Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Read Psalm 131

America’s Troubles

STRESS

Have you ever noticed that America seems a little stressed out?

We’ve gone from the land of the free and the home of the brave to the land of the freaked out and the home of the dismayed.

American Psychological Association (2014):

Over 70% of all people interviewed said they experienced physical and psychological symptoms of stress in their lives.

Fatigue, headache, upset stomach, muscle tension.

Irritability, anger, nervousness, lack of energy.

Health care and missed work from stress cost employers about $300 billion dollars that year!

People are stressed out about job situations, money, health, and relationships.

Poor nutrition, media overload, and sleep deprivation round out the top causes of stress.

ANXIETY

Anxiety is also on the rise.

Historically, the group of people who are least anxious are those over 72.

Those with the most experience and who have survived enough crises to take the long view.

56% of 72+ year olds feel that our country is at the lowest point they have ever experienced.

These are people who have lived through Pearl Harbor, WWII, the Vietnam War, JFK and MLK assassinations, the Gulf War, 9/11, and more!

They are more anxious about our country now than ever before.

And the percentage of people who agree with this analysis rises sharply the younger the demographic.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports that just over 18% of the population in America, or 40 million people over the age of 18, have a level of anxiety they would diagnose as a mental illness.

PACE OF LIFE

New York Post article entitled, Society’s self-destructive addiction to faster living.

“Society is now dominated by beliefs, attitudes and ways of thinking that elevate the values of impulse, instant gratification and loss of control to first line actions and reactions.

“I want it now!” or “Do it now!” are valued mantras for today’s with-it person, young or old.

Add to instant action the belief that there are no limits to human power, no limits to action, no limits to success.

Fueled by the grandiosity and omnipotence of these beliefs, people get high on the emotions of endless possibility with no need to ever stop or slow down.”

Are you caught up in the rush?

Hobbies, media consumption, errands, vacations, work, pets, the gym, shopping, yard work, taxiing children to sports and camps, planning, reading, church activities, and on, and on.

Throw a good dose of “life” into the mix with sickness, injury, car problems, plumbing leaks, etc. and you have the recipe for a whirlwind.

CONCLUSION

America has a problem.

Many of us show the symptoms of that problem.

We are anxious, worried, stressed, exhausted, driven, discouraged, desperate, and as a result, we are often sick and miserable.

In the mix of all this, sometimes we all wish for a Peter Pan moment.

The chance to return to a simpler frame of mind.

Even our culture talks longingly of seeing the world through the eyes of a child, of childlike love, trust, and faith.

There is the sense that something is lost along the way of growing up, and that we would all do good to journey backwards and reclaim it.

Our Psalm this morning is the antidote to the frenetic lifestyle so many of us are enslaved to.

And it may not even involve becoming less busy!

But it will involve recapturing an attitude that children sometimes instinctively grasp, and that we as adults need to grow up to achieve.

Which brings us to .

In contrast to , the longest Psalm in the Bible, which we looked at a few weeks ago, is among the shortest.

CONTEXT

is a member of a special group of Psalms that begins with and runs through .

Notice in your Bible that begins with the designation, “A Song of Ascents.”

These 15 psalms of Ascent were sung by the Israelites as they ascended up to the hill of Jerusalem to enter the temple for worship.

The Israelites were commanded to assemble for three different feasts a year in - the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles.

As the caravans journeyed, they would prepare their hearts for worship in Jerusalem with these words.

They are largely short.

4 are by David, 1 is by Solomon, and the rest are anonymous.

Some have noted that the number of steps leading from the court of the Israelites to the court of the women at the temple is the same as the number of Psalms of Ascent, and there is Jewish tradition saying that pilgrims would sing a song on each step as they completed their journey to the temple.

I had the chance to participate in this tradition in Israel as a student some years ago.

So what do these three short verses, written for Jewish pilgrims heading for feast days in Jerusalem, by the ancient king David, have to say to us today as American Christians in the 21st century?

Quite a lot actually.

I hope by the time we are done we will agree at some level with the commentator Croft who said of that it is, “one of the most beautiful psalms in the psalter.”

This psalm, which Croft (Identity of the Individual, 149) has rightly called “one of the most beautiful psalms in the psalter,” has an enigmatic quality about it, due in part to its brevity.

So let’s dive in and see in verse 1 the first of three simple principles that combat stress, anxiety, and the disquiet of our souls.

Three marks of a man or woman who has achieved a biblical state of childlike faith.

Humble (1)

Exposition

Addressed to Yahweh.

Yahweh, the personal, covenant name of God given to His people, is the best name to use when the people of God are journeying to worship Him for the feasts of that covenant.

In the Psalms of Ascent we see the name Yahweh used 48 times!

David sets this short Psalm off by addressing God directly to speak with him about his own heart.

Very personal.

Notice how personal the language is.

This is not theological lecture, it is David speaking honestly of his own heart.

Makes two points.

David is telling God that he is coming to worship after having governed his life with two important principles.

First, he has avoided pride.

Second, he has avoided presumption.

David’s life was one of a king, but a king that often had to learn humility.

Raised as a shepherd.

On the run for a decade, including a stint pretending to the a mad man in the land of his enemies.

Chose not to hasten his success until God had removed Saul Himself.

Dealt with Civil War from Saul’s son Ishbosheth and then later his own son Absolom.

He was even cursed by a man named Shimei as he fled Jerusalem from his own son.

David knew what it was to be humbled, but he remained humble even when his circumstances changed.

He did not think more highly of himself than he ought to as the general pattern of his life (with a few notable exceptions.)

Application

Accept our Finiteness

Much of our anxiety and stress is a result of the difference between how we think of ourselves or how we want others to think of ourselves, and who we actually are.

The human heart is an elevator.

It is designed to lift something up.

But too often we put ourselves in the elevator instead of God.

Accept God’s Infinity

There is a lot going on with God’s world that we simply do not, can not, and will not understand.

Job 42:1-6

Humility is of first importance if we are to stop the incessant noise and stress in our lives.

We must have hearts and eyes that are content with who God has created us to be, and the station of life we are in.

This enables us to honestly deal with our soul and bring it into a condition of quiet.

Quick Aside: Isn’t it proud for David to tell God he is humble?

Hushed (2)

Exposition

Surely - reflects that this verse is written much like an oath.

It is a strong assertion.

What has he done?

Composed and quieted his soul.