CALVARY PAIN
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Opening Prayer
Help me, Lord, to feel the pain in this psalm as I read its description of desperate separation from God.
Read PSALM 22
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Psalm
Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 “He trusts in the LORD; 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 upon 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 tearing 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 away within me.
15 My strength 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 have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life 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 brothers; in the congregation 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 disdained 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 will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; they 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 to a people yet unborn- for he has done it.
Reflect
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.1
Is it possible for believers to read this psalm without seeing the cross? Jesus repeated its opening lines, in the agony of abandonment, as he is separated from his Father because of our sin.2 Details of the crucifixion are echoed in verses 7, 8, and 15—18 with their words of mocking crowds, thirst, hostility, piercing, and casting lots for clothing. It is not recorded that David ever experienced such torment, and it appears that this psalm moves into prophecy. What hits you is the visceral reality of desertion, as someone who, from birth, has known God, now feels so totally alone. We ask ‘Why?’ ‘Why?’ For someone who has known closeness to God, the trauma of being cut off makes him feel utterly useless—a worm. It’s a terrifying picture of spiritual dereliction, impacting his whole body.
Verse 19 pivots from despair into a prayer that the God who seems far off will come to help. God not only delivers from despair but poignantly elevates the suffering of the afflicted one (v. 24). Their suffering will not be despised. Rather, praise will resound wide and far. The impact will be felt to the ends of the earth, with all the families of the nations bowing before him. The timespan then stretches forward. Good news will be proclaimed to people who are yet unborn. Gloriously, this burst of praise anticipates the world impact of the once despised and rejected Lord, now risen and reigning overall. Through the very act of suffering and rejection, the outcome of rescue in resurrection turns the world on its axis.
You cannot reflect on this psalm without entering into the assertion that Jesus will suffer for our sakes. Nor can we miss the wonder of God’s purpose working through his Suffering Servant in love for the whole world.
Apply
Make a note that reminds you to reread this psalm next Easter to enter the bleak terror of Jesus’ separation for our salvation.
Closing prayer
Son of God, you deserve greater praise than I can offer, not only for my redemption, but for the victory you won for lives throughout the world from the beginning and forever.
1 Isaiah 53:5 2 Matt 27:46.
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