Bible Reflection - Psalms 22 and 88

Let’s begin with the idea that the people writing the psalms had no sense of the coming of Jesus. Their focus was elsewhere. This approach allows us to hear the words in their initial context and as Jews today might pray them.

Alongside this we could weave a theology that within the Old Testament we are being pointed to Christ. That theological reading infuses the words with some additional meanings. We should honour that interpretation. Many Anglicans have heard Psalm 22 read on Maundy Thursday – as the altar is stripped. It is often read on Good Friday as people stare at the cross. It is a way we have been taught to think about these texts.

Both psalm writers are experiencing challenging times. In psalm 22, the writer feels forsaken by God who doesn’t answer cries and petitions. The writer’s reputation is in tatters, and they are looking for help which doesn’t seem to be coming. The writer of psalm 88 feels death approach and is in despair. They also anticipate that God is angry with them and feel forsaken. They have tried every possible approach with God. They understand God has rebuffed them. The key difference between the two psalms is that in psalm 22 the writer articulates words of praise. These are absent from psalm 88. The psalm resolves nothing.

But we must go deeper. Psalm 22 suggests that God could intervene. The writer of psalm 88 says God has caused their suffering. They say, “You have put me in the lowest pit … You have taken my closest friends from me.” Because of God’s actions they must now come to terms with pervasive darkness.

We do not know the precise experiences of the writer. If the tradition has weight, these might be the words of King David. There is less certainty about psalm 88 being Davidic. The weight of scripture tells us that David was able to achieve many great things. However, he was also manipulative and disgraceful. He raped Bathsheba and was willing to kill her husband. If we want, we can imagine his anguish when preparing for battle and confronting political intrigue. In doing so, we can imagine what it was like for him to come to terms with the consequences of his own wrongdoing.

We know that for thousands of years, the psalms have been used when people pray. When we use them in this way, the living tradition invites us to make the words our own. We can reflect on our darkness, our battles, our wrongdoing, and our sense of rejection.

Perhaps the greatest difference between the psalms is that the author of psalm 88 is writing with rage. In psalm 22, the author can echo trust in God which comes from their community or from within themselves. Psalm 88 continues to express faith in God, but the author wants God to be accountable. God is expected to answer for his overwhelming assaults and punishment with darkness.

By focussing on these two texts, the Living the Word community is invited to avoid simply repeating their inherited faith but to examine it. We are invited to be open about the challenges we have experienced and the uncertainty they have created. It is okay to be uncomfortable with a God who we think might have created our pain. It is right to examine our perceptions of God.

We do this in the context of a Church where the scriptures are read and faith is taught. The community of disciples is invited to find some resolution to questions generated by these psalms in Jesus himself. In our liturgical life and preaching, we move from the cry of dereliction on the cross to the loving greeting to Mary and the other disciples. Our expression of faith is to see that torture, pain, anguish, and death are caught up in the life of God. God has proved that suffering does not have the last word. He shows us resurrection in Jesus. Into the experience of despair, we hear an echo of love and forgiveness. We are invited to sense hope.

We will honour the complexity of the text and deepen our own faith journey when we acknowledge the reality of forsakenness. When we are at our bleakest, we can ask “God, why is it that we are not glimpsing the resurrection life now?” “Why is it that pain, tears, and mourning feature so heavily in our life?”

The psalms invite us to do this while still being in the community of the faithful and wrestling profoundly with God.