A Perfected Prayer (Psalm 88:1-18, John 11:17-27)
Mr. Ben Castle, January 27, 2019Part of the Morning Worship at North Greenville Church series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
Your soul is a string on God’s heart. He uses trials to tune those who believe. The result is musical prayers. Heman the Ezrahite, a leader of his people, offers soul music to God in the name of Christ. This is the darkest Psalm in the entire Psalter. There is no praise, no confidence, no light. Yet, it is a Godly prayer. God stretches Heman to perfect his prayer. The godliness of our prayers are not determined by how we feel. Heman prays to God trusting in his salvation to be heard. Likewise, we pray in the name of Jesus trusting in His work, that God will hear us. In verses 3 through 5, we see that we have the help of the Holy Spirit. He impresses upon us our needs, that we need the Lord. Do we resist the Spirit? Heman prays with submission and confession of sin. In trouble, the Christian heart submits. God is always just. We confess that we deserve trouble because of our sins. In verse 8, God has increased the trial. Heman is alone in his grief. It is appropriate to cry when it is appropriate to cry. We must be ready to take our masks off and let it out. Heman is at the point of death. He asks God if He will raise the dead. The answer comes to us in John 11, which portrays resurrection faith. Jesus tells Martha Lazarus will rise again, as will all believers. Jesus purposely stayed away until Lazarus died to teach them this lesson of resurrection faith. The resurrection does not, however, take away the trial and grief that comes at the time of death. Jesus Himself wept at Lazarus’ death. He likewise enters into our suffering. In verses 11-18, Heman’s prayer is perfected. He wants to glorify God for His righteousness ultimately in Jesus Christ, to whom Heman is looking forward. He is resolved to continue praying through this trial. His sense of need is perfected. The Lord has a purpose in the suffering of believers, tuning our souls. The Lord did hear Heman’s prayer. The Holy Spirit authored this Psalm; He was with Heman recording this Psalm. God hears the prayers of His people.
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| « The Gospel According To Genesis 3 | None | David's Hope » |
Psalm 88 (Listen)
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
88:1 O LORD, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in the depths of the pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But I, O LORD, cry to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
they close in on me together.
18 You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.
(ESV)
John 11:17–27 (Listen)
17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. 20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
(ESV)