A New Life Begins in Psalm Twenty Two

John names Christ the Alpha and Omega in Revelations, which is the begining and ending of the Greek alphabet. In the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet it would have been the Aleph and the Tau. Today we look at the twenty second psalm. This step on our path through the psalms is the end of the first chapter, but it is also the beginning of the next.

One cycle is nearly through and another about to begin. Tau represents the form of creation which we experience as simple faith. We saw through the door a view of the Holy City but it is guarded by a free fall toward the abyss. We begin with the words of Jesus as he hung dying.


22. Death and Doubt

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far away and my words go out into thin air? I cry out in the day and You don’t listen, I pray at night and You don’t hear. Yet You are holy and have the praise of all your people. Our fathers trusted in You and were delivered. They were comforted in their sorrow.

I am but a worm, not a man. I am despised and laughed at by everyone. They make faces, shaking their heads and saying, "He trusted in his God and look where it brought him."
Lord, You are the one that caused me to be, You have been my hope since I was a child; You were my Lord before I was born. Be near me now, for trouble is close by and there is no one else to help. Like angry bulls they surround me, they would trample me and tear me into pieces. I am afraid, my insides have turned to water and my bones won’t hold me up. My strength has withered and my dry mouth tastes like death. The foul dogs surrounding me have begun to bite. They have wounded my hands and feet and my bones are showing white through my skin. My enemies contend for my clothes and divide up my goods.

Don’t be far away, O Lord, I need help very soon. Save my body from their violence and their henchmen. Don’t let me be devoured and forgotten, You have heard my voice and have heard of my trouble. I will declare your name to my people, I will praise your name to them all. Those that fear You will praise You also, they will become your family and gain your inheritance.
You are not ashamed of the agony of your people and You have heard our cries. I will praise your name in front of everyone and I will give, as I am able, to those who fear You. Only the meek can gain from your power, they will praise You and seek for the truth and they will be sustained by your eternal heart.

The whole world will eventually turn to the Lord, all people of all nations will learn the truth. He made it all, it belongs to Him and He is its governor. The rich and poor alike will need to come to Him for life; all that live and die must worship Him because who can keep alive his own soul?
The seed is already sown, our children will hear of the Lord. The teachers will always be there, and declare the truth to every generation to come.

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Why did Jesus cry out, "My God, my God, why have you foraken me?" Was it because He was filled with doubt as death drew near, or was it because he had studied psalm 22 before he was twelve, and he knew what it meant? They were almost his dying words and they can be used as a signpost to all who will listen.

"...I will praise your name to them all. Those that fear You will praise You also, they will become your family and gain your inheritance."

Finding that open door is about praise, about knowing what praise is and how to give it. Genuine praise, heartfelt praise; joyous, imaginative, creative praise. Not the WORD praise but the ACT of praising. Not saying you will praise Him, but acting as if you were already in his kingdom and appreciating it. It's shocking and awesome like the joyful anticipation of a small child in a large toystore, or the amazement of an airplane ride or seeing mountains for the very first time.

It could describe an assembly of believers on the Sabbath. There is one in us who has dreamt of that perfect place, who longs for it and is willing to try to make this world more like it, hopeless though it sometimes seems. Strange it is, no matter how many times we pray or go to church, or even have a good day; when the alarm rings and the Monday morning hammer falls we still sometimes wonder, "My God, why do I feel so forsaken?"

We feel empty because we earned last night's sleep yesterday, and today we have to start all over. We are blessed and from us much will be required. We have to pay the price if we want to see the show and so we give our praises in thought and action regardless of how we feel because it becomes our will to do so. We do it now, and five minutes from now for it is the cash that buys our ticket and the work that earns our bread. Feelings that change for reasons beyond our control are not our masters, our will is, or can be if that is our path.