Psalm 22:1-15
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. 2 O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest. 3 Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. 4 In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. 5 To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people.7 All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, 8 “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.” 9 Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; you made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. 10 Upon You I was cast from birth; you have been my God from my mother’s womb.11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help.12 Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. 13 They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion.14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You lay me in the dust of death.
Message: The Messiah Forsaken
Time: The psalms were written by many different people across a period of a
thousand years in Israel's history. They are thought to have been
compiled and put together in their present form by some unknown editor
shortly after the captivity ended about 537 B.C.
What the Lord is Saying:
Background and Initial Observations
I continue to forge through these readings from Psalm. It has been illuminating and I admit, I tend to approach each one sort of separate from the others. I was reading the first couple of chapters of CS Lewis book on Psalm and reminded that there is a lot of consistent ideas and thoughts and approaches that were a part of these poetic dissertations. So hopefully that can help me look at these differently.
The reading from Tabletalk associated with this entry mentions that the outcry of Christians and even the holy leaders of that day, namely David shared a sentiment that we often have regarding a desire for answers and for being rescued and often we feel the Lord is not heeding our cries. And yet in those dark times we do continue to pray, demonstrating that we believe that our Father has not forsaken us.
The first words of this Psalm were echoed by Jesus on the cross, My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? It was Jesus proclamation on the cross and speaks of his full humanity on the cross and the abandonment he felt from God. But, this is really just a feeling and not a fact. God never leaves us though it does feel like it often. There is comfort for us for Jesus to feel this. Even though the cross was a path he knew he would be on, the experience was still a hard one for him.
And I think it is interesting to read this Psalm, for it sits in our Bible before Psalm 23. Psalm 23 has been memorized and recited over and over, at so may different occasions.
1st Reading
The Psalmist is not only feeling hurt, but sort of abandoned by God. He mentions that God is faithful and he knows this because of those that have come before him assure him of this; he also knows this because he was born into love; but he still hurts and he still feels pain. And being a man of faith often brings him ridicule from others as they mock his faith and trust in God.
There is such an intense realness and authenticity in these words; in this prayer to God. He knows God is real and there, but he does not hear an answer to his cries. God is holy and God has been there for those in his family, in the past. Those individuals in the past cried out and he knows that God came to their rescue. He has heard the stories, the victories, the deliverance. But, he is not experiencing this and instead, he is experiencing the pain from those that just want to see him do poorly. But, God has chosen him and has pulled him into community with Himself, God. And so he continues to call upon the Lord as he hurts, as he has no strength, as he sinks down in despair.
I feel alone
Verse 1 -
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. This verse begins with David (I'm going to assume at this point that this prayer is a prayer of David) expressing not just to the God who is out there, put this God is his God. He says
My God here. He is somewhat at the end of the ropes. I think it is normal to want to believe that rough circumstances we experience in life don't come from God, but instead something else. I think we want to believe this. We want to think that our God who loves us and cares for us is not the one that is abandoning us. We don't want to think that the one who knows us better than we know ourselves is now, not just involved, but at the foundation of the misery we are experiencing. And how is it possible that the God who saves, who has saved me from eternal damnation and rescued me from the wages of sin, is now allowing me to suffer. David feels forsaken or left alone. So much has been done for me so why am I feeling forsaken or removed from the presence of God?
Far from my deliverance is to me the feeling that my rescuer isn't even nearby. This feeling of the trail ending is not even close by, but rather my deliverance is far away and
the words of my groaning exclaim the degree of pain I am experiencing. It is completely normal to ask God why bad things are happening to me. There is the ever present question often asked in life, "Why do bad things happen to people" but I think we too quickly want to debate this question among peers. This is a question only for God.
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? Where are you God in this pain I am experiencing?
Verse 2 -
O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest. My crying is not a momentary thing. The pain I am experiencing is not just for the moment. But, also, my cry to God is not just a one occasion happening. But
I cry by day...and night. And God
You do not answer and
I have no rest. I imagine on the cross, Jesus experiencing a never ceasing pain and his cry was ever apparent. God is there. He has not abandoned us. But His answers are sometimes not quick. They are delayed. And in that delay it is normal to feel that he is not going to ever answer and rescue and my unrest is fine for now.
God is Holy
Verse 3 -
Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. But our confidence remains in God. He may not be answering, but He is still the answer. There are contrasting feelings here. One, David feels forsaken or left alone, and yet his confidence in God remains. God must have a reason for the calamity he is experiencing. And in a moment he will talk about what God has done in the past. For some reason, I think at times, we think that since God is love that only good things are to come to His children; that there can only be things to happen that will make us happy and when something bad happens, exceedingly bad, though we have experienced exceedingly good things as well, we just question that God is there at all. Yes, David is hurting. Yes, he feels alone. He expresses those feelings. But, God is still his answer. God is still his God.
God has delivered in the past
Verse 4 - In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. David remarks first that God is holy and then states that those that came before him, his ancestors, his heritage put their trust in God. He has heard the stories and he knows, despite his current circumstances that those before him trusted God and God delivered them. Obviously, not stated here is a tough circumstance or a forsaken feeling his ancestors experienced and yet God delivered them. David was reminded. We need to be reminded. Celebrations, such as the Passover, the Lord's Supper, the birth and resurrection of our Savior, the feast of tabernacles, etc. We need to be careful that our focus is not simply "what have you done for me lately" because as we experience trials we can stop and remember that God has been there in the past and he will be there in the future. Even a wedding day is a celebration day that we commemorate each year to remind ourselves of a joining together, of God removing the loneliness and replacing it with a union.
Verse 5 - To You they cried out and were delivered; in You they trusted and were not disappointed. In verse 2 David cries out, but receives no answer. Here, he is reminded that his ancestors cried out and were delivered. In other words, wait for it. The answer may not be quick, but our confidence can remain to be delivered. And also their trust in God did not disappoint. [Lord, I so need to remember what you have done in my life. I'm too quick to be mired in feeling like life is just one new problem. Show me past victories.]
I am a worm
Verse 6 - But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. Basically, woe is me. My ancestors got delivered, but I got nothing. This is the proclamation of a man in pain. Declaring himself to be a worm or the lowest form of an animal. Worms are primarily used as bait for catching other animals. This could also more clearly be referring to Messiah. He is publicly ridiculed and despised.
Verse 7-8 -
All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the Lord; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
The meaning here is to mock, to deride, to treat with scorn. There is no evidence that this occurred in David's life. He could have felt it or this could be more the focus of a prophecy towards Jesus, our Savior and Lord. He is receiving insults. And people express mocking and taunting words about his trusting in the Lord. Like, if your God is so great, he will deliver you and rescue you.
Yet, I am of value
Verse 9 -
Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; you made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. There is almost this sort of tennis match or back and forth that David is expressing here. He starts with feeling alone and yet God is holy and His deliver. But, he feels like a worm. He is bouncing back between feelings and facts. There isn't guilt in this passage. There is not right now verses crying out mistakes that David has been made. These are simply words where David is knee deep in his feelings of feeling alone and even abandoned. David is proclaiming that God brought him into this world and since an early age, he has had a love for God; he has had a faith; so it doesn't make sense that now he would then be abandoned. Verse 10 - Upon You I was cast from birth; you have been my God from my mother’s womb. Once again his words are pleading verses. He is not a momentary believer of God. He is a lifer. He hopes that this will make a difference.
Be not far from me
Verse 11 - Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Verse 12 - Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. Verse 13 - They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion. Trouble is near. I need you God to be close to me. I talk to a lot of people and they often exclaim, "How do I get close to God? I don't feel like he is close." I should encourage them to tell God to not be far away.
Verse 14 - I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and You lay me in the dust of death. - There is reality here in these verses and what David is feeling. He feels like no one is there to help him. He is being surrounded by attackers. They are ready to pounce on him. He is weak. He has no strength.
We come to God open and honestly. In this passage, I feel alone. God is Holy. God has delivered people in the past. I feel like a worm. But I know God sees value in me. God, be not far from me.
Promise: Be honest with God. Share your feelings, but also be reminded that God is there. He is holy. He saves people.
