Jesus throughout the Scriptures: Psalms 2 (4)
Pray Psalm 22.1-5.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
Sing Psalm 22.1-5.
(St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
Upon the cross of Calv‘ry He suffered ‘neath the rod;
alone, He cried out, “Why have You forsaken Me, My God?”
As day to bitter darkness turned, the Savior of the blessed
cried, “Father, answer Me, I pray; restore Me to Your rest!”
But You, O God are holy, enthroned on Israel’s praise;
our fathers trusted You and You were faithful all their days.
They cried to You; they trusted You, and never came to shame;
for You delivered them, O God, by Your great holy Name.
Read Psalm 22.1-21; meditate on verses 19-21.
Preparation
1. How many ways does this psalm foretell the suffering of Jesus?
2. What did David—who wrote this psalm—want God to do for him?
Meditation
Psalm 22 is precious to every believer. Whatever David was undergoing at the time, and it must have been a deep trial or affliction, the Spirit of God led him to cast his sufferings in forms and images that would be inflicted on Jesus as He died to pay the debt we owed to God.
Jesus must have been praying this—and other—psalms amid His suffering. He cried out the first verse of Psalm 22 both as an expression of agony at being separated from the Father but also to cue those who were standing around gawking and mocking to consider the divine purpose for His suffering. Those people would have been familiar with Psalm 22, and as Jesus started them off, many would have begun reciting the entire psalm to themselves. What an impact that must have made on some!
The first part of this psalm is terrifying, gloomy, dark, and hopeless. But suffering and affliction could not shake David’s faith, as we see in verses 19-21, and they would not shake Jesus’ trust in the Lord, either. And in the second part of this psalm, as we shall see, the gloom is dissipated with the anticipated coming of a new day, bursting forth from the darkness of suffering like “The Deer of the Dawn” to herald the coming of the Kingdom of light.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, ‘Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?’” (Matt. 26.67, 68).
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified” (Matt. 27.27-31).
“Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots…and those who passed by blasphemed Him…Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders…Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him…” (Matt. 27.35-44).
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matt. 27.46).
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit” (Matt. 27.50).
“You have answered Me” (Ps. 22.21).
Jesus declared, amidst all the abuse, pain, and suffering, that God had answered His prayer.
“…Who for the joy
that was set before Him
endured the cross,
despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him Who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself…” (Heb. 12.2, 3).
And Who knew for certain that God had answered Him.
See Jesus. See Assurance. See Faith. See Hope. See Love. See Life (Jn. 10.10).
Reflection
1. What is the value to you of seeing Jesus in psalms like this?
2. Jesus obviously prayed the psalms. Should we? Explain.
3. How can praying psalms like this buoy us during times of trial or affliction?
To God the things that are to come are present, and for him who foreknows all things, they are as though they were past and over; as it is written, “Who has made the things that are to be.” Ambrose of Milan (333-397), On the Christian Faith 1.15.97
Pray Psalm 22.6-18.
Pray slowly, meditating on each image that points to the suffering of Jesus. Give thanks to Jesus at each point. Call on the Lord to strengthen you for serving Jesus today.
Sing Psalm 22.6-18.
(St. Christopher: Beneath the Cross of Jesus)
Despised by men, the Savior was more a worm than man.
They mocked, “He trusted God, let Him redeem Him if He can!
Let God deliver Him if He indeed delights in Him!”
Thus scorned they Jesus as He died in pain and anguish grim.
Like raging bulls they bellowed, like lions set to feast.
Each gaping mouth raged loudly like an all-consuming beast.
Like water slipped His life away, disjointed hanged He high;
His tongue clung to His jaws as He prepared His heart to die.
His foes, like dogs around Him, with glee did gloat and stare.
They pierced His hands and feet; they stole the garments He did wear.
Though not a bone was broken as He promised in His Word,
yet, wounded for our sins, thus died creation’s sov’reign LORD.
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For more teaching about the subject of this series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures”, download our free ReVision study, “We Would See Jesus”, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
