The Promised Messiah Prays


Psalm 22
This Psalm is one of great importance to the Passion of Christ. These are the words that Jesus quotes as He hangs on the cross, thus we find here a Messianic Psalm of prophecy and beauty. It is beautiful in the same way that Good Friday is good. Jesus brings forth our salvation through His work on the cross. Some even believe that Jesus quotes this entire Psalm during His hours on the cross. Centuries before, David penned these words as his own prayer, which speaks of his coming Savior. As you read this Psalm, put your mind on Christ hanging on the cross speaking these very words. That may change the lens through which you read these words and inform your understanding of this incredible text.
 
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
3Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.
14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
16For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
17I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;
18they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
21Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.
25From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!
27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
28For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.
29All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

This Psalm simply demands our attention. Read it again, in your own Bible, and mark the phrases that you believe correspond directly to the life and work of Christ. You’ll find most of the Psalm underlined! The emotional ethos of this Psalm is undeniably powerful as it expresses the pain and suffering of Jesus for our sins. His great sorrow over His separation from the Father is heart wrenching. But I think that coming face to face with His pain through this Psalm is a gift to us, because it helps us understand the utter depravity in which we live. Our need for a Savior is brilliantly exposed in these words. While it isn’t Good Friday, I would encourage you to spend some time allowing this Psalm to inhabit your spirit over the next couple of days. Ponder the power and strength that it took for the Savior to say these words while surrendering His life for the sins of the world. His great power would have made it very easy for Him to say, “No, I’m choosing not to die for these sinners.” But instead, He bends that power into submission and uses it instead to keep Himself on the cross unto death. This is what true power looks like.

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