Sermon - "Do You Hear the Deep Note?" Psalm 42 - Part I

“Do You Hear the Deep Note?”

Psalm 42:1-11

Opening Prayer

Humbly, I beseech the gracious bestowal of the anointing of the Holy Spirit who breaks every yokes binding the people of God.  With all due humility, I ask to decrease so the Holy Spirit may increase within me.  Open the eyes and ears of our hearts and reveal unto us Your “good, pleasing and perfect will” for our lives.  O most gracious and benevolent God, give us knowledge of Your will for us, mental willingness and spiritual power to carry it out.  May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our strength and redeemer.  Amen.

Introduction

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” (Psalm 42:7) 

I love music!  Primarily, I listen to gospel, sacred, classical, jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, and adult contemporary music. I like to listen for the intricate and dynamic ways in which the artists compose and perform their works.  Despite the fact that I have heard the more popular symphonies of Beethoven countless times, I still listen each time I hear them on the radio for mastery in certain movements.

 

Interestingly, God through spirituality plays multiple symphonies in an attempt to lure us into a deeper and greater relationship with Him.  In the midst of our daily hustle and bustle, do we hear the deep note of the symphony God plays?

Nature bears a manifold witness to the glory of Almighty God. 

A trip to Grand Canyon, the mountains of upstate New York, fall foliage of New England, a cruise in deep waters of the Atlantic, a trip to the Mayan ruins or standing near the mighty rushing waters of Niagara Falls, all, attest to the handiwork of the Holy Creator, the Maker of heaven and earth. 

Yet, we miss these monuments of faith and divine revelation that accompany them when our busyness rises to a crescendo of noise drowning out the graceful, celestial symphony of God’s love and faithfulness.  We miss the message of God primarily because we fail to listen for it.   Our enslavement to technology, the ball and chain of “to do” lists, unrealistic demands relating to material acquisition and divergent “priorities” (arguably idols) of modern life, all, make us deaf when it comes to hearing the voice of God. Actually, it seems we put our hands over our ears.  We cannot hear the deep note because we do not take time and exert energy to listen for it.

In a collection of meditations entitled, The Centering Moment, Howard Thurman, an African-American, Baptist mystic, exhorts us to take time to listen for the “genuine sound” of Almighty God.  Moreover, Thurman insists we only hear God’s symphony when we quiet ourselves in solitude and specifically listen for it.  Essentially, the spiritual discipline of meditation is a nonnegotiable daily practice in order to develop personally and grow spiritually.

I. Page One – Problems in the Text – Psalm 42:1-11

Verse 1 - “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God”

The psalmist declares a penetrating thirst for fellowship and relationship with God.  He alludes to a loss of communication, trust, respect and communion, all of which comprise the significant components of a healthy and vibrant relationship.  Does the psalmist suspect God’s abandonment?  Is he a victim of unrequited love?  Conceivably, his longstanding separation from the presence and intimacy of Almighty God seduces him into believing he has lost contact with God.  Now, the joy of seeking security, silence and solace in the shadow of God’s presence is a fading memory of once jubilant and fulfilling times.

Verse 2 - “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?”

God is the object of the psalmist’s thirst.  Idols and other attempts to quench his thirst do not satisfy.  God is his “ultimate concern.”  Similarly, the myriad of distractions of modern, technological life filled with illustrious gadgets will not replace God’s incomparable and indescribable presence.  After we are done multitasking as we listen to our music library on an IPod, read a classic novel on a tablet, answer a video call on the latest smart phone while answering business emails on an adjacent laptop, we will still long for meaning and purpose.  Pascal’s enduring adage about the God-shaped vacuum that lies in the core of our soul remains as true in the twenty-first century as when he originally offered it.  When we come to end of ourselves having exhausted our resources in a quest for joy and wholeness, we concur with the psalmist; only God can fill the void.  But, how do we find Him?

Verse 3 – “My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God?”

What an incredibly stark image of tears watering his soul!  These tears symbolize his agony, depression, disillusionment, frustration and hopelessness.  Again, the psalmist’s dilemma reminds one of a person aggrieved with unrequited love.  How can the object of my heart be indifferent to depth, sincerity and fortitude of my affection and passion?  How agonizing to love someone who does not love you?  How demeaning when the God whose you are and whom you serve seems to discard your love for Him?  Understandably, your tears of bewilderment may equal an ocean.  It is a very sad state of affairs if your tears are the only water your soul receives. 

The taunts of modern contemporaries whose reliance upon a non-theistic worldview compound your sadness.  They question the reasonableness of your faith considering your mental and emotional state.  Further, when they contrast their escalating social strata with your concurrently declining socio-economic status, they raise their eyes brows when considering the authenticity of your faith.    A demeaning and self-pitying glance follows that facial expression as they silently hope you will discover their incontrovertible truth; it simply does not pay to have faith.  Rather, your acquaintance suggests you settle for the fallacy of the American dream and the myth of the self-made person who develops formidable self-reliance. 

What about a drink from the “cup of salvation?”  What about prior fellowship with Almighty God whose faithfulness is a proof of His existence?  What about the psalmist’s lifelong worship, praise and adoration of God?  Yet, in the middle of the fourth watch of the night when it is deepest and darkest, the psalmist agonizes over his prolonged disconnection from Almighty God.