FROM DESOLATION TO PRAISE.
Psalm 22:1-31.
(I). Jesus Upon the Cross.
Psalm 22:1-21.
The details of the sufferings in Psalm 22:1-21 match more exactly the anguish of Jesus upon the Cross than anything that we can find in any of the written records of David’s life - and because of this the church has always read this Psalm of David as a Psalm of Jesus. Whatever deep sense of desolation rocked David into penning these words, his God-inspired prophetic insight reaches far beyond the limits of his own time and experience to the Cross of Jesus – and beyond. In this respect Psalm 22 stands alongside Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of the suffering of Messiah.
One of the famous ‘seven last sayings of Jesus on the Cross’ is known as the Cry of Dereliction. It appears to be a verbatim quotation of Psalm 22:1 (cf. Mark 15:34), but in fact the converse is true. It was the Spirit of Jesus who inspired the words that flowed from David’s mouth (2 Samuel 23:1-2).
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?” (Mark 15:34; cf. Psalm 22:1).
This is the only time when Jesus addressed the LORD as “My God” rather than “Father.” It is known as the cry of dereliction, or abandonment. Yet it is remarkable that, deserted though He may have felt, Jesus still knew God as HIS God. Believers can draw great strength from this, even at times when we too may feel bereft of the felt presence of God with us.
Jesus’ description of His dereliction is a sense of forsakenness, a sense of God being “far from helping me, (far from) the words of my roaring” (Psalm 22:1b). It is a terrible thing for any one of us to ever feel that way, but consider this: THE SON OF GOD WAS WILLING TO GO THROUGH ALL THIS FOR SINNERS SUCH AS WE!
Sometimes when we are not hearing from God, we try to think of reasons why it might be. What sin might I have committed that causes my prayers to seem to reach no higher than the ceiling? Yet it was Jesus, the Son in whom God was ‘well pleased,’ who gave voice to such a situation: “My God,” He says, “I cry by day, and you do not answer, and in the night season I am not silent” (Psalm 22:2).
Yes, He is still acknowledging the relationship: He is still “My God.” Jesus taught that God would do justice for His own elect, ‘though He bear long with them’ (Luke 18:7). Yet there he was, after a long night which began with Him praying in a Garden, and heaven seemed like brass above His holy head. All this for us, whose forbears sinned in another Garden!
“Yet,” begins Psalm 22:3. The lament does not lack an answer, even if it has to be provided by the lamenter. In this instance, it introduces a reflection on just who God is. He is the holy, covenant-keeping God of Israel, who inhabits the praises of His people. He delivered His people in times past: they trusted in Him, and were not disappointed (Psalm 22:3-5).
Sometimes such a recollection leaves us feeling our own smallness, and our own undeservedness: but Jesus had no cause for such shame. He ‘knew no sin’ (2 Corinthians 5:21); He ‘did no sin’ (1 Peter 2:22); in Him is no sin (1 John 3:5).
“But I am a worm, not a man” reflected Jesus, returning to His lament. “A reproach of men and despised” (Psalm 22:6; cf. Isaiah 53:3). “All who see me mock me” (Psalm 22:7; cf. Mark 15:29). They say, “He trusted in the LORD… Let Him deliver Him” (Psalm 22:8; cf. Matthew 27:43).
“Yet,” Jesus reiterates (Psalm 22:9). The LORD was with Him from His mother’s womb (and even before, we might add!) The LORD was with Him when Joseph took Jesus and His mother to Egypt, and when they came back to live in Nazareth. And still, He is “My God” (Psalm 22:10). Such providential care is the portion of all of God’s people (cf. Isaiah 46:3-4).
And again the plaintive plea: “Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help” (Psalm 22:11). The LORD is the one who delivers when there is no-one else to help us (cf. Psalm 72:12).
“Many bulls” encompassed Jesus (Psalm 22:12; cf. Matthew 27:1; Acts 4:27). They were like lions (Psalm 22:13). For us (Christians), it is the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). ‘Save me from the mouth of the lion,’ cried Jesus (Psalm 22:21a).
The details of Psalm 22:14-15 are an accurate prediction of what it must have been like. His “bones” are out of joint, His “heart” is like melted wax, His “strength” is dried up, His “tongue” sticks to the roof of His mouth. And “Thou hast brought Me into the dust of death.”
The righteous sufferer feels like He is prey to a pack of wild dogs, surrounded by “the assembly of the wicked.” There were people baying for the blood of Jesus from the very start of His ministry, and all this came to a head before and around the Cross. Written centuries before the grotesque reality of execution by crucifixion, we have here a prophetic prediction of what happened to Jesus: “they pierced my hands and feet” (Psalm 22:16).
In the midst of His agony, the crucified One could look down at His bones: and He would see, as it were, His bones staring right back at Him (Psalm 22:17). That, and the gawking crowd (cf. Luke 23:35). Added to this was the indignity of seeing others casting lots for His clothes - as if He were already dead (Psalm 22:18; cf. John 19:23-24).
Yet in the midst of His sufferings, and despite His sense of desolation, Jesus continued to make His appeal to His God (Psalm 22:19). No matter how bleak our situation, nor whether we can ‘feel’ the presence of God or not, faith will persist: the object of our hope will not fail us. The LORD is our strength.
In His direst need, He casts His soul upon God. “Deliver me” (Psalm 22:20). “Save me” (Psalm 22:21). Then, out of the desolation, the triumph of a prayer breakthrough: “THOU HAST HEARD ME!” (Psalm 22:21b).
(II). A Paradigm of Praise.
Psalm 22:22-31.
Whatever deep sense of desolation rocked David into penning these words, his God-inspired prophetic insight reaches far beyond the limits of his own time and experience to the Cross of Jesus – and beyond. Therefore I have called this closing section of the Psalm ‘a paradigm of praise’ - not just because of its content, but especially because of its context.
The first person singular of Psalm 22:1-21 - ‘I’ – switches to persons plural from Psalm 22:22 onward, as the composer looks forward to the day when he will no longer be a stranger in the great congregation (Psalm 22:25). Have we the faith that sees beyond the affliction to its end (Job 23:10), beyond the fight to the victory (Psalm 22:22-24); to praise God in the midst of affliction like Paul and Silas (Acts 16:22-25)? David - and Jesus – envisaged an end to the present tribulation.
The Psalmist calls upon his brethren to join him in celebration of the victory wrought by God, who ‘has not despised the affliction of the afflicted’ (Psalm 22:23-24). The celebration takes the form of a testimonial feast, to which the whole congregation is invited (Psalm 22:25). Those who formerly shared his tears (cf. Romans 12:15), now have opportunity to rejoice with him.
The reference to “the meek” anticipates the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (cf. Matthew 5:5). Those who seek the LORD are told, “Your heart shall live for ever” (Psalm 22:26). This in turn points to the regeneration accomplished by Jesus: the making alive of those who were ‘dead in trespasses and sins’ (Ephesians 2:1).
Jesus eventually opened the doors of salvation to those outside the family: to the poor and afflicted, and even to strangers beyond the boundaries of Israel (Psalm 22:27-28). This universalisation of the gospel, rightly understood, is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3).
The keys of death are in the hands of Jesus, and “none can keep alive his own soul” (Psalm 22:29). All the dead shall at last bow down before Him (cf. Philippians 2:10-11). The present celebrants are joining the faithful of former generations in the Church Universal.
They are followed by “a seed” that shall yet serve the LORD (Psalm 22:30), who shall in turn declare His righteousness to a people yet unborn (Psalm 22:31). The gospel extends not only to the ends of the earth, but to the end of the age.
Another of the ‘seven last sayings of Jesus upon the Cross’ is known as ‘the Word of Triumph’: - ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). This is a cry of completion, or accomplishment, not unlike the closing words of our reading: “He has done it” (Psalm 22:31).
Perhaps one aspect of ‘taking up our Cross daily and following Jesus’ (Luke 9:23) is that we should do so not just with a cheerful countenance, but also with praise upon our lips. How do we relate to setbacks in our lives? Do we stop praising because of them?
Our Psalm does not end with Jesus still on the Cross. The turning point is "Thou hast heard Me" (Psalm 22:21b). Christ has died. Christ is risen. There is a resurrection to follow for all the people of God. "HE HAS DONE THIS" (Psalm 22:31).
