Blessings of Lament: The Lament of Jesus

Call to Worship: Psalm 149:1-4

Prayer

Adoration: God who upholds all creation by your Word = praise; who keeps and sustains us by your Word of grace = praise

Confession: failed to live in thankfulness for your forgiving mercy; in response to your redeeming love, have not loved you by obeying your commands as we ought. We have been loveless, prideful, selfish… Father, forgive us…

Thanksgiving: You are the God who adorns the humble with salvation; who has forgiven us for all sin: past, present, future… we stand in grace, exult in love.

Supplication: Give us abundant thankfulness for the cross of your Son/lavished grace => may we worship you more deeply with thanksgiving => may genuine worship in our hearts produce righteousness in our lives; wisdom for home + work; false idease about sexuality; CTC—that they would seek Your Kingdom first, worship you in all things, live in obedience and holiness, open door for the gospel; believers in China: protect, give boldness + truth; Word Preached change our hearts!

Family Matters: Mark calendars—congregational meeting/potluck July 9th + SWC community dinner Friday, Oct. 13

Benediction

Psalm 121:5–8 ESV

The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

Intro:

Please open bibles to Psalm 22...

[Story: Kyleigh’s article]

Submitted to a prominent Christian blog... topic: darkness of depression + struggle of faith… draft accepted

Edited version to Kyleigh… edited so heavily that it was basically re-written...

Re-write:

smoothed over the heavy, raw descriptions of darkness of suffering,

nice-ified it,

blunted the sharp edges of what it means to struggle with God when you’re in pain

it was all positive and encouraging… no room weep or cry out…

so much more pleasant and safe to read, and close to worthless

Why did the editor feel such a burden to do that? To edit out the darkness, and replace it with positivity?

Ps 22— like a museum exhibit hall: as you enter… first two thirds of the exhibits are dim, unpleasant, deep, rich, dark, terrifying… but a bright light is shining at the far end of it…

Two kinds of museum goers that enter this exhibit hall:

Those who rush past the dark exhibits at the front of the hall… ‘get quickly to the light at the end’ => how we, as American Christians tend to read

Those who move slowly through them… it is for them that the light at the end shines brightly

But why? Why must we contemplate the darkness of Jesus’ death (that’s what this Psalm is about) in order for the light of his glory to shine for us?

One reason: Like the darkness he encountered at the cross, we are sojourners in a dark world, bearing our crosses.

So, if we want to know what it looks like to suffer/encounter darkness IN FAITH, we must look to his example!

Let’s let the Psalm itself show us.

The Sufferings of Christ

First Cry: Abandoned and Cursed

To the choir master: according to the Doe of the Dawn. A psalm of David.

Psalm 22:1–2 ESV

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

The first line of this psalm is well known to us—Jesus quoted it on the cross (Matthew, Mark).

What some of you may not have realized (what I didn’t know) is that the psalm is about Jesus from start to finish

Not merely a line that Jesus happens to quote.

Voice of Jesus from start to finish.

And so, it is a rich, deep, terrifying, beautiful tapestry of his sufferings

So, what do these words mean?

Abandonment.

One preacher has noted that this is the only place in the gospels where Jesus calls the Father, “God” instead of “Father”...

I am groaning to you, God! I am screaming to you!

But I cannot find you, sense you, feel you, see you… and so I have no rest.

The Curse of God.

The great priestly blessing of the Old Testament was this:

Numbers 6:24–26 ESV

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Here we see:

The absence of God’s shining face - that is, his favor.

The absence of peace or rest.

The absence of God’s gracious salvation.

The verse right before Jesus says this in Matthew:

Matthew 27:45 ESV

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

This was not merely a man-made crucifixion.

(as Sproul said) It is as if the blessing is being read in reverse to Jesus: the Lord curse you and abandon you; the Lord turn his face from you; the Lord burn with wrath against you sins, and give you terror!

Galatians 3:13 ESV

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

Consider:

Believer: God’s grace never actually deserts you; though in your darkest moments, you may feel like it, you never actually become a curse

Jesus did. Jesus knows.

Living in the dark fog of postpartum depression?

Betrayed and deserted by your earthly father?

Married to a spouse who for decades has rejected and belittled you?

Lost a loved one who took a piece of your soul with them?

Violated by those who should have been your protectors?

Jesus knows your darkness… and he has gone far past it//knows what it is like to call to the Father from a place of darkness...

Consider also: In speaking such words, Jesus gives us, too, permission to cry out like this to God

Does that seem scandalous to you? Unholy? “But shouldn’t I be happy in Jesus? If I pray like that, isn’t that a lack of faith?”

On the contrary: If Jesus in the perfection of his heart spoke to the Father like this, then shouldn’t we also, when surrounded by darkness?

Do you think God doesn’t know when you are surrounded by darkness and misery? Do you think you can fool him by pretending to be happy? But true, strong faith speaks like vs. 1-2: in the midst of darkness, it calls God, “My God” and pours out the heart to him, even when it can’t sense him.

Consider also: In these dark moments, Jesus meditated on the Word, in Ps. 22. God has given us a word for all seasons, and so we may always meet him there.

Meditating on the Word while being tortured to death on the cross is not how we would expect the “Blessed Man” of psalm 1 to be blessed, or to become a fruitful tree!

But it is how the infinite wisdom of God planned it

And this pattern—blessing in the midst of sorrow and lament, is for us also

First Remembrance: God is Holy and Faithful.

Psalm 22:3–5 ESV

Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 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.

After his first cry, he remembers the holiness and faithfulness of God.

God, you have been rightly worshiped by Israel since you chose us as your people.

God, our ancestors trusted you - they were far from trusting you perfectly - and you rescued them time and time again (Exodus/Judges/Kings/Exile)

But now, there’s an implied question:

You are holy and I am innocent - where is your justice?

“They were not put to shame - but me?” And so he begins his second cry:

Second Cry: Disfigured and Covered with Shame.

Psalm 22:6–8 ESV

But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

A worm: this isn’t referring so much to an earth worm, but more to an insect larva - a maggot.

“I am a maggot and not a man.”

despised!

Scorned/mocked:

Matthew 27:28–29 ESV

And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

Jesus was abandoned by God, and they took delight in it.

Their insults were piled on top of divine curse, like the twisting of a dagger already in the heart.

Second Remembrance: the Father’s faithfulness

Psalm 22:9–10 ESV

Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

So he turns again and remembers: Father, you have been my faithful God my whole life

And so though I cannot sense you, though I am engulfed in darkness, yet I will pour out my prayer to you—

Third Cry: Surrounded by the Wicked, Poured Out to Death.

Psalm 22:11–18 ESV

Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

(vs. 11) None to help:

He was deserted by his friends, and Pilot, who should have prevented his murder, abandoned his responsibility.

(vs. 12-13) Surrounded by a bloodthirsty crowd, who were like a violent pack of dogs, angry bulls, lions… he was brutally murdered beneath a dark sky

His hands and feet were pierced as they were nailed to a cross. “Many hands were raised to wound him/none would interpose to save//but the deepest stroke that pierce him was the stroke that justice gave...”

His cloths were divided among his enemies - a thing of utter shame.

Thus, under God’s wrath for our sin, and being slowly, tortuously killed by wicked men (vs. 14-15):

His heart melted like wax

His strength dried up… but most ultimately:

He was laid down in the dust of death by the Father

As Peter said in Acts 2:23, in the death of Jesus, the hands of wicked men were ultimately executing the will of the Father

In short: Jesus became the Cursed One for us.

Surrounded by dogs, he became lower than a dog that he might offer salvation to dogs.

We are dogs.

Easy enough to claim: I’m not like [fill in the blank with whatever you think is most repulsive]!

I’m not like those murderous crowds that crucified Jesus! Or… those tax collectors and sinners!

Apart from Jesus, you are an enemy of God.

Consider: Jesus suffered for our sins. That means his suffering is a picture of how horrifying and evil our sins are in God’s sight!

Flip side of that coin: it is a picture of the depths of God’s Love

By trusting in this love, forgiven

We would urge you… !

Fourth Cry: Deliver me!

Psalm 22:19–21 ESV

But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

Up to this point, Jesus endured the agony of a silent heaven. Vs. 2— “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I find no rest.”

This was Jesus’ experience on the cross—maybe you’ve experienced something like it too. Maybe this is where you are, right now.

Listen: after he passed through the darkness, the Father did answer him:

Hebrews 5:7 ESV

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

Meaning:

From one angle, Jesus’ plea to be rescued was heard because, even though he was God, he lived a truly human life of perfect reverence.

He was completely innocent/holy//trusted in a completely faithful God.

As a result, death could not hold him!

Union w/ Christ = if you have trusted in him, you have his perfect reverence accounted to you—you are declared righteous based on the merits of Christ

Result = just as he passed through the darkness of the curse into the glory of the Father’s love, so will you—because he has gone before you

BTW: whatever definition we have for ‘saving faith’, needs to include vs. 1—

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Seem like anti-faith? Look closer.

In the face of all that darkness, he still called him, “MY God”!

brothers + sisters, there may come a time when that’s all you can pray…

It’s still a prayer of faith—it’s still worship!—and the Father hears you, and he WILL bring you safely home to glory

The Worship of God

What was the result of all of Jesus’ suffering and lament? Here is the bright glory at the end of that dark exhibit hall… and now we are ready to see it!

First Thanksgiving: The Father has Raised Up the Son!

Psalm 22:22–24 ESV

I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

BTW, vs. 22 is quoted in Hebrews chapter 2 as the words of Jesus, to prove that he truly became our brother

So, what does it mean (vs. 22) that Jesus would tell of God’s name to us + praise the Father in our midst?

It means that he has made God known to us in his suffering, death, + resurrection

Or you could say, one purpose of the crucifixion and resurrection was to show us the Father’s glory

How so?

Many ways!

Most centrally in this psalm: the Father’s faithfulness to redeem (vs. 24): “He does not despised the affliction of the afflicted… he hears when they cry to him.”

He faithfully redeemed his crushed Messiah and has seated him at his right hand on high

Therefore, by the same power, he will redeem you!

Though you walk through darkness, as our Messiah did, yet in our Messiah you are forgiven of sin, and will be brought safely through darkness to glory

So: “Stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!” Bottom line: Worship Him!

Second Thanksgiving: A Peace Offering

Psalm 22:25–26 ESV

From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!

The result of the resurrection is the worship of God.

But there is also a result for God’s people:

The phrase in verse 25, “My vows I will perform,” in David’s context, referred to an OT ‘peace offering’, as outlined in Leviticus chapter 7.

The person whom God had rescued from some danger would sacrifice an animal, and the whole community would celebrate by feasting on the animal’s meat.

So here, Jesus is both the rescued one and the rescuer; by his suffering, he became our bread of life, our cup of the New Covenant—our salvation feast

We ‘feast on him’ by faith in our relationship with him, and are satisfied—the reality that the Spirit seals to our hearts when we take the Lord’s Supper in faith.

And so, in vs. 26, the Messiah declares to us, ‘May your hearts live forever’ - we have eternal life in him.

Third Thanksgiving: This Mighty Act of God will be Remembered to the Ends of the Earth and Through all Generations

But it doesn’t end there!

Psalm 22:27–31 ESV

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

In verse 27: “turn to the Lord” means being converted to true faith. Then it says that these same families that turn to the Lord shall worship him

So, to be converted to Christianity and to become a true worshiper of God are the same thing.

And, in context, they will be converted by hearing of God’s act of mighty act of defeating sin and death in the sacrifice of his only Son.

In verse 29: not only will this worship be global, it will include every kind of person:

The “prosperous” - the rich will humble themselves and partake in the bread of life and worship God.

“Those who go down to the dust” - the poor, the suffering, and those who die in faith - shall worship God for his victory over sin and death through Christ.

In verses 30-31: this worship will include, “a people yet unborn”—the good news of the gospel has gathered a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation; the gates of hell shall never prevail against us, for, as it says, “He has done it.”

Conclusion

But what do these glorious truths mean for us now? Especially, as we find ourselves struggling through this dark world?

Do you know how to lament? After the example of Jesus, can you cry out in the darkness, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Or does that seem too irreverent?

Brothers and sisters, as I preach this to you, do you find yourselves bucking against it? Trying to explain it away? “This can’t be right! Christianity is a positive religion, a joyful religion, and we’re supposed to be happy people! How could we say such things?!”

Do you know what the most common type of psalm in the Bible is? A lament psalm. And yet we live in a world where the largest Christian music radio network is called “positive encouraging K-LOVE”. We have a problem!

Imagine Psalm 22 with the first two-thirds cut off...

Bright, cheery, positive… no medicine for our suffering

Little power to turn our eyes to our crucified-risen King.

But we serve a King who took on the full weight of the divine curse for us and for our salvation; in that darkness, he provided for us an example of lamenting in faith! Worship is not only what we do after we’ve passed through the darkness; it is also what we do from the deepest pit, as we cry out in lament to our God. And he hears us! And one day, he will give an answer so filled with glory that every tear + shred of darkness will be turned to glory forever. Until then, look to Jesus. He knows, and will never forsake you.