Songs of Life

Songs of Life 2 Samuel 23:1-5 You know I like to sing. I may not do it as well as I'd like, but I do love to sing. When I am depressed, songs come to me, like, “Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…” When I am happy, I might actually compose a few, though I have never written any down. Whether I am sad or happy, I am singing through all of life. When we think of spiritual songs around here, we might think of our favorite son Philip P. Bliss. A hundred and fifty years ago, he was one of the most widely known and beloved musicians of his day. Some of the songs he wrote are favorites still today, like "Hallelujah, What a Savior," "It Is Well with My Soul," and "Wonderful Words of Life." In our lesson today, David is hailed as “Israel’s singer of songs” or “Israel’s beloved singer.” It could also mean the "favorite of Israel's songs" or as "the sweet singer of Israel." (Chad and Stephen are our sweet singers and musicians today, and I bet they would give David a run for his money.) David is well known for his many songs and psalms. David's psalms were full of laments as well as hallelujah choruses. We know of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” for the Messiah, but did you know that David wrote four Halleluiah choruses in the Psalms? The Psalms are so beloved by so many because they provide the pleasure that comes from giving others the words to express good news, even in times of hardship. We have other balladeers today in our culture who write lyrics and score to touch our heartstrings. Barry Manilow was one of my favorites back in the day. There was joy in the tunes he used to croon, such as, "I write the songs that make the whole world sing..." Another favorite song of mine he wrote was "I Made It Through the Night." I remember one New Year's Eve, coming home after Watch Night services at my church, and a friend's party afterwards, turning on the radio (it was 1:30am), and hearing that song, "I Made It Through the Night." I had had a pretty miserable year, due to a divorce, among other things; and that was the first song I heard in the New Year. I, too, had made it through many dark nights by God's grace and redeeming love. David must have gained even more delight by composing the psalms that helped the people of Israel praise their Maker, no matter their plight in life. If we have the love of the Lord in our hearts, we ought to have a song of praise, as well. Now, believe it or not, Thanksgiving is on the horizon. I was talking to Carol the other day about what we 2 might be doing and where and especially what was on the menu. What song of thanksgiving might you have to offer? What story of what God has done in your life are you willing or able to share with other members of the family around the table or in the afternoon of conversation? The family feast on Thanksgiving is a good time for adults to describe the goodness of God in their lives. As the younger generations present hear your retelling of the family blessings, they, too, begin to acquire a vocabulary for their own songs of praise. For example, when I was in college, living off campus, and Gabriel was just a baby, we didn’t have much of an income, even though I was working at two and three jobs at the same time, while going to school. And yet, by miracles large and small, food would appear on our front porch, someone would drop off some meat for our freezer, or a little money would appear in the mail from I don’t know who. We managed to pull our lives together and thanked God for all His blessings, great and small. At our first appointment in PA, Gabriel talks about the first real pair of Levi jeans he got from a sweet elderly lady at Maple Lake. He always had to wear those high-water pants with elastic waists because daddy was too cheap to buy the better brands. He thanked God for this sweet, grandmotherly lady and her appreciation for a boy's fashion and a sensitive self-esteem. We might smile over these things and maybe even laugh out loud, but always, we know God has worked in our midst. God can take a sorrow and turn it into a song. He can take a joy and turn it into a symphony. It is our legacy - all of these wonderful things that God does for us. Surely, we can sing a song of thanksgiving to such a God of blessings. What vocabulary of praise do you wish to pass on as a legacy to your family today and every day? What stories re-tell how God has worked in your lives? The fifth verse of our Scripture asks some questions. It asks us to reflect on the question, "Is not our house right with God? Has God not made with us an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part? Will He not bring to fruition our salvation and grant us our every desire?" The Gaither Family has a song that sings, "Tell it to your children and your children's children. Write it on the throne of their hearts. Make it the theme of all that you do, tell it to them right from the start. Tell it in the morning, tell it in the night, make it your joy, your song, your delight. Tell it to your children and your children's children that Jesus must be Lord of their lives." 3 Got a story… Rev. Joe Harding tells of an occasion of eating in a restaurant with another couple. There were some high-school students in a corner booth. (Imagine you're at a Denny's with a bunch of youth over in the corner.) The students got tickled about something and started laughing. Their laughter got louder and louder. Soon they became aware that some people were listening to their laughter and they tried to stop. However, the more they tried to stop laughing, the more the giggles and laughter convulsed their entire bodies. Pastor Harding said that the entire booth was shaking with laughter and joy. Then something began to happen. The laughter moved out from that one booth to another. People started to smile, and then they, too, began to laugh. Then Pastor Harding said, "I saw it coming toward us! Soon we found ourselves caught up in the whole atmosphere of laughter and joy. We didn't even know what we were laughing about. But our conversation was interrupted as we smiled at each other and then broke out in laughter. It was an amazing moment." Christian joy and thanksgiving is far deeper and far more contagious than even the laughter of these youth. Do we know this joy? God does amazing things with us every day. He has been with our families, our loved ones, at times of birth, through life and at death, and has promised us, and assured us, and secured for us a life everlasting. Surely we have songs of joy and thanksgiving to pass down to younger generations. Take a moment and think of a time this year when God was with you... Now, thank God for that time and share those moments of your lives, where we can give praise to God for what He has done, in our lives and for each other.