Psalm 39: 12-13
12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,Psalm 126:1-6
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!”
1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Psalms about weeping
-Psalms go deep into emotions
-alternate way to deal with feelings
--secular = feelings/emotions are the ruler of our lives; just express emotion
--religiosity = afraid of feelings; hide emotion
---Psalms = acknowledge/recognize our emotions but don't let the rule us
What do we do with your tears?
1. Expect tears
2. Invest tears
3. Pray tears
1. Expect tears
Psalm 126
- even if God is in our life, we must expect a lot of tears
--there will be pain in our life and we will experience very hard pain even if we're good
---no mention of repentance b/c none was needed despite the hurt
---means that suffering doesn't mean we're wrong
---following Christ may mean even more tears
----conversion metaphor: we are given heart of flesh to replace heart of stone; we become more vulnerable and sensitive
----as we grow in grace, we suffer/cry more
-we must expect tears so we won't be caught off guard
--if we don't we'll weep over the pain but also about weeping; this will break us
2. Invest tears
Psalm 126:5-6
- farmers sow seed, and return with joy because of what seed has become
- in this poetic image, the farmer is sowing tears
--don't avoid tears or let them happen, plant them as an opportunity for fruitfulness and growth to come
--"don't waste your sorrows" - not embrace/avoid sorrows but when they come, use them
- result of these tears/seeds = joy
--note: tears aren't giving way to joy; tears become and produce joy (both are biblical though)
--without tears, the joy wouldn't come
--the kind of joy we need is the kind that comes from tears because it changes us
How do I do this?
3. Pray your tears
- go to God with your tears
- this changes us and our tears
We must plant our tears...
...in a realization of his grace
- God understands our weeping; it's safe to open up to him
Psalm 39
-ends different than other psalms; "theological incorrectness"
-asks God to leave him so that he may have peace before he dies
-psalm of david - this doesn't make sense!
--we're not supposed to feel/think/talk like this
--this prayer doesn't make sense just like Peter's request for Christ to depart from him
---it shows God's understanding of our hearts and souls that he knows when to press, when to leave, and how to care for our needs
---he knows when we hurt, are in pain, and are desperate. He knows what we say when we're desperate and in pain
----this tells us that it is ok to pray/speak to God like this
----he wants us to be open and vulnerable with him; our deepest anger/tears belong in our prayers (pre-reflective outbursts) to God; we're to speak/feel in his presence because he's safe
...in a vision of the cross
- most important part
- why is God so understanding? he knows pain/sorrows/grief
--garden of Gethsemane: Christ said he is sorrowful to the point of death (saying his sorrows are powerful enough to kill him before the cross)
---God knows what it's like to cry out and feel like no one is listening
- why would God say keep coming even after we say turn away from me?
--because when Christ felt forsaken, God turned his face away
---Christ experienced what we should have; therefore God turns his face to us and will never forsake us
---Christ's tears on the cross produced joy; it produced our welcome to a relationship with God
when we feel pain, we feel guilty
- get rid of it by looking at the cross
--we're not being punished or abandoned because Christ already suffered that for us
--that is when we must plant our tears and let ourselves break open before God
get rid of self-pity
- weeping is ok, but not in self-pity
- self-pity makes us oversensitive, unable to forgive, self focused, touchy
- look at cross and say "you have really suffered for me, therefore I can be patient through this"
impatient tears?
- some people may have lost faith by seeing Jesus on the cross
- we must be patient and wait for God to move and grow our tears into joy
- plants don't grow over night, in the same way, we must be patient and wait
...with assurance of glory
- planting our tears will result in joy - no if's, maybe's, or might's
- all true prayer pursued far enough will result in praise no matter how painful
--may not be quick, may take a lifetime; don't rush it
- why I am afraid to weep: part of me says it may never end, fear
--but if we are assured of the glory that will inevitably result, we can participate in weeping and tears knowing there will be joy/glory in the end
--be quick to cry in repentance; am I happy enough to weep?
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