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SONGS
OF OUR TEARS by Dr. D.A. Farmer, pastor
Psalm
13 “To
the chief Musician, A Psalm of
David. How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt
thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
[having] sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted
over me? Consider [and] hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes,
lest I sleep the [sleep of] death; Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed
against him; [and] those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved. But I
have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I
will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me.” I
want you to look at the back of the pew in front of you. Tell me what do
you see? Songbooks, tithe envelopes, pen or pencils, etc. Now let me
tell you something you do not see, something I believe should be there.
A box of Kleenex. Why? Well that’s what I would like to look at today.
But first let me ask you a question. Is
it permissible to cry in church? Does God allow His children to cry here
in His home? Most of us would say yes God does allow us to shed a tear
here in His house. But then, why is it that sometimes we get the feeling
that God does not want us to cry in His Sanctuary? In
some churches today, we get the subtle, and in some cases, the not so
subtle hint that’s it is not ok to cry in God’s house. Again, why? Have
you ever noticed that when you do feel moved and you cannot hold back
the tears you feel uncomfortable? Not only that, when you hear others
cry you feel even more uncomfortable. Once more, why is that? What has
brought us to this stage in our Christian experience that we feel
uncomfortable crying or hearing someone else cry in God’s Sanctuary? Turn
back with me to Psalm 13. Psalm 13 begins with protest in verses 1 and
2. Then it passes through prayer in verses 3 and 4. It concludes with
praise in verses 5 and 6. As
you read Psalm 13, David seems to believe that he is forsaken of God. He
writes about his despair over daily persecution at the hands of his
enemy. He prays earnestly that God will come to his aid. Finally, David
realizes the answer to his prayer is in a fresh measure of faith and
hope. David makes a dramatic transition, from one step to another. This
is what makes this short poem remarkable and beautiful. David probably
composed this Psalm because of the constant trails he was suffering from
the hands of Saul. I
believe this Psalm is an encouraging example of the fact that when good
people feel forsaken by God, it is their privilege to cry to Him and
then realizes the sweet assurance of His care. Friends, Psalm 13 is a Psalm of lament. And lament Psalms make us feel uncomfortable. They say things we are not sure should even be said. Look
at verses 1 and 2 again. “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. How long wilt thou
forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul, [having] sorrow in my heart
daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” In
the very midst of his troubles David breaks out into a very human cry
for help. He is hurting badly. It seems to him that his troubles will
never come to an end. Friends,
let me say that this is also the natural cry of the Christian today. The
one who has suffered for a long time without complaining? Suffers until
he finally comes to the place that he feels he or she can endure the
suffering no longer. Martin
Luther is reported to have said: “Hope
despairs and yet despair hopes.” The first phase of David’s
trouble is his feeling that God has forgotten him. Like God has hidden
His face and forsaken Him. So David cries “How long Lord? How long will You forget me?”
And you can sense the anguish in his words as he cries to God,
“forever?”
Did
you notice that the phrase “how long” occurs four times in
verses 1 and 2? David is hurting! Friends,
there is no greater blessing than seeing and feeling the light that
comes from God’s face! But when it appears to be withdrawn, appears
that He is no longer with us, we sink in despair. Psalms of lament get
in touch with the pain that is inside of us! Pain that hurts to the very
core of our emotions. Why
would God give us chapters about lamenting? Could God have a reason for
giving us such chapters as Psalm 13 and others? And if so - why? And why
is it that we have neglected reading and preaching from these inspired
Psalms about lamenting? Is
it because we feel uncomfortable about lamenting? Or could it be that we
are afraid to tell God just how we feel? Afraid that God doesn’t
really understand our pain, our suffering, and our grieving. Afraid He
will look the other way and say; “You
made your own bed, now lie in it.” Friends,
why is it that we are afraid to tell God the truth about how we really
feel? Let’s look at some other Psalms of lamenting. Listen to Psalm
10:1 from the NIV; “Why, O LORD, do
you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” When was the last time you began your prayers like that? Another
Psalm of lamenting is Ps. 22: 1 and 2; “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? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not
answer, by night, and am not silent.” Do you remember Who prayed that prayer one Friday afternoon on a
Cross some 2,000 years ago? Perhaps
one of the bleakest Psalms is found in Ps. 88:13-14;
“I
cry to you for help, O LORD; in the morning my prayer comes before you. 14
Why, O LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?” All
of these Psalms are earthy Psalms. Being cried by those who are hurting.
Friends, as you study the Psalms you will find that there is a lot of
crying to God for help. Crying from all different kinds of hurts. Yet,
today I find that many of these Psalms are neglected. And I ask why? Well
I believe I know the answer. It’s because we feel that it is wrong to
cry, complain or lament to God. We may sometimes feel that these
feelings show poor faith in God. We think: If we have strong faith, then
we would not feel the way we do. Good Christians don’t cry. Good
Christians are always happy. Good Christians are always upbeat. Too many
today think that lamenting in anyway, is a sure sign of weakness of poor
faith. Have
you ever heard or sang the song; “In right, out right, happy all the
time?” Friends, I cannot speak for anyone else, but I’m not happy
all the time. Many churches today have often become places where people
engage in denial, in cover-ups, or bottling up the pain that squeezes
the life out of us. Some of today’s churches have led people into
believing that they should always be ready to sing only upbeat choruses.
Always singing praise songs no matter how you really feel inside. No
tears found in our church because we are strong people! Friends,
do we need these Psalms of laments? Yes, I strongly believe we need
them. God must also thinks we needed them or He would not have included
them in His Word. But then why do we need them? I
believe the answer is obvious. It’s because there is so much pain in
life. Physical pain - emotional pain - mental pain and spiritual pain. A
recent survey was conducted. It reported that between 60 and 70% of the
worshipers at church on any given Sabbath were there with some
significant pain. Either pain in their life or in the life of someone
close to them. We
also need these laments because they are the only way to be honest with
God. Let me give you an example. Would
you have been honest with God if you sang songs of praise when the
Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed? Would
you have been honest with God if you had sang songs of praise when the
Branch Davidians compound caught on fire? Would you be honest with God
if a loved one is stricken with some fatal disease and you praised the
Lord? A
few years back, a newly baptized church member in Iowa and his infant
daughter were killed in a car - train wreck. What does this wife and
mother have to be thankful for this morning? How many here today praised
God when a loved one dies? When
I preach or attend a funeral how honest would I be if I told the people
to count their blessings How can we be honest with God unless we tell
Him exactly how we really feel? Friends,
there is something therapeutic about opening up and letting our true
feelings out. Christians today would be a lot healthier if they would
not bottle up their pain and their laments. But instead come to the
Lord’s table with a box of Kleenex. This is what David does in Psalm
13. This is not a long prayer. This is not a polished or smooth prayer.
But his physical - emotional - mental - spiritual pain is clearly felt
as he cries out “How
long, oh Lord? How long?” Have
you ever wanted to cry those words yourself? Have you ever felt like the
Israelites that cried to God for some 400 years because they had been
taken into slavery in Egypt? And day after day - month after month -
year after year - things did not change. Paul
wanted his “Thorn in the flesh” to be taken away. But it did not
change. What
about you? Any circumstance in your life that does not change? Does the
pain - hurt and disappointments seem to be there every morning you wake
up? You
wrestle with them. You pray about them. But they seem to go on and on
with no solution in sight. You feel like all your prayers have been in
vain and unanswered. By
now I hope you realize that is exactly what David experience here in
Psalm 13. David had been praying for something and it seemed that God
was not going to answer his prayer. When David cries, “Will
You forget me forever? How long will you hide Your face from me?” Do you know where he got those
words? Turn
with me to Numbers 6:24-26. “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face
shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his
countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.” The
Israelites believed that when the face of God was turned toward a person
it was a sign of acceptance - a sign of blessing - a sign of His
identification with them. The worst thing that anyone could ever
experience was to think God had turned His face away from them. That’s
one of the reasons why so many of the Psalms start out; “Oh
Lord, do not hide Your face from me.” You
see, to an Israelite, there was nothing worst than the feeling of being
abandoned by God. But friends, God had not abandoned David. You have to
remember David was a man after God’s own heart. He was the King of
Israel. It was from his seed the Messiah would come. David did not cover
up the fact that he too went through dark periods in his life. He pours
out his soul to God. His words should bring encouragement to us today.
Because lamenting will lead to healing. For
4 verses David has been weeping out his complaint before God. He has
argued with God. Then, all of a sudden, like a light bulb that goes off
in his head, he catches himself. Verse 5 “But,
I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation. I
will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me.” What
happens after lamenting, after telling God how you really feel? You
experience healing. Your pain doesn’t seem as bad as it did before you
spoke to God. Friends,
please, if you hear nothing else I say this morning, hear this; Any
forced religion that causes you to bottle up your pain, fears and tears
- does not and will not produce health - healing and happiness. Our
faith in God should allow us to come to Him openly and honestly with our
true feelings. This is what brings true healing to our suffering spirit.
We should be close enough to God that we can say; “I’m able to be
this honest with You Lord, because I know you will not walk away from
me. You will not turn Your listening ear away from me for being open and
honest with You about how I feel. I know I can trust Your unfailing
love.” A
lament is really a declaration of our trust in God. A trust so strong
which we know that He will receive us for who and what we are. By
this one recording alone found in Psalm 13, by reading about David’s
openness with God, by listening to David’s hurt and pain, we find that
God, through His Holy Spirit is giving us permission to be honest and
straightforward with Him about how we feel at different times. And this
truthfulness helps build an intimate relationship with Him. And
friends, we all must understand that when we learn to be open and honest
with God, we are traveling down the path of being healed. To
close please allow me to say that whatever your pain is today, whatever
laments ring out of your spirit, I pray that as you bring them to God
you will come to know the healing that comes from a God who’s
unfailing love will never, ever says to any of us: “Buck up. Good
Christians never cry.” My prayer is that you will come to know the God who places His loving arms around each of us, pulls us closer into an intimate - divine hug and says: “Just hold on My son, just hold on My daughter, we will travel together down this road.”
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