Psalms! The Voice of the Heart

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday–the day we ponder God pouring out his Holy Spirit, without measure on his church. It is an interesting thing that Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Father and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit actually means we have more of Jesus! We are indwelt by God’s Spirit who testifies that we are children of God.A curious thing about the Holy Spirit is that he is the author of the Holy Scriptures. The Bible says that, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures were written:

"For no prophecy was ever brought about through human initiative, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 2:21)

Often in our rush for the new and the novel in a life with God, we miss the fact that, when we have the Bible, we have the voice of the Holy Spirit right at our finger tips!I say all that as introduction to the new sermon series we are starting. It is called, Psalms! The Voice of the Heart. The Psalms are the prayer book of the church. They are a key to a praying life, which is to say, a life that knows God’s friendship. The Psalms contain 150 prayers inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are unique as Holy Scripture in that they are people answering God from their heart. I must confess that, until I really considered what was being said to God in the Psalms, they remained a mystery to me–like window dressing at funerals, brought out at lofty occasions that needed a poetic touch to add gravitas to the situation. Boy, was I ever wrong.What I learned from my “spiritual directors” about the Psalms changed my life and showed me that I could live a life of integrity before God and not hide or hold anything back from him. I learned that half the prayers in the Psalter were about trouble or enemies, and that sounded about right in my prayer life as I lived out my days in a broken world with a heart that was constantly prone to wander. I saw for the first time the same emotions I felt–often it was white, hot anger at Go––and I found a new freedom to go to my Father when I was ticked off and broken. I found a new voice and permission to bring my troubled situation and lay it alongside God’s great power and grace. I discovered that freedom for me was not “God get me out of the mess I have made”, but “God, just be with me in the mess I have made, and it will be enough.” In short, I found a God I could love and delight in and a vocabulary to express it. The Psalms are the heart of the believing church and always have been.This week we will start to look at Psalms and consider both the goal and the means God has given us for a praying life and a life of knowing God’s friendship. Hope to see you there! Also remember next week is VBS at St. Patrick, so if you see hints of Rome this Sunday, don’t be surprised!Blessings,Jim