Praising God From Now On! (Psalm 146) Series

MAKING MUSIC FROM SHARPS AND FLATS IN LIFE

Sermons Based on Selected Psalms

Psalms Sermon XVI – Psalm 146

David the shepherd lad who became King of Israel was a music maker. He played a harp – the most popular instrument in Old Testament times. The Book of Psalms is a collection of his compositions inspired by both his life experiences and his majestic moments with the Lord God.

As a sheep herder, the boy David became fascinated with the wonders of the out of doors even as he became familiar with the uniqueness of sheep.

As the one chosen by Samuel to be crowned the next king of Israel, David had no choice but to sharpen his defensive battle skills when Saul threatened his life; he had demonstrated his skills as a shepherd lad when he defended his sheep from the attack of wolves, and when he defended his family by killing their enemy Goliath with one stone fired by his slingshot.

David’s favor with God and the people worsened King Saul’s insanity, making him so blindly jealous that he made David the target of a relentless campaign to destroy the king-to-be.

David won the battle; but, more importantly, he won the hearts of the people because he had won the heart of the Lord God who had chosen him.

As king, David ruled righteously in accordance with God’s will; Israel enjoyed the golden years of their history during David’s reign.

Yet, as a man, David sinned; however, as a sinner, he was aware of his need for God’s forgiveness; as a forgiven child of God, he courageously accepted God’s punishment; as one who suffered the consequence of sinning against God, he also accepted the challenge of rebuilding his life for God.

As a Psalmist, David’s innermost thoughts - expressed in the verses of his poetry - have become the greatest collection of spiritual nuggets the world has ever known.

From a lifetime of positive and negative experiences, David has become our hero for making music out of the sharps and flats in life.

Any musician knows that it takes both to make good music. It takes the positives (the sharps) and the negatives (the flats). Arrange them in such a way that they blend into chords, orchestrate the chords into a harmonious melody, and what you get is a work of art that is pleasing to the ear.

Life is like that. The isolated sound of a sharp or the lonesome sound of a flat does nothing for the spirit. Get it all together in conformity with THE Great Composer’s divine plan for our lives, and what you have is harmonious living that is pleasing not only to God but to others as well.

These devotional messages, based on the Book of Psalms, are intended to draw from David’s orchestration of the sharps and flats in his life to help us make music from the sharps and flats in our own lives. Selah.

Psalm 146 . . .

For as long as I live, there is one thing I can do and must do. There are many things I used to do but no longer can do. There are many things I would like to do but no longer can do. The same is true for many of you.

Some of us have been slowed down by the aging process; others of us must rely on someone else to take care of us; still others of us have had our lives disrupted by disease and disability to the extent that we no longer care.

Yet, during trying circumstances, a few of us have learned in whatsoever state of body or mind we find ourselves therein to be content.

As much as we would like for things to be different we know that circumstances are not going to change for the better, so we adapt and learn to cope as best we can.

Such was the situation the psalmist found himself in during much of the time that he devoted himself to writing the psalms and putting the words to music.

Here was a man who had experienced the height of luxury but also the depth of despair . . . had lived on the mountain top but also in the valley . . . had known the joy of victory but also the agony of defeat. . . had sat on the throne of a kingdom but also wallowed in the pit of sorrow . . . had won the heart of God but also lost several battles with temptation . . . had pledged his allegiance to God but also pled with God to forgive him.

This man David has given to us 150 psalms that speak to us today of the ups and downs, the victories and defeats, the blessings and the trials, the thrills and the temptations, the joys and the sorrows, the successes and the failures, the good days and the bad days, the strengths and the weaknesses that have been and continue to be the way life has gone for each one of us.