Answered!

Today’s reading is Psalm 22.

The entire tenor of the psalm changes at Psalm 22:22. It started as an extreme lament; so dismal we can hardly find a time to actually place it in David’s life. It becomes an extreme praise and thanksgiving; so exuberant it asserts praise not only from the psalmist, not only from the congregation of God’s people, but from the entire world. It is so intense and amazing, we can hardly imagine anyone whose deliverance and salvation would warrant such reaction from the whole world. What produced such an extreme swing? Read vs. 21b: “Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!” (ESV). Though that conveys the excitement and reality that would produce such a shift, it actually clouds the really important point David was making. Consider the NKJV: “Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen! You have answered me” (NKJV). I know “rescued” sounds so much more exciting than “answered,” but “answered” is intended to connect us back to vs 2 in which David was receiving no answer. What is the shift? Psalm 22:1-21a is the dismal lament of the one whose request has not been granted though it has been made over and over again, day and night. Psalm 22:22-31 is the exuberant praise and thanksgiving of the one whose requests have been granted. In a very real sense, Psalm 22 mirrors Psalms 20 and 21. Psalm 20 is the prayer for requested blessing on the king as he goes out to battle. Psalm 22:1-21a is the prayer of the king himself in the midst of the battle, but it isn’t going his way. Psalm 22:22-31 is the king’s prayer of thanksgiving and praise when the battle finally turns his way by the grace of God. Psalm 21 is the prayer of thanksgiving offered by the people when the king comes back victorious. Honestly, we likely go back and forth between the two halves of the psalm. Remember, the same God rules in both halves. If you want to be able to offer the praises of the second half of Psalm 22, you have to hang on to God and await His answers while living through the first half of Psalm 22. Yes, He may wait to grant your request until the dogs circle, the mouth of the lion closes, the horns of the oxen vault you in the air. But He will answer. He will deliver. You are not forsaken. You are answered! Hang on!!!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 22.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes and listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier that expands on this post!

A Word for Our Kids

Hey kids, are you completely confused by Psalm 22? I wouldn’t be surprised. I mean, clearly the psalm is written after God has answered David’s prayer and granted David’s request. Why would it start with a reminder of the lament before the answer? This actually gives us some insight into the psalms in general. I’d like to take this opportunity to set your mind at ease about something. Many people grow up afraid of the psalms because they think they are supposed to learn how to pray like the psalmists. They think they are supposed to be flowery and poetic. They think they ought to be able to drop to their knees and just spout out poetry as prayer. But that isn’t actually how the psalms were developed. David didn’t fall on his knees in the midst of his turmoil, pray Psalm 22, and then decide to write it down. Rather, this is clearly a meditation after the fact. This is a memorial of the entire event he went through. We don’t know what the event was. But by the time this psalm has been written, he has been through the long gambit of praying and praying and praying and praying and not getting answered to the point that he despairs God had forsaken him. But then, when he was in the very teeth of the lions, on the very horns of the oxen, God answered. This psalm is not the literal record of the prayers David offered throughout that whole circumstance. This psalm is the memorial meditation on the whole event after it is over. The lament is included because the praise and thanksgiving become even more meaningful as they contrast with the lament. Seeing the entire journey to praise and thanksgiving makes them even more profound. Additionally, while we don’t have to pray like the psalmists, these psalms are intended to help us know how we can pray. We may not just naturally spout out poetry, but the more we get to know these psalms, when we feel like the psalmists we can say these things in prayer. When we have received our requests, we can pray like the latter half of the psalm. When we feel forsaken, we can pray like the first half. After all, Jesus did (see Matthew 27:46).