We’ve learned a lot about the psalms in the last twelve weeks and I’ve enjoyed this series. However, while there are 150 psalms total in the psalter, and combined they express the full range of the human experience—sorrow, despair, hope, love and joy—the psalms we’ve been focusing on in this series have been those that especially help us recapture our sense of joy and thankfulness as God’s people, no matter our circumstances. I chose these twelve psalms because I think they capture the significance of Advent, the joy of Christmas, and the hope of Epiphany.
WHEN LIFE LEAVES US FEELING NUMB
Today, the final psalm in our series, is Psalm 148, and it’s another of the Hallelujah psalms. It’s a psalm that helps us express joy to the Lord in those times of life when we might feel numbed–numbed by life in this sinful, broken world and robbed of joy.
What do I mean by “numb”? Well, let’s explore that…
Let’s first begin by defining what it means to be “numb.” According to the dictionary, to be numb is defined as being deprived of the power of sensation; feeling no responsiveness; having no sensitivity. Of course, sometimes this is a good thing. For example, we’ve all had numbing solutions applied to our mouths at the dentist’s office. No one should have to feel the dentist’s drill. For sure! This kind of physical numbness is a blessing.
But not all pain is necessarily a bad thing—nor any other sensation, for that matter. All feeling and experiencing and sensation are created by God and are a part of what it means to be human and affect us not just physically but also spiritually. Feeling helps us know we are alive deep down in our soul. It gives us drive and passion and inspiration. Feeling and emotion—both pain and joy–helps us to understand our rightful place under God and turn to him for help and for praise. But to be spiritually numb is to feel nothing or very little emotionally or morally, as if a numbing agent has been applied to our conscience, heart, and soul. Spiritual numbness causes us to forget our need for God and our love for life.
How does this happen? How do we become spiritually numb?
REPEATED EXPOSURE
One way a person becomes spiritually numb is by being exposed to sin repeatedly. The more we see something terrible, the less terrible it becomes to us–the terribleness loses its shock. For instance, in 1939 the world was shocked and scandalized when they first heard a curse word said in the movie, Gone with the Wind. Why was the world shocked? Because they had never seen or heard anything like this before in a movie. But today, you’d be hard pressed to find a television show or movie that doesn’t have curse words or foul language, other than one that’s made exclusively for little children. Why? Because the world has grown numb to cursing. You hear it constantly. Even Christians. There is no sensation anymore towards it where there should be a sensation.
When there is no sensation that something is wrong, we naturally begin to think that it isn’t so wrong. It works this way with cursing and with watching movies with inappropriate sexual content and music with similarly bad lyrics. It works this way with sex and relationships. Are we even shocked anymore by what our world permits and normalizes? Or have we become numb to it all?
BIBLICAL IGNORANCE
Another way people become spiritually numb: When they don’t know what the Bible says! This one is so very simple. If we don’t know what God’s Word says for our lives and for the world, then it’s easy to become complacent about sin and evil. We start to accept the world’s ideas and ways of thinking, which are typically contrary to God’s ways. Abortion, homosexuality, all the transgender nonsense—how many Christians are there that are somewhere in the moral middle concerning these issues? They don’t have any real strong feelings and they are easily swayed, and God’s Word is often twisted to promote an anything-goes mentality.
When we don’t know what the Bible says and when we are not submissive to its teachings, we inevitably live life by our own rules. The longer a person lives life by their own rules, the more numb they become to God’s Word. Remember, sin is toxic. It’s rebellion against God. It’s something we should strive against because the more we “tolerate” it the more it intoxicates us into feeling like everything’s just fine the way it is, and we lose our fear of God.
We need God’s word to inform us and shape our understanding of right and wrong, starting at the earliest of ages. Honestly, that’s one of the reason’s I am most excited to see St. John’s school growing. I think we need more and more institution like it to teach the truth and morality of God’s Word to children, because sadly they are getting less and less of it at home.
GIVING UP THE FIGHT
A third way that we can become spiritually numb is to stop fighting. When stop fighting against the darkness—especially things like depression, despair, sadness and death. While there is much conversation these days about mental health and awareness about depression, even so our world is seeing record rates of suicide and loneliness and hopelessness. Death is promoted as a viable option for how to deal life’s problems–primary examples of this are abortion and assisted suicide–rather than address the pain or sadness we feel in a God-centered way.
Obviously, Satan wants people to dwell in darkness, which is, no doubt, why the bible, again and again, speaks of God’s Word as “light” that dispels the darkness. The interplay of light and darkness in the Scriptures highlight the importance of spiritual warfare and the need for diligence in resisting what is sinful and evil. The Bible heightens our sensitivity to such things. Here are just a few examples:
1. God is light, and He outshines the darkness.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John.1.5)
even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:12)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)
2. God creates light and darkness, each for a purpose.
I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’ (Isaiah.45.7)
And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis.1.4–5)
He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness. (Job.26.10)
3. God can turn light into darkness and darkness into light.
And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.(Isaiah 42:16)
Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light he turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness (Jeremiah 13:16)
All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel.32.8)
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, and turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens the day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, the LORD is his name. (Amos 5:8)
4. God has absolute control over light and darkness.
I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name. (Isaiah 45:2-3)
Who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:16)
5. God changes our darkness into light.
If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. (Isaiah 58.10)
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. (Micah7:8)
To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:18)
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
6. God wants those who walk in darkness to see a great light.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. (Isaiah 9:2)
The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. (Matthew 4:16)
7. Jesus Christ is the true Light thatovercomes all forms of darkness.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John.1.5)
So, Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.” (John 12:35)
8. Jesus is the Light and those who believe in Him bear the light.
Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (John 9:5)
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14,16)
9. Jesus Christ came to give light to them that sit in darkness.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. (John.3.19)
I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. (John 12:46)
At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:8)
10. Light and darkness are worlds apart; light is superior to darkness.
Then I saw that there is more gain in wisdom than in folly, as there is more gain in light than in darkness. (Ecclesiastes 2:13)
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5.20)
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)
11. Unbelievers are children of darkness and they are trapped in darkness.
They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Psalm 82:5)
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. (Proverbs 4:19)
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. (John 3:19-21)
So, Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. (John 12:35-36)
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:6)
Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:9-11)
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. (Romans 13:11-13)
12. Believers in Christ are children of light
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Colossians 1:13)
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)
For at one time, you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (Ephesians 5:8, 11)
That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. (Philippians 2:15)
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:4)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)
All the above verses highlight the importance of the season of Epiphany and remind us that Jesus is the light the world desperately needs.
So, maybe the list above is more than just a few examples, but doesn’t it drive home the significance of how much conflict there is between light and darkness when it comes to our well-being and our souls as children of God?
Yes, the darkness can be very subtle in the way it numbs us. Today, we live in a world where there are epidemic levels of mental health issues. Depression is at an all-time high. Suicide rates are up across every age category. Mass shootings and violence seem to happen monthly if not weekly. Drug use is rampant and being legalized in many states. As Christians we should be very concerned about such things and support laws and organizations that help to address this brokenness.
While medicine and clinical care is very important for mental health and depression, what is the best cure for spiritual numbness that is rampant in our world? The answer: We need each other and we need the church! When we feel spiritually numb, we need to be reminded of God’s purposes for us, lest we lose our light and joy for tomorrow. And when we see a Christian struggling in these ways, we need to redouble our efforts. We need even more voices proclaiming the light that is found in Christ alone.
THIS IS WHY WE NEED THE PSALMS
As I’ve mentioned, the psalms help inform our prayer vocabulary and enhance our language of praise. The psalms give us words to say to God and to each other when we are numb and can’t summon any words of our own.
So, let’s take a close look at Psalm 148. Again, it’s another of the “Halleluiah” psalms (psalms 146-150), and it’s purpose is to remind us to be grateful and look for reasons to have joy no matter our circumstances. The psalm pretty much praises God for everything. For the heavenly beings—angels, sun and moon, shining stars—the earth, the sea creatures, the deeps, fire, hail, snow, mist, stormy winds, mountains and hills, fruit trees and cedars, beasts and livestock, creeping things and flying birds, princes and rulers, young men and maidens, old men and children.
Consider how all the things on this list are said to be worthy of praise, even though some of the things mentioned wouldn’t normally be things we’d think to praise God for. For example, the stormy wind? Really? Who would sing “halleluiah” over that?
But sometimes we need to! If for no other reason than because the dark and scary things can serve the purpose of helping us sense and feel just how much we need the light. Pain and suffering, brokenness and sorrow are all useful because they remind us that we need help–that we need a Savior. We need what Psalm 148 so beautifully highlights about God in the very last verse: “He has raised up a horn for His people.”
As Christians this is our answer to every bit of pain and darkness and brokenness in this world: God has raised up a horn for us!
Psalm 148:14
What does this mean?
Well, think about how in ancient times, when a city was surrounded by the enemy and confined within the city walls. There was no hope of escape. So, in those dire moments, riders were sent out, risking their lives, to try to get through the enemy lines. Their mission: find allies. Find anyone who might be willing to come and save the city.
Imagine, how awful it would be to be cooped up in a walled city during a siege for days or weeks or months, wondering if help would ever come. How hopeless. How depressing. How gloomy. But then, one morning you hear it–a haunting, beautiful sound. Horns. Lots of them. Just over the hill. The beautiful sound of armies approaching. The wonderous sound of friends bringing salvation and rescue.
This is the hope that is ours in Christ and this is what the Church is to be for all who feel trapped and walled in by the darkness of sin and its brokenness. The Gospel which the Church proclaims is God’s horn announcing to all the world and to every shadow of darkness that there is light and there is hope in everything Jesus Christ has done.
Halleluiah! Praise God for the chance to shine light in the darkness.
I think that’s the purpose of psalms like the Halleluia Psalms. Their purpose is to provide words of thankfulness and hope and praise, because we too easily forget or are just too numb. Indeed, I don’t think God has given us the option to be numb. Not at all! He wants us to fill the world with light and hope and joy. Even in the very ordinary ways mentioned in the psalms—sometimes just by taking more time to really look at the world—the earth and animals, the sky and the stars and especially other people.
Even in the most ordinary of ways and in the most ordinary of circumstances. I remember a time years ago, when I was at a busy airport and ordered a hamburger from a busy lunch counter. I found a seat and grabbed a few moments to eat before heading off to board my gate. But as I passed by the lunch counter on my way out, I stopped and caught the eye of the cook in the back kitchen. I called out, “Thanks for the burger, it was great!” In that moment that airport cook became a chef and she smiled broadly and thanked me back.
What did this cost me? Ten seconds of my time? But almost two decades later, I still remember this moment. Haliluiah for that!
Now I know, I wasn’t proclaiming the gospel or anything, but just a moment of gratefulness was still a beautiful thing in the middle of that busy airport where most people were tempted to be comfortably numb to the people around them.
Yes, the psalms help restore our spiritual feeling and sensitivity and to look for ways to point people to Christ in everything. And one day what a glorious thing it will be… that day when all our broken halleluiah’s of this dark age get caught up into that glorious halleluiah songs of light in the age to come. So, until then, praise the Lord. Halleluiah. Praise the Lord. Amen.
O Lord, open my lips... 