Psalms in the Night
The Psalms of scripture are amazing on many levels. Beyond their continued relevance as inspiration and revelation, each stands as a bastion of truth and light against the darkness of deception.
Given some of the more dramatic passages their original use as public worship songs is interesting. This raises the question what their composers private prayers might have been like...
Sorrow and Hope
Written to express modern dilemmas, Psalms in the Night are meant as prayers of faith and hope when both may be in short supply.
A work in progress, this labor of love is being developed to reveal the common bond people of faith share in a world of doubt. Standing on the foundation of the Biblical Psalms, this aspect of Modern Psalmistry is a work of hope addressing the great mystery of the apparent silence and distance and of God.
With so many wonderful Biblical promises and powerful examples of God's interaction with mankind, Psalms in the Night are a way of exploring and sharing some of the thoughts, feelings and experiences God's people encounter on the road to enjoying His presence, power and protection in ever greater ways for themselves, their families and others.
There Must Be More...
Faith is laying hold of God through the grip of hope. As do other scriptures, many of the Bible's Psalms demonstrate that honesty regarding our failures and sins, fears and doubts are essential aspects of the process of growing in faith. As Peter's 2nd Great Confession can attest, even admitting our lack of love for God can be a key ingredient in developing and deepening our relationship to Him..
Hope Does Not Disappoint
The Bible teaches that "hope does not disappoint" and that while "worldly sorrow kills, godly sorry gives life." Mourning, while never pleasant, can be an expression of "godly sorrow."
Scripture places a high value on mourning. Christ Himself predicts that His church shall mourn His absence. In the Beatitudes he He teaches it is those who mourn that are comforted. James' epistle is even more blunt, counseling the Christians of his and our day:
"Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." James 4:7-10
As the world grows darker and the night deeper fewer seem interested or even able to find Him. We do well to consider Jesus counsel that we should seek and serve God while it is day, "for the night comes when no man can work."
Silence and Distance of God
It's not only sin but the trials of life that so often seem to separate us from God. David, the Lord's anointed, constantly lamented and prayed against the silence and distance he felt between himself and God:
"To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place." Psalm 28:1-3
"O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water." Psalm 63:1-3
"Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. For my enemies speak against me; those who wait to kill me conspire together. They say, 'God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for no one will rescue him.' Be not far from me, O God; come quickly, O my God, to help me. Psalm 71:9-12
Pouring Out Our Hearts
Even Christ found solace in the Psalms, pouring our His heart through the words of Psalm 22 while on the cross.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads, "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help....
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me [b] in the dust of death... they have pierced [c] my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs...I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help...The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the LORD will praise him— may your hearts live forever!
Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn— for he has done it."
Precedent And Mandate
Clearly we have a precedent and perhaps even a mandate to "wrestle with God" for ourselves and family, friends and world. In fact there are many scriptures revealing God is actually looking for just such a one. Ezekiel chapter 22 is very bold, even more so when read in The Message:
"Your priests violated my law and desecrated my holy things. They can't tell the difference between sacred and secular. They tell people there's no difference between right and wrong. They're contemptuous of my holy Sabbaths, profaning me by trying to pull me down to their level. Your politicians are like wolves prowling and killing and rapaciously taking whatever they want. Your preachers cover up for the politicians by pretending to have received visions and special revelations. They say, "This is what God, the Master, says..." when God hasn't said so much as one word. Extortion is rife, robbery is epidemic, the poor and needy are abused, outsiders are kicked around at will, with no access to justice."
"I looked for someone to stand up for me against all this, to repair the defenses of the city, to take a stand for me and stand in the gap to protect this land so I wouldn't have to destroy it. I couldn't find anyone. Not one. So I'll empty out my wrath on them, burn them to a crisp with my hot anger, serve them with the consequences of all they've done. Decree of God, the Master." Ezekiel 22:26-31
No Time Like The Present
For these and many more reason the need to draw near to God and express ourselves deeply and consistently has never been greater. Lester Sumrall once noted, "God doesn't answer prayer. He answers desperate prayer." That sentiment seems to be in keeping with many of the Biblical Psalms which are the foundation for these Modern Psalms in the Night...
Wanted: Guest Psalmists What do you think? Do we need Modern Psalms to address the questions and issues of modern life? If you'd like to submit a psalm for consideration please contact Rob Pennington at Rob@GodBlog.net.
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