The Plaintive Cry

2Samuel 22:7

In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry came to his ears.

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It's gettin' dark, too dark to see
I feel I'm knockin' on heaven's door

Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan from the soundtrack to "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid."

The plaintive cries of a man who dies violently. He's got a badge and where he's going he won't need it. He's got guns and where he's going he won't need it. He knows he's about to die and there's no solace for him. Why? Who knows. "The bad guy got him and town's not safe" is a good bet, but it's only a guess. But there is mourning in the words, and mourning in almost everyone who sings this song. It's the kind of mourning that hints that there is more death coming, and the man is saddened.

Of course the Guns 'N' Roses version really doesn't show this, but Axl Rose has never been one for remorse or regret.

In this song, this song of David from 2Samuel, David rejoices that the Lord does hear and did deliver him from his enemies and from Saul. David begins by praising the Lord, his fortress, his deliverer, his rock, his shield, his stronghold, his refuge, the horn of his salvation, his savior and his God. His Lord saves him from violence. His Lord saves him from his enemies. His Lord is worthy to be praised.

His Lord saves him from his enemies. His Lord saves him from death. He cries to the Lord and the Lord hears his cries.

The Lord hears cries. The Lord hears the plaintive cries of the people. The Lord listens and pays attention. The only negative thing that can be said is that the Lord doesn't respond the way we want or in what we might call a timely manner.

Yet here's the truth. We knock on heaven's door. We don't particularly want to die. We especially don't want to die when there's still what we would consider "work to be done" on the table.

God hears our cries. Sometimes the story will end like it did for David, the greatest grandfather of our Lord. Sometimes it's like this nameless man who dies with his boots on. Both knock on heaven's door and neither is a failure. David claims the Lord as his God and savior, and so must we. As for the rest, knocking on heaven's door by the grace of God takes care of that.

The Sound of Thunder in a Hard Rain

Thanks to Vicke Bailey for the song suggestion.


John 12:28-30
“Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine.”

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And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin’
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin’
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard, and it’s a hard, it’s a hard, it’s a hard
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall

"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan

"I heard the sound of thunder, it roared out a warnin'." It's funny how people hear things. Some hear the roar of a wave that can drown the world. Others hear drummers while others hear whispers. Some starve while others laugh. Some hear poets and others clowns while some say it sounds like thunder, others say it sounds like the voice of an angel.

It isn't the message that changes, it's how people hear it; if they hear it at all. The voice from heaven says I have glorified my name and will do it again. The people heard the voice, but some heard thunder and others the voice of the angel.

This is when Jesus tells the people this voice has come for their sake, not his. The Lord Jesus has a relationship with his Father. They have an outstanding relationship that while they are separate persons, they share the same essence. They are both fully divine. So Jesus does not need to hear the Father's reassuring words. He hears them constantly in every fiber in his being. The voice wasn't for him, it was for us.

The Lord God tells all with ears to hear that he will glorify his name, he will glorify himself again and again. He will glorify his name constantly without ceasing. This is to reassure us. We live in a hectic, dangerous world, not so different from 2,000 years ago, and God will glorify his name. We can rest assured God will do as he says and glorify his name.

Funny though, some hear it as thunder and others as the voice of an angel. That's the difference, how are we going to hear it. A hard rain's a-gonna fall, Bob Dylan says so. How are we going to handle it when it comes. Will we hear the roar of a wave, a hundred drummers, or a thousand whispers? Will we be there for the one person starving or with the people laughing? Will we hear thunder or angels? The voice is there. The decision is ours.