Do You Understand?

O LORD, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me? [Psalm 88.14] 

This verse from the Psalms sounds a lot like a popular verse found later in the New Testament:

At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” [Matthew 27.46]

However, it also sounds like something David wrote in another Psalm:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? [Psalm 22.1]

As Jesus so unequivocally noted, the Scriptures all point to Him (John 5.39). If we look for Jesus, He will be found. The Bible is, quite literally, full of Jesus. We should understand that the Psalms references above all point to Jesus!

As we dig deeper into all of Psalm 88, we can see that pretty much everything said there is an insight into Jesus Christ the Messiah. One verse in particular, while at first sounding rather gloomy, begs us to consider its answer in light of God's plan for our redemption:

Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? [Psalm 88.10]

The answer is an overwhelming YES! in Christ Jesus!

It is critical that we understand that Jesus NEVER asked a question He did not already know the answer to (just like God, the Father). When, on the Cross, Jesus asked, "Why?" it was to show and confirm to those with eyes to see and ears to hear that He was indeed the fulfiller of all Scripture as He articulated phrases traceable to what we now know as Old Testament Scriptures. Jesus knew why He was on the Cross. God knew why Jesus was on the Cross. Jesus' question, "Why?" then was for us to see and hear and understand what He, the Messiah, was doing there.

And this is where Psalm 88.10-12 is so incredibly amazing!

Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love? Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction? Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds? Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness? [Psalm 88.10-12]

Again, in Christ, every answer posed in Psalm 88.10-12 is YES! Jesus' resurrection changed EVERYTHING! AND! the answer, "YES" not only applies to Jesus, but to every single person who repents and believes in Him by faith! 

To read these passages in doom and gloom is to miss Jesus the Messiah altogether! If we miss Jesus in these passages, we are hopeless because:

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. [Isaiah 53.4-5]

I like how Isaiah pointed out our incorrect "thought" about the Messiah. Just as all the Scripture points to Jesus, so Jesus points to us. Just stop and meditate for a moment on the fact that we could look upon Jesus the Messiah Himself and hear His words and still miss the point...

Father, Your Word is amazing. Be glorified as we recognize Jesus in all the Scripture. Be glorified as we recognize ourselves through Jesus. Be glorified as our eyes finally see and our ears finally hear and we  finally understand Your plan for our redemption! So be it!