Photo: Unsplash – Ismael Paramao
Around the world, many people are being forced to contend for the faith we have inherited and about which I write in this blog (Jude 1:3). Those of us in the Church of England are presently among that number.
But it raises the question: What should our heart be as we contend? What’s going on inside? I find it easy to be angry, to get agitated, to over-react, to be over-emotional. And sometimes there is a place for righteous anger. But that shouldn’t be our dominant emotion. It certainly isn’t the dominant emotion in the Bible when things go wrong.
A heart of Lament
One of the dominant responses to theological and national catastrophe in the Bible is that of lament. We’ve considered this previously in this blog. Again and again in the Bible (and particularly in the Psalms), God’s people are led to lament what is happening to them. They do so as a way of expressing their sadness, their grief; but also expressing their hope and trust in God to bring good out of evil.
Introducing Psalm 44
Consider Psalm 44. We’re told that it was written by the Sons of Korah who were worship leaders in the temple. We don’t know the particular reason or occasion for writing. But there are a couple of things it’s worth noticing:
First – It’s a corporate Psalm – that is, it’s not just one person praying to God, it’s a large group of God’s people praying together.
Second, unusually it doesn’t mention the sin of God’s people. Often in a Psalm of Lament there would be a recognition that “we have sinned; and because of our sin we’ve brought your discipline upon us.” That’s certainly the case in Lamentations – Jeremiah recognises it was the sin of God’s people that brought judgement and destruction on Jerusalem.
Bearing those two things in mind let’s come to Psalm 44 and see how it can help those of us who seek to contend for the gospel.
What you’ve done in the past (verses 1-3)
There’s a clear structure to the Psalm. First of all the writers consider what God has done in the past:
We have heard it with our ears, O God;
Psalm 44:1-3
our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your face, for you loved them.
They’re referring to the Exodus from Egypt, and entry into the Promised land. God worked miraculously and in great power to deliver his people from slavery in Egypt, to clear the land he’d promised to them, and to bring them into it. In the process he parted the Red Sea so they could cross through it on dry land; he destroyed the Egyptian army; he led them through the wilderness; he provided food and water in the desert; and he went before them and defeated their enemies as they entered the land.
Where we stand: We’ve trusted you (verses 4-8)
Second, God’s people move to the present and they tell God ‘Where we stand.’ If you read through verses 4-8 you’ll see that there’s nothing wrong with their commitment – or with their methods. “We’ve been faithful to you” they say to God; “we’ve trusted you; we haven’t trusted ourselves or our strength or our armies – we’ve relied on you.”
We’re confused (verses 9-22)
And that’s why we’re confused:
But now you have rejected and humbled us;
Psalm 44:9-11
you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
and have scattered us among the nations
We’ve trusted you – we’ve been faithful – and yet it feels as though you’ve abandoned us. You no longer go out with our armies; you make us retreat before the enemy. You’ve made us a reproach to our neighbours (verse 13); you’ve made us a byword among the nations (verse 14). People scoff at us and say “look at those people in the (Insert name of denomination) – look what’s happened to them!” We feel like you’ve abandoned us God.
That’s why we lament; it’s why we complain. “Lord – what is going on? What are you doing? We don’t understand?” We don’t understand the circumstances we’re facing personally. We don’t understand how we could be in the position we’re in. We don’t understand why we’re facing this derision. We don’t understand why we should be the ones forced to think about our future. Lord what’s going on?
And when you begin to lament – you realise how much there is to lament. Inappropriate use of power – within the Church of England and outside – extending to Ukraine, and corrupt nations around the world. Injustice and preying on the weak – including the pornography industry and the abortion industry and the cost of living crisis continuing whilst some companies make mega profits. Moral confusion leading to misery among many – particularly young people.
But there’s something very important that the writers include here – something that we also need to include in our prayer of lament. “You God have done this.” This is the refrain throughout these middle verses: “You… You… You…” You God have done this. And it’s very important that we’re able to say that. Yes the devil has been involved; yes opponents have been involved; yes our sin has been involved: But ultimately God has done this. And it’s important to be able to say this because if God has brought us to this point, then he can do something about it – he can resolve it.
Confession and Repentance
There is no confession of sin in Psalm 44. It appears that God has acted in this way even when God’s people haven’t sinned. And we can sometimes feel like that. Something’s gone wrong – and we consider it and ask “did I contribute to that?” and the answer is no, I didn’t.
On other occasions we can identify sin – both individual and corporate – which has led us to the point we’re at. And many other Psalms of Lament do include a confession of sin – God’s people have done something wrong, and that has contributed to their situation. And so it is appropriate to confess. And as we consider sensitive issues such as are being considered in the Church of England and other denominations at the moment we particularly need to confess: To confess our own sexual sin; to confess our own inappropriate use of power; to confess our own lack of love and welcome; and so on.
“Arise!” (verses 23-26)
In the last few verses the Psalm reaches its climax:
“Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
Psalm 44:23-26
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face
and forget our misery and oppression?25 We are brought down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up and help us;
rescue us because of your unfailing love.
The writers are confident that their current situation is not the end of the story. They ask God to rise up; and they’re confident that he will. Why? Because of the very last words in the Psalm: “Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.” The word for unfailing love is hesed – one of the most beautiful words in the Hebrew Old Testament. It speaks of God’s love, his faithfulness, and his commitment to his promises to his people.
They realise that God didn’t just rescue them at the time of the Exodus for no reason; he rescued them because he’d promised to. And he’d promised to rescue them because they were his people, descended from Abraham. And he’d promised Abraham and his descendants “you will be my people and I will be your God” (see, for example, Genesis 17:7). So God’s people come to God confidently, as the God of Abraham, the God of the Exodus, the God of unfailing covenant love – and they say “Rise up.”
And as God’s New Testament people we have even more evidence of God’s unfailing love. Because we know that God came to earth in the flesh, as Jesus Christ. And he died on a cross to pay the price for all our sin and failure. And to ensure that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).
In fact just a few verses after that famous verse in Romans the apostle Paul picks up on verse 22 in the Psalm:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life,neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:35-39
In other words – because of what Jesus did on the cross, we know as his people that no circumstances, no events, no illness, no world developments – nothing can ultimately separate us from God’s love. In fact, Jesus’s death transforms every challenging circumstance into an opportunity to grow, to know God better, and to bring glory to God.
And so we trust him. And incidentally that’s what makes a Prayer of Lament different from a simple complaint. There is complaint – but it ends in trust as we consider the character and work and promises of God and choose to trust him.
God will work for our good in the end. That’s true of whatever you’re going through at the moment. It’s true of your situation as you contend for the gospel in your denomination. The Psalm encourages us to confidently ask God – to plead with God – to arise and act. To work in power in our own lives; at our local church; in our region; in our denomination.
“Lord – we know what you’ve done in the past. We’ve trusted you. And yes we know we’ve gone astray and we are sorry. We ask you to help us live more and more according to your good ways.
We’re confused. We’re confused about what’s happening. We know you’ve done this. And so we ask you – Arise, Act. Remember your hesed – your unfailing love. In wrath, remember mercy.”
Imperfect Pastor 