David opens and closes Psalm 26 “walking in his integrity.” A quick study of this word (tôm) shows besides integrity it can mean completeness, innocence, upright, perfection and simplicity. I have often heard that a man of integrity is one who acts the same whether he is alone or knows there are people watching. He is genuine. David does all the things a man of integrity should do, but he knows the source is the Lord’s lovingkindness or steadfast love (depending on your translation). So while David’s and my actions validate our integrity, the source is the Lord. Lord, I pray I may walk in Your Truth everyday, and my foot will remain on level ground. Please continue to refine my mind and heart!
Psalm 26:2–3 (NET 2nd ed.)
2Examine me, O LORD, and test me. Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.
3For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, and your loyalty continually motivates me.
I focused on these two verses for a bit. Notice the “for” beginning in verse 3, which shows the cause of verse 2.
So, I am placing myself before the Lord(v 2). Evaluate my heart and motives, Lord Jesus. I ask for this because I am aware of your covenant loyal love (Hebrew word is hesed) toward me. You won’t go back on your word. You are loyal to the end. So, I live in your trustworthy reliability toward me.
Here in Psalm 25 we have another acrostic, albeit an imperfect one. The deviations were probably intentional to add emphasis to certain points. The pattern is broken in verses 6, 18 and 22. I love the opening line, as he is not lifting just his hands or his eyes, but his soul to the Lord. He is giving all of himself, as should we. Other verses that stand out to me (and this Psalm is FULL of them), include verses 4-7, which a Birmingham composer put to music many years ago (https://youtu.be/iT8ThIRNniM?si=ZgBqLjTCia6rsAIP) and which I still find myself singing from time-to-time. Like the Psalmist, my guilt is great, and the transgressions of my youth could haunt me, but I know the Lord has forgiven me and covered past sin. In verse 14, some translations read “friendship of the Lord,” but others say “secret of the Lord.” This, to me indicates a more intimate relationship whereby we are taken fully into the Lord’s confidence. At the end we return to waiting for the Lord, which can also mean “look for” the Lord. May I look for You everyday, Lord!
I was drawn to Psalm 25:4,5 and took a dive into it, meditating on its words. It’s a passage I had memorized out of the old 1984 version of the NIV and it brought back some good memories looking back at it there – Psalm 25:4–5 (NIV84) 4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
I was struck by the causative verb forms. In more of the Hebrew text word order of the text, it says, (25:4) “Your ways, O Lord, cause me to know. Your paths, cause me to learn (teach). (25:5) Cause me to be guided in your truth and cause me to learn (teach), because you are God, my salvation, and I’m caused into a wait posture for you all the day.”
So, I’m pondering each word and mulling them over. God is good. O Lord, cause me to know and learn, to be guided. Why the prayer? Because you are My God. My help and rescue are in You. It’s not in me. It’s not in others. Ultimately, it’s in you. So come. I’m looking forward with hope of your intervention.
Many good comments today with thoughts on how these verses spoke to Rusty and Dave so far.
When reading this morning, my mind was drawn back to a song JackMoseley used when leading one of the worship sessions this past weekend during Discovery with our youth. It’s a Chris Tomlin song which repeats over and over to draw you into its meaning and here are the primary lyrics:
… We bow our hearts, we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols
… So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
… Oh God let this be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Psalm 24 opens with the reminder that everything belongs to the Lord—every place and every person. We’re then asked who is worthy to stand before Him? The response is one who is found innocent in actions (clean hands) as well as in thought (clean heart). In this we are promised blessing and righteousness. I find that reminding myself of these things daily helps me to keep a proper perspective on life. It can be so easy to forget that we are visitors on this earth; it all belongs to Him, and we are just permitted to use it for awhile. And I know I cannot achieve blessing and righteousness on my own, I rely on the perfection of Christ while striving to live a life worthy of His calling. The latter part of this Psalm (vv. 7-10) Handel set to music in the 34th movement of Messiah (https://youtu.be/dS9rzlG8_Tc?si=QnInIYn81zDaLeCa). It is a picture of a triumphal entry, which could have been the return to Jerusalem of the ark of the covenant, or a foreshadowing of the triumphal entry of Christ on Palm Sunday. But it also can metaphorically represent our welcoming Christ into our hearts. Praise be to God that He is the King of Glory!
The reminder for me this morning comes from Ps 24:3-6. I give my attitudes and motives to the Lord. I am looking to Him to help me overcome and have clean actions (hands) and pure motives (heart). I must be careful not to lift up my life to that which is worthless and false. I just had a memory of a circumstance of how easy that could be.
There are benefits, blessings, and rewards from the Lord if I stay loyal to Him. I remember the lavishness of the Lord’s blessings from yesterday’s reading (Ps 23:5 – “my cup overflows.”) He declares what is right and is the one who rescues me from my inner attitudes that don’t reflect Him. Lord Jesus, help me.
This morning was just like any other morning… busy readying myself and my sweet kiddos for our day. Lots of running around and smiling, but not a lot of time yet for rest and reflection. I just got Ivalee down for her morning nap, opened our Bible reading plan, and read the first few words of our psalm. It’s a familiar one and one of my favorites. “The Lord is my shepherd…” Five words and just like that my body relaxes. I exhale. I feel myself sitting in cushy grass with my Shepherd. I smile. It wasn’t a bad morning at all, but in just those five words I realize how much I have been looking forward to this time with the One who restores my soul. The One who makes me lie down, who leads me, comforts me, provides for me, anoints me, and who never leaves my side.
And then I get to what I think may be my favorite verse in the entire Bible: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” How can you read this and not be filled to the brim with peace? Our Shepherd has shown us that He is good and merciful, so we can say that surely—yes surely—He will continue to be so.
This is going to sound silly, but it makes me think of Yoshi (my son is super into Mario right now). There’s a game I used to play when I was younger called Yoshi’s Island. In that game, Yoshi would eat things and then what he ate would turn into little eggs that would follow him around the game. No matter where he went, those eggs were trailing along behind him. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. I love that they follow me. I can just picture them trailing along behind me no matter where I go, like little spotted eggs behind a Yoshi.
Thank You, sweet Shepherd, for making me lie down . Thank You for leading me. Thank You for restoring my soul. And thank You that Your goodness and Your mercy will never ever leave me. You truly are so good, and this time with You leaves me lacking for nothing. Hallelujah that I get to dwell in Your house with You forever!
Psalm 23 is probably the best-known Old Testament passage, and it is fitting that it follows immediately the Psalm of the Cross. Over the years I have heard many messages preached on this familiar passage, and the things that have stuck with me are thoughts like the comfort with which he opens the Psalm—green pastures, still waters, paths of righteousness. Even in the “shadow of death” the idea of a shadow implies that there is light, for you can’t have one without the other. A shadow cannot hurt you; we are saved from death by what our Savior did in Psalm 22. Then, the rod and staff that comfort us are the principle tools of the shepherd; with the rod he defends his flock, and with the staff he guides it. The Lord provides for us abundantly; more than we could ever want or need, “My cup overflows.” Then he gives us the assurance, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me”—goodness supplies our needs and mercy blots out our sin. And finishes with the final assurance, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is the ultimate comfort, the promise of eternal life spent with our Lord! Thank you, Father, for the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf and the unbelievable gift described in this Psalm! Many years ago my church choir sang a version of this Psalm that I still sing to myself quite often. I invite you to enjoy it with me: https://youtu.be/kxL8r94dGGE?si=TYIja5pxIBWwFH5z
This is a familiar Psalm to so many of us. We may have even memorized it as a child, or later. David personalizes the Lord as not just A shepherd, but MY shepherd. Somewhat recently when Leanna Crawford released her song “Still Waters”, which uses this Psalm in the lyrics, I changed my perspective to feel like the still waters are not in a separate location from the dark valley in the Psalm, but lie even within it as much as in the green pastures. God’s care for us is good like that. Today my thoughts fell on the fact that in verses 2-3 He is leading me while at the end He, in His characteristics of goodness and mercy, is following me. In everything He is there. ( Psalm 139:5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me)
The dwelling in His house does not have to be viewed as a destination I won’t reach until death, but can begin even here as I acknowledge the whole of creation, green pastures and dark valleys, are His house because He is here. We just get to see the better part of it later! .
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein
I hunkered down and was drawn to take a deep dive into Psalm 23:5. I just kept digging and researching.
Psalm 23:5 (ESV)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Kenneth Bailey, a former missionary, teacher, professor, author, who lived in the middle east most of his life says this is the language of God being the host putting on a lavish banquet in my honor, going to great lengths to say He is supportive of me. Anointing, in the Hebrew text, is not the usual word for anointing, but has more of the idea of refreshing. After being out in the sun all day on a 100+ degree day, oil was used as a soothing ointment.
The meal is so lavish that when I take a sip of my drink out of my cup, a servant is there, filling it back up all the way to the top and even overflowing. With the Lord as my Shepherd (Ps 23:1-4) and my host (23:5), I have all I need and more. What amazing imagery. Surely goodness and mercy is going to follow me (Ps 23:6). God’s goodness and mercy keeps running after me.
I haven’t thought of this verse in this way before. And I intend to meditate on the ramifications for me through the day today. Lord, help me.
Psalm 22—the Psalm of the Cross, or the 5th Gospel—it has been called both. Christ himself quoted from this at Golgotha, and David has managed to describe a crucifixion hundreds of years before such a brutal method of execution had been considered. I often grieve for fellow Christians who discount the Old Testament when I read this Psalm as well as parts of Isaiah, for here is the essence of fulfillment of prophecy by Christ. But even in all the despair of the first 18 verses, we turn with that good old word, “But” at verse 19: “But You, O Lord…have rescued me!” We believers know that the horror of the cross was necessary for our redemption, but that the story doesn’t end there. Verse 27 sums it up well, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.” Praise God for the sacrifice Christ made for us, and for the indescribable gift of eternal life in Him!
There is so much prophecy in this Psalm and it paints such a vivid picture of Jesus’ crucifixion. Man people who read of those events do not even realize that the words Jesus used are from a Psalm, but the people of His day would have recognized them immediately. If taken as just words spoken in despair, they paint a bleak picture. But who, if they believe they’ve been abandoned, would continue to speak to the absent figure? So clearly the writer of the Psalm never truly was claiming to be abandoned, but was expressing deep emotions. He recalls so many victories and is confident of future success and praise – note the future-tense verbs: will tell, will praise, shall eat, shall remember, shall serve.
.
Several years ago Rusty asked me to “preach” on this Psalm. I went back and read my notes this morning and wanted to share this little excerpt:
Let’s go back to the idea that this was a well-known song of the day, and while Jesus likely spoke the words rather than singing them, it would have triggered the memory of the entire Psalm in the minds of those who heard it. And as they processed these words in their memories, what an “AHA” moment they should have had …like a movie flashback just played in their heads – they had just witnessed all these things: the mocking, the taunting, the piercing, and casting lots … And as they gazed back up at the one hanging on the cross who has spoken that first verse – they would realize they were gazing upon the one about whom it was written. He was sending them a message by prompting them with that line … I am The One. For any within His inner circle who already knew, he was reminding them; and for those on the fringes who may have wondered, suspected, or been totally unaware, it would be a revelation. This prophecy is coming true right before their eyes.
Jesus was a master teacher, right up until His final breath (and even after!) He knows the people had this entire Psalm memorized part of their worship practice. He was merely cuing up the first line so they would finish it in their hearts and heads! He was helping them understand what was going on in this tragic moment – God was still working! By having them recall this Psalm as a whole, he was offering them comfort in their own fear and despair, while also teaching deep truths and pointing ahead to what was still to come.
In Jesus quoting Psalm 22:1 from the cross (Matthew 27:46), Psalm 22:1 is to be understood from the whole of Psalm 22, not just the first verse. There are multiple references from this Psalm in the NT. So, we must see the whole Psalm 22 that Jesus is referencing and understand the Psalm as a Messianic prophecy.
Notice the laments, hardship, and suffering (Ps 22:1-2; 6-8; 12-18) interspersed with prayers of trust and rescue (Ps 22:3-5; 9-11; 19-21), as if there is this “I see what’s going on around me in the physical realm, but I keep coming back to the deeper reality of trusting the unseen God, who I am convinced will be victorious in the end.”
Psalm 22:22 is quoted in Hebrews 2:11-12. Psalm 22:22-31 is like the Savior’s victory lap around the track.
I take Psalm 22:1 about being “forsaken” as being “forsaken” or “abandoned” to death. It was not a separation from God. The Father and Son are one being, they can’t be separated in their being. Psalm 22 from the whole Psalm, helps us to understand this – Jesus was abused by the bulls, lions, and dogs, but in the end, He gave glory to God for His salvation and rescue.
My take away here is that life, at times, is going to be difficult. If we stand with Jesus, we may suffer. But in the suffering, we continue to look to our Heavenly Father and trust Him for our ultimate rescue.
So, as I anticipate my day, I give the circumstances and events to Jesus, looking to Him for strength, patience, and victory, especially in my attitudes and mind sets.
David opens and closes Psalm 26 “walking in his integrity.” A quick study of this word (tôm) shows besides integrity it can mean completeness, innocence, upright, perfection and simplicity. I have often heard that a man of integrity is one who acts the same whether he is alone or knows there are people watching. He is genuine. David does all the things a man of integrity should do, but he knows the source is the Lord’s lovingkindness or steadfast love (depending on your translation). So while David’s and my actions validate our integrity, the source is the Lord. Lord, I pray I may walk in Your Truth everyday, and my foot will remain on level ground. Please continue to refine my mind and heart!
Psalm 26:2–3 (NET 2nd ed.)
2Examine me, O LORD, and test me. Evaluate my inner thoughts and motives.
3For I am ever aware of your faithfulness, and your loyalty continually motivates me.
I focused on these two verses for a bit. Notice the “for” beginning in verse 3, which shows the cause of verse 2.
So, I am placing myself before the Lord(v 2). Evaluate my heart and motives, Lord Jesus. I ask for this because I am aware of your covenant loyal love (Hebrew word is hesed) toward me. You won’t go back on your word. You are loyal to the end. So, I live in your trustworthy reliability toward me.
Here in Psalm 25 we have another acrostic, albeit an imperfect one. The deviations were probably intentional to add emphasis to certain points. The pattern is broken in verses 6, 18 and 22. I love the opening line, as he is not lifting just his hands or his eyes, but his soul to the Lord. He is giving all of himself, as should we. Other verses that stand out to me (and this Psalm is FULL of them), include verses 4-7, which a Birmingham composer put to music many years ago (https://youtu.be/iT8ThIRNniM?si=ZgBqLjTCia6rsAIP) and which I still find myself singing from time-to-time. Like the Psalmist, my guilt is great, and the transgressions of my youth could haunt me, but I know the Lord has forgiven me and covered past sin. In verse 14, some translations read “friendship of the Lord,” but others say “secret of the Lord.” This, to me indicates a more intimate relationship whereby we are taken fully into the Lord’s confidence. At the end we return to waiting for the Lord, which can also mean “look for” the Lord. May I look for You everyday, Lord!
I was drawn to Psalm 25:4,5 and took a dive into it, meditating on its words. It’s a passage I had memorized out of the old 1984 version of the NIV and it brought back some good memories looking back at it there – Psalm 25:4–5 (NIV84) 4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
I was struck by the causative verb forms. In more of the Hebrew text word order of the text, it says, (25:4) “Your ways, O Lord, cause me to know. Your paths, cause me to learn (teach). (25:5) Cause me to be guided in your truth and cause me to learn (teach), because you are God, my salvation, and I’m caused into a wait posture for you all the day.”
So, I’m pondering each word and mulling them over. God is good. O Lord, cause me to know and learn, to be guided. Why the prayer? Because you are My God. My help and rescue are in You. It’s not in me. It’s not in others. Ultimately, it’s in you. So come. I’m looking forward with hope of your intervention.
Many good comments today with thoughts on how these verses spoke to Rusty and Dave so far.
When reading this morning, my mind was drawn back to a song JackMoseley used when leading one of the worship sessions this past weekend during Discovery with our youth. It’s a Chris Tomlin song which repeats over and over to draw you into its meaning and here are the primary lyrics:
… We bow our hearts, we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols
… So give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Oh give us clean hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
… Oh God let this be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
Who seeks Your face, oh God of Jacob
May it be so with me today. Amen.
Psalm 24 opens with the reminder that everything belongs to the Lord—every place and every person. We’re then asked who is worthy to stand before Him? The response is one who is found innocent in actions (clean hands) as well as in thought (clean heart). In this we are promised blessing and righteousness. I find that reminding myself of these things daily helps me to keep a proper perspective on life. It can be so easy to forget that we are visitors on this earth; it all belongs to Him, and we are just permitted to use it for awhile. And I know I cannot achieve blessing and righteousness on my own, I rely on the perfection of Christ while striving to live a life worthy of His calling. The latter part of this Psalm (vv. 7-10) Handel set to music in the 34th movement of Messiah (https://youtu.be/dS9rzlG8_Tc?si=QnInIYn81zDaLeCa). It is a picture of a triumphal entry, which could have been the return to Jerusalem of the ark of the covenant, or a foreshadowing of the triumphal entry of Christ on Palm Sunday. But it also can metaphorically represent our welcoming Christ into our hearts. Praise be to God that He is the King of Glory!
The reminder for me this morning comes from Ps 24:3-6. I give my attitudes and motives to the Lord. I am looking to Him to help me overcome and have clean actions (hands) and pure motives (heart). I must be careful not to lift up my life to that which is worthless and false. I just had a memory of a circumstance of how easy that could be.
There are benefits, blessings, and rewards from the Lord if I stay loyal to Him. I remember the lavishness of the Lord’s blessings from yesterday’s reading (Ps 23:5 – “my cup overflows.”) He declares what is right and is the one who rescues me from my inner attitudes that don’t reflect Him. Lord Jesus, help me.
This morning was just like any other morning… busy readying myself and my sweet kiddos for our day. Lots of running around and smiling, but not a lot of time yet for rest and reflection. I just got Ivalee down for her morning nap, opened our Bible reading plan, and read the first few words of our psalm. It’s a familiar one and one of my favorites. “The Lord is my shepherd…” Five words and just like that my body relaxes. I exhale. I feel myself sitting in cushy grass with my Shepherd. I smile. It wasn’t a bad morning at all, but in just those five words I realize how much I have been looking forward to this time with the One who restores my soul. The One who makes me lie down, who leads me, comforts me, provides for me, anoints me, and who never leaves my side.
And then I get to what I think may be my favorite verse in the entire Bible: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” How can you read this and not be filled to the brim with peace? Our Shepherd has shown us that He is good and merciful, so we can say that surely—yes surely—He will continue to be so.
This is going to sound silly, but it makes me think of Yoshi (my son is super into Mario right now). There’s a game I used to play when I was younger called Yoshi’s Island. In that game, Yoshi would eat things and then what he ate would turn into little eggs that would follow him around the game. No matter where he went, those eggs were trailing along behind him. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. I love that they follow me. I can just picture them trailing along behind me no matter where I go, like little spotted eggs behind a Yoshi.
Thank You, sweet Shepherd, for making me lie down . Thank You for leading me. Thank You for restoring my soul. And thank You that Your goodness and Your mercy will never ever leave me. You truly are so good, and this time with You leaves me lacking for nothing. Hallelujah that I get to dwell in Your house with You forever!
Psalm 23 is probably the best-known Old Testament passage, and it is fitting that it follows immediately the Psalm of the Cross. Over the years I have heard many messages preached on this familiar passage, and the things that have stuck with me are thoughts like the comfort with which he opens the Psalm—green pastures, still waters, paths of righteousness. Even in the “shadow of death” the idea of a shadow implies that there is light, for you can’t have one without the other. A shadow cannot hurt you; we are saved from death by what our Savior did in Psalm 22. Then, the rod and staff that comfort us are the principle tools of the shepherd; with the rod he defends his flock, and with the staff he guides it. The Lord provides for us abundantly; more than we could ever want or need, “My cup overflows.” Then he gives us the assurance, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me”—goodness supplies our needs and mercy blots out our sin. And finishes with the final assurance, “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” This is the ultimate comfort, the promise of eternal life spent with our Lord! Thank you, Father, for the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf and the unbelievable gift described in this Psalm! Many years ago my church choir sang a version of this Psalm that I still sing to myself quite often. I invite you to enjoy it with me: https://youtu.be/kxL8r94dGGE?si=TYIja5pxIBWwFH5z
This is a familiar Psalm to so many of us. We may have even memorized it as a child, or later. David personalizes the Lord as not just A shepherd, but MY shepherd. Somewhat recently when Leanna Crawford released her song “Still Waters”, which uses this Psalm in the lyrics, I changed my perspective to feel like the still waters are not in a separate location from the dark valley in the Psalm, but lie even within it as much as in the green pastures. God’s care for us is good like that. Today my thoughts fell on the fact that in verses 2-3 He is leading me while at the end He, in His characteristics of goodness and mercy, is following me. In everything He is there. ( Psalm 139:5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me)
The dwelling in His house does not have to be viewed as a destination I won’t reach until death, but can begin even here as I acknowledge the whole of creation, green pastures and dark valleys, are His house because He is here. We just get to see the better part of it later! .
Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein
Here’s a link to the music video for Still Waters if you have a few minutes to listen/watch.
https://youtu.be/WW0VJxPqeRc?si=jape_vR7d9elRLlF
I hunkered down and was drawn to take a deep dive into Psalm 23:5. I just kept digging and researching.
Psalm 23:5 (ESV)
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Kenneth Bailey, a former missionary, teacher, professor, author, who lived in the middle east most of his life says this is the language of God being the host putting on a lavish banquet in my honor, going to great lengths to say He is supportive of me. Anointing, in the Hebrew text, is not the usual word for anointing, but has more of the idea of refreshing. After being out in the sun all day on a 100+ degree day, oil was used as a soothing ointment.
The meal is so lavish that when I take a sip of my drink out of my cup, a servant is there, filling it back up all the way to the top and even overflowing. With the Lord as my Shepherd (Ps 23:1-4) and my host (23:5), I have all I need and more. What amazing imagery. Surely goodness and mercy is going to follow me (Ps 23:6). God’s goodness and mercy keeps running after me.
I haven’t thought of this verse in this way before. And I intend to meditate on the ramifications for me through the day today. Lord, help me.
Psalm 22—the Psalm of the Cross, or the 5th Gospel—it has been called both. Christ himself quoted from this at Golgotha, and David has managed to describe a crucifixion hundreds of years before such a brutal method of execution had been considered. I often grieve for fellow Christians who discount the Old Testament when I read this Psalm as well as parts of Isaiah, for here is the essence of fulfillment of prophecy by Christ. But even in all the despair of the first 18 verses, we turn with that good old word, “But” at verse 19: “But You, O Lord…have rescued me!” We believers know that the horror of the cross was necessary for our redemption, but that the story doesn’t end there. Verse 27 sums it up well, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You.” Praise God for the sacrifice Christ made for us, and for the indescribable gift of eternal life in Him!
There is so much prophecy in this Psalm and it paints such a vivid picture of Jesus’ crucifixion. Man people who read of those events do not even realize that the words Jesus used are from a Psalm, but the people of His day would have recognized them immediately. If taken as just words spoken in despair, they paint a bleak picture. But who, if they believe they’ve been abandoned, would continue to speak to the absent figure? So clearly the writer of the Psalm never truly was claiming to be abandoned, but was expressing deep emotions. He recalls so many victories and is confident of future success and praise – note the future-tense verbs: will tell, will praise, shall eat, shall remember, shall serve.
.
Several years ago Rusty asked me to “preach” on this Psalm. I went back and read my notes this morning and wanted to share this little excerpt:
Let’s go back to the idea that this was a well-known song of the day, and while Jesus likely spoke the words rather than singing them, it would have triggered the memory of the entire Psalm in the minds of those who heard it. And as they processed these words in their memories, what an “AHA” moment they should have had …like a movie flashback just played in their heads – they had just witnessed all these things: the mocking, the taunting, the piercing, and casting lots … And as they gazed back up at the one hanging on the cross who has spoken that first verse – they would realize they were gazing upon the one about whom it was written. He was sending them a message by prompting them with that line … I am The One. For any within His inner circle who already knew, he was reminding them; and for those on the fringes who may have wondered, suspected, or been totally unaware, it would be a revelation. This prophecy is coming true right before their eyes.
Jesus was a master teacher, right up until His final breath (and even after!) He knows the people had this entire Psalm memorized part of their worship practice. He was merely cuing up the first line so they would finish it in their hearts and heads! He was helping them understand what was going on in this tragic moment – God was still working! By having them recall this Psalm as a whole, he was offering them comfort in their own fear and despair, while also teaching deep truths and pointing ahead to what was still to come.
In Jesus quoting Psalm 22:1 from the cross (Matthew 27:46), Psalm 22:1 is to be understood from the whole of Psalm 22, not just the first verse. There are multiple references from this Psalm in the NT. So, we must see the whole Psalm 22 that Jesus is referencing and understand the Psalm as a Messianic prophecy.
Notice the laments, hardship, and suffering (Ps 22:1-2; 6-8; 12-18) interspersed with prayers of trust and rescue (Ps 22:3-5; 9-11; 19-21), as if there is this “I see what’s going on around me in the physical realm, but I keep coming back to the deeper reality of trusting the unseen God, who I am convinced will be victorious in the end.”
Psalm 22:22 is quoted in Hebrews 2:11-12. Psalm 22:22-31 is like the Savior’s victory lap around the track.
I take Psalm 22:1 about being “forsaken” as being “forsaken” or “abandoned” to death. It was not a separation from God. The Father and Son are one being, they can’t be separated in their being. Psalm 22 from the whole Psalm, helps us to understand this – Jesus was abused by the bulls, lions, and dogs, but in the end, He gave glory to God for His salvation and rescue.
My take away here is that life, at times, is going to be difficult. If we stand with Jesus, we may suffer. But in the suffering, we continue to look to our Heavenly Father and trust Him for our ultimate rescue.
So, as I anticipate my day, I give the circumstances and events to Jesus, looking to Him for strength, patience, and victory, especially in my attitudes and mind sets.