Sermon Tone Analysis

*Psalms: Experience God Project*

*May 18, 2003*

 

We’ve had a couple of our recent greeters talk about their challenge to spend *meaningful* time with God.

As a new father, I can relate.

I had to change Grace in the middle of the night after a “*blowout*.”

She’s *crying* because she’s *hungry* and *messy*.

I have *just* *enough* wipes, I think.

I set a change of clothes *beside* her, take off her dirty pajamas and diaper.

I use the *last* *wipe* cleaning her up.

·         *All* that’s left is putting on a new diaper.

Something about the cold air must have *stimulated* her bladder.

Now she’s *wet*, cold, and hungry.

I have to *find* a refill pack for the wipes, clean her again, find *more *clean clothes and then dress her while she’s *screaming*.

·         I *should* have put the new diaper on first, right?

Trying to connect with God

 

I *love* being a father, but everything is more *complicated* and *stressful*.

“Sleeping in” now means 7:00 am, if we’re *lucky*.

Mornings just aren’t not *peaceful* anymore and by night we’re *exhausted*.

·         During quiet times, I can’t *relax* and just *enjoy* time with God.

·         As a *pastor*, I read my Bible for “work.”

·         After a while, I find myself feeling *disconnected* from God.

I have found help *reconnecting* in a book that I used to avoid: *Psalms*.

“squishy” psalms

 

*Q:* Have you ever walked through a quiet pasture on a country farm?

Maybe it’s a pleasant *spring* day, the grass is *green* and pasture is bordered by a lush *forest*.

In the distance are snowcapped *mountains*.

You breathe in fresh *air*, feel a warm *breeze*, listen to the birds *chirp* as you *walk along*.

·         Then you step in something “*squishy*.”

*That’s* how I’ve felt as I read through the Psalms.

I have always had a *love~/hate* relationship with them.

I can be caught up in reading:

 

The LORD reigns, *[LORD=Yahweh]* let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.

Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

/Psalm 97:1-2; 5-6 NIV  /

 

Psalms like this have the power to *capture* our *imagination* and *inspire* *worship*.

But then I’ll *step* into Psalm 137:

 

O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is he who repays you for what you have done to us – he who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

/Psalm 137:8-9 NIV /

/ /

·         Wow, that’s, um, uplifting.

·         We like to *pretend* these passages don’t exist, but *there* they are.

·         So we just *avoid* it – how many sermons have *you* heard on psalm 137?

 

 

Professor broyles

 

Help came from the *last place* I expected: a graduate-level course on OT *liturgy*.

In that class I met Professor Broyles.

Broyles *looked* the part of an OT scholar: curly, *graying* hair, a beard, and *glasses*.

He always wore a *sweater* and he spoke *softly*, *slowly* and *contemplatively*.

·         Broyles helped me get over my *fear* of Psalms and actually *enjoy* them.

·         He taught me *why* psalms like psalm 137 were written.

·         He showed me how *they* could help me fall *more* in love with my God.

I am going to share some of his *secrets* with you.

I want to help you *enjoy* the Psalm, even the ones that go “*squish*.”

I hope that you will incorporate the Psalms into *your* times with God, because they are one the *best place* to get to know Him *personally*.

·         The *NT letters*, (like Philippians) teach us *about* God.

·         The *history books* (like Genesis and Exodus) teach us *what* God has done.

·         Broyles showed us that the *psalms* do something special; they *invite* us to *experience* God.

The book of Psalms was simply a *hymnbook*, Israel’s *God-ordained* hymnbook, a collection of 150 songs and poems, written by several authors over about *seven* *hundred* years.

These psalms were written by people *just like* you and me, who wanted to *express* their love for God.

 

·         The biggest difference is that they helped *write* the Bible – something not on my résumé.

Finding god in the psalms

 

*Everyday* life can make me feel so distant from God.

I get caught up in the nightly *routine* of: change the baby, put her in pajamas, swaddled her, put her in her crib, tuck her in, wind up the mobile, kiss her goodnight, fill up the humidifier, turn it on, feed the cat, lure the cat into the office so I can lock her in the office so she can’t smother Grace (which I know is a myth but better-safe-than-sorry), check the doors, set the house alarm, turn off the lights, brush my teeth, then climb into bed.

We all have these routines.

The problem comes when our time with *God* become a *routine* instead of *relationship*.

Psalms helps me break through these routines.

They help me gain a fresh *appreciation* of God, *focus* on His *greatness*, and be *drawn* into worship again.

·         They invite me to *step along side* the psalmists.

·         Their worship becomes *my* worship.

·         In the middle of all of my activities, I find myself *experiencing* God.

I read:

 

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

/Psalm 63:1 NIV/

 

I find myself *longing* for God in a way that a *sermon* couldn’t bring about.

I read:

 

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is majestic.

/Psalm 29:2-4 NIV/

 

I find myself worshiping a *majestic* God.

I read:

 

Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD.

/Psalm 25:6-7 NIV/ 

 

I experience His *love* and *acceptance*, no matter what I have done.

LEGITIMATE laments

 

So what about the “dashing the kids upon the rocks”?

Professor Broyles taught us that *47%* of the psalms fall into a category known as “*laments*.”

True to their name, laments are filled with *pain* and *grief*, and even *accusation* against God.

·         The *Israelites* knew that they could *pour* *out* their frustration and anger to God.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Psalm /13:1-2 NIV/

 

·         They also knew that they could also *trust* Him in the *midst* of their pain.

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation.

/Psalm 13:5 NIV/ 

 

·         Laments almost invariably end in a statement of *praise*, *before* the solution came.

I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

/Psalm 13:6 NIV/