Help! I'm Bummed

I'm not sure if you noticed, but a trailer dropped this week.

The sequel to Top Gun, Maverick, 30 years later.

I'm not sure if you saw that.

For me, that's like, I can't wait.

It makes you think of pilots.

It makes you think of training to be a pilot.

And did you know that for men and women who are in the process of preparing to be pilots,

part of their training is to be brought up into the air in a simulated stall,

which means this.

Their engine gets cut off.

And what that means is these pilots in training are put in a position where they nosedive,

engines are off, there's no thrust,

and they need to learn how to go through a protocol in order to regain the engine,

pull up on the yoke, and stabilize.

Could you imagine doing that?

Could you imagine being the trainer doing that with someone training?

As a Christian, we know what it's like to have,

it feels like our engines conk out.

We stall.

Something goes really sideways in our life.

We're just flying along just fine,

and then we get hit by a wind shear,

and engine conks out,

our nose starts to drop,

and we feel like we go into this tailspin,

and we start spiraling down.

Anybody, anybody,

anybody in the room identify with any of that?

I see that hand.

I see those hands.

The question becomes,

okay, for us as Christians who find ourselves in those dark places,

nose diving,

and the ground is coming up fast,

what do you do?

Maybe you came into the building feeling like God is a million miles away from you,

and so your engine is coughing.

It's starting to stall.

Or maybe you think that God has actually forgotten you,

and so your engine,

your propeller has stopped.

Maybe beyond that,

you think that God just hasn't forgotten you.

He's rejected you.

So not only has your propeller stopped,

your tail is starting to spin around.

You know what it's like

You know what it's like

to fall into a tailspin of heartache.

These kinds of feelings

that Christians experience

of feeling abandoned by God,

whether that's distance,

or feeling forgotten,

or feeling rejected,

they're common among believers.

Believers of all ages.

There's a variety of circumstances

that can knock out your engine

and push you into a tailspin.

And so this morning,

I want to ask you,

in all sincerity,

do you feel like your nose is dropped,

engine's conked out,

and you're starting to spin?

If you do,

you're right where God wants you.

There's help for you.

Help in Psalm 42 and 43.

But if you're not in a tailspin right now,

don't worry.

It's just a matter of time

before you get a wind shear.

And so what you're going to hear this morning,

you need it.

Because down the line,

your engine's probably going to stall out.

And this morning,

we're going to continue this series

for the summer called

Psalms for the Helping.

Specific Psalms

that are designed to

help followers of Jesus

in specific situations.

And this morning,

we're looking at a situation

where you feel like your faith

has stalled,

and now you're in a nosedive.

God has Psalm 42 and 43 for you.

It's God's help for you.

It's what's called a psalm of lament.

The point of this psalm is pretty clear.

You're going to see it in the refrain.

It's basically saying,

hey, don't despair.

Hope in God

because He is your God.

So this morning's sermon,

I'm going to ask two questions.

I'm going to ask and answer two questions.

The first question is this.

What's unique about this psalm?

We're going to spend most of our time

on answering that question.

I want to walk you through Psalm 42 and 43.

But the second question is,

how does Psalm 42 and 43

help us?

And if we have time,

I've got five lessons

that Psalm 42 and 43 helps us with.

So let's start with asking this question.

What is so unique about the psalms,

this psalm in particular?

Well, let me start by answering that question

first by saying,

it's a psalm.

Psalm 42 and 43 is a psalm.

And what you need to understand

are the book of Psalms,

all 150 of them,

it's God's poetry for our souls.

And here's what you need to understand

about the psalms.

If you were to talk to a seasoned saint

who's been through a lot of hardship

and you're like,

hey, what have you learned

through those hardships?

They'll start talking about psalms

as if they are really good friends.

because the psalms give voice

to our souls,

to a variety of different circumstances,

to a variety of different emotions.

Now, it's possible to think of the psalms

as strictly human inventions

because they're so emotional.

There's so much humanity in it.

And you can just start thinking,

well, that's an interesting expression

of a man despairing and turning to God.

Well, that's fascinating.

But you can't forget

that what 2 Timothy 3.16 says.

It says,

all scripture is breathed out by God

and profitable.

The psalms have been breathed out by God.

The son of Korah who wrote this psalm

was moved by God's spirit

to write down every word in it

for your good,

to give voice to your soul,

to God.

So the first thing you need to understand

is that Psalm 42 and 43 is a psalm

and the psalms are God's poetry for our souls.

It gives us expression.

The psalms, unlike any other biblical writing,

give language for our souls

to speak to God.

And so, isn't God kind?

Isn't He so kind

to give us this treasury

as Spurgeon would say?

A treasury for our souls

to cry out to God,

whether that's in praise

or whether that is in lament.

The second thing that's unique about this psalm

is that it is a lament.

Now, here's how we know it's a lament.

Look at Psalm 42.

If you look at verse 2,

it says,

My soul thirsts for God,

for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

That's lament.

It's a question.

When am I going to see you again?

When am I going to behold your face?

Think about it as

His engine is starting to cough.

Those are signs of a stall happening.

If you look at

Psalm 42, verse 9,

Psalms 42:9

we have another question.

Why have you forgotten me?

Laments are so honest.

They can almost come across

accusatory of God.

Why have you forgotten me, God?

Anybody in the room

asked that kind of question before?

If you look at 43, 2,

we have another question.

Another why question.

Why?

Why have you rejected me?

This psalmist,

writing this psalm,

feels distant from God.

He feels forgotten by God.

And he even is wrestling

with feelings of rejection

by God.

The engine of his faith

is stalling out

and he is nose diving

and entering into a tailspin.

And God has it for us

to learn from,

to give voice

to our souls.

If you're feeling abandoned

this morning by God,

you need to pull up.

Have you ever seen those movies

where there's this

airplane out of control,

nose diving,

and you have this siren

and this voice,

pull up,

pull up,

pull up.

There's a refrain

throughout this psalm.

It's essentially saying,

downcast soul,

pull up,

pull up,

pull up.

This is a lament.

Just as there are

variety kinds of literature

in your Bible,

there are variety kinds

of psalms.

There are wisdom psalms

like Psalm 119.

There's psalms of praise

like Psalm 150.

There's messianic royal psalms

like Psalm 2

and Psalm 110.

And then there are psalms

of lament.

And believe it or not,

the majority of the psalms

are laments.

And so what is a lament?

Well,

when I was studying

this past week,

I came across

a definition of a lament

by a pastor in Indy.

And this is how

we defined a lament.

And I think

if you're taking notes,

you're going to want

to write this down.

A lament

is a prayer

in pain

that leads

to trust

in God.

A lament

is a prayer

in pain

that leads

to trust

in God.

It's being aware

that your engine

is stalling,

you're feeling

the nose

of your airplane drop,

and you're starting

to feel the altitude

go down

and spin.

and yet,

you cry out

to God.

There are all

these typical

movement

in a lament.

You can see it

in Psalm 13

where it starts

off by

questioning God

because of pain,

and it turns

to trusting God

despite the pain.

A prayer of lament

is for people

who are experiencing

hardship,

people who are

in process.

what I'm very aware

of is this.

When we talk

about lament

in our culture,

I am very aware

that it seems

foreign to us

because happiness

is the premium

of our culture.

Happiness

at all costs.

And what the Bible

is showing us here,

no,

life is hard,

and we need

to learn

how to lament.

As I mentioned,

laments make up

the majority

of the Psalms,

which means this,

God's not surprised

when your engine

starts to stall.

He's not surprised

when your nose

starts to dip.

He's not surprised

when you start

to spin down.

In fact,

he's usually

the one orchestrating it

to bring you

to himself,

to teach you

to trust him.

So,

laments,

a lament

is a prayer

in pain

that leads

to trust in God,

and that is exactly

what Psalm 42

and 43 is.

The last thing

that I want to point out

that makes this Psalm

unique,

that makes it a lament,

and helps us

to see it,

is its actual structure,

the way it's designed.

Now,

I'm not sure

if you've noticed

this yet,

but you've heard me

talking about

Psalm 42 and 43

as separate Psalms,

yet we're to take

them together.

Do you know

how I know that?

Here's how.

You'll notice

that there's one heading

for both Psalms,

and that's after

Psalm,

in your Bible,

it says,

Psalm 42,

to the choir master,

a mascal

of the sons

of Korah.

And if you look

at all around

these Psalms,

every one of them

has a heading,

this does not.

So that means

we're to take

them together.

But even more

significantly,

Psalm 42

and 43

hold together

because of

the structure.

There are

two stanzas

in Psalm 42,

in one stanza

in Psalm 43,

and you are

to take them

together as

three stanzas.

And what we see

in these stanzas

is a movement.

First,

the psalmist

feels isolated,

then he goes

into complete

stall mode

and in turmoil,

and then

in the last stanza,

he pulls up.

There's hope.

Let's dial in

to get a closer

look at how

this psalm

is laid out

because it is

going to be

instructive

for you

when your engine

starts to stall

of what to do.

So let's start

seeing some

of the details here.

Stanza 1,

in verses 1-5

of Psalm 42,

it starts

with a lament.

So what you're

going to see here

is each

stanza

has a lament

and a refrain,

lament and a refrain,

lament and a refrain.

And they are all

moving us

to hope in God.

So what's the

lament

in stanza 1?

Well,

the psalmist

is comparing

his longing

to be in God's

presence

as a deer

panting for

life-giving streams

of water.

He's in a dry place,

verses 1 and 2.

He says,

When shall I come

and appear before God?

Somehow he feels

distant from God,

apart from him.

And then,

in verse 3,

we see these

taunts.

He's somewhere

apart from God

and people are

saying to him,

Where is your God?

And my impression

of this,

is because this

question gets asked

again in the next

stanza,

is that the psalmist

is starting to wonder

that question himself.

Where are you, God?

God?

In verse 3,

his wanting

to be satisfied

by the life-giving,

water-like presence

of God

is unquenched,

and he's got to settle

for his tears.

And in verse 4,

he goes all nostalgic.

He's like,

Oh, I remember

the good old days.

Man,

I remember

when I was on fire

for the Lord

and going to church,

I would go to

every service

and worship the Lord.

If you're a guy

and you've been

around the block

and you remember

what Promise Keepers

was,

this guy would be

saying,

I remember

Promise Keepers.

I remember

gathering stadiums

with tens of thousands

of men

and singing for hours

to the Lord.

Man,

those were the

good old days.

It's not uncommon

when we face hardship,

we go all nostalgic.

But what you need

to know

is fond memories

of past experiences

is not

the presence

of God.

And so here

we have this lament

resulting,

ending up

in nostalgia

and then there's

this

control panel.

There's this light

on this

psalmist's

cockpit.

Pull up.

Pull up.

Pull up.

It's the refrain.

This refrain,

why are you

cast out on my soul

and why are you

in turmoil

within me?

Hope in God

for I shall again

praise Him,

my salvation

and my God.

This refrain,

this same exact

refrain is repeated

three times.

Here in verse 5,

in verse 11

and in 43,

5,

this refrain

is going to be

the siren

in our cockpit

repeatedly calling us

to pull up.

Hope in God.

The psalmist

is speaking

to himself

despite how

he is feeling.

one would like

to think

that all you

need to do

is tell yourself

once,

right?

You're starting

to sense

your

heart,

your faith,

your faith engine,

it's starting

to conk out

and all you just

need to do

is say once,

oh soul,

why are you

so downcast?

Why the turmoil?

Put your hope

in God

and you would

think that's

all you need

and then you're

on your happy

way,

right?

Not according

to this psalm.

And it's

strangely encouraging

because when

he turned

to the second

stanza,

starting in

verse 6,

look where

the psalmist

is.

He says,

my soul

is cast

down within

me.

He's like,

okay,

my engine

started to

saw,

I saw

the lights

on my

display panel,

I tried

to pull

up,

but I'm

still cast

down.

And he

goes from

feeling isolated

from God

to now

going into

quite a

tailspin.

Look at

what happens.

We learn

more.

Therefore,

I remember

you from

the land

of Jordan

of Hermon

from Mount

Mizar.

We don't

know where

Mount Mizar,

but we do

know the

land of

Jordan

and Hermon.

And what

it is,

it's an

area located

north of

the Sea

of Galilee.

It would

have been

the headwaters

of the

Jordan River.

And so

this psalmist

is saying,

I am

displaced

from the

presence of

God.

Because when

he talks

about being

in God's

presence,

he's thinking

in Jerusalem

and in the

temple.

So he

feels displaced,

but we're not

told why.

We don't

know if he's

a refugee

or he's

in exile,

whether he

got sick

or he missed

the 455

bus to

Jerusalem.

We just

don't

know.

What we

do know

is he's

feeling

distant

from God

and it

is acute.

And not

just that,

look at

verse 7.

Deep calls

to deep

at the

roar of

your

waterfalls.

All

your

breakers

and your

waves

have

gone

over

me.

Not

only

does

he

feel

displaced,

he

feels

overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed

by God's

waterfalls.

Overwhelmed

by God's

breakers.

overwhelmed

by God's

waves.

It's a

soft blame.

There's

some

accusation

there.

Why are

you doing

this to

me?

Did you

guys see

the video

this week

of the

couple in

Hawaii?

They went

out to

take a

picture of

waves crashing

on this

rocky shore

and they

were taking

the picture.

This huge

wave came

in and

just pulled

them out.

And the

video is

of them,

their little

heads bobbing

in these

rough seas,

just one

wave coming

over them

after another.

If you

were there,

you would

have been

completely

horrified

and overwhelmed.

That is

what this

psalmist

is feeling.

Displaced,

overwhelmed.

Verse

eight,

he tries

to pull

up.

It's so

helpful to

see turmoil,

isn't it?

It's so

helpful to

see someone

struggling to

trust in the

Lord.

Verse

eight,

by day the

Lord commands

his steadfast

love and at

night his

song is with

me, a

prayer to

the God

of my

life.

I say

to God,

verse nine,

my rock,

why have

you forgotten

me?

It's complete

turmoil.

Yahweh,

steadfast

love.

I'm trying

to pray.

I'm trying

to sing.

I'm trying

to call

to my

mind that

you are

my rock.

Why have

you forgotten

me?

You feel

the turmoil?

You feel

the struggle?

Do you know

what that's

like?

He's

overwhelmed.

He's

displaced.

He's trying

to trust,

oppressed,

but he

still has

these

questions.

It seems

like he's

more

overwhelmed

by his

circumstances

than the

truth of

who his

God is.

And we've

all been

there.

He says

in verse

nine,

why do I

go mourning

because of

the oppression

of the

enemy?

That word

mourning is a

Hebrew word

that it can

be translated

darkness as

well.

Why do I

feel all the

lights are

out because of

this oppression?

I feel like

I've been cut

deep by a

deadly wound

to my bones

because those

who oppose me

are saying,

where is your

God?

He is so

aware of the

taunts.

Where is your

God?

Where is your

God?

Makes you

wonder if he's

wondering where

his God is.

What this is a

picture of is

not just a

sputtering engine,

but an engine

that has stalled

out,

propelled

stopped,

and the

nose is

now dropping.

And then

comes the

refrain.

Pull up.

Pull up.

Pull up.

Why are you

cast down,

O my soul,

and why are

you in turmoil

within me?

Hope in

God,

he commands

his soul,

for I shall

again praise

him.

That's hope.

That's faith.

Forward-looking

faith.

My salvation

and my

God.

Pull up.

Pull up.

Pull up.

When we turn

from the

second

sansa into

Psalm 43

and the

third

sansa,

we're met

by another

lament.

But now

something's

changed.

Something's

changed.

vindicate me,

O God,

and defend

my cause

against an

ungodly

people from

the deceitful

and just

man.

Deliver me.

Three commands

the psalmist

makes to God.

Three

imperatives.

Three faith-filled

calls to God

to act.

He says,

vindicate me,

defend my

cause,

deliver me.

Something has

happened.

He's no

longer so

aware of his

circumstances.

Now he's

focused on

God.

It seems as

though what

has happened

is that last

refrain for

him where he

addresses his

soul,

the engine

restarted.

And it

started to fire

again, and it

fired with the

noise of

vindicate me,

defend my

cause,

deliver me.

he's calling

on God

his salvation.

Rescue me.

But it's not

like he's out

of the woods.

It's not like

all the struggle

has gone,

because in

verse 2 you

read,

for you are

the God in

whom I take

refuge.

Why have you

rejected me?

Why do I go

about in mourning?

Because of the

oppression of

the enemy.

It's almost

identical to

42.9.

So it's not

like he's

completely out

of the woods.

It's not like

he's completely

unaware of the

hardship that

he's in.

But now

something has

changed.

His despair

is surrounded

by hope.

This crying

out of why

have you

rejected me

is preceded

by vindicate

me.

And then in

verse 3,

it follows

by saying,

send out

your light

and your

truth.

let them

lead me.

Why have

you rejected

me?

Why do I go

about mourning

in darkness?

And now the

psalmist says

to himself,

send out

your light

and your

truth.

It's kind of

like saying

this.

Okay, okay,

I'm pulling

up, God,

deliver me,

rescue me.

Would you

show me the

runway lights?

Would you

give me my

bearings?

Would you

show me

how to

land my

plane in

your presence?

Would you

bring me

home,

God?

This

tailspin,

he's

stabilizing.

The engine

has been

restarted.

There's

thrust.

He's pulling

up.

He gets

hit by a

shear in

verse 2

of,

why are you

rejecting me?

But he pulls

back out of

it.

He's

send out

your light.

Help me,

Lord.

Let them

lead me and

bring me to

your holy

hill and to

your dwelling

place.

Do you

remember what

he was calling

for in

verse 2

of chapter

42?

When shall

I come and

appear before

you?

And then he

starts talking

about the

good old

days of

past kind

of experiences

with God.

And in

verse 4,

he goes from

looking at the

past to

anticipating what's

about to

happen.

It's full

of hope,

full of

faith.

Come get

me,

come direct

me.

Verse 4,

then I will

go to the

altar of

God,

in God's

presence,

in God's

place,

and to

God my

exceeding

joy,

and I will

praise you

with a

lyre,

O God,

my God.

In this

third stanza,

something is

now operating

in the heart

of this

psalmist.

trust.

He has

got faith.

He's got

hope.

He's looking

forward.

It doesn't

mean he's

out of the

woods,

but he's

pressing on.

He's trusting

in his God

in a way he

wasn't before.

This lament

is moving

him from

questioning God

to trusting

God.

we've

looked at

quite a

distance that

he has

come.

A lament

is a

prayer in

pain that

leads to

trust in

God.

And what

we see by

this third

stanza,

this third

lament,

is that

this psalmist

is trusting

in God

in a way

that he

wasn't when

Psalm 42

started.

And by the

time we get

to the

refrain in

43.5,

why are you

cast down,

O my soul?

Why are you

in turmoil

within me?

Hope in God,

for I shall

again praise

him,

my salvation

and my God.

There's this

different sense

of that.

There's a

confidence.

There's a

yes to it.

He's pulled

back on the

stick.

He's pulled

out of the

nosedive.

He's been

able to

restart his

engine by

faith and

that thrust

now of

faith in

God is

able to

pull him

out of

the despair.

This morning,

if you're

feeling distant

from God,

if you're

feeling forgotten

by God,

if you're

feeling rejected

by God,

you need to

stop listening

to yourself

and you need

to start

talking to

yourself and

speaking to

yourself,

this pull

up,

pull up,

pull up,

hope in

God,

yet I

shall praise

him.

He's my

salvation.

He's my

God.

So what

makes this

particular

psalm unique

is not just

that it is a

psalm,

it gives

voice to

our soul,

it is a

lament.

And what we

just saw was

this progress

in the

psalm of

one in

despair,

moving from

questioning

God to

trusting

God.

So now

the question

I want to

ask is,

how does

this psalm

uniquely help

us?

This psalm

uniquely helps

us in

five ways.

The first

is this.

This helps

us with

our expectations.

This psalm

helps us

with realistic

expectations.

We're not

going to be

happy all the

time.

Life is

hard.

You're going

to find your

engine stalling

mid-flight,

your nose

dropping,

perhaps your

tail starting

to spin.

What this

psalm helps

us with is

it sets the

expectation for

a reality which

we will all

experience.

If you

haven't

experienced

this despair

in this room,

you will

experience this

helplessness.

we don't

need to

fear it,

but we

will experience

this hopelessness

and feeling

overwhelmed,

this deep

wounding,

this walking

in darkness.

And so it

helps us

with reality.

But the

second thing

that it helps

us with

is it helps

us to learn

how to

lament.

lament.

I was

telling someone

before the

service that

many of us

were taught

how to

worship God

and pray

by the

acronym

ACTS,

Adoration,

Confession,

Thanksgiving,

Supplication.

And one

professor noted

there's something

missing.

It's the L

of lament,

of praying

to God in

pain,

letting that

lead you to

trust in God.

what this

lament does

is show us

two things.

It shows us

how to be

honest with

God,

honest when

we feel

distant,

honest when

we feel

forgotten,

honest when

we feel

rejected.

We're honest

with God

about those

things.

We speak

those to

Him in

faith,

expressing

our true

feelings.

But it

just doesn't

end with

being honest.

It means

being persistent

in hope

that we

continue to

speak the

truth of

who God

is and

what He's

done.

And so

what we see

in a lament

are two

things.

Honesty

with God

and hope

in God.

Honesty

with God

and hope

in God.

You see it

in the

refrain.

Why so

downcast?

Hope in

God.

Why so

downcast?

Hope in

God.

Why so

downcast?

Hope in

God.

Dr.

Martin

Lloyd

Jones,

he wrote

a book.

He was a

preacher from

a bygone

age and

an exceptional

preacher.

And he

wrote a book

called

Spiritual

Depression.

If what I'm

describing,

you're like,

man, I'm

living there

right now,

get it from

Amazon.

Martin

Lloyd

Jones,

Spiritual

Depression.

Well, in

that book,

he writes

this.

Have you

realized that

most of

your unhappiness

in life is

due to the

fact that

you are

listening to

yourself instead

of talking to

yourself?

Could you

imagine Psalm

42 and 43

without the

refrains?

Could you

imagine what

would happen

to the

psalmist if

there was no

42-5 and

no 42-11?

He would

nose dive.

What these

refrains do

is it gives

a Christian

the words to

speak to

himself and

herself to

pull us out

of a nosedive

by trusting

in God.

For us,

it's the

pilot training

of the

protocol when

the engine

stalls,

of knowing

what to do,

of not

panicking,

of focusing

in.

So the

second thing

that this

helps us

with is

to learn

how to

lament.

But the

third thing

that this

helps us

with is

it helps

us to

know our

hearts.

Because if

your heart

is like

mine,

when I'm

overwhelmed,

it takes

more than

one speaking

to myself

to pull

me out

of my

nosedive.

So we're

persistent in

speaking hope

to ourselves.

The fourth

thing that

this psalm

helps us

with is

this.

It helps

us remember

why we

can say

that the

God of

Psalm 42

and 43

is not

only the

psalmist

God,

but we

can say

he is

my God.

You want

to hear

it?

If you

look at

Psalm 43

Psalms 43:2

verse 2,

there's a

really interesting

question.

The psalmist

says,

why have you

rejected me?

Do you

remember what

Jesus said

on the

cross on

Good

Friday?

My God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

Jesus

himself knows

what it

means to

be rejected

by God.

He knows

it because

he was

rejected by

God.

And the

reason why

he was

rejected by

God is

so that

you and

I can

be accepted

by God.

So that

we can

call on

God as

my God.

God.

And so

the

Jesus,

who was

really

rejected

by God

and said

something

very similar

to

43.2,

he did

that so

that we

can claim

the God

of the

Bible,

the God

of the

universe,

who's

sovereign

over all,

who's

all-powerful,

all-wise,

and all-loving,

and we can

say,

you are

my God

and I

feel like

I'm doing

a nosedive.

Pull me

out of it.

This

psalm helps

us remember

why we

can say

to this

God that

he is

my God.

It's

through

Jesus.

And the

last thing,

last helpful

lesson this

psalm teaches

us,

it's not

even in the

psalm,

it's in the

heading.

Look at

Psalm 42,

the heading,

to the

choir master.

psalm was

meant to be

sung.

This

psalm was

meant to

be sung

in the

company

of the

redeemed,

those who

can call

on God

as my

God.

This

psalm

allows us

to be

honest with

one another

when we

are feeling

distant,

forgotten,

and rejected

by God.

This

psalm

allows us

to sing

together

our hope

who can

pull us

out of

our despair,

stabilize

us,

and bring

us home.

So we're

going to

close,

I'm going

to close

in prayer,

and then

we're going

to sing

a new

song

together

this

morning

as a

response.

It's

Psalm 42,

put to

music.

So let

me pray,

and the

worship team

will come

on up,

and we'll

sing together

as it

was meant

to be

so.

God in

heaven,

we thank

you so

much for

Psalm 42

and 43.

Thank you

for the

help that

is in

this psalm,

not only

pointing us

to the

God who

is our

salvation,

our God

who is

my God,

but thank

you for

this psalm

and how

it instructs

us to

lament.

Would you

grow us

as a

church

in how

to lament

personally

and corporately,

and now

God,

would you

knit our

hearts

together

as we

sing and

search and

look to

you for

you to be

present in

our midst.

In Jesus'

name,

Amen.

Amen.