The Song of Jesus
I have been reading a book entitled “Rhythms of Grace” by Mike Cosper. It has been so good for me to learn more about what true worship of our God is. I believe worshipping God is a lifelong process and lesson. The chapter that I want to draw some things from today is Chapter Four – The Song of Jesus.
I wanted to share just a few things about worship and Jesus Christ that I have been thinking about after reading this chapter from “Rhythms of Grace”.
The Song of Jesus. From the sacrifices of the forefathers, we see in the Old Testament, from the blood that was shed from the animal sacrifices from their temple to the stained doorways of Israel in Egypt, to the blood that poured out of the split carcasses before Abraham in the covenant with God, all of it was a foreshadow and preview of the shed blood of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. It was all to point to Jesus shedding His blood for us on the cross. He is the Perfect Sacrifice. Their songs of lament and longing in the Old Testament were sung in anticipation of the song of Jesus. Remember from Scripture when Jesus cried out in the throes of death under the weight of God’s righteous wrath and fury:
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
See how Jesus quoted this from the song Psalm of David from Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? Psalm 22:1
He was bearing both the physical agony of the pain of the dreadful execution of crucifixion and the spiritual agony of the wrath of God, His Father. Jesus had been betrayed by His disciple, Judas Iscariot, abandoned by His other disciples, and subjected to the worst kind of public humiliation, being led to the cross. Psalm 22 was the song He cried out. This song psalm by David was a chilling prophecy of the execution of Jesus. This is the psalm Jesus chose to quote from in His time of suffering and agony. This chapter is a cry of anguish that turns into a song of praise. Look where the psalm turns to worship in verses 21 and 22.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: Psalm 22:21-22
If we look at the psalm in its entirety, we see that Jesus from the cross was leading worship. See how Psalm 22:22-31 turns into a song of praise to our God:
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it. Psalm 22:22-31
Jesus is our worship leader. He points us from the cross to worship our God. He sings a redemption song inviting the whole world to join Him and celebrate the God who saves. Jesus who suffered as a servant has become our worship leader, inviting the world to come and worship the God who has rescued Him.
Soon after Jesus’s cry of anguish, He quoted from another psalm, #31 which says:
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit…; (Psalm 31:5a) (See Luke 23:46)
The rest of that verse goes on to say:
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. (Psalm 31:5b)
Jesus indeed points to Himself as the Redeemer. He has redeemed us. Thank God.
Our Jesus quoted songs, psalms of David as He was dying for us. He is our worship leader, pointing us to God the Father and Himself.
As we worship the LORD this coming Sunday, may we be reminded of the example of Jesus in the midst of suffering in agony on the cross. Jesus came to save us and while He was dying, He leads us in worship of the God who has rescued Him. This should point us to follow Christ’s example and have a heart of worship even when we’re suffering through difficult circumstances. His perfect example as our worship leader makes me want to follow Him and worship and serve Him with my life all the more. He was looking out for us even when He was dying, pointing us to worship the only One who can help us, deliver us, save us. God is good. How would any of us have had the presence of mind to think like this and fulfill the Scripture at the same time if it had been us up there on that cross in our lowly, self-absorbed, sinful state? Only the God-Man Jesus, our Mediator is capable of such a brilliant perspective in the moment of suffering and plan of rescue. Looking forward to worshipping Him together with you in the sanctuary Sunday morning.
--by Lisa M. Watkins
