City Life Starter

Written by Nate Warren

The Word

Psalm 88
O Lord, God of my salvation,
I have cried 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 the grave.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength,
Adrift among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And who are cut off from Your hand.

You have laid me in the lowest pit,
In darkness, in the depths.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them;

I am shut up, and I cannot get out;
My eye wastes away because of affliction.

Lord, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise You? Selah
Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Shall Your wonders be known in the dark?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

But to You I have cried out, O Lord,
And in the morning my prayer comes before You. Lord, why do You cast off my soul?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors;
I am distraught.

Your fierce wrath has gone over me;
Your terrors have cut me off.
They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether.
Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

Reflection

As Jesus’ body lays cold in a tomb behind a stone, His spirit, which He had surrendered into the hands of His Father, has been handed over to Death. On this Holy Saturday, the Son of Man and Son of God, condemned by all of our sin, took it to the lowest depths of existence. He knew no sin, but has become sin for us, and has taken it to where it belongs. Now Jesus, the One who showed his power over death in raising many from the dead, patiently waits in the captivity of Death until the time to overpower it and Hell and take their keys (Revelation 1:18).

Application

We focus now on the Good News of this Holy Saturday. And we rejoice! We do this in fear and trembling, because of the injustice suffered for us, but it is Good News, so we rejoice!

We rejoice in a Master who can identify with us in the lowest depths of human experience. No matter what our horror, be it torture, hunger, disease, spiritual attack, even the wrath of a holy God – Jesus can identify. He submitted to the sentence of death and delivery to hell – on purpose – on your behalf.

We rejoice in the Sacrifice who attached all of our failures, hatred, and shame to Himself and delivered this sin to the depths of existence. Now, for those who are in Him, there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1)

Finally, we rejoice that our King has promised that He will rise again. Tomorrow, Death will be disarmed of its power. As Cyril of Alexandria (c. 5th century) wrote, “When He shed His blood for us, Jesus Christ destroyed death and corruptibility. . . . For if He had not died for us, we should not have been saved, and if He had not gone down among the dead, death’s cruel empire would never have been shattered” (Rutledge, Fleming. The Crucifixion (p. 410). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co Kindle Edition).

Prayer

Precious Jesus,
Thank You for experiencing death on my behalf, and overcoming so that I will never have to (John 8:51).