 |
| Photo courtesy of www.bustedhalo.com |
I have always taken that to mean that Christ was despondent, horribly depressed and emotionally crushed by the absence of fellowship with the Father.
And yet, many of us may not know that Christ as not just making an isolated comment upon the cross--in fact, He was quoting the first verse of the 22nd Psalm of David, a psalm I happened to flip open to today in my time in God's Word.
Let's look at this Psalm together, section by section, and see how chillingly it prophesies about Christ's crucifixion, which would happen 1000 years later! Let us appreciate what other thoughts would be in Christ's mind as He meditated upon this Psalm, and how He demonstrates for us the ability and the power of praising God in the midst of agonizingly painful and difficult situations.
Psalm 22
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.
There is the question we see Christ utter from the cross. And yet, where does His mind go next, as He reflects upon the Psalm in its entirety?
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.
He immediately praises God--for His holiness (which will place Christ's suffering into the context of coming from a perfect, good, and non-maleficient God) and His past record of delivering His chosen people throughout the centuries.
David, goes on to describe things that Christ was actively experiencing as He lay nailed to the cross...
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!”
Mocked. Ridiculed. Told to get himself down from the cross if he was truly the Son of God (see Matthew 27:39)
Skipping ahead a bit...
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
Christ's side will pour forth water when the soldier pierces it to see if He has died...(John 19:34)
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
"I thirst," Christ will say from the cross (John 19:28)...
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.
Nailed to the cross by His hands and feet, He can see people mock Him and divide His clothes among them by casting lots (Matt 27:35)...
And then it just comes gushing forth for the rest of the Psalm....PRAISE!!
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;
And finally, when David, and Christ (as He meditates upon this Psalm) has PRAISED THE LORD, declaring the deep satisfaction and the eternal life that the followers of God will forever enjoy, and the KINGSHIP which belongs to the Lord alone...Christ utters those famous words...IT IS FINISHED.
Just as the 22nd Psalm closes in verse 31:
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
HE HAS DONE IT.
IT IS FINISHED.
And there we see it folks--PRAISE in the midst of pain. What am amazing testimony of our Lord upon the Cross! Praise BEFORE the resurrection! Praise in the MIDST of the storm. To God be the glory!
No comments