Psalm 22: The Psalm of the Cross

Even in the dark of night, there still remains a beautiful light..

According to Charles Spurgeon, Psalm 22 is the Psalm of the Cross. This is some what he has to say about the Psalm. I find it very interesting:

"THE PSALM OF THE CROSS. It may have been actually repeated word by word by our Lord when hanging on the tree; it would be too bold to say that it was so, but even a casual reader may see that it might have been. It begins with, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and ends, according to some, in the original with "It is finished." For plaintive expressions uprising from unutterable depths of woe we may say of this psalm, "there is none like it." It is the photograph of our Lord's saddest hours, the record of his dying words, the lachrymatory of his last tears, the memorial of his expiring joys. David and his afflictions may be here in a very modified sense, but, as the star is concealed by the light of the sun, he who sees Jesus will probably neither see nor care to see David. Before us we have a description both of the darkness and of the glory of the cross, the sufferings of Christ and the glory which shall follow. Oh for grace to draw near and see this great sight! We should read reverently, putting off our shoes from off our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush, for if there be holy ground anywhere in Scripture it is in this psalm."

This is the Psalm my worship team & I have been playing & singing to during these past few sets. I have had a fair amount of scattered, unfinished thoughts thoughts regarding it, but the more I read through & meditate on even just the first 5 verses, I find myself becoming more & more undone. The glory of Jesus becomes unveiled before me. Raw emotion. Pure beauty.

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

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.

-We are to cry out TO the Lord & we are to trust IN the Lord. These are the 2 running occurrences in these verses.

- David asks, "Why are you so far from saving me?"He doesn't ask, "Why are you far from me?" The Lord's presence was not completely removed from him during this time, only His actions in favor of David's justice. Even in the dark of night, the Lord was always by his side. As David cries out in this Psalm, I think about what Spurgeon says when he writes, ".. as a star is concealed by the light of the sun, he who sees Jesus will probably neither see nor care to see David.." & I am reminded of a chorus the Lord gave me months ago stating, "I don't belittle my weakness, but You overshadow it.." Although my weakness & suffering does not go unjustified, He is still greater. He is still worthy of all of me. Although He seems far, & I am left asking, "Why God?" He is still holy, still good, & still overshadowing all of me.

- Yet God IS HOLY. In the midst of such negative situations, the Lord IS Holy. Holy is who He IS. Present tense. This is far from a personality trait that can be changed, this is the fiber of His being. He is God, I am man. I don't understand all of His ways, but He is holy despite my ability to justify His actions or not. Even if I wake up to a city in shambles & a heart aching over unfulfilled promises, He is still just as good as He would be had I awoken to opposite extremes . His goodness is not defined by my circumstances. Holiness is not a title that can be removed from Him, or an occupation He can choose to retire from. Even in the midst of his suffering, David choose to recognize God as holy. I find this not only beautiful, but critical. We must turn to the Lord rather than from Him, lest we get offended.

-He is a REAL God who delivered REAL people. I know it sounds elementary, but it is easy for me to slip into an almost fictional mindset when reading through certain occurrences in the Bible & I forget that these are TRUE occurrences. He really did part the Red Sea. He really did bring Israel into the Promised Land. Our fathers really did suffer, & He really did deliver. David is talking about history, not fiction & fantasy. I find myself praying the prayer of the father crying out for a miracle In Mark 9:24, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief!"

I believe Psalm 22 is a gift to us from the Lord. It gives us a real account of what a life lovesick for Jesus can look like. It also gives us Biblical language to speak, sing, & dialogue to the Lord with regarding the condition of our own hearts, as well as recognizing what His very own went through (if you look at if from Spurgeon's perspective of the passage being the Psalm of the Cross). Doing this frees us to express to God how we may feel at times, rather than suppress from God those feelings & rebuke ourselves for feeling them.

Isn't He beautiful?