I Like Angry Psalms...

"Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
Why do you hide your face? Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
For our soul is bowed down to the dust; our belly clings to the ground. 
Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!" - Psalm 44:23-26

I think if it weren't for the Psalms I would have given up prayer a long time ago and my faith would be either fragile or non existent. In the psalms I find men, even great men of God, who cry, accuse, and rebuke God. I find men who are very angry with God and how they perceive He has treated them. I see the hearts of men broken and battered over the things they have faced or experienced as well as the sins they have committed. I read the cries of men who are depressed, despairing, and hopeless. I see men who have failed, who are confused, and who are lost. They don't know where God is or what He is doing. 

If I was reading the prayers of some person with no sense, no wisdom, no moral compass, and no relationship with God I would discount these writings and prayers as foolish, stupid, irreverent, and dangerous. If I was around such a person when they were praying I would look for a rock to hide behind in anticipation of God striking that person with lightning for their stupidity. Yet the writers of the Psalms are not these kinds of men. The writers of the psalms are God-fearing, holy, moral and wise men. David, the King of Israel, was the standard by which all other kings were judged and the writer of the majority of the psalms. He was called a man after God's own heart. Yet even David, a man of great faith, humility, and love towards God, was willing to be angry with, chastise, yell at, and express his disappointment with God to God. He did not hide his emotions. He did not hide his anger or despair. He was free before God to share, to cry, and to scream out his brokenness to God and even how upset he was with the Almighty. 

Such behavior feels awkward and unholy to us. Our perception of the Lord is of incredible holiness. We think of a God who can not be approached, who must be appeased, and who will burn up with fire anyone who dares disrespect or dishonor him. Our perception for the most part is grounded in reality because in the Bible we read stories of how God obliterated men and women who sinned against him, who disobeyed his commands, or who approached him improperly. God is holy and man cannot stand in his presence without being dismayed and destroyed by the knowledge of their own unrighteousness, (see also Isaiah, Isaiah 6, see also Moses in a way in Exodus 34, see also Peter after Jesus helped him catch a lot of fish, Luke 5:8). 

So what do we do with the Psalms? They seem so out of place. In the psalms God allows mere men to accuse him, to be angry with him, to rail against how he has acted, and to treat him with such seeming disrespect. In the verse I quoted above, the author tells God to wake up and stop sleeping! The author surely knew God doesn't sleep, nor does he need rest. He also knew God was fully aware of his situation because he knew God is all-knowing. Yet he feels like God has been acting as if He is distant, ignorant, and lazy. He feels God has been sleeping on the troubles of the author's life. How do we make sense of this apparent contradiction between the holiness of God and his willingness to be railed at by mere men? Incredibly the Lord was not so disrespected and angry with the irreverence of the psalmists that he didn't squash them like a grape as soon as the words left their mouths, (or their pens). How does that make sense?

In my humble opinion the Psalms show us a Holy and Mighty God who understands the weakness of men. God knows men are like grass, who are here today and gone tomorrow, (Psalm 103). He understands and pities men who live in a fallen and broken world. I think of Job who vented and complained to God for about 40 chapters before God finally stepped in and straightened things out. The lesson: God allows and welcomes our anger, frustration, and disappointment. The goal is we would ultimately trust him, love him, and wait on him, but in the meantime we are welcome to pour out our souls before the Lord, being confident he will receive us. For what it is worth, allowing the Lord to bear the burden of our brokenness and anger is better than turning to alcohol, drugs, porn, infidelity, violence, or anything else.

I will close in the same way the psalmist ended Psalm 44, without resolution, but instead with pain, hurt, and doubt, but knowing at least that those feelings and those struggles are okay in the presence of Almighty God, (see also Jesus, Matthew 27:45-46). Maybe knowing men in times past were able to emotionally vomit their broken hearts, anger, and doubt lets me know I can freely come to the Almighty with my pain. Maybe knowing things were not always clean, hopeful, and easy is an encouragement that I'm not alone and not the only one who hurts deeply sometimes. Maybe knowing the Lord was able to take men, like David, out of the depths of despair and depression of Psalm 42 and eventually lead them to a psalm of praise like Psalm 145 gives me hope that the Lord may one day do the same in my life.

So what if there's no hopeful happy closing. If you are looking for that, go to a concert or a Fourth of July celebration. As for me, I'd rather live in reality. 

God bless.
T