My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Psalm 22:1
Dear HLPC family,
Jesus quoted from Psalm 22 from the cross. It is perhaps the most emotionally powerful thing we hear Him say during the crucifixion. It is a cry He makes at the height of His substitutionary, sacrificial work for our redemption. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus was meditating upon and used as His prayer a Psalm of lament. This is a type of Psalm that comprises a full third of the book of Psalms. In his book, Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ, J. Todd Billings writes, “[Lament] can mean grieving and mourning, such as those weeping for a lost loved one at a funeral; or it can mean protest, a form of petition—seeking to take God to ‘court’ to make one’s case. Both senses of ‘lament’ are important in the Bible,…” (p.19).
I think it’s important for us to know the place of lament in the Christian life. During this season of COVID-19, we have been faced with an onslaught of discouragement. I think we all have a sense of lament. Tonight, we will look together into Psalm 13, a Psalm of lament, during our Facebook Live study at 7PM. I think you’ll find some help and even encouragement in considering the place of lament in the Christian life.
Also, please be looking for another email to our church family today from the Elders. We want to update you on how HLPC is seeking to address questions of when to resume in person worship in light of the recent announcements from Governor Kemp.
Hope to “see” you tonight at 7 for our study in “Psalms for the Stressed.”
Your Pastor,
Paul