For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David.
1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
2My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;
in the night season, and am not silent.
3But you are holy,
you who inhabit the praises of Israel.
4Our fathers trusted in you.
They trusted, and you delivered them.
5They cried to you, and were delivered.
They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.
6But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7All those who see me mock me.
They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
8“He trusts in Yahweh.
Let him deliver him.
Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”
9But you brought me out of the womb.
You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts.
10I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb.
You are my God since my mother bore me.
11Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near.
For there is no one to help.
12Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13They open their mouths wide against me,
lions tearing prey and roaring.
14I am poured out like water.
All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It is melted within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
You have brought me into the dust of death.
16For dogs have surrounded me.
A company of evildoers have enclosed me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
17I can count all of my bones.
They look and stare at me.
18They divide my garments among them.
They cast lots for my clothing.
19But don’t be far off, Yahweh.
You are my help. Hurry to help me!
20Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dog.
21Save me from the lion’s mouth!
Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22I will declare your name to my brothers.
Among the assembly, I will praise you.
23You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!
24For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
neither has he hidden his face from him;
but when he cried to him, he heard.
25My praise of you comes in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows before those who fear him.
26The humble shall eat and be satisfied.
They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him.
Let your hearts live forever.
27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
28For the kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.
29All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.
30Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.
31They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.
Who was this Jesus who died on a cross? Who was He really? It is quite easy for a thinking person to accept that there is a God in the world who made all that we see. There are four main arguments proffered by many that make believing in God the most logical outcome for the human mind contemplating such things. I recently attended the Passion conference with the young adults from our church. We heard Cliff Knechtle, a well known apologist, argue that we can look around us and see that something or someone, a divine architect, must exist to have created the complexities we see in the world around us. There is an order and design of the cosmos that demonstrates an intelligent mind behind all things. He further argued that there is a moral sense embedded in every human heart that recognizes injustice and wrongdoing. Concepts like “should” and other normative behavior dictate such an originator. Thirdly, the fact that we were made to love and be loved makes no evolutionary sense. We have affections and heart attitudes that mirror divine attitudes. And lastly, we have life, which comes with purpose. The argument is essentially that life comes from life. Life does not arise from non-life. There must be an origin of life itself. David summarizes this in saying, “The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no God.” (Psalms 14:1 WEB)
For me, the leap to believing in Jesus as the promised Messiah to save the world is bridged by the fulfillment of a multitude of specific prophecies. Many of those are in the lines of this chapter. John lists them with specificity. What happened to Jesus during his trial and crucifixion is described in detail in Psalms 22. My father used to attend services at a Jewish synagogue on occasion, and he told me that services would sometimes begin with everyone reading a passage in the Bible in silence before the rabbi spoke. Father told me that Jesus was no doubt reciting Psalms 22 in His mind on the cross, and it detailed His plight. This was written 1000 years before Jesus was born. Some of the connections include: Psalms 22:1 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalms 22:7-8 describes the mocking that took place. “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. ‘He trusts the Lord, they say, ‘let the Lord rescue Him.” Then Psalms 22:16, 17, and 18 predict: “They pierce my hands and my feet.’ “I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” The parallels are undeniable. What in the world was the Poet King David writing? How did any of this ever enter his mind?
And last but not least, the most beautiful words in the Bible were long foretold in this Psalm. From the cross, Jesus uttered the words “IT IS FINISHED.” This means it is done. The last line of Psalms 22 declares just that, “31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.” And dear reader, with those words, deep anguish ended, and triumph began. It all began with Jesus, and it all ends with Jesus. Yes, there is so much evidence that Peter’s confession is true. “16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16 WEB) Do you hold fast to that confession as well?