A song in the midst of sorrow

    "Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in You, my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me.  He will send from heaven and save me; He will put to shame him who tramples on me.  God will send His steadfast love and His faithfulness.  My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts...They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down...My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast!  I will sing and make melody!  Awake, my glory!  Awake, O harp and lyre!  I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You, O Lord, among the nations." (Ps.57)
     What a reminder of the gift of music.  The Bible tells us over and over again to "make a joyful noise unto the Lord" and to sing His praises.  But I especially love this Psalm's reminder that we can and should sing God's praises not just when life is sunny and bright, but right in the midst of hardship or uncertainty or even sorrow.  We don't do it by feeling... we do it by faith.
     Psalm 57 was written when David was fleeing for his life from King Saul.  The powerful King of Israel was relentlessly pursuing David and had tried repeatedly to kill him.  Now David sat huddled in a dark cave, surely feeling as if the world was closing around him and he had no way out--and yet David writes this Psalm.  He acknowledges overwhelming danger and fear--but he goes on to proclaim that "I WILL give thanks to You, O Lord... I WILL sing praises to You."
     Even as the "storms of destruction" raged, David's heart was "steadfast" because he knew, despite the constricting, brutal circumstances at the moment, he served a God of "steadfast love" and "faithfulness," who always always always "fulfills His purpose for me"--even when we can't see or understand those purposes.  That's faith--trusting that it is enough that He understands and that He who is in complete and perfect control, is also perfectly good and loves us beyond all understanding.
     And so David trusts and knows he "will sing and make melody!"  He will awake the dawn with harp and lyre.
     He will fight despair with the music of praise.  And so can we.   I couldn't help but think of Amy Carmichael who often shared, "I sing the doxology, and the devil flees."
     Last night we were on our way to our youngest son's band concert, but right after we left the house, we witnessed the scene of a tragic wreck involving a bike rider being hit by a car.  I felt sick to my stomach, as I thought of the families of all those involved and of the bewildering sorrow and pain they would be enduring.
     We eventually arrived at the concert, but I felt so stunned and devastated by what I'd seen,  I felt hollow and lost.
     But as these kids played their hearts out, and we listened to the beautiful melodies, you couldn't help but remember King David's words.   And joy was awakened.
     A song even in the midst of sorrow.
     Praise even in the midst of perplexity and pain.
     The gift of music to lift the downcast heart up to see that God is still upon His throne.  And somehow, someway, He is making all things new.  And bringing resurrection glory to this broken planet.
     He's doing it one song at a time.  One note at a time.  We WILL choose to remember and to praise Him who is forever faithful and worthy of our music.  
      Thank You, Father, for the inestimable gift of music to raise our gaze and move our hearts to see You and worship You in Your glory.  Our hearts are steadfast--and we WILL sing and make melody.
      To God--the Giver of all our songs--be all the glory.