Live at the Fillmore: The Psalms

My dad is a voracious music fan. He listens to all kinds and styles of music. His record collection boasts albums from Ry Cooder to Willie Nelson to Hank Williams to the Beatles to Miles Davis to Led Zeppelin, and so on. From the earliest time that I can remember, there was always some kind of music being played in the car and around the house. So, it was virtually inevitable that I would develop the same sort of passion for music – and, I did!
One of the musical forms that I have a keen interest in is the blues and blues-rock. I love this style of music … the rough recordings of Robert Johnson … the opening slide riff of ‘Statesboro Blues’ by the Allman Brothers … Derek and the Dominoes pouring out blues guitar in “Live from the Fillmore East”. One of the things that I love about this style of music is its brutal honesty. The musical side of the blues is really unpretentious, and is based upon letting your feelings show in the way that you play your instrument. Many times, this is what is recognized as being the blues. However, the lyrics of blues songs also portray the raw emotions of the human heart, with Robert Johnson singing about the hardships of life in the delta of the Mississippi and John Lee Hooker wondering whether heaven and hell really exist because of the conditions that he sees right here on earth. The blues can really be characterized as being a form of music that provides a platform for a man or woman to expose their emotions and desires in both music and lyrics.
Interestingly enough, the same could be said for the book of Psalms. Bono, lead singer of the rock group, U2, says the same thing, “That's what a lot of the psalms feel like to me -- the blues …” In this book of the Bible, we have so many examples of man laying himself bare before his God. There are times when he is shouting for joy before the Lord … there are other times when he contemplates about who God is … there are times when he is verbally shaking his fist at God … and there are times when he is bent down in tears, wondering where his God is. Psalm 22 is a striking example of an emotive psalm – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” We tend to remember this psalm only around Easter, when we recount the story of Jesus on the cross. But, we need to remember that this was first written by David, and given to the choirmaster for use in worship. Think of David’s words again, “My God, why have you forsaken me? … why are you so far from saving me?” Can you read in between the lines and see the stark emotion of a man who feels as if God is so far from him that he cannot be saved? A man, who is later described as being a man after God’s own heart, is in a place where he sees no hope, because he sees no God. You can almost imagine David’s tears falling down on the parchment of this psalm, causing some of the ink to run down the page.
There are numerous examples of the psalmist laying his soul bare before God. Psalm 69 actually has the audacity to say “My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God”, and Psalm 109 opens with these words, “Be not silent, O God of my praise! For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.” These words inspired and directed by God himself, gives to us the example of a heart being laid wide open for God. Emotions are not hid nor imagined to not really exist. On the contrary, they are presented before God, and the psalmist pleas with Him from his broken heart.
However, there is a stark difference between the blues and the psalms. Many times, the blues end on a low note – hence the appropriate title for this style of music! Usually, there is no resolution to the problem … life is hard, and this will never change. The psalmist never sees his life that way. Even in the midst of great trials and hardships expressed in the words of the psalms, he always comes back to God – and how great and trustworthy our Lord in heaven truly is. He knows that life is hard – but that God is greater than any hardship. He knows that life can be unfair – but that God is eternally gracious to his children. He knows that life can seem to be filled more with enemies than with friends – but that God is always the victor, and claims victory for his people.
There are many things we can learn from the psalms – and one of the greatest lessons is that we need to be honest with God, because He already knows how we feel. We also need to learn to see our problems in the larger context than our hole of pity – God is always victorious, and the cross of Jesus Christ should always remind us that this victory is now our victory. We can sing the blues, but we can always end with a smile, because God is our God and Father.

Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor James