MAKING MUSIC FROM SHARPS AND FLATS IN LIFE
Sermons Based on Selected Psalms
Psalms Sermon III – Psalm 13
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 13 . . .
King David repeatedly asked a question that many folks of faith have asked through the centuries: “How long, O Lord?” During my ministry, this same question has been expressed in various forms by parishioners who asked, “Why does the Lord leave me here?”
One dear lady comes to mind as I recall her asking me that question on her 100th birthday. What a blessing to visit her in her daughter’s home. She sat each day in her own rocking chair, in her own designated place, in the corner of the den.
It was there that I received a far greater blessing than did she from my visits. She was sharp, had a pleasant wit, and engaging her in conversation was always a delightful experience.
Yet, she wondered why the Lord let her live to be a hundred. She wondered why He didn’t just go ahead and take her home to glory. My response to her was always the same:
“God knows the reason why, but I can tell you that, if you were not part of our lives, there are those of us who would sorely miss your ministry of encouragement. God knows that we need you here more than He needs you there – at least for the time being; so, be thankful to Him and bless His name, for the Lord is good; His loving kindness endures forever. Amen.”
My dear friend lived to be 104 before God took her home; but she is still with us in spirit; and her words of encouragement we shall never forget.
There is a reason why you and I have lived as long as we have; and your presence will continue to be appreciated as long as God deems it in the best interests of others for you to stay here.
Do you realize that you are here for a purpose? We know that our days are numbered; but we do not know how much longer it will be before we make that heavenly journey; we only know that the journey will occur - in the twinkling of an eye.
So, we must live every day as if it were our last; and what that means to me is that whatever good I may be able to do today, I should do it - even if all I do is to share a smile with someone, or simply say “Have a good day” whether they want to or not, or just pray a brief prayer on behalf of another, like, “Lord, help her to know that you care for her and so do we.”
I begin and end each day with a simple prayer. My prayers include THANKS to God . . . asking God to BLESS family and friends . . . asking God to FORGIVE. Each day I COMMIT my day and my way unto Him. Each time I pray, I end my prayer by praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. There is something special about reciting “The Lord’s Prayer.”
As long as I live, I want to praise Him . . . pray to Him . . . tell Him my needs . . . thank Him for His blessings . . . ask Him to forgive me and help me be a blessing to others. God has never forsaken me, and I want others to know that God will never forsake them!
One of the greatest assurances in the Bible is God’s promise that He will never forget us. Even though at times we may feel like He has forgotten, it would do us well to recall the words of the prophet Isaiah - when God used a graphic analogy to make the point to Isaiah that the Lord is always with us: The Lord said, “I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands.”
Do you see what God meant by His analogy of the hands inscription? What it means to me is that everyone is a unique person in the sight of God . . . a distinctive personality . . . somebody. Say every day really mean it: “I am somebody!”
Yes, you like the psalmist, may feel that God has forgotten you, but the fact is that He has NOT, He IS always with you!
Please understand that God gave us feelings. We feel anger; we feel love; we feel sorrow: and there are so many other feelings too numerous to mention; but the Bible tells us that God, who made us in His image, is aware of our feelings; Hebrews 4:15 tells us that God is “touched by our feelings.”
Isn’t it good to know that the heavenly Father sympathizes with us? It’s one thing for me to sympathize with you, or for you to sympathize with me, but there can be no greater sympathy than that which is expressed to us by God the Father.
David composed this psalm at a time when he was not seeing things too clearly; he was somewhat confused; his mind appeared to be playing tricks on him. So he makes a rather unusual request of the Lord: “Enlighten my eyes!” “Give light to my eyes!”
David told God that he could not envision anything good that could possibly come out of his situation. All he saw, at that particular time in his life, was his foes.
What forms do foes take in our lives – depression, worry, fear of the unknown? It is true that certainty is a lot better than uncertainty, but it’s not unusual to worry about things that have NOT happened, and that, in all probability are not going to happen.
Mark Twain once said, “I’m an old man, and I have known many problems in my life, most of which never happened.”
Do we worry too much about things that have not happened and probably, are not going to happen?
The psalmist was even worried about the fact that he worried so much. So, he asked God to let him see the good rather than the bad – to let him see the LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.
Apparently, God answered his prayer because David concludes this psalm with evidence that he had turned it all over to God and, by so doing, he was able to replace negative feelings with positive feelings.
David began this psalm on a negative note; then he added the positive; and by putting the two together, he could make music out of the sharps and flats in his life. Listen:
“But I trust in your unfailing love,
My heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me.”
David’s declaration of trust in God sounds to me like he remembered that God had been with him all along, but that he was the one who forgot how good God had been to him throughout his life.
And now the fog had been cleared away because David says that God “enlightened” him. What is David saying? He is saying, “I saw the light!
God wants us to see the light at the end of the tunnel and to know that it is NOT on the front end of a freight train!
Unlike David, we live on this side of the Cross; God wants us to see that the LIGHT of the world is Jesus, and that those who place their trust in Him will have no need to worry about the outcome.
Like David, once we see the Light that saved us from the darkness of sin, and we come to that Light in repentance toward God and faith in Christ our Savior, we shall rejoice in our salvation.
If there seems to be nothing else in our lives about which to rejoice, let us rejoice about the SALVATION God has given us through His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ.
No wonder David finished this psalm on such a positive note:
“I will SING to the Lord, for He has been GOOD to me!”
When confusion obscures your view of God, you can be honest about your doubts, as was David, but you can also express your confidence that the Lord has always been there and still is.
“God, give us wings to rise above
The clouds of trial that block the sun,
To soar above gray skies and see
The love and goodness of your Son.”
Selah.
