2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Psalm 22 is both a cry of anguish and a song of praise. I hope to write a devotion about it in its entirety in the future, but today I mention it because of its part in inspiring the Lenten section of Handel’s “Messiah.” The Lord leads me to continue taking you on my journey through this magnificent work. Yesterday’s message ended with my citing IS 53: 6, the words of the #26 selection for chorus, “All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” From there, the composer moves to the description of enemies that follows a cry of anguish in PS 22. In order to give you the full flavor of these verses, I cite it here along with the verse David uses to describe the subject. PS 22: 6-8, “But I am no longer a man; I am a worm, despised and scorned by everyone! All who see me make fun of me; they stick out their tongues and shake their heads. ‘You relied on the Lord,’ they say. ‘Why doesn’t he save you? If the Lord likes you, why doesn’t he help you?’ “
David wrote these words about himself, but we know from the hindsight reading the Scriptures gives us that this is a foreshadowing of our Lord Jesus Christ-Who in His incarnate form is a descendant of David. The #27 recitative for tenor, “All That See Him Laugh Him To Scorn,” is sung with the text taken from the KJV of PS 22: 7. “All that see him, laugh him to scorn; shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying….” This leads right into # 28 for chorus, “He Trusted In God That He Would Deliver Him,” based on PS 22: 8. Here are the words that are sung: “He trusted in God that He would deliver Him; if He delight in Him, let Him deliver Him.” This is sung with the notes punched to heighten the tension and the mental picture of a derisive crowd around the cross of Christ’s crucifixion mocking Him.
Because God has shown us so much love by the sacrifice of His Son on the cross for us, we owe it to Him not to look at the extent of this sacrifice for both personalities of God without losing sight of that. Handel’s effort to examine the extent of Christ’s suffering is not to depress us, but to remind us in a way we can understand how very blessed we really are. I share Handel’s motives here, while in no way comparing myself to him talentwise. Christ’s suffering took on many forms. It was public, private, physical, and spiritual. It involved public humiliation, injustice of a trumped up sentence, and the physical pain from scourging and the physical changes that a person being crucified goes through. It involved the great disappointment and frustration of not being able to bring more people to see the truth at that time. Most of all it included a temporary time of being disconnected from the Father. For Christ a man of perfect obedience, this had to be the worst pain of all. Sin has always meant separation from the Father, and Christ was taking on all of our sins to open the way to salvation for all who come to faith in Him. Our limited human perspective is taxed to the maximum in attempting to understand fully the extent of Christ’s suffering and the full blessing that it opens to us. That does not mean we shouldn’t try.
PS 69: 20 gives us a foreshadow of the lamentations of Christ’s inner being. “Insults have broken My heart, and I am in despair. I had hoped for sympathy, but there was none; for comfort, but I found none.” This was the text used for # 29, a recitative for tenor. Here are the words sung: “Thy rebuke hath broken His heart; He is full of heaviness. He looked for some to have pity on Him, but there was no man, neither found He any to confront Him.” This leads in to the # 30 air for tenor, “Behold, And See If There Be Any Sorrow.” It is based on LAM 1: 12, “ ‘Look at me!,’ she cries to everyone who passes by. ‘No one has ever had pain like mine, pain the Lord brought on me in the time of His anger.’ “ This verse, written by Jeremiah, is a part of LAM 1, a poem titled “Jerusalem’s Sorrows.” This poem was written to be spoken as part of Israel’s annual commemoration of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This is an annual ritual of fasting and mourning to remember this national disaster. Once again, we see the foreshadowing of Christ’s suffering in that of Jerusalem. The words sung in this air for tenors in the “Messiah” are: “Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto His Sorrow.”
PRAYER: O Lord, You challenge us to reach beyond the limitations of our human perspective in an effort to better understand the extent of Christ’s suffering for us and Your love for us. What a huge sacrifice You have made for us, we who are so undeserving! By the shedding of His blood, You made Him a sacrifice for all the sins of the world, opening a way to salvation for those of us who believe in Him. You inspired Handel to write a piece of music to help us to understand your messages for us in a very special way. It edifies our lives to listen to this magnificent work over and over again, each time allowing it to bring us closer and closer to You. While the story of this part of Christ’s life is ugly and sad, we are reminded of the great love You have for Your children. We thank, praise, adore, and honor You for being Who You are. In Christ’s name, amen.
No child should ever go without the love of his/her parents. Sadly, this happens sometimes, and there is always a price. Even those of us who are old enough to have lost one or both parents still have the need that only a loving parent fulfills. That is one reason why we all need our loving Parent in heaven. Without faith, our lives are empty, and we are headed for spiritual death. Because of Christ’s sacrifice, the way is open so that none of us has to go through life without our Parent or suffer the fate of second death. We can take the comfort in the perspective our faith and obedience brings. Be encouraged in that and know that we can be blessed by sharing our faith with others. The story of the suffering Servant is a great reminder of God’s enduring love for those who believe in Him. Peter and I send our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn