1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,500 Now, will you open your Bible, please, at Psalm 13? 2 00:00:03,500 –> 00:00:11,360 Our title today is, How to Pray When You Are in an Agony of Soul. 3 00:00:11,360 –> 00:00:16,219 And I think the first thing to say is thank God that this psalm is in the Bible because 4 00:00:16,219 –> 00:00:17,940 we need it. 5 00:00:17,940 –> 00:00:25,379 We live in a suffering world and a faith that does not speak to human pain is simply not 6 00:00:25,379 –> 00:00:26,820 worth taking seriously. 7 00:00:27,740 –> 00:00:34,779 Psalm 13 is particularly addressed to struggles that show no sign of ending. 8 00:00:34,779 –> 00:00:40,139 So four times in the first two verses you have the same question, how long? 9 00:00:40,139 –> 00:00:42,060 How long? 10 00:00:42,060 –> 00:00:43,959 How long? 11 00:00:43,959 –> 00:00:45,599 How long? 12 00:00:45,599 –> 00:00:51,020 And we all know that the hardest trials are not the ones that hurt the deepest. 13 00:00:51,020 –> 00:00:55,500 The hardest trials are those that endure the longest. 14 00:00:55,540 –> 00:00:59,880 And so this is a psalm that speaks to these situations of our lives. 15 00:00:59,880 –> 00:01:04,400 Now sort of beginning with the application, which might seem the wrong way around, but 16 00:01:04,400 –> 00:01:10,199 it will chun our minds I think to the use of this psalm, I want to suggest three particular 17 00:01:10,199 –> 00:01:14,820 ways in which this psalm may be especially useful to us. 18 00:01:14,820 –> 00:01:18,980 Particular situations that don’t exist at every point in life, but will immediately 19 00:01:18,980 –> 00:01:25,320 touch today many in our congregation, one of these three, and for many of us, many more 20 00:01:25,339 –> 00:01:30,660 of us, one of these will touch us at some point in our lives. 21 00:01:30,660 –> 00:01:34,000 The first of these is the loss of a loved one. 22 00:01:34,000 –> 00:01:43,080 I’ve been reading this book through the week, Lament For A Son by Nicholas Walterstaff. 23 00:01:43,080 –> 00:01:50,239 Walterstaff went through the tragic loss of his 25-year-old son through a climbing accident 24 00:01:50,800 –> 00:01:56,480 and in the year that followed that devastating experience, that a good number in our congregation 25 00:01:56,480 –> 00:02:00,040 have also endured, he maintained a journal 26 00:02:00,040 –> 00:02:03,260 and wrote down his many thoughts and his struggles. 27 00:02:03,260 –> 00:02:05,879 It’s compelling and it is very, very moving. 28 00:02:05,879 –> 00:02:07,760 He published it clearly, 29 00:02:07,760 –> 00:02:10,440 and 12 years later, 30 00:02:10,440 –> 00:02:12,820 reflecting on his experience, 31 00:02:12,820 –> 00:02:14,800 this is what he writes. 32 00:02:14,800 –> 00:02:17,020 Often I am asked 33 00:02:17,020 –> 00:02:22,020 whether the grief remains as intense as when I wrote. 34 00:02:22,240 –> 00:02:24,639 The answer is no. 35 00:02:24,639 –> 00:02:27,679 The wound is no longer raw, 36 00:02:27,679 –> 00:02:30,380 but it has not disappeared, 37 00:02:30,380 –> 00:02:32,320 and that is how it should be. 38 00:02:33,179 –> 00:02:35,899 If he was worth loving, 39 00:02:35,899 –> 00:02:38,699 he is worth grieving over. 40 00:02:38,699 –> 00:02:40,820 Grief is testimony 41 00:02:40,820 –> 00:02:43,880 to the worth of the loved one 42 00:02:43,880 –> 00:02:46,839 and that worth abides. 43 00:02:46,839 –> 00:02:49,300 So I own my grief. 44 00:02:49,300 –> 00:02:51,259 I do not try and put it behind me 45 00:02:51,259 –> 00:02:53,300 to get over it or to forget it. 46 00:02:53,300 –> 00:02:55,240 If someone asks me, 47 00:02:55,240 –> 00:02:57,339 who are you, tell me about yourself, 48 00:02:57,339 –> 00:03:00,300 I say, not immediately, but shortly, 49 00:03:00,300 –> 00:03:03,259 I am one who lost a son. 50 00:03:03,259 –> 00:03:05,179 That determines my identity, 51 00:03:05,179 –> 00:03:06,479 not all of it, 52 00:03:06,479 –> 00:03:08,059 but much of it. 53 00:03:08,059 –> 00:03:10,740 It belongs within my story. 54 00:03:10,740 –> 00:03:14,500 I struggle indeed to go beyond merely owning my grief 55 00:03:14,500 –> 00:03:16,899 towards owning it redemptively, 56 00:03:16,899 –> 00:03:21,119 but I will not and I cannot disown it, 57 00:03:21,119 –> 00:03:23,179 and everyone who has been through that experience 58 00:03:23,179 –> 00:03:26,500 will know exactly what he is saying. 59 00:03:26,500 –> 00:03:28,419 Psalm 13 is a lament, 60 00:03:28,419 –> 00:03:30,279 we spoke about laments earlier in the year 61 00:03:30,279 –> 00:03:31,679 when we were in the book of Joel, 62 00:03:31,679 –> 00:03:33,139 you may remember, 63 00:03:33,139 –> 00:03:37,300 and this is a lament that is especially useful 64 00:03:38,020 –> 00:03:40,779 for any person who walks through a journey 65 00:03:40,779 –> 00:03:43,880 of irreplaceable loss. 66 00:03:44,820 –> 00:03:46,759 Second application, 67 00:03:46,759 –> 00:03:50,320 when there is strain in the family. 68 00:03:50,320 –> 00:03:52,979 James Boyce writes very perceptively on this, 69 00:03:52,979 –> 00:03:55,960 he describes what I think is actually quite common 70 00:03:55,960 –> 00:03:59,699 in families at least at some stage of life, 71 00:03:59,699 –> 00:04:01,059 but he describes it so well, 72 00:04:01,059 –> 00:04:03,259 I just want to quote from him, 73 00:04:03,259 –> 00:04:04,100 he says, 74 00:04:04,100 –> 00:04:08,100 It may be that the happiness of the early days 75 00:04:08,100 –> 00:04:12,600 of a marriage has been replaced by the stress 76 00:04:12,600 –> 00:04:16,239 of trying to work out personality conflicts 77 00:04:16,239 –> 00:04:18,000 or other difficulties. 78 00:04:18,000 –> 00:04:20,019 He describes that very well. 79 00:04:20,019 –> 00:04:21,220 You may be wondering 80 00:04:21,220 –> 00:04:24,500 if God has ceased to bless your marriage. 81 00:04:24,500 –> 00:04:27,279 Your problems he says may involve children, 82 00:04:27,279 –> 00:04:28,519 you remember the early days 83 00:04:28,519 –> 00:04:30,760 when it was comparatively easy to rear them, 84 00:04:30,760 –> 00:04:33,179 your family had many good times together, 85 00:04:33,179 –> 00:04:36,480 but now one or more of your children is antagonistic 86 00:04:36,480 –> 00:04:37,839 and everyone else in the family 87 00:04:37,839 –> 00:04:40,339 suffers under the inevitable strain, 88 00:04:40,339 –> 00:04:43,959 nobody has fun anymore. 89 00:04:43,959 –> 00:04:46,480 And if you’re in a place where the joy 90 00:04:46,480 –> 00:04:48,140 has gone out of life 91 00:04:48,140 –> 00:04:50,880 when you feel that you are enduring 92 00:04:50,880 –> 00:04:53,160 rather than enjoying, 93 00:04:53,160 –> 00:04:57,119 then psalm 13 is definitely for you. 94 00:04:57,119 –> 00:04:59,019 Here you are in a marriage 95 00:04:59,019 –> 00:05:00,559 where you expected so much, 96 00:05:00,679 –> 00:05:03,839 you had such anticipation of continuing joy 97 00:05:03,839 –> 00:05:06,440 and yet you’re in this strain 98 00:05:06,440 –> 00:05:07,920 that seems to be going on 99 00:05:07,920 –> 00:05:10,679 of temperaments and personalities 100 00:05:10,679 –> 00:05:13,820 that just are rubbing in the wrong way 101 00:05:13,820 –> 00:05:15,440 and you say, how long? 102 00:05:16,359 –> 00:05:19,720 And psalm 13 speaks right into the reality 103 00:05:19,720 –> 00:05:20,559 of your experience. 104 00:05:20,559 –> 00:05:24,480 Third situation, long-term exhaustion. 105 00:05:24,480 –> 00:05:26,980 And some of you will know about this right now 106 00:05:26,980 –> 00:05:29,839 and many others at different times of life. 107 00:05:29,839 –> 00:05:31,040 Here’s what this looks like. 108 00:05:31,040 –> 00:05:32,920 You have been carrying a heavy burden 109 00:05:32,920 –> 00:05:34,540 that has been trusted to you 110 00:05:34,540 –> 00:05:35,519 and you have been doing it 111 00:05:35,519 –> 00:05:37,480 for a long period of time 112 00:05:37,480 –> 00:05:40,119 and now the strain is beginning to tell. 113 00:05:41,480 –> 00:05:43,959 It may be that you are enduring 114 00:05:43,959 –> 00:05:48,559 long-term physical pain or mental anguish 115 00:05:48,559 –> 00:05:49,700 or it may simply be 116 00:05:49,700 –> 00:05:52,119 the sheer weight of responsibility. 117 00:05:52,119 –> 00:05:53,779 God has been sustaining you 118 00:05:53,779 –> 00:05:55,239 but the longer you go on 119 00:05:55,239 –> 00:05:56,279 carrying this burden, 120 00:05:56,279 –> 00:05:58,399 the heavier it seems to get 121 00:05:58,399 –> 00:06:00,640 and you’re becoming more and more aware of that 122 00:06:00,640 –> 00:06:02,480 and you say how long, oh Lord, 123 00:06:02,480 –> 00:06:04,679 I’m not sure how long I can do this 124 00:06:04,679 –> 00:06:08,880 and this Psalm is definitely for you. 125 00:06:10,019 –> 00:06:13,100 Now if you are not in one of these three situations today 126 00:06:13,100 –> 00:06:14,519 the first thing I want to say to you 127 00:06:14,519 –> 00:06:16,279 is be very thankful. 128 00:06:16,279 –> 00:06:18,260 You say well, I thank God 129 00:06:18,260 –> 00:06:19,839 and then immediately recognize 130 00:06:19,839 –> 00:06:21,880 that many of your brothers and sisters around you 131 00:06:21,880 –> 00:06:24,359 are in one of these situations 132 00:06:24,359 –> 00:06:25,760 and that it is very important 133 00:06:25,760 –> 00:06:28,200 to be sensitive to the needs 134 00:06:28,200 –> 00:06:31,679 and to the burdens that are carried by others. 135 00:06:32,660 –> 00:06:35,399 And then if you have been shaped 136 00:06:35,399 –> 00:06:37,920 by a form of Christianity 137 00:06:38,799 –> 00:06:41,380 that only speaks about prayers being answered 138 00:06:41,380 –> 00:06:44,519 and faith that receives and blessings that abound 139 00:06:44,519 –> 00:06:46,720 you need to take this Psalm 140 00:06:46,720 –> 00:06:48,679 and others like it seriously 141 00:06:50,000 –> 00:06:52,959 because we live in a suffering world 142 00:06:54,040 –> 00:06:57,339 and Christians are not exempt from that suffering. 143 00:06:58,420 –> 00:07:01,200 And anyone who takes the Bible seriously 144 00:07:01,200 –> 00:07:03,359 has to come to the conclusion 145 00:07:03,359 –> 00:07:06,279 that those who follow the crucified one 146 00:07:06,279 –> 00:07:09,760 cannot expect to live a pain-free life. 147 00:07:12,079 –> 00:07:14,540 God speaks to a suffering world, 148 00:07:14,540 –> 00:07:17,040 speaks to human pain. 149 00:07:18,260 –> 00:07:19,940 One of the greatest chapters of the Bible, 150 00:07:19,940 –> 00:07:23,019 surely Romans in Chapter Eight. 151 00:07:23,019 –> 00:07:24,100 How does it begin? 152 00:07:24,100 –> 00:07:28,079 There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 153 00:07:28,079 –> 00:07:29,220 How does it end? 154 00:07:29,220 –> 00:07:32,100 Nothing shall ever separate us from the love of Christ. 155 00:07:32,100 –> 00:07:35,459 What does it say in the middle? 156 00:07:35,459 –> 00:07:40,459 We who have the Holy Spirit groan inwardly 157 00:07:40,739 –> 00:07:43,239 as we await for our adoption of sons, 158 00:07:43,239 –> 00:07:45,880 the redemption of our bodies. 159 00:07:45,880 –> 00:07:49,700 So there’s the reality of experience 160 00:07:49,700 –> 00:07:51,220 between the wonderful knowledge 161 00:07:51,220 –> 00:07:53,220 that there’s no condemnation in Christ 162 00:07:53,220 –> 00:07:54,940 and the sure and certain foundation 163 00:07:54,940 –> 00:07:56,940 that nothing can ever separate us 164 00:07:56,980 –> 00:07:58,959 from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. 165 00:07:58,959 –> 00:08:01,820 What’s the experience of those who have the Spirit? 166 00:08:02,700 –> 00:08:05,559 Paul says it includes this. 167 00:08:05,559 –> 00:08:09,640 We groan inwardly as we are waiting 168 00:08:09,640 –> 00:08:11,980 for the adoption of sons 169 00:08:11,980 –> 00:08:13,440 and for the redemption of our bodies. 170 00:08:13,440 –> 00:08:17,480 Now Psalm 13 is simply a groaning Psalm 171 00:08:17,480 –> 00:08:20,140 and it is placed in the Bible 172 00:08:20,140 –> 00:08:23,559 because with the reality of life in this world, 173 00:08:23,559 –> 00:08:25,019 we all need it. 174 00:08:25,779 –> 00:08:28,640 Our title today then is how to pray 175 00:08:28,640 –> 00:08:33,000 when you are in an agony of soul. 176 00:08:33,000 –> 00:08:36,320 How to pray when you are in an agony of soul. 177 00:08:36,320 –> 00:08:38,840 I want to give four answers to that question 178 00:08:38,840 –> 00:08:40,539 from the Scriptures today 179 00:08:40,539 –> 00:08:43,679 and so I hope you’ll have the Psalm open in front of you. 180 00:08:43,679 –> 00:08:47,020 How should you pray when for whatever reason 181 00:08:47,020 –> 00:08:51,880 you find yourself in an agony of soul? 182 00:08:51,880 –> 00:08:56,340 Number one, lay out what you feel 183 00:08:56,340 –> 00:08:58,840 and that’s in the first two verses. 184 00:08:58,840 –> 00:09:02,359 How long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? 185 00:09:03,239 –> 00:09:07,239 How long will you hide your face from me? 186 00:09:07,239 –> 00:09:09,679 How long must I take counsel in my soul 187 00:09:09,679 –> 00:09:13,320 and have sorrow in my heart all the day? 188 00:09:13,320 –> 00:09:17,900 How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 189 00:09:19,039 –> 00:09:21,859 The most striking thing, surely, about these verses 190 00:09:21,900 –> 00:09:25,400 is that David is speaking here with complete candor, 191 00:09:25,400 –> 00:09:26,820 absolute frankness. 192 00:09:26,820 –> 00:09:28,619 This is no-holds-barred, 193 00:09:28,619 –> 00:09:32,099 saying it like it is in the presence of God. 194 00:09:33,000 –> 00:09:35,559 And David is feeling that he has reached the limit 195 00:09:35,559 –> 00:09:37,799 of what he can endure in these struggles. 196 00:09:37,799 –> 00:09:40,780 How can I carry on like this, he says to God? 197 00:09:40,780 –> 00:09:43,440 And he lays it all out in the presence of God. 198 00:09:44,320 –> 00:09:47,679 Wonderfully releasing, wonderfully important. 199 00:09:48,679 –> 00:09:50,500 His struggle comes in three parts. 200 00:09:50,500 –> 00:09:52,239 He has a struggle with his enemy, 201 00:09:52,239 –> 00:09:54,659 whatever he’s up against. 202 00:09:54,659 –> 00:09:55,419 And he says, 203 00:09:55,419 –> 00:09:59,260 how long shall my enemy be exalted over me? 204 00:09:59,260 –> 00:10:00,880 Notice that phrase, over me. 205 00:10:00,880 –> 00:10:01,719 In other words, 206 00:10:01,719 –> 00:10:05,119 he’s feeling that whatever it was that David was facing, 207 00:10:05,119 –> 00:10:08,059 it’s got the upper hand over him. 208 00:10:08,059 –> 00:10:09,900 He’s not on top of it. 209 00:10:09,900 –> 00:10:11,299 It’s on top of him. 210 00:10:11,299 –> 00:10:12,260 It’s over me. 211 00:10:12,260 –> 00:10:13,859 He feels pressed down by it. 212 00:10:13,859 –> 00:10:16,539 He’s not prevailing over it. 213 00:10:16,640 –> 00:10:18,700 If you had said to David, 214 00:10:18,700 –> 00:10:20,900 we’ve got a seminar on Saturday 215 00:10:20,900 –> 00:10:24,320 called how to live a victorious Christian life, 216 00:10:24,320 –> 00:10:25,659 David would have said, 217 00:10:25,659 –> 00:10:28,500 that’s not for me because I’m not living in victory. 218 00:10:28,500 –> 00:10:30,419 I’m feeling that I’m under this thing. 219 00:10:30,419 –> 00:10:33,000 That’s the reality of my experience. 220 00:10:34,479 –> 00:10:35,659 I feel defeated. 221 00:10:37,179 –> 00:10:39,000 I barely know how to keep going, 222 00:10:39,000 –> 00:10:40,799 let alone be victorious. 223 00:10:42,780 –> 00:10:45,359 Second, he’s struggling with himself. 224 00:10:46,039 –> 00:10:48,559 How long must I take counsel in my soul 225 00:10:48,559 –> 00:10:51,219 and have sorrow in my heart all day, 226 00:10:51,219 –> 00:10:53,520 taking counsel in my soul? 227 00:10:53,520 –> 00:10:56,840 In other words, he’s going round and round in circles 228 00:10:56,840 –> 00:10:58,320 in his own internal thoughts. 229 00:10:58,320 –> 00:11:00,820 You know what that’s like when you’re distressed. 230 00:11:01,840 –> 00:11:02,760 What am I gonna do? 231 00:11:02,760 –> 00:11:04,640 Why didn’t I do this? 232 00:11:04,640 –> 00:11:05,760 Why didn’t I do the other? 233 00:11:05,760 –> 00:11:06,880 How am I gonna survive? 234 00:11:06,880 –> 00:11:08,960 How can I carry on? 235 00:11:08,960 –> 00:11:12,179 And these relentless questions going on in the soul 236 00:11:12,179 –> 00:11:13,520 and in this situation, 237 00:11:13,520 –> 00:11:15,679 none of them making any progress whatsoever. 238 00:11:15,679 –> 00:11:17,219 There’s never any answer. 239 00:11:18,400 –> 00:11:23,400 Endless conversation going on within the soul, 240 00:11:23,520 –> 00:11:27,900 but because he’s only taking counsel with himself, 241 00:11:27,900 –> 00:11:30,539 he feels God is so far off. 242 00:11:30,539 –> 00:11:33,400 He never breaks out of this cycle 243 00:11:33,400 –> 00:11:36,619 of feeling completely defeated by the whole circumstance 244 00:11:36,619 –> 00:11:37,919 in which he finds himself. 245 00:11:39,500 –> 00:11:41,059 And then, of course, the heart of it, 246 00:11:41,059 –> 00:11:43,280 which is why it’s at the beginning, 247 00:11:43,280 –> 00:11:44,619 is his struggle with God. 248 00:11:44,619 –> 00:11:47,760 Oh Lord, will you forget me forever? 249 00:11:47,760 –> 00:11:49,780 Hide your face from me. 250 00:11:51,140 –> 00:11:52,559 And here’s the heart of the problem 251 00:11:52,559 –> 00:11:53,520 that he’s struggling with, 252 00:11:53,520 –> 00:11:54,760 and do you know what this is like 253 00:11:54,760 –> 00:11:56,900 if you’ve been through this kind of experience? 254 00:11:56,900 –> 00:12:00,479 Why does God seem so far away when I need him the most, 255 00:12:00,479 –> 00:12:02,559 that’s what he’s saying here. 256 00:12:05,000 –> 00:12:08,159 Now, you may be asking the question, how common is this? 257 00:12:08,159 –> 00:12:11,059 Is this that sort of really strange experience 258 00:12:11,059 –> 00:12:12,479 that David is going through? 259 00:12:12,479 –> 00:12:15,140 Listen to this comment again from James Boice 260 00:12:15,140 –> 00:12:16,359 that I found helpful. 261 00:12:16,359 –> 00:12:19,739 He says, speaking out of years of pastoral experience, 262 00:12:19,739 –> 00:12:24,739 I am convinced that a feeling of abandonment 263 00:12:24,820 –> 00:12:28,619 is far more common than it appears to be. 264 00:12:28,619 –> 00:12:31,340 Many people feel abandoned first by others 265 00:12:31,340 –> 00:12:33,479 but ultimately also by God. 266 00:12:33,479 –> 00:12:36,619 And he’s talking about Christian believers here. 267 00:12:36,619 –> 00:12:38,500 He goes on to say that although this is, 268 00:12:38,500 –> 00:12:40,359 in his experience, a common problem, 269 00:12:40,359 –> 00:12:44,239 he is surprised by the degree to which it is ignored. 270 00:12:44,239 –> 00:12:47,760 Why do you suppose this is, he asks. 271 00:12:47,760 –> 00:12:52,760 Answer, I think it is because we have been taught 272 00:12:52,960 –> 00:12:57,440 that Christians are not supposed to experience such things 273 00:12:59,099 –> 00:13:01,859 and that we are only to have life more abundantly 274 00:13:02,940 –> 00:13:05,840 or to live victoriously. 275 00:13:06,599 –> 00:13:11,039 Well thank God, David does speak about it 276 00:13:11,039 –> 00:13:13,599 and everyone who knows this experience will be saying, 277 00:13:13,599 –> 00:13:16,760 oh thank God, the truth of the bible 278 00:13:16,760 –> 00:13:20,640 cuts through some of the clutter 279 00:13:20,640 –> 00:13:25,219 and the trite phraseology that can so easily exist 280 00:13:25,219 –> 00:13:27,559 in our world of wellbeing. 281 00:13:27,559 –> 00:13:31,659 Here is some real honesty 282 00:13:32,500 –> 00:13:36,580 of a Godly man whose struggling with the fact 283 00:13:36,580 –> 00:13:39,340 that God seems to be paying no attention 284 00:13:39,340 –> 00:13:41,539 to him at the very point 285 00:13:41,539 –> 00:13:44,119 where his need is greatest. 286 00:13:44,119 –> 00:13:45,619 Now this is the first thing 287 00:13:45,619 –> 00:13:47,020 that we’re learning from this psalm. 288 00:13:47,020 –> 00:13:48,940 What does David do in this situation? 289 00:13:48,940 –> 00:13:51,059 He lays it out before the Lord, 290 00:13:51,059 –> 00:13:52,919 he opens up what he feels. 291 00:13:54,419 –> 00:13:57,440 Now friend, doing that will not solve the problem 292 00:13:57,440 –> 00:14:00,820 but it will be helpful and it is important. 293 00:14:00,820 –> 00:14:03,260 No relationship with God can be sustained 294 00:14:03,260 –> 00:14:06,760 apart from truthfulness, integrity, honesty. 295 00:14:07,940 –> 00:14:09,859 And God seeks a relationship with you 296 00:14:09,859 –> 00:14:14,320 that is marked by honesty, not by pretense. 297 00:14:14,320 –> 00:14:17,159 And it’s actually the strength of David’s faith. 298 00:14:18,219 –> 00:14:20,820 It is actually the hunger that David has 299 00:14:20,820 –> 00:14:23,739 for a felt knowledge of God 300 00:14:23,739 –> 00:14:25,780 that gives rise to this prayer 301 00:14:25,780 –> 00:14:28,380 that comes out of the very depth of his soul. 302 00:14:28,940 –> 00:14:31,520 And so how are you to pray 303 00:14:31,520 –> 00:14:34,119 when you are in an agony of soul? 304 00:14:34,119 –> 00:14:35,719 Here’s the first thing. 305 00:14:35,719 –> 00:14:39,020 Lay out what you feel. 306 00:14:39,020 –> 00:14:42,239 No holds barred in the presence of God. 307 00:14:42,239 –> 00:14:44,260 Have no inhibitions about it. 308 00:14:44,260 –> 00:14:46,679 There is nothing that is hidden from him. 309 00:14:46,679 –> 00:14:48,460 And it is so important for you 310 00:14:48,460 –> 00:14:51,960 to follow the example and the model of David here. 311 00:14:51,960 –> 00:14:52,799 That’s the first thing. 312 00:14:52,799 –> 00:14:54,520 Here’s the second. 313 00:14:54,520 –> 00:14:57,520 Lift up what you need. 314 00:14:57,559 –> 00:15:00,000 Lift up what you need. 315 00:15:00,960 –> 00:15:01,859 Verses three and four. 316 00:15:01,859 –> 00:15:05,500 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God. 317 00:15:05,500 –> 00:15:08,479 And here’s the heart of his request in the prayer. 318 00:15:08,479 –> 00:15:13,099 Light up my eyes 319 00:15:14,159 –> 00:15:16,179 lest I sleep in death. 320 00:15:16,179 –> 00:15:18,260 And so on. 321 00:15:18,260 –> 00:15:20,039 Now let me try and make this very practical 322 00:15:20,039 –> 00:15:21,359 for all of us here today. 323 00:15:22,159 –> 00:15:26,940 How would you try and help a person in your life group 324 00:15:26,940 –> 00:15:31,940 who this week shared with you and with the others 325 00:15:33,320 –> 00:15:35,599 that they felt utterly abandoned by God, 326 00:15:35,599 –> 00:15:36,960 what would you say? 327 00:15:36,960 –> 00:15:39,840 And this may very well happen in some groups. 328 00:15:39,840 –> 00:15:41,760 If someone were to say, 329 00:15:41,760 –> 00:15:45,159 now, I have been a believer for many, many years 330 00:15:45,159 –> 00:15:49,599 but right now, I feel that God has forgotten me. 331 00:15:49,599 –> 00:15:51,039 I feel he’s not looking in my direction, 332 00:15:51,039 –> 00:15:53,200 he’s hiding his face from me. 333 00:15:54,719 –> 00:15:56,960 What if someone was to say in your life group this week, 334 00:15:56,960 –> 00:15:59,380 I have been praying and praying and praying 335 00:15:59,380 –> 00:16:01,179 and I never get an answer. 336 00:16:01,179 –> 00:16:02,799 Someone just say that to me this week 337 00:16:02,799 –> 00:16:05,940 and of course, that’s something that is often 338 00:16:05,940 –> 00:16:08,039 a burden for a Christian believer, 339 00:16:08,039 –> 00:16:09,460 God’s hiding his face from me, 340 00:16:09,460 –> 00:16:10,599 I have no sense of his love, 341 00:16:10,599 –> 00:16:12,359 I have no sense of his presence. 342 00:16:14,099 –> 00:16:15,299 How would you help them? 343 00:16:16,799 –> 00:16:19,739 Well, let me make these three suggestions to you. 344 00:16:20,739 –> 00:16:24,500 First, it is very important to recognize the experience 345 00:16:24,500 –> 00:16:27,419 and that’s one of the ways in which Psalm 13 helps us. 346 00:16:28,400 –> 00:16:32,760 If a mature believer, like David 347 00:16:32,760 –> 00:16:34,820 who was a man after God’s own heart 348 00:16:34,820 –> 00:16:36,640 can feel abandoned by God, 349 00:16:36,640 –> 00:16:38,460 then no one should be surprised 350 00:16:38,460 –> 00:16:40,820 when it happens to others among us. 351 00:16:42,840 –> 00:16:46,299 Don’t assume the worst about a believer 352 00:16:46,299 –> 00:16:48,419 who feels that God has abandoned them. 353 00:16:49,940 –> 00:16:51,900 You may find that someone within your life group, 354 00:16:51,900 –> 00:16:53,460 someone who is a Christian friend 355 00:16:53,460 –> 00:16:55,000 says some very strong things 356 00:16:55,000 –> 00:16:57,299 where they’re in the depth of grief 357 00:16:57,299 –> 00:16:58,219 and you may say, 358 00:16:58,219 –> 00:17:00,359 well how could they possibly have said that? 359 00:17:01,219 –> 00:17:04,380 And if you are rooted in the Bible 360 00:17:04,380 –> 00:17:05,760 you will have some understanding. 361 00:17:05,760 –> 00:17:08,439 You’ll say, well even David was there. 362 00:17:08,439 –> 00:17:11,199 So recognize the experience. 363 00:17:11,199 –> 00:17:13,439 Second discern the question 364 00:17:14,699 –> 00:17:16,900 now here’s something worth remembering. 365 00:17:17,319 –> 00:17:19,800 It is a great mistake 366 00:17:19,800 –> 00:17:22,020 to assume that everyone who suffers 367 00:17:22,020 –> 00:17:24,219 is asking the question, why? 368 00:17:26,780 –> 00:17:28,819 Many people ask the question, why? 369 00:17:28,819 –> 00:17:30,219 When they suffer. 370 00:17:30,219 –> 00:17:33,819 But others ask the question, how long? 371 00:17:33,819 –> 00:17:36,540 Which is a very different question. 372 00:17:36,540 –> 00:17:38,339 These are totally different questions. 373 00:17:38,339 –> 00:17:40,260 One is a question of meaning. 374 00:17:40,260 –> 00:17:42,260 The other is a question of endurance. 375 00:17:43,579 –> 00:17:44,719 And it’s very important 376 00:17:44,719 –> 00:17:46,859 if you want to help a person who’s suffering 377 00:17:46,939 –> 00:17:48,719 to discern which of these questions 378 00:17:48,719 –> 00:17:50,599 they’re actually asking. 379 00:17:50,599 –> 00:17:52,819 Because the answers are quite different. 380 00:17:52,819 –> 00:17:55,459 The approach, the response is quite different. 381 00:17:55,459 –> 00:17:58,000 You know there are many, many psalms 382 00:17:58,000 –> 00:17:59,420 that ask the question, why? 383 00:17:59,420 –> 00:18:01,140 Many psalms. 384 00:18:01,140 –> 00:18:04,319 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? 385 00:18:04,319 –> 00:18:07,400 There is the why question, Psalm 22. 386 00:18:07,400 –> 00:18:09,300 But look for the word why in the psalm. 387 00:18:09,300 –> 00:18:10,140 It’s not there. 388 00:18:11,219 –> 00:18:13,219 What question is in the psalm? 389 00:18:14,079 –> 00:18:17,300 How long, four times. 390 00:18:17,300 –> 00:18:19,020 You didn’t hear that, you weren’t listening. 391 00:18:19,020 –> 00:18:21,500 If it’s a person who’s speaking to you, you say, 392 00:18:21,500 –> 00:18:25,020 how long, how long, how long, how long? 393 00:18:25,020 –> 00:18:29,219 This is not a question of making sense of suffering. 394 00:18:29,219 –> 00:18:32,199 This is a question of finding the strength to endure it. 395 00:18:33,180 –> 00:18:35,859 What this is a cry for is not for wisdom 396 00:18:35,859 –> 00:18:37,760 to which you are going to give some answer, 397 00:18:37,760 –> 00:18:38,939 but for strength. 398 00:18:40,359 –> 00:18:42,020 And that is why it’s so important 399 00:18:42,319 –> 00:18:45,000 that when the question is how am I gonna find strength, 400 00:18:45,000 –> 00:18:47,760 what’s the next thing that happens in verse three and four, 401 00:18:47,760 –> 00:18:52,760 that you find David coming and he’s asking for help? 402 00:18:53,119 –> 00:18:55,660 So you see if you were to come to David 403 00:18:55,660 –> 00:18:57,760 when he’s not asking the why question, 404 00:18:57,760 –> 00:19:00,119 he’s asking the how long question. 405 00:19:00,119 –> 00:19:01,520 And if you were simply to say to David, 406 00:19:01,520 –> 00:19:03,780 you know what, I know it’s years after you live, 407 00:19:03,780 –> 00:19:05,959 but one day, Romans 8, 28 will be written. 408 00:19:05,959 –> 00:19:08,760 And it says God works in all things for good 409 00:19:08,760 –> 00:19:11,239 for those who love him and so forth. 410 00:19:11,239 –> 00:19:14,780 David would not particularly be helped by that. 411 00:19:16,160 –> 00:19:18,800 He’s not asking, is God good? 412 00:19:18,800 –> 00:19:21,000 He’s asking, how do I get through tomorrow? 413 00:19:22,119 –> 00:19:24,160 And that’s the whole point of the prayer. 414 00:19:25,119 –> 00:19:26,439 So he asks for help. 415 00:19:26,439 –> 00:19:29,219 So recognize the problem, discern the question. 416 00:19:29,219 –> 00:19:32,719 This is about how to help our friends in dark places 417 00:19:32,719 –> 00:19:34,479 and then ask for help. 418 00:19:34,479 –> 00:19:38,439 The best thing you can do for a believer 419 00:19:38,439 –> 00:19:40,680 who feels overwhelmed with their sorrow 420 00:19:40,680 –> 00:19:44,400 and abandoned by God is to come alongside 421 00:19:45,319 –> 00:19:47,920 and to pray for them 422 00:19:47,920 –> 00:19:51,160 and to pray if they will allow you with them, 423 00:19:51,160 –> 00:19:54,819 especially when they feel that they are not able 424 00:19:54,819 –> 00:19:57,479 to pray for themselves. 425 00:19:57,479 –> 00:20:00,199 And notice how David prays here 426 00:20:00,199 –> 00:20:02,099 or what David prays for here. 427 00:20:02,099 –> 00:20:05,199 Consider and answer me O Lord my God. 428 00:20:05,199 –> 00:20:08,099 Light up my eyes. 429 00:20:08,760 –> 00:20:10,819 Now that is a prayer for strength. 430 00:20:12,439 –> 00:20:17,020 Here’s David and he’s in an agony of soul 431 00:20:17,020 –> 00:20:20,319 and he’s not looking for an answer. 432 00:20:20,319 –> 00:20:21,979 He’s looking for strength. 433 00:20:22,859 –> 00:20:24,140 He’s looking for the help 434 00:20:24,140 –> 00:20:26,359 and for the sense of the presence of God 435 00:20:26,359 –> 00:20:29,479 that’s going to enable him simply to keep going. 436 00:20:29,479 –> 00:20:31,839 And the best way that you can help someone 437 00:20:31,839 –> 00:20:33,560 who is in that situation 438 00:20:33,560 –> 00:20:35,920 who God may bring across your path this week 439 00:20:35,920 –> 00:20:37,900 is that you come alongside 440 00:20:37,900 –> 00:20:40,459 and you come alongside in genuine sympathy 441 00:20:40,459 –> 00:20:44,359 and that you help them to draw near to God in prayer 442 00:20:44,359 –> 00:20:48,900 when they feel that God is so very far off. 443 00:20:50,760 –> 00:20:52,560 So this is very practical 444 00:20:52,560 –> 00:20:56,900 in terms of how we pastor our own souls 445 00:20:56,900 –> 00:21:00,160 and how we seek to walk with 446 00:21:00,160 –> 00:21:03,880 and help with others who are suffering. 447 00:21:03,920 –> 00:21:06,520 Lay out what you feel. 448 00:21:06,520 –> 00:21:09,739 Lift up what you need. 449 00:21:11,219 –> 00:21:16,219 Number three, lean into what you know. 450 00:21:16,239 –> 00:21:18,859 Lean into what you know. 451 00:21:18,859 –> 00:21:23,540 Verse five, but I have trusted 452 00:21:23,540 –> 00:21:28,540 in your steadfast love. 453 00:21:31,199 –> 00:21:33,140 Do you notice how the turning point 454 00:21:33,239 –> 00:21:37,839 in the Psalm is in the character of God? 455 00:21:37,839 –> 00:21:39,119 If you study through the Psalms, 456 00:21:39,119 –> 00:21:41,939 you’ll find that again and again and again. 457 00:21:41,939 –> 00:21:46,939 That the turning point is in the character of God, 458 00:21:46,959 –> 00:21:51,500 your steadfast love. 459 00:21:53,160 –> 00:21:58,160 Now, this is the great bible Hebrew word hesed 460 00:21:59,459 –> 00:22:01,400 that many of you may be familiar with 461 00:22:01,459 –> 00:22:03,560 and it’s translated in different ways. 462 00:22:03,560 –> 00:22:06,640 Steadfast love is a wonderful way to translate it. 463 00:22:06,640 –> 00:22:09,839 It simply means love that lasts. 464 00:22:09,839 –> 00:22:12,560 It means love that you can count on. 465 00:22:13,560 –> 00:22:17,119 It means love that endures on and on and on 466 00:22:17,119 –> 00:22:18,479 through thick and thin, 467 00:22:18,479 –> 00:22:21,719 through the best and through the worst. 468 00:22:22,839 –> 00:22:24,920 “‘I have trusted,’ says David, 469 00:22:24,920 –> 00:22:29,219 “‘in your steadfast love.’” 470 00:22:30,079 –> 00:22:31,119 Think of it. 471 00:22:32,219 –> 00:22:35,219 David’s opened up all that he feels, 472 00:22:35,219 –> 00:22:38,400 but now he’s going to lean into what he knows. 473 00:22:39,800 –> 00:22:41,979 What do we know about the love of God? 474 00:22:43,459 –> 00:22:45,719 The love of God for you, my friend, 475 00:22:46,640 –> 00:22:49,920 and remind your soul of this often 476 00:22:49,920 –> 00:22:51,920 when you’re in the darkest times, 477 00:22:52,979 –> 00:22:57,540 the love of God for you never began. 478 00:22:58,180 –> 00:23:03,180 It had no beginning and it will never end. 479 00:23:05,079 –> 00:23:07,199 It will be to all eternity. 480 00:23:08,479 –> 00:23:13,479 You have loved me with an everlasting love. 481 00:23:17,199 –> 00:23:20,280 And David in the moments of his greatest darkness 482 00:23:20,280 –> 00:23:24,300 where his feelings are not able even to comprehend 483 00:23:24,300 –> 00:23:26,060 a sense of the presence of God 484 00:23:26,060 –> 00:23:29,459 leans into this great revealed truth 485 00:23:29,459 –> 00:23:33,739 of who God is and what God has revealed about Himself. 486 00:23:35,099 –> 00:23:37,300 And think about how powerful this is. 487 00:23:37,300 –> 00:23:39,420 What’s the problem David is facing? 488 00:23:39,420 –> 00:23:43,359 He is facing a problem that shows no sign of going away. 489 00:23:44,540 –> 00:23:49,540 He is facing a trouble that has been for a long time 490 00:23:49,739 –> 00:23:53,060 and so his question is how long? 491 00:23:54,380 –> 00:23:56,199 And how is he gaining help? 492 00:23:56,199 –> 00:23:58,180 He is gaining help in this way, 493 00:23:58,180 –> 00:24:01,099 that he dares to believe that God’s love 494 00:24:01,099 –> 00:24:05,020 will go on longer than his suffering, 495 00:24:05,020 –> 00:24:09,859 that it will outlast the pain that he endures. 496 00:24:10,839 –> 00:24:15,119 David confronts the pain of long-lasting sorrow 497 00:24:15,979 –> 00:24:20,439 with the longer-lasting love of God. 498 00:24:21,400 –> 00:24:24,160 And friends, there are times, 499 00:24:24,160 –> 00:24:27,800 and this is most of the time in the Christian life, 500 00:24:27,800 –> 00:24:32,800 when you know the love of God by faith and by feeling. 501 00:24:32,979 –> 00:24:33,880 That’s wonderful. 502 00:24:35,119 –> 00:24:37,160 But there are times in the Christian life 503 00:24:37,160 –> 00:24:40,699 where you know the love of God by faith alone. 504 00:24:41,699 –> 00:24:43,260 And that’s where David is here. 505 00:24:44,479 –> 00:24:47,119 There’s a gritting of David’s teeth almost 506 00:24:47,119 –> 00:24:48,839 as he says this, 507 00:24:48,839 –> 00:24:52,020 and it’s a marvelously courageous statement of faith. 508 00:24:53,040 –> 00:24:56,560 I’ve been absolutely candid here, Oh God. 509 00:24:56,560 –> 00:24:58,280 I feel like you’ve forgotten me, 510 00:24:58,280 –> 00:25:00,640 that you’re not even looking in my direction, 511 00:25:00,640 –> 00:25:03,560 but I’m asking for your help, light my eyes, 512 00:25:03,560 –> 00:25:04,959 and here’s what I’m gonna do, 513 00:25:04,959 –> 00:25:07,000 I’m gonna lean into what I know, 514 00:25:07,000 –> 00:25:10,119 and in this long, long, long, suffering, 515 00:25:10,119 –> 00:25:13,199 I am going to find my strength 516 00:25:13,199 –> 00:25:16,880 in your longer lasting love. 517 00:25:19,319 –> 00:25:21,300 And then the last thing is simply this. 518 00:25:23,839 –> 00:25:25,680 Look to Jesus Christ. 519 00:25:25,680 –> 00:25:29,599 Lay out what you feel, lift up what you need, 520 00:25:29,599 –> 00:25:34,599 lean into what you know, and look to Jesus Christ. 521 00:25:36,979 –> 00:25:40,319 We call this series, With Christ in the School of Prayer, 522 00:25:40,739 –> 00:25:44,359 remembering that the mind of Christ 523 00:25:44,359 –> 00:25:46,219 was saturated with these psalms. 524 00:25:46,219 –> 00:25:47,640 He would have learned them growing up, 525 00:25:47,640 –> 00:25:48,780 used them in worship. 526 00:25:48,780 –> 00:25:51,300 He quoted them repeatedly. 527 00:25:51,300 –> 00:25:53,520 He used them and he experienced them 528 00:25:53,520 –> 00:25:56,439 and he is always with us, Christ is with us 529 00:25:56,439 –> 00:25:57,479 when we pray them. 530 00:25:58,599 –> 00:26:01,319 It’s good to ask, what did Jesus know about this Psalm? 531 00:26:01,319 –> 00:26:04,800 How would Psalm 13 have related to him? 532 00:26:04,800 –> 00:26:07,260 You just need to ask the question to see the answer. 533 00:26:07,260 –> 00:26:08,920 Did Jesus ever know 534 00:26:08,939 –> 00:26:11,280 what it is to be in an agony of soul? 535 00:26:11,280 –> 00:26:13,660 That’s a question worth asking when you’re there. 536 00:26:15,459 –> 00:26:17,079 And do you know the answer? 537 00:26:17,079 –> 00:26:19,400 Hebrews chapter five and verse seven 538 00:26:19,400 –> 00:26:22,239 during the days of his flesh he offered up prayers 539 00:26:22,239 –> 00:26:25,699 with loud cries and tears. 540 00:26:25,699 –> 00:26:27,640 Not just in the garden of Gethsemane, 541 00:26:27,640 –> 00:26:30,560 he knew what it was to be in an agony of soul 542 00:26:30,560 –> 00:26:32,979 and therefore he’s able to stand with you 543 00:26:32,979 –> 00:26:34,119 when you are there. 544 00:26:35,119 –> 00:26:37,760 Did Jesus know what it is, verse two to say 545 00:26:37,760 –> 00:26:41,020 I have sorrow in my heart all the day. 546 00:26:41,020 –> 00:26:44,640 Yes, that is why he was called the man of sorrows 547 00:26:44,640 –> 00:26:46,359 and familiar with suffering. 548 00:26:46,359 –> 00:26:48,099 That’s why in the garden of Gethsemane, 549 00:26:48,099 –> 00:26:51,119 he says, my soul is sorrowful to the point of death. 550 00:26:51,119 –> 00:26:52,939 How sorrowful is that? 551 00:26:55,540 –> 00:26:58,800 Did Jesus ever know what it was, verse one, 552 00:26:58,800 –> 00:27:02,680 for the Father to hide his face. 553 00:27:02,680 –> 00:27:05,900 The father who he had loved from all eternity. 554 00:27:07,900 –> 00:27:11,819 Oh yes, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me, 555 00:27:1,819 –> 00:27:14,800 he cries out as he bears the sin of the world 556 00:27:14,800 –> 00:27:18,939 in the darkness right there on the cross. 557 00:27:20,239 –> 00:27:23,520 Jesus knows what it is to be in an agony of soul 558 00:27:23,520 –> 00:27:26,800 and he is the Savior for those who suffer 559 00:27:26,800 –> 00:27:31,000 because he is the suffering Savior. 560 00:27:32,920 –> 00:27:34,619 He’s the Savior for you. 561 00:27:35,140 –> 00:27:38,599 He’s the one who can walk with you here 562 00:27:38,599 –> 00:27:40,560 in a way that no one else ever can. 563 00:27:43,339 –> 00:27:44,699 I end with two quotes. 564 00:27:45,859 –> 00:27:48,459 John Stott captures this so well 565 00:27:48,459 –> 00:27:51,979 in a moving passage in his book, The Cross of Christ. 566 00:27:53,780 –> 00:27:55,719 Begins with a very striking statement. 567 00:27:55,719 –> 00:27:59,459 John Stott says I could never believe in God 568 00:27:59,459 –> 00:28:01,540 if it were not for the cross. 569 00:28:01,540 –> 00:28:02,859 Will you think about that? 570 00:28:03,699 –> 00:28:05,420 I could never believe in God 571 00:28:07,119 –> 00:28:08,939 if it were not for the cross. 572 00:28:09,939 –> 00:28:12,140 He continues in a world of pain, 573 00:28:12,140 –> 00:28:14,900 how could one worship a god who was immune to it? 574 00:28:16,660 –> 00:28:19,939 He says I have entered many Buddhist temples 575 00:28:20,939 –> 00:28:25,939 and stood respectfully before the statue of the buddha, 576 00:28:25,939 –> 00:28:30,219 his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, 577 00:28:30,219 –> 00:28:31,900 the ghost of a smile playing 578 00:28:32,540 –> 00:28:36,060 round his mouth, a remote look on his face 579 00:28:36,060 –> 00:28:38,680 detached from the agonies of the world. 580 00:28:40,500 –> 00:28:43,760 But each time after a while, I have to turn away. 581 00:28:44,979 –> 00:28:47,619 And in my imagination I have turned instead 582 00:28:47,619 –> 00:28:51,459 to that lonely twisted tortured figure on a cross, 583 00:28:51,459 –> 00:28:53,420 nails through his hands and feet, 584 00:28:53,420 –> 00:28:56,540 back lacerated, limbs wrenched, 585 00:28:56,540 –> 00:28:58,699 brow bleeding from the thorn pricks, 586 00:28:58,800 –> 00:29:02,219 his mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, 587 00:29:02,219 –> 00:29:05,359 plunged into godforsaken darkness. 588 00:29:05,359 –> 00:29:08,239 That, he says, is God for me. 589 00:29:10,979 –> 00:29:12,439 And that is the God for you. 590 00:29:14,199 –> 00:29:17,859 That is the only God for a world like this. 591 00:29:20,699 –> 00:29:24,439 Edward Sciletto experienced the horrors 592 00:29:25,359 –> 00:29:30,359 of trench warfare, First World War. 593 00:29:32,219 –> 00:29:34,939 And you know how many people who endured 594 00:29:34,939 –> 00:29:37,640 the horrors of war 595 00:29:37,640 –> 00:29:41,420 felt that they could no longer believe in God as a result. 596 00:29:43,099 –> 00:29:44,979 Sciletto went the other way. 597 00:29:46,380 –> 00:29:49,619 The horrors of war convinced him absolutely 598 00:29:49,939 –> 00:29:54,239 that a suffering world needs a suffering savior, 599 00:29:55,400 –> 00:29:58,000 and he wrote a poem called Jesus of the Scars 600 00:29:58,000 –> 00:30:00,579 that includes these memorable lines. 601 00:30:01,699 –> 00:30:04,280 The other gods, he says, were strong, 602 00:30:04,280 –> 00:30:06,579 the other gods of the world of religion. 603 00:30:06,579 –> 00:30:09,140 The other gods were strong, 604 00:30:09,140 –> 00:30:12,380 but you were weak. 605 00:30:12,380 –> 00:30:17,219 They erode, but you did stumble to your throne. 606 00:30:17,260 –> 00:30:22,260 To our wounds, only God’s wounds can speak, 607 00:30:22,459 –> 00:30:26,579 and not a God has wounds, 608 00:30:26,579 –> 00:30:29,760 but you alone, 609 00:30:31,060 –> 00:30:35,060 and the wounds of Christ are his credentials 610 00:30:35,060 –> 00:30:37,260 to a suffering world. 611 00:30:38,819 –> 00:30:43,819 Christ suffered and he came through it. 612 00:30:43,979 –> 00:30:46,900 And he came through it, 613 00:30:47,459 –> 00:30:53,859 and by God’s Grace and in his strength so will you. 614 00:30:55,060 –> 00:30:56,819 Let’s pray together. 615 00:30:57,859 –> 00:31:04,500 This Christ with the nail-pierced hand stretches them out before us and says 616 00:31:04,500 –> 00:31:06,939 to this congregation today, 617 00:31:07,540 –> 00:31:20,180 Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. 618 00:31:22,780 –> 00:31:31,060 Almighty God, for your Son, our suffering and yet exalted Savior, 619 00:31:31,459 –> 00:31:39,540 we give you our thanks as we bow before you in worship today. 620 00:31:39,540 –> 00:31:44,459 Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!