Psalm 22 (Pre-Easter)
Notes
Transcript
INTRO:
Commentary on the Book of Psalms Psalm 22
David complains in this psalm, that he is reduced to such circumstances of distress that he is like a man in despair. But after having recounted the calamities with which he was so severely afflicted, he emerges from the abyss of temptations, and gathering courage, comforts himself with the assurance of deliverance. At the same time, he sets before us, in his own person, a type of Christ, who he knew by the Spirit of prophecy behoved to be abased in marvellous and unusual ways previous to his exaltation by the Father.
Faithlife Study Bible Psalm 22
Psalm 22 stands out for its portrayal of extreme anguish and its application to understanding Jesus’ suffering on the cross. In its OT context, it represents an individual lament psalm and portrays the suffering of an individual waiting for God’s deliverance.
1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Jesus references this on the cross
By this, He shows us that this psalm was prophetic
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
In it’s time, when David wrote it, he was in great anguish, and like many of us, can get the thought in our head that God is not helping us or God is not hearing us.
but we know this is not true, and we will see David having worked through this by the end of the Psalm
We can’t know the mind of God, or why He does certain things or let’s certain things happen
but we do know what Paul told us in the book of Romans:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
We know by being saved and having God on our side, that things WILL work out one way or the other
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; And in the night season, and am not silent. 3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
We have a good God, and we ALWAYS rest assured of that
He’s the good shepherd, He’s loving, He’s our heavenly Father, and He’s JUST and He’s HOLY
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: They trusted, and thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: They trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
Think about all the believers before us, and the great things they were able to accomplish with God on their side
Things about the childredn of Israel coming out of Egypt, Joseph, the conquest, David himself, and so many other events
They cried out to God, and He delivered them
think about the Red Sea crossing and how hopeless it seemed, and look how God solved that situation
6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people. 7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Think about these verses in light of Christ’s life and what He went throughfor us
8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
We know that Christ overcame the world, and offers deliverance to us
We see trust mentioned, so much of our relationship with God is based on trust, and HE is TRUSTWORTHY
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: Thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: Thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
13 For thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Marvellous are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.
God is sovereign over all things, He knows each and every one of us on a personal level
He has love and compassion for us at a personal level
He has a mission for each and every one of us
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; For there is none to help.
We must rely on God, ultimately, as He is the only one who can provide us real and true help
He’s the bread of life, the water of life, the Good shepherd, who leads us and guides us
Relying on God vs relying on man
our rock, our salvation, the only one who can save us spiritually
12 Many bulls have compassed me: Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. 13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, As a ravening and a roaring lion.
Bashan is in northern israel
during the conquest, king og of bashan was a giant who was conquered by israel, the one with the iron bed
was a popular religious site for false God’s when israel did not control the area, had connections to the “underworld”
bulls were a popular representation for certain false god’s back in the OT days, remember the golden calf?
this area has a lot of connections to false gods and the underworld and evil, which led to the following:
cessarea philippi is in the area of bashan, and this is where Jesus said, “Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it”
So if we think about the prophecy of this verse, we see that Jesus was being attacked from all sides, like being compassed about by evil itself
but He OVERCAME, and we can overcome through Him
14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; It is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
“my tongue cleaveth to my jaws” - he was thirsty, and we see this from Jesus while He was on the cross when He said “I thirst”
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
He hung there, on the cross, killed and betrayed by His own people, surely His heart was like wax and melted
just think about the suffering He went through for us, it’s incredible
this next verse is amazing
16 For dogs have compassed me: The assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: They pierced my hands and my feet.
and just think about the incredible nature of His Word, this prophecy, and how so much was fulfilled so clearly in Christ’s life
back in David’s time, crucifixion was not really around, which makes this incredibly vivid prophecy all the more amazing.
17 I may tell all my bones: They look and stare upon me. 18 They part my garments among them, And cast lots upon my vesture.
We know that the Roman soldiers at the crucifixion did just this, they cast lots for His clothes
19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword; My darling from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion’s mouth: For thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
At the beginning of the Psalm, David was feeling as if God wasn’t hearing him, which has all crossed our mind from time to time.
as the Psalm progresses, we see David calling out to God for help, in his heart, he KNOWS God’s there for him and listening to him.
we can be assured of the same, we can fully know that God hears each and every one of us, even if sometimes we’re discouraged and feel like He doesn’t
We can trust God, He’s proven that to us, and we know that one way or another things will work out
we do not understand God’s ways, we CANT understand His ways, but we must trust Him, and we know that God sees our trust and will recognize that we trust Him, it won’t go neglected or unnoticed
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; And fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither hath he hid his face from him; But when he cried unto him, he heard.
We see now David praising God, and spreading His name among those around him
He deserves all our praise and honor, just look at what He’s done for us, even the things we’ve see in this Psalm are amazing
v24 - and we see that the Bible says, the Word which has proven itself in so many ways, that HE HEARS US and SEES OUR AFFLICTION
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
David reiterates that it is GOD ALONE that is worthy of our praise, and that he will praise God in the great congregation
as believers, we should be lifting God up, not only with our tongue but with our life
not just in our personal life, but to those around us as well
we need to be lifting God up among the entire world so that they can see the light of God, the greatness of God, the justness and holiness of God, and the life changing power of God
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: They shall praise the Lord that seek him: Your heart shall live for ever.
This is reminiscent of the Sermon on the Mount
We see something very encouraging at the end of the verse, that your heart shall live forever
and we know that Christ has went to prepare a place for us, that where He is, we might be also, forever and ever
what an incredible blessing that is deserving of every bit or praise, honor, and respect that we could possibly give Him
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
We know that the Bible tells us that one day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord
We also see in the last part of the verse a hint of prophecy, that the nations would eventually be included in the plan of God and salvation
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s: And he is the governor among the nations. 29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: And none can keep alive his own soul.
The kingdom is the Lords, and He’s so graciously allowed us to be a part - how incredible! - and we aren’t even close to deserving it, it’s only because of the marvelous grace of God
in the last part of the verse, we see that none can keep alive his own soul - we MUST RELY ON GOD, we HAVE TO HAVE GOD if we want LIFE
remember that Jesus tells us not to fear man, but to fear the one who can destroy the body AND the soul
30 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.
“One generation after another shall come, and shall report God's righteousness, as shown forth in Christ, each to its successor - a people yet to be born - telling them that God "has done this;" i.e. effected all that is here sketched out, and so accomplished the work of redemption.”
CONCLUSION:
We see on one hand this is a Psalm of David which begins with the suffering that he is going through
but as the Psalm progresses, we see the encouragement that God provides, knowing that He hears us
this then turns into praise for God for not only David, but he encourages everyone around him and indeed the world to praise God for His goodness, mercy, and justness
We see on the other hand, the absolutely vivid prophecy that this psalm shows about the life of Christ and specifically the suffering He endured during the crucifixion
not only does this give us insight into the true gravity and incredibleness of what Jesus went through for us on the cross
but it shows us the incredible nature of God’s Word
Ultimately, though this Psalm talks a lot about suffering, we see that we can make it through our suffering with the help of God
with man, it’s impossible, but with God, all things are possible
and remember, Christ overcame the world, and through Him, we can overcome as well.
Easter is coming up next Sunday, and Jesus overcame all of these things on this day, defeated evil and death itself, and provides new life to us
so as we go into this week, I just wanted to talk about this Psalm as a reminder of what Christ went through for us
and the great victory that He achieved and has freely shared with us
