Psalms 22-24; 47; 68
The Lord deserves praise! Day after day he carries our burden, the God who delivers us. Our God is a God who delivers; the Lord, the sovereign Lord, can rescue from death. – Psalms 68:19-20 NET
In these five Psalms we see what appears to be a dramatic span of emotions and opinions from the writers. There are shouts of praise for God's power and might. But then there are questions regarding God's lack of activity and seeming indifference suffering. There are reminders of God's powerful acts of deliverance in the past and cries for God's help in the present. But the one consistent theme throughout is that God is reliable and trustworthy. The very reason the Psalmist is crying out in Psalm 22 is because He know that God has a reputation for answering the cries of His people. He has proven Himself reliable. So even though it appears as if God is far away and not listening, He cries out. He makes his request known to God, because he believes God is reliable and will answer Him. These Psalms all speak of the attributes of God that make Him reliable and trustworthy.
He is the King of all the earth. (Psalms 47:7
He reigns over all the nations from His holy throne. (Psalms 47:8)
Our fathers cried out to Him and were delivered. (Psalms 22:5)
He is my shepherd. (Psalms 23:1)
He restores my soul. (Psalms 23:3)
He is strong and mighty. (Psalms 24:8)
He is a father to the fatherless. (Psalms 68:5)
He is a judge for the widows. (Psalms 68:5)
He daily bears our burdens. (Psalms 68:19)
He is the God of our salvation. (Psalms 68:19)
He is the God of deliverances. (Psalms 68:20)
He gives strength and power to the people. (Psalms 68:35)
God is the one we should cry out to because God is the one who can make a difference. He can deliver. He can restore. He can provide a solution. Because He alone is God. He is worthy of our praise AND our cries for help. He is worthy of our pleas for assistance and our praises of thanksgiving. These Psalmists knew this about their God. Do we? Have we found Him to be reliable?
Father, You have never shown Yourself to be unreliable to me. You have always been there for me in every situation. Yet I still doubt. I sometimes refuse to call out to You. I try to solve my own problems and be my own savior. Yet You have always been faithful. You have proven it time and time again. May I continue to learn to cry out in times of need and shout out Your praises when times of deliverance come. Amen