Saturday 12 March 2011

I will declare

I will declare Your name to My brethren... - Psalm 22v22

Psalm 22 is clearly a messianic psalm. Many of the words recorded here are also spoken by Jesus on the cross.

'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!"'

Though written by David in a time of great distress they foretold the agony that Jesus would feel on the cross. The express the despair of David, a man after God's own heart, when he did not sense God's deliverance. 'Our fathers trusted You, and you delivered them, but I am getting no response from you.'

Jesus on the cross in some mysterious way that we will not understand while here on earth, was forsaken by God the Father as He turned away from Jesus while He bore the sins of the world. How this happened is far beyond my ken, but it happened.

And yet, the psalmist David in this passage and Jesus in a very real and literal sense, laid that aside and said - 'I will declare Your name to the brethren...'

How do I do in declaring God's name when it seems like I am all alone. This is clearly a faith decision and I have to ask myself if I have the faith to declare God's name no matter what. Do I declare Him, or do I blame Him?

Can we decide and determine by His strength to declare Him no matter what comes our way?

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