When Praise Doesn’t Work Like We Thought

“Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.” – Psalm 22:3

(Bible verses are from the NASB.)

What a majestic declaration! When we band together and praise the Lord, He establishes His throne in our worship. And since the throne connotes rule, we can anticipate God governing on our behalf.

It’s an encouraging assertion, but when we dig into its vocabulary and context, we learn a different lesson.

Vocabulary

The word translated “enthroned” (yashab) means “to dwell, remain, sit, abide.” Hebrew verbs come in different forms called “stems,” and the meanings can differ based on the stem. In this verse, the verb is a Qal stem participle, so it’s referring to the action of one sitting, remaining, staying, or dwelling.

It’s a common verb, occurring 1092 times in 977 verses in the Old Testament.

The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) uses the verb katoikeo in the present tense. Like its Hebrew counterpart, this term is also common, occurring 590 times in 532 verses. And it shows up in the New Testament as well (45 times in 41 verses). It means to dwell, settle, or inhabit.

I suggest that a good modern translation for the verb is “reside.” Psalm 22:3 tells us that God takes up residence in the praises of Israel; He makes worship His home.

This is still awesome, but it seems less dramatic than enthronement. I don’t want to diminish the significance of what the psalmist wrote, but I don’t want to exaggerate his meaning, either. By choosing this word, David reminds the Israelites that God desires to live with them. He intends to dwell in the midst of His people who revere Him.

But the first phrase of the verse appears to contradict this promise. Holiness refers to separation; to be sanctified or set apart. Since God is holy, He is separate from His people. How, then, can they approach Him (or He them)? David points to praise as the solution. Praise is the home of Holy One.

The psalmist knows this truth, but he’s distressed by God’s apparent absence in his own life. The context supports this interpretation.

Context

The opening two verses describe the prayers of David going unheard or unanswered. It’s as though the Lord were far removed from him and his trials. The psalmist has experienced God inhabiting corporate praise, but he feels like an exception.

“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my help are the words of my groaning. ²My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest.” – Psalm 22:1-2

David’s upset because he knows history. God answered the prayers of his fathers and grandfathers, going back generations. Why not his appeals?

“In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You rescued them. ⁵To You they cried out and they fled to safety; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.” – Psalm 22:4-5 (NASB)

The first five verses of the psalm portray a conflict between what is (and was) and what ought to be. David feels overlooked; God doesn’t care about Him. And it shouldn’t be that way, he thinks.

• I have faith in God – just like my ancestors did
• I praise the Lord – just like my ancestors did
• I pray to the Almighty – just like my ancestors did

But God came through for them while He seems uninterested in me.

Why?

“But I am a worm and not a person, a disgrace of mankind and despised by the people. ⁷All who see me deride me; they sneer, they shake their heads, saying, ⁸‘Turn him over to the LORD; let Him save him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.’” – Psalm 22:6-8

It’s not that David views himself as little more than a worm or a disgrace. It’s that others treat him that way. And they assault him with his own words. David was public about his dedication to the Lord. Now, they mock his commitment to God.

Where is God in the midst of his trials?

Christ

Centuries after David, Roman soldiers mocked Jesus, making fun of His supposed royalty.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort to Him. ²⁸And they stripped Him and put a red cloak on Him. ²⁹And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰And they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. ³¹And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. – Matthew 27:27-31

Nailed to a cross, Jesus suffered further ridicule.

And those passing by were speaking abusively to Him, shaking their heads, ⁴⁰and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ⁴²“He saved others; He cannot save Himself! He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³‘HE HAS TRUSTED IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE TAKES PLEASURE IN HIM’; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴And the rebels who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him in the same way. – Matthew 27:39-44

The religious rulers (those who knew the Scriptures) quoted verses 7-9 of Psalm 22 to Jesus. David didn’t deserve such mistreatment; neither did Christ.

Yet they suffered.

And rather than fighting His opponents, Jesus accepted their assessment. He quoted the opening verse of the psalm and applied it to Himself.

“Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘ELI, ELI, LEMA SABAKTANEI?’ that is, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’” – Matthew 27:45-46

Jesus took our experiences of rejection upon Himself. He faced distance from God like David endured.

And He suffered for us, too.

When we feel God is a million miles away, we should look to Jesus. When we see others rejoicing in His presence but our prayers going unheard, we should look to our Savior. Our sins, and the effects of our sins, fell upon Him. Through His death, Christ bore the pains of a fallen world. And through His resurrection, He offers eternal and transcendent hope.

Through Jesus Christ, God hears us and knows us. And in our praise, His Spirit resides in our midst.

May we always thank the Lord for His sacrifice for us!