"Lament to Live" (Psalm 22)

Pre-Message Communion



We read recently in Our Daily Bread, how Gerald’s life fell apart. An economic crisis destroyed his business, while a tragic accident took his son’s life, and a heart attack took the life of his mother. Gerald had to support his wife through depression, and his two young daughters in their grief. Spiritually speaking, all Gerald could do was echo the words of the psalmist – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (22:1)?



When we feel as Gerald felt, these are good words for us to pray – after all, Jesus quoted them as well … from the torture of the cross. The only thing that kept Gerald going was the hope that God, who raised Jesus to life, would one day deliver him and his family from their pain. Here was a hope that God would answer his desperate cries for help. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me"? Jesus, himself, uttered these words in solidarity with all humankind – all the desperate situations we would find ourselves in.



Of course these words about feeling forsaken, were not the only words Jesus spoke from the cross. Jesus also said, “Father, into Your [God’s] hands, I commit my spirit”. This was another quote from a Psalm (31:5) – “Into your hands I commit my spirit, rescue me Lord, my faithful God”. These were words of complete trust. No matter the despair of the moment, God could eventually open a brighter future. In Jesus’ case, this would be a resurrection!



In Gerald’s despair, he also determined to trust God in the midst of his suffering. We read that this hope did sustain Gerald through some very difficult times. Over the years, whenever he was asked how he was, he could only say, “Well, I’m trusting God”. God honoured that trust, giving Gerald the comfort, strength and courage to keep going through the years. His family slowly recovered from the crisis, and soon Gerald welcomed a new grandchild.



Jesus also spoke something else from the cross – “it is finished”. There is much to be made of this, but one thing we can know for sure, is that all of our search and need for liberation from sin, and salvation into a better future is “completed”. Jesus has done it all! In trust, let us remind ourselves of this great gift of grace … that changes everything. Those who are secure in the Lord, are in amazing hands!



Points of Introduction for Message 

1. There are various signs that all is NOT going well for us: hard-heartedness, conflicts, anger, grudges, frustration, impatience, disappointments, tiredness, struggle, heartache 
2. Lying behind this can be: unrealistic expectations, traumatic events, abuse, betrayal, emotional conflicts, persecution, rejection, work challenges, personal insecurities
3. This would raise our need for prayer … yet ‘ACTS’ (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) may NOT cut it – for our situation is far too raw!

4. Another option is: ‘lament’ – this is a form of prayer that talks to God about our pain … involving a passionate expression of our feelings of distress. A ‘lament’ is a prayer by a person in pain, that yet … leads towards trust! A ‘lament’ provides a pathway for an honest processing of our life … expressing the strong and conflicted emotions that run through our inner being.  
5. ‘Lament’ is an appropriate option – as there is the whole book of Lamentations, and many psalms of ‘lament’, one example being Psalm 22.
6. Article by Mark Vroegop – which sees the process of ‘lament’ being: turn (i.e. turning to God), complain, ask, and, trust.

Psalm 22



A psalm written by David – the anguished prayer of one feeling victimised under prolonged vicious attacks … which he has NOT provoked yet suffers anyway – feelings are here expressed about unjust persecution. Psalm 22 is a really good example of a ‘lament’. David passionately ‘laments’ the situation he finds himself in. But, critically, he also looks for a way through and forward. So, this is NOT just ‘venting’, this is a serious encounter with God … seeking a way forward. There is, here, an understanding that God DOES have an interest – it’s just that it doesn’t currently appear that way.



Another reason to choose this psalm would be … what?? Jesus quoted from it on the cross – verse 1a. And we also sense the sort of mocking Jesus endured (v 7-8). [Later in the psalm are actually references to the dividing (and gambling over) clothes (v 18).] If Jesus, under severe torture on the cross, would quote this psalm … it is clearly an accurate representation of how he felt, and also how we can approach God … when we feel at the end of our tether. Each of those ‘lament’ components are here in Psalm 22: turn, complain, ask and trust. There is also a fifth one (in this psalm) … that I would like to add – praise.



A Lament  



1. TURN – an intentional address to God while in pain (we turn and face God);

2. COMPLAIN – a humble and blunt identification of what is wrong (we spill our guts);

3. ASK – petitioning God for help in light of His promises (we claim God’s power);

4. TRUST – choosing to have confidence in God’s grace (we believe that better times are ahead); and,

5. PRAISE – we celebrate God’s greatness and provision.



While Psalm 22 does NOT neatly go through these five stages one after the other – why would it – life is NOT like that – and our emotions don’t normally run that way – we can see all these aspects there. After the ‘turn’ in verses 1 and 2, there are elements of each of the aspects – complain, ask and trust … weaved through the first 21 verses, before the culmination of praise in verses 22 to 31. If this is of special interest to you, I suggest you spend some significant quality quiet time in Psalm 22 in the coming week. For now, we will look at these five areas of what it is to ‘lament’.

1. TURN – verses 1-2. A direct address to God, acknowledging the apparent distance, sense of abandonment, anguish, and also God’s perceived silence. David can no longer find meaning and purpose in his life, and this is what he is going to express – life is NOT working out, and I don’t know why!

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
   and by night, but find no rest.

Sometimes we just vent … to ourselves … or to others … but we forget to ‘turn’ our thoughts and problems directly to God. Admittedly, it’s sometimes difficult to maintain our focus on God for more than a minute or two, but we see in biblical ‘laments’ … considerable thoughts and reflections. Verse 2 itself indicates that a level of persistence will likely be required – until the answers begin to emerge and make sense to us. It could be helpful to write our prayers out, like happens when we keep a journal. In this way we can track ways in which God responds. Until we bring our distress directly to God, it can be difficult to imagine how there is a way out of this … and forward. Targeted specific prayer can bring new insight into old problems.

2. COMPLAIN – verses 6-8 [also vs 12-18]. In verses 6-8 there are expressions of how the current dilemma makes David feel – lowly, humiliated in the eyes of others (because he is not coping), ridiculed, hated … even his faith has been mocked.

But I am a worm, and not human;
   scorned by others, and despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock at me;
   they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;

[and spoken with mockery …]
⁸ ‘Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
   let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’ [that was said to Jesus too!]

Later, verses 12-18 include physical threats and feelings of weakness – David feels completely powerless in himself to do anything to improve his situation. And of course, sometimes this realisation is so important … in just letting go and letting God!

The complaint typically runs … how could this be – how long will this continue??



We might sometimes think that we can’t complain to God … that our problems are too trivial, or conversely, that God would not want to look upon our miserable situation. That is so wrong! God was so committed to the human dilemma … that He came to earth in the form of Jesus … to fully engage with the human condition and the world’s issues. So, God would certainly be interested in all that is happening to us, and would definitely want to be part of the solution. God is willing to hear our anger and our doubt and our fear.

3. ASK – verses 3-5 [also vs 19-21a]. In verses 3-5, David recalls that Yahweh God has been roundly respected for the relationship He has had with His people, reflecting on what he knows of God’s faithfulness to those who have gone before, and the deliverance God has enacted e.g. bringing an enslaved Israel out of their bondage in Egypt. Will you do this for me? It’s happened before. Please do this for me!

Yet you are holy,
   enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ In you our ancestors trusted;
   they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried, and were saved;
   in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

It will always be worthwhile to recall how God has worked in our life, and other people’s lives, for good in the past. After all, we have likely only come so far through God’s grace (once we believe in that grace) – there is much further for us to go. There are also parts of God’s Word that we can especially hang on to … promises that can make all the difference: God will never leave or forsake us; God will never stop loving us or searching for us; the work of Jesus on the cross can lift all burdens and defeat the power of evil over us; there is a new creation that we can enter … which eliminates old wounds.

You will have days (weeks or months maybe) when you will feel emotionally and physically spent. You will suffer much at times. You won’t always be treated fairly, honoured appropriately or recognized for your faithfulness. Sometimes you will be falsely accused. Some of the people closest to you may wound you deeply. Never forget, Jesus knows the pain of rejection and mistreatment. He understands. And as Carey Nieuwhof says, “Awesome often lies on the other side of awful”.

4. TRUST – verses 9-11 [also v 21b]. In verses 9-10, David brings his thoughts into very personal assurances. God brought David safely through the experience of birth, and has been close-by ever since! David’s confidence and trust has now grown to the point of knowing that God is about to act … in the best possible way … just at the right moment – probably in more wondrous ways than one could ever imagine. God’s great interest in me is now firmly cemented in my mind. Then, verse 11 casts God as the only One who can help, therefore the One who will help (and bring peace to an aching spirit)! I know that relief is coming! I know that God is at hand!!

Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
   you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ On you I was cast from my birth,
   and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
¹¹ Do not be far from me,
   for trouble is near
   and there is no one to help.

Part of a ‘lament’ is coming to appreciate that God will answer such a prayer, respond to such a need, be present in all difficulties, enable us to cope, and ultimately … to ensure we come out the other side. In all things we can trust God! It’s like … resolution has already occurred – we’re just waiting to notice how! This is seen in verse 21b – in the midst of all the complaining and asking, we hear a newly assured person say,        

^21b From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.

Initially, this may just be a sort of special experience of the presence of God; yet such a good resolution still seems so inevitable (and the future would certainly be better)!

5. PRAISE – verses 22-31. In this particular psalm of ‘lament’, there is a concluding section completely focussed on praise. News of the actual, or assuredly upcoming, deliverance … is brought back into the worshipping community. This is all something to get excited about and share … so everyone can celebrate together. Praising God is so good for us – cementing in … all of God’s provision and daily undertakings on our behalf; not to mention God’s great glory that looms over the whole of creation. Praise is certainly the HIGH-WAY!! We have a great inheritance for which to be grateful. Despite everything, God is great … sing God’s praise!

²² I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
                in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
   stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴ For he did not despise or abhor
   the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
   but heard when I cried to him.

This worshipper is able to once again speak (and sing) of the great character of God. This … with people who may well have known about the struggle being endured. Such a struggle did NOT mean God was further away, but actually … that God drew even closer. Therefore we get to richly experience God in the down times as much, if not more, than when on the mountain-top. When we consider those who share community with us, whether it be at work, in our neighbourhood, or any club we are part of, we will find people in different seasons of life’s experience. What a witness it is … to the broader of community of human seekers … that God is with us all the time … toward the good outcome of our lives. 

³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
   future generations will be told about the Lord,
³¹ and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
   saying that he has done it. [That is the fruit of the praise that we bring.]

Conclusion 



1. TURN – we intentionally address God while in pain (we turn and face God);

2. COMPLAIN – we humbly yet candidly identify what is wrong (we spill our guts);

3. ASK – we petition God for help in the light of His promises (we claim God’s power);

4. TRUST – we choose to have confidence in God’s grace (we believe that better times are ahead); and,

5. PRAISE – we celebrate together God’s greatness and provision.



Benediction – the Book of Lamentations



Within the biblical book called “Lamentations”, the prophet Jeremiah was able to pen these famous words (3:22-25):

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
   his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
   ‘therefore I will hope in him.’

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
        to the soul that seeks him.