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On September 20, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Discipleship, Theology, Wisdom

I Once Was Blind…

“How many times do I have to tell you?” A question either thought or verbalized by parents, teachers, mentors, bosses, and pastors alike. Sometimes, no matter how many times we’ve heard something, we just don’t get it. We can’t see it. We don’t understand. If we are genuinely showing effort, our instructors will ordinarily be patient with us and go over the same material until we can see it.

Jesus has been teaching the twelve for a while. As Luke records it, Jesus has told the twelve on two occasions in plain language that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer, die, and rise again the third day (Lk 9.21-22, 43-45). Now he is telling them a third time, and, as with the previous two, they don’t get it. They can’t understand what he is saying (Lk 18.34).

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On August 19, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Culture, Discipleship, Men, Wisdom

Letters To Young Men: The Man & His Mission

Dear Young Man,

In my first letter, I talked to you about the state of masculinity in our culture; what you are facing and will have to face in the future. It’s bad out there, and you face many challenges. However, as we will see as we proceed through these letters, challenges should be right up your alley. The purpose of these letters is not merely to curse the darkness, but to give you light by which to walk as men. Consequently, in this second letter, I begin focusing positively on what it means to be a man.

First and foremost, man is created a worshiper. As the image of God, man is created to reflect and participate in the family life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are to join in the family conversation—prayer—talking to one another about needs, praising one another for good works, asking for forgiveness where we have sinned (us, not God, of course), eating with one another (the Supper), talking about the situations in our families, churches, nations, and the world, and suggesting things that might be done about it. We are to listen to our God, the one who created us, redeemed us, and defines who we are and what we are to do in this world. We are to respond in allegiance to him, loving him with all of our being and joyfully obeying what he commands. You are created, first and foremost, as a worshiper.

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On July 23, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety

The Psychology of Porn

In the first 30 days of COVID, pornography use increased by 18%. Almost six months later that number has surely doubled. Restlessness, uncertainty about the future, boredom among teens and young adults (mostly), and fear make up some of the main reasons people engage porn. As I have said before, pornography in most cases provide a reward system for those who feel cheated in life or robbed of opportunities or simply feel that they have worked too hard not to deserve it.

But the harsh reality is that porn leaves us empty; incapable of fulfilling even the slightest desire to find life or newness. Pornography changes the human mind to see an alternative universe where one would like to dwell, but whose reality quickly turns to dust.

Another interesting area of research is how the impact of porn changes the intellect. I would not be surprised to discover 20 years from now that the main reason for the post-persuasion age is the unrestricted use of porn. It rewires the pathways in the brain and causes an individual to stop desiring deep things in life and thus longing for the cheap and destructive and stupid slogans.

I can predict that the frequent porn user does not see the role of the mind as a needed approach to honoring God (Mat. 22:37). Pornography removes the need for depth in life and chooses to satisfy itself in trivialities. The deep things, the big books, the long-form conversations fail to grab the attention when the imagination is wrapped in false versions of reality.

Men, when tempted to see porn today, remember your God, your wife and your children and like Luther, find a firm inanimate object and throw it at the devil, and say, “Get thee, behind me, for I am baptized in the Triune Name! My imagination belongs to Another!”

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On July 12, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology

Prodigal Grace

I’m standing outside of our family house. You wouldn’t believe what is going on in there. My father is throwing this big party for his wayward son. I refuse to call him “my brother” after what he did.

He has always had a wild streak. Looking back, I can see how it was there his entire childhood. Father never dealt with him the way that he should have, in my opinion. If he had been stricter and not let him have so much freedom, things would have been different. That child got everything he wanted while I slaved away in the house, never receiving anything. Father never gave me as much as a goat so that I could have a good time with my friends, but he is now throwing a party for this profligate son of his with Wagyu beef! The shame of it all.

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On July 5, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Discipleship, Family and Children

Count The Cost

We are rapidly approaching the intense campaign season. (It seems that we never leave campaign season anymore. We only have less and more intense seasons of it.) Big elections will be happening soon. Debates will occur and stump speeches will be given. Each candidate will be telling you why he or she should be elected (or at least why the other guy should not be).

Most of these candidates will be telling you all that they are going to do for you. One side is going to give you all this free stuff. The other side is going to reduce your taxes. Everyone is concerned about sweetening the pot to entice you to sign on with his agenda.

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On June 21, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology, Wisdom

When Mercy Ends

The words of Jesus at the end of Luke 13 are heart-wrenching and sobering:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Lk 13.34-35)

Patient mercy has been extended to Jerusalem for generations and is now coming to its greatest expression in Jesus. God has called. They have refused. The time of mercy for the impenitent is coming to an end.

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On May 20, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety

The Over-Sexualization of Friendship

Why are we so lonely? One can begin to articulate indefinitely. But I believe that one of the major reasons is that we have over-sexualized everything. A simple joke can turn into an obscene narrative. Two men hugging one another can send out mixed messages. Why? Because long ago (enter whatever year you like), we decided to accept the premise that intimacy and tenderness are erotic categories reserved for the married or the immoral. We are poorer because we allowed this to become the prevailing ethos of our culture.

I remember well growing up in South America and seeing female friends walking around holding hands, sisters and brothers held hands in public also; men greeted women with a kiss, and men gave one another big monstrous hugs as a public sign of affection. I did not think twice about their masculinity or femininity. It was natural. Even now, when I return to my home country, it takes me a day or two to adjust because I, too, have accepted the strange assertion that intimacy and tenderness belong only in particular categories. And I am of the hugging-party, so imagine someone who is not.

The side-effects of an oversexualized society that it is more alone than ever is that are the most connected society that has ever existed, and yet we are the most drugged, the loneliest, and the most comfortable with being drugged and lonely. If you read letters only 100 years ago between friends, let’s say Bonhoeffer’s exchanges with Eberhard you very quickly get a sense that we don’t live in those times anymore. We are far removed from the words of affection of those two men men because we do not treasure intimacy. In fact, we fear it. It is rare thing for a man to say to another man, “I love you.” Social distancing only confirms our love for the self. In this season, we have decided that relational poverty is our mode of operation.

There is much to say, but I leave only with the earnest desire that you will pursue friendship; that you will seek out the other without the fears that so often accompany our erotic-driven world. Love abundantly by not taking people for granted and by not despising their presence. C.S. Lewis once said that if we could recognize who we were, we would realize that we were walking with possible gods and goddesses, whom if we could see them in all their eternal dignity and glory, we would be tempted to fall and worship.If anything, let the call of charity and care drive your view of others. Let the world misunderstand us. In some ways, our call as Christians is to be misunderstood by the world because they reject our communion with the friend of sinners.

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On May 8, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety

A Song for the Day of Trouble (part 3)

Everyone knows the power of the right song at the right time. I’ve experienced it on the radio, in the church pew, and in moments when singing was the last thing I felt like doing. There is a poetic potency in music to pierce through the darkness or rise above the noise. It should not surprise us that this is so. We are made in the image of a singing God. Music is in our blood. And when our hearts are set free from sin and death, we become a singing people- especially in times of trouble. Jesus and his disciples sang on the eve of the darkest night in all of history. Paul and Silas sang throughout the night bound and broken though they were.  These songs are gifts of the Spirit to stir us, strengthen us, and sustain us. Asaph seeks the remembrance of such a song now as he considers his present circumstances in light of how the Lord has revealed Himself to His people in the past.

Troubled times lead us to reorient our thoughts.

What song would he have sung to see the Lord’s favor again? What song would have stirred up his faith in the Lord’s protection and his hope in the Lord’s salvation? The Psalmist will turn to images from the Exodus in stanzas 3 and 4. So maybe it was the song of Moses recorded in Exodus 15. 

“I will sing to the LORD for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and the rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation; this is my God and I will praise Him, my father’s God and I will exalt Him.”

Exodus 15:1-2

Maybe it was the other song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32 that God commanded him to write and teach the people as they were ready to follow Joshua into the land of Promise. 

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation. Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you? Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations;”

Deuteronomy 32:1-7

In this song of judgment, the faithfulness and favor of God is contrasted with the coming unfaithfulness and ungratefulness of his chosen people, Israel. They will grow fat in the day of prosperity and forget the God who delivered them out of the hands of their enemies and made them great. 

A song of judgment does not sound like a good choice in dark times, but this was also a song for the faithful remnant. For the faithful, God’s justice is a great comfort. His sovereign rule is not a burden to be carried but a blessing. This song was a reminder that although God had forsaken unbelieving Israel, he would remain true to his promises to those who fear him, to those who call upon his name. The Apostle Paul poetically says it this way:

“If we have died with him, we will also live with him;  if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.“

2 Timothy 2:11-13

We do not know for certain the song Asaph has in mind, but whatever the song, he turns to it now. And the spirit that had grown faint in remembering in verse 3, is now stirred up to make a diligent search. Now he is ready to ask the questions rising up in his mind, but notice the nature of the questions.

“Will the Lord spurn forever?” 

“Will he never again be favorable?”

“Has his steadfast love forever ceased?”

“Are his promises at an end for all time?”

“Has God forgotten to be gracious?”

“Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”  

Questions of the heart either flow from belief or unbelief. Sometimes we can fall into a false piety that says true belief banishes all questions. In reality, true belief simply produces the right kind of question. Questions of belief are rooted in a reality beyond one’s self. Because we believe certain things to be true, we wrestle with present circumstances that challenge those truths. It is the martyrs’ unwavering faith in God’s justice that provokes them to cry “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” a

God is not in the dock enduring the cross-examination of Asaph. Asaph is a child before his father trying to grasp something bigger than his little hands can hold on their own. 

In contrast, questions of unbelief rise from a heart at the center of its own universe. All other things must give an account in relation to the self. Listen to how differently the questions sound when they arise from a man-centered perspective. 

“Why has the Lord rejected me?”

“Why is he withholding his blessings in my life?”

“Why doesn’t he love me?”

“Why are his promises not coming to pass?”

“Why has the Lord forgotten me?”

“Why is he punishing me like this?”

As trouble squeezes us, it not only reveals what is in us, but in the hands of the Spirit, it can shape us in glorious ways. Our honest cries become holy cries. Our sighs become songs. Our questions become guideposts that lead us out of the shadows into the shadow of the Almighty. 

Or to go back to an earlier image, this psalm is a divine song teaching us the dance of faith. We’re learning to let the Spirit lead us rather than rushing ahead. The Lord is not being asked to get in step with our lives; we are seeking to get into step with His life. It is a descending down that leads to a glorious ascending up. 

And stanza 3 brings that turning point. 

“Then I said, ‘I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.’ I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. I will ponder all your work and meditate on your mighty deeds.”

Psalm 77:10-11

Difficulties have a way of dominating our vision. We spend all our time thinking about what we don’t understand fully and we can’t see through it. Like dark clouds blowing across the moon, the things closest to us can obscure even the biggest, most solid of realities. Asaph fills his vision with clear remembrances of God’s glory revealed countless times in the lives of His people. He appeals to the years in which the works and rule of God were plainly demonstrated. He lets what is clear inform his understanding of what is cloudy. He leaves no room for doubt to slip in. As we meditate on the greatness and goodness of God in history, we will find our minds less captive to the anxieties of the present. Asaph lives under a clear sense of God’s countenance even when it is hidden. “The years of the right hand of the Most High” bring several truths to his remembrance.

First, he remembers that God is holy. Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? (v.13)

Second, he remembers that God is all-powerful. You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. (v.14)

Third, he remembers that God’s lovingkindness endures forever. You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. (v.15)

Troubled times provide the backdrop of gospel glory.

The final stanza looks to the deliverance of God’s people from Egypt as evidence of God’s power and love. The nature imagery, much of which is drawn from Moses’ account recorded earlier in Scripture, provides a rich contrast between our response to figurative waves, storms, whirlwinds, and earthquakes. To us, these are the sources of trouble. But in the hands of the Almighty, they appear as mere servants to His redemptive grace.  

“When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.“

Psalm 77:16-20

The Psalmist looks back at the great deliverance of God’s people and he finds great comfort and hope in the midst of present trouble. The Lord is faithful to his own. His steadfast love endures forever. His promises stand firm. He is gracious, slow to anger and rich in compassion.

But there is a greater exodus that we are to look back and remember. We have experienced a greater deliverance by a greater Moses. We have been given a greater kingdom by a greater Joshua. 

It was all perfectly accomplished as water and blood flowed from his side, as the earth trembled and shook at the empty tomb, as he ascended to the right hand of the Father to shepherd his little lambs, and as He poured out His Spirit upon the church to become kings and priests to the world.

The psalms are gospel songs. What they looked forward to for Asaph are a means of looking back for us. We are not just a singing people. Our songs have a peculiar tune, a peculiar sound that cannot be ignored. Today, in the midst of real life, “let us love and sing and wonder; let us praise the Savior’s name!” b AMEN!


  1. Revelation 6:10  (back)
  2. Newton, John (1774). Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder  (back)

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On April 29, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology

A Song for the Day of Trouble (part 2)

The same Spirit hovering over the waters at creation breathing life into the world a is the same Spirit who will at times trouble the waters of our soul so that we continually seek the Living Water. “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” b  The same Spirit bringing the Word of Life into our hearts c is the same Spirit by which we can cry out, “Abba, Father!” in our hour of need. d As we move into the second part of the psalm, we are going to see what it is we really need when trouble comes and how the Lord provides.

Troubled times lead us to seek a particular salvation.

“In the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.”

Psalm 77:2-3

When we think of nighttime, the picture we often get is one of resting from the labors and activities of the day. We think of laying our head down on our soft pillow and slipping off into sleep like the sun slowly settling beneath the horizon. Night should be a time of peace and rest. But it is not so for Asaph.

In the midst of troubles, the night brings him neither rest nor comfort. You can lay down at night with a weary body but a soul at rest and enjoy good sleep. But to go to bed with a weary soul often results in a restlessness of body. Here, either the troubles Asaph is experiencing make it impossible to sleep or he will not allow his body rest until his soul is also at rest. His soul is weary and worn, so his hand stretches out in help to God and he will not let it fall until he finds it. His body will not be at peace until his soul is at peace. He is not concerned about having sleepless nights. If this was his problem, then any sleep trick will do. Anyone who has experienced those first few weeks or months with a newborn baby knows to what lengths one will go to get some sleep. Asaph is concerned with knowing real peace and his soul refuses to be satisfied with anything less. 

This is the deficiency of our therapeutic age. Even if we correctly diagnose the problem, we are far too easily satisfied with the cure. We settle for numbing the pain rather than healing the wound. We mask the symptoms so we can hide the disease. We trade a birthright tomorrow for a bowl of stew today. e  

But Asaph isn’t trying to escape the presence of trouble and all that comes with it; he is seeking to find comfort in the presence of the Almighty. He knows what St. Augustine would come to understand and pray centuries later, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

We often seek comfort by forgetting. We try to find peace by escaping reality, not contemplating it. Think of all the things we do to check out of life for a little while. Whether it’s alcohol or binge watching or working out, we can all very easily fall into the trap of self-medicating in order to forget the worries and cares. Asaph does not seek comfort in distraction but meditation. He intentionally directs his thoughts to God. But, surprisingly, when Asaph contemplates God, that meditation initially brings more sorrow and weakness to his heart and soul. 

Why would meditating on God cause his spirit to faint? Doesn’t Scripture promise that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint”? f He grieves in his spirit because the greatest delight and comfort of the Christian is to have the favor of God. For the child of God, the greatness of our salvation is not what we have been redeemed from but the Father we have been saved to. What sweeter blessing can we receive than that the Lord make His face to shine upon us, lift up His countenance to us, and give us peace? g

But days of trouble can set a cloud over that glory. We do not sense his favor. We do not feel the warmth of his presence. “Darkness hides his lovely face,” as the hymn puts it. h Remembering the goodness and favor and blessing of God in the past makes the present darkness all the more dark. Only those who have been to the summit of Everest can fully appreciate standing at the base of that mountain looking up into the clouds to a peak that cannot even be seen. But those are also the people who will not settle for anything less. Which means they must face the struggle; they must not shut their eyes, but look through the trouble until they see clearly once again.  

“You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I consider the days of old, the years long ago. I said, ‘Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.’ Then my spirit made a diligent search:”

Psalm 77:4-9

It is the Lord’s gracious hand that keeps Asaph’s eyes open and brings him to this point. The psalmist who cries out to the Lord in verse 1 now has no more words to speak. He moves from crying out in the day of trouble to now considering the days of old. His eyes gaze from the present to the past. First he looks up then he looks back. And in looking back he begins to rise above the waves that would threaten to drown him in despair.

Thus far in this song, Asaph has been the reference point. There are plenty of personal pronouns in the first two stanzas. Some commentators are critical of this. They see the psalmist self-absorbed in his trouble. That could be the case. If not true for Asaph, then at least true in my own experience. 

But I think Asaph starts where he does because this is a song for real people in the midst of real struggles learning to navigate real life.  The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us. i That hope is not a gnostic experience. It is often forged in the fires of particular trouble and polished in the daily rub of relationships. Personal pronouns matter a great deal.

So, from crying out to the Lord to discouraged moans about the Lord to exhausted silence, Asaph finally speaks to himself. Refusing superficial sleep, he directs his mind and heart to remember his song. We will consider this song in the third and final part.

  1. Genesis 1:2  (back)
  2. Isaiah 58:11  (back)
  3. Deuteronomy 8:3; Hebrews 10:16  (back)
  4. Romans 8:15  (back)
  5. Genesis 25  (back)
  6. Isaiah 40:31  (back)
  7. Numbers 6:24-26  (back)
  8. Mote, Edward (1834). My Hope is Built on Nothing Less  (back)
  9. 1 Peter 3:15  (back)

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On April 27, 2020 By In Counseling/Piety, Theology, Wisdom

A Song for the Day of Trouble (part 1)

Troublesome times are a great constrictor of the soul. They squeeze with a kind of pressure that exposes what is within us. During a crisis of the magnitude and scope we are experiencing now, the responses of the people provide an honest look into the heart and soul of a culture.  Naturally, you will always have the deniers, the doomsayers, the opportunists, and a variety of other characters on the stage. But who will we be in the day of trouble?  

In Psalm 77, we find a genuine, honest dealing with life when the day of trouble comes. We find not only one man’s experience and expression, but a wonderful gift given by God to his people throughout all times and in all places about how to deal honestly with the realities of life when trials invade our lives, our families, our churches, or our communities. 

Many of us are familiar with what the worldly virtue of self-expression looks like. It is often raw and untamed. It flows like a water hose through social media, song lyrics, t-shirts, and even casual conversations. As the trouble increases so does the force and volume of its flow. 

In contrast, the Psalms are a mighty river channeled between the shores. Honest expression and real emotions are governed by the solid, immovable truths of glory and grace.  Whether rushing swiftly over jagged rocks or flowing as quiet waters, these divine songs always bring us to see life clearly…as it truly is, as it is meant to be, as it is going to be for the people of the cross. How we express ourselves in these troubled times will either muddy the waters of reality or it will bring clarity, both for us and the watching world. 

As we step inside Asaph’s world and walk with him in his day of trouble, we also are learning how to walk. As the Lord Himself invites his people to sing this song, we are learning how to dance when the music of life plays the minor key. 

Troubled times lead us to seek a particular Savior. 

“In the day of my trouble, I seek the Lord.” (v.2) 

When trouble comes, Asaph’s eyes look heavenward. This response seems so obvious to us, so much so that we probably don’t take the time to ask the question, “Why does he seek the Lord in the day of trouble?”  It’s a question that appears too simple to even warrant consideration, but consideration is exactly what’s needed. 

The psalmist recognizes that only the Lord can deliver him out of his troubles. So it’s to the Lord he runs. We don’t know what these troubles are or the context of the situation. It really doesn’t matter. It is enough to know that Asaph is a man in trouble. He is not simply troubled by things he sees or knows; he calls it “my trouble.”  And how he responds to those personal troubles reveals something about his own heart and the heart of the One to whom he seeks. Life squeezes, circumstances overwhelm, and the psalmist responds almost instinctively in a particular way.

Have you ever been in danger of drowning or seen someone else struggling to keep themselves afloat? I’ve never literally been in that situation, although years ago I did have to jump into a pool fully clothed to help one of my sons who had ventured too far into the deep end. It was a bit scary at the time and I ruined a good phone and my favorite pair of shoes. But I most certainly know the feeling of drowning under the pressures of life. I know that in those moments of physical or emotional drowning, the temptation is to look for anything that might hold out the slightest hope of rescue.

Asaph is not a drowning man thrashing and clawing for whatever he can find to hold on to. When trouble rushes in, his eyes are not frantically searching for relief and deliverance. The reason something like a microscopic parasite can throw the world into hysteria and confusion is because every individual and every nation responds according to how they answer two basic questions: What do they want? What is getting in the way of what they want? The ditches of history are strewn with a long line of saviors and scapegoats. 

Asaph’s eyes are drawn to a certain Deliverer and a particular salvation. He does not seek a convenient savior; he seeks the consummate Savior. There is a world of difference between the two. He resonates such glorious truths as Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD is in your midst, a mighty one who will save;” and Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

Troubled times lead us to a particular response.

I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. (v.1)

How the psalmist seeks the Lord is also telling. He cries aloud to God. He gives voice to his troubles. He brings them out into the open. He does not keep them shut up, nor does he silently endure. He shapes these troubles into tangible, spoken words. Obviously, the all-knowing, all-wise God does not need such audible expressions. He is “a very present help in trouble.” a But Asaph’s cries remind us of some important things to keep in mind when our day of trouble comes. 

God does not need us to put words to our suffering, but neither does He discourage His children from doing so. We do not have to silently endure. We do not have to stoically wait upon Him. To cry out in pain and anguish and deep trouble is not a sign of weak faith. Jesus Himself gave voice to His anguish in the garden. Rather, our cries become a lament of the whole person. The soul is troubled and the body gives expression to it. Body and soul, Asaph seeks the Lord because body and soul the Lord created him.  

Not only does this expression show us something of the relationship between Asaph and the Lord, but it also indicates that this is not a private lament; it is not merely a personal trial. Giving voice to our need brings our burdens into the midst of the congregation. It brings our dependence upon God into the light of community. To be united together as the body of Christ means that there are no private troubles. b We sing these songs together as a vivid reminder of this reality. 

In the next part, we will look at the particular salvation Asaph seeks and how he finds comfort in the midst of trouble. Hopefully, we will gain some practical wisdom from the way he goes about moving from being restless to being at rest. For now, let us learn and imitate these songs so that when our waters are troubled, we can give honest expression to the depth and breadth of our suffering without violating the established boundaries of our relationship to Christ and His church.  The depth and breadth of His glory and grace is greater. While the world looks around pointing fingers and grasping for answers, the church should be singing. Not in obliviousness like Nero fiddling while Rome burns, but harmoniously and honestly lifting up our eyes and voices in hope for ourselves and the nations.

  1. Psalm 46:1  (back)
  2. 1 Corinthians 12:21-26  (back)

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