Despair (1 of 10)
Series: Anatomy of the Soul
Dave Gustavsen
Psalm 22
Today we start a brand new series in the longest book of the Bible (150 chapters!)(by the way, we will not read all of them); it’s a book of the Bible that Jesus obviously loved and meditated on, because he quoted it more than any other book; the book of Psalms. The Psalms were written and compiled over a period of about 1,000 years-between about 1400BC and 400BC, but almost half of them were written by King David, right around 1,000BC.
If you were a faithful Jewish person, and you came to the Jerusalem temple to worship, this was your song book-the book of Psalms. But don’t think that just because they were written as songs, they don’t have serious content. I would say the Psalms deal with just about every human emotion: despair, injustice, gratitude, contentment, reverence-you name it; the Psalms aren’t afraid to talk about it. John Calvin said the Psalms are ‘‘an anatomy of all parts of the soul,’’ which is why we’re calling this series ‘‘Anatomy of the Soul.’’ And isn’t that why we love music in general? It connects with the emotions we’re feeling, right? And it helps us to express those emotions.
But the Psalms do more than just help us express our emotions. They help us make sense of them. Ed Welch wrote about how important the Psalms are when we struggle with depression. He said this: ‘‘...God gives us poetry that, somehow, gives voice to the silences of our hearts.’’ And then he gives this example from the Psalm we’re going to study today-listen:
When you hear the words of Psalm 22, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ you might think about your own experience. Depression feels like being forsaken. But you also remember that these were Jesus’ words on the cross. They point to the fact that when you read these liturgical prayers, you are not alone. David composed many of them, the Israelites sang them, the church has recited them, and they all point to Jesus.
What th ...
Series: Anatomy of the Soul
Dave Gustavsen
Psalm 22
Today we start a brand new series in the longest book of the Bible (150 chapters!)(by the way, we will not read all of them); it’s a book of the Bible that Jesus obviously loved and meditated on, because he quoted it more than any other book; the book of Psalms. The Psalms were written and compiled over a period of about 1,000 years-between about 1400BC and 400BC, but almost half of them were written by King David, right around 1,000BC.
If you were a faithful Jewish person, and you came to the Jerusalem temple to worship, this was your song book-the book of Psalms. But don’t think that just because they were written as songs, they don’t have serious content. I would say the Psalms deal with just about every human emotion: despair, injustice, gratitude, contentment, reverence-you name it; the Psalms aren’t afraid to talk about it. John Calvin said the Psalms are ‘‘an anatomy of all parts of the soul,’’ which is why we’re calling this series ‘‘Anatomy of the Soul.’’ And isn’t that why we love music in general? It connects with the emotions we’re feeling, right? And it helps us to express those emotions.
But the Psalms do more than just help us express our emotions. They help us make sense of them. Ed Welch wrote about how important the Psalms are when we struggle with depression. He said this: ‘‘...God gives us poetry that, somehow, gives voice to the silences of our hearts.’’ And then he gives this example from the Psalm we’re going to study today-listen:
When you hear the words of Psalm 22, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’ you might think about your own experience. Depression feels like being forsaken. But you also remember that these were Jesus’ words on the cross. They point to the fact that when you read these liturgical prayers, you are not alone. David composed many of them, the Israelites sang them, the church has recited them, and they all point to Jesus.
What th ...
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