Monday morning is a delicate time for the preacher.
Some preachers feel exhausted or down after a busy Sunday, especially if things have not gone too well.
Alan Noble quotes a snatch of conversation from the author Cormac McCarthy:
“What’s the bravest thing you ever did?”
“Getting up this morning.”
That is how I began my sermon on Psalm 88 this week. I had asked the congregation if they had felt like coming to church that morning. That proved to be an important question for some in the congregation.
When I prepare a sermon on the Psalms I use four steps that I have borrowed from Tom Long:
1. Follow the structure
What is fascinating to observe is how a psalm moves as an act of communication.
2. Focus on the main image or images
Tom writes: “Psalms operate at the level of imagination, often swivelling the universe on the hinges of a single image. Sermons based on psalms should also seek to work their way into the deep recesses of the hearer’s imagination”.
3. Experience the mood of the psalm
Not all psalms breathe the same mood. Instead, they range from sad songs to hallelujah choruses, with every other mood inbetween.
4. Listen to the theological testimony of the psalm
Each psalm fits into a story, reflecting the world of the psalmist, Israel, the big story of the gospel and the life of the believer today.
Psalm 88 is structured around three references to the psalmist calling upon God (verses 1–2, 9, 13). These keep the focus of the psalm on who God is and how the psalmist tries to keep him in view, even when things do not go well.
The main image of the psalm is darkness. This culminates in the statement in the final verse, “darkness is my closest friend”. This reminded me of the opening line of the Simon and Garfunkel song The Sound of Silence: “Hello darkness my old friend”.
This image is such a powerful image that relates to so many dark episodes that invade the lives of people today. This is the point in the sermon where people can begin to feel that they can see themselves or someone they love in the psalm.
The mood of the psalm is one of Job-like desolation, but combined with Job-like determination to continue to seek a resoution that appears to be invisible and allusive.
The theological testimony of this psalm is that the believer can experience darkness in their lives yet still believe. Supremely this is experienced by Jesus plunged into a three hour zone of darkness where he called out to the Father concerning his own sense of being abandoned. It is also the experience of believers like Paul (see 2 Corinthians 1:8–11).
Psalm 88 does not allow the preacher to sugar coat the life of faith. Sometimes believers are left puzzled, afraid and devasted. Psalms like this tell us that God knows how we feel. He does not always explain suffering but in Christ he has shared it.
If you would like to hear the sermon visit:
Psalm 88 Hello Darkness my Old Friend
"Psalm 88 makes people uncomfortable. It confronts the ways we pray and the ways we think prayer must be done.
Photo by Cherry Laithang on Unsplash
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