Hi First Presbyterian Church,
It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! It’s Day 31 in our one-year Bible reading journey. I have been using these mid-week messages to provide you with some comments and context for our Gospel readings. Today, I’m going to deviate from this practice and comment on some of our Psalms readings from the week. In particular, I want to comment on Psalm 22, Psalm 23, and Psalm 24.
Psalm 23 is so popular and loved, because of its comforting words and its reminder of God’s attentiveness and care for us. I’m sure you took particular notice of this Psalm when it came up in our reading plan on Sunday. However, what you may not have noticed is the way Psalm 23 reads when it is sandwiched between Psalm 22 and Psalm 24. Did you notice when we started reading the Psalms that right before Psalm 1, your Bible had the title “Book 1”? That’s because the entire book of Psalms is divided into five sections, or “books.” Psalms 1-41 is Book 1. Psalms 42-72 is Book 2. Psalms 73-89 is Book 3. Psalms 90-106 is Book 4. Psalms 107-150 is Book 5. The ancient final editors of the Book of Psalms compiled the collection of poems into five books to mirror the Pentateuch - the five books of the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy). Bible scholars theorize that the final editors grouped each of the five books of Psalms together, because, in their minds, the Psalms in each book are somehow related to each other. Scholars have different opinions as to what exactly it is that connects the Psalms in each book to each other. However, here’s the point I want you to see: Psalms 22-24, as Psalms in the same book, were meant to be read together.
Let’s look closely at those three Psalms. Psalm 22 is asking God for deliverance from suffering and hardship. Psalm 23 is a reminder that God is with us even in the “valley of the shadow of death.” Psalm 24 is a song of praise, extolling God as the King of kings and Lord of lords. In general, this sequence of themes is a good reminder to anyone who is facing challenges. Even in the midst of great suffering, God is with us and will eventually be victorious over all evil and suffering. As Christians, now think about what this means in light of Jesus.
Do you remember the words that Jesus uttered just before he died on the cross? Matthew 27:26 records it for us: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” You probably see the connection already. Those words are directly from Psalm 22:1. Jesus identified strongly with this Psalm in his most difficult and darkest moment. Yet, we also see that in this very same moment, as Jesus himself was “walking through the valley of the shadow of death” that he was also “fearing no evil” (Psalm 23). Then, in his resurrection and ascension, Jesus became victorious over death and took his place as the King of kings and Lord of lords (Psalm 24). Amazing! Psalms 22-24 lay out the path that Jesus took through his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension! Praise God!
If you are feeling like God has forsaken you or that you’re walking through the valley of death’s shadow, just remember that God is indeed with you and will one day undo all evil and suffering. Remember, also, that Jesus knows exactly what it’s like to be where you are and also knows what it takes to make it through the valley of death’s shadow toward victory and freedom. Trust him, because he’s trustworthy!
Peace to you,
Pastor Aaron