Mind Meld of A Different Kind

Psalm 22:1-18
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune “Doe of the Dawn.”
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.

Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.

But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
“Is this the one who relies on the LORD?
Then let the LORD save him!
If the LORD loves him so much,
let the LORD rescue him!”

Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb
and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast.
I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born.

Do not stay so far from me,
for trouble is near,
and no one else can help me.
My enemies surround me like a herd of bulls;
fierce bulls of Bashan have hemmed me in!
Like lions they open their jaws against me,
roaring and tearing into their prey.
My life is poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax,
melting within me.
My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
My enemies surround me like a pack of dogs;
an evil gang closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones.
My enemies stare at me and gloat.
They divide my garments among themselves
and throw dice for my clothing.

Praying Scripture
During the times of our deepest sorrows it is difficult to pray. We want to pray, for we have reached the end of our rope, yet words fail us. Paul tells us in Romans 8 the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with words we cannot express during these times. The words of Scripture can also fill our mouths when our spirit cannot formulate words.

Jesus understood this reality on the cross. The words of Psalm 22 flooded his memory and escaped his lips as his reality parroted the cruelties of the Psalm. In His deepest time of despair it was Scripture that carried him through. The words of God prayed back to God.

I was in a seminar last fall where the speaker referred to Scripture and prayer as two parts of breathing. We breathe in God’s breath of life when we read Scripture. (All Scripture is God-breathed, 2 Tim. 3:16.) We exhale that same breath when we pray Scripture back to God. In reading and praying we complete the full cycle of respiration. Praise God for the comfort and support the Bible gives us even in our deepest crisis.

Holy God, you gave life to all creatures through your breath in the Garden of Eden and you continue to give life through your Word today. Thank you for your Word and the blessing of both reading and praying. - Dan Jones

From her breasts onward
Sure this psalm powerfully sets the stage for Jesus’ crucifixion. What was metaphor for David became literal for Jesus. I suspect the closer Jesus came to the time of his death the more this Psalm dominated his mind.

This psalm also demonstrates that fully devoted children of God, even those dear to God’s own heart, experience depression. This wasn’t a momentary melancholy. That he can count all his bones suggests loss of appetite over a period of time. In fact David’s entire self description corresponds to symptoms of clinical depression! Phooey on those who suggest that good Christians don’t battle depression!

But what grabs me the most today is David’s affirmation of God’s faithful work in his life from his earliest moments outside the womb. Depressed or not, David anchors his life in God’s life-long faithfulness. Feeling forsaken, he still insists that the trust he knew instinctively at his mother’s breast, remains the trust he clings to in this dark, dark season.

I too have always had a keen sense of God’s work in my life. From my earliest childhood memories I have possessed a deep love for God and a desire to serve him with my whole life. Interestingly, I too have known seasons of deep depression. Is it possible that one cannot be had except accompanied by the other!? Do deep spiritual sensitivities to God also open one up to deep emotional valleys? I don’t know.

I do know that, somehow, from my mother’s breast till now, I have and will forever love the Lord.

Mysterious God, thank you for the gift of a deep desire for you, even if it must be accompanied by extended seasons of dark night. I’m yours, regardless the seemingly fruitless side affects. - Mike Leamon