PSALMS 22


     We will begin by giving the 22nd. Psalm in metre.

                   THE PSALMS OF DAVID IN METRE

                           Chapter 22

verse 1  "My God, my God, why hast thou me Forsaken? why so far
          Art thou from helping me and from my words that roaring
          are?"
verse 2  "All day, my God, to thee I cry, Yet am not heard by thee;
          And in the season of the night I cannot silent be."
verse 3  "But thou art holy, thou that dost Inhabit Isr'els praise.
          In thee our fathers hoped, they hoped, And thou didst them
          release."
verse 4  "And when to thee they sent their cry, To them deliv'rance
          came; In thee they placed their confidence, And were not put
          to shame."
verse 5  "But as for me, a worm I am, And as no man am prized:
          Reproach of men I am, and by The people am despised."
verse 6  "All that me see laugh me to scorn; Shoot out the lip do
          they; At me they also shake their head, And, mocking, thus
          they say,"
verse 7  "He trusted on the Lord, that he Would free him by his might;
          Let him deliver him, since he had in him such delight."
verse 8  "But thou art he who gave me birth From thee I being had;
          And I upon my mother's breast by thee to hope was made."
verse 9  "And I was cast upon thy care, Ev'n from the birth till now;
          And from my early childhood, Lord, my God and guide art
          thou."
verse 10 "Be not far off, for grief is near, And none to help is
          found. Bulls many compass me, strong bulls Of Bashan me
          surround."
verse 11 "Their mouths they opened wide on me, Upon me gape did they,
          Ev'n like a lion ravening, And roaring for his prey."
verse 12 "As water I'm poured out; my bones All out of joint do part;
          Amidst my bowels as the wax So melted in my heart."
verse 13 "My strength is like the potsherd dried; My tongue cleaves to
          my jaws; And even to the dust of death By thee reduced I
          was."
verse 14 "For dogs have compassed me about, The wicked, that did meet
          In their assembly, me inclosed; They pierced my hands and
          feet."
verse 15 "I all my bones can count; my foes Upon me look and stare.
          Upon my vesture lots they cast , And clothes among them
          share."
verse 16 "Be not far off, O Lord my strength; In haste give help to
          me. From sword my soul, from power of dogs My darling set
          thou free."
verse 17 "Lord, from the roaring lion's mouth Do thou my life defend:
          For from the horns of unicorns An answer thou didst send."

verse 18 "Then to my brethren I'll declare The glory of thy name;
          Amidst the congregation I Thy praises will proclaim."
verse 19 "Praise ye the Lord, who do him fear; Him glorify all ye
          The seed of Jacob; fear him all That Is'rels children be."
verse 20 "For he despised not nor abhored Th' afflicted's misery;
          Nor from him hid his face, but heard When he to him did
          cry."
verse 21 "Within the congregation great My praise shall be of thee;
          My vows before them that him fear Shall be performed by me."
verse 22 "The meek shall eat, and shall be filled; They also praise
          shall give To God the Lord who do him seek; Your heart shall
          ever live."
verse 23 "All ends of earth remember shall, And turn to God the Lord;
          By all the kindreds of the earth His name shall be adored."
verse 24 "Because the kingdom evermore To God Most High pertains;
          And o'er the nations of the earth As governor he reigns."
verse 25 "Earth's fat ones eat, and worship shall All who to dust
          descend Shall bow to him; and no one can His soul from death
          defend."
verse 26 "A seed shall service do to him; It to Jehovah shall
          A generation counted be Ev'n unto ages all."
verse 27 "And they shall come, and shall declare His truth and
          righteousness To people that shall yet be born, And that he
          hath done this."

     We will now begin the verse by verse study of the 22nd chapter of
Psalms taken from the King James version of the Bible. Psalms 22:1
"{To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.} My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [why art thou so] far from
helping me, [and from] the words of my roaring?"

     At the very beginning of this verse, we see the very words that
the Lord Jesus spoke from the cross; My God, My God, why hast thou
forsaken me? We have discussed, in some of the other books, why Jesus
felt forsaken of the Father at this point. It appears to me that the
moment Jesus took the sin of the entire world upon His body, the
Father turned away. The Father could not look upon sin. He would have
to burn it up. I believe that this very moment was the very part of
the crucifixion that Jesus had dreaded. I do not believe that Jesus
was as afraid of the pain of the flesh, as He was of the pain of His
heart He would feel when the Father turned away. We might say that
this entire Psalm is about the crucifixion of Jesus.

     Psalms 22:2 "O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest
not; and in the night season, and am not silent."

     How many times have we prayed and thought that God did not hear
our prayer, because it seemed our prayer had not been answered?  The
Lord Jesus prayed to the Father while He was in the garden of
Gethsemene. Matthew 26:39 "And he went a little farther, and fell on
his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou [wilt]."
Matthew 26:42 "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying,
O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it,
thy will be done."  Matthew 26:44 "And he left them, and went away
again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."  We see in
all of this that, Jesus prayed, not once, but three times for the cup
to pass. Perhaps, we could learn a very good lesson from this prayer
of Jesus. First of all, it is alright to pray for the same thing more
than once. We, also, should realize that if we are truly followers of
Christ, we must say with Him, Not my will, but thine O Lord, be done.

     Psalms 22:3 "But thou [art] holy, [O thou] that inhabitest the
praises of Israel."

     Jesus knew that the Father was near when He was praying. Not even
once in His prayers did Jesus not submit to the will of the Father. We
are told, over and over, that we are to be holy, because our God is
holy. Inhabits means to live in. God lives in the praises of both
Israels. We Christians are spiritual Israel. If you want to feel the
presence of God, praise Him. Look at 2 Scriptures with me, one from
the Old Testament and one from the New Testament, which tell us to
praise God. Jeremiah 33:11 "The voice of joy, and the voice of
gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the
voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD
[is] good; for his mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall
bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will
cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the
LORD." Hebrews 13:15 "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of
praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of [our] lips giving
thanks to his name."  This leaves absolutely no doubt that we are to
speak out praises to our God.

     Psalms 22:4 "Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou
didst deliver them."  Psalms 22:5 "They cried unto thee, and were
delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded."

     We will look at just one vivid example of God delivering someone
who believed in Him. Read the whole 3rd chapter of Daniel to get the
story about three godly men being thrown into a fiery furnace, and not
being burned, because they put their trust in God. We will show just
one Scripture to show what effect them being saved had on
Nebuchadnezzar.  Daniel 3:28 "[Then] Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said,
Blessed [be] the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath
sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and
have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they
might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God."  Another
vivid story about God delivering His people is, of course, when God
sent Moses to deliver the Israelites.

     Psalms 22:6 "But I [am] a worm, and no man; a reproach of men,
and despised of the people."

     This, of course, is David speaking prophetically of the rejection
of Jesus by the people. This does not mean that Jesus was a worm, but
that he was hated by the people as a worm. Hebrews 11:26 "Esteeming
the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for
he had respect unto the recompence of the reward." We will suffer
reproach with Jesus rather than live in the sin of the world {Egypt}.
Hebrews 13:13 "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp,
bearing his reproach."

     Psalms 22:7 "All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot
out the lip, they shake the head, [saying],"  Psalms 22:8 "He trusted
on the LORD [that] he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing
he delighted in him."

     The best explanation of this, that I can give, is to show you the
fulfillment in the New Testament. They are speaking of Jesus in the
next few verses. Matthew 27:39  "And they that passed by reviled him,
wagging their heads," Matthew 27:40 "And saying, Thou that destroyest
the temple, and buildest [it] in three days, save thyself. If thou be
the Son of God, come down from the cross." Matthew 27:41 "Likewise
also the chief priests mocking [him], with the scribes and elders,
said," Matthew 27:42 "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he
be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we
will believe him." Matthew 27:43 "He trusted in God; let him deliver
him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God."  How
sad that these people knew the word of God from the Psalms, but they
did not realize this prophecy was about Jesus, whom they had rejected
as Messiah.

     Psalms 22:9 "But thou [art] he that took me out of the womb: thou
didst make me hope [when I was] upon my mother's breasts."  Psalms
22:10 "I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou [art] my God from my
mother's belly."

     We know that the angels of God watched over the birth of Jesus.
This Baby was the Son of God. Notice that this Baby was conscious of
hope and faith, even when He was a tiny Baby nursing His mother. In
many instances, Jesus called God, My God. Jesus also called the Father
by the endearing name of a Child for the Father, Abba. Only the
children of God are allowed to call the Father Abba. Mark 14:36 "And
he said, Abba, Father, all things [are] possible unto thee; take away
this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt."
Romans 8:15 "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,
Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6 "And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."
It appears, and we know it is true, that Jesus was no normal Baby. He
came to the earth in the form of man to become the Saviour of all who
will receive His salvation. He, was, however, God with us in the form
of a man {Emmanuel}.

     We could easily say that this entire Psalm is a prophecy by David
of Jesus Christ the Messiah. We will continue this Psalm in the next
lesson.





                             Questions 22

1.  In the first verse, what is the cry to God?
2.  Why did Jesus feel forsaken of the Father?
3.  What was the one thing Jesus had dreaded the most?
4.  How many times have you prayed and thought God did not hear your
    prayer?
5.  What did Jesus pray three times in the garden of Gethsemane?
6.  What did He say in each prayer, that made us know He was perfect
    in the will of the Father?
7.  What lessons can the Christian learn from Jesus' prayers?
8.  Why are we to be holy?
9.  Who are spiritual Israel?
10. Where can we find Scriptures that specifically tell us to praise
    God, if we want to sense His presence?
11. Give one vivid example of God delivering His people.
12. Name the three men in the fire.
13. What effect did the 3 not being burned up, have on Nebuchadnezzar?
14. What is intended by the worm, in verse 6?
15. Quote Hebrews chapter 11 verse 26.
16. What does Egypt symbolize?
17. Verse 7 here in Psalms chapter 22 is fulfilled where in the New
    Testament?
18. Who watched over the birth of Jesus?
19. What is a name that only the children of God the Father can call
    Him?
20. When did Jesus call the Father by that special name?
21. What is the 22nd Psalm all about ?