My Complaint

Well, good evening. It is great to be with you, although slightly terrifying to be up here with you.

But that's just the way it is.

If you have a Bible in front of you, please open it to Psalm 13 if you don't have it there already.

And as Neil was saying, if you've been with us over the past few Sunday evenings,

we've settled into something of a theme as we've been looking at our soul-bearing Psalms.

Each Psalm has so far included something of God as creator.

And we've seen God as the creator, as the king, as the governor, as the ruler.

But as we come to our Psalm this evening, we're brought up short.

As we have read and sung, our Psalm does not open with a confident assertion that God is in control.

But with a despairing cry that implies God is nowhere to be seen.

And I think the central theme of our Psalm tonight must be that on some level or another,

the Psalmist's expectations of God have been failed.

The Psalmist, in a word, is disappointed in God.

But surely that can't be right.

Doesn't the New Testament quote Psalm 22,

saying whoever believes in him, that is in Christ, will not be disappointed?

I can assure you it does.

It does it three times.

But yet it is clear that the Psalmist is disappointed with God.

The Psalmist clearly has expected different experience of God than what he is currently experiencing.

And that leaves us with something of a dilemma.

Firstly, what do we do when our expectations are failed?

Secondly, what do we expect from God even when we are disappointed?

And finally, why do we expect what we expect from God?

I hope that as we work through this incredible little Psalm,

we will find a good and biblical way of dealing with our disappointments.

But until we get there, we've perhaps got an interesting way to go as we look at this Psalm.

Let's just pray before we go any further.

Father, we come to you.

And as we're found here this evening,

we want to be satisfied in you.

We long to know that you are a good and a faithful God.

That you are trustworthy.

That you are dependable.

And yet, perhaps as we have experienced in our lives,

or perhaps as we look through the window of this Psalm,

we can see that life doesn't always work out the way that we had hoped.

And you do not always answer our prayers in the ways that we want.

Father, we long to make this right.

Father, we long to make this right.

To understand what's gone wrong.

And to know fellowship with you fully and clearly.

To be able to say with the confidence of the end of this Psalm.

That we trust you.

And that we are sure that you will bring salvation.

So, Father, help us, we pray.

Send your spirit to open our eyes and our ears.

And enable us to see you through everything else.

We pray these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So, what do we do when our expectations are failed?

When we come to this Psalm,

all of us have information about God in our minds.

Perhaps for some of you,

that information has been maturing for 60 or 70 years

of Bible study and prayer and relationship with God.

For some of you, perhaps,

what you know of God is just what you have thought.

What you've heard from others

is maybe second-hand experience.

And as we come to this Psalm,

we are expected to have something of a backdrop in place.

We're expected to know something of the God

that we find in the Bible.

of a faithful God.

A God who keeps His promises,

who does not forget His people.

Before we get to this Psalm,

as we've seen through the previous Psalms in our series,

we see a God who is absolutely reliable,

who has a proven track record

as creator and sustainer,

whose words and whose works are good.

But what happens when all this seems contradicted

by the sad realities of life?

We cannot read these first two verses

and be unmoved or callous

in our estimation of the psalmist, can we?

This is the heartfelt cry of a man

who is broken about his circumstances.

He's distraught

that there's a breakdown of communication with God.

And we have to be careful

that we're not like Job's friends.

Don't we?

Oh Job, it's so simple.

Job, we have a soundbite of theology for your problem.

Job, don't you know that you're just a sinner

and you're just getting your comeuppance?

That's almost what some have said

about this Psalm

when they've been commenting on it.

But we have no reason for believing

there's any sin here.

And so we ought to be moved

with compassion for the writer.

And we need to be moved with compassion

for anyone who finds themselves

uttering these words.

How long, O Lord?

Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

Perhaps even some of us

have taken these words on our lips

in times past.

Can't this be resolved?

Whether illness or distress,

whether a lingering situation

at work or at home,

inner turmoil or problems with people.

I think we should be able

to take these words

without any hesitation as Christians.

But I suppose we need to wonder

why do these come?

Why do we ever need to ask the question,

how long, O Lord?

Perhaps it sounds like a silly question to ask

because it's obvious.

It's instinctive to us.

But for many,

this question is alien and unusual.

For the atheist,

there is no God to ask.

For the agnostic or the deist,

there's no point in asking.

To the fatalist,

this is subversive.

To the prosperity gospel believer,

this is a moot point.

This should never happen.

But to those who believe

the gospel of Jesus Christ,

who believe in a good God

who is sovereign,

to us and only us,

does it make sense

to ask this question.

How long, O Lord,

will you forget me forever?

However,

this world is not as it should be

according to the principles

of a good God

who's in sovereign control.

And only as we come

to this understanding

that we have of the fall

and of sin

and of the brokenness

of this world

will we ever be able

to make any sense

of this question.

However,

as we come to an understanding

of God's faithful dealings

with His people,

it dredges up

a whole new level

of this problem.

Because here's the problem

that this psalm

is fundamentally dealing with.

God is not treating

the psalmist

as the psalmist expects.

The writer of these words

is a part

of the covenant people of God.

He's an Israelite.

And as such,

God has promised blessings

and curses

through the nation

of God's.

We can go back

to Deuteronomy.

Go back to chapter 30

and see that God promises

life and prosperity

to the obedient

and death and adversity

to the disobedient.

And yet fundamentally,

that's not what's happening here.

That's not what's happening

in the case

of this man's life.

He is,

to all the information we have,

living in obedience.

And yet we clearly see

that he is in danger

of receiving death

and adversity.

Why?

Why does the world

not match up

to what

is expected

of God's faithful work

in his life?

We need to recognize,

I think,

that those promises

were to the whole nation

and not to a disparate

group of individuals.

You see,

the Old Testament

doesn't work

on a system of karma.

You don't get

what you pay for.

If the nation

falls away

from God,

both the righteous

and the unrighteous

fall under the curses

that were prescribed.

And so,

this righteous author

is feeling the pain

of God's righteous rebuke

against the nation

of an apostate Israel.

I missed that

when I read the psalm

at first

and perhaps you did too.

It's hiding there

in the very first verse.

How long,

O Lord,

will you forget me forever?

How long will you

hide your face

from me?

Isn't that an odd phrase?

Why does the psalmist

use this idea

of hiding

God's face?

And perhaps

as you start

to think about that,

you'll hear an echo

of words in your mind.

May the Lord

bless and keep you.

May the Lord

make His face

to shine upon you.

And if you thought of that,

you're probably

onto a good idea.

It's a quote

from number six,

a blessing

that the priests

were to use.

And this is

a fuller version

of the quote.

The Lord said to Moses,

tell Aaron

and his sons,

this is how you are

to bless the Israelites.

Say to them,

the Lord bless you

and keep you.

The Lord make His face

shine upon you

and be gracious to you.

The Lord turn His face

toward you

and give you peace.

And here's where

it gets interesting.

So they will put

my name

on the Israelites

and I will bless them.

This language

of having your face

turned towards

or turned away

from somebody,

that's intensely

covenant language.

And perhaps we

in the 21st century

think that that's

awfully distant

from us.

perhaps that puts

a little bit

of distance

between us

and this psalm.

It's not so simple

anymore.

This psalm of David

deals with

an expectation

of prosperity

that has been

failed.

And we don't

have that issue.

We don't have

that issue

because in Christ

we should have

no expectations

for material blessings

on this earth.

It isn't part

of the Christian's

deal.

We're promised

good things

from our Father,

absolutely.

We're intended

to have our

daily bread.

But the Christian

gospel has a

promise of suffering,

not prosperity

in this life.

It's rather

negative,

isn't it?

And perhaps

you're wondering

why on earth

would I be

saying this?

Why on earth

would that help us?

Does that mean

that we can never

cry out these words

because we should

expect suffering?

Does that mean

that this psalm

and many others

are interesting

but basically

historical

and irrelevant?

No.

No, not at all.

I merely hope

to show in that

that beneath

this psalm

there is a depth

of understanding

that we could

so easily miss.

And now that we

see the distance

between us

and the psalmist,

perhaps we can

see how near

it is to our

situations all

the same.

We ask the

question,

what do we do

when our

expectations are

failed?

We also ask

the question,

what do we

expect from God

even when we

are disappointed?

Because despite

the failure

of the psalmist's

expectations,

he's actually

still writing.

even though

disappointed

by God's

seeming

abandonment,

he is still

crying out to

God.

If he wasn't,

we wouldn't

have this psalm.

And we see

that in verses

3 and 4.

He still has

expectations of

God.

What does he

pray there?

Consider me

and answer,

O God,

Lord my

God.

Light up

my eyes

lest I

sleep the

sleep of

death.

You see,

the psalmist,

he doesn't

just throw in

the towel

because it's

all gone

wrong.

He doesn't

turn his

back on

this God

and go to

find some

convenient

idol.

Rather,

he pleads

with this

true God

and has

a fresh

hope in

him.

And that

is so

close to

our lives

because,

again,

we can ask

what will

we expect

from God

even when

we are

disappointed

in life?

Will we

expect

answered

prayer

even if

everything

seems to

go wrong?

Will we

expect

God's

presence

even though

there seems

to be a

chasm

and eternity

wide?

will we

expect to

be

vindicated

or will

our faith

be crippled

and crushed

by the

weight and

weariness

of our

life?

Dear

Christian,

hold on.

Keep on

going.

Dear

Christian,

keep

praying.

Yes,

and I

don't say

this lightly,

our hopes

and our

dreams may

be shredded.

and yes,

it is far

too much

for any

of us

to deal

with.

I don't

deny any

of that,

but yet we

have a

hope that

is sure

and certain.

Yet we

can expect

from our

good God

recognizing

that He

is God

and that

we are

not.

and this

is part

of the

great

difficulty

of the

Christian

faith.

We

aren't

the

boss.

We

don't

get to

set the

agenda

and that

rips and

tears at

the values

that we

have drank

in since

birth.

We

aren't the

center of

the universe

and our

lives aren't

conformed to

our wishes,

faith,

but yet we

can still

return to

God.

Yet we

can still

return to

our source

of life.

We can

still ask

of our

good God

who gives

good gifts.

We can

yet pray

for the

strength to

last the

trial.

That's

exactly what

the psalmist

asks for

here,

isn't it?

Light up

my eyes

lest I

sleep the

sleep of

death.

Light up

my eyes,

refresh me,

give me

the strength

to keep

going.

Show me

your face

so that

even though

my life is

falling apart,

I might

still

continue.

And it's

the puzzle

of Psalm

13.

And I

doubt that

any sermon

or at

least any

sermon

that I

can preach

can take

you into

the depths

of this

tension.

Here is a

broken man

at the

end of his

own resources

looking into

the surrounding

circumstances

that have

utterly no

light in

them.

And his

response is

to turn

back to

the God

who has

been seemingly

silent and

laid out

his case

once again

to the

God in

whom he

trusts.

Neil

pointed me

towards a

quote from

C.S.

Lewis from

the Screwtape

Letters.

If you

haven't read

them,

they're from

an odd

perspective.

The speaker

here is an

imagined demon

and so when

it says our

cause,

it's the

cause of

hell.

And when it

says our

enemy,

it means

God.

So try

and adjust

your mind

to hear

that.

This is

the quote.

Do not

be deceived

Wormwood.

Our cause,

the cause

of hell,

is never

more in

danger than

when a

human,

no longer

desiring but

still intending

to do our

enemy's will,

that still

desiring to

do God's

will,

looks round

upon a

universe from

which every

trace of

him of

God seems

to have

vanished and

still asks

why he has

been forsaken

and still

obeys.

I'll read

that again to

try and get

it across.

Do not be

deceived Wormwood.

Our cause is

never more in

danger than

when a

human,

no longer

desiring but

still intending

to do our

enemy's will,

looks round

upon a

universe from

which every

trace of

him seems

to have

vanished and

asks why he

has been

forsaken and

still obeys.

To this

world that

is utterly

stupid.

This makes

no sense to

the person

without faith.

It's

incomprehensible

to the

person who

does not

believe in

a loving

God.

But this

is exactly

what Jesus

did.

We saw it

didn't we

when we were

studying Psalm

22 before

Easter.

Jesus took

those words

on his lips

that echo a

different form of

the cry that we

get here.

My God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

and yet he

still intended

to and he

did finish

the work for

which he was

sent by his

father.

This Psalm

then is an

incredible challenge

to us.

Will we take

the same

attitude and

continue faithfully

when our

expectations are

dashed?

will we

still expect

an answer

from heaven

when all

trace of

God seems

to have

vanished?

Or will

we allow

our present

circumstances

to drown

out the

reality of

God in

our lives?

Look on

me and

answer,

Lord my

God.

Give

light to

my eyes

or I

will sleep

in death.

We've

asked what

do we

do when

our

expectations

are

filled?

We've

asked what

do we

expect from

God even

when we're

disappointed?

And we

get into

our third

question,

why do

we expect

what we

expect from

God?

As we

come to

the last

stanza of

the Psalm,

we ought

to be

surprised

by the

speed of

change of

tone.

I was

chatting to

Peter and

he said

it sounds

wrong.

It almost

sounds trite,

this bit

kind of

tagged on

to the

end.

I don't

think this

Psalm is

one that

naturally fits

into our

thinking about

life and I

don't think

it's meant

to.

As we

read verses

five and

six,

we could so

easily be

forgiven for

thinking that

time has

elapsed maybe

or circumstances

have somehow

changed in

that full

stop or

the Psalmist

has had some

monumental

revelation from

God which has

transformed

everything for

him.

But I don't

believe that

that's the

case.

I think that

verse five and

six ought to

be surprising

because nothing

has fundamentally

changed.

changed.

They are the

answer to

our third

question.

Why do we

expect what we

expect from

God?

But I have

trusted in

your steadfast

love.

My heart shall

rejoice in your

salvation.

I will sing to

the Lord and

I think here's

the kicker

because he has

dealt bountifully

with me.

These verses

form the

rationale for

what we've been

thinking about

so far.

And without

these verses

everything that

has gone before

is a bit vague

and a bit

piecemeal.

Without these

last two verses

there exists a

God out there

somewhere but

we're given no

real reason to

trust him.

But here is a

God who has

unfailing love.

who is loyal,

who is steadfast

in his care for

his people.

Without these

last two verses

there is some

idea of a

God who is

willing to

interfere in

human affairs.

But who knows

when or why.

But here we

find a God

who saves,

who steps

into the

fray for the

sake of his

people.

a God who

will bring

joy as he

intervenes in

our distress.

Without these

final verses

we may think

that the

psalmist has

some relationship

with God.

But as we

read that

this is a

God who

accepts the

praise of

his people

and a God

who has a

track record

of good,

then finally

we have an

objective basis

for the faith

that the

psalmist has.

It's only in

the resolution

of this very

last verse

that we see

the reason

why this

change of

tone has

come at

all.

The psalmist

is remembering

who God

is and

that makes

all the

difference to

his situation.

Yes, the

threat of

death may

stand.

Yes, the

shame of

defeat may

still be a

possibility.

Yes, God

is still

seemingly

silent, but

God is a

covenant

keeper.

But God

is enduring

in his

love.

But this

God is the

God who

saves.

And so the

psalmist

trusts and

even sings,

even in the

darkness of

his situation,

even in the

very middle of

disappointment

and distress,

he can

yet praise

God because

he is absolutely

sure that God

will live up to

his name.

For most of

us, this is a

hard message to

hear.

I don't deny

that this flies

in the face of

our natural

tendencies.

When we're in

the middle of

a trial,

the ending of

this psalm

seems utterly

out of sync

with reality.

And perhaps

you're sitting

here this

evening and

you feel like

you're in the

middle of what

the psalmist is

going through.

Perhaps you

can identify

with verses

one or two

still smarting

from the

situation,

unable to

see any

real situation

at all.

Perhaps you're

just about

able to

muster the

words of

verses three

and four.

You know

that God is

your only

option, but

you're really

unclear how

anything can

be resolved.

But see

here that

we can look

back to

God's goodness

to us in

the past,

to God's

track record,

and we can

be utterly

sure that

there will be

salvation at

the end of

our trials.

For some

of us,

that salvation

will come in

a good

death.

For others

of us,

that salvation

will come in

God's

strengthening us

to persevere

through a

long and

arduous trial.

But be

sure that

God will

not disappoint

us if we

take him

at his

word.

Amen.

We've

asked,

what do

we do

when our

expectations

are filled?

What do we

expect from

God even

when we are

disappointed?

And why do

we expect

what we

expect from

God?

And I

hope that

we've seen

that this

isn't some

fanciful

dream,

but a

solid reality

based on

God's

character

and God's

actions.

I fear

that the

reality of

our lives

is that we

expect from

God what

he never

promises to

us.

I don't think

that's what's

happened here

with the

psalmist,

but I fear

that's where

many of our

disappointments

with God

come from.

And for

many of us,

I can think

of a number

in my own

case,

for many

of us,

this is an

especially

difficult

lesson to

learn.

But hear

Paul's

words to

the suffering

Christians in

Rome as

we finish.

This is from

Romans 5.

We also

exalt in

our

tribulations.

Did you

hear that?

We also

exalt in

our

tribulations,

knowing that

tribulation

brings about

perseverance,

and perseverance

proven character,

hope, and

hope does

not disappoint,

because the

love of

God has

been poured

out within

our hearts

through the

Holy Spirit

who was

given to

us.

Yes, our

circumstances

may be

hard.

yes, there

may be all

sorts of

reasons why

we want to

just clam

up and

not engage,

but Paul

assures us

that we

can have

hope,

even in the

darkest of

times,

not because

everything always

works out

beautifully,

not because God

has promised us

a painless

path through

life, but

because the

love of God

has been

poured out

into our

hearts

through the

Holy Spirit

who God

has given

to us.

Let's

pray.

Father,

many of

us perhaps

have prayed

this prayer

at times

past.

How long,

O Lord,

will you

forget me

forever?

Perhaps

many of

us yet

pray,

how long

will you

hide your

face from

me?

And

Father,

we ask

this evening

that you

would answer,

that you

would consider

and answer

us,

that you

would even

give us

the strength

and the

refreshment

that we

need to

live in

this broken

world as

your children

who are

full of

faith,

even in

the hardest

of circumstances.

Father,

we thank you

because you

are a good

God and we

trust in you.

praying these

things in

Jesus' name.

Amen.