Psalm 22:7
All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Some background. The writer of this passage tells about going through an extremely low time. Though he is a man who stands on the power of God, his enemies have him in their control. God seems to have left him. He is totally exposed and vulnerable
The word for ‘laugh’ or to ‘scorn’ here is one that is used to indicate how it sounds when a foreigner rattles out their language, and you don’t understand what they are saying. The things being said sound like a laughing babble to our defeated one in this verse. He is so down trodden that his enemies words don’t make sense. All he knows is all the voices carry emotions of derision and mocking.
To shoot out the lip is from a couple words. Lip can also mean language. To shoot out means just that, sending out, or emitting something. The people surrounding him are all shooting out words and shaking their heads at him.
The battle is over. He is powerless and helpless. Not just some, but all, are looking at him. They are laughing and scorning him. The whole world at that moment is against him. Can you relate? This Bible author could. Jesus can.
God’s desire is for us to obey him, and live a prosperous life. However, terrible times come. Sometimes by our own doing. Then there are the times when we seemed to be doing everything right, and living under his will, and suddenly our enemies have taken control. A life situation leaves us devastated. Loss of a life, terminal disease, loss of employment, any number of tragedies. It happened with Job. He suffered loss of family, wealth, and health. God restored him. God kept Job from death during his ordeal, but his own son faced much of the same loss, and was even killed.
God is in control. He uses the bad times to show his own glory and power. Though it was meant for Jesus to experience death, God even had control over the situation, and brought him back to life.
What happened to this man in this Psalm? His misery doesn’t seem to go away, but even so, he ends on a note that shows he is still standing firm for God. It is always more noble to be mistreated for the sake of god, than for a tragedy that was brought on for something we deserve.
If God chooses for our ordeal to be survived, as with Job, trust that your recovery will be shown to be a great work from God. One that only he can do. Life is a temporary thing, but for his believers even that experience opens a new world of blessings and a time when we can be with him at last.