4.10.37 8.9.2020 David Shows us How to Sing a Song!

Overture...

Entice: In addition to his reputation as a shepherd, and warrior, and King; David was perhaps known best as an artist. A liturgical artist. That is, he used his artistic skills, not just for his own benefit but also contributed them to the community worship of his people.

Engage:

We don't have nearly enough sermons, lessons or discussions about creativity and the arts.

Such messages just don't seem serious especially when we are going through difficult times. Oddly-during times of great spiritual difficulty we recite, read or sing...

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We're all edified when one of our talented instrumentalists elevates our spirit. We are encouraged when a gifted vocalist teaches us through a song. We are exalted when our combined musical talents are melded in public worship.

We look at music as a guilty pleasure. You might know one of my hero's is JS Bach who signed each manuscript score...

To God's glory alone.

Expand: And no Biblical artist, no scriptural singer of songs is more familiar to us than David.

2 Samuel 23:1 ESV

1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:

He sang, composed and played; bringing glory to God, peace to the troubled, joy to the celebrating, order to those mourning and truth to those praying.

Excite: You and I have skills and abilities which can and should be leveraged to God's glory. These skills fall on a continuum from more artistic to less. Some are more modern than others. Some are a little bit country, others a little bit rock-and-roll. The tragedy is when we hide them from God, hoard them for ourselves and do not release them for service.

Explore:

David heroically shows us how to honor God creatively in worship.

Explain: God's gifts are given to us, skills are distributed to benefit others to enrich the Church. Let's consider this process briefly today.

1. A Useful Skill.

Entertainment.

1 Samuel 18:10 ESV

10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand.

Engagement.

1 Samuel 16:18 ESV

18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”

Enrichment.

(not money but deepening character)

1 Samuel 16:23 ESV

23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.

2. A Spiritual Discipline.

Personal Prayer.

Psalm 1 ESV

1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Corporate Worship.

Psalm 150 ESV

1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

Cultural Penetration.

Returning to Psalm 23...One of the best know passages of scripture for those of deep faith or none. Its power is transformative.

There is entire Legacy of Great artistic works which have risen to the pinnacle of the musical, dramatic, visual, and literary arts which sprang from a whole-hearted, unrestrained, unapologetic faith.

Coda: A Theology of Creation...

David; musician, poet, lyricist should stand at the very heart of any theology of creation. We create, we make because our creator made us! J.R.R Tolkien called this phenomena Splintered Light. Whenever you create a beautiful song, or soufflé, or story you are following the creative nature God placed within us. David pioneered this life of ongoing-beautifying worship.

A Hero does more than defeat our dragons, fight our foes and champion our causes. The very same individual who slew the giant, composed and sang praises to His God. The same individual mastered the psychology of sheep, the deadly mechanics of the sling and the disciplined fingering of the lyre.

Maybe an overlooked element of our spiritual pilgrimage is being useful to others? Perhaps it is time to make that utility a focus of our faith.