When I was a child, a good and strong hero was called a he-man. But this psalm written by Heman the Ezrahite portrays the exact opposite. Some time during his youth, Heman was struck by an illness that destroyed him physically. “I have been sick and close to death since my youth” (verse 15).
In this psalm, he was constantly crying out to God to relieve him of his suffering. Thoughts of death were continually on his mind. He felt deserted by family and friends; perhaps his parents had already died, and he needed the help of friends. He said in verse 8, “You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them.”
In verses 11-14, Heman asked God to speak to him and give him answers to his predicament. “Can those in the grave declare Your unfailing love? . . .Can they proclaim Your faithfulness?. . .can they talk about Your righteousness?. . .O Lord, why do You reject me?”
But why would God inspire Heman to write such a powerful and sorrowful psalm. Was it because God wanted to show us that He doesn’t care about us? No! God wants us to understand how much He cares for us by giving us a picture of what Christ suffered before and during His crucifixion.
First, Christ was betrayed by one of His closest associates. Second, when He went to the garden to pray, He felt such agony knowing what awaited Him He prayed, “Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine. Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened Him. He prayed more fervently, and He was in such agony of spirit that His sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.” Luke 22:42-44. Third, after that, His disciples fled from Him except John. He was denied food and water to weaken Him. He was tortured with beatings, and nailed to the cross in physical agony. Fourth, His greatest agony was when the Father turned away from His Son as the guilt of all the sins of the world were placed on Him. “My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?” Mark 15:34.
“He was despised and rejected – a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down. And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins! But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.” Isaiah 53: 3-5.