Psalm 22. 22nd Psalm. Is that making a noise, Drew? Okay, good. Psalm 22, I wanna
read this Psalm. These are the words of the Lord
from the cross. And that title, which is inspired,
I don't know how to pronounce it, means. The. Mind of the morning. Morning
is in morning, not morning time, but morning over loss. My God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping
me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the
daytime, but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and
am not silent, but thou art holy. O thou that inhabitest the praises
of Israel, our fathers trusted in thee. They trusted and thou
didst deliver them. They cried unto thee and were
delivered. They trusted in thee and were
not confounded. But I am a worm and no man, a
reproach of men and despised of the people. All they that
see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip, they
shake the head, saying he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver
him. Let him deliver him, saying he delighted in him. But thou
art he that took me out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope
when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the
womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from
me, for trouble is near, for there is none to help. Many bulls
have compassed me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
They gaped upon me with their mouths as a ravening and a roaring
lion. I'm poured out like water, and
all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, it's melted
in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like
a pot shirt, and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. And thou has brought
me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me. The
assembly of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and
my feet. I may count all my bones. They look and stare upon me.
They part my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture.
But be not thou far from me, O Lord. O my strength, haste
thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword,
my darling, from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's
mouth, for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto
my brethren. In the midst of the congregation
will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise
him, all ye the seed of Jacob. Glorify him and fear him, all
ye seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor
abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. Neither hath he hid
his face from him. But when he cried unto him, he
heard. My praise shall be of thee in
the great congregation. I'll pay my vows before them
that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that
seek him. Your heart shall live forever. All the ends of the
world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds
of the nation shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the
Lord's, and he is the governor among the nations. All they that
be fat upon earth shall eat and worship. All they that go down
to the dust shall bow before him, and none can keep alive
his own soul. A seed shall serve him. It shall be accounted to
the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare
his righteousness unto a people that shall be born. that he hath
done this. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you and praise
you for who you are, the living God The God of all glory, the God
of all grace, the God of all comfort, the God of all mercy,
the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask in his name
that we might be enabled to worship him. We ask in his name that
your gospel would be preached in the power of your spirit and
that you would grant us hearing ears and receptive hearts. Give
us a word from you. Lord, we pray for your mercy
on those being afflicted at this time according to your will.
Lord, we would especially pray for Lynn that your healing hand
would continue to be upon her. Lord, we thank you for the Gospel
you've given us, we thank you for the friendship you've given
us, our brothers and sisters in Christ. Be with us and bless
us for his sake and be with all your people wherever they meet
together. And Lord, forgive us of our many
sins for Christ's sake. How we thank you for the glorious
gift of justification. In his blessed name we pray,
amen. Now this is what is known as
the psalm of the cross. And you can see that real clearly,
couldn't you? The psalm of the cross. Look in verse one. We
know the Lord said this from the cross. My God, my God, why
has thou forsaken me? Look in verse 16. Dogs have compassed
me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet. Talking about his crucifixion,
even at this time. Look in verse 18. They part my
garments among them and cast lots for my vesture. It was foretold
that this would take place. Indeed, this is the psalm of
the cross. And some have even suggested
that the Lord quoted this whole psalm as he was nailed to that
cross. And that certainly would not
surprise me. My God, my God, And these are
the words of Christ. And I don't know how to say this
properly, but he's not saying my father, my father at this
time. God was his father. But when he is nailed to the
cross, he says, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? The Lord uttered those words
from the thick darkness of the cross when God had turned the
lights out and there was nothing but thick darkness. From that
darkness, he cried, the Son of God cried, the Creator cried,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Now, He gives us the answer in
verse 3. It's not like He didn't know
what was taking place. It's not like He was asking this
for information. Here's the reason. Verse 3, Thou
art holy. That's the reason God forsook
His Son, because He is holy. My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? The Son of God, the apple of
God's eye makes this cry, why have you forsaken me? Well, number one, Because I deserve
to be forsaken by God. Because he's holy. And that's
the first reason. I'm not gonna say it's the first
importance. I'm gonna give five or six reasons here, but the
reason he cried out, why have you forsaken me? Because that
is exactly what I personally deserve, to be forsaken, to be
cut off by God. Why did he cry, my God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? He is fulfilling God's holy purpose. I don't know of a scripture that
I enjoy more than Revelation 13, 8, the lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. I enjoyed that verse of scripture
so much. And let me tell you why I enjoy it so much. That lets
me know that my salvation has absolutely nothing to do with
me. It was accomplished by Christ
before I was ever born. And he is forsaken to fulfill
God's holy purpose as the lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. He is forsaken that the holy
scriptures might be fulfilled. I read that passage of Scripture
that they parted my garments, cast lot from my vesture. You
know, it's almost like when those guys were doing that stuff to
the Lord on the cross, they almost had to read, what do we do next?
And they didn't know, obviously, but then it's almost like they
had to read. Well, here's what's coming next. He said, we're going
to do this. Of course, they weren't thinking that way, but that's
what took place. Everything that happened, happened according
to the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God. And he
cried out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me that the
holy scriptures might be fulfilled? He cried, my God, my God, why
have you forsaken me? For the glory of this holy God. You say, how does that glorify
God? Oh, every attribute of God is made manifest in Him forsaking
His Son. His purpose, His holiness, His
justice, His love, His immutability, His
grace, every attribute of God is glorified in the son of God
being forsaken by his father. Do you see that? The glory of
God in the cross. He was forsaken because he loved
me. Now that's true of every believer.
He was forsaken because he loved me. He loved me to the point that
he would take my sin and make it his very own and suffer for
it that I might not have to. He loved me. And he was forsaken
as the ultimate act of obedience and faith. His father told him to go be
nailed to that cross. He said, yes, father. Yes, father. THE ULTIMATE ACT OF OBEDIENCE
TO HIS FATHER. WHAT GLORIOUS WORDS! MY GOD,
MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME? WHY ARE YOU FAR FROM HELPING
ME AND FROM THE WORDS OF MY ROARING? HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY HELP FROM
GOD. YOU KNOW, THE FATHER WASN'T STRENGTHENING HIM AT THIS TIME,
HE WAS LEFT alone. He had no help from his father. Verse two, Oh my God, I cry in
the daytime, but thou hear is not. And in the night season
and I'm not silent, but here's the reason all this is, but thou
art holy. Thou art holy. Oh, thou that I love this. You
inhabit the praises of Israel. When one of God's people or all
of God's people praise Him, He inhabits those praises. Can you
praise Him right now in your heart? I'm not talking about
even out loud right now, but I mean in your heart. Can you
praise Him for my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? When
God looks in your heart, does He see praise and thanksgiving
for this glorious work of Christ on the cross? Now, He says in
verse four and five, our fathers trusted in me, They trusted and
thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee and were
delivered. They trusted in thee and were not confounded. Every
believer that trusts, they're not confounded. But, this is
the word of the Son of God. And I don't, let me just read
it. The Son of God says, I am a worm. and not even fit to be called
a man. Now that's how truly he was made
sin. You know what a worm is? A maggot. What is more disgusting? than
a maggot. And that's what the Son of God
calls himself when he was made sin. And that's how he viewed
himself. Now, I can't explain this. We
can adore him. We stand amazed. But here's what
the Son of God says of himself. I am a worm and no man, a reproach
of men and despised of the people. Oh, look at this, verse seven,
all that see me laugh me to scorn. This is man's contempt of Christ. They enjoy seeing him suffer.
They enjoy it. That's their hatred of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that's me and you. That would
describe us. We think, oh, surely not. Surely,
surely. All they that see me lack me
to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head, saying
he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver
him, saying he delighted in him. They're making fun of him as
he hangs from the cross. And they actually said that.
But verse nine and 10, he speaks of his near and dear relationship,
his eternal relationship with his father. He says, Thou art
he that took me out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when
I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the
womb. Thou art my God from my mother's belly. You know, even
as he was forsaken of God, even as he felt himself to be nothing
more than a worm when he was made sin, he never quit believing
God. Somebody had to believe God perfectly
and somebody did. The son of God. He says in verse
11, be not far from me, for trouble is near and there's none to help. Many bulls have compassed me,
strong bulls of basin have set me round about." Now this speaks
of those who hated him. They gaped upon me with their
mouths as a ravening and a roaring lion. Now think of the things
people said to him as he hung from the cross. He saved others,
himself he cannot save. Making fun of him, yet truer
words have never been spoken. From here you'd be saved. He
couldn't save himself. Hail, King of the Jews! They
said in mocking and jest were truer words ever said. He is
truly the King of the Jews. They said his blood be upon us
and our children. Oh, we hate him so much that
we're fine with getting charged with his death. Let it be imputed
to our children. What a prayer, let his blood
be upon us. And our children. Prophesy thou
Christ, who hit thee when they struck him with their open hands?
Who smoked thee? Awake, O sword, smite the shepherd. Smite the shepherd, I know who
smoked him. Now, even in their rage, in their ravening, roaring
lioness words, how the wrath of man shall praise thee. And
didn't the wrath of man praise him at that time? Now he talks
about his physical sufferings. Verse 14, I'm poured out like
water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It's melted in the midst of my
bowels. My strength is dried up like
a pot church and my tongue cleaves to my jaws. And who brought him
to the dust of death? Thou has brought me to the dust
of death. He knew who this was of. Verse 16, for dogs have compassed
me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet." Now the Lord is telling us this. This was written a thousand
years before it took place. But remember when the scripture
says in Deuteronomy, curse it as everyone that hangeth on a
tree. This was God's way of putting
away the sins of his people. The piercing of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Him being nailed to a tree. Look
what he says in verse 17. I may tell or I may count all
my bones. They look and stare upon me.
Now, did he see every single one of his bones at this time?
Yes. Because his bones are his people.
And he can count every one of them. It's a fixed number. I don't know how many elect sinners
there are. It's a bunch, but it's a fixed
number. It can't be added to or taken away from. And he said,
every one of these bones stare at me. We're doing that right
now, aren't we? We're looking to him. That same
word, stare, is the word used with reference to the children
of Israel looking to the brazen serpent. Verse 18, they part my garments
among them and cast lots upon my vesture, just as he said it
would take place. Be not thou far from me, O Lord,
O my strength, make haste to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword,
My darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's
mouth. For thou has heard me from the
horns of the unicorns. Now this, these verses speak
of him being completely delivered over to Satan. The roaring of
the lion. The Lord allowed Satan to do
what he wanted to do. out of hatred to Christ, and
this is what I love thinking about, while Satan was performing
his rage against the Christ, he was God's pawn doing God's
will. He wasn't aware of that, but
that's the case. He was God's pawn performing
God's will. And that's what our Lord was
doing on Calvary Street. Now he says, I will declare thy
name unto my brethren in the midst of the congregation while
I praise thee. Now that's quoted in Hebrews
chapter two. And never has his name been declared
more clearly than right here on the cross. He's making known
every one of God's glorious attributes. And he calls us his brethren. Both he that sanctifieth and
they who are sanctified are all of one for the which cause he's
not ashamed to call them brethren. I'm his brother. Every child
of God is his brother and his sister. Ye that fear the Lord. Verse
23. Now, the fear of God is not a
slavish fear. I'm afraid if I don't do right,
he's going to get me. He's going to take it out. If
I don't give, he'll take it out in a coffin. If I don't quit
doing this sin or that sin, he's going to cause me to have cancer,
or he's going to give me a heart attack. That's the way people
think, but that's not the fear of God. It has nothing to do
with the fear of God. The fear of God is that reverence
for him that will make you afraid to look anywhere but Christ alone
as all your salvation. Now that's the fear of God. He
says, ye that fear the Lord, praise him. All ye the seed of
Jacob, glorify him and fear him, all the seed of Israel. That's
talking about the elect. For he hath not despised nor
abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. Neither hath he hid
his face from him, but when he cried unto him, he heard. Now
listen to this. You've got the ear of God. Is that amazing or what? You,
every believer has the ear of God almighty because he turned
his ear away from Christ. Now you have his ear. My praise shall be of thee and
the great congregation. I will pay my vows before them
that fear him. Now that's the Lord speaking.
He's the only one to ever pay his vows. He paid them. The meek,
verse 26, the meek shall eat and be satisfied. Now I love
this thing, satisfaction. I don't know how many times I've
had people respond to me in preaching and say, there's gotta be more
than that. You've just never seen Him. That's all I can say. You've
just never seen Him because do you know what it is to be satisfied
with being saved by Him? Where He gets all the glory,
none goes to you, and you like it that way. And you're not looking
for anything else. It is finished. It's finished. Satisfaction. I'm not looking
for anything. I'm satisfied. I'm satisfied
with Him. I'm satisfied with His way of
salvation. Somebody says, well, you ought to be satisfied. I
know I should, but I'm just satisfied to be saved by what He did without
my works. I find complete satisfaction
in that. The meek, the lowly shall eat
and be satisfied. They shall praise the Lord that
seek Him. Your heart shall live forever. All the ends of the
world. Now, whenever you find the ends
of the world, that's in the scripture. Look at me and be saved all the
ends of the earth. That's in Isaiah a lot. The ends
of the world are the zeros, the nothings. Now, if you are a nothing,
it's so easy for Christ to be your everything, isn't it? That's
the ends of the earth. all the ends of the world shall
remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of the nations
shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's. He is the governor among the
nations. Now, this is speaking of His absolute sovereignty.
I love the scripture, The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness
thereof. It's all His. This is my Father's
world. And He's the governor. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the governor. He's the King of Kings. He's
the Lord of Lords. This is once again His absolute
sovereignty. For the kingdom is the Lord's
and He is the governor among the nations. Now all they that
be fat upon the earth shall eat and worship That means they're
going to be bowing down. This is not talking about the
meek of verse 26. This is really talking about
the wicked. All they that be fat upon the earth, they have
plenty that so they think, they shall eat, they shall bow down.
All that go down to the dust shall bow before him. This is
what they're going to do. They're going to, every knee
is going to bow and none can keep alive his own soul. Now
these last two verses, I've written in my notes that I want to preach
on one of these days. Just these two verses. A seed
shall serve him. The seed of Abraham, the elect
of God. They shall serve him. There's no ifs, ands, or buts.
They shall serve him. You see, they're his seed. A
seed shall serve him. And this seed shall be accounted
to the Lord for a generation, his offspring, his children,
his people. This seed, it's the seed of God. Now here is the gospel ministry. They shall come, this seed. They
shall come. And here's what they shall do.
They shall declare his righteousness. That's their message. They'll
declare His righteousness, His righteousness in the Gospel,
salvation by the righteousness of Christ, the obedience of Christ. This is their message. Never
get tired of this. This is their message. They shall declare His righteousness
unto a people that shall be born. They'll be born again. They'll
be born from above. They'll be regenerated. These
are the people that are gonna rejoice in this message. They shall come and declare his
righteousness unto a people that shall be born that he had done
this. This is his work from the beginning
to the end. He had done this. Salvation,
listen to me, salvation's not what you do. It's not what you
do not do. Salvation is what He has done. It is finished. And that is our message. And
I know who's gonna believe it, the people that shall be born.
the people born of God, born of the Spirit. That's a glorious
psalm, isn't it? The psalm of the cross.