Hidden

“For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him;”  Psalm 22:24

Hidden – Sometimes when we read the Old Testament we run across verses that simply shout the story of Jesus.  This Psalm is one of those passages.  It describes the passion of the Christ in a poetic prophecy.  And this verse is central to the entire prophecy.  It is a beautiful portrait of the Father’s full acceptance of the sacrifice of His Son.  In it we see a love that few of us have ever given another, but all of us can experience as a gift.

The Hebrew word here is the root satham.  When Job talked about “lifting the face” to God (Job 22:26 – May 20), he pointed to open communication with the Almighty.  David, in a moment of revelation, sees that the servant of the Lord will suffer for God’s people, but God will not hide His face.  By adding be to the word satham, the meaning is changed to “hidden” or “secretly”.  But Job declares that God is not hidden.  The Father does not despise the affliction of sin cast upon this innocent one.  The Father will not turn away.  The Father will not break communication or fellowship.  In the moments when the Suffering Servant meets His appointed purpose, the Father is still there.

Without this Psalm, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden would be a plea thrown toward an empty sky.  Without this Psalm, Jesus’ faith and trust would be blind insanity.  But Jesus was a man of His Word.  He knew this Psalm and the promise it contained.  Jesus was a man who trusted the Word of God.

The beautiful description of the Father’s commitment in those moments of greatest risk reaches beyond Jesus on the cross.  God did not hide His face because we were at stake in the wager of redemption.  You and I are the final victors because of this verse.  God does not hide from us. 

Have you reached Gethsemane with Jesus?  Have you said, “Thy will be done” and known that you can trust Him because He does not hide His face from you.  Someone is walking toward you in the light of day.  He is smiling.  Welcome home.