Psalm 22-1, commonly referred
to as the psalm of the cross, Spurgeon said this of this psalm.
He said, this psalm may have actually been repeated word by
word as our Lord hung on the cross. It begins with, my God,
my God, thou hast forsaken me, and it ends, according to the
psalm in the original, It is finished. David and his afflictions
may be here in this very modified sense, but as the star is concealed
by the light of the sun, he who sees the Lord Jesus Christ in
this passage will probably neither care to see David. Before us
in this psalm, we have a description both of the darkness and of the
glory of the cross. the sufferings of Christ and
the glory which shall follow." As we enter into this passage
this evening, I think of the Lord speaking to Moses at the
burning bush. These are the words here of our
Lord. Remember what God told Moses. He said, put your shoes
from off your feet from the ground you stand on. It's holy ground. I feel that way about this passage
this evening. Listen to these words one more
time. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou
so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Three
questions, three questions found in this passage of scripture.
The Lord Jesus Christ asked this. He says, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? He asked, why art thou so far
from helping me? And third, so far, why art thou
so far from the words of my roaring? Let's look at this passage together
this evening. The first again, the first question,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? God, forsaken God. We can't even begin to wrap our
heads around that, our minds around that. It was God that
prepared a body for his son. Our Lord said, a body hast thou
prepared me. He gave him a human nature. He
anointed his son with the oil of gladness. He was with him
all the days of his life as he walked here on this earth. He
said this, the Lord said, I and my father are one. And ultimately,
God exalted him and seated him at his own right hand. The Lord
Jesus Christ, as he walked this earth, he prayed to the father. He loved his father. He was obedient
to his father. He obeyed the law perfectly. Scripture says he was obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. And here, as he hangs
on the cross, he cries, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? Here on the cross, as he lays
down his life for the sheep, God's wrath and God's justice
poured out on his son, not for his own sins, not for any sin
he had done, but for the sins of His people, to make satisfaction
for the sins of His people. Our sins were laid on the Lord
Jesus Christ. He was made to be sin. And here on the cross, He bears
the punishment for that sin. That which we deserve, He bore. All of our sins, not in part,
but the whole. We read in Scripture the wages
of sin is death. Scripture declares that God is
of purer eyes than to behold evil. He can't even look on iniquity. We drink it like rainwater, but
Almighty God can't even look on sin. Almighty God who must
punish sin. When He sees sin, it must be
punished. even when it is found on His
Son. Christ, as the surety for His
people, is forsaken of God's presence and at the same time
bears the punishment for our sin. All of that necessary, all
of this had to happen in order for Him to make satisfaction
for our sins. Again, the question, why hast
thou forsaken me? Maybe you've asked that question.
Maybe you've asked that same question. Maybe you've thought
that same question. At times, at times, and I'll
speak for myself, there are times we feel that God has forsaken
us, that he's left us to ourselves, that he's left us alone in this
world. Now in our case, it may be a
sincere cry, but it's a cry of unbelief. When our Lord spoke,
though, it was a statement of fact, for God had truly turned
from him from a moment. Times when we walk in the sunshine
of his face, and then what feels like nothing but darkness. David
wrote, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I'll fear no evil. How's that possible, David? For
thou art with me. When we're stricken with terror
and begin to think that God has forsaken us, Know this, child
of God, know this, beyond a shadow of a doubt, He hasn't. Listen to these words from Hebrews
chapter 13 verse 5. It says, Let your conversation
be without covetousness, and be content with such things as
you have. For He hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. He's promised us that in his
word, God who cannot lie. What about the agony we suffer
in those times that we think we've been forsaken, when we
feel that we've been left alone? I ask you, consider this. What
agony did our Lord endure who was forsaken of God? Turn with
me to the book of Lamentations. Lamentations chapter 1. Lamentations 1 verse 12. Is it nothing? Lamentations 112,
is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by, behold and see
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. No doubt it's natural
for every one of us to think our affliction is the greatest
when we fall into times of trouble and difficulty. That no one has
more reason for grief than we do. That no one has the same
sorrow as we have. Paul wrote to the Corinthians
and he said this, No trial has come upon you but such that is
common to man. In 2 Corinthians 4.17, our affliction
are described as light, light affliction. And I certainly don't
say these things to make light of our trials. The trials we'll
endure on this earth that in 1 Peter 4.12 it says, Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try
you. as though some strange thing
happened to you. It's no accident when trial falls
upon God's people. And listen, they're called fiery
trials for good reason as well. But none of us, none of us have
suffered like our Lord suffered. And our Lord promised in his
word that he'll not tempt us above that which we can endure. But again, consider the Lord's
suffering. None of us, none of us could
endure the suffering in which He suffered. Think of the words
of the thief on the cross. That one thief, he told that
other thief, he said, we receive the due reward of our deeds,
but this man, Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, this man hath
done nothing amiss. Well, what is the one great cause
of such a thing as for God to forsake His Son? Well, there
was no cause in Him. Again, the Lord Jesus Christ
was sinless. Why then? Why then was he forsaken
of God? The Lord Jesus Christ is our
substitute. Scripture says that he was numbered
with the transgressors. He bore our sins in his own body. He endured our death, that which
was due us, our death, our judgment, our hell, being separated from
God as he hanged on the cross. It was there on the cross, there
at Golgotha's Hill, that God made the Lord Jesus Christ to
be sin for us. Why? Well, if you read on in
that passage in 2 Corinthians 5.21, it says this, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. Let me read another
passage of scripture to you from Isaiah 53, beginning with verse
10. Isaiah 53, verse 10. Here we read, it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul, the suffering of his son, and he shall be satisfied."
God is satisfied with the sacrifice of his son. He goes on to say,
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he
shall bear their iniquities. The second question from our
text. The Lord asked, why art thou so far from helping me? Again, Psalm 22, verse one. Why
art thou so far from helping me? There can be but one offering
for sin, not many offerings, one offering, and that's the
Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture declares His soul was
made an offering for sin. One Savior, one God, one mediator
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Scripture declares
He tread the winepress of God's wrath alone. No man assisted
him. He did it alone and he must do
that alone. There is but one Savior. Again
in Isaiah 63 we read, I looked and there was none to
help. Men rattle off all the things
they do for the Lord Jesus Christ. They've done nothing. He said,
I looked and there was none to help. And I wondered that there
was none to uphold. Therefore, he says, with my own
arm, I brought salvation unto me. The work of salvation, it
is of the Son. It's of the Lord Jesus Christ
alone. Who hath believed our report?
To whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Listen again to these
words from Isaiah 53. It says, He shall grow up before
Him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He
hath no form or comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there's
no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we
hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he, not many, just this one,
he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes. Whose stripes? His stripes. What's the result of that? We
are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray,
we've turned everyone to our own way, and the Lord hath laid
on him, the Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, as a sheep before her shears is done, So he opened
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
judgment. And who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the
land of the living. For the transgression of who? The transgression of my people,
God said. For that reason was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no
violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." All glory, all
honor, all praise, all salvation is of the Lord. There were men
at the cross that asked, they mocked our Lord. And they asked
this question, they said, he trusted God. Let Him deliver
him now. I ask you to consider this question.
What if the father had taken his son down from the cross? What would the result of that
have been? Redemption would never have been accomplished. The redemption
price would never have been paid. The work of salvation It would
have been left undone. But what does Scripture say?
Salvation is of the Lord. He must die. He must die. If not, Christ would have returned
with his life work unfinished. That cry, imagine if that cry
on the cross of it is finished would have never been uttered.
We would have been doomed to hell, to an eternal hell. There would have been no deliverance,
rather there would have been defeat. He must die. He must pay the ransom price
for his elect. He must make atonement for the
sins of his people. Turn with me to another passage
of Scripture. Turn to John 17. John chapter 17. John 17, look at verse 1. These words spake Jesus. These words spake the Lord Jesus
Christ and He lifted up His eyes to heaven and He said, Father,
the hour has come. Glorify Thy Son that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee as Thou hast given Him power over all
flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. And this is eternal life, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And
now, O Father, glorify Thou me with Thine own self, with the
glory which I had with Thee before the world was." Christ Jesus
is God, and He was with God and was God from all eternity. His desire is to return to that
glory. That's His prayer here, to return
to the glory of His Father's presence. Christ returns to the
presence of the Father as the man, Christ Jesus. He's the mediator. He's the forerunner of all those
of whom He has redeemed. And He prays to be returned to
that office and to the glory as it was even before. And listen,
He's received. He's seated. He's exalted. at the right hand of the majesty
on high and we are received with him and the believer is received
in him." And it's our Father's will for
him to die. Again, the Lord Jesus Christ
must die. It was the Father's will. Our
Lord prayed there in the garden. He said, let this cup pass from
me. Nevertheless, Nevertheless, not
my will, but thy will. It was the father's will that
he die, and it was the son's will that he abide by the father's
will. Well, the last question, question
three. Why art thou so far from my roaring? Maybe this question could give
us just a little light into the pain our Lord suffered as He
was made sin, as He bore our sin, as He bore the sins of His
elect, the sins of His people, and as He prayed. You know, I
know there are times, I know there are times that the believer,
maybe this has happened to you, falls asleep, falls asleep in
prayer. And I don't say that as a compliment. Remember the disciples? Our Lord
came out with them and they'd fallen asleep and he said, couldn't
you just stay awake with me for an hour? Our Lord didn't pray until he
fell asleep. Our Lord prayed until he could no longer utter
words. He could no longer speak. In
his pain and in his suffering, he asked. Why art thou so far
from my roaring?" This word, roaring, translated, it means,
if you look in the original Hebrew, it means a deep, solemn groan
which is caused by serious sickness. You've heard people in a terrible
condition, in deep, deep sickness, and all they can do is just groan. They can't even utter words. which suffering men utter." That's what our Lord did. Is
it any wonder our Lord was called a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief? He prayed unto the Father until
his speech failed him. He could only utter moanings
and groanings, as men do in the most severe sickness, or even
more so like the roaring of a wounded animal. Years ago, in the middle
of the night, at our home, we could hear what we hoped was
the sound of a dying animal. Turned out it was a deer that
had been attacked by a pack of coyotes. I never heard anything
that sounded like it was in more misery. in more suffering." The sound of suffering. More
than that, the sound of death. To what grief and suffering was
our Lord driven? Such strong crying and tears
were those that made Him too hoarse for speech. What must
have been his anguish to find his own beloved and trusting
father standing afar off and neither granting help nor hearing
his prayer? No doubt a good reason to make
him roar. It would be awful to think that
there was no purpose in that suffering. Aren't we thankful
that there was? a purpose for that suffering,
a reason for all of this, the reason for which the believer
rests in. That which was due us, He took
it upon Himself. He bore it as our substitute. Listen to the last few verses
of Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53.10 if you have it. If not, let me just read it to
you. It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see, God saw all of
this, he shall see the travail of his soul. All that suffering
which the Lord endured, and listen to this, he shall be satisfied. For by his knowledge shall my
righteous servant justify many, For he shall bear their iniquities."
That heavy load of iniquity, that heavy load of sin that we
try to carry, why? Why? The Lord bore it. The Lord suffered for it. The
Lord died to put away our sin. He said, therefore will I divide
him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoiled
with the strong. because he hath poured out his
soul unto death." He was numbered with the transgressors. He bare
the sin of many, and he made intercession for the transgressors. Three questions from the cross. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? Why art thou so far? from helping
me. Why art thou so far from the
words of my roaring?" I would ask one more question. I would
ask you to consider this question from Lamentations 112. We read
it earlier. In light of what we've read and
in light of what God's Word says about this sacrifice of His Son,
is it nothing to you? Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? And see if there be any sorrow
like unto my sorrow. He's either nothing to you or
he is all. Oh, I pray that he would make
him to be all to me. There's no middle ground. He's
either nothing or Christ is all. I ask you another question. What
think ye? What think ye of the Christ? Listen to just a few words from
this hymn entitled Why. Why did they nail him to Calvary's
tree? Why, tell me why, was he there? Jesus the helper, the healer,
the friend. Why, tell me why, was he there? It's answered in the course,
isn't it? All, all of my iniquities on him were laid. He nailed them
all to the tree. Jesus, the debt of my sin, fully
paid. He paid the ransom for me. Is he your hope? Is he your hope? his suffering, his anguish, his
death. Who was it for? I'll read one
more passage and I'll close. Romans 5.8 says this, but God
commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. He came into this world to save
sinners. It's why He came. It's why He
lived. It's why He died. It's why He's
seated in glory. He ever lives to make intercession
for His people. I pray the Lord would give us
faith, grant us faith to simply rest in Him. All right, I pray
God will be pleased to bless His Word.