A Study of Psalm 22
Psalm 22
Introduction
- Psalms broken into 5 books, covered an extensive time period
- Gathered together as songs of praise & words of encouragement/warning
- We are studying book 1, Psalm 1-41 … Info: we’ll take break for Advent
- If we apply ourselves, this could be a life changing study (expound today)
- I want us, as a church, to examine if we can’t rejoice more
- We ought to be able to praise and want more of God every day
- Read Psalm 22 / Pray
- Psalm 22 is an amazing piece of literature
• It is written 1,000 years before the birth of Christ
• What I want us to see is that this is David NOT talking about David
- Rather, this is David talking about Christ …
1. There are no recordings of David ever suffering like this Psalm depicts
2. The Psalm uses particular phrases to describe crucifixion
3. The Psalm does not discuss David’s sin, or his desire to be forgiven
4. David at no time calls upon God to redeem or to fight for him
Point 1 – Christ was separated from God
- Spurned by God (v1); rejected, cast out
• He asks: “Why have you forsaken me?”
• Exact words that Christ said on the cross … written 1,000 yrs. earlier
- Silence came from God (v2)
• Silence was so that God’s wrath could be poured out
• Isaiah 53:10 “… It was the LORD’s will to crush him & cause Him to suffer”
• God’s silence was unusual for Christ (constant fellowship)
• Crying out “by day” is the period on the cross, during daylight b4 darkness
• As it turned to “night” his suffering intensified; dying on the cross
Point 2 – Christ’s strength is from God
- Because of God’s sovereignty (v3)
• God’s silence did not mean he departed His throne
• Silence was so that He could be separated from sin; He is still the Holy One
- To demonstrate God’s salvation (v4-5)
• Just as Israel puts its trust in God … so did the Messiah
• IMP: David knew that God’s trust is what ancestors showed him
• Christ also knew this, and so he persevered to endure the cross
• APP: Jesus’s trust in God would not end His shame; rather, enthrone Him
Point 3 – Christ’s scorn from God
- He was rejected by the people (v6)
• Jesus lamented as being a worm; one that mankind had no use for
• His rejection was beyond anything that anyone ever deserved
• Understanding this, he saw himself as something reprehensible (a maggot)
- He was also ridiculed by the people (v7-8)
• Mocked (v7) … consider the crowd’s reaction to Him to Calvary
• Insulted (v7b-8) … they pulled His beard, spit on Him, beat Him
• They mocked his claim and trust in God (on the cross) as well
• (v8) Pharisees: “If he is the Son of God, let Him come down from there…”
- TRANS: B/C of His scorn, He still submitted Himself to God
Point 4 – Christ’s submission to God
- His birth was by God (v9)
• The confession is He knew where this began
• He was brought from the womb for this very purpose; dependent on God
- His suffering began with God’s plan (v10)
• His dependency is fully on the Lord, because of what God has done
• He knew that God’s purpose began even before His birth through death
Point 5 – Christ’s suffering from God
- Consider the suffering that Christ endured for you and I … watch v12-18
• His life surrounded (v12) – by bulls (violent animals)
• His safety threatened (v13) – by lions who seek to devour/destroy
• His life poured out (v14a) – he was fully drained and offered as a sacrifice
• His heart melted (v14b) – He felt hopeless & utterly rejected
• His strength gone (v15) – Weary, without ability to go on (Simon & cross)
• His body pierced (v16) – like violent dogs, they pierced his hands at cross
• His bones exposed (v17) – he knew that he was laid bare; able to feel it all
• His clothes divided (v18) – soldiers cast lots for his clothes at the cross
- IMP: See how David makes this personal? To Him, this relationship IS personal!
Point 6 – Christ’s supplication from God
- He asks for God to strengthen him (v19)
• Jesus’s cry on the cross would have been one of rescue
• Consider the pain, the anguish, remember His cry: “Why have you …”
- Further he asks for God to save him (v20-21)
• Deliver me from the dogs - those who’ve done this to Him
• Rescue me from lions, oxen - those who desire to see Him die
• IMP: Use of phrase “Save me” means He was heard by God
- TRANS: So, what does this all lead to, and what does David tell us?
Point 7 – Christ’s salvation is from God
- Proclaimed to the Jews (v22-24)
• By the risen Christ (v22) - Jesus will declare all that God provides
• To believing disciples (v23-24) – God has given us all that we need
- Proclaimed to the Gentiles (v25-29)
• Jesus will be worshipped by the nations (v25-26)
• Jesus will be believed upon by the nations (v27)
- Proclaimed to all peoples (v30-31)
• He will be served by future generations (v30a)
• Future generations will declare/teach all that He has done (v30b-31)
Big Idea
- The way David writes this, you’d almost think he was standing at the cross
- He gives a complete story of all that Jesus will ensure:
• The son of God will be born
• He will be forsaken by all … and God
• He will be put to death by evil men who want Him dead
• Yet, His faithfulness is what brought about our salvation today
• B/C it is God who delivers Him – so God gets to declare the victory
- When we consider that David is laying out for us the Christ … it challenges us
-- It challenges us to ask, “How am I showing others who Jesus is?”
- Come back and see how this sets us up for Sunday & our study of Psalm 23
- Pray
* Special thanks to Holman Old Testament Commentary for the foundational outline of this sermon.
