Does God abandon his people? In the midst of suffering, should we yield to scoffers who mock our steadfast trust in the Lord? These are questions lamented by David by which he answers in his praise of God. Further, this Psalm rightly is understood to be typological of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Meaning, the experience David writes in this psalm is a prefigurative symbol of the literal suffering of Christ at the hands of his enemies. For example, David cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” David’s prayer of deliverance seems to go unanswered. Likewise, Our Lord who bore the full weight of our sin upon his own body, also experienced separation from this Father as if he turned his back on his own Son. Jesus cries out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?, that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). How does David’s confidence in God help him overcome his striving against doubt?
David prayed unceasingly. He never gives up on prayer, though it “seemed” that God is unresponsive to his cries, thus his lament, “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (v2). David relied on his knowledge of God’s character rather than on his feelings, for he says in the next breath, “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel” (v3). Further, he reflected on the testimony of his ancestors who trusted God and received rescue in their troubles, “In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame” (v4-5). Hallelujah!
Reflection: At times our feelings and emotions are like the wind. They are subject to change (without notice) based on external forces and internal torments that afflict us. If we are not careful, we can be tossed to and fro by them. Remember, God’s character is unchanged no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. He is always working for our good, even when our circumstances are painful and burdensome. The same God who carried you through your past troubles is still with you in the furnace of your present tribulations. Trust God. While you wait on him, remember who he is (and what he has done) and praise his name! We are encouraged to approach God continually like the woman in the “Parable of the Persistent Widow”. He promised, “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? (8) I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily…” (Lk 18:7-8). Trust in God’s timing.
David’s faith helped him endure mockery. Haters of God despised his servant David, thus he laments, “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people” (v6). They were emboldened in their mockery of him because it seemed David was beyond help and his God was unconcerned about him. As with Jesus who they derided on the cross, they also scorned David, “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” (v8, cf. Mt 27:41-44). David placed his trust in the faithfulness of God who had ordered his life from the time he was born, thus he praises, “Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breast. On you was I cast from birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God” (v9-10).
Reflection: God created and knew you from conception in your mothers’ womb. Further, at an appointment time, he blessed you and granted you salvation through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. He orders your steps and never lets go of his grip on your life no matter how shaken by trials we are. Trust in these two truths: (1) God has created seasons of prosperity and adversity (Ecc 7:14), and (2) No matter which season we are in, he is working all things (even in hardship), for our good (Rom 8:28-30). These truths should reassure our hearts and produce the fruits of praise. Rejoice in the Lord! Remember what Jesus said, we are blessed when we reviled for his name. Rejoice! Amen.
Blessings,
Dr. Jason S. Price, Th.D
www.springoflivingwaters.com