Where are you God? - Psalm 22
Notes
Transcript
Silence of God
Silence of God
“It’s enough to drive a man crazy, it’ll break a man’s faith
It’s enough to make him wonder, if he’s ever been sane
When he’s bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the Heaven’s only answer is the silence of God”
Those are the opening words of an Andrew Peterson song that I have listened to countless times.
It is a song that resonates with our Psalm today, Psalm 22.
Perhaps you resonate with it too, the silence of God?
What do we do when God doesn’t seem to be listening to the prayers we are praying?
Read Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. 3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” 9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. 10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. 12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; 15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— 17 I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; 18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. 19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! 20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! 22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: 23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. 25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. 26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. 28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. 29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
Context
Context
There isn’t an agreed upon context for when Psalm 22 was written, but it is likely in a moment or season in the life of David where he was on the run and/or hiding from either King Saul or his son Absalom.
If you aren’t familiar with the life of David, he was anointed as the future King of Israel during the reign of Saul.
Saul did not take kindly to David’s successes and popularity, so he began hunting him down trying to kill him.
David continually escapes, so when Saul finally dies in battle, David is eventually installed as King.
He has a very successful reign as king, but runs into a pretty major struggle later as his 3rd son Absalom tries, and almost succeeds, in taking over the throne.
Also in this case, David is forced to run away and hide for a season before he comes back and takes over the throne once again.
In either case, and likely other cases, David faces really challenging circumstances.
He knows God, has sought to be faithful to Him, and God has shown him favor.
And yet he is hiding in a cave, dodging spears from someone he thought he could trust, running from his own son who has underhandedly taken his kingdom from him.
You can hear his cries:
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Where are you in my pain God?
What are you doing when things seem to be falling apart?
Why won’t you answer me? Do you even hear me when I cry out?
David feels abandoned by God.
It is a feeling not uncommon to many of us.
Dealing with a marriage on the verge of destruction.
Facing an illness that you are not sure how you will make it through.
The death of a loved one.
The struggles of parenting.
Feeling alone, unloved, or abandoned...
We cry out to God, knowing the bible says He is good and that He cares, and that He hears the prayers of His people, and yet it seems like we are talking to air.
David’s questions are character questions.
Is God who He says He is? Does he really have power? If He does, does He intend to use it? Does He care about me?
Can we even ask those kind of questions?
Can we even ask those kind of questions?
There are over 50 Psalms like Psalm 22, Psalms of Lament, where the Psalmist is crying out to God from a place of sadness, anger, despair, frustration, or desperation.
The Psalms of lament give us permission to pour out our hearts to God and a model for how we should do it.
Life is hard and God has given us the grace of bringing our hurts, struggles, and concerns to Him, even when He may seem distant.
Looking at Psalm 22 for help in for the struggles of life.
Lessons Learned in Lament
Lessons Learned in Lament
1. Don’t stop CRYING OUT.
1. Don’t stop CRYING OUT.
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
By day… by night...
19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! 20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! 21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
Even after lamenting about the hopeless state he is in, David still makes a plea to the Lord for help.
The most dangerous mistake we can make when we are struggling is to become quiet and stop crying out to the Lord.
Frustration, bitterness, anger, despair, weariness, and depression can all lead to us leaning away from the Lord.
Maybe we feel unworthy, unloved, or ignored. So why would we keep talking?
But there is a reason for God’s silence and their is a purpose in pain that patience and pursuit is the only way to learn.
2. Be HONEST and REAL.
2. Be HONEST and REAL.
4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. 5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
David takes a moment away from his groaning to think back at how God had worked in the past for His people.
They trusted you and you rescued, they cried out and were set free...
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
But not with me God! I am a worm, not a man.
It seems like everyone is mocking and laughing at me because I continue to trust in you.
There is a deep, painful, and real honesty in David’s words that we all can learn from and take comfort in.
Yes God can handle our questions, our groanings, our anger, our confusion, our frustration...
As long as we are coming to Him with those emotions, confessing and crying out to Him, He can handle them and desires to hear them.
Embedded in David’s words are truth about the character of God.
“I know you hear me because you heard me fathers’ prayers.”
“I know you can save me from this because I have experienced it before.”
“I know what they say about me isn’t true because you have proven that it isn’t.”
“But where are you now? When are you going to answer?”
We cannot think of prayer as some kind of religious duty to appease God.
It is conversation, crying out, and connected to a Holy God who loves us enough to listen, to speak, and sometimes to remain silent.
3. Remember who HE IS.
3. Remember who HE IS.
9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. 10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Again David goes back in time, but this time it is personal.
He reminds himself and God of how He has provided for David in his past.
It is the basis for his final plea for help in the following verses.
In the hard places of life it is easy to begin to lose sight of the goodness, provision, and power of God that we have seen and experienced in the past.
We must remember who He is how He has worked in our lives as a good and gracious Father.
But there is another aspect of remember who He is that is essential and is embedded deep into this Psalm and goes beyond even the understand of David.
You may have already picked up on this, but this Psalm is full of overlapping verses from the crucifixion of Jesus.
“My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” the words of Jesus on the cross right before He breathed His last.’
“Everyone mocks me…let the Lord save him...” the words the onlookers yelled as Jesus hung.
“I am poured out like water…my bones are disjointed…my strength is dried up…my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth…they have PIERCED my HANDS and my FEET.” An explanation of the cross 1000 years before it was ever invented as a form of corporal punishment.
“They divided my garments among themselves, and cast lots for my clothing.” What the Roman soldiers did while Jesus was hanging.
In the groanings of David there is a connection to Jesus.
As we read these words and resonate with them in our hearts, the words of Hebrews 4:15 make even more sense to us.
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
All the suffering we feel in this life is a reminder of the suffer of Christ on our behalf to seal for those who trust in Him a place far from the pain we feel here.
4. Wait with PATIENT EXPECTATION.
4. Wait with PATIENT EXPECTATION.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth, from the horns of wild oxen. You answered me!
Waiting is hard.
It requires us to trust, to listen, and to fight the desires to bail, take matters into our own hands, or to get angry/bitter.
We must wait with expectation though.
In verse 21 something happens that seems only to be accurately described as a resurrection type moment.
YOU ANSWERED ME!
Finally, when hope seemed long past...
God will not remain silent, He will not turn away, He will and is acting in the midst of our waiting.
So pray expectantly, but patiently.
Not every lament Psalm ends in thanksgiving, but there are often Psalms of praise that are not too far away.
The same is true in our lives.
5. PRAISE and TELL when answers come.
5. PRAISE and TELL when answers come.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
The purpose of prayer individualistic or consumer oriented, meaning it is not about us getting something we want.
The purpose of prayer is God’s glory and others knowing about His power, goodness, and grace.
When David’s prayers are answered his response is “I will TELL!!”
His second response is related, but it is to Praise.
25 I will give praise in the great assembly because of you; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.
Praise is the response of someone who has seen the glory of God.
It isn’t a music style or something we do on Sunday mornings.
Praise is the posture of a heart that knows God for who He is.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
It is the making much of God as we recognize and celebrate who He is and what He has done.
Closing
Closing
Psalms like this one uncover something about genuine, biblical faith…it isn’t a cold, dead religion, it is a vibrant, emotional, and intimate relationship with the creator of everything.
My prayer for us is that we all are able to experience this kind of intimacy and honesty in our prayer lives.
Let’s pray now.