Category: Psalm 22

Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors (Psalm 27:11).

Sounds a little mercenary, if you ask me.

Sounds like David wants to follow God in order to avoid getting smacked by the bad guys, not just because he loves God. 

Does that bother you?

Beloved, I wish all my motives were pure. I wish I went to work solely for the joy of teaching children and helping them to grow strong and wise and capable.

But I also go for the paycheck.

I wish I obeyed traffic laws simply because it is the right and safe and good thing to do.

But I also want to avoid a ticket.

I wish I had accepted Christ only because of his goodness and love and mercy.

But, yeah, escaping eternal death was in the mix, too.

This world is a minefield. You need help navigating it if you want to avoid a spiritual boom. So, yes, we follow Christ in part because it gets us through the day with body and soul intact. But we also follow him because he is worth following. He is the One worthy of our life, our soul, our all.

The only One.

Our motives are mixed, Beloved. They always will be, as long as we’re in this world and in this flesh. But that’s OK. He knows, and he loves, and he waits for the day when we will be purely, wholly, completely his.

Me too.

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior (Psalm 27:9).

Because I know what I deserve.

I deserve, frankly, to be rejected, forsaken, turned away. I have done nothing, no thing, that would earn me the right to call on God for help. On the contrary, I have done eversomuch to earn God’s rejection.

But…he loves me.

I know, right?

He loves me, and he has been there for me in the past, and he calls me to call on him and he promises to be faithful.

And I do.

And he is.

And Hallelujah!

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

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 (Psalm 22:31).

That’s us.

We’re the  posterity that David wrote about as he looked into the future and saw God’s praise growing and spreading. We are those future generations. And we can look ahead in faith and see that God’s praise will never end. I see it in my children, and, if I squint, I can imagine it in theirs.

You and I are blips on the timeline, Beloved.

But we are glorious blips.

Happy Wednesday

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 (Psalm 22:29).

Let’s say you’re wealthy.

No, wait–let’s say that I’m wealthy.

Really very wealthy.

I will worship him.

As will all the rich

and all the poor

and all the beautiful

and all the frighteningly unattractive

and all the fit

and all the fluffy

and all the wise

and all the ditzy.

We will all worship.

Not because of who we are

but 

because of who he is.

So, since you will worship for all eternity, you might as well get started now, ya?

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

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 (Psalm 22:27-28).

Every knee

Every tongue

Everywhere

And David gets to be part of that by praising God and sharing the story of his rescue.

And we get to be part of that by praising God and sharing the story of our rescue.

And the word will spread

And the praise will spread

Shall we join in, Beloved?

Happy Monday

…before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied; they who seek the Lord will praise him–may your hearts live forever! (Psalm 22:25-26).

So, here’s the plan: David cries out to God in his distress. God hears David and rescues him. In gratitude, David presents an offering at the temple. This offering goes to feed the poor, who now see their prayers answered. They, in turn, offer their praise to God…

and so it goes.

What will you offer today, Beloved? And how will it bless the people of God, so that they glorify him with their praise?

You probably don’t have an ox, but I’m sure you can think of something.

Happy Friday, Beloved

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly…  (Psalm 22:25)

We sing songs that he has put in our hearts.

We praise him with words that he has formed on our lips.

We remember his faithfulness with brains that he has made and proclaim it with tongues he has crafted.

It’s pretty much all him.

Always 

Praise our God today, Beloved.

It is, quite literally, what you were made to do.

Happy Thursday

I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor 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 (Psalm 22:22-24).

Thank you…in advance.

This isn’t an “if” statement. David is not negotiating here. There is no, “God, if you do this for me, I will…”

You know…the kind of weak promise I may or may not have made a thousand times.

No, David spoke as if he knew, from the bottom of his being, that God would rescue and restore him. 

Because he did

Beloved, consider your yuck today. Look squarely in the face of whatever is grieving and afflicting you. Then, look beyond it to the God who will deliver you as surely as morning follows night. Praise him, loud and clear, for what he will accomplish in and through and for you.

Because he will do it, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday

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 (Psalm 22:19-21).

Well, it’s about time.

I mean, we’re nineteen verses in, and this is the first time David has actually asked God to help. We certainly get the impression that David has asked for help in the past–and God has been silent–but so far in this Psalm he has been more focused on the problem than on the Solution.

You and I never do that, do we?

Ask him, Beloved. He knows what you’re facing.  You don’t have to build a case; just 

Deliver me!

Rescue me!

Save me!

He is not far off–he promised.

You’re his Beloved, after all.

Happy Tuesday

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 (Psalm 22:12-15).

I totally get David here.

After all, I teach middle school–the Bulls of Bashan are coming for me in about two weeks.

You could read this Psalm and think, “Well, no matter how bad things get for me, David had it worse!” And, that may be true, but I don’t think that’s the direction we’re supposed to go here. That way lies comparison and spiritual one-upsmanship. No bueno.

I think these verses are less about comparing our troubles to his than about comparing our God to his.

Same God

Same God!!

The One David cried out to is the One who hears you this morning. The One who called David the apple of his eye calls you Beloved.

And he will come for you.

This Psalm isn’t over.

Neither is yours.

Happy Friday, Beloved.