[0:00] It is so good to be here. It is a joy to bring you the word of God this morning. It is certainly! my honour. And I was speaking to a dear brother before the service started. And it just feels! like I'm coming home here. I don't know why. I think it was because this is one of my first places that I ever preached. And it just feels like coming home. And it's so good to see you.
[0:20] And so blessed to be with you. And thank you, Carl, for asking me to come. So it's this morning, we're going to be looking at Psalm 22. And I wanted to do something just a little bit different before we start. Because normally the encouragement comes at the end of a sermon. But I wanted to encourage us before we start as well, just to have it in our minds. Just to encourage you all right now. And it's this. Do you hear the sound? Can you hear the sound?
[0:58] Because there is a sound. And it is something that is echoed throughout all of eternity. And it's the sound of God's heart beating through the gospel. And it says love. And it says grace.
[1:23] And it says forgiveness. And mercy. It's the sound of the gospel breaking chains. It's the sound of the finished work of Jesus that is still speaking today. Still breathing life into weary souls. And see on the cross, Jesus Christ. He didn't just die. He declared, as we've already sung, it is finished. And the very ground beneath our guilt and our sin began to tremble. Because now every debt is cancelled.
[2:05] Every barrier is torn down. Every tomorrow is secured in his hands. miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle miracle this morning and let it just sink into your bones.
[2:46] Just let it rest as we go through Psalm 22 because, as Carl has already said this morning, you're chosen, you are free and you are his masterpiece. The work is complete, the victory is won and you brothers and sisters and me we get to live, and as someone once put it, in the overflow of that finished grace.
[3:14] So with that in mind, I'd like you to imagine now that you are standing at the foot of the cross and Jesus is on it. The sky has turned black, the ground beneath your feet is trembling, there are crowds and throngs of people all around and that mocking, that scorning of who Jesus was begins to silently die down and then, from the cross beaten, blooded, bruised Jesus cries out and he cries out something that has been sang in Israel's worship for a thousand years and he says this My God, my God why have you forsaken me?
[4:09] Now I've always found this line intriguing and I never quite understood it I always thought, well when I first heard it it was said in Aramaic, I must have been 16, 17 at the time and it was that Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani I wondered what it meant and over the years I've had many questions about it and what it meant what were the ramifications what was the meaning behind it maybe you have too maybe you're like me you thought exactly the same thing and maybe like me because I did think this at one point I was thinking, well hold on a second isn't Jesus God?
[4:50] That's what we hear about isn't Jesus God? and surely he would have known that this was going to happen couldn't have just remembered or forgotten and I've heard arguments to that as well like people on Preacher's Corner if you ever watch YouTube videos you know they come up with arguments against Christianity they come up against arguments against other world religions and then when Jesus spoke these words someone said well he forgot about his divine mission therefore if he's forgot he isn't God because surely God can't forget but when Jesus spoke these words from the cross to some that cry must have sounded really really desperate must have sounded like it was a despair like a defeat like the Father had abandoned him or maybe the argument could be that Jesus was just confused he took a few knocks to the head forgetful of what his divine mission was and in that moment just showed a weakness and some people there might be thinking well
[6:02] I thought this guy was the Messiah and then doubting that whether actually he was true or not because why would he say that? why would he say that God has forsaken him?
[6:15] well is he not God? and these were some of the questions I had when I first came across this verse and this saying many many years ago I don't want to admit how many years ago but to those who knew the scriptures those who were standing by this cry was completely completely different so much more because it's the opening of a psalm and it's a song of David and it's not just any psalm but it was one that was written a thousand years earlier almost a thousand years earlier and it was prophesying about the Messiah it's a psalm of suffering it's a psalm of prophecy it's a psalm Jesus chose to quote not just to express how he was feeling at the time or in that despair no but it was to reveal the meaning of his suffering they weren't just words of desperation of a dying man they were for the fulfillment of an ancient song and a song that pointed forward to that very moment of Jesus on the cross
[7:24] Jesus is literally in this moment pointing to his divine mission and fulfilling the prophecy in his dying breaths of Psalm 22 as I've said Psalm 22 is not just a song David wrote and the people and his people of Israel sang but in this moment it's Christ's song it's a song of victory when David wrote this centuries before anyone had even heard of crucifixion yet somehow in this moment in this psalm it describes exactly what Jesus would suffer on the cross that's no coincidence it's a God incident and here's something else that's amazing about it the psalm isn't just about suffering it's about God's plan to save the world moving from the darkest moment to the greatest celebration and in Psalm 22 we see how God's grace saves us how Jesus took our punishment and how God's love reaches every corner of this earth this morning we're going to look at how Christ's suffering shows us
[8:37] God's heart and his deep love for this broken world that we're in so let's read it together if you have your Bibles open we're going to read from Psalm 22 and we're going to read the whole thing and we're going to read it in its entirety starting at verse 1 this is the word of the Lord my God my God my God why have you forsaken me why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning oh my God I cry by day but you do not answer and by night but I find no rest yet you are holy enthroned on the praises of Israel and in you our fathers trusted they trusted and you delivered them to you they cried and were rescued in you they trusted and were not put to shame but I am a worm I'm not a man scorned by mankind and despised by the people all who see me mock me they make mouths at me they wag their heads he trusts in the Lord let him deliver him let him rescue him for he delights in him yet you are he who took me from the womb you made me trust you at my mother's breasts on you was I cast from my birth and from my mother's womb you have been my God be not far from me for trouble is near and there is none to help many bulls encompass me strong bulls of Bashan have surround me they open wide their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion
[10:19] 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 my strength is dried up like a potsherd and my tongue sticks to my jaws you lay me in the dust of death for dogs encompass me a company of evil doers encircles me they have pierced my hands and feet I can count all my bones they stare and gloat over me they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast locks but you oh Lord do not be far from far off oh you my help come quickly to my aid deliver my soul from the sword my precious life from the power of the dog save me from the mouth of the lion you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation
[11:22] I will praise you 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 for he is not despised or abhor the affliction of the afflicted and he has not hidden his face from him but has heard when he cried to him from you comes my praise in the great congregation my vows I will perform before those who fear him the afflicted shall eat and be satisfied those who seek him shall praise the Lord may your hearts live forever all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the families of the nations shall worship before you for kingship belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations 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 posterity shall serve him it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation they shall come and proclaim the righteousness to a people yet unborn that he has done it amen let's pray father we thank you for the word we thank you
[12:51] Lord that we can come to this place that we can open your word that we can meet with the living God Lord would you help us this morning open our eyes to see open our ears to hear and Lord would you imprint this truth upon our hearts in Jesus name we pray amen I think Psalm 22 has it's almost like a game of two halves I'm a football fan I like a game of two halves some can be different first half could be really bad or it could be really good and then conversely it could be really good and really bad in the second half and I think that's a little bit what we're looking at here it's a game of two halves with Psalm 22 because the first half verses 1 through 21 takes us into quite a deep suffering a painful trudge it's quite dark it's quite painful it feels hopeless but then it suddenly shifts and then starting in verse 22 everything changes it's wonderful because suddenly we're hearing about singing we're hearing about celebration and praise that spreads to all the ends of the earth let's start with verse 1 my God my God why have you forsaken me it opens up with a a cry of anguish and as we've already heard this one it's not just body but it's also a soul and this is the first cry painful cry that is heard from Jesus crying out to God and when Jesus cried out this on the cross he wasn't confused he at that point was declaring the cost of our salvation
[14:41] Jesus God's own son would experience something that no human being could survive I don't know if you know anything about the crucifixion but the Romans were very good at it it's a hundred percent kill rate but that was the body and the soul no person could ever deal with what was coming and that was the full weight of God's wrath against sin when the father turned away from Jesus on the cross it wasn't cruel it wasn't cold it was necessary God's justice demanded that sin be punished Jesus took that upon himself where I should have stood where you should have stood
[15:46] Christ took it upon himself we know this in theological terms as what's known as the substitutionary atonement Jesus was the one person without sin bearing the full weight of divine wrath in our place he was truly forsaken not as the beloved son but as the substitute for sinners and because he was forsaken you never will be oh my God I cry by day but you do not answer and by night but I find no rest the suffering goes on and on there's no break from this constant pain excuse me but even in this agony there's a trust even in the silence
[16:48] Jesus declares you are holy and the psalm does something beautiful in verses 3 and 5 it reminds us who God is in the midst of all this pain in the midst of all this suffering we then hear yet you are holy enthroned on the praises of Israel in you our fathers trusted they trusted and you delivered them to you they cried and were rescued in you they trusted and were not put to shame this is no doubt that it is faith at it's most tested Christ fulfilled not only the law in everything that he did in his actions but also in his affections even in suffering even in that most painful moment he trusted the father Christ's active obedience where Adam failed where Israel grumbled where you and I waver
[17:55] Jesus trusted and in doing so he fulfilled righteousness for you and for me you see even in times where you feel that God is silent his character hasn't changed in our lowest point in our pain in our sin God can seem far off but he hasn't changed I'm the same yesterday today and forever rest upon that this morning he's still holy he's still faithful he's still trustworthy this should give us hope in our darkest moments whatever we're facing and here comes the second movement of pain in the psalm but I am a worm and not a man scorned by mankind and despised by the people the mockery gets worse all who see me mock me all just a few all who see me mock me they make their mouths at me they wag their heads saying he trusts in the
[19:04] Lord let him deliver him let him rescue him he delights in him I don't know if you can hear it that sound it's echoing isn't it it's exactly what happened at the cross Matthew tells us in his account the religious leaders said these very words he trusts in God let God deliver him now if he desires him now think about just for a second how accurate a prophecy that has to be David wrote these words almost a thousand years before Jesus dying on the cross before he was even born yet they described to us exactly what happened on that crucifixion day they thought they were mocking and they were but they were fulfilling prophecy down to the very words Christ didn't just suffer physically in the flesh he endured mockery rejection and disgrace and he bore it willingly he laid his life down for us that we might be welcomed as sons and daughters of the most high track with me move with me to verse nine yet you are he who took me from the womb you made me trust you and my mother's breasts on you was I cast from my birth and from my mother's womb you have been my
[20:38] God Christ wasn't caught by surprise he knew that he was born to suffer from Bethlehem to Calvary his life was a mission of mercy yet even as he suffers he clings to the truth you have been my God we hear that again that echo that sound coming back be not far from me for trouble is near and there is none to help but help was nearer still and the intensity of the physical suffering now becomes evident because the psalm becomes even more graphic and physical in its description and describing actually what crucifixion was what it does to a person's body and again remember this was written a thousand years before crucifixion or centuries sorry even before crucifixion was invented many bulls encompass me strong bulls of Bashan surround me they open wide their mouths at me like a ravening and roaring lion now these enemies aren't just people they've been described like dangerous animals the bulls of Bashan the lion prowling around looking for someone to destroy
[21:56] Jesus didn't just face hatred from the people there but it was the hatred from the evil of the spiritual forces of darkness and then comes this incredibly medical description of what crucifixion is like I am poured out like water all my bones are out of joint my heart is like wax it is melted in my breast my strength is dried up like a pot shirt and my tongue sticks to my jaws you lay me in the dust of my death doctors have today confirmed not today just today's age doctors today have confirmed this is exactly what happens during a crucifixion incredible dehydration the way the body's weight pulls the joints apart the heart stress that can cause heart to literally rupture explode in someone's chest how could
[22:59] David a shepherd boy known this so precisely and here comes another remarkable prophecy for dogs encompass me a company of evil doers encircles me they have pierced my hands and feet crucifixion hadn't been invented yet and here's David writing about crucifixion it's a clear prediction of pierced hands and feet and the word for pierced here appears nowhere else in the Old Testament in this exact form it's as if God gave David a special word potentially who knew humiliation continues I count all my bones they stare and gloat over me they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots again it's just crucifixion day they describe the crucifixion in astonishing detail thousand years before it happened why because God wants us to know something he wants us to know that the cross was no accident it was his plan the sun was pierced for our sins and he took our place in John's gospel we're told that the
[24:28] Roman soldiers divided Jesus clothes and gambled for them and John specifically says this fulfilled the prophecy the suffering reaches the peak with the desperate cry but you oh Lord do not be far off oh you my help come quickly to my aid deliver my soul from the sword my precious life from the power of the dog save me from the mouth of the lion here we see the suffering servant cry out for help a third time and though he died God still answered because three days later that tomb was empty hallelujah the lion's mouth was shut the horns of death were broken and Jesus rose in glory and power death had done its worst done its worst but the resurrection of Jesus Christ the final word to the glory of God and now suddenly
[25:32] I do mean suddenly it all changes everything shifts it's as if like someone just like flicked a light on in the room and the light comes on because it's a dark room where there was only crying and pain before all the anguish now there's celebration and praise I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise is this David or Jesus speaking here Hebrews 2 12 quotes this verse putting it in Christ mouth the risen Christ now leads to the congregation in praise he who cried from the cross now sings and is leading the congregation can you imagine that praise time he's turned mourning into joy and the cross into a crown the call for praise grows because it says you who fear the
[26:35] Lord praise him all your offspring of Jacob glorify him and stand in awe of him all your offspring of Israel the one who suffered is now vindicated and that becomes the reason that everyone in the whole world should celebrate it it's funny as Carl was talking this morning I leant into Reuben and I was like he's literally stealing my sermon I love how this spirit just connects us it's wonderful because we don't gather each week because we like tradition we gather each week because Jesus Christ is risen and he is in our midst and he is worthy of all praise verse 25 from you comes my praise in the great congregation my vows
[27:38] I will perform before those who fear him the afflicted shall eat and be satisfied those who seek him shall praise the Lord may your hearts live forever God didn't turn his back forever he didn't God the father heard this cry God the son was then raised and now the blessings of Christ flow the afflicted shall eat and be satisfied there is an abundance abundance in the gospel that satisfies our every need Christ became poor that we might feed on the riches of his grace and in verse 27 comes what I've written down as the breathtaking finale the psalm shows us the true scope and span of God's plan what started with one man's cry of abandonment now encompasses every nation on earth all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the
[28:53] Lord and all the families of the nations shall worship before you the word remember here is a word pertaining to what we hear as covenant it means they'll not just recall or remember what happened but that respond to God's work of salvation covenant is sealed through the suffering of Jesus the Messiah on the cross and that is the way in which all nations are brought to worship God but here's the foundation for all of this in verse 28 for kingship belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations God is sovereign he's sovereign over everything and everyone his plan to save reaches to every corner of the earth as we're told it doesn't mean that everyone will be saved but it does mean that
[29:55] God's salvation will reach every tribe and every tongue it's not just about where the gospel will lead geographically it's about when too it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation they shall proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn that he has done it that's the mission of God the proclamation of his righteousness to a people yet unborn is us we are fruits of that and the phrase he has done it is one of my most favourite phrases it's translated it is finished the same words that Christ spoke on the cross to tell us thy it is finished it is done the war is over the prophecy is fulfilled and the work of salvation is done by what
[30:58] Jesus accomplished on the cross one commentary says that psalm 22 gives us a pattern of suffering to worship from death to glory forsaking to worldwide praise and that's how the gospel moves not always through comfort but through the cross and if we're going to be faithful witnesses!
[31:26] Church at times we must be willing to suffer to bear the cost of the gospel to lose something for the sake of his name to get out our comfort zones why?
[31:44] because that's how the gospel got to us through sacrifice of people William Tyndale for instance printing the words of the Bible into English that the common person could understand we are the people yet unborn and someone suffered to bring it here so how do we respond to that?
[32:13] Well now it's our turn to go to speak to love to praise Christ even in the pain so in conclusion I'd like to leave you with three things three points Christ took our place God is in control and Psalm 22 shows us the heart of God let me just be clear on this when Jesus cried out my God my God why have you forsaken me it wasn't a poetic exaggeration it wasn't just a feeling it wasn't just emotion it wasn't despair without purpose it was real it was necessary and it was substitution it was the fulfillment of prophecy prophecy and it was Jesus pointing towards his divine mission and that cry split the sky because our sin deserved it
[33:18] God's wrath wasn't just in the sky just hanging about no it fell and it fell upon Jesus that's the heart of the gospel Jesus stood where we should have stood Christ was condemned so we could be declared righteous he was abandoned so we could be adopted John Calvin put it like this Christ by taking upon himself the curse due to us freed us from it the wrath was real the curse was heavy and Jesus carried every last bit of it for us be encouraged be blessed this morning Psalm 22 doesn't just show us the suffering of a good man shows us the suffering of a God man the God man standing in our place under the full weight of divine justice why so grace could be freely given so mercy could find sinners so we can sing there is now no condemnation secondly
[34:39] God is in control none of it's random from Jesus betrayal to the mocking to the crown of thorns placed on his head the nails through his hands and feet and then the silence of the grave every detail in Psalm 22 whispers this was the plan it wasn't God reacting it was God redeeming it was the very way he would save his people Jesus wasn't sent reluctantly he came willingly the father didn't hesitate he purposed it and the Heidelberg Catechism says or asks the question why did the innocent Christ have to die and it answers this because God's justice requires that sin committed against his supreme majesty be punished with the supreme penalty eternal punishment of body and soul that's
[35:49] Psalm 22 that's Good Friday that's your substitute it's also God's love on full display and lastly the third point the heart of God this is possibly the deepest thing that I think Psalm 22 reveals to us it's the heart of God that beating heart the heart that would turn away from the beloved son so that he could turn to you a heart that does not flaunt power but uses power to save us when we were still his enemies Romans 8 32 says he did not spare his own son gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things if you're sat here this morning or listening to this online at a later date and you're wondering who and what God is like just look at the cross not distant
[37:01] God isn't distant he's not cruel he's not stingy but he's rich in mercy he's rich in grace rich in justice and all of that is coming from an overflowing of love psalm 22 is not just a song it's a story a story that moves from a single cry in the darkness to a global anthem of praise and you know what it's not over yet we're living in between the it is finished and that final hallelujah but thankfully we know how it ends Christ is coming again the lamb who was slain is on the throne and he's gathering his people his church his bride from every people every tribe from every tongue and language from every forgotten place on this earth and one day despite what we see today every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord
[38:15] Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father but until that day until that trumpet sounds we are caught up in the air with him we preach we suffer we sing we trust that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords why because he has done it it is finished Amen Amen Thank you.