God Delivers Us – Psalm 22:23-31

A text – Psalm 22:23-31

22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him; stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
22:24 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.
22:25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
22:26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
22:27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
22:28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
22:29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, and I shall live for him.
22:30 Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord,
22:31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.

A reflection:

In this week, early in Lent, when we find Jesus telling his followers that he will have to suffer and die, it seems right that we also have Psalm 22, which Jesus quotes while hanging on the cross: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalms of lament move from anguish, through specific complaint, through asking God to take action, to finally praise and adoration. The verses we have this week are all from the praise and adoration section of Psalm 22. It is as though we have all made it through the torturous ordeal and are singing the praises of God who has delivered us.

So probably we should read it again, imagining Jesus is saying this psalm upon rising from the dead after his torture, his agony, his death, and his waiting to rise. He says (verse 27) “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord…for dominion belongs to the Lord…” Yes! And dominion not only over nations but also over death itself. Indeed (verse 29) “To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down.” Yes, all the dead shall bow down because God is their resurrection! And, at the end: “Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord, and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn, saying that he has done it.”

In this week’s readings, Jesus is definitely thinking about what he will go through on behalf of human beings and how they will never really understand it. Yet, because our God, Creator, Savior, and Holy Spirit, this Triune God loves us, Jesus did it. Jesus died and rose again. We are so grateful that the praise from Psalm 22 flows from us naturally, now and into the future. God delivers us!

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for rescuing us from death, for staying beside us in our times of trial. We are so grateful. Help us to remember your goodness to us and be willing to help others in their times of trial.  Amen.