Christian Mourning

Mourning

We’ve had a number of deaths in the family and among friends lately. It has been a difficult time and raises the question “How should a Christian mourn the loss of a loved one?”

Matthew 5:4

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Jesus said the grieving, lamenting, crying and mourning is a part of life. Furthermore, he promises to comfort those who mourn. So when we lose a loved one, it is alright to cry a little and lament their loss. We rightly feel the loss and will miss their presence in our lives. However, for Christians, there is a limit to mourning and when the loved ones knows Jesus, there is also an element of rejoicing. John writes in the Revelation about the ultimate destiny of those who die in the Lord:

Revelation 7:16-17

16 They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat;

17 for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

So we rejoice that they are in the presence of Jesus and celebrate their life. We remember all that their life has meant to us and we honor their memory. But even so, we are saddened by the loss of their presence in our lives. We miss them.

Having experiences the loss of both parents and all my siblings, I can tell you from experience that the grieving process takes time. The first year is the hardest. When that next birthday, anniversary or holiday comes up, we think about them and wish they were still with us to celebrate the occasion. My sister was a San Francisco Giants fan, and to this day I wonder if she is watching when the game comes on TV. Anyhow. who knows, maybe heaven has a direct line to the MLB network! With God all things are possible!

After a time, normal mourning will subside. We still remember but the memories are not as sharp as the once were. The hard part is when there are painful memories that just won’t go away on their own. If there is unforgiveness between you and the departed one, healing comes hard. It is possible however, to receive healing for relationships, even after one of the parties has departed this world. They can no longer forgive us, of course, but we can still forgive them and also forgive ourselves for our part in the hurtful relationship. Ask a trusted prayer partner for help in this if you  are troubled by unresolved conflicts. It is possible to receive forgiveness and healing and then the true Godly mourning can begin.

I hope this helps somewhat. I recently told on relative whose father had just passed away that the simple answer to grieving is the there is no simple answer! It takes time, and prayer and the support of Godly friends and family. So if you find yourselves in this position of having lost a loved one, reach out to a friend or someone you trust at church and pray it through. Mourning is natural, but is still painful, but God will help you though it. Remember what King David said about it:

Psalms 23:4

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

A final thought on the subject is this. Consider what the writer to the Hebrews said about those that have gone before us:

Hebrews 12:1-3

Jesus, the Example

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Perhaps the best tribute to a lost loved one, is to live a life that honors all that they taught us. We are a living legacy of their life, so do not grow weary and lose heart, but continue to run the race in such a way that honors those that have gone before, but now are watching as a great cloud of witness to cheer us on towards the goal!

Hallelujah- Psalms 145-150

 The Great Hallelujah 

Psalms 145-150

The book of Psalms closes out with a crescendo of praise to the Lord. Hallelujah is derived from the Hebrew “halal” which means praise and “Ya” which means the Lord, so hallelujah literally means “praise the Lord”. The praise builds from psalm 145 to the end at psalm 150.

Psalms 145:1-4, 20-21 (NASB20) 1 A Psalm of Praise, of David. 

I will exalt You, my God, the King, And I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2 Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. 4 One generation will praise Your works to another, And will declare Your mighty acts.

..

20 The LORD watches over all who love Him, But He will destroy all the wicked. 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh will bless His holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 145 starts of our final praise journey with general praise to the Lord. The psalmist is still thinking of the impact of his enemies on his life, but is starting to think about blessing the Lord and teaching the next generation to praise the Lord. He ends the psalm by acknowledging that the Lord watches over those who love Him and he turns his focus to speaking the praise of the Lord forever and ever.

Psalms 146:1-10 (NASB20) 

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, my soul! 2 I will praise the LORD while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Do not trust in noblemen, In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; On that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, Whose hope is in the LORD his God, 6 Who made heaven and earth, The sea and everything that is in them; Who keeps faith forever; 7 Who executes justice for the oppressed; Who gives food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. 8 The LORD opens the eyes of those who are blind; The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous. 9 The LORD watches over strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, But He thwarts the way of the wicked. 10 The LORD will reign forever, Your God, Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 146 begins the journey to higher praise. Here the psalmist praises the Lord and remembers all the blessing of creation. He remembers that the Lord made heaven and earth and that He established justice in the land. The psalmist is still aware of the problems in the earth, but “The Lord opens the eyes of those who are blind”, so he is starting to see. Praise the Lord!

Psalms 147:1-3 (NASB20) 

1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is beautiful. 2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.

Psalms 147:7-8 (NASB20) 

7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre; 8 It is He who covers the heavens with clouds, Who provides rain for the earth, Who makes grass sprout on the mountains.

Psalms 147:19-20 (NASB20) 

19 He declares His words to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. 20 He has not dealt this way with any other nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the LORD!

In the next psalm, the writer is starting to get into the spirit of things, singing praises to God and rejoicing in how the Lord has dealt beneficently with His people. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” As the psalmist allows the Lord to heal the brokenness and hurts in his life, he begins to look upward to praise the Lord. He is also looking outward to declare the wonderful works of the Lord to his brethren. You cannot both praise the Lord and dwell on you past hurts. At some point you are overwhelmed but the goodness of the Lord and His glory overcomes all the problems of life. So thank the Lord for His kindness and praise the Lord for who He is.

Psalms 148:1-14 (NASB20) 

1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights! 2 Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His heavenly armies! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all stars of light! 4 Praise Him, highest heavens, And the waters that are above the heavens! 5 They are to praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created. 6 He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree, and it will not pass away. 7 Praise the LORD from the earth, Sea monsters, and all the ocean depths; 8 Fire and hail, snow and clouds; Stormy wind, fulfilling His word; 9 Mountains and all hills; Fruit trees and all cedars; 10 Animals and all cattle; Crawling things and winged fowl; 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples; Rulers and all judges of the earth; 12 Both young men and virgins; Old men and children. 13 They are to praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven. 14 And He has lifted up a horn for His people, Praise for all His godly ones, For the sons of Israel, a people near to Him. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 148 starts to get the praise cranked up. Here the psalmist lists many of the things that the Lord has done that are worthy of praise; from sea monsters to the sun and moon. Even the stormy winds are worthy of praise. Therefore let all men, young and old, kings and all people, children and old men. Let everyone praise the Lord!

Psalms 149:1-9 (NASB20) 

1 Praise the LORD! Sing a new song to the LORD, And His praise in the congregation of the godly ones. 2 Israel shall be joyful in his Maker; The sons of Zion shall rejoice in their King. 3 They shall praise His name with dancing; They shall sing praises to Him with tambourine and lyre. 4 For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will glorify the lowly with salvation. 5 The godly ones shall be jubilant in glory; They shall sing for joy on their beds. 6 The high praises of God shall be in their mouths, And a two-edged sword in their hands, 7 To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishment on the peoples, 8 To bind their kings with chains, And their dignitaries with shackles of iron, 9 To execute against them the judgment written. This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!

In Psalm 149 the psalmist runs out of old songs and must sing a new song. The Lord is worthy of more than we can express, so we need to allow the Holy Spirit to give us a new song that is new every morning. So let us be joyful and rejoice, Let us take pleasure in the Lord and in His people. Let everyone sing praises to the Lord. “This is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!”

Psalms 150:1-6 (NASB20) 

1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty expanse. 2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. 3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre. 4 Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flute. 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with resounding cymbals. 6 Everything that has breath shall praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Finally, we come the the finale. Psalm 150 is the capstone of the Psalms, the final word on praising the Lord. In the earlier psalms, there was an awareness of people, of evil and of problems, but in this final psalm there is no mention of any person. There are no “I”s or “Me”s and no mention of any man at all. This entire psalm is dedicated to praising the Lord. This is the great Hallelujah. Every verse contains “hallelujah”, which is translated “Praise the Lord” in this version. Every voice, every instrument, everything that has breath shall praise the Lord.

There is really nothing else that needs to be said. The ultimate goal of every believer should be to set aside every thought of self and this world, and focus entirely on the Lord. In many ways, this life is just choir practice, teaching us how to worship the Lord, in every circumstance, through every problem, and in every way possible. When we learn that lesson, then we will be fit citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Everything that has breath shall praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

Psalm 139

 Psalm 139

Psalms 139:1-24 (NASB20) 1 For the music director. A Psalm of David. 

LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thought from far away. 3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, LORD, You know it all. 5 You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot comprehend it. 

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take up the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, 10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will take hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. 

• 13 For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfullymade; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You When I was made in secret, And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my formless substance; And in Your book were written All the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. 

17 How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, theywould outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. 

19 If only You would put the wicked to death, God; Leave me, you men of bloodshed. 20 For they speak againstYou wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate those who hate You, LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies. 

 

23Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Our God is an awesome God. He is everywhere and knows everything, yet he cares for the most insignificant details of our lives. He formed us in our mothers womb and wrote the details of our lives in His book before we were even conceived. It’s hard to add much to this psalm as it completely describes how much the Lord loves us and has a plan for our lives. 

But then we also have enemies that seek to lead us astray. That’s why it is necessary for the psalmist to end with a plea to “search me” and “lead me” so that he will live according to the plan the the Lord has, the “everlasting way”.

This brings to mind a book I have been reading recently, “Emotional Healing Made Simple”, by Praying Medic. Even though the Lord has a plan for our life, we often get side tracked or led astray, and the result is the “hurtful way”. But even then, the Lord has a plan to heal those hurts also. 

• 23Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; 24 And see if there is any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

This actually outlines the way to get healed from those hurtful emotions. You can ask the Lord to search your heart, revealing those hurts, and then Jesus can heal them. If you have any hurtful ways hidden in your heart, I urge you to pray for the Lord to heal them. The God that created the universe cares for every detail in your life and He can lead you in the way everlasting if you but ask and follow Him. 

Songs of Ascent- 3

 Songs of Ascent- 

Psalms 120-135

Part 3

Psalm 131

Psalms 131:1-3 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents, of David. 

LORD, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes arrogant; Nor do I involve myself in great matters, Or in things too difficult for me. 2 I have certainly soothed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child resting against his mother, My soul within me is like a weaned child. 3 Israel, wait for the LORD From this time on and forever.

Perhaps our pilgrim has just caught a glimpse of the temple for the first time and is awe struck at its majesty. It is good to contemplate the majesty and greatness of the Lord. That is perhaps one ting that our modern church has lost. The medieval cathedrals were designed to foster this sense of awe and majesty. Their towering arches made us feel small and encourages us to look up and worship the overpowering majesty of God. From time to time we need to remember that the Lord is greater than all we can imagine and we need to leave behind our pride and arrogance.

I love a loud and lively worship service, but there is also a time for quiet reflection. The old church was better at that but then they left it at that and didn’t continue on into exuberance worship. There is a time to quiet our souls and wait on the Lord and return to a child like faith.

Psalm 132

 Psalms 132:1-5 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents. 

Remember, LORD, in David’s behalf, All his affliction; 2 How he swore to the LORD And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 3 “I certainly will not enter my house, Nor lie on my bed; 4 I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, 5 Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

This next psalm is dedicated to praising the temple and the king. To put this into a New Testament context, we need to not give sleep to our eyes until we find a place for the Lord in our heart. We need to construct a suitable temple of the Holy Spirit in our innermost being.

Psalms 132:7-9 (NASB20) 

7Let’s go into His dwelling place; Let’s worship at His footstool. 8 Arise, LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. 9 May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, And may Your godly ones sing for joy.

Psalms 132:16 (NASB20) 

“I will also clothe her priests with salvation, And her godly ones will sing aloud for joy.

Remember that we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, so we should be clothed with righteousness. We need to enter into the presence of the Lord and sing for joy. We are clothed with salvation and sing around for joy.

Psalm 133

Psalms 133:1-3 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents, of David. 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, Running down upon thebeard, As on Aaron’s beard, The oil which ran down upon the edge of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For the LORD commanded the blessing there--life forever.

This is my favorite of all the songs of ascents. When I was first saved I lived in a Jewish neighborhood in Pittsburgh. There were many Messianic Jews living there and we would fellowship together. Oftentimes we would all sing and dance to this psalm. Sung in Hebrew, it is one of the favorite Jewish folk songs and dances that has been sung in rejoicing for centuries.

This psalm reminds us that we need brothers. The unity and fellowship of brothers in the faith is one of the key factors that will enable us to lead a godly life. There is a great blessing in such unity and the anointing of the Holy Spirit will flow over such a fellowship and cause much rejoicing.

Psalm 134

Psalms 134:1-3 (NASB20) 1 A Song of Ascents. 

Behold, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, Who serve by night in the house of the LORD! 2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary Andbless the LORD. 3 May the LORD bless you from Zion, He who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 135

Psalms 135:1-21 (NASB20) 

1 Praisethe LORD! Praise the name of the LORD; Praise Him, you servants of the LORD, 2 You who stand in the house of the LORD, In the courtyards of the house of our God! 3 Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. 4 For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His own possession. 5 For I know that the LORD is great And that our Lord is above all gods. 

At last, we have completed our journey and are standing in the temple. There is nothing remaking to do by to praise the Lord. Lift up you hands in the holy place and bless the Lord! The Lord is good, sing praises to HIs name!

May the Lord bless you greatly and may you make the journey up to Jerusalem often.The spiritual Jerusalem is available to us always in the New Covenant and the Holy Place is open to us through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus. So rejoice in the Lord and come into His presence to worship as often as you can.

Amen