2023 - 01 - 29 Why Is There Suffering By The Rev Anders Edstrom.WAV

This is the first Sermon in a series called Burning Questions? by the Rev Anders Edstrom at Greenfield Presbyterian Church in Berkley, MI. The Scripture Lesson is Psalm 88 Lord, God of my salvation, by day I cry out, even at night, before you— 2 let my prayer reach you! Turn your ear to my outcry 3 because my whole being is filled with distress; my life is at the very brink of hell. 4 I am considered as one of those plummeting into the pit. I am like those who are beyond help, 5 drifting among the dead, lying in the grave, like dead bodies— those you don’t remember anymore, those who are cut off from your power. 6 You placed me down in the deepest pit, in places dark and deep. 7 Your anger smothers me; you subdue me with it, wave after wave. Selah 8 You’ve made my friends distant. You’ve made me disgusting to them. I can’t escape. I’m trapped! 9 My eyes are tired of looking at my suffering. I’ve been calling out to you every day, Lord— I’ve had my hands outstretched to you! 10 Do you work wonders for the dead? Do ghosts rise up and give you thanks? Selah 11 Is your faithful love proclaimed in the grave, your faithfulness in the underworld? 12 Are your wonders known in the land of darkness, your righteousness in the land of oblivion? 13 But I cry out to you, Lord! My prayer meets you first thing in the morning! 14 Why do you reject my very being, Lord? Why do you hide your face from me? 15 Since I was young I’ve been afflicted, I’ve been dying. I’ve endured your terrors. I’m lifeless. 16 Your fiery anger has overwhelmed me; your terrors have destroyed me. 17 They surround me all day long like water; they engulf me completely. 18 You’ve made my loved ones and companions distant. My only friend is darkness.