Psalm 69:17-18

Psalm 69:17-18

Do not hide your face

This prayer for salvation has occupied a number of verses (v13-18) at the very heart of the Psalm. It is no mere request for a little bit of help, it is a heart cry from deep within the soul. It is a pleading, repetitive supplication for relief. The prayer appeals to the most sympathetic characteristics of Almighty God; His love, His goodness and His mercy. The more terrifying the atrocities faced by the sufferer, the more pitiful are His cries. “Please don’t turn away from. Look at me, just show me Your face so that I know You are with me. Stop this silence, just speak to me. Why are you so reluctant to acknowledge my cries? Don’t abandon me, let me know that You are at least close by. Come quickly please, I am in deep trouble here, I don’t think I can take much more. This suffering is greater than I can bear. Please come and rescue me. Where are You my Father?”

It is hard for us to imagine the rift that had now come between Yeshua and His Father, these two had been one in every way, held by an eternal bond that had kept them closer than any human relationship. What the Father thought, Yeshua thought. What the Father did, Yeshua did. What His Father said, Yeshua said, because He was the expression of God to men, He was the Word. Now, all of that was broken and the Son must exist in torment without His Father. It is impossible for you and I to understand what that meant – for them both, but in order for Yeshua to bear our sin, He must bear the chasm, that sin had created. The same chasm that separates all sinners from their God. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Psalm 4:1 Smear campaigns

Psalm 4:1    Smear campaigns   The background to this Psalm is so familiar; David is being slandered and maligned by his detractors.  It seems that some calamity has befallen the nation and the king is getting the blame! Lies are being told, a smear campaign has begun, and the reputation of the Sovereign is under threat.  As usual, if something goes wrong, culpability is laid at the feet of the one in charge.  David, quite rightly, turns to the Lord his God and prays for relief and for mercy. The Satan is a master of such campaigns and his emissaries gleefully turn on Christians in leadership positions although the whispering campaign can affect all of us. The whispering starts in our own heads, but it can also come from the lips of our detractors. It goes something like this: - You’re the reason it went wrong You messed up again You should have seen it coming Surely you know better You are not worthy You don’t know what you’re doing Someone else ought to be in c
Read more

Psalm 74:16

Psalm 74:16 God established the sun and the moon “ In  the beginning   God created   the heavens   and the earth.   2  Now the earth was formless   and empty,   darkness was over the surface of the deep,   and the Spirit of God   was hovering over the waters. 3  And God said,   “Let there be light,” and there was light.   4  God saw that the light was good,   and he separated the light from the darkness.   5  God called   the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”   And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” These, so familiar, words from Genesis 1 remind us of who is in charge! There would be no light without God. There would be no day or night without God. There would be no earth without God. And there would have been no living things unless God had created order out of chaos. The sun, moon and stars would not be fixed in their orbits without God and you and I would not exist unless He ordered our conception. It is because we see God as glorious, righteous
Read more
Psalm4:8        I will lie down and sleep                Th ere are times, in the life of all believers, when we no longer have control of situations. We can do nothing more. We have given our all, we have tried every possible solution and now it is out of our hands. As someone has wisely said, “It is time to let go and let God.” If we truly trust Him, if our faith will allow us, we can turn our backs on our enemies. We can block our ears to the threats. We can ignore the lies and the deceit and say,  “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I should imagine that the devil, having sent a hurricane our way is not amused, when we settle in our beds in the midst of it all and drift off into a peaceful sleep! But that is our right and privilege once we let the Lord God Almighty take control. These spiritual attacks are like whirlwinds, they blow with terrifying intensity and threaten to turn us upside down; the disciples witnessed one of thes
Read more