God's Silence in our Suffering

Ian's going to read from Psalm 22, which is on page 554, the first 21 verses, and then

Jürgen is going to pick up from the end. Thank you.

Psalm 22.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from

the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, and by night,

and I am not silent. Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One. You are the praise of Israel.

In you our fathers put their trust. They trusted, and you delivered them. They cried to you and

were saved. In you they trusted, and were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They hurl insults,

shaking their heads. He trusts in the Lord. Let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him. Yet you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust in you,

even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you, and from my mother's womb you have been

my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help. Many bulls

surround me. Strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths

wide against me. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned

to wax. It has melted away within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to

the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. Dogs have surrounded me. A band of evil men

has encircled me, and they have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. People stare

and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them, and cast lots from my clothing. But you, O Lord,

be not far off. O my strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouths of the lions. Save me from the

horns of the wild oxen.

I will declare your name to my brothers. In a congregation I will praise you. You who fear the

Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, honour him. Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.

For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one. He has not hidden his face from

him, but has listened to his cry for help. From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly.

Before those who fear you will I fulfil my vows. The poor will eat and be satisfied. They who seek

the Lord will praise him. May your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth will remember

and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him. For dominion

belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth will feast and worship.

All who go down to the dust will kneel before him. Those who cannot keep themselves alive.

Posterity will serve him. Future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim

his righteousness to a people yet unborn, for he has done it.

Judge Jean-Laure Jo Assam. Thank you, Alex.

Thank you, Alex.

Great for Alex and for us as we look at this together.

Father, again, we thank you so much for the Psalms,

for all the things we have been learning from them,

primarily about you and your son.

And we thank you for Alex,

for the time that he has put in preparing this.

We pray that you would fill him now with your spirit,

as we ask that you would fill us with your spirit,

that we may hear your words to us.

May it change us and transform us

to see your world and life from your perspective.

And may we be better equipped to follow you

as we live in this world.

Encourage us all this morning and we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, thank you all for your prayers during the week.

As I've been working my way through this Psalm,

it's been an encouragement and it's been a challenge.

And it's only been through God's spirit at work

that it has been able to be that for me.

And I'm afraid that as we look at this Psalm 22 this morning,

it'll be encouraging and challenging as well for you,

as well as you listen to it.

As many of you know, over the last year,

we as a wider family have had health issues.

Many questions have been asked of God,

like why does he allow suffering

when he's meant to be a loving God?

Why does this happen to good people?

A friend of mine recently told me

that his son had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

And in this past year,

we have all experienced,

either firsthand or by association,

the realities of the economic collapse

and the effect on jobs and employment.

We have heard of corruption

and inequality in world politics.

Every week we seem to hear of celebrity

or normal people,

marriage breakups or relationship breakups.

We have heard of yet more natural disasters,

not to mention their horrific car crash

up in Donegal recently.

We have heard of Christians,

followers of Jesus Christ,

being captured,

tortured

and sometimes killed

just for saying that they followed him.

On a daily basis,

some of us or people we know

struggle just to get out of bed.

They can't think of a single reason

why they should even continue to live.

I paint a bleak picture,

I know,

but this is the reality of life.

This is the way it is.

There is nowhere in the Bible

or anywhere else

that says that life as a follower of Jesus or not

will be easy.

There is no self-help book.

There is no secret mantra.

There is no special tea cocktail.

There is no secret password.

There is no religion

can promise us

or deliver

a pain-free

or suffering-free life.

Suffering

is part and parcel of life

whether you are a Christian or not.

And if you are not sure about that,

just look around the room.

I am sure we have all stubbed a toe.

Our text this morning,

Psalm 22,

Paints and 30 blue pits for two.

David is at the stage

where he is either

king-in-waiting

or anointed king.

And so has every reason

to be joyful and celebratory.

But the reality

is the tongue-lofters.

He is in deep turmoil and anguish.

Let's read it.

First one.

My God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far

from saving me?

So far from the words

of my groaning.

Here David is crying out to God

in a brutally honest way.

It's not obvious from the psalm

why exactly he is feeling like this.

But it is safe to say

that he is suffering deeply,

psychologically.

He feels abandoned,

hopeless.

Look at the end of verse 2.

Or even at verse 2.

Oh my God,

I cry out by day,

but you do not answer.

By night,

and I'm not silent.

He can't even sleep,

he's crying out to God so much.

But there is some indication

as to why he is suffering.

You do not answer.

God is silent.

David is calling out to God

day and night,

continuously.

And God,

the same God,

who commanded Samuel

in 1 Samuel 16

to anoint David

as king over Israel.

This God

is silent.

David rightly feels abandoned

by God.

We too can feel abandoned

by God

when we face yet another

uphill battle in our life.

And we must face it

with a seemingly silent God.

We are reminded of Jesus'

suffering on the cross

in Matthew 27,

Matthew 27:46

verse 46,

where he says,

also,

My God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

Jesus himself feels abandoned

by God.

I'm sure at some stage

we have all cried out

like David.

Maybe not those very words,

but still,

it's been a cry of anguish

called out to God.

The reality of our lives

is that very often

we feel like

God either isn't there,

or if he is there,

he just doesn't care,

or he is silent

and can't actually do anything

to help us anyway.

Does that sound familiar?

Can you think of

times in your own life

when you felt like that?

Well, surely,

surely that's not

what the passage is saying.

Is it?

When we look at the passage

we get a very different,

we get very different

pictures of David

and of God.

Look how David

sees himself

in verse 6.

But I am a worm

and not a man.

Scorned by men

and despised

by the people.

All who see me

mock me.

They hurl insults,

shaking their heads,

saying,

He trusts in the Lord.

Let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him.

How different that is

from the people

of the past

who put their trust in God.

Verses 4 and 5.

In you our fathers

put their trust.

They trusted

and you delivered them.

They cried out to you

and were saved.

In you they trusted

and were not disappointed.

poor, poor David.

He sees that in the past

those who trusted in God

and cried out to him

were rescued

and saved.

But yet when David

does the same thing,

where is God?

A further contrast

is in verses 9 and 10.

Yet you brought me

out of the womb.

You made me trust in you,

even at my mother's breast.

From birth

I was cast upon you.

From my mother's womb

you have been my God.

David acknowledges

that God controls life.

He is sovereign.

But the verses that follow

show David

in dire straits.

He is fearful for his life

and he is spent.

We get the feeling

that he is ready to give up.

We'll get to those verses

in a minute.

But first let's just recap.

David is feeling

completely overwhelmed.

He is crying out

to a faithful

God

who now,

when David seems to need him

more than ever,

seems to be silent.

Let's look at verses 12 to 16.

Many bulls surround me.

Strong bulls of fashion

encircle me.

Roaring lions

tearing their prey

open their mouths

wide against me.

I am poured out like water

and all my bones

are out of joint.

My heart

has turned to wax.

It has melted away

within me.

My strength

is dried up

like a potsherd

and my tongue

sticks to the roof

of my mouth.

You lay me

in the dust of death.

Dogs have surrounded me.

A band of evil men

has encircled me.

They have pierced

my hands

and my feet.

I don't think

this literally means

that David is surrounded

by wild animals.

But we get the feeling

a little bit like

David is a gladiator

in a ring

where everybody

just wants to see him killed.

David sees his only outcome

as being destroyed.

Death.

The obvious thing

at this stage

is to just give up,

isn't it?

Reject God

and take his chances

with the wild animals

who want to kill him.

But what does David do?

Let's read on.

Verses 19 to 21.

But you, O Lord,

be not far off.

O my strength,

come quickly to help me.

Deliver my life

from the sword,

my precious life

from the power

of the dogs.

Rescue me

from the mouth

of the lions.

Save me

from the horns

of the wild oxen.

He asks God

for help,

for deliverance,

for rescue.

How can David

possibly ask God

for help

when he has no reason

at this stage

to believe

that he is even there?

David is a man

in desperate times,

but he is also

a man

of very deep

and very real faith.

Turn with me,

please,

to Hebrews

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Somebody get the page

because they shouted out.

12.09.

12.09.

12.09.

12.09.

12.09.

So the writer here

in Hebrews

is describing faith

and he says,

now faith

is being sure

of what we hope for

and certain

of what we do not see.

This is what the ancients

were commended for.

And then the rest

of the chapter

in Hebrews

gives us examples

of people of faith

in the past

in difficult times

including David.

And then we get

to the end

in verse 9,

39,

where it concludes,

These were all

commended for their faith,

yet none of them

received what

had been promised.

It is with this faith

which goes against

everything logical

at times

that David continues

in the psalm

praising God.

Let's look at

a few examples

of that.

Verse 24.

For he has not

despised or disdained

the suffering

of the afflicted one.

He has not

hidden his face

from him

but has listened

to his cry for help.

It's a direct response

to his initial cry

of anguish

in verses 1 and 2.

Do you think

David has been released

from his suffering

at this point?

I don't think so.

But here David

is looking

to a future hope.

Head down to

verse 26.

The poor will eat

and be satisfied.

They who seek

the Lord

will praise him.

May your hearts

live forever.

Again,

David is speaking

of the assurance

that he has

of a future

where there will be

satisfaction

and plenty.

In verse 31,

they will proclaim

his righteousness

to a people

yet unborn

for he has done it.

This speaks

of the hope

that David has

that future generations

will not only

hear about the Lord

but they in turn

will proclaim it.

Their faith

will be such

that they will be

telling others

about this faithful God.

In this context,

David's faith

is incredible

because it was

always looking forward

to a future hope.

with only the experience

of God's faithfulness

to him

and to his forefathers

behind him.

Abraham had been

promised great things

back in Genesis

and as we journey

through the Old Testament

we hear of leaders

trying to lead

God's people

to God's kingdom

but that kingdom

was never reached

and here we have

King David

in a bad way

but yet is still

praising God.

Where is this kingdom

that David hopes for?

Where is this kingdom?

Where as verse 26 says

the poor will eat

and be satisfied.

Where as verse 27 says

all the families

of the nations

will bow down

before the Lord.

And verse 29

where the rich

will feast

and worship

and all who go down

to the dust

or the poor

will kneel before him.

Verse 24 again

reminds us

that God

has not been silent

but has heard

the cry for help.

God hears the prayers

of the faithful

and answers them

just not always

how he would like

them answered.

He sent his son Jesus

to be a man

like David

who would suffer

like David.

Let's look at the psalm

again in verse 6

and let's look at it

from Jesus' point of view.

Jesus was hated.

Jesus was mocked

and insulted

in verse 7.

He was surrounded

by mobs

wanting to kill him

like the imagery

in verses 11 to 13.

In verse 15

his strength too

was dried up

like a fragment

of old pottery.

That's what a potchard

is archaeologically speaking.

I hope that's correct

Juergen.

Jesus too

was left to die

and saw his clothes

divided up

by his executioners.

Jesus

God's own son

Christ the king

would cry out

to God

just like in verse 1

My God

my God

why have you forsaken me?

And it would appear

that God

didn't hear him

or answer him

because Jesus died.

And that's where

the twist is.

That's where the paradox is.

the apparently

contradictory statement

it is here on the cross

on which Jesus died

that God answers

our cry for help.

We have seen

the power of the cross.

We have heard

the testimony

of the lives

that have been changed

by faith in Christ Jesus

throughout the New Testament.

How much more faith

should we have

than David?

We know how God

has heard our cry for help.

David's hope

was not just for

immediate protection.

He was looking

at the bigger picture.

Verse 26

Lives

or hearts

that live forever.

David, yes,

is in a bad way

but still

he remembers

God's faithfulness

and is urging others

to acknowledge him.

David's predicament

and the faith

he showed

in it

eventually results

in many people

having faith

in the Lord.

Jesus' suffering

and death

leads to many people

being saved

from eternal death

and separation

from himself.

in the midst

of our toughest trials

when we feel

our world

is falling in around us

we too

can have hope

that God

will use it

to bring many people

to himself.

It's a counter-cultural hope

that says

that God

is in control.

The God

who gave us life

verses 9 and 10

is in control

whether our fear

is cancer

or MS

or car crashes

or poverty

or just the unknown

we all fear death.

My friend

and his son

fear death.

Jesus

when he said

my God

my God

why have you

forsaken me

he feared death

but it is

at that very moment

in time

when he was

hanging on the cross

that death

lost its fear.

John chapter 19

John 19:31

verse 31

says

it is finished

Jesus' words

on the cross.

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:31

verse 31

says

he has done it

because it was then

that Jesus died

so that we don't

have to.

We can have hope

if we're trusting

in the Lord Jesus.

There is light

at the end of the tunnel

and it's not

an oncoming train.

Verse 24

again says

he has not

despised

or disdained

the suffering

of the afflicted one.

He has not

hidden his face

from him

but has listened

to his cry

for help.

If you are here

today

and you do not

have faith

in Christ

then there is

no reason

to have hope.

There is not

the security

or the promise

of eternity

with Christ.

Only the Bible

is promise

of separation

from him.

But if you do

have faith

in him

then you are

still going

to suffer.

Sometimes it

might be only

short term

sometimes it

might be

lifelong

suffering.

But if we

have faith

then we know

that Christ

has been there

before.

That doesn't

make our pain

any less real

but it gives us

hope that one

day it will

end.

How do we

like David

turn our despair

into praise?

We pray

and as we pray

we remind

ourselves of

God's faithfulness

in the past.

we remember

that he sent

his son Jesus

as an answer

to our cries

for help.

Suffering

will come.

Some of it

may not be

relieved

this side

of eternity

for either

believers

or those

who don't

believe.

But we

like David

in verse 22

where he says

I will

declare

your name

to my

brothers

in the

congregation

I will

praise you.

We too

need to

declare

his name

to our

neighbours

and tell

them about

the light

at the end

of the tunnel.

Not just

agree with

their grumbling

about the

state of the

world

or their

own

situation

but point

them back

to the

light.

Some

tunnels

may be

longer

than others

but the

light

is eternity

with our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

Are you

going to

turn your

despair

into praise?

Where do

you have

your hope?

Let us

pray.

Father God

thank you

that we

can have

hope

and faith

in you.

Thank you

that you

hear our

cries for

help

and that

you

haven't

ignored

us.

Thank you

that you

sent your

son Jesus

to live

like us

and to

suffer

like us

and that

when he

died

he died

in our

place.

Thank you

that when

he rose

again from

the dead

he rose

so that

we can

have hope.

That our

suffering

is known

and experienced

and experienced

and experienced

by you.

Please help

us in times

of rejoicing

and in times

of suffering

to always cry

out to you

honestly

in praise.

Remind us

of how you

have been

faithful in the

past.

Encourage us

that one day

it will end

and convict

us to

tell people

of the

hope

that we

have in

you.

Thank you

for your

faithfulness

and help

us as we

remember it.

In Jesus

name.

Amen.

Amen.