The Original Gospel Song
Psalms 22
January 13, 2019
Many of you are familiar with the song we sing from Sovereign Grace Music, written in 2002, which is called “The Gospel Song”
It’s a short chorus which says:
“Holy God in love became, perfect man to bear my blame.
On the cross he took my sin, by His death I live again.”
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/the-gospel-song/
It is a song which simply looks back at the work
Which Christ accomplished on the cross and sings of that great reality.
It is a great song, but it is not the original.
The original gospel song was written by David around 3,000 years earlier.
The early church actually referred to it as “The Fifth Gospel”
You and I simply know it as Psalms 22.
AND IT IS REALLY REMARKABLE.
In fact it is so remarkable that it has even led “so called” scholars to question it altogether.
Because you believe in a literal translation of the Bible, you don’t have a problem recognizing the clear pictures of the crucifixion in this Psalm.
But that’s not true for everyone.
I actually had an Old Testament professor during my time at Seminary
Who emphatically stated that Psalms 22 was in no way about the cross.
According to him, it was just a Psalm which
Recounted David’s suffering and faith in God and nothing more.
Why did he reach this conclusion?
• Because the cross as a method of execution wasn’t even invented until at least the 6th century BC.
• It didn’t even become used heavily until Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC
• And since David reigned in the 9th century BC he pre-dated any notion of the crucifixion by at least 300 years if not more.
Based on that fact our Old Testament professor stated that
There is no way David could have known about crucifixion
And so there is no way that he is writing about it here.
I MIGHT REMIND YOU HOWEVER that David wrote under inspiration of the Holy Spirit who most certainly did know what crucifixion was.
Limited exposure has never harnessed Biblical prophecy.
• It didn’t stop Isaiah from calling the earth round long before Columbus set sale for the Americas.
• It also didn’t stop Isaiah from naming Cyrus by name before Persia was even world powerhouse.
• It didn’t stop Daniel from listing in detail the events of the Greek rise and fall from power.
Just because David had no knowledge of it
Doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit didn’t.
But one thing we can agree on,
For a man who had never even heard of a crucifixion,
It is remarkable that he could write such an accurate song about it.
It is clear that the gospel writers saw this Psalm as a favorite.
For they were certain to make sure that we saw its lyrics being demonstrated by our Lord during His death.
• This is the original gospel song.
• This is the song written about the atoning death of our Lord before anyone even fully understood how it would happen.
Now certainly this song had immediate applications to David’s life.
• Certainly there was an accuracy here to this song which fit David’s
circumstances.
• And certainly there is an application here for us all regarding how to handle our
own adversity.
That is clearly portrayed.
But ultimately this song is NOT about the first David nor is it about you.
Ultimately this song is about Jesus and His suffering.
So this song affords us again the opportunity
To examine the suffering and death and salvation
Which our Lord purchased for us.
AND THIS IS EXTREMELY REWARDING
• We never grow tired of examining the cross.
• We never grow tired of singing about the cross.
Tonight we learn that even the Old Testament saints sang about it
Before they even fully understood what they were singing.
So tonight we examine their song, which is also ours.
We’re going to break it down into 3 main points.
#1 HIS SUFFERING
Psalms 22:1-21
I know that is a rather lengthy section,
So we’re going to break that down a little further.
His suffering is actually revealed in 3 main ways.
1) HE WAS FORSAKEN (1-5)
The real indicator as to the SETTING OF THIS PSALM
Is clearly depicted in verse 1.
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
I always liked Adrian Rodgers explanation of this verse.
“On the cross Jesus wasn’t quoting David. Rather, in Psalms 22 David was looking forward and quoting Jesus.”
Acts 2 made it clear that David was a prophet,
And we’ve already seen him in that role
In such Psalms as Psalms 16 and even recently in Psalms 21.
DAVID IS TALKING ABOUT JESUS
• And all doubt is cast aside, when see our Lord on the cross in the gospels and
hear Him cry:
Matthew 27:46 “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
This is about Christ.
And here we are reminded that
On the cross, Christ was forsaken.
The reality, as we have many times discussed, is a horrendous one.
Now we know He was forsaken of men:
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
He was indeed forsaken by men,
But here we are reminded that it was not just by men,
But ultimately BY THE FATHER.
Remember the account?
Matthew 27:45-46 “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?” that is, “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?”
We have talked about this.
• The “darkness” that fell there was a picture of God’s wrath.
• Throughout the Old Testament the Day of the LORD is pictured as a day of deep darkness.
• For 3 hours God’s wrath fell upon Christ.
• He was bearing judgment.
And we know it was not the judgment of man here,
We know it was the judgment of God
Because of the cry Christ makes from the cross.
He DOESN’T cry out, “My God, My God, why do THEY all hate Me so much?”
He is feeling the wrath of God.
And the point we have often made, which is so important,
Is that on the cross Jesus is actually bearing God’s wrath.
There is nothing potential going on there.
It is actual.
And this is why we believe in what is called “Limited Atonement”
Or the belief that Christ died only for the elect.
And we say that because what He did there was so actual in nature
That had He died for all men at that point
Then no one would ever go to hell.
He actually bore our sin.
John’s gospel reminds that He finished it.
On the cross He was forsaken by the Father.
WHY?
It’s the beautiful picture of imputation.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
On the cross God looked at Christ and saw you,
So that now He looks at you and sees Christ.
On the cross Jesus felt the rejection and punishment that you deserve.
HE WAS FORSAKEN.
And it didn’t matter what He said.
In fact, look at His desperation here.
(1b) “Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.”
That is to say, “It doesn’t matter what I say, or how I beg, nothing changes my circumstance.”
(He is feeling the inescapable wrath of God on sinners.
Even at the judgment, there will be nothing sinners can say to alleviate the suffering.)
He elaborates:
(2) “O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.”
Those are the words of a man who has been forsaken.
• On the cross He felt our shame…
• On the cross He felt our separation…
• On the cross He felt God’s displeasure toward our sin…
And for Him it was absolutely shocking and disorienting.
It was a disapproval that He had never experienced from all eternity.
He bore God’s absolute hatred and disdain and fury, and He was forsaken.
Now, the interesting part is HOW HE HANDLED that rejection form God.
He handled it in faith.
HE WAS FORSAKEN, but He trusted God’s reputation.
(3-5) “Yet You are holy, O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.”
This is remarkable!
He knew God had forsaken Him,
And yet His first declaration was, “Yet You are holy”
That is to say, “You have forsaken Me, but You were right to do so.”
Christ understood the atoning work that was occurring
And why God’s fury was so perfect.
Paul said:
Romans 3:25-26 “[Christ] whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
The cross demonstrated God’s justice, God’s holiness.
Because He dealt fully and totally with sin there.
Jesus says the same.
You have proven Yourself holy in that You have forsaken Me.
And yet, despite this holy act by the Father,
Christ also trusted in God’s reputation to deliver His people.
Look at what He says next.
“O You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You delivered them. To You they cried out and were delivered; In You they trusted and were not disappointed.”
• Even though Christ understands that His suffering and being forsaken of God is a holy act,
• He also understands that God is faithful and God is merciful and that He has never failed to respond to the cry of His afflicted.
The entire Bible is one sense a testimony
To God’s faithful deliverance of His people.
You can’t find a time when He failed them.
• And so even though Christ is at the moment forsaken, He is not failing to trust that His Father will deliver.
And we see that on the cross don’t we?
For on one hand He is crying out about being forsaken.
But on the other hand we hear this statement:
Luke 23:43
“And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
He knew where He was headed.
But the suffering was real. It was seen in that He was Forsaken
2) HE WAS DESPISED (6-10)
Do you want to see a really interesting verse?
“But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people.”
Certainly there we understand the simple application.
• He’s saying that I am considered as lowly.
• I’m considered as valuable as a worm.
• The people despise me.
Again, Isaiah said the same thing.
Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
He would go on to say:
“All who see me sneer at me; They separate with the lip, they wag the head, saying, “Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
That was obviously a statement of sarcasm,
Indicating the crowds belief in something
Similar to the prosperity gospel.
“If you were so pleasing to God then why isn’t God delivering you?”
And if you will remember, the crowds said this verbatim to Jesus.
Matthew 27:43 “HE TRUSTS IN GOD; LET GOD RESCUE Him now, IF HE DELIGHTS IN HIM; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
Luke 23:35 “And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.”
Not only was He forsaken by the Father, but He was also despised by the people.
• They mocked Him
• They despised Him
• They sneered at Him
But do you want to see the interesting almost hidden fact?
In verse 6 He says, “But I am a worm and not a man,”
The Hebrew word for “worm” there is TOWLA’A
And often times it is translated worm.
But you know how else it is translated? “Crimson”
Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.”
Or 5 times in Leviticus 14 it is translated “scarlet”
Leviticus 14:4 “then the priest shall give orders to take two live clean birds and cedar wood and a scarlet string and hyssop for the one who is to be cleansed.”
Well that’s weird.
It doesn’t seem like those two words have anything in common at all.
The mystery is resolved in God’s creation.
Go home and google “The Scarlet Worm” or “The Crimson Worm”
Here’s one description about it.
“The Crimson worm [coccus ilicis] is a very special worm that looks more like a grub than a worm. When it is time for the female or mother Crimson worm to have babies (which she does only one time in her life), she finds the trunk of a tree, a wooden fencepost or a stick. She then attaches her body to that wood and makes a hard crimson shell. She is so strongly and permanently stuck to the wood that the shell can never be removed without tearing her body completely apart and killing her.
The Crimson worm then lays her eggs under her body and the protective shell. When the baby worms (or larvae) hatch, they stay under the shell. Not only does the mother’s body give protection for her babies, but it also provides them with food – the babies feed on the LIVING body of the mother!
After just a few days, when the young worms grow to the point that they are able to take care of themselves, the mother dies. As the mother Crimson worm dies, she oozes a crimson or scarlet red dye which not only stains the wood she is attached to, but also her young children. They are colored scarlet red for the rest of their lives.
After three days, the dead mother Crimson worm’s body loses its crimson color and turns into a white wax which falls to the ground like snow.”
https://www.discovercreation.org/blog/2011/11/20/the-crimson-or-scarlet-worm/
If you study it more you’ll find that they actually use the pigment form the worm as a fabric dye.
That’s just a little interesting tidbit from God’s amazing creation there.
Christ was working in similar fashion as that worm.
Fastened to a tree and facing death
He was giving His life for those who were despising Him.
And yet, regardless of the fact that He was DESPISED,
He still trusted God’s purposes.
His faith remains evident.
(9-10) “Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts. Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb.”
What is He saying there?
• I am despised by men.
• I am treated like a worm.
• I am bearing their blame and shame and rejection.
And yet, “I was born for this”
John 12:27 “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”
Hebrews 10:5 “Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;”
And a few verses later we read:
Hebrews 10:10 “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
He knew that He was born to die.
He knew that He was given a body so that it might be crucified.
As David reminded in Psalms 139, all His days had been ordained before Him before as yet one of them came into being.
He knew why He was here, and His faith never wavered,
Even while embracing the harshest fulfillment of that plan.
He was forsaken, but He trusted God’s reputation.
He was despised, but He trusted God’s purposes.
3) HE WAS MALIGNED (11-21)
We saw that the Father forsook Him
We saw that the crowds despised Him
And now we find that He was also maligned.
John MacArthur will tell you that he believes this to be a spiritual maligning, namely a demonic one.
When you read verses 11-21 you find His attack
Given through the analogy of 4 different types of beasts.
(12) “Many bulls…strong bulls of Bashan”
• The bulls of Bashan were indeed strong, and they were also wild.
• The Canaanites of the day attributed their wildness to demonic spirits and even worshiped them in their pagan cultures.
(13) “a roaring lion”
• And of course we are not lost on the reality that Satan is compared to a lion who seeks whom he may devour.
(20) “the power of the dog”
• A common referral to Gentiles and even the pagan religions they served.
(21) “lion’s mouth” and also “the horns of the wild oxen”
• It may very well have been a reference to a demonic army of hell which surrounded Him to attack Him and mock Him and ultimately kill Him.
Certainly we know the battle He fought there.
But the clear point either way is that the battle He fought
LITERALLY MALIGNED HIS BODY.
He wasn’t just forsaken
He wasn’t just despised
He was physically and brutally attacked
Isaiah 52:14 “Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.”
As the enemy attacked Him we actually get an account of the brutality.
(14) “I am poured out like water, And all of my bones are out of joint;”
Do you know how you died on the cross?
• When they dropped it in the hole it pulled your shoulders out of socket and you died through suffocation.
(14) “My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.”
Do you remember the effects of His death?
John 19:34 “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”
(15) “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;”
And we heard Him say:
John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.”
(16) “They pierced my hands and my feet”
Obviously picturing the crucifixion.
(18) “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots”
Matthew 27:35 “And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.”
It’s clear isn’t it?
• It was brutal and real physical torment.
• He was being physically killed.
He was encircled and He was attacked.
Forsaken, Despised, and Maligned.
And yet even while being physically maligned,
He trusted in God’s deliverance.
(19-21) “But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance. Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth; From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.”
Do you remember what He said as He died?
Luke 23:46 “And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.” Having said this, He breathed His last.”
Even when facing death He was confident that
The Lord would not allow Him to undergo decay,
But that He would be raised from the dead.
He prayed that God would deliver His life.
And in remarkable fashion, in the last line He says that God heard Him!
“From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.”
Now, that was Christ’s suffering and the way He approached it.
• Certainly we could learn a lot about trusting God’s reputation in our suffering.
• Certainly we could learn a lot about trusting God’s purposes in our suffering.
• Certainly we could learn a lot about trusting God’s deliverance in our suffering.
But more than that, we want to see the result of His suffering.
So first we saw His suffering
#2 HIS SALVATION
Psalms 22:22-24
Now you recognize here His promise to “tell of Your name to my brethren:”
And who were the first people Christ called for after He rose from the dead?
Matthew 28:10 “Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
What we are talking about here is the victory that has occurred.
Christ suffered, but God raised Him from the dead,
And now He is proclaiming that victory.
And the message of this victorious Christ is proclaimed to the world.
(23-24) “You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.”
• Praise God My brothers!
• Praise God and stand in awe of Him!
• He did not forget Me forever!
• He has not rejected Me forever!
• I cried and He heard Me!
• He did not allow Me to undergo decay!
• God has raised Me from the dead!
That’s a simple reality clearly seen there.
That this Christ suffered an enormous battle and yet God delivered Him.
God, in effect, saved Him.
It is that SAME BATTLE we looked at back in Psalms 16 and again in Psalms 21.
And then we get the FULL GOSPEL REALITY.
His Suffering, His Salvation
#3 HIS SEED
Psalms 22:25-31
Now of course we again see that the message of His suffering
And salvation is a message proclaimed “in the great assembly”
“I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him”
That is to say, “I’m going to make sure that everyone knows what God accomplished for Me and through Me.”
And then we see what the effect will be among those who hear this story.
1) SATISFACTION FOR THE AFFLICTED (26)
“The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!”
The first result of His suffering and resurrection will be
That all those who are afflicted will in Him find the satisfaction they crave.
He is the bread of life and in Him they will eat and be satisfied.
Jesus said:
John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
And again:
John 6:48-50 “I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.”
And again:
John 6:57-58 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
His suffering and salvation will bring satisfaction to the afflicted.
2) RECONCILIATION TO THE NATIONS (27-28)
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S And He rules over the nations.”
It speaks to the scope of His atonement.
That through His suffering
Every nation tribe and tongue will be redeemed to the Father.
Revelation 7:9-10 “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”
3) DELIVERANCE TO THE DEAD (29)
“All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.”
We have there the promise of every knee bowing to Him and worshiping Him.
But ultimately it was those who faced death and who were dead.
Because He lives they can live also.
It is a picture of the salvation which He purchased.
And ultimately it ALL CULMINATES in this final one.
4) JUSTIFICATION OF THE SEED (30-31)
“Posterity (literally “the seed”) will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.”
• We are told of a people yet to come who will serve Him.
• We are told of children yet to be born who will serve Him.
• We are told of a “coming generation” that will worship Him.
WHY?
(31) “They will come and declare HIS righteousness”
• They will boast in His perfection, not their own.
• They will trust in His perfection, not their own.
• They will clothe themselves in His perfection, not their own.
And they will tell the world about it!
“They will come and will declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has performed it”
• He has done it!
• He has finished it!
• He has born our suffering
• He was Forsaken for us
• He was Despised for us
• He was Maligned for us
He took what we deserved and we now receive His righteousness!
It clearly is “The Original Gospel Song”
That Christ suffered and died and rose again.
And He became the source of righteousness
To all who call upon Him.
Isaiah 53 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”
