Petition + Praise: A Consideration of Psalm 22

Awesome Blog Challenge # 03:

Petition + Praise: A Practical Consideration of Psalm 22

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Looking at the surface, this might just be what we know of Psalm 22. Our Lord Jesus cried out this line, hanging on the cross, bearing the despairing weight of sin. Despair engulfed our Lord, as despair engulfed David as he wrote this psalm. What do we do with sadness? With all the happiness questing that we are pursuing and the happiness aesthetic that we are seeing, what do we do with sadness? We live in an age where the phrase “don’t worry, be happy” is quite appropriate. Lalo na sa ating mga Pinoy. Gaano man kalakas na unos, nahahanap pa rin ang ngiti. 

But sadness has a place in life. I am certain that we all have faced some form of sadness, one way or another: the loss of loved one, rejection, and disappointment. The place of sadness is:

Sorrow is better than laughter,

 for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth (Ecc. 7:3)

The Necessity of Sorrowful Petition

Sorrow allows us to think seriously. It is quite obvious that despairing moments necessitate petitions. Sorrow leads us to find refuge. And if we are believers, we know that we can go to God, our refuge, our strength, our ever present help, even in time of sorrow.

Someone who does not sense his need has no want for petition. He has already determined that whatever consists of his wants and needs are taken care of.

Our morning prayer times are just that: times for prayer. It’s short. This is a reminder for all. We read a passage of Scripture, the Psalms (where all human emotions can be found, and where true rest for the humble soul can be found in God). Then pray. That simple.

The Corrective of Praise

The second thing I would like to note in this psalm is the corrective to most of our prayers: praise. It is somewhat pragmatic. The pragmatic approach that I propose for manifesting praise is not without its seeming complications. Praise, or praise and worship, is quite complex and polarising these days. I am not occupied with talking of styles nor forms. What I mean by praise is the act and motive behind it. Stripped of any aesthetic, praise ought to stand by itself. This is why I am convinced that praise is corrective to depression. It is not guitars. It is not elaborate music or poetry. It is a heart seeking to give thanks despite despair.

Nagsimula sa malalim na kalungkutan: kahirapan sa buhay. Isang pantuwid sa madalas nating baluktot na pag-iisip sa pananalangin: oo, kailangan ng paghahain ng pangangailangan at damdamin. Ngunit minsa’y nalilimutan ang pagbibigay puri sa Diyos. Walang masama sa pagiging malungkot. Ang sumulat ng awit na ito ay pinakikita ang malalim na pighati. Ngunit sa kanyang pighati, makikita ang liwanag ng Diyos. Liwanag na binibigay ng pagbibigay-puri sa Kanya.

There is a peculiar beauty in this Psalm. The beauty is the practicality, adorning petitions with praise. It prescribes an attitude to sorrow that is prone to be absent in most people. We can be sorrowful, yes, and when the times call for it, we must. We are not robots, nor are we made to be as such. Understanding petitions adorned with praise is profoundly accessible only when it is given illumination through what it pictures in the future: Christ’s suffering. It is Christ and the remembrance of His suffering that provides ultimate corrective to our prayers. The Lord has suffered, yet in His suffering gave praise and glory to God. His most excruciating situation suffering, unjustly bearing the weight of humanity's sin, gave to the most satisfying praise to God. This is what was achieved through the cross: appeasing God's holy justice, granting Him utmost glory, and dispensing grace to all who believe. It was and is not a wasted suffering. My own personal suffering is but a drop compared to the ocean of Christ's suffering. So the question arises, am I similarly praising in the midst of suffering?