David had a gritty heart. He experienced the full range of powerful emotions. We know this because over half of the Psalms, in our Bible, are attributed to David. David was a musician, a harpist, a psalm writer. The Psalms ooze with raw emotion. They’re like reading someone’s journal. They’re essentially song lyrics. They show how deeply David experienced emotion in his life, and how conflicted he often felt about himself/God. Sometimes he was filled with jealousy, rage, contempt. Other times he wallowed in despair, fear, and shame.
Emotions are a lot like the song tracks we play on our personal devices. How many of you have a song you play over and over? In Lara’s car, she had a Michael Buble CD. She’d play that same CD on her way to work, then back home, all the time! Now I like Michael Buble, but she was wearing out that CD. So one night I took the CD out of her car, and asked a friend if we make a copy of the CD but dub my voice, over a few of Michael Buble’s songs. I had everything perfectly planned so I could steal her CD, change a few songs, and slip it back into her car by morning.
So sure enough, one night, I executed my plan flawlessly. Man, I couldn’t wait for the moment she’d play those tracks, and hear my terrible voice over her car radio! But the next morning she drove to work, and she said nothing about it at lunch. Then she drove home from work, said nothing about it at dinner. I suffered along for days until I could stand it no longer! “Lara… are you still listening to that CD?... “YES, EVERY DAY…” Well, have you notice anything weird… “NO,LIKE WHAT?”
She was playing the CD… but she’d gotten in the habit of skipping the tracks I’d changed! It’s like that with our emotions. We play the same tracks over and over. The more we play a track, the more engrained a certain way of thinking/feeling becomes. Some of us have been playing the same old tracks over and over our whole life.
I’m using music as a metaphor for the emotions we feel. Music was how David worked through his disillusionments about life, and God. This is the same reason music is so powerful. Music not only conveys emotions; it can stoke certain emotions. Music can corrupt us, but it can also heal us. It can bring clarity; it can also create confusion. A lot of modern music tends to lead us away from God. That’s the danger. David wrote music to bring healing and greater clarity about God.
In the Psalms, and even in modern music, there are three basic styles of songs…
First, there are FIGHT Songs.
A popular song on the radio right now has this very lyric: “This is my fight song. Take back my life song. Prove I'm alright song… My power's turned on. Starting right now I'll be strong. I'll play my fight song. And I don't really care if nobody else believes. 'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me.” The basic message is, FIGHT! Be powerful!
FIGHT Songs can convey the Emotion of Jealousy. The premise behind Jealousy is that God hasn’t been good to me. God has blessed others, but not me. I need to fight to guarantee my own satisfaction and pleasure. In Psalm 73:3, Asaph writes, “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” So much music stokes this desire to own, protect, hoard. The assumption is God has denied us something something essential to life. And since we cannot trust God nor wait on him, we must fight for it.
FIGHT Songs can convey the Emotion of Anger. The premise behind anger is that God isn’t just. And because God is clearly not acting on my behalf, I need to take matters into my own hands. In Psalm 109:6-12 David overcome by rage says, “GOD! Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy… May his days be few… may his children be fatherless and his wife a widow… May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes. May a creditor seize all that he has… may no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children.”
FIGHT Songs can convey the Emotion of Contempt. The premise behind contempt is others don’t deserve God’s kindness. The contemptuous person literally withholds God’s grace from others. The contemptuous person is disgusted at the thought that God might show kindness, or goodness, or grace… or extend mercy in any kind of way. The contemptuous person says, “But they don’t deserve it! They haven’t earned it!”.
In Psalm 109:14-15 David rages, “May the sin of his fathers be remembered before the Lord; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. May their sins always remain before the Lord, that he may blot out their name from the earth.”
The underlying theme of all these is, “I can’t trust God to be good… to be righteous and just… I cannot trust God’s mercy and grace to achieve a satisfactory result… therefore I must rely upon myself to get what’s mine, to take out retribution, to deny people what they do not deserve.”
Its Carrie Underwood’s song “Before He Cheats.” “Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond tramp, And she's probably getting frisky... Right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink 'Cause she can't shoot whiskey... Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick, Showing her how to shoot a combo...
And he don't know... That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive, Carved my name into his leather seats... I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights, Slashed a hole in all four tires... Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.”
Second, there are FLIGHT Songs.
You have heard that our innate response to a threat is FIGHT or FLIGHT. When threatened we stand our ground and FIGHT with Jealousy, Anger, and Contempt. But sometimes the threat is too overwhelming, so we run.
FLIGHT Songs can convey the Emotion of Despair. When we’re jealous, we’re often holding out hope that things might change, and we’ll possess whatever it is that’s essential to life. But when we’re filled with despair, we’ve given up hope. We’re overwhelmed with our troubles, we’re filled with sadness and grief, we question if everyone EVEN GOD has abandoned us.
In Psalm 88:3-5, the Psalmist writes, “I am overwhelmed with troubles and my life draws near to death. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like one without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave. Whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care.”
It gets worse! In Psalm 88:15-18 Psalmist continues his pity party, “From my youth I have suffered and been close to death; I have bourne your terrors and am in despair. Your wrath has swept over me; your terrors have destroyed me. All day long they surround me like a flood; they have completely engulfed me. You have taken from me friend and neighbor, darkness is my closest friend.”
FLIGHT Songs can convey the Emotion of Fear. In Psalm 55:4-5 David writes, “My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.” Fear is all about anxiety and worry. We question whether God sees our needs or even hears us. The psychology of fear is that everything is out of control. Life isn’t predictable. I cannot trust God to protect or provide.
FLIGHT Songs can convey the Emotion of Shame. Just as the contemptuous person denies grace to others, the shame-filled person denies grace for themselves. The premise behind shame is that I’m unlovable. “IF people really saw who I was, they wouldn’t want anything to do with me. I know God sees me… there isn’t anyway God would ever show mercy to me, a sinner.” In Psalm 44:15 the Psalmist writes, “I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame.”
QUESTION: There is so much more we could say about these emotions of FIGHT and FLIGHT. I think that’s I’ve said enough that you should be able to identity your emotional sound track. What song track have you been overplaying the most? Which songs strike the deepest chord in your emotions? FIGHT Songs of Jealousy, Anger, Contempt? Or FLIGHT Songs of Despair, Fear, and Shame?
There is actually a third style of music, and its kind David most proficient in.
Third, there are FAITH Songs.
An alternative to Jealousy and Despair, is Hope. We don’t have to be filled with jealousy, because God has satisfied our deepest longings in Christ. We don’t have to despair because that life is fading… God has granted eternal life to all who will believe and trust in his name!
An alternative to Anger and Fear, is Peace. We don’t have to “act out” in Anger, or “react” out of fear because God is truly with us. He sees us and hears us. He is eager to provide and refresh us. We can be at peace with my enemies, I can be rest easy about tomorrow.
An alternative to Contempt and Shame is Grace. We don’t have to act in contempt toward others, or wallow in shame, because God’s grace and Christ’s shoulders are broad enough to bear the weight of the sins of the whole world.
Here is what I’ll say about David… and what I hope can be true of us. No matter how powerful the undercurrents of his soul, no matter how dark the emotions that raged in his soul… David kept finding his way back to God. He might have started feeling many of these things, but in the end he FIGHT song and FLIGHT songs turned into FAITH songs. His music is filled with so much honesty yes… but it’s filled with grit, determination, and faith. He’s resolute to give his heart over to God again and again.
Psalm 23 is a Song of Faith! “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
Closing thought…
#Our Emotions can drive us away from God, or draw us into his presence. They can make us reel against God’s authority, or learn to rely upon him. What will your song be?