The Dark Companion
Scripture
At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
~Matthew 27:45-46, NLT
Quote
The darker the night, the brighter the stars.
~Thomas Watson
______________________________________________________________________
Psalm 88, the dark Psalm was my study yesterday morning. It was written by Heman, a Levite worshiper leader and singer. By all accounts, he was a wise and godly man. Psalm 88 is different from all the other Pslams because it does not end in praise. The last line is, “Darkness is my closest friend.” We do not know what had Heman depressed. He may have had an incurable contagious disease and under quarantine. We do know that he felt shunned and alone. I can’t read this Psalm without thinking about Jesus on the cross and after reading it yesterday, I had a thought that had never crossed my mind: Jesus died in the dark and some of His final words were, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” I agree with John of the Cross who believed that all of God’s servants go through what he called THE DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. It is a season of darkness that God uses to losen our grip on things we do not need. It could be a time of sorrow, doubt, or suffering that works like a refiners fire purifying us and making us more like Jesus.
I think it is possible that grace grows better in the dark. Perhaps I should say deeper. I know I have learned things in the seasons of darkness that I would have never understood otherwise. Whatever the case, whatever caused Heman to get depressed; there is a sermon in Psalm 88. Churchill said, “Never give up…never, never, never give up.” I think Heman would say, “Never Stop…never, never, never stop….
- Never stop praying—Heman never stopped praying. Verse 1– “I cry day and night before You. Let my prayer come before You, incline Your ear to my cry.” Verse 9— “Everyday I call upon You; I spread my hands before You.” Verse 13— “But I O LORD cry out to You.”
- Never stop worshipping the LORD— Heman mentions Yahweh four times, verses 1,9,13,14. He never turned to idols. He continued to exalt and worship the LORD. Never stop attending worship.
- Never stop believing—Verse 1— “O LORD, God of my salvation.” Sometimes faith has to walk in darkness. We have seen it lately, black clouds gather over us obscuring the sun. The sun is still shinning but we can’t see it for the clouds. The apostle Paul and his companions endured two weeks of darkness at sea. They saw neither the sun by day or the stars by night. There is no way an ancient mariner could navagate without the stars. So if you are in a season of darkness, do not stop praying, worshipping the LORD Jesus and believing in His saving grace.
- God is good and we thank Him for another sabbath and for the privilege of preaching the gospel
- Wednesday night bible study—James 4:1-10
Me and the Greats having a big time after Sunday Lunch at Granny’s
