Songs of the Scripture - Pt. 3

 

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” (2 Samuel 1:11-16 ESV).

 

All of us have a recollection of memories that simply make us sad. It may have been something that we experienced, a movie or a song; all of these memories bring us to a point of sadness. One of the songs I remember well from my teens is "Rhythm of the Rain." It is a song performed by the Cascades, released in November, 1962. It was written by Cascades band member John Claude Gummoe. On March 9, 1963, it rose to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and spent two weeks at number 1 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart. For some reason that LP is still in my collection from those many years ago, the first of the lyrics are:

 

Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain
Telling me just what a fool I've been
I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain
And let me be alone again

The only girl I care about has gone away
Looking for a brand new start
But little does she know that when she left that day
Along with her she took my heart

 

It has been said that sad songs always make us cry. Well, the truth is that sad experiences tend to point us in that direction. The effects of sin and evil had the same impact on one of the greatest musicians in the Bible. The 23^rd Psalm, the most well-known of David’s songs, may have been written early in his life. But his first recorded song is this lament of our reading today. It is the heart cry of David over King Saul and his son Jonathan, who died in a battle with Israel’s enemy, the Philistines. Such songs help us learn to keep talking with God even though our lives may seem to be falling apart and we feel as if God has abandoned us. They remind us that although our lives are constantly threatened by sickness, pain, and death, nevertheless God has promised victory through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

It is good to know that in times of chaos, distress, and sadness, God hears us, and in his time he will set our wrongs right again. When you feel the sadness of life closing in… play your favorite sad song… then rise and ­listen to his words of assurance of our God: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).