Psalm 22
07/08/07 AM
Text: Psalm 22:1-31
Introduction
Few of the Psalms are any more interesting and intriguing to study than Psalm 22.
But also, few of the Psalms are any more encouraging and motivating to our own faithfulness to God.
I. Overview Psalm 22
Psalm 22 is a "messianic" psalm: it is a prophecy of the Messiah (Christ, or "Anointed One") who was to come into the world.
1. Like other messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, Psalm 22 has two applications:
a. An immediate application at the time of its writing.
b. An ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
2. The psalm may originally have been written within the context of some ordeal of suffering that David went through, but its meaning goes far beyond anything David might have experienced personally.
3. Psalm 22 falls into two distinct parts, each arranged in a distinctive way.
a. The first part consists of sections which alternate between darkness and light: cries of desperation and prayers of confidence in God’s help - vv.1-21a.
b. The second part consists of widening circles of praise to God for His rule - vv.21b-31.
4. The turning point of the psalm is in the middle of v.21 when, in the midst of crying to God for deliverance, the psalmist suddenly cries out, "You have answered Me."
In our review of this psalm we will first look at its application to David and ourselves as followers of God. And then will examine its prophetic elements as they apply to Jesus.
II. Alternating Despair And Deliverance - Verses 1-21a
Darkness: I am forsaken by God - vv.1, 2.
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent" (vv. 1,2).
1. As the Psalm begins, David is in a place of darkness, lamenting his perception that God has forsaken him in a time of despair. He is calling out day and night and his complaint is that God is not hearing his call for deliverance. He looks around himself in this world and sees no comfort, no source of aid.
2. How often do we find ourselves as David did, beset by problems, seemingly alone in our struggle with no source of comfort, and no source of aid? We recognize where David’s cry because we have given it voice ourselves.
Light: But God is still God - vv.3-5.
"But You are holy, who inhabit the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed" (vv. 3-5).
1. In verse three David lifts his eyes from this world and looks up to God and speaks of his confidence in God. He expresses his belief and trust in God as proven by the History of those who came before, those who trusted in God and whose trust was proven justified by the actions of God. They were not ashamed by having put their trust in God as God had delivered them.
2. We are recipients of the same comforting thought today. We have another three thousand years of history which proves the faithfulness of God to those with whom he as made a covenant of promise, all the more so in that we have witness to the fulfillment of Gods will in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
3. As the writer of Hebrews tells us, we have a great cloud of witnesses whose lives give testimony to the wisdom of trusting in God. And whose example and presence may serve to encourage and motivate us to stronger faith in God. (Hebrews 11; 12:1)
4. Even in his despair, when David lifts his eyes up to God he sees the light of the truth of God’s nature as proven through the history of those who trusted in Him.
Darkness: My enemies scorn and mock me - vv.6-8.
"But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ’He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!’" (vv. 6-8).
1. Casting his eyes back down to the ground, to the world around him, David is again surrounded by darkness. His enemies mock and ridicule him, taunting his trust in God.
2. We recognize this attitude in those who oppose God and our faith in Him today. Our own belief and trust in God is often brought under ridicule, in overt and subtle ways.
Light: But You have been with me since I was born - vv.9-11.
"But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust when I was on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God. Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help" (v. 9-11).
1. Lifting his eyes again to the light of God, David acknowledges that even though he feels alone in this moment he knows the truth is that God has always been with him, even from the time of his birth. Even though there were no others able to help him, he knew he could count on God being there with him.
2. God has always been there, from the beginning of all things. He is always there for those who seek Him and will always be there for those who trust in Him. No matter what our experiences in this life may lead us to perceive, God never forsakes His children and He is worthy and deserving of our trust. (Matthew 6:25-33)
3. Even when it seems we are alone and without help, God is there watching over us, He is never far from those who love and trust in Him.
Darkness: I am overcome - vv.12-18.
"Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. They gape at Me with their mouths, as a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; the assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots" (vv.12-18).
1. Focusing again on the darkness surrounding him, David recounts the effect his enemies have on him. Describing those who oppose him as wild beasts, David details his loss of heart, his complete dejection and loss of hope. He is totally devastated to the point of seeing death.
2. With his eyes off the Lord, David is overwhelmed by the darkness which surrounds him. And we know how he feels. We can relate because sometimes the world can overwhelm us and bring us to the point where we feel we can not go on, that there is no hope to be found in this world. And we would be right but we, like David, do not need to depend on hope from this world. We have the hope which springs eternal from our God.
A. Light: But do not be far from Me - vv.19-21a.
"But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me; O My Strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save Me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen!" (vv. 19-21a).
1. From the pit of despair David lifts his eyes up to the light of God and utters a simple and soul-felt request: do not be far from me, help me, deliver me, save me! And God answers his prayer.
2. Sometimes it isn’t until we have hit rock bottom that we relinquish ourselves to complete trust in God. Sometimes we hold to our prideful self until completely and utterly devastated before casting our cares upon God only to find that He has been there the whole time. Ready, willing, and able to deliver us.
III. EXPANDING CIRCLE OF PRAISE - VERSES 21B-31
The Psalmist himself - "You have answered me" (v.21b).
1. A sudden and startling realization, from the pit of despair to the knowledge that God has delivered and praise springs forth from David’s heart.
The congregation of God’s people - vv.22-26.
"I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise You. You who fear the Lord, praise Him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from Him; but when He cried to Him, He heard. My praise shall be of You in the great congregation; I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever!" (vv. 22-26).
1. David praises God and restates His deservedness of trust by reminding the congregation of His faithfulness in answering the cry of His children.
All nations - vv. 27-29.
"All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship; all those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him, even he who cannot keep himself alive" (vv. 27-29).
1. David praises God and reaffirms Him as the ruler of all things and states His authority over all nations and all people.
Future generations - vv.30, 31.
"A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has done this" (vv. 30, 31).
Ever widening circles of praise, from the congregation of the Lord, to all nations of the world, to all future generations, the good news of God’s loving-kindness is praised; an example for us to follow in our own praise to God. And these verses serve as a turning point for us to examine the application of this Psalm to Jesus as they also tell how the good news of the Son of God came to man, first to the Jews, then to the gentiles, and passed down to all future generations to us this very day.
IV. SOME STRIKING FEATURES OF PSALM 22
A.Application of Psalm 22 to Jesus
1. In the New Testament, Psalm 22 is quoted and referred not to David, but to Christ. Compare v.22 with Hebrews 2:11, 12.
a. History records that on November 22, 1963; President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Texas, while riding down a Dallas street in a motorcar.
b. Suppose there had been in existence a document which predicted this event and which we knew to have been written in A.D. 963. That was about the time of the height of the Byzantine Empire, when most of the Western World was ruled from Constantinople, much of Europe was sparsely inhabited by barbarian tribes, and America was not yet discovered. 1000 years before the events of November 22, 1963.
c. Suppose that a document had been prepared in that ancient day which predicted that a time would come when a man of great prominence, head of a great nation, would be riding down a street of a large city in a metal chariot not drawn by horses, and would suddenly die from being struck in the head by a little piece of metal hurled from a weapon made of wood and iron, aimed at him from the window of a tall building, and that his death would have world-wide impact.
d. We know how the world would react to such a document because we see the attempts to stretch so called prophetic utterances to match world events when those documents don’t contain the detail of our supposed document. We know the awe such a document would be held today because we have seen it first hand.
e. Our hypothetical prediction would have been made even before the invention of the motorcar, or of firearms, and five hundred years before the discovery of America. It would be regarded as fantastically accurate.
f. Yet we have that very sort of thing in this psalm.
B. Psalm 22 and the crucifixion of Christ.
1. Psalm 22 was written by David almost 1,000 years before Jesus lived and died.
2. No chapter in the Old Testament finds a more detailed fulfillment in the New Testament.
3. Consider the details in Psalm 22 that were minutely fulfilled during Jesus’ death on the cross:
a. "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (v.1). Matthew 27:46.
b. "A reproach of men, and despised of the people" (v.6). Matthew 27:39-44.
c. "All those who see Me laugh Me to scorn" (v.7). Cf. Matthew 27:39.
d. "He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him" (v.8). Cf. Matthew 27:43.
e. "My tongue clings to My jaw" (v.15). Cf. John 19:28.
f. "They pierced My hands and My feet" (v.16). John 20: 25.
g. "They divide My garments among them" (v.18). Cf. Matthew 27:35.
Psalm 22 is powerful, prophetic evidence of Jesus!
CONCLUSION
The first part of Psalm 22 reminds us that in darkness there is always light.
The last part of Psalm 22 beautifully and powerfully depicts the sovereign rule of God over the world.
1. We should learn to be encouraged as we contemplate God’s rule among the nations of men.
2. No matter what happens, this is still our Father’s world!
And in its prophetic elements we find more assurance in the truth of God’s perfect plan to provide salvation to all mankind through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. Assurance and hope for all nations for all time.
