Seeds for 03/28/2024 - Psalm 22:22-26
Scripture:
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him!
Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For He has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
He has not hidden His face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise Him—
may your hearts live forever!
Observation: We’ve been looking closely at this psalm that Jesus cries out from the cross. He quotes verse one, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is not only an expression of His situation in the one phrase, but also an invitation to read through the whole psalm in order to see how its story relates to Him and how His story provides new perspective on the psalm.
Up to now, we’ve heard the psalmist express dark experiences of abandonment and despair, as well as steadfast affirmations of faith and hope.
At this point in the psalm, the dark clouds part as what started in the lowest of low places becomes consumed with praise and testimony to God’s goodness after all.
It is striking that a psalm lamenting the author’s forsakenness in the midst of the harsh troubles he is facing can get to a place of worship and gratitude.
Why is the psalmist so upbeat after being so downcast?
Verse twenty-four gives us the rationale for this about-face.
For He has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
He has not hidden His face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
The psalmist has not been abandoned by God after all. God’s face is not hidden, but rather, He listened to his cry for help.
When we feel alone or abandoned because of hardships, trials, pain, or grief, God has not abandoned us. We may not yet be able to recognize His help, but He is there. He may very well be working in the background, imperceptible to us but present nonetheless.
In fact, one way that we know we are not alone is that Jesus has experienced feelings of abandonment Himself on the cross. Having entered our experience, He is able to provide help in that He has walked in our shoes. The letter to the Hebrews 4:14-16 says it well.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for taking on not only physical death, but also spiritual abandonment such that you now offer authentic companionship when we need your mercy, grace, and divine help. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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