just done.

b. Apply: I think this is the easiest place to be, because there is still an energy that comes with anticipation or expectation.

The Lord is good

c. Illustrate: I feel like this is where I am at in my season of life. I’m about to graduate, we are about to have baby number two, and I’m looking for a job. I have a sense of anticipation and expectation that something is going to happen, that a job is going to come soon. But this isn’t where we all are, and some of you might be in the next camp.

to those who wait for him, this Hebrew word also carries the connotation of to wait and to hope.

d. Explain: v.25 “wait for him” qo-wa: to wait and be full of hope

to the soul who seeks him. This does not only mean to look for, but it carries the extra meaning of earnestly seeking the presence of God with your requests or petitions.

e. Apply: After a time of being in that state of expectant anticipatory waiting you run out of steam, it’s only human to do so. But we still wait but our expectant anticipation has changed into hope, and all you can do is hope in God. But after that we run out of the rest of our steam and then we must wait quietly.

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

f. Explain: v.26 “wait quietly” ya-hil du-mam: to remain in the same state or position of lifelessness.

to wait lifelessly, as a dead body, for the salvation or resurrection of the Lord.

g. Apply: Have you ever been in a place like this? A place where there is no more expectant anticipation, no hope to be found. What is interesting about this last phrase ya-hil du-mam is, it is paired with the salvation of the Lord. Church if you are here, if you are waiting like a dead person know that the salvation of the Lord will come, know that resurrection is on its way.

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. This idea of yoke is teaching or discipline. say “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. But not discipline in the sense of physical punishment but of training or discipling a child. And we see that it is better to bare the burden of being disciplined in our youth. But the word yoke carries the image of the harness for cattle when they plow the fields, its going to be hard work.

3. Main Idea: It’s not just our mental posture that is important in times of testing but it’s also our physical posture.

let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him: silence can also mean peace

a. Explain: In verses 28-30 we read, “He sits alone in silence, that he puts his mouth in the dust, and that he gives his cheek to the one who strikes him. This is all poetic language for a posture of humility and for me the most striking is the idea of putting one’s mouth to the dust. In ancient times when a ruler would entertain guests, upon meeting the ruler the guests would bow, this being a sign of humility and gratitude. Whenever a knight would fail in battle and survive to face his king again he would kneel and await judgement, show his humility and surrender to the king. How much more do we honor God as our just king when we are willing to put our face in the dirt, to get as low as we are able to get, to show our loyalty and submission to His will in our lives.

29-31: We must take on a posture of humility and surrender when we are experiencing tribulation.

b. Apply: Is this our posture when trials come church. So often I know its not mine. Is your heart willing to not only wait with expectant anticipation, with hope that God will act, or with lifelessness waiting for God’s salvation? Is your heart, are you, willing to prostrate yourself at the feet of God, to put your face in the dust, to show your obedience to his will?

We have hope in this because the Lord will not reject us or cast us off forever.

Transition: I wonder if this process is what Jeramiah went through. You see before the fall of Jerusalem Jeramiah knew the Old Testament, he knew why God gave affliction to his people, because God loves his people and wants his people to grow stronger in their faith and love for him. When the rumors of a Babylonian invasion started to spread, I wonder if Jeramiah waited with expectant anticipation that God would help His people. And as the battle lines were drawn and Israel’s walls began to shake under the onslaught of the Babylonian forces, did Jeramiah lose that energetic Expectant anticipation and become hopeful that something would happen. And finally when the city was in ruin and his friends and loved ones were either scattered from their land, or lay dead at his feat did he fall, lifeless, only able to wait on the salvation of the Lord.

32-33 He does cause affliction but not because it brings him joy but because it will strengthen our spiritual well being.

I wonder if this, lifelessness, is how Horatio felt as he boarded the ship that would take him to meet his grieving wife. You see as the story goes, as Horatio’s ship approached the waters where his daughters, his last living children, were taken from him, as those waters drew nearer in his sight, the words came to him, “When peace like a river, attendanth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well, with my soul.’”

You have to ask the question, how could either of these men keep going under the weight of their sufferings? Jeramiah tells us why in out text.

4. Main Point: God is good, and his promises endure forever.

a. Explain: This verse is rich with descriptions of who God is. Jeramiah reminds us that his steadfast love never ceases, that his mercies never end and are new every morning, that he is faithful.

For me the most beautiful image here is when Jeramiah says that the Lord is his souls’ portion. Now, we read this and very easily pass over it without second thought. But there is so much going on in this short phrase.

Firstly, this shows the intimacy God has with his people. That we are close enough with our God, that we have a claim of inheritance in the Kingdom of God that we can say He is our portion.

Secondly, this speaks to the goodness of God. There is no other ‘god’ who would allow this claim to be made. In all other religions there is such division between the ‘god’ and its subjects, that the ‘god’ is a lifeless, cold, scornful being that doesn’t want relationship with humanity. But God gives himself out to be our portion, that with the Holy Spirit we literally have a ‘portion’ of God poured out and living in each of his believers. Church there is not other god that is this good.

b. Illustrate: Jeramiah is doing something else when he uses this word portion. Israel has just lost everything once promised to them by God. Israel lies in ruin, there is no hair of David to sit on the throne, and the land that was promised to them is no longer theirs. This word portion does not simply mean a part of something, it carries with it a connotation of land. So, you see, Jeramiah who has just lost the land that he has held so dearly for his life has lost it. But he looks to the Lord and says, this land that lies in ruin is not my true portion, it’s not what I’ve truly been promised or desire, but you O Lord are my portion, you O Lord are my souls true desire.

c. Apply: So what about us church, when we lose are jobs do we cry out, O Lord you are my portion where I find meaning and value? When our marriages fall apart do we cry out O Lord you are my bridegroom? When we stand in the loss of a loved one do we cry out O Lord you are my Father, I am your child, in you I find peace?

Transition: I can only imagine what Horatio must have felt when he received that phone call from his wife informing him of the loss of his remaining children. I wouldn’t be surprised if he instantly had no expectant anticipation, no hope, but felt like a dead body whose only hope was the salvation of the Lord. But, as he approached those fatal waters, where the loss of his daughters would have become all to real he stopped and cried out “it is well, it is well, with my soul.

Conclusion: So brothers and sisters, when trials come will we remember that it is out of God’s love and his desire to make us stronger in him that we are tested? Will we wait with expectant anticipation, or hope, or as a lifeless body longing for the salvation of the Lord? Will we remember that he is good, that his steadfast love never fails and endures forever? Will we cry out O Lord! You are our portion? Will it be well with your soul? Lets pray.