October 19, 2015
Worship: You Never Let Go by Jeremy Camp
"You Never Let Go"
Even though I walk through the valley
Of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle
Of the storms of this life
I won't turn back, I know You are near
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
And I can see a light that is coming
For the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Yes, I can see a light that is coming
For the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Of the shadow of death
Your perfect love is casting out fear
And even when I'm caught in the middle
Of the storms of this life
I won't turn back, I know You are near
And I will fear no evil
For my God is with me
And if my God is with me
Whom then shall I fear?
Whom then shall I fear?
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
And I can see a light that is coming
For the heart that holds on
A glorious light beyond all compare
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
We'll live to know You here on the earth
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Yes, I can see a light that is coming
For the heart that holds on
And there will be an end to these troubles
But until that day comes
Still I will praise You, still I will praise You
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Oh no, You never let go
Through the calm and through the storm
Oh no, You never let go
In every high and every low
Oh no, You never let go
Lord, You never let go of me
Witness: I have gone through one those times where life issues and weariness seem to take over and any personal time with God is squeezed out by the tyranny of the urgent. Some of the time was spent in study and preparation to teach my platoon in Band of Brothers. Our platoon leader, David Soudek, had graciously asked me to teach. Because of my schedule, I used the time I had for my quiet time to prepare. Friday I was able to make an entry. Saturday I attended an event at my church called “Chazown” which helps one discover their calling and develop a vision or purpose statement and plan for following that calling. Because it was from 9 am to 2 pm, I had to “sleep” till it was time to work, hence, no quiet time. Sunday I had little sleep when I came home from work because I had to take my first installment of medication in preparation for my colonoscopy procedure I had today. I sat in the very back at church Sunday night just in case I had to run to the restroom (if you know what I mean). Because of lack of sleep and having to get up early Monday morning to drink the second installment of that “wonderful elixir” L, I went to bed without a quiet time. So what’s the point in sharing all of this? The point is that we all get busy and have those times that we cannot get to that which we love to do most, be in an intimate, secluded, one on one time with our great Shepherd. Yet we cannot let that discourage us and give up on getting back to it as soon as we can. It’s during those busy times our enemy tries to entice us away from the green pastures and the quiet waters to his cesspool of sin. Now I’m not saying that everything that interrupts your intimate times with God is sinful, however, I am saying that if you allow things to constantly take you away from having a quiet time with God or give up when you have a few days of interruptions, then it does become sin. We must not become weary in well-doing, nor become too busy to be well doing.
WORD:
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2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. |
2He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,a
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
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I mentioned last time that we are not to look at this verse as just a possibility but as an inevitability. In fact, Youngs translates verse 4 this way:
Also — when I walk in a valley of death-shade, I fear no evil, for Thou [art] with me, Thy rod and Thy staff — they comfort me. Ps 23:4 Youngs Literal Translation (bold print and underline added for emphasis)
I also said, as we began this adventure in Psalm 23, that this is not just a simple psalm with a simplistic message. Not just green pasture and still waters, but life in its nitty gritty. In order to get to those green pastures, a shepherd has to take his flock though some deep valleys.
Before I delve any further into this verse, I guess it is necessary to look at a translation issue in this verse, just like we did in verse 3 concerning “paths”. Here it’s “valley”. The KJV translates it as “valley of the shadow of death”. Thus the reason why this psalm is heard at funerals quite frequently. The NIV 2011 translates it as “darkest valley” with a note saying, “or the valley of the shadow of death”. The NIV 1984 version had “the valley of the shadow of death” with a note saying, “or through the darkest valley”. I guess the revisers decided in favor of the 1984’s alternate reading. I do not want to take any more time than necessary on this issue, so I will let one resource I found suffice here:
The valley of the shadow of death: the Hebrew word translated valley is translated in the Septuagint by "the midst" (so Dahood, "in the midst of total darkness"). And the word traditionally translated the shadow of death elsewhere means simply darkness (see 44:19; 107:10; Job 3:5; 10:22; 12:22; 16:16; Isa 9:2). As it appears here in the Masoretic text, however, the word may be taken as a compound, meaning "darkness of death" (so the Septuagint). Most modern translations avoid the word "death": GECL "dark valley"; Weiser "the valley of deep darkness"; FRCL "the dark valley"; SPCL "the darkest of all valleys." "A dark ravine" (with footnote) is another suggestion. But NEB has "a valley dark as death," NJB "a ravine as dark as death," and TOB "a ravine of shadow and death." The word itself does not necessarily mean death; but by definition a dark ravine is a dangerous place.
(from UBS Old Testament Handbook Series. Copyright © 1978-2004 by United Bible Societies. All rights reserved.)
One more observation for tonight. This verse is filled with certainty and the confidence that flows out of this certainty.
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1. Certainty of participation - “when” not “if”
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Certainty brings confidence - "I walk through"
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2. Certainty of presence - “you are with me”
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Certainty brings courage - "I will fear no evil"
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3. Certainty of protection - “your rod and staff”
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Certainty brings comfort - "they comfort me"
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Through It All, by Andrae Crouch
Verse 1
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
I've had many tears and sorrows,
I've had questions for tomorrow,
there's been times I didn't know right from wrong.
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.
Chorus
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
Verse 2
I've been to lots of places,
I've seen a lot of faces,
there's been times I felt so all alone.
But in my lonely hours,
yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus lets me know that I was His own
Chorus
Verse 3
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do
But in every situation,
God gave me blessed consolation,
that my trials come to only make me strong.
Chorus
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to trust in Jesus,
I've learned to trust in God.
Through it all,
through it all,
I've learned to depend upon His Word.
Verse 2
I've been to lots of places,
I've seen a lot of faces,
there's been times I felt so all alone.
But in my lonely hours,
yes, those precious lonely hours,
Jesus lets me know that I was His own
Chorus
Verse 3
I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms He brought me through.
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do
Songwriters: BROWN, GARY VICTOR / HARVEY, STEVE
Through It All lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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