A Backwards Lament...

 

“A Backwards Lament (A message NOT about music)”

 

Psalm 27
27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

27:2 When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh-- my adversaries and foes-- they shall stumble and fall.

27:3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

27:4 One thing I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.

27:5 For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.

27:6 Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

27:7 Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!

27:8 "Come," my heart says, "seek his face!" Your face, LORD, do I seek.

27:9 Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!

27:10 If my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take me up.

27:11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

27:12 Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.

27:13 I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

27:14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

 

The Book of Psalms is one of the most popular books in all of the Bible. While the Bible, itself, is a collection of books of history, wisdom literature, prophecy, gospels, and epistles (letters), the Book of Psalms is actually a hymnbook—some go back to the very first Hebrew temple. 

 

Don’t get me started on the dichotomy of religious music! On one hand, music is an essential part of both the worship life of the congregation and its journey into spiritual formation and direction. Of course, this is also true of the individual believer. On the other hand, music is the subject of much debate—and even some serious infighting—in the history of the Christian church. 

 

Some churches have chosen to ONLY sing the Psalms of the Bible, set to music, but not accompanied by instruments. At the other end of the spectrum, there are churches that have gone “full contemporary,” embracing rock bands that rival stage-performing secular ones, complete with pyrotechnics, excruciatingly loud volume, myriad instruments and musical effects, and wild costuming for the “performers.” Just about everything else in the middle happens musically, too. Pipe organs—once the chosen instrument of the secular world and disdained by the church—later took on the identity of the only “sacred” sound allowed in it, in some corners. Then, as gospel and contemporary music came on the church scene, it fell, once again, into disfavor. I’m thrilled that it is making a comeback in our time, although the fact that many churches have, in the interim, left these instruments fall into disrepair may doom the revival. Colleges and music conservatories used to teach “sacred organ,” producing instrumentalists for many churches sporting pipe organs. Few do, now. Some Pittsburghers may remember that about 35 years ago, a local Roman Catholic university began offering full scholarships to youth people who would major in the pipe organ, but I don’t think that offer was well received, and may not have survived. 

 

One more interesting little sidebar on the pipe organ revival: a little over three decades ago, a young boy named Cameron Carpenter began taking pipe organ lessons from my late second cousin, William Witherup, in Meadville, PA. Carpenter—now 40 years old--has gone on to more study and great fame as a “radical” in re-birthing interest in this timeless instrument. (Here is a link to a PBS interview with him: Cameron Carpenter PBS Interview) You will want to Google him and play more samples of his flamboyant and fantastic work. 

 

Classical music of different periods and varieties was, for centuries, the staple of religious music in worship. Then along came the great hymn writers like Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts, who have worshippers something to sing about other than just the Psalms of the Bible. The words of these masters—and many others who followed—were set to a plethora of tunes, ranging from serious, classical strains from composers like Mendelssohn, to bawdy melodies known at the corner pub. Pick up a modern church hymnal today, and you will find hymns with dates from the first millennium of the church right up until the publication date of the hymnal! And within any hymnal’s pages, you are apt to find adaptations of various Psalms of the Bible coupled to a wide variety of musical settings, including what we might call “chant.” For Christians of Methodist heritage, we note that Charles Wesley—who some document as many as 9,000 hymns to his writing credit—methodically (sorry) incorporated the central, essential theological teachings of the Methodist movement in his hymns. If one reads John Wesley’s very interesting primer on what hymns should be used in the church and how we should sing them (it’s in the front pages of the current United Methodist Hymnal), you will find it quite fascinating, if not a bit restrictive. But his concern was that the people of his day—a majority of whom were illiterate—may miss the central Christian teachings of the church if they didn’t learn the Wesleyan hymns.

 

Personally, I consider myself a “hymn guy.” Following my young adult faith re-awakening, I could be found at a “Christian Rock” concert, sitting in front of an outdoor stage at a Christian “Woodstock” like “Jesus 75” or “Creation,” and most certainly bopping to an Andre Crouch up-tempo African American spiritual. But after learning the Methodist emphasis on the teachings embedded in our hymns, and gaining a deep appreciation for church musicians and choirs, I have settled on loving the hymnody of my denomination and the wider Christian church. This is not to say that I do not enjoy the other forms of Christian music, as I certainly do. And four of the five churches I served in ministry during my career hosted worship services that were primarily based on “contemporary” or at least more modern forms of songs and choruses. But when I choose to attend a worship service myself, I like one that includes a church organ and hymns. I won’t denigrate the other forms, but “to each her/his own,” as they say. 

 

One more sidebar: Dara and I grew up in a church that had wonderful music and could afford to support it. The church I worked in as a layperson before my call to the ordained ministry (and the one we were married in) had fantastic musical talent that could offer a scintillating survey of styles of music, vocal and instrumental. In that era, Grace United Methodist Church of Rocky Grove, PA had a music director and pianist who was a professional “honky-tonk” and jazz pianist before his faith got ahold of him. Carl Hedglin, Jr. had once played a duet with Errol Garner, and could absolutely thrill my soul when he performed, which he did to the glory of God. He also composed music for several famous Christian singers including Doug Oldham, a member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. All that said, I had a phobia about being appointed to serve small churches after seminary that I doubted would have such stellar music offerings. (I have attended some of these, and the music—while shared from faithful hearts, I’m sure—was just terrible. If I were God, I would have plugged my celestial ears.) God is GOOD, though, and from my first appointment as a student pastor in Turtle Creek, PA to my final weeks in the pulpit at St. Paul’s UMC in Allison Park, I was treated to AMAZING music in worship and throughout the lives of those congregations. I won’t use this space to gloat, but as a pastor, I sat under the most spectacular music directors and organists this Conference has produced. 

 

How’s THAT as an introduction to a sermon that is really not about music? Well, at least it didn’t start out that way, but HEY, music is such an important part of my Christian spirituality, how could I not expound on some of my ideas and experiences about it? That’s for free. Now, let’s look at today’s preaching text of Psalm 27…

 

If we focus on the words of the Bible’s “hymnbook,” the Psalms, we find quite a mishmash of subjects, moods, and requisite prayers that go with them. Some of the Psalms are “laments,” where the writer is pouring out her or his troubles (or his spleen, in some cases) to God. Others are just tone poems to God, looking through the eyes of love, or nature, or God’s “steadfastness.” The Psalms of lament have always been some of my favorites. Jesus himself quoted one of them—Psalm 22—as he hung on the cross to die: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” In these cathartic words, the psalmist begins by laying the sad case before God, sometimes pretty much blaming God for her or his lot. Then the middle section of the teary opus compares the writer’s suffering to all kinds of things that likewise are down on their luck, and may even try to make the reader “feel his pain.” And finally, toward the end, it becomes clear that God DOES somehow intervene, even if it is only in the heart of the individual and not by “fixing” the actual circumstances, and the author goes postal with effusive praise to God for helping out. Is there any of us who have not had this experience of needing divine intervention when we are at the bottom of some “pit” in life? 

 

Psalm 27 is of a very different form, though. In it, the “troubled” writer begins with metaphors of how God has taken charge over “my adversaries and foes,” regaling us with bold affirmations of courage and a complete purging of fear. The beginning of Psalm 27 could be summed up thusly: “With God on my side, I’m SUPERMAN (or WONDER WOMAN)!” Then, things begin to back up.

 

Starting in verse 5, now the writer is hoping God will hide him (“…conceal me under the cover of [God’s] tent…”). Now his enemies are all around—surrounding him. Where is the “all powerful” God boasted about in the earlier verses? The writer now hopes that God will show up to fight the enemy, which clearly has NOT stumbled and fell. The praises to God for God’s overwhelming strength have morphed into prayers for God to “answer me” and not abandon him. It’s clear that the supernatural “power” echoed in the first couple of verses has given way to the child who wants to hide behind his mother’s garments. And God just seems smaller, in this case. It’s almost like a “bait and switch” episode parlayed by a cunning salesperson. “Buy THIS and you’ll get all of these other things,” only to find out that the product actually received is not all it was cracked up to be, OR lesser things are substituted after the “deal” is consummated. And in the case of Psalm 27, the “switching” is not done yet.

 

In verse 11, the writer is pleading with God to teach her/him “God’s ways” and to “lead me on a level path because of my enemies.” It seems now that what is sought is not so much “supernatural” agency, but “life lessons” on how to survive these challenges. One can imagine a young Jew asking to learn God’s commandments and to keep them, believing that if she does so, she will be automatically protected from her enemies, or at least be less fearful of them. The fearful groveling continues in verse 12: “Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries…” Now the appeal has deteriorated into a plea for mercy, and not power. And one final step back occurs in the final two verses.

 

“I believe I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” and “Be strong; WAIT for the Lord…” These are the words of someone who has pretty much given up hope for being “delivered” in the present, and is setting his hope farther off into the future, with the recognition that “victory” may not even come in this life. And yet, with every weakening breath, the psalmist implores his reader to WAIT FOR THE LORD and to “be strong.” The words “take heart” are used, as well, which is one of my favorite biblical phrases, as I think it summarizes a multitude of hopeful energies in the “heart” of the troubled soul. Indeed, it seems that Psalm 27 is like a lament psalm “in reverse,” beginning with strength and ending with a whimpering, yet faithful hope. 

 

As such, friends, it may be the most honest of all of the Psalms of the Bible. And while one could argue these are the words of someone suffering from the manic-depressive cycle (also sounds like words from John Wesley’s personal journal, as he was probably bi-polar), I submit that they are meant to show us a more reality-based path to applying our faith to what we face. 

 

I think of many people of faith—strong faith—who have faced a serious diagnosis and/or illness. They often talk boldly of “fighting this,” or of believing God will miraculously “deliver” them from it, but after the reality of the malady shows itself, that initial confidence tends to shrink into a lesser aim and a more honest prayer: “Hide me in your shelter in the day of trouble…Do not hide your face from me, oh God!” I do not believe these are the cries of someone who has a waning faith, but the genuine askings of someone whose faith is hitting “where the rubber meets the road,” as the tire commercial used to say. This is real. The threat is real. The fear is real. But so is the faith that God plants in the human soul. And that faith and that soul, though it, too, may take a beating at the hands of the cancer or the virus or the injury, will not be obliterated. EVEN IF the faithful believer does NOT ultimately receiving an earthly healing, God does not abandon us, nor does God deny us our eternal “healing.” That is a poignant lesson of this psalm!

 

Modern readers will also indirectly receive the message of taking some personal responsibility, knowing that God may not “leap” to our aid. This means reaching out to one’s supportive community in times of trouble, and possibly seeking professional help. We don’t seem to have a huge hang-up with this when our challenge is a physical/medical one, but when it involves the mind and our psychological health, way too many still balk at making a counseling appointment. These are two ways the church may help—a healthy one may be a supportive community for you, while competent clergy are a good “first round” of psychological triage through pastoral counseling. 

 

And the didactic message of the Psalm is its conclusion, reminding those of us who maybe have not yet faced such trials to “study up!” Learn God’s ways, enjoy every moment of life in the “land of the living,” and do not live in fear of what MAY be, but rejoice in what is right now, including the steadfast love of God and the everlasting presence of God in the life! What a wonderful Psalm! Its pleas are genuine, its promises quite “tactile,” and its outcomes favorable, regardless of the directions they take. “Study up, buttercup!” Take heart! And when the going gets tough, don’t think you can make the rest of the journey alone—WAIT FOR THE LORD!

 

No one has lived the exemplary and yet “real” life of Psalm 27 better than God’s Son, Jesus Christ. It’s no wonder that Jesus so many times uses the phrase, “Take heart.” Obviously, he knew THIS hymn from the ancient temple, and he knew the “Take heart” tune of the “Take heart” psalm. Friends, I commend Psalm 27 to you as some of the best spiritual guidance you will find in all of the pages of scripture. Keep it close to your heart. And when you face something you probably never thought you would face, BELIEVE! Amen.