An Antidote To Anguish

God, you were there from my beginning For I was crafted by your hands You see my hopes and hesitations My days are written in your plan

If you have seen my weakest moments, and still you love me even then, I need no greater confirmation that God, your goodness, has no end. I come to Jesus, lay down my weakness. No need for hiding here in his life. This truth I treasure, my peace forever. His being known and loved by him. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

10,000 reasons. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Oh, my soul, worship his holy name Sing like never before Oh, my soul, I worship your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning It's time to sing your song again Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me Let me be singing when the evening comes Bless the Lord, O my soul O my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before O my soul I'll worship Your holy name you're rich in love and you're slow to anger your name is great and your heart is kind For all your goodness I will keep on singing Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul Worship His holy name Sin like never before Oh my soul I'll worship Your holy name And on that day When my strength is failing The end draws near and my time has come Still my soul will sing your praise unending

Ten thousand years and then forevermore Bless the Lord, O my soul Oh my soul Worship His holy name Sing like never before Oh my soul I'll worship Your holy name Bless the Lord, oh my soul Oh my soul Worship his holy name Sin like never before Oh my soul I'll worship your holy name Yes, I will worship your holy name Lord, I worship your holy name

Standing on this mountaintop, looking just how far we've come, knowing that for every step you were with us. Kneeling on this battleground, seeing just how much you've done, knowing every victory is your power in us. Scars and struggles on the way But with joy our hearts can't say Yes, our hearts can't say Never once did we ever walk alone Never once did you leave us on our own You are faithful, God, you are faithful Kneeling on this battleground Seeing just how much you've done Knowing every victory It's your power in us Scars and struggles on your way But with joy our hearts can't save Yes, our hearts can't say Never once did we ever walk alone Never once did you leave us on our own You are faithful, God, you are faithful You are faithful, God, you are faithful

Skies and struggles on the way But with joy our hearts can say Never once did we ever walk alone Carried by your constant grace Held within your perfect peace Never once, no we never walked alone Never once did we ever walk alone Never once did you leave us on our own You are faithful, God, you are faithful Every step we are breathing in your grace Evermore we'll be breathing in your grace You are faithful, God, you are faithful You are faithful, God, you are faithful You are faithful, God, you are faithful Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Before we sing this song, it's a new song to some of us, and so I want to just give you a little bit of introduction. It's been a song that I've been wanting us to learn for a while, and when it comes to songs that we sing, sometimes it is, there are songs we might want to sing, but they're not necessarily easy to sing congregationally. This, however, is one that is both a, I think, a message that we need about our firm foundation taking directly from Jesus' parable about building the house on the rock. And it's been one I've been wanting to learn for a while, and I wasn't sure how to introduce it. And so last Sunday, in this kind of joyful moment of worship, Abigail was baptized. And this is one of the songs that we sang last Sunday.

And so I figured a few of us have now heard it, so we can all sing it now. And so we're going to go ahead and sing Firm Foundation.

be shaken. I've never been more glad that I put my faith in Jesus. Cause he's never let me down. He's faithful through generations. So why would he fail now? He won't. He won't I've still got joy in chaos I've got peace that makes no sense So I won't be going under I'm not held by my own strength Cause I'll build my life on Jesus He's never let me down He's faithful in every season So why would he fail now? He won't He won't He won't fail He won't fail He won't He won't He won't fail He won't fail Rain came, wind blew, but my house was built on you I'll say with you, I'm gonna make it through Rain came, wind blew, but my house was built on you I'm safe with you I'm gonna make it through

Yeah, I'm gonna make it through Cause I'm standing strong on you Oh, I'm gonna make it through Cause my house is built on you Christ is my firm foundation, the rock on which I stand. When everything around me is shaken, I've never been more glad. I put my faith in Jesus, cause He's never let me down. He's faithful through generations So why would he fail now? He won't He won't He won't fail He won't fail He won't Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them

will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. And when I hear this, and as a kid when I sung The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock, it's a very clear contrast with a very clear answer as to what we want our life built upon. None of us want the house that collapses when the storms of life come. In one of the other gospel accounts of this parable, it will say that the wise man dug down deep. He didn't simply go and place his house, but he surveyed and he looked and he dug down deep to the rock that is Christ. And one of the ways that we, as God's people, as Christians,

dig down deep to the rock that is Christ is through this meal that we are about to partake of. this meal that directs us to Jesus, that directs us to hope, that nourishes us in strength. And so we're going to pray, and then we'll read some Scripture and partake of this meal together. Father, I ask in this moment that you would help us to dig down deep to you in a world filled with distraction and temptation and dizziness and noise, That you would help us to see that you are the rock, that you are our shelter, that you are our fortress, that you are our only hope. And so I ask that as we eat this bread and as we drink this cup, that you would help us to see Jesus. That you would help us to be nourished by him, strengthened by him.

And that you would bring us to the joy that is in our salvation. I ask that you bless this bread and this cup. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Paul writes these words in 1 Corinthians, the 11th chapter. He'll say, For I received from the Lord that what I delivered to you, the Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it. He said, This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Let's partake of the bread together. And in the same way, also, he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Let's drink it.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. We are this morning going to be in the 77th Psalm. We're going to spend some time there this morning and what we are planning to do for The next four weeks is we're going to spend some time seeking to remember, to look back on the blessings of God, to look back on the lessons that God gives us to be encouraged by remembering. It's a phrase that runs throughout Scripture. It's a command of God's people. And if we are to be thankful people, we are to be remembering people. So I'm going to begin with a word of prayer, and then we'll get to the 77th Psalm here in just a moment. Let's go ahead and pray.

Father in heaven, help us this morning. Help us to remember in those dark moments of life when the storms rage and it seems as if everything is against us. Help us to remember you, to remember your promises, to intentionally seek to set our soul upon you. May you give us strength. May you give us peace. And may you direct us to hope. It's in your son's name we pray. Amen. So for a long time during my school years, I really struggled with poetry. and I once thought that I had found some poetry that I liked or a poem that I liked by Robert Frost and it was called The Mending Wall and in this poem it pictures two pieces of property and between these two pieces of property runs one of those sort of picturesque old stone walls

that sometimes you see around old properties and it has two neighbors who every spring they meet up and they walk together, one on each side of the wall and they pick up the rocks that the frost has moved down and they pick up the rocks that the hunters climbing over the wall have knocked down and they pick up the rocks where the tree has fallen and knocked down essentially repairing the walls between their property. And the poet, Robert Frost, is thinking about this wall and he's thinking about how it divides the property and he tries to talk to his neighbor about this wall that runs between their property and the neighbor simply replies which has been one of my favorite phrases ever since he says good fences make good neighbors and at the end of the poem

the guy is so pleased with himself he says again good fences make good neighbors and I remember reading this in English class and saying yes they do And I like this, right? This became like my one example of poetry that for most of my school years I enjoy. And then I realized that's not the point of that poem at all. In fact, rather, it's opposite to the point of the poem. And upon realizing that, my thought as a student was, who really needs poetry anyway? Why can't you just say what you mean and mean what you say? and I carried this poetic baggage with me for a while, especially as I approached the Psalms. Because when you come to the Psalms, it's 150 chapters of songs or it's 150 chapters, another way of saying it,

it's 150 chapters of poetry. And it has all this picturesque language and there's emotions and all of the things that go with that. And I loved, and I still love, the narrative portions of Scripture. In fact, I was sharing with the kids this week that one time my grandma Nelson asked me to read Scripture. My parents were out of town, and she was like, hey, can you read a Bible story to us before bed? And so I read the story of Ehud, which if you don't know the story of Ehud, it's like a secret agent movie with concealed weapons and deception and stabbing, and it gets really wild at the end. Like, I love that. I love hearing the narrative sections of the Bible. I loved reading about Jesus and calming the storm and feeding the 5,000.

I loved the book of Revelation. Like, where else are you going to get dragons, right? And, like, fire and all of trumpets and all of these things. And so I loved the narrative portion. I loved reading through the Apostle Paul because he so logically takes theology, lays it out, and then goes, this is how you put it into practice in your life. And I need that. And as someone who likes to argue, I love the book of Hebrews. Because it's just one big argument about how Jesus is better in every area of life, right? He's a better priest, he's a better prophet, he's a better king, he's the better Passover lamb who serves in a better temple. And I loved it, but I struggled for a long time with the Psalms. And then somehow, and I'm still not quite sure how, I found myself on the road to being a pastor.

And I learned that in the New Testament, the most quoted book of the Old Testament is the Psalms. So if you really want to be able to understand some parts of the New Testament, you have to be able to understand the Psalms. And then Jesus shows up and says this in Luke the 24th chapter. These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you. That everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophet and the Psalms must be fulfilled. And this is a monumental statement for how we view the Old Testament. How it's viewed through a lens of Jesus. That it all points to Jesus. And it's wonderful, but for me I was a little annoyed because it's like, Jesus, really? The Psalms? Do we need more poetry?

But then I began to read the Psalms. And not in the way that I read the Psalms or I read poetry in English class where the purpose was to get it done as quickly as possible and move on to something that I liked to read. And what I found in the Psalms was transformational. There aren't simply poems or songs that we look back on, kind of like the weird music that our grandparents or our parents liked. But these words in the psalms, they engage our hearts, they engage our minds, they move into our actions. The feelings they describe and the feelings that they encourage, or in some cases discourage, are based on clear arguments, which I like. They're practical. And what I found out about the psalms is that they are wonderful. So we're going to take a look at the 77th psalm this morning.

And it begins with this title that is simply, In the Day of Trouble. And there's a little note in your Bibles at the very beginning that says, To the Choir Master, according to Jejuthun, a psalm of Asaph. And this psalm is written for public worship. The tune or the style is that of Jejuthun, and Asaph was a worship leader. And he wrote 12 psalms, and the thing about Asaph, as he writes, his psalms tend to be a little bit dark. They tend to contain a fair amount of struggle as you read them. In fact, Charles Spurgeon described Asaph like this. Asaph was a man of exercised mind who often touched a minor key. He was thoughtful, contemplative, believing, but there was a dash of sadness about him. And this imparted a tonic flavor to his songs.

To follow him with understanding, it is needful to have done business on the great waters and to weather many an Atlantic gale. And what Spurgeon is saying is that this guy has seen some stuff, right? It's like the farmer's commercial. We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two. And when you come to hear Asaph, he's not describing the darkness of the struggle that he's facing as an outsider for whom life has always been rosy and easy. But he has walked his life through the darkness and through the storm. And now he's writing to us about what his journey was like. And this particular psalm is a bit like walking through a tunnel. And I know probably many of us have gone up a little past Pawpaw to the Pawpaw Tunnel,

the canal trail that runs about 3,000 feet through a mountain. There's a little towpath you can walk through. And one of the things that startled me the first time I did it is we went in and we weren't prepared with flashlights. And we're walking down the canal towpath. And from the very beginning, you look at the end, and it's just kind of this little bit of light. And what it seemed to me that as I walked, and I walked, and I walked down that, I said, man, I feel like I'm about a mile in, and this thing is only 3,000 feet. And I look back, and the entrance has gotten way smaller, but the exit where we're going to still seems to be a million miles away. And so we're walking in the dark, and the light at the end of the tunnel seems very, very small.

and this morning that's where asaph is he's in the middle of the tunnel but instead of a light at the end of the tunnel it's dark or it's cloudy and in some cases you can't see the light at all one more note before we dive into it this psalm uses the word selah three times she's 74 times in the Bible three times in Habakkuk 71 times in the psalms and it's a musical term that we're not quite sure of the meaning of but likely it means to pause and specifically in Scripture it likely means to pause with purpose to consider what has just been said to think about to meditate on what has been said and in the stanzas of the psalm he gets to the end and he goes think about this for just a moment

so let's take a look at what he says in this psalm the first stanza we're going to and get a glimpse of his hurt. In the second, we're going to understand the depth of it. And in the third stanza, we'll walk with him as he fights for joy. So as we walk into the day of trouble, we're going to begin by reading the first three verses. I cried aloud to God, aloud to God. He will hear me. In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord. In the night, my hand is stretched out without wearying, And my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan. And when I meditate, my spirit faints. And he says, Selah, pause and consider my situation. Now, we don't know what this man's difficulty or trouble is.

And I think that's intentional. Because if we don't know what the problem was, it would limit the help to which this psalm would be for us. We might say, well, this is only a help for those who are in the day of trouble with sickness or the day of trouble of conflict or the day of trouble in regards to being opposed. But the psalmist doesn't tell us. And I think that is an intentional moving of the Holy Spirit to help us be able to look at this psalm for that place where we either are right now or will be in the future. Because the reality is not, will I face a day of trouble? It's when will I face the day of trouble. And so Asaph simply says he cries aloud to God without stopping.

And it says he reaches out his hand and he says it's not getting weary. And that doesn't mean he's not getting tired. He's like, I'm just not going to stop reaching out for God. But he says, it seems like my soul is running out of steam. When I remember God, I moan, and when I meditate, my spirit faints. He's struggling, he's looking out, and nothing. He's cried aloud to God, and he hears nothing in response. And now we think, well, maybe he's going to tell us what to do when we're in this situation. Tell us how to fix it, how to deal with this struggle. And the answer is absolutely not. In fact, what you find is the trouble for this man only gets worse. And even as he searches for hope, it seems like he won't find it.

Listen to what he says. You hold my eyelids open, and I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago, and I said, let me remember my song in the night let me meditate in my heart then my spirit made a diligent search will the Lord spurn forever and never again be favorable has his steadfast love forever ceased are his promises at an end for all time has God forgotten to be gracious has he in anger shut up his compassion say law and instead of answers the struggle opens this is not a superficial flesh wound that the promised is struggling with he's not simply having a bad day and if you've been around children you know that there is times when they are hurt and there is

times when they are hurt and one of the ways you tell the difference is when they're crying and they seem to be hurt and you run over to them and you pick them up and you check them over and like a minute and a half later they're back running with their friends again. But then there's times when they're hurt and you go and you run and you pick them up and you begin to comfort and you realize that this is not merely a scratch or a bump or being startled by a fall but they are actually injured. The psalmist here is searching for hope and it's not getting any better. He goes, I can't sleep. You hold my eyelids open. I desperately long to rest and to sleep. But you, speaking to God, you're holding my eyelids open.

And I can't even speak. There's talking through the tears. But then there are times when the tears are so strong and emotion runs so deep you can't get the words out. And so he goes, I'm going to find comfort and I'm going to find hope in the goodness of God. And he said, I'm going to find the song in the night. It's a reference to the book of Job where it talks about how God gives songs in the night, but not to this man. And he goes, I have made a diligent, diligent search. Not how I look for things, right? I'll ask Rachel and I'll say, hey, do you know, this is a common question. Do you know where I put my wallet? And she'll say, yeah, it's on the desk in the living room.

And I'll walk in and I'll look on the desk in the living room. I won't find it. And I go, it's absolutely not here. And she walks in and she'll move a book like a quarter of an inch. And there's my wallet. That's not what the man in the Psalms is doing. He's not simply going, I don't see it anywhere. He's searching in the depths of his sorrow with his eyes unable to shut because of the anguish in his soul. And he is searching to find the answer. He's searching for hope. And it's still dark.

And here's the answer that he finds when he says, let me remember my song in the night. Let me meditate in the heart. The answer that he finds is what God has done in the past. It doesn't, and this is important, doesn't seem like he's doing that now. And he begins to ask questions. Listen to his questions. For the Lord spurned forever and never again be favorable. Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion? And in these questions, we see both the depths of his despair, but also his commitment to seeking God. These are dark questions. Is God going to be angry at me? So angry, he never speaks to me. Has his steadfast love stopped?

Are his promises no longer valid? Has he forgotten how to be gracious? Has he in his anger shut up his compassion? These questions are not simply complaints or doubts about God's love and grace. And while this is how he feels, Asaph is also examining his heart. When he says, has his steadfast love forever ceased? What he is doing is he's speaking to his heart. In the same way, in the 42nd Psalm, David speaks to his heart. He says, why are you downcast, O my soul? And Asaph looks at his heart and goes, has God's love, has his steadfast love forever ceased? In my anguish and in my hurt and not seeing an answer to my prayer. Has God's love ceased? And his answer, surprisingly, is no. But it sure feels like it has. That's what he's saying.

Because we see that this is not his intellectual belief, but this is what his heart feels like. And Asaph, in that last word, Selah, sits in the dark with his struggle. And he calls us to search for hope. in the dark of this struggle without sleep filled with sorrow, hurt and uncertainty he then turns toward the light of remembrance listen to these words then I said I will appeal to this to the years of the right hand of the most high I will remember the deeds of the Lord yes I will remember the wonders of old and it's in this moment that everything begins to change not in his circumstances, but in his heart. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God?

You are the God who works wonders. You have made known your might among the peoples. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. and then he pauses again Selah this is a dramatic change in the first 11 verses of this psalm Asaph speaks mainly about himself he'll reference God but it's mainly I can't sleep, everything hurts, I'm running out of steam I have these questions where it feels like I'm all alone and it's very much focused on him and his situation And then, the difference between verse 12 and verse 13. I will ponder your works and meditate on your mighties. Then, your way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God? You are the God. And it goes from I to you and to your. And you have this picture where he says at the end, sit with this for just a moment.

Where I have sat in the darkness with my troubles. He says, now sit in the hope of God's greatness and redemption. Sit with me. He's not simply content to complain. Asaph searches for hope. And he says, remember this redemption. What I love is that he doesn't just say it. He does it. When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid, and indeed the deep trembled. The clouds poured out the water, the skies gave forth thunder, your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind. Your lightning lighted up the world, the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path was through the great waters, yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

And he then goes from just thinking about God's greatness to specific demonstrations of it that God has brought his people out of Egypt. He divided the Red Sea in half. He brings his people through the impossible obstacles. He defends them from their enemies with arrows and thunder. And he guides and protects his people. Look more closely at verse 19. Your way was through the sea. The greatest obstacle that God's people face as they leave Egypt. The ocean and the fear and the armies behind them. Your way was through the sea. Your path through the great waters that God walks through these. And look at what he says. Yet your footprints were unseen. The greatest obstacle, the greatest body of water is like God stepping over a creek or a small little river. But he says this,

your footprints were unseen. We don't always know what God is doing. We don't always see his footprints. And God in this moment, we learn from the books of Exodus, the book of Exodus says to his people who are fearful with nowhere to run and to hide, he says, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. And then the wind blows and the water divides and the people walk through on dry land and God conquers their enemies. One of the things we see in this psalm is we don't always know the how of our salvation, but we know the who. Let's go back for just a moment to the gospel of Luke. Then he said to them, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you that everything written about me in the law

of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Does this help us? As we look back to this Psalm and the suffering of this man who seeks for hope, we don't just see a call for us to seek hope in the darkness. We see at the cross, Jesus, whose soul refused to be comforted in anguish on our behalf because of his love for us. And at the cross, we see Jesus struggling to speak because of the pain and the suffering, not just of the physical burdens and punishment, but because the weight of our sin, and he endures it for his love. And at the cross, we see how God does turn his face away so that Jesus dies and our sins will be paid for because of his love for us. And at the cross, we remember that Jesus really did experience that silence

so that you and I could experience the eternal love of God. How can I know God's love and redemption? Those questions are asked by Asaph in the middle of the darkness of this psalm, and they're answered also by Jesus. Because while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, and because of these things, I will remember the deeds of the Lord. Yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all of your work and meditate on your mighty deeds. Your way, O God, is holy. What God is great like our God. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The remembrance of Asaph, the remembrance that we are called to, does not happen by accident. It must be an intentional decision on our part.

Just like Joshua at the crossing of the Jordan. where he calls a man from each tribe to grab a stone. And he doesn't just make one monument, but two. They make one on one side of the river, and they make one on the other with the purpose that when your children ask what that weird pile of stones is, you tell them about how God has saved you. They intentionally took and built a monument to remember how God had stopped the waters and brought them in to the promised land. Remembrance in our lives is the same way. Maybe not with a physical pile of rocks, but it must be intentional. And it does not happen by accident. Father in heaven, I thank you that in the darkness that you are there. And I thank you when it feels like in our hearts

that we're all alone. And we know the reality is that you are near to us. We don't always see your steps ahead of us. But we know that you are the one who saves and redeems and guides your people. Help us to remember your goodness. Not just in this moment. But in the trials and struggles and the joys and triumphs of this week. You would help us to remember. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We're going to stand and we're going to sing Living Hope. How great the chasm that lay between us How high the mountain I could not climb In desperation, I turned to heaven And spoke your name into the night Then through the darkness, your loving kindness Tore through the shadows of my soul The work is finished, the end is written

Jesus Christ, my living hope Who could imagine so great a mercy What heart could fathom such boundless grace The God of ages Step down from glory To bear my sin And bear my shame The cross has spoken I am forgiven The King of kings calls me his own Beautiful Savior, I'm yours forever Jesus Christ, my living hope Hallelujah, praise the one who set me free Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There's salvation in your name Jesus Christ, my living hope Then came the morning That sealed the promise Your buried body began to breathe Out of the silence The roaring lion Declared the grave Has no claim on me Then came the morning That sealed the promise Your buried body Began to breathe Out of the silence, the roaring lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me Jesus, yours is the victory Alleluia, praise the one who set me free Alleluia, death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There's salvation in your name Jesus Christ, my living hope Hallelujah Praise the one who set me free Hallelujah Death has lost its grip on me You have broken every chain There's salvation in your name Jesus Christ, my living hope. Jesus Christ, my living hope. Oh, God, you are my living hope.

Back here Wednesday night at 6 p.m. for our weekly Bible study. We're actually wrapping up the book of Colossians. And then back again next Sunday to worship together. I'm going to have a word of prayer. And then we'll read a verse of Scripture and sing the doxology. Father in heaven, I thank you for your grace and your goodness. I thank you for your people and the encouragement that you have given us through them. And I thank you so much for Jesus and the gospel. Help us to live understanding and knowing the grace that you have given to us. Let us live with courage, seeking those opportunities to share the gospel. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We read a little bit from Lamentations this morning, and the verses following directly after our Scripture reading at the beginning of service are this,

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.