“When we Trust in God. . .”
Psalm 22 :1-6, 19-22 March 14, 2004
Intro: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” These words of Jesus are familiar to anyone who has read the story of the crucifixion. We are shocked that they would come from Jesus’ mouth in his time of greatest need. In these words there is both abandonment and faith. While he declares that God is HIS God, he also proclaims the feeling that God has deserted him. This Psalm is important to Handel in the Messiah. Two choruses come from this lament.
Dean Jones spent a couple years touring and presenting a show based loosely on John’s remembrances of Jesus’ life and ministry. I want to share with you a brief scene from the show “St John in Exile” where John is reflecting on these words of Jesus. We join the production just after the crucifixion and John is once again feeling the pain of the cross. (Play portion from DVD)
Now listen for the Word of the Lord:
(play the slide show through the first 3 verses then stop it.)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
[2] O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
[3] Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
[4] In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
[5] They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
[6] But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
[7] All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
[8] "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
[20] Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
[21] Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
[22] I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation 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 disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
CCI: God hears our complaints, receives our petitions and welcomes our praise.
Intro: The opening words of this Psalm are very familiar. Perhaps they were spoken this week in Spain as Spanish citizens came to grip with the worst terrorist attack in their history. These are of course the words Jesus spoke from the cross as he died for our sins.
Throughout history human beings have cried out to God in anguish. Often, in the Psalms we find what are known as “laments.” These Psalms follow a very particular pattern. They contain complaints, followed by declarations of faith, then there are petitions of God and finally, they close in praise.
Psalm 22 follows this pattern closely. In fact it repeats the cycle at least 2 times. “Why have you forsaken me?” “You are enthroned as the Holy One.” “Deliver me from the sword.” And “I will declare your name.” This Psalm is the cry of anguish of the Psalmist as he faces a desperate situation.
I. A Common Perception of Prayer
A. Jesus will make you Happy
While it is seldom said, there is a popular thought that if you will come to Jesus, and do what he wants, you will be happy all the time. In fact, as a child, one of the songs I learned was, ♬♪“I’m inside, outside, upside, downside, happy all the time. I’m inside out side, upside, downside, happy all the time, since Jesus Christ came in and saved my life from sin, I’m inside, outside, upside downside, happy all the time.”♪♬ That message was repeated in Sunday schools and youth groups and children’s sermons, again and again. “I’m so happy and here’s the reason why. . .” we would sing over and over.
God wants you to be happy, and if you obey him, you will be! I heard it, I even taught it as a teenager, I even testified to it with my high school choir, but when I was alone, and there was no one around to watch, at times I would be miserable and then I wondered what was wrong.
B. Prayer is given to us to express our faith in God
Then I was taught that prayer is given to us as a way of expressing our faith in God. Perhaps you have heard this teaching. When you pray, speak the words you want to feel. If you are depressed speak words of hope in your prayer. If you are afraid, speak words of courage. And if, in faith, you do this, God will honor that faith and give you happiness and courage no matter what you are facing.
This teaching suggests that you can impress God with your faith.
But if you have tried this, perhaps you have discovered what I discovered that you end up feeling like a liar. When I tried to impress God with my happy voice faith, I did not even fool myself, and once I again, I wondered what was wrong with me, and maybe if God was angry with me.
C. God will not tolerate a complainer
And then I learned that God does not like a complainer. Now no one ever told me that, but it was obvious, my parents did not like it when I complained, I did not like it when others complained to me, so certainly God did not want to hear me complain. And so I would put on a happy face no matter what I really felt like and I would wonder what was wrong with me.
II. Anguish in Prayer
A. The reality of Pain and anguish
You see, I knew the reality. Life is hard, there are times when pain and anguish are a part of our lives. When I moved as a child, that hurt. When girlfriends would break up with me, that hurt. Many times I was reminded that pain and anguish were a part of our lives. But it was really driven home two times. The first was when Sheryl’s father died while she was a freshman in College. Then shortly after we were married, my aunt, a favorite aunt who had 2 little boys, and always did special things for us, was killed in an auto accident only 3 weeks before Christmas.
The weight of sorrow was heavy. If a Christian was supposed to be happy in the midst of this, then I could not be a Christian.
B. Multiple examples in the Bible
That is when I began noticing in the Bible, that God’s servants were not always happy. Despite the song, there were times that David was not inside outside upside downside happy all the time. In fact, I read that he lay on his bed and cried for days because his newborn son was not expected to live. The Psalmist Korah said, “My tears are my food day and night.” Jeremiah said, “My eyes will overflow with tears because the Lord's flock will be led away into exile.” In Lamentations I read “I have cried until the tears no longer come. My heart is broken, my spirit poured out, as I see what has happened to my people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.” Sorrow was a part of the Old Testament prophets. And then I read in John 11, “Jesus wept.”
Where was the happy, happy, happy servant of God?
The fact is, he does not exist the way I wanted him to exist.
C. Laments are cathartic
You see, Laments, complaints before God, tears and mourning are cathartic. There is healing in our honest sorrow.
D. God’s response to laments
And God accepts and responds to our laments. God accepted this prayer of David. In fact this prayer so resounded in the hearts of God’s people that when Jesus was on the cross, he called out the title of this Psalm and prayed David’s words. “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” These words echo the whole Psalm. In them are the words of complaint, in this phrase is the declaration of faith, in these words are the petitions of the Psalmist, and in these words are the praises. These words are an honest prayer from a broken heart that resounds in the heart of God.
God longs for honest prayers.
III. The Result of Honest Prayer
A. Petition becomes real
When we honestly express what is in our hearts, our prayers become real. Everyday, in every relationship, we wear masks. There is the mask we wear as an employee, there is the mask we wear when we come to church, there is the mask that we wear at home with our family. We switch from one to the other with very little effort, but still we are hiding all the time. However, when we come to God in prayer, we can remove the masks because God already knows our hearts. We do not need to try to impress Him, we do not need to hide from Him. In this prayer of David, he has stripped away all pretense and has told God exactly what is on his heart.
He begins by sharing his complaint. God seems far off. The stories of God’s faithfulness seem untrue. Though he trusted in the Lord, God has now abandoned him. The Psalmist is brutally honest.
And because he has told God everything on his heart, he can also bring to God his petitions. Rescue me! Come near! Deliver me! Save me! These are the cries of his heart. Though he feels like he has been abandoned, he calls out to God, because he has learned there is no other.
B. Praise becomes possible
And it is in that confidence that the Psalmist is able to make his final proclamation, and that is a song of praise. “When you have redeemed me, “I will declare your name to my brothers.” Then he invites everyone to join him in his praise, “You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!” For the God who accepts our complaints is worthy of our praise.
APP: Today, no matter what is on your heart, God will receive you. You can not impress him with your faith, nor can you shock him with your anger. God is big enough to handle whatever is on your heart. When my aunt was killed, my uncle and his boys sat around the kitchen table and talked together. My uncle said, “I am not mad at the car Mom passed. I am not mad at the mining company that caused the problem with the road. I am not mad at Mom for being a bad driver. And I am not mad at God tonight.” At that my cousin who was about 8 years old spoke up and said, “Well, I am mad at God.” And wisely my Uncle responded, “That is OK, God won’t leave you for that.”
And so today, I want to invite you to open your heart to God. In the quiet moments ahead, tell him how you are feeling. Tell him of your fears, tell him of your doubts, tell him of your anger, tell him of your pain. And let him bring healing to you.
Let us Pray.
