Turning on the Light: Finding Hope in the Depths of Despair

Well, good morning.

My name again is Drew Arrington, and I count it a great privilege to be with you this morning

and a great honor to preach God's holy and inspired word.

Last week, Matthew helped us to see that Jesus, the faithful king, both comforts us and challenges us.

And one of the ways that Jesus challenges us is by leading his people into and through uncomfortable situations.

But, you know, Christians don't have a monopoly on difficult and challenging situations in uncomfortable times.

And as a result, there is plenty of contemporary advice on how one could and should deal with such times.

In a film, I know I said film, so you purists out there of J.K. Rowling, I understand it's not in the books, okay?

But in the film, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the wise wizard Albus Dumbledore is standing before students

at the opening session of Hogwarts, much like I am with you.

And he's telling them about some faculty changes that have occurred over the summer break.

He's enlightening them to the fact that the coming school year will be a bit more challenging

for the presence of some outsiders around them that will make things seem to be darker than they actually are.

And when he does this, he ends with a prophetic proclamation that provides guidance to Potter and his pals.

And this is what he says.

Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times.

If one only remembers to turn the light on.

Now, it will not strike you as odd that our reading this morning will offer much better hope

than the words offered to the Hogwarts students.

So if you find yourselves like these fictional students on the precipice of an uncomfortable situation,

if you find yourself like this psalm,

if you find yourself like this psalm is for you.

Or, if you are younger in life and you have yet to experience times of deep darkness and the depths of despair,

this psalm is for you.

And finally, if you are here this morning and you are peering through relentless darkness

in search of some faint flicker of light,

then my dear friend,

this psalm is most definitely for you.

With that in mind, I would ask that we pray for the reading and preaching of God's word

before turning our attention to Psalm 130.

So with that, please join me in prayer.

Oh, gracious Heavenly Father, we indeed are needy and broken people this morning.

Our minds are dull and darkened by the presence of sin.

Our hearts are distracted by a multitude of affections.

And so we ask that you might grant us an extraordinary measure of your Holy Spirit.

That his power and presence might enlighten our minds

and warm our hearts to the truth of your scripture.

God, may this morning that we might not only know more about you,

but God, that we might come to love you with more tenacity.

God, we ask this, that it might glorify your name,

that it might honor Christ,

and that it might be for the good of your church.

Amen.

Well, Psalm 130.

If you'll turn in your Bibles or direct your device,

it starts with the caption of a psalm of ascent.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

O Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

O Lord, you're in a voice for mercy.

O Lord, my soul is forgiven.

But with you, there is forgiveness that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord.

My soul waits, and in his word I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord.

More than watchmen for the morning.

more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

This concludes today's reading of God's word,

which is holy, inspired, and infallible.

Well, this morning we're going to consider the four stanzas,

the four couplets, if you will, of this poem in groupings of two.

So we're going to first examine the cry of despair to a gracious God,

which we see in the first four verses.

And then we will turn our attention to the response of a faithful God

in the final four verses.

And with that in mind, let's turn our attention to the cry of the psalmist.

One of the questions that comes to my mind as I'm first reading this is,

why is the psalmist crying out in despair?

What has plunged this psalmist in to the depths and the darkness of despair?

And the answer is, we don't know.

He's silent.

And a lot of people really don't even know who wrote this.

Some attribute it to David.

Most attribute it to somebody unknown.

So here we have an unknown psalmist, an unknown follower of God,

in the depths of despair, and we don't know why he's there.

But you know, that's not a problem for us.

It's not a problem for us because we have the entirety of Scripture that helps us to understand

why the psalmist is in the midst of despair and why we find ourselves in the depths and darkness of despair.

And I want to point to three examples that highlight three reasons why we find ourselves

and why perhaps the psalmist finds himself in this situation.

First, we see in Exodus 3 that the Hebrews were enslaved in Egypt.

And it gives us a hint that sometimes we are in the depths of despair because of the sins of others,

because of the oppression that sin brings into life through the actions of other human beings.

In the life of Jesus Christ, we see him in despair in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And the main reason is because he is looking forward to the cross and the pain of death.

And so in that, we see that sometimes we suffer because of natural sin.

The fact that our bodies are not the way they were designed to be prior to sin,

but that they decay and eventually die.

And so we suffer not only the natural sin of our bodies decaying,

but we suffer the natural sin of many natural calamities.

And then we see in the life of Jonah, which is where most of us go

when we think about the reason for suffering,

and that is our own personal sin and rebellion against the holy God.

He says, you know, Jonah decided to run from the calling that God had given him,

and instead of pursuing God, went the exact opposite direction,

ended up in a storm, and then in the belly of a whale.

Talk about the depths of despair.

And we don't know, again, what the author was suffering through,

but I have a great hunch and understanding that you probably are pretty intimately aware

of what you are suffering with this morning.

You are probably pretty well acquainted with what type of sin has plunged you

into the depths and darkness of despair.

Perhaps it's a marriage that started out with great promise

and now is flooded with faults and accusations and a lack of love and appreciation.

Perhaps it's the death of a dear family member.

Maybe it's a medical diagnosis that has thrown you and your family for a loop.

Maybe it's a baby.

Or maybe you're looking at the life of a now-grown child

who has turned his or her back on the faith.

Well, one thing we know, we don't know what the despair is here,

but we do know that when in distress and people cry out,

we know that not all cries are equal.

It was not too long ago that some of us may have seen and heard

of the horrible act of violence that occurred in Memphis

in which five officers brutally beat a young man.

And it's not my point here to talk about the injustice of that,

although from all accounts it was very unjust.

But really, it's the focus here on the fact that in the midst of despair

and darkness, this young man cried out.

He cried out for his mom.

And his mom didn't hear, even though she was just literally yards away.

But it's not just the attack in Memphis.

We see in ancient Israel a desperate cry in the midst of dark times

when the prophets of Baal challenged to cry out to their God

to alleviate the drought.

They cry out.

They dance around.

They yell.

They cut themselves.

But Baal did not hear.

Oh, but in stark contrast are the words of Matthew Henry

commenting on this psalm when he says,

But in the greatest depths, it is our privilege that we may cry unto a God

and be heard.

More importantly than Matthew Henry's words are the examples of Scripture

that I pointed us to earlier.

is that in Hebrews, the Hebrews who were enslaved in Egypt,

says that in Exodus 3, God, speaking with Moses, says,

Moses, I have seen the affliction of my people,

and I have heard their cry.

Jesus crying to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He says,

Oh, what great assurance this is for mothers and fathers who send their children

out of their homes into a world where we know they will be assaulted

in various different forms, whether mentally or emotionally

or in their education.

And to know that when they cry out,

even though we may not hear them,

we serve a God who does hear them.

Oh, but we serve not only a gracious God who hears us,

we serve a gracious God who forgives us.

And when we cry out in the depths of despair,

when it is even our own sin that plunges us there,

we cry out knowing that along with Jonah,

that God's steadfast love remains with us,

and his forgiveness reaches even into those depths.

The psalmist, in verses 3 through 4,

tells us as much when he says that God's forgiveness,

he says,

But with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared.

Forgiveness brings hope.

But as the psalmist says here,

it also alerts us to fear.

And that raises a very good question that I hope isn't a bunny trail,

but really needs to be addressed.

So why would forgiveness evoke fear?

Let's put it this way.

If it weren't for sin, we wouldn't need forgiveness.

And so the very fact that God forgives sin

highlights the seriousness of that very sin.

And the psalmist would understand that so well,

being there in the temple

and watching the sacrifices come in,

the animals being led up to the altar,

the hands being laid on,

transferring the sin of the individual

or the sin of the community onto that animal,

and then having that animal slaughtered in their presence

and then burned on the altar.

However, the author would very much see the link

between sin and death.

Oh, but we have something that is far greater

than the sacrifice of a lamb or a ram on an altar.

We have the very life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ

that points to us not only the seriousness of our sin,

but also the sure and certain confidence

that we have forgiveness through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Even when it's our own sin that plunges us

into the depths and darkness of despair.

So when in those depths,

remember that relief does not come

by remembering where to turn on the light.

Rather, we find hope in a gracious God

who hears our cries and forgives our sins.

But it's just not the psalmist's cry that we see.

We see the response of a faithful God.

And one of the best stories that I've seen

about a response to being in the depths of despair

and the freedom that awaits is recorded

by a Reverend Tuck in a commentary.

And he writes the following.

In the year 1830,

on the night preceding the 1st of August,

the day slaves in the British West Indies

were to come into possession of the freedom promised them,

many of them, we are told,

never went to bed at all.

Thousands upon thousands of them

assembled in their places of worship,

engaging in devotional duties

and singing praises to God,

waiting for the first streak

of the light of the morning

of the day on which they were to be made free.

Some of their number were sent to the hills

from which they might obtain

the first view of the coming day.

And by a signal,

communicate to their brethren down in the valley

the very first moment of the breaking dawn.

Now this is the same posture of the psalmist here

when he says that he is waiting

more than the watchman.

He says,

my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchman for the morning.

More than watchman for the morning.

He has this posture

of hopeful waiting

and trusting

for the dawning of the light

to come

that he might have rest

and relief.

Notice,

this is not something that we can generate.

It's not something we can turn on.

It's not something that comes

from a government proclamation,

a regulatory reform,

or a politician's promise.

No,

this is hopeful,

waiting,

and trusting

in a gracious

and faithful God.

But here,

the psalmist thinks

more than a rescue

is what's in store.

It's more than just

alleviation

of a temporary,

temporal problem.

No,

the psalmist anticipates

much more.

He awaits

plentiful redemption.

Plentiful redemption

from a God

of steadfast love.

I think one of the best ways

to illustrate this

is

through the life

of a man

who actually

worked

to enslave

the same people

that we referred earlier

in 1830

who were waiting

on that herald

to say,

the day has arrived,

we're free.

And that person

is John Newton

who was a

slaver

along a ship

in various forms

and capacities

from crew

all the way up

to being a captain.

And multiple times

throughout his career,

he would cry out

to God

for some sort

of deliverance

and God

would answer him.

And then he would

go on

continuing

in his sin.

So we see

it's not just

a rescue

from depths

of despair

that God

has at,

but as in the life

of John Newton

who became

a pastor

and then

one of the most

ardent abolitionists

in England,

we know that God

is looking

for plentiful

redemption.

But it's not

just an earthly

redemption

that we look

forward to.

it is

that eternal

redemption

when God

comes back

in the form

of Jesus Christ

at the end

of history

and frees us,

redeems us

from all

our

iniquities.

So the

slaves

in the

British

Americas,

they were,

had sent

their peers

up on the

ridge

to catch

the morning

light

and then

signal back

down

that day

has arrived.

And I want

you to know

that we have

a more powerful

herald

than those

individuals.

because we

have a

herald

that points

us not

just to

our

freedom

in this

world

but to

a plentiful

redemption

that awaits

us in the

next and

that person

is none

other than

Jesus Christ.

He is the

first fruits

of the

resurrection.

He is the

one who

has conquered

death,

stands on

the other

side of

death and

despair,

and he

looks back

and he

says,

I am

here

and the

light is

coming.

So when you

find yourself

in the midst

of the

darkness and

the depths

of despair

that you

will encounter

in this

life and

the horizon

just seems

to be below

and lower

than you want

it to be

and the sun

isn't peeking

over the

crest,

know that

Jesus Christ

is there

seated at

the right

hand of

God the

Father

interceding

and pleading

on your

behalf and

he is

communicating

to you

through the

Holy Spirit

saying,

hang on,

the light

is coming.

The light

that will

deliver you

not only

from this

circumstance

that you

find yourself

in,

but it

will redeem

you from

all the

effects of

sin.

and

corruption.

So hang

on.

The

herald

tells you

the light

is coming.

It's not

a light

that we

have to

somehow

turn on.

No,

it is more

than that.

It is the

steadfast love

of the

faithful

Father.

The

plentiful

redemption

purchased

by the

Son

and the

presence

of the

Holy Spirit

reminding us

of both

those

realities.

peace.

Well,

we conclude

our time

together

this morning

with the

promise that

in the

depths and

darkness of

despair,

we have a

better hope

than mere

happiness

and a

light that

is surer

than our

ability to

turn it

on.

So when you

find yourselves

in the depths

of despair,

cry out to a

gracious God

who hears

and forgives.

when the

light of

dawn refuses

to break

through the

darkness of

despair,

cling to the

faithful God

who showers

you with

steadfast love

and plentiful

redemption.

In the words

of Charles

Simeon,

if we

looked inward,

we shall

find nothing

but discouragement.

But if with

David we

look to God,

we may find

abundant

encouragement in

his attributes,

in his works

and in his

words.

He is

faithful.

His presence

will penetrate

the darkness.

His grace

will illuminate

the depths

and his

strength will

carry you

through the

despair and

bring you

all the way

home.

Amen.

Let us

pray.

Gracious

God, you

are indeed

the God who

offers plenteous

redemption.

God, would you

please encourage

us and remind

us this morning

through the power

and presence of

your Holy Spirit

of the sure and

certain realities

that even though

we may find

ourselves in the

depths of despair,

surrounded by

darkness, the

light of your

presence is on

its way.

And the

dawning of

eternity will

bring a day in

which the light

will never end.

we ask all

this in

Christ's name.

Amen.