Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.  

Psalm 43:5  

In the course of life we may often find ourselves cast down. Because it does occur to many of us as a practical reality, we have reason to ask ourselves, ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul?’ In the case of the psalmist it was ‘an ungodly nation’ and ‘deceitful, unjust’ men. They were oppressive to this man and by logical inference, his people. Thus, he was cast down with good reason. Having said that, there are others in the Scripture who were cast down with good reason. Moses was cast down because of the contrariness of the children of Israel in the wilderness. David was cast down because of the murderous campaign of Saul against him. Elijah was cast down because of his physical tiredness as well as mental and spiritual exhaustion. These are a few instances of many. We want to recognize that to be cast down of soul is a common human experience from which followers of Christ are not exempt. Faith in Christ does not mean we will not experience hours of darkness. If we do experience them we are not less than truly spiritual. Many who have trusted in Christ have been cast down. We are not alone.    

Our Gracious Master and our God,  
we praise You that You have partaken in our humanity,  
and that you understand us.  
In our darkest hours, we hope in You. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.  

Psalm 43:5 

What is the solution for us when we are downcast? The psalmist has asked himself the question, ‘Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me?’ The earlier portions of the psalm indicate the source of his distress. An ungodly nation, deceitful, unjust men, and the oppression of the enemy were the cause of his being downcast. The natural-minded person would have a natural solution for him. They might say ‘be more thankful; choose joy; follow the commands of God more closely; be more faithful.’ These solutions all turn downcast souls back to themselves. By contrast, the author knows where the solution is. He says, ‘hope in God.’ Self-help is not the way for us to come out of being downcast. We are not our own saviors. Christ is our Savior. All our hope is in God and God’s hope for us is through Christ. When Elijah was downcast, Christ came to him. When Peter sank in the waves, Christ lifted him. Christ is the hope of His downcast people. If you are downcast today, for whatever reason, look to Christ. He has always been, is now, and shall ever be the Hope of His people. Hope in God.  

Our Good and Gracious God,  
we rejoice that You are the help of the downcast.  
We praise You that when we are at our lowest,  
You lift us up.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.  

Colossians 1:16  

…has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds… 

Hebrews 1:2 

Christ is the Creator. The first portion of our text is specific in its’ delineation of all the things He created. The second portion of our text speaks of Him as having created the worlds. This refers to the universe. We look at the world around us, taking into account what God has told us of how it came to be and we marvel at how it is and continues to be. If we look outside the world to the universe we behold even greater marvels. We have only scratched the surface in our exploration of what is outside our little blue-green planet. Even our own galaxy holds undiscovered secrets. Beyond that, there is an entire universe of galaxies, suns, moons, and black holes. Christ has created all these things. They exist because He has brought them into being and continues to uphold them by the word of His power. They are testimonies to Him. ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.’ This matters to us because we have an indissoluble union with Him. Because He, as the Creator has redeemed us, we are irreversibly connected to the One Who has created the universe and know all its’ secrets. This is a vast wealth of knowledge. As we contemplate Him, He reveals, and shall continue to reveal the secrets of His creation.  

Our Great and Gracious God, 
we rejoice at all that You have created. 
We praise You that as we come to know You better, 
we come to understand our relation to all these things.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

For in Him, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 

Colossians 2:9-10 

God rules and Christ reigns. The book of Colossians has much to say about Christ’s positions. The summary of these positions is in the first chapter and we have considered it extensively over the past days. Our text speaks of Him as ‘the head of all principality and power.’ If we refer to the summary of the first chapter we read, ‘For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.’ Our text tells us He controls these principalities and powers. This is important for us to grasp, especially when we observe the course of this present world. We are cognitively aware that evil is afoot. We recognize that ‘we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.’ If we understand that those are under the power of Christ then we have hope of their defeat. Even Satan himself is bound by the power of Christ. He wanted to do more to Job than God allowed him to do. When we consider that Christ is the head of all principalities and powers we cease to fear what they can do. They are subject to Christ. He controls them whether they acknowledge Him or not, ‘so we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ We need not fear the power of any second cause if we know the First Cause. Christ, not man, is King. He is and shall continue to be the head of all principality and power.  

Our King, and God, and Savior, 
we rejoice that You rule over all. 
We praise You that all that is, 
is subject to You. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning