February 20, 2021

Sharing from the Congregation – David Petty

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. —Psalm 23:2

Randy Travis, a country singer from North Carolina, was a big star with a very distinctive voice few decades ago. (He has since had a lot of troubles and is in poor health.) One of his hits, you may recall, was a song called “Deeper than the Holler.” (It was written by Paul Overstreet and Don Schlitz.) The singer says that he is not a great poet who can talk about the sea and the stars, just a country boy. And so he goes on to sing about his love in terms of things he knows — the holler, the pine trees, and the whippoorwill.

I think Psalm 23 is like that. It is ironic that the best known of all the psalms is also one of the humblest. Traditionally It was written by David when he was a shepherd boy; perhaps it was actually later as he remembered those days. It makes no mention of God as a king in elaborate robes or shinning in the clouds or roaring like the sea. God is simply a shepherd who provides water, pasture, and safety from predators.

Good poets write about what they know; they sing with their own voice. You and I are not really asked to do more. You (and I) don’t have the theological insight of Pastor Sam; and perhaps you don’t have my love of words. But you have a heart that can sing to your creator. Let it sing.

When we look around us at all the poverty, pandemic, and problematic politics, praising God isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. This isn’t the first time people have felt that way — see the Old Testament. Somehow, though, they found a voice to sing.

We should keep in mind that we don’t always sing to God with words; sometimes it’s with actions. We praise God when we serve God’s church, and when we serve the needs, physical and spiritual, of others. Just simple kindnesses speak a lot, even if difficult in the era of distancing. All the ways we serve the Lord are songs of praise.

Gracefully submitted,
David Petty