Psalm 22 - Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. 

6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7 All 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!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet —
17 I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For 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.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations.

29 All 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.
30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

   What an incredible Psalm this is. Even though Every Psalm in the Bible is special in its own right, but there are several things that stand out in this Psalm to make it unique:

1)      One of the things that makes it so unique is the fact that it was used by Jesus Christ on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

2)      Also this Psalm contains an amazing amount of prophecy concerning the events of Calvary. So much so that it has led some scholars to call this Psalm the 5^th Gospel’s account of the crucifixion.

3)      Another unusual aspect of this Psalm is that it contains a lament and a song of thanksgiving all put together. Watch carefully for the contrasts and notice that this Psalm divides clearly at verse 21, “…You have rescued me…” Prior to this point in Psalm 22 everything has been dark and gloomy, with nothing good on the horizon. And then AFTER this point, everything is changed. Everything goes from darkness to light, and from sorrow to joy. Now the Psalmist speaks in terms of greatness and rejoicing. In fact, after God has answered the Psalmist prayer, and brings deliverance and blessing, the Psalmist begins making declarations of faith. Isn’t that wonderful? When we are suffering, and then we come to know deliverance from God, we should rejoice in it and speak of the greatness of God to others.

   So, is this a Psalm who’s meaning is strictly for Jesus, or can it have any meaning whatsoever in David’s life too? That is a question that has been debated by scholars. It is my opinion that while certainly it CAN have meaning in David’s life, it comes to have its FULLEST meaning in Jesus Christ.

   Finally I want to say something about the attacks that are made against the Psalmist. In particular, did you notice the sarcasm that just OOZED off the page in verse 8? “7 All 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!’” The idea is that, “Well, if you really trust in the Lord, then why are you suffering? You’re either a hypocrite or maybe it is that God doesn’t really love you!”  Yet despite all that mockery and persecution, and people pushing him down making him want to doubt, in the face of ALL of that the Psalmist says, “I’m still trusting in you God.” What an incredible and amazing faith. That is the kind of faith every one of us needs to grow and develop in our lives. We must be determined that in times of troubles, adversity, and strife, we must be ever more determined to put our faith and trust in God. We need to be able to get on our knees and pray, “O My God! I KNOW that you will not forsake me, and I KNOW that you love me, and I will trust in YOUR will and YOUR ways.” We need to have that kind of tough, sturdy faith…the faith of Psalm 22.