Our scripture lesson is a Psalm of Praise to God. It begins. . .
"I will bless you and praise your name forever." (vs. 2)But why is God worthy of our praise? This psalm praises God for his Mighty Power. . .
"Great is the Lord, his greatness is unsearchable." (vs. 3) "One generation shall declare your mighty acts to another." (vs. 4)But God is not indiscriminate with the use of his power. In verse 16 we are told that God uses his power to provide for all living things. In verse 18 he hears our cries and he saves us. We have a God that is worthy of being praised because he uses his mighty power to care for all his creation.
But sometimes the cares and concerns of this world block out our memory of God's mighty power and our songs of praise are not as strong and joyous as they should be.
I'd like to share a story with you about a man I'll call "Strange Eddy." He is strange because he hears noises. They're the same noises we hear, but Eddy hears all of them all at the same time. At work he hears the whir of the motors. This sound doesn't stop. It continues to reverberate in his head when he hears a new sound: the clanking of the conveyor belts. And this sound is added to the first. And then in the break room he hears people gossiping and this sound is piled on top of the others. As he drives home in the evening he hears the roar of car engines, the squeal of breaks, the angry yells of inconvenienced motorists, and all these sounds are added to the sounds of the work place. At home he hears the hum of the dish washer, the ringing of the phone, the endless chatter of bad news on the T.V. and they are all added to the noises of the day. Hearing all those noises, all together, all the time is chaotic and distracting to say the least. And he never has a moments peace. He has sought help from doctors, psychiatrists, even psychic advisors: But nothing.
One day Strange Eddy was at home watching T.V. Outside, thunder clouds rolled in and the claps of thunder and the sound of pounding rain on the roof added to the confusion of noise in his head. Suddenly, EMS warned of a flash flood. Eddy's home was sitting on a nice green field near a stream. He heard the sound of roaring water and through the flashes of lightning he could see a wall of water rushing down the stream bed toward his house. He ran out the door and up the hill just as the wave hit his house. Debris of logs and bits of house and boats smashed against the walls, breaking windows, flooding his home. Sitting on the hill Eddy thought for a moment about the awesome power of God. He recalled stories from Childhood; like the time God destroyed the world with the great flood, or how God sent the 10 plagues on Egypt, or the story of Elijah's contest with the false prophets of Baal, when God sent fire from heaven burning up Elijah's alter. With all these stories of the mighty power of God flooding back into his mind, Strange Eddy cried out, "Why Me! Why did you do this to me!" Suddenly, in the chaotic noise in his head, he heard a new sound. It was very faint. It sounded like music. He listened intently and started to hum the tune. He only caught bits of it, but he noticed that when he hummed the tune the chaotic noise of the world quieted, just a little. So he kept on humming quietly to himself.
Soon, the headlights of a truck brightened the night sky. Rescue workers got out, put a blanket around Strange Eddy, put him in truck and took him to an emergency shelter. There he was given dry clothes, a hot meal, and a cot to sleep on. Eddy sat there quietly humming the new tune to himself and watched as workers brought in more flood victims. Volunteers clothed and fed them, trying to make them comfortable. Eddy began to remember more Bible stories: God providing manna for the Israelites in the wilderness, God sending ravens to bring meat and bread to Elijah during a drought, and Jesus feeding 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. As he thought about how God used his mighty power to supply the needs of people, the tune in his head became clearer. He could hear harps playing, could hear voices singing, and he could even make out a few phrases. . .
"My God and King. . . Every Day I will Bless you. . . Great is the Lord"Now he could hum the whole tune and even sing some of the phrases. And as he did the chaotic noise in his head became a little quieter still.
After the flood waters subside Strange Eddy returned home. His house was in ruins. There was a foot of silt on the floor, the furniture was soaked, the wood paneling was warped, and the windows were broken. For a moment his heart sank. It was too much for him to deal with. And when he stopped humming and singing the new tune, the chaotic noises of the world threatened to overwhelm him. Then he heard footsteps outside. Neighbors and strangers were approaching his house. Some carried shovels or hammers, some buckets and sponges, and some carried plastic sheets and tape. As they filed into Strange Eddy's house they said, "Hi," patted him on the back and got to work. They had come to help him straighten up and get his life back into order. He started to think again of the Bible stories his mother once told him: Of Elijah bringing the widow's son back to life, Of Peter healing the cripple in front of the temple, and of Jesus on the cross, crying out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me," followed by the wonderful news of the Resurrection. Suddenly he could hear the music in his head clearly. . .
I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. (vs. 1-3)Eddy joined in the work, and as he worked, he sang the new song loud and clear. The people around him looked at him strangely at first; then they began to pick up the tune and sing along . Soon the whole house was filled with the voices of people praising God as they worked. Suddenly, Eddy stopped! The chaos of noise in his head had stopped! His mind was filled only with peace and quiet. He relished the quiet for a moment then joined back in singing the praises of God as he and his friends put his house and his life back in order.
Sometimes when we come to church our heads are still filled with the chaotic noise of our life in the world: the business of the day, arguments we may have had, worries over money. We sit in church. We pray. We listen to preaching. We sing. But our hearts and minds really aren't in it because we're distracted by the chaotic noise of our lives. We forget the mighty power of God and how God uses that power to provide for all his creation. We forget how God is near us and lifts us up when we are down.
Hymns are a way we can cut through the confusion. Through hymns, one generation passes on their faith to another. We tell of the mighty acts of God for his people. They remind us of God's presence in our own life. Let us sing our hymns with joy, and spirit, and energy. And suddenly we will find the chaotic noises of life are still. And we can listen and hear God speaking to us. AMEN.