SERMON OUTLINE:
(A). Prayer and Suffering (vs 1-21):
(1). He was abandoned by the Lord (vs 1-5)
(2). He was despised by the people (vs 6-11)
(3). He was condemned by the law (vs 12-21)
(B). Victory and Praise (vs 22-31):
(1). The great assembly (vs 22-25)
(2). The glorious kingdom (vs 26-29)
(3). The generations to come (vs 30-31)
SERMON BODY:
• Psalms 22, 23, and 24 are a group of psalms written by King David.
• It has often been pointed out that these three Psalms (22, 23 & 24) form a trilogy;
• The cross (Psalm 22), the crook (Psalm 23), and the crown (Psalm 24),
• Yet these three Psalms (22, 23 & 24) form a trilogy;
• They fit together and complement one another because;
• They cover the past, the present, and the future.
• They speak of Christ as the Sufferer in Psalm 22,
• Christ as the Shepherd in Psalm 23,
• And Christ as the Sovereign in Psalm 24.
• They fit together each and work together as a threesome;
• To know Christ as Shepherd,
• We must first meet him first at the cross as our saviour.
• And to know his continued care & guidance in our lives;
• We must make him sovereign, the king, the ruler of our lives!
Note:
• The Psalm divides into two parts;
• The dividing point is verse 21,
• Everything previous in verses 1-21 is prayer and suffering;
• Everything after this verse 22-31 is a song of victory and praise.
• This is a Messianic Psalm, that is a Psalm concerning the Messiah, Jesus Christ;
• Although it was written originally to describe the writers own personal circumstances.
• It has a deeper, far greater meaning.
• Through this Psalm we will see the cross of Christ in new and more amazing ways!
• As this Psalm touches on the physical, emotional and spiritual sufferings of Christ.
• And although crucifixion would not be around in this part of the world for hundreds of years;
• Because crucifixion came to this region with the invasion of the Roman army.
• This Psalm clearly pictures a crucified saviour.
Quote John Stott:
“…the sufferer’s agony in Psalm 22:14-17 – his disjointed bones, his thirst and his pierced hands and feet – is a remarkable description of the horrors of crucifixion’.
The writers of the New Testament quote this Psalm in connection with Jesus Christ:
(a).
• In Mark chapter 15 verse 34;
• Jesus actually quoted verse 1 when he was on the cross;
And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
(b).
• In Matthew chapter 27 verses 39-44, Mark chapter 15 verses 31-32;
• And Luke chapter 23 verse 35:
• We see verses 7-8 of this Psalm being fulfilled.
• As Jesus is mocked and ridiculed by the priests.
(c).
• And in John chapter 19 verses 23-24:
• We see how Jesus was further humiliated by the confiscation of his clothing;
• As Roman soldiers sat at the foot of the cross gambling to see who would have them!
(d).
• Bible scholars say there are between 14 and 33 (depending on who you believe);
• Items describing death by crucifixion in this Psalm.
• So next time you read it see how many you can find.
Notice:
• The title, the superscription of the Psalm:
• Often it sets the tone of the Psalm or the scene of what is to follow.
• “For the director of music. To the tune of ‘The Doe of the Morning’. A psalm of David”.
TWO THINGS TO NOTE:
First: notice who it is written to.
• It is addressed to ‘the director of music’;
• That is the chief musician.
• This Psalm is written for the very best,
• It is the highest praise that is going to be sung by the highest of all Jewish musicians.
Second: Notice the animal that is mentioned.
• The animal mentioned is, ‘a doe’, a hind; a female deer.
• Just like this graceful, majestic, beautiful creature.
• The victim in the Psalm will be like an innocent deer;
• That will be surrounded by wild beasts and savagely torn apart.
As I mentioned earlier the Psalm divides into two parts;
• Verses 1-21 is prayer and suffering;
• Verses 22-31 is a song of victory and praise.
• As we scan over each part;
• I want you to notice that each part naturally divides into three sub-sections;
(A). Prayer and Suffering (vs 1-21).
• In this section David the writer share with us three burdens, three problems;
• That caused him to call out and ask God to help him;
• These three difficulties apply to Jesus Christ as well.
(1). He was abandoned by the Lord (vs 1-5).
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame”.
• This first verse of Psalm 22;
• Are words that Jesus himself quoted while he was hanging on the cross.
You probably remember that in the Gospel records (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John):
• We see the special and unique relationship between Jesus and his Father.
• Between God the Don and God the Father.
• The normal word of address Jesus used when he talked was the words ‘My Father’,
• Only on one occasion does Jesus ever address his heavenly Father as "God”,
• That occasion is the fourth time he spoke while hanging on a cross;
• Note: that this change of name;
• Indicates for us a change of relationship.
• There is now a break in fellowship between Father and Son.
• In this moment of history, the eternal link between God the Son & God the Father is severed!
Quote: Old Hymn says:
“How didst Thou humble Thyself to be taken.
Led by Thy creatures and nailed to the cross.
Hated of men, and of God too forsaken,
Shunning not darkness, the curse, and the loss”
ill:
• And that word ‘forsaken’ or ‘abandoned’ is such a powerful word.
• There is no sadder word in our language than the word 'forsaken':
• Every so often on the news we hear the story of a baby;
• That has been ‘forsaken’ or ‘abandoned’ on the steps of a hospital or police station.
• The story makes national news because we are shocked;
• We can’t understand how a mother could ‘forsake’ or ‘abandon’ a child.
Note:
• Remember Jesus knew what it felt like to be forsaken by men,
• It had happened to him all too often:
(a).
• His relations, misunderstood him, even thinking that he was deranged,
• They forsook him.
(b).
• His fellow Nazarenes took him up the hill to push him over the top,
• And would have done so had they had the power.
• They forsook him.
(c).
• The city of Jerusalem, the city of the great king, forsook him,
• Making him weep at their indifference.
(d).
• His own nation, whom he had come to redeem,
• Forsook him.
(e).
• Even as he faced arrest and trial and execution,
• His nearest, his own disciples, forsook him and fled away.
Yet on the cross it was not men but God the Father who hid his face!:
• He had always known the enjoyed the tender, healing communion with his Father:
• But now that has gone!
• The hiding of His Father's face, must have been;
• The most bitter sip of the cup of sorrow that He chose to drink.
• Verse 3: reminds us why – God is ‘holy’.
• And as Jesus became the sin bearer for a lost world.
• ill: As Adam & Eve discovered way back in the Garden of Eden.
• Sin brings separation – and they left God’s presence and their special relationship;
• As they were forced to leave the Garden of Eden.
Notice: That even in this cry, there is hope and trust:
• He says, "MY God, MY God. . ."
• He still called God "MY God"; the Father still belonged to Him.
• That unique communion was gone,
• Yet the Son had the full knowledge that the Father's presence would return.
• The withdrawal of the Father's presence did not mean the withdrawal of His love.
• At the end of the dark tunnel was light;
• In a few hours’ time Jesus would again say,
• "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke chapter 23 verse 46).
Quote A.W. Pink:
"This was a cry of distress but not of distrust,
God had withdrawn from Him, but mark how His soul still cleaves to God."?
(2). He was despised by the people (vs 6-11)
“But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 ‘He trusts in the LORD,’ they say,
‘let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.’
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help”.
• Like many a preacher I have enjoyed and often preached on the ‘I AM’s’ of Jesus;
• That are mentioned throughout the gospel of John.
• And yet verse 6 brings to our attention another ‘I am’ that is linked to Jesus;
• And you could not find a greater contrast to the other seven ‘I AM’s’ if you tried!
• “But I am a worm and not a man”
• A worm is a creature of the ground, helpless, frail, and unattractive!
• This was the lowest form of life biologically that the Psalmist could come up with.
• “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people”.
Ill:
• Most of us have never ever been ‘scorned’ & ‘despised’;
• Not in this sense.
• We may occasionally see on the news a ‘sex offender’;
• Being reproached and hated as he is taken into court.
Ill:
• An American Police Officer recently said;
• “I put my life on the line everyday”,
• He said:
• “I have been beaten, I have fallen over barbed-wire, I have been shot at!”
• Yet he said:
• “The greatest pain of being a policeman is to know that you are the thin blue line,
• That you put your life on the line between chaos and anarchy,
• And that people will call you a pig!”
• He said: “The sneering and the mocking of an officer is the deepest pain you go through”
• TRANSITION:
• I guess there is only one thing worse than mocking;
• It is when people mock in ignorance as in verse 8.
8 ‘He trusts in the LORD,’ they say,
‘let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.’
• These people were ignorant, they could not understand;
• Even though their own scriptures told them;
• They could not understand why an innocent man;
• Would go through all this torture and pain!
• Quote: Isaiah chapter 53 verses 3-4;
“He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.”
(3). He was condemned by the law (vs 12-21)
“Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen”.
• When David looked around at his cruel and brutal enemies
• He compared them to animals.
• Verse 21: “Bulls of Bashan”.
• Verse 13 &21: “Roaring lions”.
• Verse 16&20: “Dogs”.
• “Bulls of Bashan” - Bashan was a very fertile area east of the Sea of galilee;
• These bulls were strong and fit;
• These wild bulls encircled their prey and moved in for the kill.
• The image of “Roaring lions…tearing their prey” speaks for itself;
• Lions mark their territory with roars that can be heard five miles away;
• These symbolic lions are clearly * powerfully saying; “we are in charge, not you!”
• “Dogs” - were ravaging, savage, wild hounds;
• They lived among the rubbish dumps and they travelled in packs looking for victims.
These poetical images just add to the sufferings of Christ:
• We all have read or heard sermons describing the physical agonies of crucifixion;
• Yet these images underline the emotional sufferings of Christ;
• Alongside the spiritual sufferings of Christ!
(B). A Song of Victory and Praise. (vs 22-31):
• In this second part of the Psalm we also have a five-fold division.
• We are moving from suffering to glory, from prayer to praise.
• I hope you noticed that:
• Throughout this Psalm there is no bitterness towards God for this persons situation;
• The person in the Psalm is full of trust from start to finish!
• Even in that very first verse when he says, "My God, my God. . ."
• He still called God "MY God"; the Father still belonged to Him.
• That unique communion may well have been broken,
• Yet the person in this Psalm knew the withdrawal of the Father's presence;
• Did not mean the withdrawal of His love!
Quote: A.W. Pink said of these words in connection with Jesus:
"This was a cry of distress but not of distrust,
God had withdrawn from Him, but mark how His soul still cleaves to God."?
• Now reading this Psalm through modern eyes and with hindsight;
• We could add – a three day gap between verse 21 and verse 22.
• Because we are moving from:
• The horrors of the cross to the glory of the resurrection.
• We are moving from suffering to praise:
• i.e. verse 22b: “I will praise you”.
• i.e. verse 23b: “Praise him! All you descendants of Jacob”.
• i.e. verse 25a: “From you comes the theme of my praise”.
• i.e. verse 26b: “Those who seek the Lord will praise him”.
• In verse 1-21: Jesus endured the cross;
• Verses 22-31: Jesus enters into the praise of his people.
Ill:
• One of the most memorable Easter posters that was printed;
• Was just so simple in its design and yet so profound in its message.
• It was a silhouetted picture of a cross and above it were two words; “He won!”
(1). The Great Assembly (vs 22-25).
“I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honour him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfil my vows”.
• These are incredible words, think about what they are saying:
• Even in the wickedness of the cross;
• The name of God will be extolled, acclaimed, glorified, praised & lauded.
Ill:
• And in a few minutes when we take communion that is surely going to happen;
• We are going to meditate on the most wicked act that ever occurred in human history.
• The rejection and renunciation of the Son of God.
• And as we give thanks to God we will be fulfilling verse 22:
• As we again dwell on the goodness, the faithfulness, the mercy and the love of God;
• As demonstrated in the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ!
• Because to us with retrospect the ‘Why’ of verse 1 got answered:
• We have an answer and one hymn-writer (Horatio G. Spafford) put it this way:
“My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!”
• God is extolled;
• Christ has ‘his people’, his brethren,
• And you and I are included in that great assembly of ‘His people’.
(2). The Glorious Kingdom (vs 26-29).
“The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him –
may your hearts live for ever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him –
those who cannot keep themselves alive”.
• The imagery her is that of a feast;
• Jesus often described in his parables that the ‘Kingdom of God’ was a feast.
• I love verse 26: “The poor”;
• In other words those who have no right to be there;
• They have nothing to bring to the party and they are socially unacceptable;
• And yet they are there!
• And they ‘satisfied’ in his presence.
• Brings to mind the words of Jesus: Quote: Matthew chapter 5 verse 3:
• “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
Verse 27: is worth noting as well: “All the ends of the earth”:
• Question: Do you know what the ends of the earth are to Jerusalem?
• Answer: Obscure places like Southampton, England!
Ill:
• One of Hollywood’s epic films is the story of Ben Hur.
• And although the work and imagination of a man it is very insightful places.
• In one scene of the film, at the crucifixion the blood of Jesus runs down the cross;
• Along the ground.
• It then ends up way in the back of some tombs where the leapers live;
• And as a leaper touches the blood so he is healed of his leprosy!
• TRANSITION: Now that might be a Hollywood exaggeration of truth;
• But actually it makes a very telling illustration.
• For the blood of Jesus shed on a cross;
• Has flowed not only around the ‘ends of the earth’;
• But also down through the centuries of history healing people of their dieses of sin!
• Wow! All around the earth; from the great cathedrals in huge cities;
• To a few native tribesmen in a mud hut in Papua New Guinea;
• ‘His people’ are praising his name of Jesus Christ!
(3). The Generations to Come (vs 30-31).
N.I.V.:
“Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!”
K.J.V.:
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
• The King James Version of the Bible makes something clearer than the N.I.V.:
• It lists for us three generations in these verses.
• “a seed”, “a generation” and “a people that shall be born”
• These verses clearly show that the blessings from the cross of Jesus Christ;
• Will not be temporary but perpetual – from one generation to another!
• Now God has non grandchildren!
• No-one will inherit salvation because of a Christian mother or father or….;
• But whoever believes; poor or rich, Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free;
• “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved!”
