Download Sermon on Psalm 22 Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon on Psalm 22
Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
As you know, it will be Good Friday soon. Two weeks from now we will remember and
celebrate the results of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the church calendar, the
seven weeks and Sundays leading up to Good Friday are called the weeks of Passion. The
word ‘passion’ comes from the Latin ‘passio’, which means suffering. In that period of time
of seven weeks the church prepares herself for those two most important Christian feast days,
those days when Jesus’ suffering and death gave us peace and everlasting life.
It is for that reason that today we will consider Psalm 22. You will have noticed when we
read through it, that it contains many references to the suffering of Christ on the cross. Let me
mention a few. It begins with the cry of vs 1: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?” Our Lord Jesus spoke those words after three hours of darkness engulfed him, as he
hung on the cross, rejected by man, and abandoned by God (Mt. 27:46). Vs 7 mentions people
mocking the writer of the Psalm, just like people mocked the Lord. In Mt. 27 we read that
people laughed at Jesus hanging on the cross: “If you are the Son of God, come down from
the cross.”, and: “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now!” (Mt. 27:39-43). It continues in
vs 16, perhaps the most telling mention, where it says that enemies pierced the hands and feet
of the writer of the Psalm - a clear reference to the nails that pierced the hands and feet of our
Saviour, as he was nailed to the cross. And vs 18 as well, where it says that the clothes of the
writer were divided, that they cast lots for them - a reference to the soldiers who crucified
Jesus and afterwards cast lots to see who would have his tunic (Jn. 19:24). And finally also
the last words of vs 31 “He has done it.” can be translated “It is finished”, the last words our
Lord spoke before he died on the cross (Jn. 19:30).
These allusions to the suffering of our Lord Jesus in Psalm 22 beg the question: who
exactly is the subject of the Psalm? Who is this Psalm really about? For we do find many
references to Jesus, but the title of the Psalm says nonetheless “of David”. So is this about
David or the Lord Jesus? This question is important, for if the answer is that it is about David,
that means that it can apply to us as well. If this Psalm is an expression of the suffering that
David went through, then we may identify with him and learn how we should deal with
suffering in our own lives. If, however, this Psalm is only a prophetic word about our Lord
Jesus, then we learn of the suffering of our Lord and the result of that suffering for us, but it
would be very difficult to identify with our Lord in this respect, as his suffering was unique, a
suffering to take away the sins of the world.
So who is the subject of the Psalm? I think we find the answer to our question in 1 Pt.
1:10-12. There the apostle Peter explains that the prophets of the OT did not always know
who they were talking about as they were guided in their writing by the Holy Spirit. Their
words could have more than one meaning, or could apply to more than one person, or their
meaning would be revealed fully in times to come. I believe that Psalm 22 is such a writing.
Consider that David was a prophet as well. And as he was writing Psalm 22, expressing his
feelings and experiences of something that had happened to him, he was also, probably
without himself knowing so, prophesying about his great Son. The great Son of David would
one time suffer a similar pain as his father according to the flesh. However, the suffering of
David and the suffering of our Lord were also crucially different, as we will see.
And so, as this Psalm is first about David, it is also possible for us to mirror our own life’s
experiences to his. This is a very emotional Psalm. It is essentially about someone seeking
God and finding him in the midst of his troubles. A child of God, a righteous man, desperately
cries out for the help of God. He cries out for God to be close to him, to not abandon him, but
to deliver him and answer his prayers. All of us, children of God like David, at one point in
our lives, will feel like David did - perhaps you feel like that right now. Let us learn from
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David and from the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, how we can cope with the most serious
questions and doubts in our lives, and be comforted and encouraged.
Before we do that, it is important to point out another very important aspect of this Psalm
22, an aspect that we underlined also when we sung a few verses of the rhymed Psam 22
halfway through the Text Reading. It is this, that there is a very clear turnaround in the Psalm.
Up till vs 21a the Psalm is made up out of complaints and cries for help. But from 21b to the
end of the Psalm, the atmosphere changes to all happiness and victory and praises! Some have
therefore said that the Psalm has been put together by an editor who glued two Psalms
together to form this one. This is unlikely as there is no textual evidence for this, other than
the sudden transition in vs 21. Others have said that the writer of the Psalm, David, when he
was in the midst of great trouble, had such great confidence in the coming deliverance of God,
that he already expressed his joy of the hearing of his prayers from vs 21b onwards - so sure
was he of the hearing of his prayers. I think, however, that we should read the entire Psalm as
an expression of David’s feelings after he was delivered by God. After all was said and done,
David is looking back on this time when he was in such distress, and shares with us his
emotions and experiences of that time. It is after all a lot easier to remember the pain you
suffered in the past, and to write about it, than to rejoice in a future deliverance that you have
not yet experienced.
And this gives us an extra assurance. David was in great pain, but he was delivered. Not
just in his mind, he was not waiting for it, no it was really true, it had happened to him - God
came to his aide, he delivered him! This is of great comfort to us. We too may be sure that our
deliverance will come, just as it has come for David.
For the sermon this turnaround in vs 21 means that we split up the sermon in two. In the
first half we will see
The desperate cry of the righteous man for the deliverance of God
1. The cause of this cry
2. The reason for this cry
And then we will consider the triumphant second part with the theme
God delivers!
3. The significance of God’s deliverance for his people
4. The significance of God’s deliverance for his world
1. The cause of the desperate cry of the righteous man
What makes people cry out to God in desperation? There can be many reasons. When we
find out that we are seriously sick, and that no doctor can help us anymore. Or when we lose
someone whom we love very much. When we see a child stray from the church, and we feel
powerless to bring him back. When we see our plans for the future, or the future of our
children go up in smoke. There can be many reasons.
What made David cry out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The text does
not pinpoint one particular thing. In vss 6-8 it appears that David was ridiculed by people. Vss
12-18 seem to indicate that he was surrounded and maybe even tortured by his enemies. Vss
20-21a mention that someone was trying to kill him. It is difficult to find an episode in
David’s life in the Bible that includes all these elements. Some say that David was on the run
for Saul, others that he was run out of his palace and out of the city of Jerusalem when his son
Absalom rebelled against his own father to take the crown from him.
However, it is not necessary to pinpoint the exact historical circumstance of David’s
distress. Whatever his physical pain was, whatever situation he was in, however sick he may
have been - these things were not what weighed most heavily on David’s heart. What most
upset David was that he did not experience the nearness of God. Vs 1 is quite clear: David felt
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as if God had abandoned him. He cried out to God day and night, but he could not find rest
for his heart (vs 2). And vs 11 says the same: “Be not far from me.” In David’s experience
God is nowhere to be found. He finds no help. And vs 19 is another passionate plea: “O
LORD, do not be far off!” God is his rock and his refuge. But if God is not there in your hour
of need, then what point is there in believing? And so David cries: “God, where are you when
I need you the most!?”
We hear in David’s cry the cry of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was closer to God than any
man. He was (and is) the only begotten Son of God, the only natural child of God. When he
hung on the cross, he bore in body and soul the intense anger of God against the sin of the
whole human race. Jesus cried out to God at the end of three hours of utter loneliness. He
cried out to his Father in heaven, but his Father did not come for him.
David was ridiculed for his trust in the Lord: “Where is your God, great king!?” (vss 6-8).
Did the almighty God not make a covenant with David, that there would always be a son of
David on the throne of Israel? Now then, where is this God now? David is so desperate that
his heart feels like jelly (vs 14b) and his own legs can’t carry him anymore (vs 14a). His
mouth is dry, with fear perhaps (vs 15). His body is nothing but a bag of bones (vs 17). His
enemies surround him, there is no way of escape. And they divide his clothes - he sees them
casting lots, a sure sign that he is as good as dead (vs 18). There is no hope for him anymore.
It even says in vs 16b that they have pierced his hands and feet. This cannot be to crucify him,
for the Israelites were unfamiliar with that kind of punishment. But perhaps they nailed him to
the ground, perhaps they cut his hands and feet, or perhaps dogs were biting or snapping at his
hands and feet.
Again we see a clear painting of the suffering of the Christ. He was crucified. He was
ridiculed for the trust that he put in his Father. Stretched out on the cross, you could easily
count his bones (vs 17). He was thirsty like David and his clothes too were divided among the
soldiers who crucified him.
Our Lord Jesus suffered intensely. He was abandoned by his Father. So when we suffer,
brs and srs, let none of us say that no one really knows what we go through. Let none of us
say that our suffering is so great, that no one can imagine it. Because our Lord can. He can
sympathise with our weaknesses, says the writer or Hebrews, because he was tempted in very
respect as we are (Hb. 4:15) For the suffering of our Saviour was infinitely worse than yours
or mine, so much worse than that of king David. Our Lord stared death in the face, and not
just death, but everlasting death. Our Lord went through the pain and anguish of hell. He had
to drink the cup of a bottomless suffering.
That is no to belittle our own pain. There is always someone who has suffered more than
you. Our suffering is very real too. We can feel abandoned by God as well. We pray and we
pray for relief, for guidance, for deliverance, but none is forthcoming. We may find ourselves
in times when our prayers seem to bounce back from the ceiling of our bedrooms. And we
ridicule ourselves: “Why should I still trust in this God when he is not there to help me?” We
may cry day and night, with no one to answer.
Is it true then, brs and srs? Are we wrong to seek help with God? Was it pointless for
David to seek God and cry out to him? Was the trust of our Lord Jesus Christ misplaced? No,
it was not. We have good reason to cry out to our LORD and God.
2. The reason for the desperate cry of the righteous man
It is obvious that David was struggling in faith. His cry for the nearness of God is not a
sign of unbelief. If anything, it is a sign of faith! Why would David call on God if he did not
believe in him? David knew where to look for help and consolation. His struggle was not
really with unbelief, but with the timing of God’s plan. His cry: “My God, why have you
forsaken me?” does not really require an answer. It is rather a desperate cry for help: “My
God, come and help me!”.
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And so we realise that the reason why David cries out for God, is that he continues to put
his trust in him. Indeed, brs and srs, we may feel at times that God has left us, that heaven is
boarded up, that the sound of our prayer cannot penetrate to the throne of God. But we must
not allow our feelings to deny the facts. Our hearts and emotions can be clouded by the depth
of our sorrow and pain. But however you feel, brs and srs, you must know and trust that God
is there for you, and that he does not ever abandon you.
This certainty was reason for David to cry out to God. And what makes him so sure about
God’s nearness? What gives him this trust? The text gives us at least two reasons. The first
one I find in vss 3-5. That is where David thinks of the deliverance that God granted his
forefathers, the fathers of the people of Israel. We think of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We
think of the travels of the people of God through the wilderness on their way to Canaan.
Throughout the centuries God has always delivered his children, as a collective people, but
also individually. God has never disappointed any of his children. Those who put their trust in
him, always received what they needed.
And that is what we must do as well. We may look to what God has done for his children
in the past. And not just the people in the Bible. If you are in trouble, look at what God has
done for your brs and srs in the church. Listen to them as they tell you about how God has
helped them through seemingly hopeless situations in their lives. There are countless personal
experiences like that. And do not think: well, God perhaps saved those, but not me. Are they
more worthy than you? Was their pain deeper or more serious in any way than yours? No,
with God there is no preference for certain people. All God’s children will experience his
deliverance when they put their trust in him and expect deliverance from him.
The second reason for David’s trust is in vss 9-11. He reminds himself that God has been
his God from birth. Why would God abandon him now? God has given him life and cared for
him his whole life. Why would God all of sudden stop caring for him? No, God has
committed himself to David. In fact, God had made a covenant with him. He made him king
of Israel and he granted him victory over all his enemies. He gave David everlasting promises,
most notably that there would always be a son of his on the throne of Israel - a promise that
was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
And again, for us it is not that much different. We were baptised as children. God came to
us with his wonderful promises. He would there for us to comfort us and to give us salvation.
The Holy Spirit made his dwelling place in our hearts. It does not make any sense that all of a
sudden, as you go through difficult times, God would leave you. He has not and he will not,
for he has committed himself to you. He has made a covenant with you, and he will not break
it.
Only, brs and srs, do not neglect the means that God uses to comfort and deliver you.
When you suffer, do not quietly and idly sit on your couch and passively wait for deliverance
to come. God uses means, instruments to reach into your heart. Open your Bible and study,
pray without ceasing, seek the company of your brs and srs, and worship your Lord in church.
That is how the Holy Spirit works - through the Word, whether it be read in the Bible, spoken
to you by your brs and srs, or sung in Psalm and Hymns in the church. When you seek God
for deliverance, you must faithfully open his Word. Then the Spirit of God will surely work in
your heart and comfort you and give you direction for your lives.
And so we come to the turnaround in the Psalm and in the sermon. But before we consider
God’s deliverance, let us sing of our trust in God which shall never be disappointed, with the
words of Hymn 48:1-4.
God delivers!
3. The significance of God’s deliverance for the people of God
When we consider the deliverance of David of which he sings from vs 21b onwards, we
run into trouble with the Messianic aspect of this Psalm. For when David cried out to God,
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God came to his aide. But when our Lord Jesus Christ cried out to God, his Father did not
come to his aide. This where our suffering and the suffering of our Lord Jesus differ radically.
In fact, the very fact that our Lord Jesus was indeed forsaken by his Father, is the reason why
we never have to be afraid that that will happen to us. That brings to mind the words of the
Form for the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper: “On the cross he humbled himself, in body
and soul, to the very deepest shame and anguish of hell. Then he called out with a loud voice,
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? that we might be accepted by God and
nevermore be forsaken by him.” (BoP 597). When we celebrate the Holy Supper together, we
remember with great joy and thankfulness that Jesus was abandoned by God, so that we
would always be certain of God’s nearness in our lives.
We are left to wonder what exactly was the deliverance that God provided for David. Since
we do not know exactly what his problem was, we can not tell either was exactly his
deliverance was. However, we found, that in essence David’s greatest problem was, that he
felt that God had left him. Then, when we speak of deliverance, it must be that God assured
David in his heart that he had not. David must have come to the heartfelt and sure trust that
God was still there for him, that he was not alone, whatever his own feelings told him.
And that brings him to thanksgiving and praise in the midst of the congregation, in the
midst of the people of God. Vss 25-26 remind us of the peace- and thanksgiving offering and
the communal meal that followed it. David sacrificed to God a peace offering and celebrated
his deliverance with a sacrificial meal, shared by the whole congregation in the temple, not
unlike our own Lord’s Supper celebration. And so Jesus’ work was foreshadowed even in
David’s thanksgiving. When our Lord suffered and died on the cross, he took on his shoulders
our sin and guilt. And he paid for our sins with the price of his precious blood. And with that
he took away the obstacle that stood in between us and God. The Form for the Lord’s Supper
says: “By his death he has removed the cause of our eternal hunger and misery, which is sin,
and obtained for us the life giving Spirit.” (BoP 598). Any distance that there could be
between us and God, has been bridged by the Son of God. He took away that obstacle, so that
instead of distance there is nearness. God is near to all who love him, thanks be to our Lord
Jesus Christ. That is the deliverance that we receive.
The mention of David’s thanksgiving opens our eyes for the role of the communion of
saints. David did not live and suffer in a vacuum. He was member of a community, the
community of the people of God. Here we find in practice what Paul writes about the church
being the body of Christ: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is
honoured, all rejoice together.” (1 Cor. 12:26). When one member in the congregation suffers,
we all feel the pain, and we all help and support. When one member in our congregation
rejoices in his deliverance, we are all happy with him. That is what it means to be a
communion of saints. A communion of saints is not only about cooking meals for ladies who
just had babies, it is not only about having BBQs with our friends of the church, it is not just
about having a place to go to where you feel comfortable. Really, those things you can find in
any club of some sort as well. No, the communion of saints is a spiritual communion. The
things I mentioned are good in themselves - nothing wrong with helping each other, out of a
Christian spirit. But the main thing is that we build each other up in the Christian faith. That
we are of spiritual help to each other. Our focus is on opening the Bible together, in church, at
Club, and it is about praying with each other and for each other. Let us not forget that, brs and
srs, but let the Spirit of God ignite in our hearts the love for our brs and srs so that we want to
be with them, to give them support and to receive support, to laugh with them and to cry with
them.
This is the significance of God’s deliverance for the people of God. But the significance
goes beyond God’s own people, it extends to the world. Let’s consider that now.
4. The significance of God’s deliverance for the world of God
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When you read through vss 27-31, they seem a bit out of place. In the context of David and
his suffering, they seem to go a bit over the top. David writes about not just the people of God
praising the LORD, but all the world, and even, all the people who ever lived and will live!
With vs 28 he says that God is not only his personal king, and not only king of Israel, but king
of the whole world, of all the nations! It is a bit difficult to apply this only to the suffering of
David. Will all the world praise God for the deliverance of king David? Isn’t this coat a bit
too big for just David to wear?
Some have said that David referred to emissaries of other kingdoms who would come to
congratulate him on his deliverance. That is possible. But it is more likely to remember that
David was aware that he was not just a king of Israel. From his line the Messiah would come.
The deliverance that he enjoyed was a shadow of the deliverance that his great Son would
obtain for the whole world. David knew that he was a king appointed by God, that he
governed God’s people, as his representative, in God’s name. And therefore his salvation can
also take on cosmic proportions. And so the perspective broadens, from the individual, to the
people of God, to the whole world! When Jesus died, his sacrifice would be sufficient for the
sins of all the people. And all those who believed in him, would praise him for it, anywhere in
the world, and at anytime in the history of the world.
That is the significance of God’s deliverance for the world. And this opens our eyes for the
missionary task of the church in the world. The church of Christ in the NT does not exist for
her own sake. The church of Christ has an enormous task for the world, a task so essential that
a church which does not reach out to the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ, misses the
point.
See, we have learned that God delivers us. And this great news must be shared with the
world. He is with us in our times of need and distress. He is able to do so through his Son
Jesus Christ. In fact, God not only gives us relief in this life, but our Lord Jesus has secured
for us everlasting life. God’s deliverance in this life is not always instant. Remember that
David cried out to God day and night, for a long time. And not always does God’s deliverance
come in the way that we expect it to or want it to. Not always are our questions answered, or
our doubts resolved. But God’s nearness is guaranteed - in this life as well as in the
everlasting life, for those who believe in him. We may be near to God because Jesus Christ
has taken our sins away from before the throne of God.
And this salvation must be proclaimed to all the people of this world. We must give
witness of the hope that lives in our hearts. We do that at school or in the workplace, in
organised evangelism projects or personal initiatives or mission abroad. We rejoice in the
salvation of Jesus Christ. And our songs of joy should be heard everywhere. From the wealthy
in vs 29 to all mortal human beings of vs 30. All the generations must proclaim the
righteousness of God to people who will live in this world (vs 31)! This is our crucial task,
ever since the Holy Spirit was poured out over the church to equip her for this task. A task we
may carry out to the glory of our God, the God who delivers his own.
Conclusion
The final words of Ps. 22 impress on us the victory of Christ: “He has done it.” Jesus
Christ has paid for sin and has conquered death. Deliverance is sure for all those who throw
themselves in the arms of God. God saves those who have no helper. God comes to the aide
of the weak and the small and the humble, to those who realise that their only hope for this
life and the next, lies in their God. Only he can save, only he can provide whatever we need
for body and soul. Through Christ there is no distance between God and us. God will not
forsake us, but will be ever close to us. Let us rejoice in this with our brs and srs in the
church, and share this with the people in the world. All to the honour and glory of our God.
Amen.
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