An Appeal to God (who is seemingly asleep)

in our worship now, and we're singing firstly today in Psalm 118, Psalm 118 on page 397,

singing verses 1 to 9.

O praise the Lord, for he is good, his mercy lasteth ever. Let those of Israel now say,

his mercy faileth never. Now let the house of Aaron say, his mercy lasteth ever. Let

those that fear the Lord now say, his mercy faileth never. So this is a call by the psalmist to God's

people, which applies nowadays to God's people, wherever they are, to come and praise the Lord for

his goodness and for the mercy and loving kindness that lasts forever from him to his people.

Psalm 118, verses 1 to 9. O praise the Lord.

Psalms 118:1–9

Praise the Lord, for he is good, his mercy lasteth ever. Let those of Israel now say, his mercy

faileth never. Now let the house of Aaron say, his mercy lasteth ever. Let those that fear the Lord

Azure say, his mercy lasteth ever. Let people have Quandohythmia in Jerusalem.

dobr his mercy lasteth ever. suas mercy blanks whatever. Let those that fear the Lord have come as

the Lord has come and has come before the Lord. Let those that fear the Lord have come and Михaillac as

The Lord did answer me.

He in a large place stood.

He said, from trouble made me free.

The mighty Lord is on my side.

I will not be afraid.

For anything that man can do,

I shall not be dismayed.

The Lord doth take my part with them

that help to succor me.

Therefore, O those that do me hate,

I my desire shall see.

Better it is to trust in God

and trust in man's defense.

Better to trust in God

than make princes our confidence.

Let's call on the Lord in prayer.

This prayer is particularly for the young folks

present and for the Sunday school.

Let's pray.

Lord, our gracious God, once again we give thanks

that you have gathered us here together

to worship you today.

We know that this is our great privilege

and that we are blessed in even coming together this way.

We pray that your blessing will accompany, Lord,

that privilege for us.

We pray especially today for our children,

for the young folks,

and we ask that you would grant your blessing to them

as once more we have them with us

and we give thanks for them.

And we pray that they, as they grow up

and continue to learn different things day by day,

that they will learn especially more about yourself,

that they will be blessed by you in such a way

as to place their trust in you

and come to follow you and confess you as their God.

Remember them, we pray,

as they receive further teaching today in Sunday school.

Be with their teachers as well,

as we give thanks for them.

And grant, Lord, that your blessing

will accompany all the efforts made in your name,

both at home and in church,

to have our young people schooled

and nurtured in the things of God.

Make these things precious to them, we pray,

and go before us now and pardon our sin.

For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Now I have here today an old recipe book.

It's called the Glaxo Recipe Book.

Glaxo apparently was a substitute milk powder,

which especially in the times after the wars

you would have found very important

with the scarcity of goods that people had then.

So I'm going to read a little bit

from the introduction to this recipe book.

It's not very big, but you can see it's very old

and I have to handle it carefully.

It doesn't actually belong to me,

so it's on loan.

But here it's what it says.

To compile this recipe book,

we asked nurses to give us their best recipes

for children and invalids.

I don't think nurses probably do that nowadays,

but in those days that's how it was done.

These recipes were then tested and revised

by our own cookery expert and other recipes added.

The result is a collection of over 160 recipes,

which while mostly suitable for everyday cookery,

will be found particularly useful

to those who have to cater for children,

invalids, dyspeptics, and the aged.

And so it goes on.

And it's a really interesting read, that introduction.

It tells about glaxo itself.

It was a powder which came from milk originally,

made into a powder, and then you added water,

and that was a substitute for milk.

For all of these recipes,

you're asked to use the glaxo.

And that's interesting that that's what they say

at the beginning because obviously it had to be tested,

first of all, to see whether it would work

or work as well as ordinary milk

or milk before it became powdered.

And it's interesting that the cookery experts

that glaxo themselves had actually took the recipes

the nurses provided and tested them out.

And when you go through the book,

it's really fascinating to find some of these recipes there,

including cakes and biscuits and puddings

and even such exotic recipes as stewed calves' feet.

Let's not go into that,

but it's one of those recipes that's mentioned.

So how would they know that the thing was actually,

that this glaxo was going to work?

How would they know that these recipes

actually were recipes that were tasty?

How would they know that a pudding made with glaxo

was actually very nutritious and also very tasty?

Well, you'd have to actually prepare it

and then you'd have to eat it, of course.

And there's a saying nowadays,

which is not actually accurately spoken.

Many people will say,

the proof is in the pudding.

Well, that doesn't really mean anything, does it?

Because the proof of what?

The saying is actually,

the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

You can only prove that a pudding is tasty

and good for you or whatever

by preparing it according to a recipe

and then tasting it.

You make it up,

you then eat it,

and then you decide if it's tasty

or maybe it's not.

But you can only decide that

by actually making it

and eating it and tasting it.

Now, the Bible, in many ways,

is God's recipe book.

He has provided us with the Bible

as a guidance to how our life should be lived.

And if you look at the Bible as a recipe book,

there are many things in there

that you can only actually find out for yourself

and prove to be as the Bible says

by taking it to yourself

and then by actually tasting and seeing

that God is good.

How do you know that the peace of God

is really precious?

Well, not just by reading the Bible

and reading about it,

but by testing it for yourself.

You find that the peace of God is precious.

By coming to Jesus,

by doing what the recipe says,

coming to Jesus,

putting your trust in Jesus,

loving Jesus,

following Jesus,

taking Jesus as your Savior.

And when you do that,

and you confess your sins,

and you ask God to pardon your sins,

you ask God to accept you,

all of these things are in the recipes

of the Bible, if you like.

And as you do that,

then you find out

that these things are actually true

and precious to yourself.

You'll never find out that God is good

just by reading about it.

You have to test it out for yourself.

And you know,

one of the great things that we have

in the gospel

is an invitation to taste and see

that God is good.

So I hope all young folks

and older folks like ourselves

as well today

will know that for ourselves

and realize that just having a Bible

or having a Bible in our homes

is good,

but really there's more than that needed.

You need to use the Bible,

take what it says into your heart,

put it into practice in your life,

and then you'll be able to truly see,

I know that God is good.

I know that this Bible is true

because I've tested it

and tasted it for myself.

Let's now say the Lord's Prayer together.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our debts

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom

and the power

and the glory forever.

Amen.

I'm going to sing again to God's praise,

this time in Psalm 141,

Psalm 141.

This time it's in the Sing Psalms,

that's on page 185.

We're singing verses 1 to 5.

O Lord, I call to you,

come quickly, I'm in need.

When I cry to you for help,

to my appeal give heed.

Like incense, may my prayer

before your face arise,

the raising of my hands be like

the evening sacrifice.

Verses 1 to 5 to God's praise.

O Lord, I call to you,

come quickly, I'm in need.

And when I cry to you for help,

to my appeal give heed.

Like incense, may my prayer

before your face arise.

The raising of my hands be like

the evening sacrifice.

Keep watch, Lord, on my mouth,

and guard my lips, I pray.

Let not my heart to evil thoughts

be drawn and led astray.

Keep me from taking part

in what the evil do.

Let me not taste their choices food,

lest I be false to you.

A righteous friend's rebuke

will be a soothing balm.

Such blows in kindness aimed at me

will never do me harm.

Let's now turn to read God's word

in the book of Psalms,

Psalm number 44.

Psalm 44, we'll read from the beginning

right through to the end of the psalm.

It's on page 564 or so

if you're using the church Bibles.

O God, we have heard with our ears,

our fathers have told us

what deeds you performed in our days

in the days of old.

You with your hand drove out the nations,

but them you planted.

You afflicted the peoples,

but them you set free.

For not by their own sword

did they win the land,

nor did their own arm save them,

but your right hand and your arm

and the light of your face,

for you delighted in them.

You are my king, O God,

ordain salvation for Jacob.

Through you we push down our foes,

through your name we tread down

those who rise up against us.

For not in my bow do I trust,

nor can my sword save me,

but you have saved us from our foes

and have put to shame

those who hated us.

In God we have boasted continually

and we will give thanks

to your name forever.

But you have rejected us

and disgraced us

and have not gone out with our armies.

You have made us turn back from the foe

and those who hate us have taken spoil.

You have made us like sheep for slaughter

and have scattered us among the nations.

You have sold your people for a trifle,

demanding no high price for them.

You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,

the derision and scorn of those around us.

You have made us a byword among the nations,

a laughingstock among the peoples.

All day long my disgrace is before me

and shame has covered my face.

At the sound of the taunter and the reviler,

at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

All this has come upon us,

though we have not forgotten you

and we have not been false to your covenant.

Our heart has not turned back,

nor have our steps departed from your way.

Yet you have broken us in the place of jackals

and covered us with a shadow of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign God,

would not God discover this?

For he knows the secrets of the heart.

Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long.

We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?

Rouse yourself.

Do not reject us forever.

Why do you hide your face?

Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

For our soul is bowed down to the dust.

Our belly clings to the ground.

Rise up.

Come to our help.

Redeem us

for the sake of your steadfast love.

And again, may God follow with us blessing

our reading of that portion of his word.

Let's call upon him again in prayer.

O Lord, our God,

we give thanks that your word draws us

into circumstances that we find

sometimes above our own experience,

but very often also true to what we experience in this life.

And we thank you especially that in regard to

all the experiences we have,

you bring us to yourself.

You bring us to know yourself.

You bring us the account that we have in your word

of your great doings,

of your wisdom,

of your sovereign government,

of all that exists.

And we thank you today

that we have been reminded of that in this psalm.

We thank you, Lord,

for the facility you give us to pray,

to appeal to you,

to come before you, Lord,

to entreat you

that you would come once again

with your blessing to visit us,

that you would restore,

that you would come and bring us once again

this knowledge of your power,

of your strength working in our own hearts,

in our situations,

in our circumstances,

in our nation,

even throughout the world.

Forgive us, Lord, we pray,

for the many times we fail to acknowledge

that you rule over us.

Forgive us for the many times

we neglect to think of your wisdom

as so superior to ours,

and that your plans are not like our plans,

or your ways like our ways.

We thank you today, O Lord,

that we can worship you in this way,

and that you guide us by your word

as to how we worship you

and how we call upon you,

and indeed what we can place before you.

We ask your blessing to be with us then today

in our gatherings.

We pray that your Holy Spirit once again

will take your word,

make it effective in our experience,

we pray.

Lord, leave us not to its outward sound merely,

but give us, like the psalmist,

to delight in your word inwardly,

that they may be our delight,

even your laws,

that we may find, Lord,

our comfort in your word,

in a world which has so much

to discomfort your people.

We ask today that you would continue

to encourage us,

to lift us up,

that you will continue, Lord,

to strengthen us

against all the temptations that we face,

temptations especially designed

to draw us away from obedience to you,

and designed, Lord,

to demoralize

and to bring us despondency

instead of assurance.

We ask that you would grant to us, Lord,

that today we may know

that the Lord has indeed been amongst us,

that you have been pleased once again

to look upon us in your favor.

We ask that you would revive us

and quicken us,

give us in our hearts, Lord,

to know of that work of your Spirit

bringing us out of our times

of gloom and despondency

and even against the many things in the world

that we know are contrary to you

and contrary to the advance of your cause.

Nevertheless,

help us to rejoice in you

and help us to realize, Lord,

once again,

that you are the God

who governs all things,

even the movements of evil.

We pray today for the world

in which we live,

the society we belong to ourselves,

in our own locality

and in our nation.

Lord, again,

be merciful to us,

we pray,

as we bring before you

so many things

that are of a concern

to your people.

We ask that you would

bring through the power

of the gospel

many people under conviction

that the ways of sin

are not ways

that are good for us

as a people.

Not only are they ways

of which you disprove,

but they are ways

that damage our lives,

that prevent us

from fulfilling

the chief end

of our creation,

which is to glorify you

and to enjoy you forever.

We ask your blessing

today for the efforts

being made

against attempts

in our own parliament,

especially,

to further reduce

the impact of the gospel

and the freedom

with which we are able

to declare the gospel

and its message.

Lord,

we pray that the attempts

to introduce this bill

against conversion practices,

as they are called.

We ask, Lord,

that your people

will be moved

to counter it.

We pray that

that attempt itself

will fail,

that you would show,

Lord,

your own great care

and compassion

towards your cause

in doing this

and help us,

we pray,

to respond as

we are encouraged

to this

and to every other means

by which we will seek

to set the truth

before the minds

and the world

of our day.

Lord,

remember those

who do roll over us.

We pray for them.

We pray that

you would enlighten them

in your paths.

We pray that you would

bring them, Lord,

to your laws

and to your word.

We pray that you would

come into their lives

to give them

to follow you,

to give themselves

over to you,

to be ruled by you

and to realize

that obedience

to Christ

is not the restriction

the world thinks it is,

but is indeed

the greatest freedom

we can know.

And we pray

that your blessing

will be with all

throughout the world today

who are moved

to pray

and to act

on behalf

of the cause of Christ.

Encourage your people,

we pray,

and give us

as we pray to you

and seek

to wait upon you

for your answer

that we may nevertheless,

Lord,

be encouraged

to continue

to wait upon you

and to hold

to the fact

that your gospel

is true,

that your word

will not return

to your void,

that it will accomplish

that which pleases you.

We pray your blessing

today

for all other aspects

of our national need

and our local need.

We pray that you'd

bless all those

today whom we know

are caught up

in various types

of difficulties

and challenges

in life.

remember them,

we pray,

whether they're

in terms of mental health

or in terms

of behavior,

we ask that you

would be gracious

to us, Lord,

and come

and help those

who maybe not

themselves cry out

to you

at this time.

We pray that you'd

bring them to do so

and we ask that you

would help

those who seek

to help them.

We remember those

who provide care

for us in our community.

Again,

we commend them

to you, O Lord,

and ask that you'd

bless them

in our health services

of various kinds

and the many other ways

in which we find

volunteers

and paid employment

too,

helping us

in our times of need.

Remember those

who are ill at this time,

continue to bless them.

Remember those

who are mourning

the passing of loved ones.

Draw near to them,

we pray,

to their comfort.

Grant you blessing

to our young folks.

We thank you for the time

that the Bible class

have had in Scalladale

in recent days.

We pray that that

will be blessed to them.

We ask that you would

continue, Lord,

to bless the teaching

of your word to them

and to the younger ones

as well.

We pray that you bless

our schools.

We ask that in all

our schools, O Lord,

we indeed may know

again the influence

of your truth,

the influence of your word,

both on those who teach

and those who are taught.

And we ask, Lord,

that you would continue

to provide us

with the resources we need

against the powers

of worldliness,

the powers of secularism,

the powers that seek

to destroy

the impact of the gospel.

Continue to hear

your prayers,

your people in their prayers.

Guide us now,

we pray,

into your word.

Hear us and bless us

and forgive our sins.

For Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Before we turn to God's word,

let's sing once again.

This time we're singing

in Psalm 43

on page 54.

We'll sing these five verses.

Come, vindicate me,

O my God.

Against this nation

plead my cause.

Deliver me from wicked foes

and hypocrites

who break your laws.

You are my stronghold

and my God.

Why then have you rejected me?

Why must I go about in grief,

downtrodden by the enemy?

And you can see

that these words

carry over into the next psalm,

which we've read

a short time ago.

Words where the psalmist

is pleading with God

to send out his light

and his truth

as he has that

in verse 3 of this psalm.

So we'll sing these five stanzas.

Come, vindicate me,

O my God.

Come, vindicate me,

O my God.

Against this nation

plead my cause.

Deliver me from wicked foes

and hypocrites

who break your laws.

You are my stronghold

and my God.

Why then have you rejected me?

Why must I go about in grief,

death trodden by the enemy?

enemy.

Oh, send

your light

forth and

your truth.

Let them

direct

me in

your grace

and bring

me to

your

holy

hill into

your

sacred

dwelling

place.

Then

to God's

altar

I will

go.

To God my

joy and

my

delight

and I

will

praise

you with

the

harp.

Oh,

God,

you are

my

God

of

might.

Why

are

you

downcast,

O my

soul?

Why

are you

so

disturbed

in me?

Trust

God

for

I

will

praise

him

yet

my

saviour

and

my

my

God

is

he.

Let's

turn now to

the book of

Psalms,

Psalm 44.

Psalm 44,

especially the

last few

verses from

verse 23

to 26.

Awake,

why are you

sleeping, O

Lord?

Rouse

yourself.

Do not

reject us

forever.

Why do you

hide your

face?

Why do

you forget

our affliction

and oppression?

For our

soul is

bowed down

to the

dust,

our belly

clings to

the ground.

Rise up,

come to

our help.

Redeem

us for

the sake

of your

steadfast

love.

What's

going on

here?

Why

would this

man of

God

be so

bold as

to call

upon God

to awake

as if he

were sleeping?

Why are

you sleeping,

O Lord?

Rouse

yourself.

Do not

reject us

forever.

What's the

context?

What's

behind that?

What's the

reason he

would speak

in that way

to God?

Is that

not wrong?

Would we

not find

fault with

him for

doing so,

for using

these words

as he

addresses

God?

Well,

perhaps,

but we

need to

understand

where that

cry is

coming from.

Sam,

you can

say,

divides

into two

main parts,

verses 1

to 8.

You'll notice

as we read

through it,

verses 1

to 8 are

in many ways

a celebration

of God's

victories on

behalf of

his people,

and especially

how he brought

them to be

settled in

the land of

Canaan,

his covenant

people,

having brought

them out of

Egypt safely

and on

through the

wilderness.

But then

there's a

turn from

verse 9

onwards.

The first

eight verses

are verses

that prepare

us for

the complaint

and the

context that

bemoans the

defeats that

they have

suffered.

We're not

told the

exact historical

context of

the psalm,

but it's

obviously a

time when

they faced

defeat and

experienced

defeat against

their enemies

because,

as you can see

there in these

verses,

the Lord,

he says,

has rejected

us,

you have

not gone

out with

our armies,

you have

made us

turn back

from the

foe,

and those

who hate

us have

taken spoil,

and then

twice he

says in

the psalm,

you have

made us

like sheep

for the

slaughter.

So the

context is

really that

context of

defeat and

of seeing

that God

had not

actually acted

on their

behalf as

he had done

previously.

and he's

bringing this

to God

and actually

setting that

before God

and expressing

the pain

of his heart,

the bewilderment

indeed of his

heart as

why is this

the case?

Why are we

now like this

when previously

the Lord

showed his

power in

our support

on our

behalf?

Well,

that's a

pattern here

that really

the church

of God,

the people

of God

have known

throughout

history

because as

you know

yourselves,

there are

periods in

the history

of the

church

down all

these

generations

where you

find times

of blessings

nevertheless

accompanied by

times of

barrenness

spiritually,

times when

the church

has experienced

growth,

but that's

sometimes

accompanied

or followed

by or even

preceded by

times of

reduction

and lack

of growth,

indeed times

when there's

been such

great decline

numerically

as well,

times when

the church

has advanced,

when the

power of

the gospel

through the

church,

through God's

people,

has really

had an

impact on

society,

but times

such as

we're living

in now

when that's

not the

case,

when you

can say

that these

verses 9b

to 10

might

characterize

the times

in which

we live,

you have

not gone

out without

armies,

you've

made us

turn back

from the

foe,

those who

hate us

have taken

spoil,

the reduction

in the

impact of

the gospel,

the reduction

even in

terms of

not only

the volume,

the number

of God's

people that

represent him

and witness

for him in

the world,

but how we

ourselves

experience such

a lack of

power accompanying

that witness.

These are the

kind of times

that we have

actually come to

experience in

the wisdom

and the

providence

of God.

And undoubtedly

that's the

case with

the church

in the

west today,

that while

there are

other parts

of the

world for

which we

give thanks

to God,

where the

church is

increasing,

where the

gospel itself

is having

an impact,

even if you

wouldn't

necessarily

agree with

everything that's

happening,

nevertheless it's

still the

case that

in other

parts of the

world the

church is

growing.

It's not

the case by

enlarge with

ourselves in

the western

nations.

And we

find ourselves

sometimes in

the position of

the psalmist

here, asking

the question

why.

And there

are three

things I

want to

take from

this context

today.

I want to

look first of

all at the

importance of

a living

relationship

with God.

Secondly,

I would

call our

second point

behind a

frowning

providence,

taking words

from William

Cowper's

great poem

God Moves

in a Mysterious

Way.

So that'll

be our

second point.

We'll try

and open

up why

we're giving

it that

title,

that second

point.

The third

will be,

again,

borrowed

from Romans,

this time

Romans 15,

these things

were written

for our

instruction.

Things which

are written

beforehand

were written

for our

instruction.

So that's

our way of

final application

of these

verses and

of the

context

in the

psalm.

So the

importance

of a

living

relationship

with God.

The

psalmist

now has

the benefit

here,

though he's

speaking in

this way,

he has the

benefit of

personally

knowing

God.

You can

see that

coming through.

Nobody

would use

these words

in the

form of

a prayer

and of

an appeal

unless he

actually knew

God to

begin with.

These are

not the

words of

somebody who

is a

stranger to

fellowship

with God.

God.

They're

not the

words of

somebody who's

never known

God in

his life.

They're

the words of

somebody who

values the

relationship he

and his

people have

with God,

have had in

the past

with God,

and continue

to have

with God.

And that's

why he can

express his

sorrow and

his consternation

and his

puzzlement to

God in

his way.

It's through

this relationship

that he has

with God

that he's

able to

use such

language in

expressing the

sorrow of

his heart.

And he

even uses

this language

very boldly,

this bold

language,

calling on

God to

awake.

Why are

you sleeping?

Did the

psalmist really

believe that

God had

fallen asleep?

Of course

not.

God never

slumbers nor

sleeps.

He knew that

very well.

But he puts

it in this

form as

as to

reinforce

the strength

of his

appeal to

God.

It's as if

God has

fallen asleep.

It's as if

God is no

longer active.

It's as if

God has

withdrawn his

power altogether

and is not

prepared to

come to

bless them

as his

people anymore.

And so he

uses this

graphic language,

awake,

why are you

sleeping?

He didn't

believe God

was actually

asleep,

but it

reinforces his

appeal to

God for

God to

act once

again.

as he

used to

in the

past.

In fact,

you could

say that

the words

he's using

here actually

reveals that

he believes

in a God

who acts.

Why would

he call upon

God to

come, as

he put it

here, to

awaken himself

from sleep

and to

show himself

again if

he didn't

believe to

begin with,

this is the

God who

acts on

behalf of

his people,

the God

who actively

intervenes for

their support

from time

to time.

But he

also believes

in a God

who is

wise,

who for

his own

sake

sometimes

does things

like this,

and instead

of acting

as he

once did,

he withdraws

his power

sometimes for

reasons unknown

to us.

God.

But there's

one of the

great benefits

we have

in a living

relationship

with God.

Where do

you go

today with

the agonies

of your

heart?

Where do

you go

today with

the things

that really

trouble you?

Where do

you go with

the sturrings

that come

within your

soul that

you cannot

really understand

or fathom

that cause

you bewilderment?

Where do

you go with

the events

in your life

that perplex

you?

Where do

you go with

the things

that actually

cause you

real hurt

and real

pain

and unexpected

agony of

soul?

You bring

them to

God and

even if

it's expressing

it in this

way it

shows that

you're bringing

them to

God means

you still

believe in

him.

You still

believe in

his power

to act.

You still

believe that

he is able

to help

you.

He allows

us the

outpouring

of our

grief.

He allows

us to frame

things in

question.

questions

which perhaps

at other

times we

wouldn't

ask or

wouldn't

even need

to ask.

But as

part of

the greatness

of our

God,

as part of

the facility

he gives

us in

his kindness,

in his

loving kindness,

that's how the

psalm finishes,

redeem us for

the sake of

your steadfast

love,

your loving

kindness,

for your

own sake,

Lord.

Lord.

And we

today can

bring to

him all

that is

lying on

our hearts

and perhaps

say to

him as we

would not

say to

anyone else,

these

Lord are

the things

that I'm

experiencing.

Come to

me.

Tell me

why.

Tell me

about them.

Explain

them to

me.

Help me

through

them.

What a

great God

we have

that we

can do

this.

That we

can do

this and

he doesn't

then say

to us,

you put

that into

more decent

language.

You put

that into

language that

shows you

understand

something more

of what I'm

doing.

He doesn't

turn us

away and

say,

come back

with your

more polished

prayers.

He hears

us.

He hears

the cry

of our

souls.

He hears

the tears

that sometimes

fall from

our eyes

when we

can't put

into words

the things

that really

bewilder

us in

this life.

God is

still our

God,

even when

we can't

understand

how he

deals with

us at

certain

times.

Is that

the case

with yourself?

Do you

have this

living

relationship

with God

where you

can come

not only

to sing

his praises

as we

do in

church,

but to

sing his

praises,

even the

kind of

words that

you find

in the

psalm that

are real

expressions of

how you

feel,

how you

know in

your heart

things to

be?

Are there

things in

your life

today where

you know

things are

not as

they should

be between

yourself and

God?

Is God

less clear to

you today than

he was

previously?

Is there

something in

your life

where you

know there's

something affecting

your relationship

with God?

Or perhaps

you haven't

even come

yet to

embrace

this God

and all

that he

is.

Perhaps

you'd rather

the things

were comfortable

all the

time.

Well,

so would

I.

But that's

not the

God we

worship,

the God

we follow,

the God

we serve.

Instead,

we need to

come at

all times,

as Psalm

34 begins,

at all

times I

will bless

the Lord,

even the

times when

it's beyond

your understanding

why he's

dealing with

you in

certain ways.

First thing

then is a

living relationship

with God,

the importance,

the necessity

of that,

the need we

have,

each one of

us,

to have

that for

ourselves.

Secondly,

behind a

frowning

providence,

as we said

from verse

17,

especially,

the Psalm

is showing

why he's

perplexed.

And what's

really perplexing

is that he's

saying here,

we have

not forgotten

you,

verse 17,

all this

has come

upon us,

and we

have not

been false

to your

covenant,

our heart

has not

turned back,

not have

our steps

departed

from your

way,

yet you

have broken

us.

This is

what makes

it really

perplexing.

If he was

coming with

a confession

of backsliding,

a confession

where he

found the

people and

himself to

have departed

from the

ways of the

Lord,

or as he

says there,

if we had

forgotten the

name of

God and

spread our

hands to a

foreign God,

to idols,

in other words,

God would

know this and

he would make

it known to

us.

This is not

the case.

He's convinced

that it's not

because they've

gone astray or

badly astray that

this has happened.

So he's asking

God the question,

well, what is the

meaning of this

then?

Maybe in your

life today,

you can't put your

finger on something

you've done that

you know is

wrong and that

you may think

God is now

laying some

sort of

chastisement upon

you to bring

you back to

himself.

Maybe you say,

well, I can't

put my finger

on anything,

so why don't

I have God's

closeness the

way I used

to?

Well, if you

go to the

book of Job,

you'll find a

man in exactly

that position.

And the

book of Job,

difficult though

many parts of

it is to

understand,

we can

certainly understand

the main thread

of it,

which is this,

God is showing,

he's showing

Satan,

with which the

book begins,

the first few

chapters,

Satan coming

to be given

permission to

attack Job.

Job's a holy

man.

Job has not

gone astray.

Job is respected

in his community

as a man of

God.

And yet,

he has this

immense suffering

laid upon him

in God's

providence.

God has given

permission to

Satan to attack

him in this

way.

what's the

purpose?

What's the

meaning?

Well,

so that

when you

look at the

book of Job,

God is

showing that

Job wasn't

a believer

for personal

selfish reasons.

He's showing

that Job

didn't put his

confidence and

trust in God,

as it were,

just so he could

get so much

out of it for

himself.

He's showing

that faith,

in the case of

Job,

when we trust

more and more

in our own

case,

faith trusts

in God,

come what

may.

Faith trusts

in God not

just in the

fair weather,

but during the

storms.

Faith is

concerned to

honor God,

even at the

worst of times,

if we can put it

that way,

as much as the

times when we

have things

going quietly

and comfortably.

Whenever you

find a

Christian

suffering,

when you

find a

Christian

obviously

suffering,

never conclude

that that's a

chastisement.

Never conclude

about that

person,

something's

gone wrong

between himself

and God,

he's done

something or

she's done

something really

bad,

or else there

wouldn't be that

sort of suffering

in their

life.

God

sometimes

brings

suffering for

other reasons,