The Heart's Cry: A Prologue

If you have not noticed by now I tend to do things a tad differently, so when I began to think about the possibility of a Heart's Cry teaser I did not think about beginning with Psalm 1 but rather talking about Psalm 151. Right now there is a better than average chance that you are asking yourself, "Aren't there only 150 Psalms?" And the answer would be, "Usually." Most likely, if you open your Bible you will only find 150 Psalms, but if you were/are a member of the Eastern Orthodox Church or several other denominations you may well know that there is a Psalm 151. In addition you may, like me, know that there is a Psalm 151 because you had to purchase a particular type of NRSV for your Introduction to Bible class in college. For most of the church it is an apocryphal text, or non-canonical, or not quite holy enough to be included in the Bible, or left out because it wasn't in the correct scroll, but just because it is considered apocryphal doesn't mean it doesn't have worth. To that end, I present to you Psalm 151.

Psalm 151
a Psalm of David written following his defeat of Goliath

I was small among my brothers,
and youngest of my father's sons.
I was shepherd of my father's sheep.

My hands made a musical instrument;
my fingers strung a lap harp.

Who will tell my Lord?
The Lord himself, the Lord hears me.

The Lord himself sent his messenger,
and took me away
from my father's sheep.
He put special oil on my forehead
to anoint me.

My brothers were good-looking and tall,
but the Lord didn't take
special pleasure in them.

I went out to meet the Philistine,
who cursed me by his idols.

But I took his own sword out of its sheath
and cut off his head.
So I removed the shame
from the Israelities.

So, what good is this?

First I think it is a helpful reminder that the guy that would become 'a man after God's own heart' was not the strongest or the oldest or the best looking one. Too often in our society we strive to be better from a physical standpoint, whether that is achieved through buying new clothes or toys or bigger cars and houses. We keep thinking that what matters is the external and at least in part we think that way because our society keeps screaming and whispering it to us, here's the thing you need to be happy, here's the thing you need to get the girl or the guy to notice you, here's the thing you need to finally not need anything else, until the next thing of course.

Secondly, I think that we can too often overlook what Goliath really stands for in our lives, it is not merely the big thing that stands in our way but rather the thing that is bringing pain and shame to not just ourselves but to those around us, to our family or friends, to our community or nation. David took Goliath down with a rock, nothing of particular significance, but in the right hands the ordinary becomes the extraordinary, especially if those hands are acting in concert with God's moving.

+ In what ways have you given in to the culture's cry for bigger and better? In what ways have you fought against it? If you need a new way to try to change you may try doing a reverse advent calendar this year [just google it], as an individual or family or small group or...

+ What Goliath's are bringing pain to those around you? In what small way can you begin to stand up to it?