Now let us turn to a shorter chapter, Psalm 13.
As Luther notes, Psalm 13 is a psalm of prayer against sorrow or saddness, even against the devil himself.
Read this psalm and think to yourself what saddness this world has brought to you, your family, friends etc.
Now consider the prayer that follows. By Christ's "Incarnation," assuming human flesh, our Lord Jesus voluntarily endured our saddness, sorrows and sin by becoming sin, sorrow and saddness Himself.
As we approach the season of Lent we will be greeted by Jesus' temptation by Satan in the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11) Truly there we see One who was so willing to bring us comfort for our earthly sorrows and saddness that He specifically came to this earth to be tempted, tested, tried and even killed. He did this because He not only wanted you to be comforted in your sorrows, but by His steadfast love seen clearly through cross and empty tomb, He won for you everlasting life in heaven.
Sorrows in this life will come. But stronger than our sorrows, our Lord has come to wipe every sorrow from our midst. On that great and glorious day He will usher us into the land where sorrow is gone, sin and saddness unheard of and only true joy will be found.
Until that day, the Church on earth prays: "Come Lord Jesus, Come Quickly"
3 comments:
This sure makes me think of the Footprints of God poem and how often I leave Him but how faithfully he deals with me in nothing but grace. I am not sure that bountifully is a strong enough word for the blessings he's bestowed me after the way I've been. Praise be to God and Jesus for the Gifts at the cross!
Preach:
Two thoughts from me:
The first, this Psalm shows that even when we have sorrows God is still good to us, and David recognised that when he wrote in verse 6:
"I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me."
Second thought: Perhaps in your introduction, you could provide a link to those who want but don't have a copy "Reading The Psalms With Luther" www.cph.org
RF
How true.
There isn't a person in the world that can't understand some kind of sorrow. Unless we ignore reality, we all have our sorrows or downcast moments.
At these moments, there are often two different responses. The unbeliever believes that sorrow is proof that there is no God. "If there was a God, why would he let this happen to me?" On the other hand, the believer believes that the only place to turn in times of sorrow is to the one true God of heaven and earth. So how can the two have such drastically different beliefs while living in the same world? Answer: Sinful Pride.
Unbelievers blame God for sorrow or claim there is no God at all because they can't believe that their sorrow could possibly be their own fault. Truly, have you ever thought about that? How many problems you have are your own doing? Quite a few. But more than that, you have problems that you had nothing to do with, yet they are still yours. If you were shopping at Van Maur at the beginning of December you can relate to this. Yet, these seemingly random acts of violence have everything to do with us, for we are a people steeped in sin. Sin is our problem, not God's. Our sorrows, our misfortune, our hurt, our saddness is our problem. Inherited from Adam and Eve sin is our deal, don't try and pass it off to God. Don't blame Him for your misfortune.
Have you ever wondered how quickly we are to complain when life doesn't go our way, and how seldom we give thanks when things go well? When the unbelievers life goes so smoothly does he say, "My happiness is proof there is a God." Never. He only gives God credit for his down times, because he could never be responsible for that!
Believers view life differently. Believers heed John the Baptist's cry in the wilderness, "Repent!" Believers, led along by God's Word and Spirit, realize that they are sinners, not only a little but 100%. Because believers in Christ recognize their sinfulness they also recognize that their saddness is not God's fault, but theirs. Indeed, being a Christian is humiliating at times, for we must confess the truth, "I am a poor miserable sinner..." Sin permeates the world, us and everything that we are about in this life.
But what else does John say? "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" Yes, Christians recognize they are sinners, but they also recognize that they have a God who loves them. This one true God became flesh, the sacrificial lamb specifically for sinners, specifically for those who undergo sorrow and saddness.
No God has not promised to make your life go just right, just how you want, just smoothly, just so you can always be content. Not at all. He has done more! He has promised to make your eternal life just right, just how you would want, just so you can always be content, just because He loves you. This is why He doesn't solve all your problems in this life, because in a way, He already has. He won heaven for you through the cross. You have the certain hope of eternal life. He has promised you eternity marked as His own dear child, and just to make sure you are cared for until you get there He has given you His Word, His Baptism, His Supper and the promise that in any sorrow, sickness, saddness or trouble you may call upon Him, He will hear you and answer in His own best way.
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