Analyzing Psalm 22: Trust in the Lord
Psalm 22:3-5; 1 Kings 19:9-13 - Be still and hear the gentle voice of God, even in your despair.
”Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.“
Psalms 22:3-5 NASB1995
Today’s devotional examines Psalm 22:3-5. Even in the throes of despair, the forsaken ones recognize the holiness and greatness of God. Just like Job, David does not commit blasphemy or curse God; Jesus also trusted in His Father at the moment near His death. Both of the forsaken ones are perplexed, though, because they have seen how God can be trusted to deliver, but He is not there for them at the moment.
Let’s look at the word trust (trusted) in Hebrew: trust comes from the word בָּטַח or bâṭach, with the following Biblical usages:
to trust
(Qal)
to trust, trust in
to have confidence, be confident
to be bold
to be secure
(Hiphil)
to cause to trust, make secure
(TWOT) to feel safe, be careless
The first two sets of usages are the most appropriate. Qal means the simplest stem formation (active) of a verb, while Hiphil signifies causative action (Qal type = to trust; Hiphil type = to cause to trust). Hebrew is a big, blank mystery to me, to be honest with you, but you can start to pick up bits and pieces if you do a lot of internet searches. Greek is more readily approachable, being one of the root languages of English.
Ok, so back to these verses. Here’s commentary from Enduring Word on God’s holiness:
But You are holy: The Forsaken One remembered God and His greatness, even when immersed in suffering. He did not curse or blaspheme God, and he knew that his present agony did not change God’s holiness (You are holy) or greatness (Enthroned in the praises of Israel).
We have the sense that the present crisis filled David (and the greater Son of David) with doubt and confusion, yet he would not allow doubts as to the holiness or greatness of God. Whatever he did not know in his present situation, he did know that God was holy.
“Here is the triumph of faith – the Saviour stood like a rock in the wide ocean of temptation. High as the billows rose, so did his faith, like the coral rock, wax greater and stronger till it became an island of salvation to our shipwrecked souls. It is as if he had said, ‘It matters not what I endure. Storms may howl upon me; men despise; devils tempt; circumstances overpower; and God himself forsake me, still God is holy; there is no unrighteousness in him.’” (Stevenson (?), cited in Charles Spurgeon)
“We may not question the holiness of God, but we may argue from it, and use it as a plea in our petitions.” (Charles Spurgeon).
The last thought from Charles Spurgeon is particularly interesting. When we are desperate and pleading with God in our prayers, we should never question His holiness, but we can argue from that position and plead with Him to bring His holiness and deliverance.
The forsaken ones are struggling to understand how deliverance was always brought when the people cried out, but is now strangely absent. What do we do as believers to understand this feeling of being left behind or forsaken when others seem to be delivered? I like this answer (an excerpt) from Gotquestions.org on that feeling of absence:
In our walk as born-again believers, it may seem that God is silent, but God is never silent. What looks like silence and inactivity to us is God allowing us the opportunity to listen to “the still small voice” and to see the provisions that He has made for us by faith. God is involved in every area of a believer's life--the very hairs on our heads are numbered (Mark 10:30; Luke 12:7). However, there are times when we have to walk in obedience to the light that God has given us before He sheds more light on our path, because in this age of grace God speaks to us through His Word.
“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it’” (Isaiah 55:8-11).
We cannot in this lifetime in a fallen world ever hope to understand an all-powerful creator of the Universe, who is holy and righteous. We can only listen for that still, small voice, like Elijah does in 1 Kings 19 when he flees for his life from Jezebel and feels alone. We must be obedient and patient and pray for understanding:
Then he [Elijah] came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”“
1 Kings 19: 9-13 NASB1995
God heard Elijah and, in the gentle answer in Scripture that follows this passage, provided His guidance, assured him that there were still many believers that were not bowing down to Baal and led the prophet to his successor Elisha. Desperation can lead us to cry out many times, but God always hears us and always has an answer (it may not be the answer that you want to hear, but it is His will and His will is always good).
My next devotional examines Psalm 22: 6-8, when men mock and despise the forsaken.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please help me to know that you are always involved in every believer’s life and that you answer our pleas sometimes with a still, small voice that we cannot hear through the noise of this world. Help me to have the faith of David and Elijah to overcome my fears when I feel you are absent. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 2/24/2024 to review the lexicon for trust.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 2/24/2024 to see the answer for when we feel that God is absent.