Caledonia Presbyterian Church

June 29, 2008

 

All week long in Vacation Bible School the children have been on a quest - searching for the Truth.  With the help of their teachers and "Dakota Joe & Digger" (and the craft people and snack people and game people and music people) they hunted for clues and learned a lot.  As they dug into God's Word they found what they were looking for - the Truth - the Truth about who Jesus is and what he has done for us.

 

We're all on a quest here at Caledonia Church.  This summer we've been digging into the Psalms and we're going to turn to them again this morning as we search for clues that will lead us to the Truth - the Truth about Jesus who is the Messiah, our Savior.

 

The Psalms are in the Old Testament, which was written before Jesus was born, so how can they tell us about him?  Well, there's an old adage concerning Scripture that says:  The new is in the old concealed the old is in the new revealed. Our quest for Jesus begins, not in the New Testament but in the Old where he is clearly made known to us.

 

But the Old Testament is history, you say.  That's true. It's the account of creation and of God's mighty acts as recorded by the offspring of Abraham and Sarah through Isaac and Jacob.  Yes, the Old Testament is history; but it's also prophecy and the prophecies are not limited to the books of the Prophets. Descriptions of a Savior and prophecies concerning him also are found in the opening words of Genesis, the books of the Law and the poetry of the Psalter.  And, more than that - more than descriptions and prophecies - Christ himself is found in the pages of the Hebrew Scriptures.  Take, for example, the signifi-cance of the name Israel.  Yisra'el, the name given to Jacob after he wrestled all night with a heavenly being, means one who struggled with God.  This leads many to believe that it wasn't an angel Jacob met face-to-face, but God as Messiah, Savior and Christ. 

 

The new is in the old concealed the old is in the new revealed. The Scriptures of the Old Testament were meant to prepare the children of Israel to recognize the Messiah when he became incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth.  The old conceals the truth, which is in Him revealed.  Jesus says so himself.  In Luke 24:44 on the evening of the day of resurrection Jesus appeared in the midst of his astonished disciples and said, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. 

 

The Psalms.  Do you think of the Psalms as portraying and presenting Jesus Christ?  Our Lord himself says that knowledge of him is revealed in the whole of Scripture.  When he taught his disciples Jesus used the Psalms as well as the Law and Prophets.  We see the impact of his teaching in the preaching and writing of the Apostles, which are brimming with quotations from the Psalms. The Psalms are quoted more in the New Testament than any other Old Testament book.  Psalms were used by Christ's followers as early as the first chapter of Acts when the Eleven were seeking a replacement for Judas.  In Acts chapter 2, in his first "official sermon" Peter quotes from Psalm 16 to support the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Psalm 110 to show that Jesus is David's Lord, which means Jesus is God's Son.

 

The Psalms were important to the early church and were a vital part of their life and worship.  We should take our cue from this, realize the treasure to be found in the Psalms and incorporate them into our daily reading of Scripture.  [I've been trying to save paper this summer, but thought it would be helpful for you to have a few Psalm references to Christ to look up and study on your own.  You should have received a handout when you came to worship this morning. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of references.  To have a complete list - since the Psalter is all about Christ - you'd have to include every verse of every Psalm.  So you might as well just sit down and start reading.  *Online readers, the handout is attached to end of this sermon text.]

 

That's what we're going to do right now - just start reading.  We're not going to use the handout.  That's for you to take home.  This morning we're going to open our bibles to Psalm 22 and, like the children did in VBS this past week, we're going to search and dig for the truth - specifically the truth about Christ's passion - his suffering and death.  The gospels tell us that as Jesus spoke from the cross his final words were from the Psalms. 

It has been said that out of the Psalms you could compile a biography of Jesus.  The biography of Jesus Christ, the story of his life, must also include the story of his death.  (Read Psalm 22 responsively.)

 

From vs1, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? to vs31, he has done it?it is finished!  we have the thoughts and words and attitude of Christ on the cross as well as the actions of those around him: vs1 forsaken by God, separated from the Father because of our sin, groaning in agony and hearing nothing but silence in return; vs3-5, expressions of trust even in the face of suffering; vs6, the sinless Son of God, Jesus feels the weight of our sin which makes us less than we were created to be, subhuman, worms.  vs7-8, the hurling of insults by those who stood by; vs9-10, his dependence on God during his earthly life and ministry and now, vs14, as his life is literally being poured out, his joints and ligaments stretched and his heart laboring to beat against the pressure of suffocation; vs15, his strength is sapped and his tongue dry and swollen; vs17, the crowds are staring and vs18, the guards are casting lots for his garment; vs19-21, he cries out to God for rescue.  Then there is a radical shift in tone.  In vs22-24, besieged by enemies and utterly desolate, the forsaken one breaks out in ecstatic praise and he calls those around him to do the same. You who fear the Lord, praise him!? For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one? but has listened to his cry for help.  In vs25-31 the poor are satisfied, humankind's problems are solved and God receives all the praise.

 

There are few psalms where the reversal in emotions is so sudden, so dramatic, so unexpected, so unprepared for by what has gone before it.  This psalm of lament and complaint with its description of rejection and even a confession of worthlessness fits, strange as it may seem, with what our Savior must have gone through on Calvary as he bore our sin and our pain and our separation from God.  And it fits with the "rescue" - the salvation - that his resurrection from death makes available to all of us.

 

Is Psalm 22 a prophecy?  Did David believe that he was foretelling the crucifixion of the Son of God?  Was David reflecting on his own experience and the experience of the nation of Israel and of all people everywhere when they realize the reality of their "lost" situation?  If we could see ourselves as God sees us, we would realize that apart from the grace of God we have no hope of being able to stand in his presence.  David knew that.  David, a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22), like Paul, admits that he is the chief of sinners, a worm and no man. David was a murderer, adulterer and thief after all. Yet David trusted God for forgiveness. 

 

Psalm 22 - voice of David, voice of Israel, voice of sinful humanity - is preeminently the voice of the Son of God who suffered all these things for us.  This psalm - a psalm of David and of our Lord and Savior - invites us to enter into it and make it our own.

 

How do we do that?  First, read the psalm and notice how much of it there is to empathize with.  Each of us sometimes senses the absence of God, whose company and comfort we yearn for.  Each of us also has experienced the strong and sure presence of the Lord.  So, we read the psalm with our hearts.  Second, as we read we also remind ourselves that this is the voice of Christ on the cross - that the separation he experienced was for us and that the pain he bore was ours, all of ours, which makes it unimaginable by us. Then as the psalm turns to praise we rejoice with the risen Christ and see ourselves as part of the greater Church, the Body of Christ in heaven and on earth now praising God for he has done it!

 

When you've made a psalm your own, you are ready to pray it. Read it slowly, pausing to put into your own words. Trust the Spirit to move within you lifting your heart as you do.

 

Let us pray:  O God, Our God.  There are some among us this morning who feel all alone - rejected and forsaken - and we cry out with them in their despair.  What must it have been like for Jesus, your only Son - carrying our sin, suffering your absence, dying our death. Lord Jesus, we thank you, for doing what no one else could do.  Your grace is sufficient for us.  Holy Spirit, impress on our minds and hearts the greatness of the gift of salvation that cost the Holy Trinity so much.

Lord, that David called himself a worm we can understand because we often feel low and down on ourselves as well. But Jesus? Could it be that feeling this way was a part of his bearing our sin? Could such a sense or worthlessness be the sin itself?  Thank you that his death has taught us just how significant we are in your eyes - that you love us.

We thank you, too, for Christ's mother and the nurture and comfort she gave him throughout his life and at his death. In thinking of her, we thank you for family and friends who care for us when we feel there is no one to help.

When we feel far from you may we call out to our Savior to bring us near through his precious blood.  When we experience the healing touch of your hand may we, as David, tell of the goodness of your presence and the blessing of your deliverance. May we proclaim your righteousness to our children and our children's children for you have done great things for us and Holy is your name.  Amen.