“No Strength” (Ps 88)

“O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You; incline Your ear to my cry. For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength” (vs1-4)

Jesus suffered more that you and me, more than all Christians combined, and more than any sinner will suffer in hell: He died in the place of God's elect, and became the mark of God's anger, as He was punished in our place for the innumerable and infinite sins of God's elect people (vs1-4). Our whole guilt and punishment was laid on Him, and He died for us successfully but agonizingly. When you think of your own sufferings, you'll be helped to see Christ SUFFERING more, earning God's salvation for you, and His being faithful under duress. Throw out the pity party! The Son of God SUFFERED and we are free. You and I may have tough trials and hardships. We may be in present distress and confusion. But, we are not down as low as the Son who bore the curse, who died in torment, and yet who endured by faith.

I see this Psalm doesn't end in triumphant notes, but we know that's He's risen. We know that He waited on God and was heard. He said, “O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You”. You will be heard too, for His sake. He is already working things together for your good. Fret not and believe. Look not to what you can do to figure out your path, but look to His leading and receive mercy from His hand.

Christ believed God, leaned upon Him in the darkness, and rested His pain-filled soul upon God's faithful and merciful promises (vs6-13). He said, “My eye wastes away because of affliction. Lord, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You”. He could not FEEL peace, but He knew God would be there for Him. He says again, “But to You I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before You”. He couldn't receive any laughter into His soul, for the grief was too severe, but He kept on reaching out to God, even when He heard no response and felt no love returned back unto Him. I've NEVER been here! I've never been in a situation where I was without light, under the curse of God, and completely void of comfort. But, He did this because the wages of sin demanded God punish Him mercilessly. God must be just and upright, or He cannot save. He must PUNISH the sins, if they'll be pardoned.

I heard of a king whose son committed a crime, and the people knew it was him, but they delivered him from justice, because they loved the king dearly. Early in the morning, however, the king rang the church bells, and when the people came out, they saw his son, dead, hung by the neck. The king said, “Justice must be honored, even if it is the king's son”. And, when Christ was pleading for mercy, begging for assistance, and heaven was utterly quiet, God was saying, “Justice must be honored, even if it is the Son of God”. Let this teach you that pain inexpressible is the wages of sin, not your or my measly tears or our promises to improve. We can't say, “We're sinners, so of course we sin”, and we can't show ourselves SORRY enough. We believe, when guilty and filthy, we trust Christ when errors are made known in us, and we declare that His death alone is the answer God demanded. Christ died HOLY, so that God may give, forgive, and treat us to pleasures because Christ took our pain. The gospel is JUST above all else, and it is the sufferings of the Son!

Finally, it's OK to be low (vs14-18)! He said, “Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.” You hear talk about Christianity being joy and peace, and yet pain comes too! It is NOT a gospel of believe God, do what you're supposed to do, and it will be “happy, happy, joy, joy”. It is NOT a gospel of obey God, and you won't have much pain. But, look at the example of Christ. He admitted His grief, and yet He TRUSTED God amidst it, like a man who believes amidst tears and fears, though he has no smile on his face.

Don't let your hurt distract you from knowing that you're in God's will, as you look up to Him for help. He said, “Loved one and friend You have put far from me, and my acquaintances into darkness”. Don't let your pain become doubt producing, as if it means your faith isn't real. The GOSPEL will help you, even though we have times of pleading, and pleading, and help seems far off.

Christ was tormented for you, and He wasn't smiling as He died, but He was kept, heard, and successful. You and I will be too, because He was. And, we can't look at our problems as overwhelming, when God raised His own Son from the dead. Truly, your intense agony that you may be experiencing is GREATER than any trial you've had, but it isn't greater than the Son's death for you, nor will His work go unrewarded and you be without comfort for long.

Someone was telling their Facebook friends that they got no birthday present, but God. Well, that's getting more than the world gets by far.