David Bahn - Reflections

The first step in the AA 12-Step recovery program is to admit that you have a problem. That's an attitude of humility. Other steps require confession, obedience, and even helping others along the way. That's the path of obedience. That's nothing new. These are God's ways from of old. Blessed is the one who will humble himself before God, and who will fully experience the blessings of God in following his paths of righteousness.

Consider this also: David sought to help others along the way of God's blessing. That's why we have this psalm. The fullest experience of God's blessings will come as we follow David's example of repentance, faith, obedience, and leading others as God give us opportunity.

David - 1000 years before Jesus was born - writes about the LORD being his shepherd. And all that he does is good. Safety, security, and rich supply are the LORD's gifts. Eternal joy in his presence is his hope. Confidence in the face of challenge and danger is his fortune.

David identifies the One who supplies all this: the LORD. This is the holy name of God, the One who is, who revealed himself to Moses as "I AM WHO I AM." (Exodus 3:14) He was to tell the children of Israel that "HE WHO IS" had sent him to them. It's lost on us when we use the word, "LORD," even when it's written in ALL CAPS. But this is no throw away term. God has a name - a good name - and wants to be known by us. We can call on his name. He hears and answers when we call.

The imagery of suffering and torment in this psalm surely reflects that of Jesus on the cross: bones out of joint, pierced hands and feet, lots cast for his clothing, people mocking him. Jesus endures this for us because of his love for his Father and for us and all sinners. He perfectly fulfills all this - not just symbolically. I don't know of a situation when David's hands and feet were pierced, but Jesus' certainly were - literally. Jesus also fulfills this most telling of hope's expression:

Posterity shall serve him;

Thanks be to God that he has done it. Whenever we are facing severe suffering and distress, we can look with Jesus to a day of redemption and the consummation of his salvation. I like to put it this way:

Jesus is the fulfillment of Psalm 22 and all Old Testament promises and prophecies. I all comes together in him.

You may be facing nearly insurmountable challenges, subject to unimaginable stress, or feeling grave difficulties. God does not want you to deny these brutal facts. But neither does he want you to give up hope. He is good. And our hope has been secured in the One who quotes this psalm from the cross. Our Lord Jesus remained faithful to the very end, and now has the name above every name. At the name of Jesus Christ, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We who hope in him will prevail.

Sometimes in times of grief and sadness we must simply continue in prayer and seek God’s comfort from his word. That’s where the Psalms are so very precious. We can pray the psalms and express our earnest needs and woes through psalms such as this one. But even in this one, we see words of hope-filled faith. That’s the other blessing of praying the psalms: They don’t leave us in the doldrums of grief and sadness. They also express great faith in God. He is good. He will act. He has acted in Jesus. Our ultimate future has been secured. And as lift our cry of abandonment to God, we must also hold to the hope that is secured in Jesus.

Jesus cries, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Though God had forsaken him, he kept faith in God. Please don't try to comprehend the mysteries of the triune nature of God in regard to this. Entire seminary classes are given to Christology including things like the Genus Apostelismaticum, Genus Majestaticum, and Genus Idiomaticum, (the communication of human and divine attributes within the person of Christ). We study how opera ad extra indivisa sunt, and opera ad intra divisa sunt. I've studied all these things, can maybe satisfy a systematics professor that I understand it. But it would be more accurate to say, I believe it. I take it all by faith.

Followers of Jesus cannot read this psalm without thinking of Jesus on the cross. He cries these words as he suffers so unjustly. Later this week, I'll be reflecting more on Jesus' prayer. For now, consider with me the way in which these words - written 1000 years before Jesus so clearly describe Jesus' suffering and death. He did that for you and for me. He was forsaken so that we may never be forsaken by God.

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Not long ago a friend offered this suggestion to overcome insomnia. I had shared that I will pray the Lord's prayer again and again, or sing/pray the Agnus Dei, or a favorite hymn. His suggestion: When you wake up in the middle of the night think of all the things for which you're thankful, things that bring you true joy. I wonder now if the glory of the heavenly witness, the beautiful truth of God's word, the blessed promises of Scripture, and the gift of God's forgiveness and redemption should fill my mind, not only when I cannot sleep, but throughout the day. And then, my words would surely be gracious and full of life as well.

What are we to do as we contemplate our sins, confessing them and seeking God's forgiveness? Certainly we must take seriously the urgent confession in the words, "Declare me innocent from hidden faults." We can sincerely pray, "Keep me blameless and innocent of great transgression." And we can rejoice in Jesus' forgiveness. For we are also promised, "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) Our blamelessness is by the grace of God through faith in the blood of Jesus. That is unassailable. And it requires that we acknowledge our need for it.