Dwell in the Word: Psalm 22
Dive into Psalm 22 as we explore the powerful words of lament that Jesus spoke from the cross. Discover the depth of David's anguish and the unwavering faith that shines through his words. Let's reflect on how we can find comfort and hope in God's promises, even in our darkest moments.
Contemplate these questions as you dwell in Psalm 22:
How does Psalm 22 contrast with the themes of victory and celebration found in Psalm 21?
In what ways does David's lament in Psalm 22 foreshadow the crucifixion of Jesus Christ?
How can we find comfort in God's promises during our own times of struggle and lament, as demonstrated in Psalm 22?
Transcript:
In this episode of Dwell in the Word we're going to be looking at Psalm 22 let's start off with a little prayer from this little book on the Scottish Psalter let's pray. Although oh God of all consolation and comfort You suffer us for a little season to be afflicted in diverse ways, and make us, as it were, to be the outcasts of the world. Yet, for as much as we have our only trust in your goodness, we beseech you to assist us and deliver us from all those troubles that distress us, that in the midst of your holy congregation we may render you hearty praises and thanks through Jesus Christ your only Son. Amen. All right, we are looking at, as I mentioned, Psalm 22 today. A little bit longer than some of the other Psalms that we've looked at but we're gonna do it all in 1 episode today Hear the word of the Lord My god my god Why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning? Oh, my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted, they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued, in you they trusted and were put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me, they make mouths at me, they wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord, let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him. Yet you are he who took me from the womb, you made me trust you at my mother's breast. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me, strong bulls of bash-ants surround me. They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me, a company of evildoers, encircles me. They have pierced my hands and feet, I can count all my bones, they stare and gloat over me, they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O Lord, do not be far off. O you, my help, come quickly to my aid. Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion. You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen. I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation I will praise you. 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. For he has not despised or abhorred the afflictions of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation, my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nation shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship, before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the 1 who cannot keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him, and shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it." Arriving here in Psalm 22, we find quite a contrast from what we found in Psalm 21. In that previous chapter, we saw the psalmist celebrating the victory that God had won for the king. Well suddenly the next Psalm has us reading those famous words of lament that Jesus spoke from the cross. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And these are strong and heartfelt words expressing an extreme feeling of abandonment. And we struggle with what to do with lament. I personally find lament hard because I feel as though someone has it worse off than me. In fact, people I know are often traveling far more difficult paths than I have right in front of me. In addition, I've met people in parts of the developing world who have a very difficult life And so when something isn't going very well for me, I feel like I'm acting entitled. And I also think about the fact that God is in control and he works all things together for good for those that love him and hope that the sovereign plan of God is going to work out that things will be better because I desire to trust him. And I also realize that as a sinner living in a fallen world, many of the difficult experiences that I have are probably self-induced. But these emotions that we see coming through in the Psalms, they are real emotions. They are raw emotions and we feel them all the time. We don't know how to deal with them, but the Bible here in the Psalms can show us how to process through some of these things. As I think on these first 2 verses here, I'm guessing that like me, you struggle to separate these words from when Jesus says them on the cross. That is a powerful scene, and those are words that you and I would never have put in the mouth of the Son of God if we were writing this story. Like I said, I struggle with what to do with lament, but if ever there was 1 who deserved to say these words and feel these words in the depth of their being, it was the Lord Jesus Christ as he was suffering the wrath of God for our sin. David wrote this psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We know that. But we don't know what the circumstances were that caused David to respond in this way. We do know that there were several events in David's life that would warrant lament. What we know about the psalmist here from just what we read is that he is struggling through an extremely difficult period of life. He not only feels as though God has forsaken him, but he feels that God is far from saving him. And the reason he feels this way is that he cries up to God day by day, but he doesn't receive an answer. He even cries out by night and he finds no rest. And that's a way of expressing that what he's going through is consuming him. It's so difficult that he's not able to sleep. And I think most of us can feel what David is saying here. We've all had circumstances that have kept us up, and we know how that feels. And while these are extremely strong emotions that David is feeling, we see in verse 3 that he is not deconstructing his faith, is he? He understands who God is. He understands God as holy. He understands that he is enthroned on the praises of his people. And verse 4 calls back to the idea that trusting God has not only been going on since the time of their fathers, but God also delivered them from their peril. This wasn't just a trust they had. God delivered them. He acted. These words we see David crying out are words that are expecting God to come and rescue him. He understands who God is and knows the promises that have been made to his people. And as this psalm continues, we see that David's feelings of being forgotten do not go away easily. There is very powerful language here. David says in verse 5 that he is a worm and not a man. And he lets us know that the people who are oppressing him are not only mocking David, but the fact that he trusts in God as well. There is a lot in this psalm that continues to draw out what David is feeling as he experiences this oppression. But I decided to keep this psalm to 1 episode because I want us to focus on the big picture that we find in this psalm. But as I was reading it, I'm sure that you saw these prophecies of Jesus, these things that we see fulfilled in the New Testament, in the crucifixion of Jesus. This is an extreme situation. These are very bad things that are happening to the psalmist. We can see that he is clearly in a very bad state of affairs and it doesn't seem that he has any hope of rescue, But he doesn't part from the knowledge that he has that God rescues his people. As we make our way down to verse 22, we find that the faith of the psalmist is resolute. He says that he will tell of the name of the Lord amongst his brothers and will praise him in the congregation and he tells others to do the same. Why? Because he knows that God has not despised them or hidden his face from them. In fact, as this psalm closes up, We see that he has great faith in the promises of God and we see this in the final 2 verses Posterity will serve him and it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation they shall come and proclaim the righteousness to a people yet unborn that he has done it." David believes that there will be those who will hear of what God has done in the future and they will continue to hear about the promises of God. Succession was important not just because David wanted his family to go on or because he wanted his offspring to be the king, but because the promises of God need to come to pass. The Messiah was to come from their family line. As we see throughout the Psalms, Jesus unlocks this passage for us. It's because Jesus was forsaken on the cross and the Father turned his face away from him that We know that the promises of God came to pass. The posterity of David did come and crush the head of the serpent for the people of God. And this isn't just a theological truth for us to grasp. It is also very practical. Because Jesus was forsaken, we know that we never will be. As his people, we have the promise of eternal life and know with certainty that God will not turn his face away from us because we have been united to God the Son who has given us his perfect righteousness. As we step out into the world and we face the hardships that come our way, may we always proclaim the saving work of Jesus, that the great truth of the gospel might be told to the coming generations. Let's close up with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, in the depths of our struggles we echo the cry of the psalmist, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? As we wrestle with feelings of abandonment and suffering through the struggles of our lives? Remind us of Jesus sacrifice on the cross He endured the ultimate separation so we never would Lord in our moments of lament help us trust in your holiness and sovereignty. May we find rest in your promises and proclaim your righteousness to future generations. Strengthen our faith, knowing that because Jesus was forsaken, we are eternally embraced by your love. It's in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. All right that's some thoughts on Psalm 22. Next time we get to maybe the most famous Psalm in the Psalter, Psalm 23.
