1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:04,520 Please turn your Bibles to Psalm 13, Psalm 13. 2 00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:09,040 That's on page 453 in the chair Bibles around you. 3 00:00:17,850 --> 00:00:20,810 As I mentioned earlier, Pastor Chris made the call yesterday 4 00:00:21,050 --> 00:00:25,650 afternoon that he was too sick and his voice was too far gone 5 00:00:25,650 --> 00:00:29,450 to, to teach and preach today. And so instead of being in Luke 6 00:00:29,450 --> 00:00:32,890 1, we're we're going to end hearing the the song of 7 00:00:32,890 --> 00:00:35,370 Zechariah. We'll, we'll turn to a different 8 00:00:35,370 --> 00:00:39,320 song, a song that we don't normally associate with 9 00:00:39,320 --> 00:00:42,640 Christmas. It doesn't, doesn't give us the, 10 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:48,280 the, the warm Christmas feels. But I do believe that it is a 11 00:00:48,280 --> 00:00:52,120 song that many Christians may find very helpful to pray this 12 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,880 time of year or any time of year for that matter. 13 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,000 You see, just because it is the Christmas season, that doesn't 14 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,600 mean that we are full of Christmas joy and peace. 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,200 Perhaps this Christmas you feel more distant from God than you 16 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,320 ever have been before. And all the bright lights and 17 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,240 the decorations and the songs and the carols, they're all just 18 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:19,440 a constant reminder that your heart isn't responding to the 19 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:21,400 joy of Christmas like it used to. 20 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:26,480 If that's you today or, or that will be you in the future, or 21 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:30,560 maybe somebody that you know and love is experiencing something 22 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,440 like this, then let's turn our ears now to this song, A Psalm 23 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:45,680 of David, a lament Psalm, Psalm 13 to the choir master, a Psalm 24 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,160 of David. How long, O Lord, will you 25 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,760 forget me forever? How long will you hide your face 26 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,240 from me? How long must I take counsel in 27 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,760 my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? 28 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,840 How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 29 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,479 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God, Light up my eyes lest I 30 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,600 sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemies say I have prevailed 31 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:16,720 over him, lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. 32 00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,480 But I have trusted in your steadfast love. 33 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,640 My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. 34 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,680 I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with 35 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:35,520 me. Let's pray, Heavenly Father, as 36 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:40,360 we come to this Psalm, I pray that this Psalm would be a path 37 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:46,920 for our hearts when we experience a dark season, when 38 00:02:46,920 --> 00:02:51,680 we experience times when you seem silent to us. 39 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,520 So I pray now Lord, that as we as we walk verse by verse 40 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,800 through this, that our, our hearts, our, our lives would 41 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:04,080 walk with it. So please guide us now in Jesus 42 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:10,120 name, Amen. A few years ago Doctor Russell 43 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:15,800 Moore was wrote a book on adoption titled Adopted for Life 44 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:20,200 and he shares the story of how he adopted his two boys from 45 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,560 Russia. Let me read his story here. 46 00:03:24,920 --> 00:03:29,440 The creepiest sound I have ever heard was nothing at all. 47 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:34,000 My wife Maria and I stood in the hallway of an orphanage 48 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,600 somewhere in the former Soviet Union on the first of two trips 49 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:40,760 required for our petition to adopt. 50 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:45,320 Orphanage staff LED us down a hallway to greet the two one 51 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,160 year olds we hoped would become our sons. 52 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,040 The horror wasn't the squalor in the stench, although it we at 53 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,960 times stifled the urge to vomit and weep. 54 00:03:56,840 --> 00:03:59,160 The horror was the quiet of it all. 55 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,520 The place was more silent than a Funeral Home by night. 56 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:06,640 I stopped and pulled on Maria's elbow. 57 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,240 Why is it so quiet? This place is filled with 58 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,240 babies. Both of us compared the 59 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:16,880 stillness with the buzz and punctuated squeals that came 60 00:04:16,880 --> 00:04:18,600 from our church nursery back home. 61 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,280 Here, if we if we listen carefully enough, we we could 62 00:04:22,280 --> 00:04:26,320 hear babies rocking themselves back and forth, the crib slats 63 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:28,360 gently bumping against the walls. 64 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,960 These children did not cry because infants eventually 65 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,360 learned to stop crying. If no one ever responds to their 66 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:41,560 calls for food, for comfort, for love, no one ever responded to 67 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,040 these children. So they stopped. 68 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,600 The silence continued as we entered the boys room. 69 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,880 Little Sergey, now Timothy, smiled at us, dancing up and 70 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:55,160 down while holding the side of his crib. 71 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,680 Little Maxim, now Benjamin, stood straight at attention, 72 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,800 regal and czar like, but neither boy made a sound. 73 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:08,120 We read them books filled with words they couldn't understand 74 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:11,320 about saying goodnight to the moon and cows jumping over the 75 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:15,240 same. But there were no cries, no 76 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:19,360 squeals, no groans. Every day we left at the 77 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,880 appointed time in the same way we had entered in silence. 78 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:26,600 On the last day of the trip, Maria and I arrived at the 79 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:29,960 moment we had dreaded since the minute we received our adoption 80 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,480 referral. We had to tell the boys goodbye 81 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,360 as by law we had to return to the United States and wait for 82 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,240 the legal paperwork to be completed before returning to 83 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,840 pick them up for good. After we hugged and kissed them, 84 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,200 we walked out into the quiet hallway as Maria shook with 85 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,320 tears and that's when we heard the screams. 86 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,280 Little Maxim fell back in his crib and let out a guttural 87 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:58,720 yell. It seemed he knew, maybe for the 88 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,560 first time, that he would be heard on some primal level. 89 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:04,560 He knew he had a father and mother now. 90 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,160 I'll never forget how the hairs on my arms stood up as I heard 91 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,960 the yell. I was struck, maybe for the 92 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,120 first time, by the force of the ABBA cry passages in the New 93 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:18,560 Testament. Once I had memorized in Vacation 94 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,880 Bible School, and I was surprised by how little I had 95 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,480 gotten it. Until now. 96 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,640 The story has helped me be thankful for when I hear my 97 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,400 children cry. Yes, when our children cry, it 98 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,040 means that something is wrong, but it also means that something 99 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:42,040 is very right. Our children feel loved, and 100 00:06:42,040 --> 00:06:45,640 they know that they'll be heard. The Christian life is a lot like 101 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:48,680 this. We are God's children, and so 102 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,280 when things go wrong, we cry out to Him. 103 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,560 As Romans 815 says, you have received the spirit of adoption 104 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:02,680 as sons by whom we cry. ABBA, Father, it is good to cry 105 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:07,200 out to God. But what happens when you cry 106 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,040 out to God and he doesn't seem to respond? 107 00:07:12,080 --> 00:07:15,200 We read and sang about God's comfort in in Isaiah 40. 108 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,280 But what happens when you cry out for his comfort and he's 109 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,960 silent toward you? There are seasons in a 110 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,800 Christian's life when you feel like God has forsaken you, like 111 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,600 he's silent toward you and and even opposed to you. 112 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:37,040 Isaiah 45 verse 15 says truly, you are a God who hides himself, 113 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:41,400 who hides himself. Why does God hide himself from 114 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:44,440 us? Does that sound odd to you? 115 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:50,520 Maybe it makes you afraid. This experience is as odd and 116 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:55,080 perhaps as terrifying as it sounds, is a normal Christian 117 00:07:55,200 --> 00:08:02,480 experience. Psalm 13 reassures us of that. 118 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,560 Now, one of my former pastors and mentor, Kevin Carr, he said 119 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,600 this in one of his sermons. He said the doctrine of God's 120 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:14,440 hiddenness is not the doctrine of God's absence. 121 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:18,560 The doctrine of God's hiddenness is not a doctrine of God's 122 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,040 absence. He is always involved in the 123 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:27,800 lives of his children. So how is that true when all the 124 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:29,600 evidence seems to indicate the contrary? 125 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:34,320 Psalm 13 and many other Psalms and passages throughout the 126 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,480 Scripture assure us that experiencing the hiddenness of 127 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:42,200 God or the silence of God is a normal Christian experience. 128 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:46,200 If you're in a dark season today, if you feel like God has 129 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,040 forgotten you, that your prayers are not being heard or responded 130 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:54,960 to, then I pray that Psalm 13 can be your prayer this Advent 131 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:00,280 season and help guide your heart verse by verse to respond 132 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:02,960 rightly to God in your suffering. 133 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:06,720 If you're not in a dark season, I want to give you instruction 134 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:10,960 to help you prepare, to help prepare you for those times, or 135 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:14,520 perhaps to help you help somebody else. 136 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:20,200 We walking through dark season. The main point from Psalm 13 is 137 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,960 this. When we experience the silence 138 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:28,960 of God, let us not be silent, faithless, and despairing, but 139 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:34,480 let us instead cry out to God, pray for the mercy of God, trust 140 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,520 in the love of God, and rejoice in the salvation of God. 141 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:40,960 And that'll be the four points here that we'll cover. 142 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,760 Cry out to God, pray for the mercy of God, trust in the love 143 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:49,080 of God, and rejoice in the salvation of God. 144 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,480 So the first way we are to respond when God to God, when we 145 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,200 experience his silences, is to cry out to God. 146 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:00,280 We see this in verses one and two. 147 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:05,720 Look with me. How long, O Lord, will you 148 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,840 forgive me forever? How long will you hide your face 149 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,680 from me? How long must I take counsel in 150 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:16,120 my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? 151 00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,480 How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 152 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,640 Our Psalm begins with groans for relief. 153 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:32,400 How long, O Lord, again and again we can cry out. 154 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,440 How long will you forget me, God? 155 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:37,520 How, how? How long are you going to hide 156 00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:41,320 your face from me? Have you felt this before? 157 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:45,760 I have. Many faithful Christians have. 158 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:51,280 God feels so distant and you and you pray and pray but nothing 159 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,840 changes. You read your Bible and nothing 160 00:10:54,840 --> 00:10:58,480 changes. You sing songs at church and 161 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:01,280 nothing changes. You have fellowship with 162 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,440 brothers and sisters. Nothing changes. 163 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:08,160 You're hit with trial after trial and you find yourself 164 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:11,360 spiraling down and down with with seemingly no help from 165 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,480 heaven. Your soul is not at rest day or 166 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:16,040 night. You just, you just want to 167 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:17,600 sleep. You just want to check out, just 168 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:20,040 escape. You want to get away from all 169 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:22,040 your problems, but you can't because they're always on your 170 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:28,640 mind after weeks and months and yeah, even years to begin to 171 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:32,360 think that, well, you're probably not saved because 172 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:36,360 nothing adds up. If you were, If you were saved, 173 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:38,440 why would prayer be so difficult? 174 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:44,280 Wouldn't things change after you prayed if you truly were saved? 175 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,080 If you were saved, wouldn't wouldn't you? 176 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:48,840 You get something from reading the Bible? 177 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:51,760 If you were saved, wouldn't, wouldn't you enjoy singing 178 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:54,120 worship songs? If you were saved, wouldn't you 179 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,200 be overcoming sin and having power in your life to do great 180 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:01,000 things for God and not be such a burden on everybody else? 181 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:08,800 It just doesn't add up. When this happens we often 182 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:11,560 become preoccupied with ourselves and in our standing 183 00:12:11,560 --> 00:12:15,400 before God. Verse 2 says how long must I 184 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:19,800 take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? 185 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,640 Here we see the progression of what happens after long seasons 186 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,960 of darkness. After going God Word in prayer 187 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:32,000 and then feeling rejected or ignored, we begin to go inward, 188 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:39,200 from Godward to inward. When God doesn't answer, we 189 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:42,640 often retreat to introspection to try to solve what's wrong 190 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,360 with us. But that doesn't help. 191 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,800 We cannot counsel ourselves. We need help from outside of us, 192 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:55,800 from God himself. Experiencing the silence of God 193 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,960 can be perplexing and seem contradictory to what God says 194 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,360 in His Word. It makes sense why why God would 195 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:07,040 take away things and even people from us, but why would he remove 196 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,920 himself from us? I mean, it makes sense why God 197 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,960 would take away good things that are becoming idols to us, but 198 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,880 why would God take away fellowship with Himself? 199 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:21,840 Isn't God's ultimate goal to have us worship him and, and, 200 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,000 and commune with him? And you were told to to pray for 201 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,320 God's Kingdom to come and for his will to be done. 202 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,480 And what's more in line with that than than that? 203 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,200 I abide with him and, and I pray to him and he responds to me and 204 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:37,360 he plays his word to me and he directs me. 205 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,600 God, where are you? What's so wrong with me that you 206 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,000 won't answer? Why have you forgotten me? 207 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:55,320 When someone starts speaking this way, that they feel distant 208 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:59,200 from God and it disturbs them and they're sorrowful and 209 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,200 they're concerned about it, that's a good sign. 210 00:14:04,360 --> 00:14:08,120 That's a good sign. When someone talks like that, 211 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,120 they sound a lot like the Psalms. 212 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,560 The same Holy Spirit who is in you is the same Spirit who is in 213 00:14:16,560 --> 00:14:19,160 the psalmists who wrote the lament Psalms. 214 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:24,240 When someone groans like like Psalm 13 or like Psalm 22 or 215 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:28,560 Psalm 42 or many others, you can know that that is a response 216 00:14:28,560 --> 00:14:31,920 you'd expect from someone who has the Holy Spirit within them. 217 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:36,720 It'd be more concerning if if they just didn't cry out to God 218 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,080 at all, weren't concerned at all, didn't cry at all at all. 219 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,040 Like, like, like the babies in the Russian orphanage without 220 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:50,200 any parents to comfort them. And so pray the Psalms to God in 221 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:55,280 the midst of dark seasons. Scripture is both. 222 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,120 Scripture is is God's word, God's words to us. 223 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:05,920 Prayer is our words to God. The Psalms, then, are are this 224 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:11,080 poetic union of both Scripture and prayer, of God's words to us 225 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:15,480 and our words to God. God in his sovereign wisdom, 226 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,280 ordains that we go through the times of suffering and times of 227 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:23,400 feeling distant from Him. And at the same time, God in His 228 00:15:23,400 --> 00:15:28,000 mercy has not left us alone, but He's given us the Psalms as 229 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:32,960 words to help us pour out our hearts to Him in whatever trial 230 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:37,280 we may face. When we don't know what to pray 231 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:42,640 to God or just without words, isn't it so loving of our Father 232 00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,120 to give us His own words to pray back to Him? 233 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:53,440 There's 150 psalms, and if 65 of them are lament Psalms, at least 234 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:58,560 then perhaps we need an increased diet of lament in our 235 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:04,560 private and corporate worship. It's OK to lament during Advent. 236 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:09,360 It's good. It may ready your heart for 237 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:12,880 Christ's coming, perhaps in a way that joyful songs don't. 238 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:19,680 So why does God hide himself from us at times? 239 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:22,720 What are what are his good purposes for us in in doing 240 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,440 that? Well, the Westminster Confession 241 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,720 of Faith gives a helpful summary of the Bible's answer to this. 242 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:32,720 It says that God's Providence towards us often does include 243 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,960 dark seasons, chapter 5, paragraph 5. 244 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:38,480 And this is from the modern version. 245 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:42,800 It says this. The most wise, righteous and 246 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,960 gracious God often leaves his own children for a time to 247 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:50,120 manifold temptations and to the corruption of their own hearts. 248 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:53,680 And then our confession tells us what God's good purposes are for 249 00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:57,800 doing this. It says this, He does this one, 250 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:03,200 to chastise them for their past sins, 2 to humble them by making 251 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:06,079 them aware of the hidden strength of the corruption and 252 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:10,040 deceitfulness of their hearts. And then three, to raise them to 253 00:17:10,040 --> 00:17:13,640 a closer, more constant dependence upon himself for 254 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:17,760 their support, to make them more watchful against all future 255 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:22,119 occasions for sinning, and to fulfill various other just and 256 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:26,640 holy purposes. This excellent statement brings 257 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,920 out some of God's purposes for providentially hiding himself 258 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:34,200 from you. He's, he's humbling you, perhaps 259 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:37,800 disciplining you, showing you the depths of your sinfulness, 260 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:44,600 and making you more prayerful, more watchful, more dependent on 261 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:47,320 Him. Those are good things. 262 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:52,960 As you cry for God to hear, you know that He has already heard 263 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:57,240 you and is answering you in ways that you might not have been 264 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:03,640 asking for or listening for. The second way we would respond 265 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:08,040 to God when we experience this silence is to pray for the mercy 266 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:12,320 of God. See this in Psalm 3, Psalm 13, 267 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,120 three and four. Consider and answer me, O Lord 268 00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:20,880 my God, light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest 269 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:26,360 my enemy say I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice 270 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:33,720 because I am shaken. You see the psalmist shift from 271 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:40,000 groaning and complaining to asking God to respond to him. 272 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,160 It's, it's OK to groan and complain to God. 273 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:47,960 He can take that. It's that's OK. 274 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,040 Don't worry. But we mustn't stay there. 275 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:57,200 We need to ask for help. Remember, God hasn't forgotten 276 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,120 you. Isaiah 49 verses 14 and 15, 277 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,040 which Pastor Chris just preached on a few weeks ago, gives us 278 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:09,120 such reassuring words. But Zion said, the Lord has 279 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,000 forsaken me. My Lord has forgotten me. 280 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,240 Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no 281 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:18,040 compassion on the son of her womb? 282 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:22,440 Even these may forget. Yet I will not forget you. 283 00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:26,640 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands. 284 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,720 You are God's child, beloved. How could he forget you? 285 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:37,120 He has, in a sense, engraved your name on the palms of his 286 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:41,480 hands. So pray to God with confidence 287 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,280 that He will consider you and answer you. 288 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,080 Here's a comforting quote from Charles Spurgeon. 289 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:56,240 You may fear that the Lord has passed you by, but it is not so. 290 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,560 He who counts the stars and calls them by their names is in 291 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:02,480 no danger of forgetting his own children. 292 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,680 He knows your case as thoroughly as if you were the only creature 293 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,480 He ever made or the only St. He ever loved. 294 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:17,400 Approach Him and be at peace. When we ask God to consider and 295 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:22,560 answer us, we can ask Him with confidence because we are His 296 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:31,240 children and He loves us. And so ask and wait, Ask and 297 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:35,840 wait. The last verse of Psalm 27 298 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:39,160 leaves us with this note resounding in our ears. 299 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,640 Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart 300 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,880 take courage. Wait for the Lord. 301 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:54,040 How long did Elizabeth and Zechariah have to wait and pray 302 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,160 for a child? Perhaps they had felt at times 303 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,120 like like like they were just praying to a wall. 304 00:21:00,240 --> 00:21:02,520 And maybe they even stopped praying for a child at some 305 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:06,800 point, but God was still at work. 306 00:21:07,360 --> 00:21:10,320 He hadn't forgotten them or His loving plan. 307 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:19,560 Pray and wait. The third way we are to respond 308 00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,160 to God when we experience this silence is to trust in the 309 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:28,040 steadfast love of God. Trust in the steadfast love of 310 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:30,120 God. We see this from the first line 311 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:35,400 of Psalm 13, verse 5. But I have trusted in your 312 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:41,560 steadfast love. Here we find ballast for our our 313 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:45,560 tossing and anxious souls throughout this Psalm. 314 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:49,440 God moves us from groaning and complaining to praying and 315 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,640 trusting, and then even to rejoicing. 316 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:57,280 There's no indication in this verse that David's situation 317 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,960 suddenly, all of it suddenly, all of it all of a sudden 318 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:03,360 improved, and now he's hopeful and optimistic. 319 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:09,840 There's no indication of that. No, our situation may not 320 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:18,520 change, but our heart can. It changes sometimes, often very 321 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:23,680 slowly, having back and forth from anxiety and despair and 322 00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:30,240 anger to trust and patience and humility. 323 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:36,240 When we experience the silence of God, we're to reflect on 324 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,720 God's steadfast love for us and then trust in that love. 325 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:44,640 Trust that He loves you now. Trust that He'll love you 326 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:51,280 tomorrow, even if your enemies don't go away, even if your 327 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:56,600 situation doesn't change. The first thing to help us see 328 00:22:56,600 --> 00:23:00,840 the steadfast love of God towards us is to know is to know 329 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:06,200 that God's love for us is defined by Him and not by us. 330 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,960 We may think that God would be loving if He would remove our 331 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:16,200 enemies from us, if He would take away our trials. 332 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,280 But God defines His love differently and we need to look 333 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:25,280 for His definition of love. Otherwise, we might be looking 334 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,040 for something that may never come. 335 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:36,240 Turn with me to Genesis 39, the story of Joseph, Genesis 39. 336 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:42,840 I'll bring us up to speed. Joseph is sold into slavery by 337 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,600 his brothers, and then then he's bought by Potiphar, his wife. 338 00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:51,960 Potiphar's wife tries to seduce him, and then when Joseph runs 339 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:55,240 away, she lies, saying that he was trying to take advantage of 340 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,360 her. Look now at Genesis 39, verses 341 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:04,800 19 through 21. As soon as his master heard the 342 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,360 words that his wife spoke to him. 343 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:08,600 This is the way your servant treated me. 344 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:13,320 His anger was kindled. And Joseph's math master took 345 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,080 him and put him into the prison, the place where the King's 346 00:24:16,080 --> 00:24:19,560 prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison. 347 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:27,080 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and 348 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:31,280 gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 349 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:39,280 Verse 21 is amazing. The Lord showed Joseph steadfast 350 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:46,680 love while he was in prison. Joseph wanted out of prison, but 351 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,680 God's love toward him wasn't to take him out, at least not yet. 352 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:55,800 Instead, God's love was expressed in the form of favor 353 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,960 in the eyes of the prison guard. So in your dark season, look for 354 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:04,680 God's love toward you in the details of how he dearly 355 00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:09,080 sustains you. Don't just wait for the whole 356 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:13,520 dark season to pass. Look for how God is loving you 357 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:20,160 today in the in specific, ordinary, sustaining ways. 358 00:25:23,880 --> 00:25:28,440 God's steadfast love toward us today in a dark season has deep, 359 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:32,760 deep roots, gospel roots, roots that we should never forget, 360 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,440 Roots that remind us that God's love isn't temporary, it's 361 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:41,360 steadfast, it's ancient. So when did God's love for us 362 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:45,040 begin? Ephesians chapter 1 verses four 363 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:49,120 and five says He chose us in Him before the foundation of the 364 00:25:49,120 --> 00:25:53,680 world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in 365 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,360 love. He predestined us for adoption 366 00:25:56,360 --> 00:26:00,800 to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose 367 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:04,640 of His will. So when did God's love for us to 368 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:08,080 begin? It began before the foundation 369 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:12,280 of the world. He predestined us in love. 370 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,960 His choosing of us was not a cold act of sovereign will, but 371 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:21,440 of love, and that not just this general love for a group of 372 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,520 people, but a particular a particular love for for you and 373 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,560 for me. He lovingly created a plan to 374 00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:34,920 adopt us as sons and daughters, and Christ agreed to be the 375 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,240 sacrifice on the cross to make that happen. 376 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:43,880 This love for you was further expressed and further promised 377 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:47,080 in the covenants of the Old Testament and fulfilled in the 378 00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:53,200 New Covenant in Christ. When you are in the darkest day 379 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,360 of your life, remember the darkest day in all of human 380 00:26:57,360 --> 00:27:02,800 history, the day that Christ expressed and demonstrated His 381 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,440 love for you when He died for you on the cross. 382 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,680 Greater love is known than this, that someone laid down his life 383 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,760 for his friends. This is a love you can trust in. 384 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,560 You can put your faith in God's faithfulness. 385 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:25,080 If Christ died for you and united you to himself, will He 386 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,840 not be with you and guide you and love you forever, no matter 387 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:34,760 how dark the valley gets? What can separate us from the 388 00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:42,080 love of Christ? Finally, the fourth piece of 389 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:46,200 counsel for when we experience the silence of God is to rejoice 390 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:50,840 in the salvation of God. Rejoice in the salvation of God. 391 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:58,240 Psalm 13, verses 5:00 and 6:00. But I have trusted in your 392 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,880 steadfast love. My heart shall rejoice in your 393 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:06,000 salvation. I will sing to the Lord because 394 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,680 He has dealt bountifully with me. 395 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:15,600 The psalmist trusts in the love of God, and from that, that 396 00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:21,280 stable, fertile soil of faith, joy begins to grow. 397 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:24,920 Look at the tenses of these words. 398 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,400 I have trusted in your steadfast love. 399 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,560 He has dealt bountifully with me. 400 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,560 These are verbs in the past tense we're to. 401 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,600 We are to meditate on God's past grace towards us. 402 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:45,080 He has dealt bountifully with us in innumerable ways, benefits 403 00:28:45,080 --> 00:28:47,520 that were all purchased for us with the death of Christ and 404 00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:49,120 applied to us by the Holy Spirit. 405 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:54,640 Because of this, we have we have something to sing about, even if 406 00:28:54,640 --> 00:29:01,560 the dark season doesn't lift. When we consider Advent, when we 407 00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:06,560 consider the baby in the Manger, that is such a beautiful picture 408 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:10,880 of God dealing bountifully with us. 409 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,480 He could not have sent us a greater gift. 410 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:27,200 The Psalm ends with rejoicing, but know that not every St. in a 411 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:31,920 dark season is there yet. It's a journey. 412 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:45,640 Going from verse one to verse 6 can take years and rejoicing in 413 00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:48,520 a dark season that might look different than what you expect. 414 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,200 And still they're still in with that rejoicing might be 415 00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:59,760 intermixed with tears and sorrow or perhaps not much feeling at 416 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,640 all. So, dear St., Wherever you are 417 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,800 in this Psalm, let the Psalm guide you. 418 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,840 Let it guide your prayer. If if you're not praying to God 419 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:15,720 at all, cry out to him in faith as a child. 420 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,320 If you're if you're groaning and complaining to God, know that he 421 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:24,200 hears you, and so pray for His mercy to help you in your 422 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:28,720 specific circumstance. Pray for specific help. 423 00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:30,840 Get into the specifics when you pray. 424 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,640 And if you're if you're fixated in the current moment and you 425 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:40,760 feel insecure in God's love, remember God's ancient and 426 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,880 steadfast love for you ultimately expressed in Christ's 427 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:49,480 death for you and daily communicated to you through his 428 00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:53,000 Providence and provision. And finally, if you, if you're 429 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,440 meditating on God's steadfast love for you in Christ, respond 430 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,400 with rejoicing. Even if the feelings aren't all 431 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:04,800 there, even if you don't have all the answers, even if God 432 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:10,360 still seems to be silent toward you, declare His greatness. 433 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:16,240 Sing of how He has dealt bountifully with you in Christ. 434 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,280 If you're experiencing the silence of God today, know and 435 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:28,920 remember that Jesus Christ experienced the silence of God 436 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:35,840 on the cross when he cried out. My God, my God, why have you 437 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:42,360 forsaken me? Jesus experienced the silence of 438 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:46,360 God so that you wouldn't have to forever. 439 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:55,320 Let's pray. Oh Heavenly Father, we thank you 440 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,880 that we can cry out to you. We thank you that you hear us. 441 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:05,680 Lord, we pray for your mercy, for the brothers and sisters 442 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:10,200 here that perhaps are experiencing your hiddenness, 443 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:15,480 your silence. Oh Lord, we pray that you would 444 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:22,400 remind them of your love, remind them of what Christ did on the 445 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,480 cross for them, that ultimate expression of love. 446 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:33,920 Lord, help us to wait, turn US away from despair and help us, 447 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:39,640 Lord, to love one another, to not shy back from others who are 448 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:46,000 in dark seasons, but to step in, to sit with people in the 449 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,040 darkness, to pray for them, to wait with them. 450 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:55,440 This we pray in Jesus name, Amen.