IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Lord, You Are the God Who Saves Me

Date: Jun. 1, 2016

Passage

Psalm 88:1-18  (ESV)

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

  O LORD, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.
  Let my prayer come before you;
    incline your ear to my cry!
  For my soul is full of troubles,
    and my life draws near to Sheol.
  I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
  like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
  like those whom you remember no more,
    for they are cut off from your hand.
  You have put me in the depths of the pit,
    in the regions dark and deep.
  Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
  You have caused my companions to shun me;
    you have made me a horror to them.
  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
    my eye grows dim through sorrow.
  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;
    I spread out my hands to you.
10   Do you work wonders for the dead?
    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;
    in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?
    Why do you hide your face from me?
15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
16   Your wrath has swept over me;
    your dreadful assaults destroy me.
17   They surround me like a flood all day long;
    they close in on me together.
18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 88:1

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

  O LORD, God of my salvation,
    I cry out day and night before you.

First, "day and night I cry out to you" (1-5). Psalms are the raw and sincere expression of the author's faith in their real situation. They help us to express our own inner thoughts, to relate, and find direction. Psalm 88 is unique in having no victorious conclusion. Yet the author, experiencing all these sufferings, has faith: "Lord, you are the God who saves me." His example gives us clear direction: "day and night I cry out to you." In our suffering, even due to our sin, we need not despair and give up hope. Rather, it is time to cry out to the Lord.

Second, "But I cry to you for help, LORD" (6-18). This is a lament for suffering under divine judgment: "Your wrath lies heavily on me"; "Your wrath has swept over me." He is lonely, as his closest friends have been taken. Yet his faith in God does not waver; he cries to God for deliverance. The purpose for deliverance is to praise the Lord, declare his love, and know his wonders and righteous deeds (10-12). Faith is expressed here, even under God's wrath.

Prayer: Father, you are sovereign over all. Help me seek you and see your hand in times of suffering.

One Word: You are the God who saves me

Daily Bread

Hallelujah!

Revelation 19:1-10

Key Verse: 19:1

Rejoicing in Heaven

19:1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

  “Hallelujah!
  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

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