Pastor Billington's Blog

Psalm 44:9-16 “But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor, and don’t go out with our armies. You make us turn back from the adversary. Those who hate us take plunder for themselves. You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us amongst the nations. You sell your people for nothing, and have gained nothing from their sale. You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us. You make us a byword amongst the nations, a shaking of the head amongst the peoples. All day long my dishonor is before me, and shame covers my face, at the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because of the enemy and the avenger.”

What a cry: “You used to help us. You used to protect us. Now you don’t. People hate us and make fun us. Why don’t you help us???”

Sometimes this type of cry is accompanied by a realization of sin. Sometimes not. But even when we understand why something is happening, we can still be in pain. We can still be in trouble. We can and should still cry out for help!

This is sometimes called “the dark night of the soul.” The time when you feel hopelessly abandoned by God. The time when you can’t feel His presence. What should you do? Even in the midst of despair – even if you brought it on yourself – even if you can’t feel God’s presence – you still cry out to Him for help. You plow through the doubt and pain. You keep going until you experience His presence again.

For additional worship: Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call (Psalm 42)

Psalm 44:1-8 “For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm. We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us what work you did in their days, in the days of old. You drove out the nations with your hand, but you planted them. You afflicted the peoples, but you spread them abroad. For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them. God, you are my King. Command victories for Jacob! Through you, we will push down our adversaries. Through your name, we will tread down those who rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither will my sword save me. But you have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those who hate us. In God we have made our boast all day long. We will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.”

One generation heard about how God worked in the past but hadn’t experienced it themselves. They are in trouble, and they need help. They know they can’t defeat their enemies on their own, so they cry out to God for deliverance and trust in His grace!

What can we learn from this? We may have physical enemies, but we certainly have spiritual enemies. We can’t defeat them on our own – we need God’s help! That’s why we study, pray, worship and trust.

For additional worship: Thy Hand, O God, Has Guided

Psalm 43:1-5 “Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation. Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men. For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Oh, send out your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Let them bring me to your holy hill, to your tents. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy. I will praise you on the harp, God, my God. Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him: my Saviour, my helper, and my God.”

There are some Hebrew manuscripts that have Psalm 42 and 43 connected as a single Psalm, and we can see why! At the very least, we understand why one was put after the other.

The Psalmist is facing opposition from ungodly nations and yearns to be back in Jerusalem. He cries out to be led by God’s light and truth, for then his righteousness will allow him to come and worship again in Jerusalem! God is his hope, his joy, his helper, and his savior.

We need to be led by God’s light and truth too. Those metaphors could refer to Jesus, the Spirit, or God’s Word. We rely on all three to live righteous lives!

John 14:17 “the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive, for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. You know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

John 8:12 “Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.’ ”

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.”

John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

For additional worship: Psalm 42 (I Will Praise Him Again)

Psalm 42:6-11 “My God, my soul is in despair within me. Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls. All your waves and your billows have swept over me. GOD will command his loving kindness in the daytime. In the night his song shall be with me: a prayer to the God of my life. I will ask God, my rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?’ As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me, while they continually ask me, ‘Where is your God?’ Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him, the saving help of my countenance, and my God.”

Away from Jerusalem. Surrounded by enemies. Wanting to be in the temple. Being in despair. Wondering where God is. Then being reminded of His goodness by the sun. Recognizing His majesty in the voice of the waterfalls. Being in awe because of the daunting height of the mountains. Talking to Him in the middle of the night: first expressing doubt, then expressing hope. Letting despair turn into trust and praise: “Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God!”

Haven’t you had those times in your life? When tempted to despair, turn to the creation around you to see the glory of God, and remember all that He has done for you through Jesus Christ!

For additional worship: It Is Well With My Soul | Reawaken Hymns

Psalm 42:1-5 “For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually ask me, ‘Where is your God?’ These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, how I used to go with the crowd, and led them to God’s house, with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping a holy day. Why are you in despair, my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God! For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.”

The Psalms are sometimes divided into 5 books, with each section ending with a doxology. Book 2 begins with Psalm 42.

Psalm 41:13 “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen.”

Korah led a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16), yet his descendants end up serving in the temple as musicians. What a reminder that we are accountable for our own sins, and not somebody else’s!

Numbers 26:11 “Notwithstanding, the sons of Korah didn’t die.”

2 Chronicles 20:19 “The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.”

The Psalmist is distressed. He is separated from Jerusalem and enduring the mocking of others. He longs for the times when he led worshipers to the temple to worship and praise. In the midst of his anguish, he reminds himself that God has not deserted him and that he should hope in Him!

Although we are the temple of God and His Spirit resides within us, there are still times when we are overcome by depression, or struggle with doubts and fears. That is when we most need to express our faith and hope, crying out for God’s presence in our lives.

For additional worship: As The Deer | The Worship Initiative (ft. Shane & Shane)

Psalm 41:10-13 “But you, LORD, have mercy on me, and raise me up, that I may repay them. By this I know that you delight in me, because my enemy doesn’t triumph over me. As for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting! Amen and amen.”

Because of Jesus, we don’t have to fear. When we believe we are credited with His righteousness, and we know we will be in God’s presence forever! While we may experience some difficulty in this life, ultimately all of our physical and spiritual enemies will be crushed under Jesus’ feet. We triumph because He triumphs!

1 Corinthians 15:23-26 “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”

For additional worship: Give me Jesus (Fernando Ortega)

Psalm 41:1-9 “For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Blessed is he who considers the poor. The LORD will deliver him in the day of evil. The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive. He shall be blessed on the earth, and he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness. I said, ‘LORD, have mercy on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you.’ My enemies speak evil against me: ‘When will he die, and his name perish?’ If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood. His heart gathers iniquity to itself. When he goes abroad, he tells it. All who hate me whisper together against me. They imagine the worst for me. ‘An evil disease’, they say, ‘has afflicted him. Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.’ Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who ate bread with me, has lifted up his heel against me.”

We are called to be a blessing to those who are disadvantaged. We don’t only help others to receive some kind of earthly reward. Our greatest rewards are the spiritual blessings that come from following God.

Luke 6:33-36 “If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind towards the unthankful and evil. ‘Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful.’ “

Why should we appeal to God for help? Because Jesus knows what it is like to be hated. What it is like to be maligned. What it is like to be betrayed. He can relate. He can understand. And we should always be ready to bring our cares and concerns to Him.

John 13:18 “I don’t speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.’ “

Hebrew 4:16 “Let’s therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.”

For additional worship: Psalm 41 (In Your Presence Forever) [feat. Jon DeGroot]

Psalm 40:13-17 “Be pleased, LORD, to deliver me. Hurry to help me, LORD. Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it. Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt. Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, ‘Aha! Aha!’ Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let such as love your salvation say continually, ‘Let the LORD be exalted!’ But I am poor and needy. May the Lord think about me. You are my help and my deliverer. Don’t delay, my God.”

Mockers continue to be a problem, and it will only get worse:

2 Peter 3:3-4 “knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.’”

Some make fun of our faith. Some rejoice when we fall. Most don’t understand repentance and restoration. We don’t live for them! We live for God, and it’s okay to ask God for vindication. After all, when we are vindicated, He is vindicated!

For additional worship: I Need Thee Every Hour | Reawaken Hymns

Psalm 40:7-12 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll. I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart.’ I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly. Behold, I will not seal my lips, LORD, you know. I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart. I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly. Don’t withhold your tender mercies from me, LORD. Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have surrounded me. My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart has failed me.”

Reflection is an important part of our relationship with God. We need to look at our lives in light of what God’s Word says. We need to recognize when we fall short. We need to recommit ourselves to putting it in our hearts. We need to share what we know with others. And we need to plead with God for His mercy and help to deal with our own iniquities and the innumerable evils that we face day to day.

James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

For additional worship: Have Thine Own Way, Lord (Megan Parks)