September 1 Sermon: From Suffering to Salvation
This week, we explore Psalm 22, a passage that vividly portrays suffering and ultimate deliverance. We journey with David through despair, paralleling his cries with Christ's on the cross. Discover how this ancient psalm reveals God's covenant faithfulness, bringing hope and assurance in the midst of suffering.
Contemplate these questions as you listen to this message from Psalm 22:
How does Psalm 22 foreshadow Christ's suffering and ultimate victory on the cross?
In what ways can we relate to David’s feelings of abandonment and despair, and how does this psalm offer hope in those moments?
How does the covenant faithfulness of God, as demonstrated in Psalm 22, impact our understanding of suffering and deliverance in our own lives?
Transcript:
Have you ever imagined the surroundings of the people who wrote different books of the Bible? The letters of Paul, I think, invite us to do this because we have a knowledge of Paul's history from knowing his ministry journeys in the book of Acts and the fact that in some of his letters, he tells us that he is imprisoned. In fact, Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon are commonly known as the prison epistles. The setting in which a writer is penning a letter helps us to understand context. And actually think about the different situations that the authors may have been in as I read through the Psalms. Because there are so many different emotions in the Psalter. We end up seeing that really, there is the whole breadth of human experience there in the Psalms. Well, the last two weeks, we've looked at... different Psalms. One of them was read before battle. And then one of them was read after victory in a battle. Well, it's easy to think of those circumstances and those situations and sort of put yourself in the shoes of the person who was writing it. Praying for protection and victory in battle and then thanking God for that victory and protection in battle. But I think perhaps the most interesting speculations and, you know, sort of imagining what the writers are experiencing come from the Psalms of Lament. For example, imagine David, the shepherd king, a man who is described to us as being a man after God's own heart. He is alone in the wilderness. Now, he's no stranger to hardship, right? He's... He's faced Goliath. He's battled armies. He's fled for his life on multiple occasions. But the hardship that he is presently experiencing, what he is going through this time, it seems different. The weight of despair that he is feeling is unbearable. He finds himself perhaps in a cave, surrounded by darkness. And that's not just darkness in the cave, but also darkness... darkness on the inside. His enemies, they seem that they are going to close in on him on every side. And as he is experiencing this, the silence from heaven is deafening. And likely, the thoughts of David would swirl with confusion and with fear. Where are you, God?
Are you abandoning me? And these questions would echo off the walls because the cave is as empty, as he feels inside. And he can recall days when God's presence felt so near to him, when he knew that God was guiding his every step. But now, he finds himself in a moment of desperation, and God feels distant. He feels far away. In fact, he feels unreachable.
And so David likely would have recalled the stories of his ancestors. How they cried out to God in their distress, and how... how they were answered, and how God delivered them. But now, as David cries out, it feels as though his prayers fall into the void. No response. No rescue. Just silence.
But yet, even in his despair, David does something remarkable. He doesn't turn away from God. Instead, he turns toward God, and he pours out his heart with raw honesty, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
And even in the depths of this suffering that he's experiencing, David clings to the truth that God is still his God. And little did David know that his words, spoken thousands of years ago, and written down in this psalm, would echo through the ages. Little did he know that one day, these very words would be uttered, by his descendant, in an even darker hour than he was experiencing. That on the cross, Jesus, the Son of God, would cry out with those same words, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And in that moment, the suffering of David would find its ultimate fulfillment in the suffering of our Savior. And today, as we look at Psalm 22, we will consider how the cries of the psalmist meet with the cries of the psalmist. The cries of our Lord. And we see that suffering, though deep and painful, is not the end of the story. For through the agony of the cross comes the hope of salvation. And just as David's despair turned to praise, so does too our suffering lead to the greater glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let's step into this ancient cry, recognizing that it's not just David's story, it's our story as well. And it's the story of the one who suffered for us. The one who brings us from suffering to salvation. Before we do that, let's map out our three points to keep us on track as we progress through this chapter of the Psalter today. So, our first point is the depth of despair. We're going to see what I was just talking about as I opened. The deep feelings of abandonment that David is feeling as he, as he pens this psalm. Second, we're going to see the agony of suffering. And what David has experienced is more than just an emotional valley in his life. Here in Psalm 22, we see vivid images of torment and vivid ideas of distress. And we will see that these descriptions are familiar to us because of what happened to the Lord Jesus in his crucifixion. And then finally, we see that this desperate situation ends in deliverance. The story of this psalm has a beautiful ending. Salvation by the hand of God Almighty. So, with those ideas laid out before us, let's journey into this deep valley that David is experiencing. A place where the weight of abandonment is pressing heavily on his soul. Now, I don't know about you, but the opening words of this psalm get my attention every time I read them. I think they are attention-grabbing words on their own. But when you know that these are the words of the Lord Jesus used in his suffering on the cross, I think they draw us in even deeper. Let's be honest. If you had just a basic knowledge of the Christian faith and you had very little familiarity with Scripture, these are not words that you would expect to be in a holy book speaking about God. You wouldn't expect that. It'd be, and you most assuredly would probably not expect the God-man himself to repeat these words. But this isn't the first time we've seen statements from a writer of the psalms wondering where God is, is it? We read these types of statements before, and naturally, when we read them, we think that the writer is displaying a doubt about the existence of God. And I've mentioned before, earlier this Sunday, we sort of assume that what's going on here is a deconstruction of faith. That they're moving away from God, that they're losing faith.
But this is not the psalmist losing faith at all. They are crying out to God, not denying his existence. They're not crying into what they believe to be a void. They know God is there. They know that God is real. They know that he, he can hear them. And as I was reading through some different commentaries on this psalm this past week, I thought that what Derek Kidner had to say was a very helpful way of expressing these ideas that we see in the Psalter. He said, it's not a lapse of faith here, or the idea of a broken relationship. This is what I thought was really helpful. It is a cry of disorientation as God's familiar, protective presence is withdrawn and the enemy is closing in on the psalmist. And perhaps you can relate really well from an experience that you have had in your life. You cry out to God, not because of a lack of faith, but because you're disoriented. You're unable to navigate life in the darkness of what you're experiencing. You can't go through life as you normally do because, because, You don't feel the presence of God in the way that you normally do. And it's in those moments that we can relate to what this psalm expresses here. Why are you so far from saving me? I cry out by day and you do not answer. Night by night and I find no rest. And chances are you have been in some situation in your life like this where it is a consuming feeling, this disorientation towards God. And the psalmist wants us to feel how these feelings have consumed his life with how it's talked about here. Tears all day and through the night. There is not relief of any kind. And we can feel the depth of despair right along the psalmist as we read these words. Because this is where David is living. As he writes this down. And before we move on from our first point, it's important that we remember that we have to remember that it's a significant thing that the Bible addresses suffering head on. Because the idea of suffering is a problem if you believe in a loving God, right?
Why is this happening? Why does it seem to be the primary experience of people throughout history that suffering is a problem? Suffering is the norm.
And like I said, these are the natural questions that humanity has asked throughout the ages. And the answer that some religions give is that suffering is merely an illusion.
Imagine telling your friend who is suffering that what they're experiencing is merely an illusion. And that they need to elevate to a higher spiritual plane in order to get through it.
Suffering is real. It's not an illusion. And the Bible faces this reality head on. The curse is the origin of suffering. And every last person is subjected to it. Suffering is not limited to a small group. The curse comes for each and every last one of us. And Scripture shows us this. With the heroes of the faith, we see them experiencing pain and hardship and loss. And it goes to the ultimate end with the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ, God the Son himself, suffering the pain, suffering the price of the curse in death. Suffering is not an illusion. It is reality. And we serve a God who addresses it instead of brushing it off. And even through the hardship, we see that David's trust in God grows as we move down through this chapter of the Psalter. And so as we move into this idea, we see, His acknowledgment of God and His faithfulness. He knows that God is holy. He is praised by His people. The ancestors of David trusted Him and they were delivered. He knows the stories. He knows the struggles and the suffering of the past and how God has kept His promise. And here He sits as the anointed King of Israel, an heir of the promise to the Messiah. And He feels completely abased. Abandoned by God. And we see this in the way that David talks about what he is going through here. Now, it's a natural tendency of humans to be self-deprecating, right? We are often hardest on ourselves. But look at what the psalmist is saying here. But I am a worm and not a man. As bad as I talk about myself, I don't know that I've ever said I'm a worm. Right? The psalmist feels as though he is at the absolute top. At the absolute bottom. And we find that this oppression of David is not just attacks on him. It is also an attack on the faithfulness of his God.
People are seeing the affliction that David is experiencing. And they are saying that surely this must be a sign that God is not on David's sign. David delights in the Lord. But what has God done for him lately? And the response of David actually shows great faith and trust in God and in His promises. And it's a trust. And it's a faithful hope in the future that he firmly roots in the past. He expresses that God has been his God since birth. That God has been his God from before he could even speak. His trust goes back even before he can remember it. His trust in God goes back to the womb.
And so we've walked with David through the valley of despair. Feeling the weight of his abandonment and his disorientation. We've also seen that he, trusts in the promises of God. But as we move forward, we must confront the brutal reality that this despair just isn't an internal struggle. It's actually compounded by the physical and emotional agony that surrounds him. The darkness David feels in his soul is mirrored by the torment he endures from his enemies. So now let's dive deeper into this agony and distress he's been feeling. And we'll explore how this suffering manifests in ways that are both relentless and overwhelming here. Taking us to the very brink of what a human can bear. And so the language that is used here continues to be very vivid. And as we read this and we see the suffering and agony that David is experiencing, we need to remember that we're reading poetry. The difficulties are real. But the language is figurative, right? In other words, his enemies haven't sent bulls after him. The idea is that what he is facing is large. It is unmovable. And it is coming after him. His enemies are like a ravenous lion. But in the midst of these things, he is experiencing real physical hardship. This outward attack is causing inward agony. And it's manifesting itself in, difficulties in the physical body that he has. He doesn't have strength. We see that his tongue sticks to his jaws. So I wanna invite you for a second to recall a moment where you were experiencing suffering. Or maybe someone you know was going through a very perilous time.
Think how that turmoil manifested itself in physical ways. Think how that turmoil manifested itself in physical ways. The lack of sleep, gets to you. You don't take good care of yourself. Your stomach might be tied up in knots, and so you aren't eating properly. You are so fixed on what is happening, that you aren't taking care of yourself. Now put the threats on David's life that he is experiencing on top of all those feelings. And you can understand why he feels as though he is being laid in the dust of death. It's that feeling of just wanting to lay down and die, because everything has come apart.
The world has fallen apart. You're falling apart. Why go on?
And we see the threats on his life are not just from his experience, but we see in verses 16 through 18 that these people are coming after him. We see that he is surrounded, and that his hands and feet are pierced, and he can come. He can come down his bones. This is physical suffering, along with that internal turmoil. And these people are in a position of being able to stare at him, and gloat over him. In fact, they have been able to take his garments from him, and cast lots to see who gets to have them. And once again, this part of this Psalm prophetically points to the crucifixion. What David is experiencing here is prophetically applied to the experience of Jesus. The suffering of David was real. And so was the suffering of Jesus. Again, suffering is a reality. It isn't an illusion. It is something that we need to be rescued from. We need to be saved from suffering. And this Psalm makes it clear that the only hope, and the only chance of rescue that we have, is divine deliverance. That's the only way out. And as we've journeyed with David through the suffocating darkness of his despair, and the relentless agony that has gripped both his body and his soul, it's clear that his only hope is beyond himself. It needs to come from outside of him. His only hope is divine intervention. The depth of his suffering has laid bare the human need for rescue. And this Psalm brings us face to face with the reality that only God can deliver us from this overwhelming affliction. So now let's move from the darkness, into the light, as we explore how God's deliverance transforms David's cries of despair into a song proclaiming the salvation of Almighty God. And while the tone of this Psalm is despair, the overall message of this Psalm is the covenant faithfulness of Almighty God. And it is a story not just for David, but this story is our story. It's for the people of God throughout all time. And so David, we see here, fully expects, fully expects that God will not only hear this cry, but that he will remain faithful to his promise. He has cried out thinking that God has forsaken him, but he knows that ultimately God is not far off. He is nearby. He will come to his aid. He will save his life from the sword. And with everything that we have read and the emotions that I've drawn out, that we can feel right along with the Psalmist, I think it is amazing to see the confidence with which David speaks here, specifically verses 22 through 24. He expects to survive this. He expects to tell people about the deliverance that God has given him. And he is telling those of us who fear the Lord to praise God. And notice the progression through these verses and the repetition of an idea that is used here. Those who fear the Lord, the offspring of Jacob and the offspring of Israel, all the same people. So this is repetition here. They are to praise. They are to stand in awe. They are to glorify their God. He's driving home this point that we are to praise God because we are his people. It says the same thing three times in different ways. And the music that is playing in the background here for us is the idea of God's covenant faithfulness. He is faithful to his people. David is not going to be wiped out by his enemies. There will be continued offspring of Jacob and Israel, culminating in the coming of the promised one who will save the people of God.
And we fear God. Because he has made us his people. You and I are the offspring of Jacob because we have been given the gift of faith. We stand in awe of our God because as those who are united to Christ, we are the offspring of Israel as well. God has not despised or abhorred us in the affliction of our sin. And he has not hidden his face from us. Instead, he has heard our cries and he has delivered us. He has delivered us from our enemies, sin, death, hell, and the devil. And we know this to be true for us. Because some of the most beautiful and moving words of this Psalm make it clear for us. All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord. And all the families of the nations shall worship before you. Instead of the promise of God being wiped out, the faithfulness of God will be known to the ends of the earth. And we see here a foretaste of the Gospel going out to the ends of the world in the idea that all the families of the nations shall worship the Lord. People from every tribe, tongue, and nation will come to the foot of the throne of the Almighty and praise him and turn to him in repentance and faith. And we see that the Lord, Yahweh, rules over all the nations. Now stop for a moment and think about the ramifications of what is being said here in this Psalm. Even these wicked people who are oppressing the anointed one of Israel, even they are under the kingship of the Lord. And even their families may worship him. And we know this Psalm from the story of the crucifixion. And even beyond the famous words, we can see the God and the Gospel dripping from these words, can't we? And the closing verses of this Psalm express this for us so clearly. He believes, David believes, that there will be those who will come after him. He believes that the promise of God does not stop with him. He believes that this story of God's deliverance from suffering will be told for generations to come. They will proclaim the righteousness of God to a people yet unborn. That the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and the God of David has brought salvation to all people, to all the nations of the earth. And if we were to read this Psalm just as a poem about hardships that David experienced, it would be a neat story. A great story about a guy God helped out of a rough spot.
But instead we read this Psalm with Jesus at the center of it. It points to the Lord Jesus Christ and so it unlocks this Psalm for us and it gives us hope. Not just a hope that maybe we could be kind of like David and get out of some trouble. No, that we have ultimate hope for eternity. And this isn't just David's story, it's your story as well. Our Lord spoke the words here of being forsaken from the cross. Because he was experiencing the wrath of God for our sin. And he did not deserve to be there because he was without sin. But he was bruised and beaten and they cast lots for his clothing and he did it for you. And as we have read this Psalm, I have repeatedly asked you to imagine yourself experiencing the hardships of David.
But as we stop and we think about the application of this Psalm for us as those who are in Christ, I think the most moving part about this Psalm is that because of my sin,
I'm the oppressor. It was because of my rebellion, because I was in rebellion against a holy God, that he was forsaken and he cried out these words from the cross. Because he is gracious and merciful, even though we were the oppressors, we are now the blessed who worship him for the salvation that he has won in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. And he has done it. And with this comes a glorious truth that we can take into the world with us as we live as God's people. Because he was forsaken and because Jesus was victorious, we are victorious with him. We have been united to him in his life, death, resurrection, and ascension. And we can know that even when we are disoriented, feeling as though God has forgotten us, we can know that he has not forgotten us because we have the gift of faith in Jesus. Whatever our suffering is, whatever our suffering will be, the suffering of Christ for us reminds us that the ravenous lions that surround us will never be victorious over the people of God. The gospel lets us know that our enemies are defeated and we can walk in confidence because of the divine deliverance that we have received from God. So as we leave from this place, remember that the same God who delivered David and triumphed over death through Christ, he is with us. In every trial, his covenant faithfulness remains our hope. So let us walk in the assurance that through Christ's victory, our suffering is never in vain and his deliverance is sure. Amen. Let us pray.
Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for this psalm and for the gift of your word. That when we feel disoriented towards you, we know that we are always united to you by faith because of what Christ has done. And you are always near and you have promised us salvation through the suffering and through the hardship. And we pray, oh God, that you would give us this assurance daily that we might be your faithful witnesses to a world that needs to hear the message of your gospel. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
