Psalm 22

Do you have a favorite psalm? I know that I have several, and it would be tough to narrow it down. Especially because certain psalms remind me of people in my life. I can't read Psalm 37 without thinking of Chaplain Benzing and the 3 years of guidance I had under him. Psalm 116 in my Bible is marked with my sister's name and the date 2/26/05, because the turmoil described there seemed so vivid against the backdrop of her breast cancer and other battles in her life. The 25th Psalm will always remind me of friends at Harding University and the Lily Pool devotionals there. We sang that frequently; it's so much easier to memorize Scripture when it's sung.

One of my newest favorites is Psalm 22. I mentioned this the other day in the Friday morning Bible study, so any of you who were there...I'm sorry for the repeat. But I love this, so I want to share it again.

The first line is familiar to all of us, even if you didn't know it was from the 22nd Psalm.

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"

We know that Christ cried this as he hung on the cross, and pages upon pages have been written about it. What did it mean that God had forsaken Him?

But maybe that's not the question. What if we look at the rest of the psalm. What was Christ saying as He cried out?

For the most part, his audience was comprised of God-fearing Jews. Did they know their psalms? I would venture to say that many if not most of them did. The psalms were used liturgically and during pilgrimages. They were part of the fiber of Jewish society. So, when Christ cried out, even though some of them misunderstood and thought he was crying for Elijah, surely some of them heard something different. Can we hear "the Lord is my shepherd," and not think, "I shall not want?"

I think Jesus was preaching a sermon that day. I think He was directing their thoughts to the remainder of the psalm. If you read it in its entirety, it is the "Messiah's Psalm."

After crying out, the psalmist then acknowledges God's holiness and praises Him:

"Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
You are the praise of Israel."

He goes on to talk about his current wretched position:

"But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
'He trusts in the Lord;
let the Lord rescue him.'"

Further, he describes his physical state (remember The Passion):

"I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me.
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments among them and
cast lots for my clothing."

Then after this very graphic prophecy of what will and did happen at Calvary, the psalm ends with these last 5 verses:

"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,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
and He rules over the nations."

"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.
Posterity will serve Him;
future generations will be told
about the Lord.
They will proclaim His rigtheousness
to a people yet unborn -
for He has done it."

So as Christ voiced, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me," it was a victory cry. The heavens echoed back,

"For a people yet unborn,
He has done it!"

For a woman in Pacific Grove, California 2000 years later,
He has done it.