Ian's going to read from Psalm 22, which is on page 554, the first 21 verses, and then
Jürgen is going to pick up from the end. Thank you.
Psalm 22.
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? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, and by night,
and I am not silent. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One. You are the praise of Israel.
In you our fathers put their trust. They trusted, and you delivered them. They cried to you and
were saved. In you they trusted, and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They hurl insults,
shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord. Let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him. Yet you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust in you,
even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you, and from my mother's womb you have been
my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help. Many bulls
surround me. Strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths
wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned
to wax. It has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to
the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me. A band of evil men
has encircled me, and they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. People stare
and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them, and cast lots from my clothing. But you, O Lord,
be not far off. O my strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouths of the lions. Save me from the
horns of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my brothers. In a congregation I will praise you. You who fear the
Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, honour him. Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.
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. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly.
Before those who fear you will I fulfil my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied. They who seek
the Lord will praise him. May your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth will remember
and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him. For dominion
belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship.
All who go down to the dust will kneel before him. Those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve him. Future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim
his righteousness to a people yet unborn, for he has done it.
Judge Jean-Laure Jo Assam. Thank you, Alex.
Thank you, Alex.
Great for Alex and for us as we look at this together.
Father, again, we thank you so much for the Psalms,
for all the things we have been learning from them,
primarily about you and your son.
And we thank you for Alex,
for the time that he has put in preparing this.
We pray that you would fill him now with your spirit,
as we ask that you would fill us with your spirit,
that we may hear your words to us.
May it change us and transform us
to see your world and life from your perspective.
And may we be better equipped to follow you
as we live in this world.
Encourage us all this morning and we pray.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, thank you all for your prayers during the week.
As I've been working my way through this Psalm,
it's been an encouragement and it's been a challenge.
And it's only been through God's spirit at work
that it has been able to be that for me.
And I'm afraid that as we look at this Psalm 22 this morning,
it'll be encouraging and challenging as well for you,
as well as you listen to it.
As many of you know, over the last year,
we as a wider family have had health issues.
Many questions have been asked of God,
like why does he allow suffering
when he's meant to be a loving God?
Why does this happen to good people?
A friend of mine recently told me
that his son had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
And in this past year,
we have all experienced,
either firsthand or by association,
the realities of the economic collapse
and the effect on jobs and employment.
We have heard of corruption
and inequality in world politics.
Every week we seem to hear of celebrity
or normal people,
marriage breakups or relationship breakups.
We have heard of yet more natural disasters,
not to mention their horrific car crash
up in Donegal recently.
We have heard of Christians,
followers of Jesus Christ,
being captured,
tortured
and sometimes killed
just for saying that they followed him.
On a daily basis,
some of us or people we know
struggle just to get out of bed.
They can't think of a single reason
why they should even continue to live.
I paint a bleak picture,
I know,
but this is the reality of life.
This is the way it is.
There is nowhere in the Bible
or anywhere else
that says that life as a follower of Jesus or not
will be easy.
There is no self-help book.
There is no secret mantra.
There is no special tea cocktail.
There is no secret password.
There is no religion
can promise us
or deliver
a pain-free
or suffering-free life.
Suffering
is part and parcel of life
whether you are a Christian or not.
And if you are not sure about that,
just look around the room.
I am sure we have all stubbed a toe.
Our text this morning,
Psalm 22,
Paints and 30 blue pits for two.
David is at the stage
where he is either
king-in-waiting
or anointed king.
And so has every reason
to be joyful and celebratory.
But the reality
is the tongue-lofters.
He is in deep turmoil and anguish.
Let's read it.
First one.
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.
Here David is crying out to God
in a brutally honest way.
It's not obvious from the psalm
why exactly he is feeling like this.
But it is safe to say
that he is suffering deeply,
psychologically.
He feels abandoned,
hopeless.
Look at the end of verse 2.
Or even at verse 2.
Oh my God,
I cry out by day,
but you do not answer.
By night,
and I'm not silent.
He can't even sleep,
he's crying out to God so much.
But there is some indication
as to why he is suffering.
You do not answer.
God is silent.
David is calling out to God
day and night,
continuously.
And God,
the same God,
who commanded Samuel
in 1 Samuel 16
to anoint David
as king over Israel.
This God
is silent.
David rightly feels abandoned
by God.
We too can feel abandoned
by God
when we face yet another
uphill battle in our life.
And we must face it
with a seemingly silent God.
We are reminded of Jesus'
suffering on the cross
in Matthew 27,
verse 46,
where he says,
also,
My God,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Jesus himself feels abandoned
by God.
I'm sure at some stage
we have all cried out
like David.
Maybe not those very words,
but still,
it's been a cry of anguish
called out to God.
The reality of our lives
is that very often
we feel like
God either isn't there,
or if he is there,
he just doesn't care,
or he is silent
and can't actually do anything
to help us anyway.
Does that sound familiar?
Can you think of
times in your own life
when you felt like that?
Well, surely,
surely that's not
what the passage is saying.
Is it?
When we look at the passage
we get a very different,
we get very different
pictures of David
and of God.
Look how David
sees himself
in verse 6.
But I am a worm
and not a man.
Scorned by men
and despised
by the people.
All who see me
mock me.
They hurl insults,
shaking their heads,
saying,
He trusts in the Lord.
Let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.
How different that is
from the people
of the past
who put their trust in God.
Verses 4 and 5.
In you our fathers
put their trust.
They trusted
and you delivered them.
They cried out to you
and were saved.
In you they trusted
and were not disappointed.
poor, poor David.
He sees that in the past
those who trusted in God
and cried out to him
were rescued
and saved.
But yet when David
does the same thing,
where is God?
A further contrast
is in verses 9 and 10.
Yet you brought me
out of the womb.
You made me trust in you,
even at my mother's breast.
From birth
I was cast upon you.
From my mother's womb
you have been my God.
David acknowledges
that God controls life.
He is sovereign.
But the verses that follow
show David
in dire straits.
He is fearful for his life
and he is spent.
We get the feeling
that he is ready to give up.
We'll get to those verses
in a minute.
But first let's just recap.
David is feeling
completely overwhelmed.
He is crying out
to a faithful
God
who now,
when David seems to need him
more than ever,
seems to be silent.
Let's look at verses 12 to 16.
Many bulls surround me.
Strong bulls of fashion
encircle me.
Roaring lions
tearing their prey
open their mouths
wide against me.
I am poured out like water
and all my bones
are out of joint.
My heart
has turned to wax.
It has melted away
within me.
My strength
is dried up
like a potsherd
and my tongue
sticks to the roof
of my mouth.
You lay me
in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me.
A band of evil men
has encircled me.
They have pierced
my hands
and my feet.
I don't think
this literally means
that David is surrounded
by wild animals.
But we get the feeling
a little bit like
David is a gladiator
in a ring
where everybody
just wants to see him killed.
David sees his only outcome
as being destroyed.
Death.
The obvious thing
at this stage
is to just give up,
isn't it?
Reject God
and take his chances
with the wild animals
who want to kill him.
But what does David do?
Let's read on.
Verses 19 to 21.
But you, O Lord,
be not far off.
O my strength,
come quickly to help me.
Deliver my life
from the sword,
my precious life
from the power
of the dogs.
Rescue me
from the mouth
of the lions.
Save me
from the horns
of the wild oxen.
He asks God
for help,
for deliverance,
for rescue.
How can David
possibly ask God
for help
when he has no reason
at this stage
to believe
that he is even there?
David is a man
in desperate times,
but he is also
a man
of very deep
and very real faith.
Turn with me,
please,
to Hebrews
chapter 11.
Somebody get the page
because they shouted out.
12.09.
So the writer here
in Hebrews
is describing faith
and he says,
now faith
is being sure
of what we hope for
and certain
of what we do not see.
This is what the ancients
were commended for.
And then the rest
of the chapter
in Hebrews
gives us examples
of people of faith
in the past
in difficult times
including David.
And then we get
to the end
in verse 9,
39,
where it concludes,
These were all
commended for their faith,
yet none of them
received what
had been promised.
It is with this faith
which goes against
everything logical
at times
that David continues
in the psalm
praising God.
Let's look at
a few examples
of that.
Verse 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.
It's a direct response
to his initial cry
of anguish
in verses 1 and 2.
Do you think
David has been released
from his suffering
at this point?
I don't think so.
But here David
is looking
to a future hope.
Head down to
verse 26.
The poor will eat
and be satisfied.
They who seek
the Lord
will praise him.
May your hearts
live forever.
Again,
David is speaking
of the assurance
that he has
of a future
where there will be
satisfaction
and plenty.
In verse 31,
they will proclaim
his righteousness
to a people
yet unborn
for he has done it.
This speaks
of the hope
that David has
that future generations
will not only
hear about the Lord
but they in turn
will proclaim it.
Their faith
will be such
that they will be
telling others
about this faithful God.
In this context,
David's faith
is incredible
because it was
always looking forward
to a future hope.
with only the experience
of God's faithfulness
to him
and to his forefathers
behind him.
Abraham had been
promised great things
back in Genesis
and as we journey
through the Old Testament
we hear of leaders
trying to lead
God's people
to God's kingdom
but that kingdom
was never reached
and here we have
King David
in a bad way
but yet is still
praising God.
Where is this kingdom
that David hopes for?
Where is this kingdom?
Where as verse 26 says
the poor will eat
and be satisfied.
Where as verse 27 says
all the families
of the nations
will bow down
before the Lord.
And verse 29
where the rich
will feast
and worship
and all who go down
to the dust
or the poor
will kneel before him.
Verse 24 again
reminds us
that God
has not been silent
but has heard
the cry for help.
God hears the prayers
of the faithful
and answers them
just not always
how he would like
them answered.
He sent his son Jesus
to be a man
like David
who would suffer
like David.
Let's look at the psalm
again in verse 6
and let's look at it
from Jesus' point of view.
Jesus was hated.
Jesus was mocked
and insulted
in verse 7.
He was surrounded
by mobs
wanting to kill him
like the imagery
in verses 11 to 13.
In verse 15
his strength too
was dried up
like a fragment
of old pottery.
That's what a potchard
is archaeologically speaking.
I hope that's correct
Juergen.
Jesus too
was left to die
and saw his clothes
divided up
by his executioners.
Jesus
God's own son
Christ the king
would cry out
to God
just like in verse 1
My God
my God
why have you forsaken me?
And it would appear
that God
didn't hear him
or answer him
because Jesus died.
And that's where
the twist is.
That's where the paradox is.
the apparently
contradictory statement
it is here on the cross
on which Jesus died
that God answers
our cry for help.
We have seen
the power of the cross.
We have heard
the testimony
of the lives
that have been changed
by faith in Christ Jesus
throughout the New Testament.
How much more faith
should we have
than David?
We know how God
has heard our cry for help.
David's hope
was not just for
immediate protection.
He was looking
at the bigger picture.
Verse 26
Lives
or hearts
that live forever.
David, yes,
is in a bad way
but still
he remembers
God's faithfulness
and is urging others
to acknowledge him.
David's predicament
and the faith
he showed
in it
eventually results
in many people
having faith
in the Lord.
Jesus' suffering
and death
leads to many people
being saved
from eternal death
and separation
from himself.
in the midst
of our toughest trials
when we feel
our world
is falling in around us
we too
can have hope
that God
will use it
to bring many people
to himself.
It's a counter-cultural hope
that says
that God
is in control.
The God
who gave us life
verses 9 and 10
is in control
whether our fear
is cancer
or MS
or car crashes
or poverty
or just the unknown
we all fear death.
My friend
and his son
fear death.
Jesus
when he said
my God
why have you
forsaken me
he feared death
but it is
at that very moment
in time
when he was
hanging on the cross
that death
lost its fear.
John chapter 19
verse 31
says
it is finished
Jesus' words
on the cross.
Psalm 22
verse 31
says
he has done it
because it was then
that Jesus died
so that we don't
have to.
We can have hope
if we're trusting
in the Lord Jesus.
There is light
at the end of the tunnel
and it's not
an oncoming train.
Verse 24
again says
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.
If you are here
today
and you do not
have faith
in Christ
then there is
no reason
to have hope.
There is not
the security
or the promise
of eternity
with Christ.
Only the Bible
is promise
of separation
from him.
But if you do
have faith
in him
then you are
still going
to suffer.
Sometimes it
might be only
short term
sometimes it
might be
lifelong
suffering.
But if we
have faith
then we know
that Christ
has been there
before.
That doesn't
make our pain
any less real
but it gives us
hope that one
day it will
end.
How do we
like David
turn our despair
into praise?
We pray
and as we pray
we remind
ourselves of
God's faithfulness
in the past.
we remember
that he sent
his son Jesus
as an answer
to our cries
for help.
Suffering
will come.
Some of it
may not be
relieved
this side
of eternity
for either
believers
or those
who don't
believe.
But we
like David
in verse 22
where he says
I will
declare
your name
to my
brothers
in the
congregation
I will
praise you.
We too
need to
declare
his name
to our
neighbours
and tell
them about
the light
at the end
of the tunnel.
Not just
agree with
their grumbling
about the
state of the
world
or their
own
situation
but point
them back
to the
light.
Some
tunnels
may be
longer
than others
but the
light
is eternity
with our
Lord Jesus
Christ.
Are you
going to
turn your
despair
into praise?
Where do
you have
your hope?
Let us
pray.
Father God
thank you
that we
can have
hope
and faith
in you.
Thank you
that you
hear our
cries for
help
and that
you
haven't
ignored
us.
Thank you
that you
sent your
son Jesus
to live
like us
and to
suffer
like us
and that
when he
died
he died
in our
place.
Thank you
that when
he rose
again from
the dead
he rose
so that
we can
have hope.
That our
suffering
is known
and experienced
by you.
Please help
us in times
of rejoicing
and in times
of suffering
to always cry
out to you
honestly
in praise.
Remind us
of how you
have been
faithful in the
past.
Encourage us
that one day
it will end
and convict
us to
tell people
of the
hope
that we
have in
you.
Thank you
for your
faithfulness
and help
us as we
remember it.
In Jesus
name.
Amen.