You may come to that conclusion
while I'm reading it and commenting upon it. You see it begins with,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And it ends, verse 31. And this
is the way it's written in another version of scripture. They shall
come and declare his righteousness unto a people yet to be born,
that he has done this, that it is finished. It is finished. It begins with
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And it ends, it is finished. And here in this psalm before
us is a description of the awful darkness and agony of Calvary and the glorious victory of the
cross. Both are here in this chapter. Before us in this chapter are
the awful soul and bodily sufferings of our Lord. and the glory of
his victory. In these verses there is a substitute
provided and there is satisfaction accomplished. Let's look at it, if God will
give us the wisdom and understanding. Our Lord says in this first verse,
my God My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Martin Luther, the great reformer,
according to a report by his wife, sat one morning in his
study and looked at this phrase. She sat literally for hours and after looking at it For such
a long time, he arose from his desk. He was a very impulsive,
strong-willed man. And he raised his fist and struck
the desk. And he said, God, forsaking God, there's no man can understand
that. Well, understand it, I cannot. But believe it, I do. It's like someone wrote me not
so awful long ago and said that they did not agree with my message
on the television in which I referred to God 3 in 1, 1 in 3, the Trinity. In the letter they said Trinity
is a tradition. It can't be. It can't be. Well, there are greater mysteries
in the scripture than Trinity. There are greater mysteries in
the word of God than Trinity. The Trinity is no problem. I'll
tell you a great problem is God incarnate in human flesh. Now explain that. God Almighty,
Christ never left the bosom of the Father and yet he walked
this earth. in flesh like you and I. That's
hard to understand. And I'll tell you another mystery
that's greater than Trinity, and that's Christ dying on a
cross. God in human flesh literally
dying on a cross and being buried in a tomb. And I'll tell you another mystery
to me that's greater than the Trinity. is a son of Adam like you and
me being made a son of God and someday being actually conformed
to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ now think about that with
the holiness of God and the immortality of God and the glory of God And
God loving us as he loves his son. Now you think about that
a little while. And Trinity won't bother you
forever. That's right. Trinity won't be
a problem at all. But the great answer to this
statement here in verse 1, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? The great answer is found in
Isaiah 59. Here is the answer to that question,
why has thou forsaken me? Isaiah 59 verse 1 and 2 Behold
the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save His ear is
not heavy that it cannot hear But here is the problem, your
iniquities have separated between you and your God. My God, why
hast thou forsaken me? Our Lord Jesus Christ was made
sin. He literally and actually bore
our sins in his body on the tree. He suffered the just for the
unjust. He suffered that he might bring
us to God and in doing so Our sins were laid upon him and God
the Father turned his back. Your iniquities have separated
between you and your God and your sins. Your sins have hid
his face from you and he will not hear. That's the reason. Because he was bearing our sins.
He was wounded for our transgressions. Our sins were actually laid on
Christ. He was made sin for us. And then he says here in this
same verse, why art thou so far from helping me? And from the words of my roaring,
why are you so far from helping me, my God? Our Lord was driven
here to extreme grief. He was a man. for the human nature. Grief of soul and body, agony
which no man has ever known or ever will know. And his own beloved
father stands afar off, his own beloved father stands afar off,
neither hearing him, neither hearing him or helping him. And there is a reason for all
this. And those who believe on him know full well what it is.
It's found in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. God bruised him. Someone may say, well wicked
men nailed him to the tree. They did what God determined
before to be done. He 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
hands. But God, please God to bruise him, put him to grief. To put him to grief. My God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Sin, iniquity laid on him. Why are you so far from helping
me? neither helping nor hearing. He pleased God to produce him,
put him to grace. Verse 2, oh my God, listen to
this, oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not
in the night season, am not silent. Our Lord prayed, cried unto his
Father even though no comfort came. Someone says that Day time
was while the sun was shining and then the night season was
when God was pleased to hang a crepe over the sun. It got dark. But our Lord prayed
though no comfort came. The die is cast. He must suffer. He must endure to the end. But
still he prayed. He knew there was no deliverance
from this suffering and agony, but still he prayed. The scripture
says, men ought always to pray, and not to faint. For the believer,
and Christ knew this, the answer will come. It will come. And he kept crying. In verse
3, Lethard, holy, Thou art holy. Holy and reverent
is thy name. What God does, he does because
he's holy. Our Lord reasoned here from the
character of God, why he was deserted. My God, why have you
forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping
me, from the words of my roaring? I cry in the daytime, I cry in
the night season, but you don't hear me. And then our Lord reasoned
from the character of his father, the third holy. Our Lord reasoned
from the character of God why he was deserted. Christ was a
surety. Christ was a sin offering. Christ
was bearing the iniquity of his people. He literally had our
sins laid on him and it was perfectly agreeable to God's holiness to
desert him. It was perfectly agreeable to
God's righteousness and holiness and justice to treat him in this
fashion. As every unbeliever will discover
in that day. My God, why hast thou forsaken
me? Why are you so far from helping? I cry and you do not hear, well
he is holy, he is holy and his holiness must be satisfied. And then verse 4, our fathers
trusted in thee, there are several things here that are so interesting
to me, our fathers Christ said trusted in thee, they trusted
and thou didst deliver them They cried unto thee and were delivered,
they trusted in thee three times. He says our fathers, who is he
talking about? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, our fathers. The first thing I see here is
our Lord shows his kinship with men. He identifies himself with these
believers, with his people. Our fathers. I say that, our
fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He said that too. Our fathers. Turn to Hebrews 2 and listen
to this. Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews 2 verse 10 and 11. It became him. Hebrews 2.10. It became him. for whom are all
things, by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering. For both he that sanctifies,"
that's Christ, and they that are sanctified are all of one. And for this cause, he's not
ashamed to call them brethren, fathers, our fathers. Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. They trusted. They trusted, they
trusted, they trusted. They never left off trusting.
I thought about this last Wednesday when I was preaching in Virginia. Abraham trusted God. From the
time that God appeared to that old man, 75 years old, and told
him to leave his father's house, his home country, and go to a
land he'd show him. And then took him out under the
stars one night and showed him the heavens and said, count the
stars. He said, I can't. So shall your
seed be. I'll give you a son from your
own bowels. 25 years later, he still wasn't
born. 25 years later. All Abraham had
was a promise. He never owned a foot of land.
The scripture said he never owned any land. He went through this
life living in tents with Isaac and Jacob and the children. But he never owned any land.
He had a promise. That son was delayed for 25 years. He had a promise. That's all
he had was a promise. And everything he did He did
trust in God's word. That's what Christ is saying.
Our fathers trusted, they trusted, they trusted. Abraham believed
what God promised he would, was able to do. And then he said they trusted
and they were delivered in God's own time, in due time. The Lord
God is in no hurry. In due time, they trusted and
they were delivered. That's enough, they trusted God,
they believed His word. They were eventually delivered,
and they were never confounded. But God had forsaken him, seemed
not to regard him at all, or his Christ, and yet he knew God
would deliver him. What God does, God will do. That's
the reason he used this. Our Lord said, our fathers trusted
you and you delivered them. And they were not contaminated.
Now watch the next question. But I'm a worm. But I am a worm. That's a miracle in language,
isn't it? But I am a worm. There's quite
a contrast between I am and I am a worm. That's quite
a contrast. I am, he said, the door. I am the light. I am the truth. I am the first. I am the last. I am Alpha. I am Omega. I'm the beginning and I'm the
end. I am. But here's a contrast. I'm a
worm. I'm a worm. Such a double nature
was in that one hanging on the cross. I am and I am a worm. He who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God made himself a No reputation. No reputation. A worm. Thy worm, Jacob. Christ was made lower than the
angels and he was made lower than me and he's a worm. A slimy,
filthy, crawling, helpless worm that stepped on and squashed
and nobody even looks back. I'm a worm. And then he says,
I'm no man. I'm a worm. I'm no man. His countenance
was marred as no man. He didn't appear to be a man
on that cross. These pictures of Christ hanging
on the cross, they're ashamed of what they
are. There's no way That that should ever have been done. No
man ever has been led of God to draw a picture of Christ on
the cross. Because it's a sight that couldn't sell on campus. His countenance was marred. He
didn't appear to be a man. That's what Scripture says. Naked. He says I'm a worm and I'm not
a man. The privileges of men I don't
have. I'm deserted by God. No man's
ever been able to say that. In Him we all live and move and
have our being. But I'm no man. I'm deserted
of God. I don't even have the common
privilege of a man. I'm despised of men. I'm no man. I'm a reproach to men. I am the
jest and byword of men. I am alone. I walk the winepress. as nobody ever walked it alone. I'm not even a man. Think about
this now. This is what I'm talking about. But I'm a worm. They hid their
faces from me. I'm no man. I'm a reproach of
men. I'm despised of the people. And look at the next verse. There's
no kindness or kinship with him even in his death. They despised
him when he walked this earth. And in his death, there's no
kinship there. Usually, a man can be a rogue,
but when he dies, somebody will say something nice about him.
He can be an utter fool. But somebody, even his mother,
somebody is going to say something good about him. But he says here,
all they that see me, shoot out their lips in my death, in my
suffering, in my agony, and make fun of me. They made fun of him while he
died. I want you to turn to Matthew 27 and see the taunts. There are five different taunts. Five different charges. Some
of them are here, let's read this first, in the whole Matthew
27, let's read. Oh, they that see me in his death
now, in his agony, they are not satisfied to whip his body till
it was raw flesh bleeding, crush his face till he was disfigured,
pull out his beard, spit upon him, nail him to a cross, But
they had to laugh at him, and shoot out their lips, and shake
their heads, wag their heads, and say, He trusted on the Lord
to deliver him. Receive God and deliver him.
Seeing he delighted in God. Matthew 27, listen to this, these
five charges. Matthew 27 verse 39, And they that passed by reviled him, wagging
their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, buildest
it in three days, save thyself. Second talk, if you're the son
of God, that's what Satan said, come down from the cross. Third,
likewise the chief priests, think about this now, those in the
robes of religion mocked him with the scribes and elders and
said, he saved others. Himself he cannot save. No, that's
true. In saving us, he couldn't save
himself. He gave himself. He didn't save
him, he gave himself. The fourth one. If you be the
king of Israel, come down from the cross and we'll believe you.
And the last one. He trusted in God. Let God deliver
him now, if he'll have him. he said I'm the son of God but all of this scorn verse 9
all of this scorn and agony and suffering is by one grand design
purpose verse 9 for thou art he that took me out of the womb
Thou didst make me hope when I was on my mother's breast.
I was cast upon thee from the womb. Thou art my God from my
mother's day. Jesus Christ is saying here.
All of this is in the design and purpose of my father. Who
before the foundations of the world. Ordained me and anointed
me to do what I'm doing right now. back before the foundations of
the world and in the garden he said to see the woman who brews
the serpent's hair he came to Mary and said that holy thing
born of thee is the son of God he came to Joseph and said don't
be afraid to take Mary to be your wife because that which
is born of her is Emmanuel God with us twelve years of age he
was in the temple discussing things with the Religious leaders
and his parents found him and told him they'd been grieved
searching for him He said wish you not I'd be about my father's
business The body has thou prepared me all of this is ordained of
God Thou art the one who took me out of the womb You made me
a hope Upon my mother's breath kept him in safety kept him Satan
tried to kill him tried every way in the world to keep him
from going to that cross even entering his own disciple and
tried to persuade him away from the cross I was cast upon thee
from the womb of my God from my mother's belly to substitute
for sinners alright verse 11 be not far from me trouble is
near and oh such trouble the wrath of God such awful trouble
Lamb led to the slaughter, the substitute must die. The high
priest must go alone into the Holy of Holies. There's none
to help. None to help. Isaiah 63. This verse here, 11, took me
over to Isaiah 63. None to help. Trouble is near
and no one to help. Alone. Christ redeemed, by himself
purged thy sins. Isaiah 63, verse 1, Who is this
that cometh from Edom, with thine garments from Bosra? This that
is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art
thou red in thine apparel, thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine vat I have trodden the winepress alone and of the
people there was none with me that's what made me think of
that verse there there's none to help none to help and then
verse 12, 13 many bulls have compassed me
around the cross They walked around the cross, wagging their
heads, many bulls, who are these bulls? Strong bulls of Bashan
have beset me round about. They gaped upon me with their
mouths as a ravening and roaring lion. You know who these are? These are his own. These are
the Jews. He was in the world, and the
world knew him not, but he came to his own people, temple, things,
and his own knew him not, rejected him. And these are the mighty
ones in the crowd, the priests, the elders, the scribes, the
Pharisees, the rulers of Israel. That's many bulls, strong bulls,
mighty bulls, officials. have beset me round about. They
gape upon me with their mouths as a ravening, roaring lion.
They were so sure of victory, they had him nailed to a cross
and he couldn't come down. They'd be rid of him. And so
they walked around that cross like roaring lions, they encircled
the cross and they led the people in howling against him, men of
the cloth These are rulers of the synagogue.
The fellas that offered the sacrifices, taught the people the words of
Isaiah and David. It's evident he's not coming
down and they thought we're victorious. We're rid of him. He was a threat
to their covetous practices. Alright, verse 14. I want you
to listen to this. I know his greatest agony was
agony of soul, but here we are adding both. Here is agony of
soul and body. The indescribable agony of soul
and the indescribable agony of body. Listen to this. I am poured
out like water, utterly spent like water poured on the ground.
Utterly spent. Physically, in strength and spirit,
I'm just drained. Poured out like water. And then
he said, all my bones are out of joint. Not a bone of him was
broken. Scripture said that. But stretched
on that cross, when they nailed him to the cross and then reared
it up and dropped it in that hole, good possibility his bones, though
not broken, were just pulled out of joint, just pulled from
their sockets. My heart is like wax. My heart
is melted in the heat of God's wrath and it's like wax. I found
a scripture in Ezekiel, turn to Ezekiel 21. Ezekiel 21, this
my heart is like wax, it's melted in the midst
of my bowels. Ezekiel 21 verse 5 through 7,
and we know that this is, our Lord is bearing the wrath of
the Father, the wrath of God against sin. And Ezekiel 21 verse
5, and here is an announcement of God's wrath upon all flesh,
someday. Ezekiel 21.5, that all flesh
may know that I the Lord have drawn forth my sword. Now remember
that, my sword. I've drawn my sword out of his
sheath and I won't put it back, it will not return anymore. Sigh
therefore, thou son of man, with the breaking of thy loins, with
bitterness sigh before their eyes, it shall be when they say
unto thee, Wherefore sirest thou, that thou shalt answer for the
tidings, because it is coming, it is coming, every heart shall
melt, all hands shall be feeble, every spirit shall faint, all
knees shall be weak as water, behold it cometh, and shall be
brought to pass, saith the Lord God. Our Lord is describing that
very thing. I'm poured out like water. My
bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax, melted
in the midst of my bowels. Verse 15, Psalm 22, my strength
is dried up like a potsherd, like a clay vessel that's been
too long in the fire. My tongue cleaveth to my jaws,
he cried, I thirst. Thou hast brought me into the
dust of death. The dust of death. Dogs have compassed me. The assembly
of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet. Threw nails in my hands and my
feet. Verse 17, I can tell all my bones. Bart naked on that cross, you
could see every rib, the bones pulled out of socket. I can tell
all my bones and they look and they stare at me and laugh and mock me. Verse 18, this is a powerful
scripture here, look. They parted my garment among
them, down at the foot of the cross, the soldiers, I'll read
it here in a minute, but they parted my garments and they cast
lops upon my vesture. Turn to John chapter 19. John chapter 19, verse 23. John
19, 23. Then the soldiers, when they
had crucified Jesus, nailed him to the cross, they took his garments
and made four parts. There must have been four soldiers
because each one got a part. I read this one time about the
garments that these men wore. They were of course the shoes
and the undergarments. But there were 3 or 4 different
garments they wore. But his robe, his coat, here
we are talking about his coat. Now the coat was without seam,
woven from top through out without seam. It was a specially made
coat and robe indicated here. Wrought and woven from top through
out without seam. They said therefore among themselves,
Let's not tear it, let's not tear it in parts, let's cast
lots for it. Let's gamble for it. The one
that wins, he gets the whole coat. So they parted my raiment
among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. These things
therefore the soldiers did to fulfill the scriptures. That's
the way Matthew described it. Let me show you in Matthew 27.
Matthew 27 verse 35. I believe that is the way Matthew
described it. In Matthew 27 verse 35, And they
crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that
it might be full of people, which was spoken by David the puppet. They parted my garments among
them, and upon my vesture they cast lots. You see, everything
that was done on that hill of Calvary was prophesied in the
Old Testament. Everything. An interesting scripture
you want to look at is Acts chapter 13. You see, while you are finding
this, Acts 13, he died for our sins according to the scriptures.
He was buried and rose again according to the Scriptures.
And everything they did to our Lord was written in the Old Testament
Scriptures. At one time I brought a message
on the Scriptures fulfilled, and I made a study of the Old
Testament Scriptures which were fulfilled in the New. And there's
such a long list of them. But here in Acts 13.27, this
is interesting. Acts 13.27, For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they
knew him not, not only didn't know him, but
they didn't know the voice of the prophets which they read
every Sabbath day. These scriptures you and I are
reading right now, they were read in the temple. This Psalm
22 was read in the temple, in the synagogue. They read, and
they didn't understand them, And they have fulfilled them
in condemning him. And though they found no cause
of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be
slain. And when they had fulfilled all
that was written of him by Moses and the prophets, they took him
down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. And God raised him
from the dead. Let me give another couple of
verses and I'll quit. Verse 18. They part my garments
among them and cast lots upon my vesture. Scripture was fulfilled. But be not thou far from me,
O LORD, O my strength, make haste to help me. Make haste to help
me. Listen to this. Deliver my soul
from the sword. Remember that Ezekiel talking
about the wrath of God. Their hearts melting. God said
I've taken out my sword. I'm not going to put it back
until it's satisfied. Deliver me from the sword. Deliver
my soul from the sword. That's the agony of the soul.
Soul agony. I don't know a great deal about
punishment of the wicked, but I do know the agony will be the
agony of soul. Deliver my soul from the sword,
my darling, now you put down here, my darling here is my soul. Darling, dear, it's dear because
there's only one. What shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? He's just got one. What's the
profit of a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? He is his soul. So Christ delivered
my soul from the sword. My darling, my dear, my only,
my precious soul. That's what it says. My precious
soul. From the power of the dog. Who's
this? This is Satan. You see, Our strong
and potent enemies, principalities, powers, Satan, Christ is engaging
the powers of evil on that cross. Deliver my soul. It wasn't just
these fellows down around the cross that carried on such foolishness. But our Lord was meeting the
law of God, the justice of God, the enemies of God, Wrath of
principalities and powers, the dog, the powerful dog, Satan,
the roaring lion, listen to the next one, save me from the lion's
mouth. Satan is a roaring lion, goeth
about seeking whom he may devour. That's what he's saying here. Christ engaged every enemy, every enemy, and he's praying
for victory, praying for help, strength, deliverance after having
engaged the enemy. I was heard me from the horns
of the unicorn, there's a lot about that, the wild oxen, believed
to be a most powerful violent animal, the Uris, Uri, they called
it, one powerful horn. And that's, all of this, the
dog, the lion and the horns of the wild oxen
deliver me from those awful enemies our enemies but our enemies no
more he put them away that's right this is this is our judgment
and death right here cause listen I will declare thy name unto
my brethren, in the midst of the congregation will I praise
thee, thou hast heard me." Verse 21 says, thou hast heard me.
And here's the victory. I will declare thy name among
my brethren, in the midst of the Zion, the church, the congregation,
will I praise thee. Let's look at Psalm 40 just a
minute. I jotted this down. Yes, for
church. I think about this, Psalm 40,
when I read this, I will declare thy name in the midst of the
congregation. In Psalm 40, verse 6, sacrifice
an offering thou didst not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened, mine
ear hast thou digged. Burnt offerings and sin offerings
hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come, And
the volume of the book is written of me. I delight to do thy will. That's what he's doing here on
this cross. Oh my God, thy law is within my heart. And I have
preached righteousness in the great congregation. Though I
have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest I have not hid thy
righteousness within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness
and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy lovingkindness
and thy truth from my brethren. And now one verse, Psalm 22. A good one to close on. Psalm
22, verse 33. And here's their response. Here's
the response of the brethren. Ye that fear the Lord will praise
him. All ye that see of Jacob will
glorify him. And all ye see of Israel will
fear him. You'll praise him, you'll give
him all the glory, and you'll worship him in reverence and
fear. Well, we'll look at the rest
of that chapter another time, but I hope that's a blessing
to you.