When Pain Is Real and God Seems Silent: Finding Hope in the Psalms

by Jennings Ligon Duncan III

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2020

Overview

In dark times, God can seem silent. We feel isolated, confused, and alone. Everyone experiences suffering—even the biblical writers express similar feelings in the Psalms. Through brief meditations on Psalms 88 and 89, Ligon Duncan points to hope in the midst of the pain of feeling abandoned by God. These examples of crying out to God show readers how to respond to their own suffering, and assure them of our heavenly Father's mercy that sustains trust even in the darkest of circumstances. With clarity, empathy, and compassion, Duncan points us to the powerful hope found in these psalms that ultimately point us to Christ’s promise to never leave us alone.

Key Features

• Includes brief meditations on Psalms 88 and 89
• Points to hope in the midst of the pain of feeling abandoned by God
• Explores the powerful hope found in these psalms

Contents

• Foreword by Mark Dever

Psalm 88

• What Can Miserable Christians Sing
• Surveying the Psalm: Four Observations
• Four Lessons for Suffering Well
• Our Suffering and the Suffering of Jesus

Psalm 89

• Three Hope-Filled Observations from Psalm 89
• Three Doctrines that Sustain Us in Suffering
• One Final Hope: The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Top Highlights

“Psalm 88 describes what many Christians know to be true. Christians face troubles, often abiding, intractable ones. Our Lord himself warned us that we would encounter difficulty as we followed him. Yet despite Scripture’s warnings, many Christians still feel confused and bewildered when they encounter various trials (James 1:2).” (Page 15)

“Many times in the Christian life, God answers our cries ‘Why, O Lord?’ not by explaining his providence but by giving us a deeper understanding of his person. In other words, when we cry, ‘Lord, why are you doing this?’ he often answers by saying, ‘Let me show you who I am.’ And if you see him, he will be enough.” (Page 25)

“Strikingly, even in the midst of his pain, Heman has not forgotten the reason why he was created. These questions come not from doubt but from faith. Heman is not wrestling with whether God’s word is true; he is trying to square what he knows to be true about God with his own experience.” (Page 22)

“The psalmist may not know why he is suffering, but he knows God is behind it—and that he has a purpose in it” (Page 23)

“Heman the Ezrahite. Heman is mentioned throughout the Old Testament as a man who led the people of God in worship, a poet-theologian par excellence. According to 1 Kings 4:31, Heman the Ezrahite was one of the five wisest men in his generation. He was renowned for his depth, insight, and maturity.” (Page 18)

Product Details

• Title: When Pain Is Real and God Seems Silent: Finding Hope in the Psalms
• Author: Ligon Duncan
• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication Date: 2020
• Pages: 64
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Psalms

About Jennings Ligon Duncan III

Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III, a native of Greenville, South Carolina, was born and reared in the home of an eighth generation Southern Presbyterian Ruling Elder. A 1983 graduate of Furman University, he received an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary and studied Systematic Theology at the Free Church of Scotland College under Professor Donald Macleod. He earned the PhD from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1995. He served on the staff of The Covenant Presbyterian Church of St. Louis from 1984-1987, and supplied pulpits in churches of the Presbyterian Association of England, Church of Scotland, and Free Church of Scotland while in Britain from 1987-1990. In 1990 he was ordained in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and joined the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS), Jackson, Mississippi where he was Chairman of the Department of Systematic Theology, and the John R. Richardson Professor of Theology. At RTS he was responsible for teaching courses such as Systematic Theology, Ethics, Apologetics, History of Philosophy and Christian Thought, Covenant Theology, Patristics, Evangelism, and Theology of the Westminster Standards. He became the Senior Minister of First Presbyterian, Jackson in 1996. Duncan is an active churchman and has been involved in the courts of the PCA in various ways for many years. He was appointed to the General Assembly’s Committee on Psalmody, and has served on Committees of Commissioners for Covenant Seminary, MNA, and Bills and Overtures in 2002. He has been a member and Chairman of the Credentials Committee of the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley (1996-2002). He was the Vice-Chairman of the General Assembly’s Creation Study Committee (1998-2000), a member of the Search Committee for a Coordinator of Reformed University Ministries, and currently is the Chairman of the General Assembly’s Theological Examination Committee, and is also a member of the PCA’s Strategic Planning Committee. Duncan was elected as Moderator of the Presbytery of the Mississippi Valley in 2001. At the annual denominational meeting, held in June of 2004, he was elected the Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCA (2004-2005) – the youngest minister to serve as moderator in the denomination’s history.