Weeping and Worship, On Biblical Lament

REFLECTION QUOTES

“The Son of God suffered unto death not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His.”

~George MacDonald, Scottish author

“When you know that Jesus Christ the Son of God was thrown into the ultimate furnace of God’s wrath for you, you can experience His presence in your smaller furnaces walking beside you.”

~Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church from Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering

“When your day is long and the night, the night is yours alone. When you’re sure you’ve had enough of this life, well hang on. Don’t let yourself go ‘cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes.’”

~American alternative rock band R.E.M. from their song “Everybody Hurts”

“God is not only the God of the sufferers but the God who suffers. It is said of God no one can behold His face and live. I always thought this meant no one could see His splendor and live. A friend said perhaps it meant that no one could see His sorrow and live. Or perhaps His sorrow is splendor. Instead of explaining our suffering, God shares it.”

~Nicholas Wolterstorff, American philosopher and writer from his book Lament for A Son

“The deep meaning of the cross of Christ is that there is no suffering on earth that is not born by God.”

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

SERMON PASSAGE

Lamentations 3:16-26, Psalm 42:1-5 (NASB)

Lamentations 3

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust.
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and my wandering,
the wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Psalm 42

1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go along with the throng and lead
them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving,
a multitude keeping festival.
5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.