Day 43

Psalm 22 part 3 

How can we not worship as this psalm brings us to the foot of the cross? To be a man was something, to be a man of sorrows was far, far more, but to bleed, to suffer & to die, these were much for Him who was the son of God. But to suffer a death of such unparalleled agony, to endure a death of shame and desertion by His father – this is the depth of condescending love, which the most inspired mind must utterly fail to fathom. The first 8 verses are a prayer with an unfavourable answer (c.f.Gethsemane). Notice the word ‘trusted’ which appears 3 times in v4&5. This is an echo of the ‘why’. If your prayers are not answered it is not because God is unfaithful, but because there is some other good and weighty reason. Trusting God for salvation (v4) is Justification by faith. However, in v6 he has become ‘a reproach’, ‘despised’, ‘a worm and not a man.’ Staggering! A miracle in language – even lower than man. That is condescension; outlawed from the society of earth and shut out from the smile of heaven. He became of no reputation for our sakes. He was hung between heaven and earth as if He were not fit for either. 

The darkness of Calvary at length passed away from the face of nature and from the soul of the redeemer, and beholding the light of His triumph and its future results the saviour smiled. Psalm22 begins with a ‘why’ and ends with the answer. “It is finished” (Jesus always quoted the Greek Septuagint translation.) From the darkness, after 6 hours on the cross, came the first words of this psalm, with the sob and suffering v1-21, and then the song of glory with the proclamation of victory v22-31. V26 is a summary of the results of the Gospel with the seekers of the Lord praising Him forever. ‘To the ends of the earth” (v27) the message will go. C.f.v29 with Philippians2:10; in the end, every knee shall bow; even satan himself will bow and acknowledge Jesus as Lord of Lords and King of Kings!