Psalms

God loves a sinner. In fact, He embraces the sinner over and over again, no matter what the offence....but the sin holds its own consequences. God also loves a good song. A Psalm in fact is a song or lyric, and in many times accompanied by a harp or string instrument. In the days of King David we can only imagine the tone and melodic pleasures that were a part of his many pieces of poetry to the Chief Musician. The Chief Musician loves to hear the workings and process of our hearts. He loves to understand the calling and yearning of our passions, when contemplating the sure evil of our acts. Passion+Sacred Yearning=Psalms. Elvis, Bob Dylan, Beethoven, Leonard Cohen, Shakespeare, Blake, Whitman, Luther, Johnny Cash, etc. etc. know the power of the modern Psalm. Without the need for God in any circumstance, we are nowhere near the throne of Grace and Mercy. To know the power of forgiveness and shelter is to know the hand of the creator.

Many years ago i was in a band called dctalk. We were lucky in the way many young bands are lucky in fumbling for the right notes, the right ideas and the right words. The thing that always puts a smile on my face is remembering the tours that we did in front of thousands and realizing onstage during a particular number, how amazing the power of music was... and how it changed hearts in so many different ways. I remember Brennan Manning telling me at one point that the Psalms was were a good place to start, when tackling music and traveling the road. It was a starting point he said, to learning the grace of God. Never have i felt that grace so much as when i needed him in the darkest hours. Music was my outlet for my passions, but God's grace allowed me to learn from my mistakes and fuel my passion beyond forgiveness. Again it is essential for me to realize that without Grace and Mercy, there is no fuel for Song.

It is interesting to study the man, David, son of Jesse in the Bible. He was a man of many human traits, but a man of superhuman abilities. The boy defeating the giant, the man winning over a country, and a King defeating the enemies of God. But the thing that always stands out above the victories of David were his faults, his very public sins. It seems to me in studying the Psalms that we see a broken spirit in need of redemption. A soul thirsting for righteousness, in the knowledge that his own body and mind were flawed and subject to continous sin. The story of David as the songwriter pulls at me the most.....imagine that LIFE.....David's life and the wealth of knowledge that he had, but also the need.....the NEED FOR GOD drove him into a place of silence and contemplation. The praise from his lips and the dancing before the throne, were from a deep need....a well of fiery passion intended only for his creator.

Another great example of that passion is seen in the modern movie The Apostle with Robert Duvall. Duvall's wayward evangelistic character, not only talks to God every moment that he can, but he YELLS at God.....he swears at God, kicks up dust and beats on walls....do we even think to imagine David in a similar circumstance?.... Of course.....David was a passionate soul.....everything he did was big...he fought big, he loved big, and he PRAYED BIG. and loud. prayed naked....throwing off everything that inhibited his truest thoughts. But the purity found in the Psalms was all about RESPECT AND FEAR OF GOD's JUDGEMENT. I think in modern times, we have been so brow-beaten by the old fundamemtalists that we see God as a buddy and a smiling liberal....think again on his many characteristics....GOD IS DANGEROUS! AND TO BE FEARED! -(ie) Aslan the Lion.

"O God, thou art my God; early will i seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as i have seen in thy sanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips will praise thee. Thus will i bless thee while i live: I will lift up my hands in thy name." Psalm 63.

But the love of God is greater than the anger and judgement.....and thus, we realize the great scope of His many Characteristics. The psalms are like a rock that can be both an anchor, or a huge wall to halt a speeding ship. We need them to understand and contemplate the great beauty and love that David and others had for the Mighty and Awesome power of the Creator.

A Modern Psalm
- by Kevin Max

Am i your son?
defiant here i stand
fists like bones of dead men
a heart like a tremor
and steel skin

Am i your son?
to be beaten like a drum
to hear the tempo of your heart
splitting sky apart
looking for a home.

Am i your son?
bathed in ignorance
and silence
drinking of the chalice of greed
wasting of this time in need
sure as youth is golden

Am i your son?
guilty but not afraid
machine but i am made
by no man,
Thirst like a river
Needy of deliverance.

Your Little Frankenstein.