Righteous Lament (2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Throughout history, there are many moments that cause Christians to stop and wonder, “Why? Why would God allow that to happen?” In 1655, after 2 centuries of persecution, the Catholic church massacred a small Christian community, the Waldensians of the Piedmont. Of the persecution, Schaff said:
“For no other crime but their simple, time-honored faith, the Waldenses in Piedmont were betrayed, outraged, mutilated, massacred, driven into exile, and utterly impoverished by the confiscation of their property and the burning of their villages.” –Schaff
John Milton wrote the following poem about the massacre:
“Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughtered saints, whose bones
Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold,
Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old,
When all our fathers worshiped stocks and stones;
Forget not: in thy book record their groans
Who were thy sheep and in their ancient fold
Slain by the bloody Piedmontese that rolled
Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans
The vales redoubled to the hills, and they
To Heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow
O'er all th' Italian fields where still doth sway
The triple tyrant; that from these may grow
A hundredfold, who having learnt thy way
Early may fly the Babylonian woe.”
This poem has hints of our text, Psalm 44.
Psalms as a model of prayer
Psalms as a model of prayer
The Psalms were written as a model of prayer. When we study Scripture, it is important to know the context of what we are reading and why the author wrote it. Every passage has a different context. Many books are written for different reasons.
Proverbs is a collection of wisdom sayings meant to practically help any who would heed its teaching. 1 Kings, a historical narrative, helps us see the sovereignty of God in the unfolding of history . Psalms is God’s Word, but it is not an epistle like Romans, Galatians, or James. Where the epistles focus on church doctrine, Psalms is a Hebrew poetry book that models prayer and praise for the followers of God.
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
In the Psalms, kings and shepherds, exiled slaves and courageous prophets communicate their truest feelings with an all-powerful, all-caring God. A third of these songs are what we would call “Lament Psalms,” where the Psalmist cries to God in confusion and pain, asking God, “Why would you allow this?” “When will you save us?” “Where are you?”
What is Lament?
What is Lament?
Lament is the righteous prayer of a godly person who has decided to trust his God yet cannot mentally or emotionally reconcile evil, sin, and pain with God’s sovereignty and goodness.
We know God is perfectly powerful. We know God is
completely good. So how can God allow bad things to happen? There are Theological answers to these questions. That’s not the point of the Psalm, or of my sermon today. The point of the Psalm is to give Christians a model they can pray when they are in the painful moments of life.
Alongside the desperate father, we can cry out to God, “I believe; help my unbelief!” When we see evil and feel it’s pain, we are allowed to be confused and hurt. We are called to cast our care on Him, for He cares for you. We can question and still uphold His majesty. We can cry, for Jesus Himself has wept and has wept with us.
To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.
We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
What work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them;
How thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword,
Neither did their own arm save them:
But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance,
Because thou hadst a favour unto them.
Thou art my King, O God:
Command deliverances for Jacob.
Through thee will we push down our enemies:
Through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
For I will not trust in my bow,
Neither shall my sword save me.
But thou hast saved us from our enemies,
And hast put them to shame that hated us.
In God we boast all the day long,
And praise thy name for ever. Selah.
But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame;
And goest not forth with our armies.
Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy:
And they which hate us spoil for themselves.
Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat;
And hast scattered us among the heathen.
Thou sellest thy people for nought,
And dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours,
A scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
Thou makest us a byword among the heathen,
A shaking of the head among the people.
My confusion is continually before me,
And the shame of my face hath covered me,
For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth;
By reason of the enemy and avenger.
All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee,
Neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
Our heart is not turned back,
Neither have our steps declined from thy way;
Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons,
And covered us with the shadow of death.
If we have forgotten the name of our God,
Or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
Shall not God search this out?
For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long;
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord?
Arise, cast us not off for ever.
Wherefore hidest thou thy face,
And forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust:
Our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
Arise for our help,
And redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
Psalm 44 gives us for basic steps how we can approach God in lament:
Our God
My God
Why God?
Help, God!
Realize that other Psalms have different models. That’s okay. It shows us the flexibility there is in how God allows us to approach Him. But there will be similar aspects as we will see.
Psalm 44 is a corporate Psalm of Lament. We don’t know who wrote the Psalm. There are certain verses the negate the Babylonian exile. And there are certain verses that negate a Davidic authorship. Regardless, this is Scripture. It is raw. It is direct. It is emotional. And it opened up my mind with how God desires us to approach Him.
I. Our God (vs 1-3)
I. Our God (vs 1-3)
The Psalmist begins his lament by recognizing God’s power through the miracles He had accomplished in times past.
The Jews had an oral tradition commanded by God:
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Oral Tradition of God’s mighty works:
Creation
Garden of Eden
Sin and deliverance (Snake imagery)
Nation of Israel! (bless all nations)
God promised His children that if they kept His covenant, he would fight for them, but if they didn’t, he would punish them:
And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.
In the book of Joshua, Israel obeyed God, and they were successful! (explain miracles)
And the Psalmist recognizes these amazing miracles from the Hand of God. Based on these amazing miracles, the writer explains his trust in the sovereign God of his fathers.
v2-3: God delivered the Jewish people from their enemies with His own hand and arm (v2, 3) not by their sword or hand (v3).
v3: God delighted in the Hebrew children (v3). They were small among the nations, the “fewest of all peoples (Dt. 7:7),” yet God loved them. Through the nation of Israel, God would fulfill the oath He had promised their fathers (Dt. 7:8).
This recognition of God’s sovereignty, faithfulness, and relationship is the foundation on which the saint builds his lament. God’s mighty actions and words in the past influence the Psalmist’s plea in the present. Like the Psalmist, the believer does not cry out to an empty wind but to a real Person who has shown Himself true to His people time and time again. The Psalmist will challenge God, but it will always be from an inferior posture with an understanding that only God has the ultimate ability to ordain and shape circumstances.
II. My God (vs 4-8)
II. My God (vs 4-8)
Psalm 44 is a corporate prayer. That means there was one person praying on the behalf of a group of people. But in verse 4, he makes the prayer very personal:
Thou art my King, O God:
Command deliverances for Jacob.
The previous section of the Psalm focused on the God’s power in the lives of the “Fathers.” In this section, the Psalmist exclaims his personal experience with the power of God.
“Thou art my King, O God!!!” My King! My King!
The Psalmist has a personal stake in the goodness and power of God. He trusts in His Lord.
The Psalmist had seen the mighty works of God in his own life, and it brought him to a place of confidence in the Lord:
v5: push down, tread down (bull imagery)
v6-7: verse 6-7 contrasts verses 2-3. God rescued us, God must be the one to rescue us again.
God had promised that if they obeyed Him, God would protect them. Their relationship with God is what provides their protection in battle. The Psalmist has the faith to say that the Nation of Israel will thank God’s name forever (v8). Even with the a sad lament arriving in the next section, the Psalmist believes that God will fulfill His vow to the patriarchs to build a nation of countless people from which He will bless all the nations of the earth.
If the sovereignty of God in His past works and words is the foundation of the lament, personal and relational knowledge of God’s goodness is the frame. The Psalmist knows God on an intimate level. He recognizes the King as He is and loves Him enough to keep His commands diligently (v17). Before a person confronts the King with a sharp lament, let Him first say, “You are my King, O God!” “You have saved us from our foes! “We will give thanks to your name forever!”
In God we boast all the day long,
And praise thy name for ever. Selah.
Before going into the lament, the Psalmist expresses his trust in God in verse 8. This is what separates grumbling from lamenting. We recognize God as King. And while we bring our pain and hurt to Him, we still say, “you are God!”
III. Why God? (vs 9-22)
III. Why God? (vs 9-22)
The lament begins abruptly and directly. Ten statements pointing to God as active in the nation’s pain appear in vs. 9–22. In these accusations, a contrast is drawn between the first and second halves of the Psalm. These ten statements are:
1. “You have rejected us and disgraced us…” (v9)
2. “[You] have not gone out with our armies.” (v9)
3. “You have made us turn back from the foe…” (v10)
4. “You have made us like sheep for slaughter…” (v11)
5. “[You] have scattered us among the nations.” (v11)
6. “You have sold your people for a trifle…” (v12)
7. “You have made us the taunt of our neighbors…” (v13)
8. “You have made us a byword among the nations…” (v14)
9. “You have broken us in the place of jackals…” (v19)
10. “[You have] covered us with the shadow of death.” (v19)
God isn’t a passive observer in the pain. The Psalmist saw God as active in his rescue. Now he sees God as active in his trials. Where once God guarded his people, now He is the aggressor. He is the cause of their shame! (Explain Honor/Shame culture)
God allowed shame to be brought to His name among the heathen in correcting His children for their sin. But why would God allow shame to His name—and His people’s name—if they had not sinned? “We have not been false to your covenant (v17).” Their innocence is the primary subject of the Psalmist’s confusion. The nation of Israel pleads innocent in vs17–22.
Have you ever felt like this? God I have followed you. I have obeyed your word! Why do you hurt me? Why do you send me pain?
Have you felt before like God has been your aggressor? God why did you allow my child to die? God why did you allow my wife to get cancer? Why dis you allow me to be abused? Why? Why? Why?
Bring it to God! Bring your questions to God! God values our pain. He keeps our tears in a bottle.
Revelation is one of my favorite books in the Bible. (Explain Revelation)
Fifth seal and interlude of judgements:
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Psalm 44:22 ends this section violently:
Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long;
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
Paul adds his commentary to this verse in Romans. This passage pours an excess of light onto the Psalm for the Christian. In Romans 8:33, Paul asks the reader a rhetorical question, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?” It does not matter who brings charges before God about the elect. God justifies His children.
The question is repeated in Romans 8:34, “Who is to condemn?” God won’t condemn the elect because Christ has died, resurrected, and sat on “the right hand of God,” and He intercedes for His chosen.
Paul asks one more rhetorical question. The passage to follow contains some of the most cherished verses in all of the Scripture, including Psalm 44:22:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
While the heathen regard persecuted Christians as sheep ready to be slaughtered for the sake of their God, this is ironically a place of honor and power in the Gospel. The Savior was also regarded as a sheep to be slaughtered. In Christ’s cruel execution, He defeated sin and death. Christ is the promised Serpent-crusher. Paul does recognize that among the heathen, “we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” Others may consider Christians to be mere sheep; God regards His sons as conquerors, resurrected with Christ to live anew.
Help, God! (vs 23-26)
Help, God! (vs 23-26)
Through this pain, we can freely and boldly bring God our requests. The Psalm concludes with a passionate plea for salvation. Leading up to the closing verse, we see the Psalmist referring to God in bold terms: one who sleeps, one who rejects His people, one who hides from His people, and one who is forgetful. The Bible is clear that God does not sleep (Psalm 121:3–4), He is faithful to His people (Deut. 7:9–11), He does not hide from the faithful (Psalm 22:24), and He hears the cries of their pain (Psalm 34:17).
Earlier, I mentioned that the context of Psalms is very important. Psalms are models we can follow in prayer and worship to God. They aren’t meant to be doctrinal statements about God but emotional pleas and praises to God.
The Psalmist is bold in communicating his true feelings with God. Christians may have this same boldness and emotional honesty in the middle of their pain (Heb. 4:16). The Psalmist recognizes the goodness and love of God throughout the first half of the Psalm, as well as in the closing verse:
Arise for our help,
And redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.
Lament is faith. It ends with a request because a request shows dependence. It shows reliance.
The Psalmist is expressing His feelings in honesty to God. Intermingled with these bold cries of pain, the Psalmist contrasts his painful feelings against the attributes of God he knows to be true. He does not deny the truths he has experienced, but in the gap between the pain he presently feels and the goodness of God previously experienced, the Psalmist laments.
Conclusion: The Last Battle (Chronicles of Narnia)
God isn’t afraid of your questions. It is ok to ask, “Why?” God expects and honors questions throughout the Bible that are asked boldly with a humble spirit.
Keeping your eyes on Christ doesn’t mean there won’t be tears along the way. It’s ok to hurt. Allow yourself to feel pain. Embrace it.
Aslan died long before he allowed his people to die. Christ only asks us to follow in the same pain and abandonment He has already felt.
Aslan was resurrected, and he would resurrect his people. Christ was resurrected, and He will resurrect His people.
Pain is real. But a comforting thought: God has felt all of our pain: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4).” Our pain allows us to fellowship with Christ in a special way. Apart from God and the work of Christ, our pain is purposeless and fruitless. And without Christ, we have no one who truly understands our trials. Christ has a purpose for the hurt we face.
God will destroy evil. His hate for sin is far greater than ours. Trust His plan even when your faith wavers and every wall around you crumbles. He doesn’t just have a cosmic plan—He has an individual plan for you. Your pain is part of that plan, and He will use it as He used His own pain—to build His kingdom. Jesus’ pain was an assault on evil. The disciple’s pain is also an assault on evil.
Jewel the Unicorn: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now...Come further up, come further in!”
Aslan said to King Tirian: “Well done, last of the Kings of Narnia who stood firm at the darkest hour.”
“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master (Mt. 25:21).”