Psalm 22 (NIV)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 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,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 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.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
CONSIDER THIS
Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. Most recently, he served as president of Asbury Theological Seminary among other posts he holds across the global church. Julie is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.
This psalm is particularly associated with the passion of Christ, especially his death upon the cross. From the earliest days of the church, Christians saw in Psalm 22 a foreshadowing of the cross of Christ, making it the third most-quoted psalm in the New Testament (eleven citations). Indeed, Christ himself quoted the opening verse of this psalm as he was stretched out on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). Because the Psalter was known, memorized, and sung daily by the people of God, the citation of verse 1 by Christ should not be taken in isolation. Rather, the intention of quoting the first verse of the psalm is to draw us to the text of the entire psalm. On the cross Jesus was like “a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people” (v. 6). At the foot of the cross stood mockers: “All who see me mock at me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads” (v. 7). Even the words of the mockers are found in Psalm 22: “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him” (v. 8; cf. Matt. 27:43). The psalm pictures God’s Suffering Servant with his hands and feet pierced (v. 16) and his enemies dividing his “garments among them and cast[ing] lots for [his] clothing” (v. 18). But the psalm goes on to declare that “he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help” (v. 24). God the Father did not forsake Jesus on the cross.
Historically, the church has called the day Jesus died on the cross Good Friday. Why do we call it good? It is called Good Friday precisely because in Jesus Christ God was fulfilling his plan of redemption for the world. It is a surprise victory, because God’s Anointed One is nothing more than a “worm” (v. 6) facing the enemies of God, who are like “bulls” (v. 12), “dogs” (v. 20), “lions” (vv. 13, 21), and “oxen” (v. 21). But, God’s Suffering Servant prevails. Therefore, the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ are the most important events in the history of the world. All of history hinges on these grand redemptive events.
Even from the early perspective of Psalm 22, the psalmist sees the global implications of these events: “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. . . . Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn—for he has done it!” (vv. 27–28, 30–31). Good Friday is the day when he did it. The resurrection and ascension are the vindication of that completed work. On the cross, he secured the redemption of every tribe, tongue, and nation. Thanks be to God.
For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent
THE HYMN
Sing Psalm 22 with the Seedbed Psalter today. I suggest the tune MORNING SONG (“My Soul Gives Glory to My God”). You can hear the tune played online by Julie Tennent here. If you listen to the podcast audio version, I will sing the psalm in this same tune. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below.
1 My God, my God, O why have You forsaken me, and why
are You so far from saving me, while groaning words I cry?2 All day, my God, to You I cry, yet I’m not heard by Thee;
And in the darkness of the night, I cannot silent be.3 But You are holy, and You are enthroned in Isr’el’s praise.
4 Our fathers put their trust in You—deliv’rance You did raise.5 When unto You they sent their cry, to them deliv’rance came;
Because they put their trust in You, they were not put to shame.6 But as for me, I am a worm; a man not recognized;
I am reproached by men, and by the people am despised.7 All those who see me laugh in scorn; hurl insults all the day;
They wag and shake their heads at me; and mocking me, they say:8 “His trust is in the Lord, that He would free him by His might;
Let Him deliver him, if He in him does take delight.”9 But You brought me out of the womb, and made me trust in Thee;
And even at my mother’s breast You did take care of me.10 From birth I was upon You cast, ev’n from the womb till now;
From mother’s womb You’ve been my God; and still my God art Thou.11 Be not far off, for grief is near, and none to help is found.
12 Bulls compass me; bulls of Bashan encircle me around.13 The lions’ mouths are opened wide against me all the day,
Like as a lion ravaging and roaring for his prey.14 Like water I’m poured out, my bones all out of joint do part;
Like wax within my inward parts, so melted is my heart.15 My strength is like a potsherd dried—my tongue impedes my breath,
It sticks to my mouth’s roof—You lay me in the dust of death.16 For dogs have compassed me about, and wicked men did meet;
A band of men encircled me; they pierced my hands and feet.17 I can count all my bones; and those who gloat upon me stare;
18 They cast lots for my clothing and divide my garments there.19 Be not far off, O Lord, my strength; come quickly and help me;
20 Deliver me from sword and dogs, my precious life set free.21 Come rescue me from lions—from the mouth of lions strong,
And from the horns of oxen wild that threaten all day long.22 I will declare Your name unto my brethren everywhere;
Amidst the congregation round, Your praise I will declare.23 All you who fear the Lord, praise Him; revere and glory tell;
All Jacob’s children, honor Him—offspring of Is-ra-el.24 For He did not despise nor scorn th’afflicted’s suffering;
Nor hid His face from him, but heard the cry which he did bring.25 Within the congregation great, my praise shall be of Thee;
Before all those who fear You, I’ll fulfill my vows to Thee.26 The poor shall eat, and shall be filled; those seeking God will give
praise to the Lord; all you who seek—may your hearts ever live!27 And all the ends of earth shall turn, remembering the Lord;
All fam’lies of the nations will bow down and praise accord.28 For all dominion far and near belongs to Him alone.
The Lord rules over nations all, from His almighty throne.29 The rich of earth will worship Him, all who to dust descend;
And all shall kneel—none of them can their soul from death defend.30 Descendants, then, will all serve Him—the children yet to be;
They will be told about the Lord, future posterity.31 For they shall come, and shall declare His truth and righteousness
unto a people yet unborn, for He has done all this.
P.S. Get the Resources
If you would like to have the meditations and the metrical psalter in a beautiful two-volume set—which I highly recommend— you can order those through the Seedbed store.
7 Responses
What a beautiful Psalm to meditate and reflect upon. Thanks to Tim and Julie Tennent and to you JDW for helping us journey through these beautiful Psalms. Looking forward to having Tim and Julie back soon. Grace and peace and enjoy the Lord’s Day!
Thank you J.D.! God bless you! That woke up this “sleeper” this morning! ????????
This was moving!
Crucifixion is one of the cruelest forms of execution ever invented. Its purpose was not just to put a man to death. It was to bring extreme public shame and to cause the greatest possible amount of physical suffering.
Crucifixion had been in occasional use among the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and others, but it was the Romans who made it a common means of execution. Men hanging on crosses became a familiar sight in the conquered territories of Rome.
In order to produce the greatest amount of shame and pain, crucifixion was almost always publicly preceded by both lashes and mockery. Then the condemned man was made to carry the crossbeam along public roads, amidst the jeers and insults of the people, to the place of execution.
The victim was then stripped of all his clothing and hung completely naked on the cross. A sign giving his name and sentence was put at the top of the cross and he was the object of continued mocking from people who passed by.
The physical torture of the cross was greatly increased because the process of crucifixion damaged no vital part of the human body. Death could take days.
The victim was attached to the cross, either by tying his hands and feet to it or by the crueler way of being nailed to it. Thus, he was held immobile, unable to cope with heat or cold and insects.
The pain of his wounds, his thirst and exhaustion, would gradually leave him so weak he could no longer support himself with his legs and he would hang limp. His body weight pulling against his arms would gradually cut off his air supply and death would finally come by suffocation. The process could be sped up by breaking the victim’s legs.
The cross was looked upon with such horror and scandal, that it was considered bad manners to even mention it in the presence of respectable people. To quote Cicero: “Let even the name of the cross be kept away, not only from the bodies of the citizens of Rome, but also from their thought, sight, and hearing.”
Then one day, a carpenter was crucified and instead of bringing shame, His death conquered the cross. Early in the Fourth Century, Roman Emperor Constantine banned the practice of crucifixion, in honor of Jesus Christ.
Jesus took the cross, the cruelest of all human implements and made it a universal symbol for the love of God for human beings! Now you know the best of the story.
Oh how we love “wake up call” and truly enjoy this ministry. This morning’s singing of the Psalm was especially special and sweet.
What a mighty God we serve
Thank you so much JD Walt.
So grateful for the ministry of God working through you. My heart is resurrecting.
I am reminded that this Psalm is just before the 23rd Psalm which is the most used Psalm during Christian funerals. Funerals are the time when many feel alone. I heard a funeral home chaplain say the mow more than ever, he sees people who lose loved ones feel hopeless as though God has abandoned them. Psalm 23 is an affirmation that God has not abandoned us. He is with us anointing our heads with oil in the presence of those despising us and we will dwell with Him through all eternity.