Each text in the Bible has a tone. We are often oblivious to it. Our training in Bible school tends to focus on analysis of content. Most sermons tend to train listeners to look at content (or perhaps to largely ignore the text and just bounce off it, but that’s another matter!)
I often find myself trying to figure out the tone of an email. Was this writer annoyed, or discouraged, or aggressive, or manipulative, or did it come out wrong? Is this email an encouragement out of empathy, or is it a patronizing exhortation? We learn with our contemporaries that written language doesn’t always communicate tone overtly, yet tone is so significant to the intended communication.
With Bible texts we can’t meet up with Paul or Moses to double check their intent. So we do well to wrestle with the tone of the text. Let’s be diligent in this:
1. Deduce the tone. Don’t settle for simple cold analysis of content. Wrestle with grasping the tone of the passage. Allow that to be a factor in your understanding the passage and then in your preparation of the message.
2. Demonstrate the tone. Too often preachers preach every sermon in monotone. Not necessarily their own vocal range, but rather the tonal range of the whole collection of sermons. Some preachers turn every encouraging passage into a guilt-driven rebuke. Others neutralize every passage they touch to make it a sterile set of philosophical musings. Our preaching will be enriched by demonstrating the tone of the passage . . . as I seem to add a lot . . . appropriately.
3. Declare the tone. People may be so trained in tone-less preaching that simply improving your delivery may not be enough. Sometimes overtly declare the tone of the passage. I preached on Luke 11:1-13 recently . . . all about prayer. A subject that most believers feel very inadequate in, and pressured by, is prayer. Yet the tone of the passage is overtly encouraging. I tried to demonstrate that tone. I also chose to declare it overtly – this passage is not pressuring us, it’s overtly encouraging in its tone! People need to become sensitized to the tone of Scripture. They need to feel the emotion, the anger, the encouragement, the grace.
Let’s be sensitive to the text, and let’s help to sensitize others too.
Biblical Preaching 
This is very helpful. I was studying David’s life from young boy to adult king. The thing thats great about that is once done reading through that, then when reading the Pslams you can almost picture him sitting down in the cave while hiding from Saul pening some of those very psalms. I try to see myself sitting in the cave as he sings and writes them as if he wrote them for my own comfort.
Thank You this is very helpful information.
God Bless You
Great post! I agree with the tone factor of the text! As we cautiously tread on the tone of the text, it sometimes does bring out the excitement of the passage especially the narratives to the hearers.