Modern Longings – Ancient Words: The Psalms and Our Deepest Desires

When I’m asked to preach about the kinds of deep issues of human longing, temptation or struggle that people are facing in our world, I find that I intuitively turn more often to the Psalms than to any other part of Scripture. I think that the main reason is that the Psalms are poetry, often poetry written to be sung. Like that kind of poetry from any time, culture, and language, the poems in the Bible’s Psalms often speak to the most profound parts of our human experience. The emotions expressed in them ring true to our lives in spite of the historic and cultural distance we have from those whom God inspired to write the poetry. The messages communicated in the Bible’s poems frequently are so relevant that they seem as if they were written specifically for someone in the 21st Century.

Many of the poems in the Psalms reveal the hearts of people wrestling with the monumental issues of life. I think that every emotion I have ever heard from those I’ve been blessed to pastor find expression the Psalms. I believe the reason for this is that the poetry of the Bible was not written merely to express what people feel but also to guide us through the human condition caused by evil in this world. My testimony is that, through the poetry of the Old Testament being proclaimed in the context of a church family, people of faith in Jesus move from sighing to singing, from trouble to triumph, and from struggle to shalom.

When Pastor Jeff Mattesich asked me to consider speaking about some of these kinds of matters in my final series as Sr. Pastor, I sensed immediately that this would be the right thing to do. As most Lake people know, I love songs and poetry. And, I look forward to these weeks during which we will be able to consider the relevance of these ancient words in the Psalms to our modern hopes and longings. I pray it will further God’s work in us all and be to the glory of God alone.