Background

Last Sunday, I studied about the “Song of Moses”. And the lesson was about a time when God’s chosen people would forget Him, and this would cause Him to become angry, and allow Israel’s enemies to overtake them. This would bring Israel back to their knees and beg for forgiveness and cry out to God to save them. We learned that God is a ROCK that can be trusted… and I thought Ms Joyce did a great job bringing us that message. We learned that God never permanently abandons His people but comes to their rescue when they realize they need a savior.

We move forward several hundred years and we notice the same type of behavior still going on. Everything that Moses had sang about came to pass. Once Israel settled into the promise land, God blessed them, they began to indulge in the lifestyle of the Canaanites and forget the laws and ordinances of God. God allow them to be overrun by their enemies. They would cry out again and God this time sent one of the Judges to rescue them... and the vicious cycle would start all over again.

Eventually the Israelites wanted a king… this was a rejection of God. They chose Saul. If they would not serve a perfect God then how could they serve a human king who had human flaws?

But God was already planning a king for His people and His chosen representative was David.

This is where I want to pick up today... David running from Saul in Psalm 22… and then goes into his praise of God for coming to his aid in Psalm 118.


Psalms 22:1-8
(1) My God, my God, why have You forsaken me, and are far from my deliverance, and from the words of my groaning?
(2) O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not answer; and in the night, and am not silent.
(3) But You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
(4) Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them.
(5) They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
(6) But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
(7) All who see Me mock me; they shoot out the lip; they shake the head, saying,
(8) He trusted on Jehovah; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, since He delights in Him!

Three questions seem to stand out in the first verse.
1. Why have You forsaken me?
2. Why is there no apparent attempt to rescue me?
3. Why have You not heard my cry?

You know what… I could sympathize with David. All David had been doing was the will of God… yet he was not on the run for his very life. He was running around and hiding in caves because Saul was out to kill him.
This is also a prophetic cry of the suffering that Christ endured on Calvary.

Christ Sufferings

The truth is that David was not forsaken… but Christ was truly forsaken. God would not rescue Christ because the very reason Christ came to earth was to be forsaken and bear the sins of the world that we might be saved. Christ was our atonement!

Think about Christ’s despair. He was overwhelmed with grief, and crushed with pain, He carried the sins of the world to that cross. All of this Christ suffered and endured knowing that he would have to endure to the end without hope of being rescued.

The Lord’s Track Record

In verses 3-5 of this passage we notice that David was attempting to grow his faith... he began to encourage himself in the Lord. He began to remember how God continually delivered Israel time and time again. He began for a brief moment to take his eyes off of his sufferings and where he was in his current situation and began to realize that God was in control and He would deliver Him again. He knew the Lord’s track record was too good for him to be left without deliverance.

Again… it’s prophetic in the sense of how Christ must have felt when He prayed in the Garden and on the Cross. David could encourage himself and feel God’s presence but Christ could not feel the presence of God because God TRULY had forsaken Christ. Christ was separated from God because of our sins.

Brick Wall

Have you ever felt like your prayers were hitting a brick wall? At these time we must rely on what we know His word says instead of what we feel. Feelings are great and we need them but it’s what you know that will make the difference in these critical times in your life.

In verses 2-6 David felt less than human… he compares himself to a worm. In those days most Jews held the view that if you were blessed with riches and good health that you had God’s approval but if you had disease, misfortune or were poor then this was signs of God’s disapproval with you. The Jews would have thought it foolish to trust God in the midst of your suffering if you were in this condition because they believed that God was the one who put you there.

Jesus also received these verbal abuses from his tormentors during His Crucifixion. The soldiers mocked Him, they spat on Him, they took a reed and struck Him on the head. The crowd blasphemed Him as he passed by on his was to calvary.

Christ was truly a Forsaken Savior.

Psalm 22:9-18 Suffering Savior


Psalms 22:9-18
(9) For You are He who took Me out of the womb, causing Me to trust while on My mother's breasts.
(10) I was cast on You from the womb; You are My God from My mother's belly.
(11) Be not far from Me; for trouble is near, for there is none to help.
(12) Many bulls have circled around Me; strong bulls Of Bashan have surrounded Me.
(13) They opened wide their mouths on Me, like a ripping and a roaring lion.
(14) I am poured out like water, and all My bones are spread apart; My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels.
(15) My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws;
(16) and You have brought Me into the dust of death. For dogs have circled around Me; the band of spoilers have hemmed Me in, piercers of My hands and My feet.
(17) I can count all My bones; they look and stare at Me.
(18) They divide My garments among them and cast lots for My clothing.

Change your focus

Verses 9-11 began again to reflect upon the faithfulness of God. For a brief moment again David changed his focus. He began to focus on God’s sovereignty and love for His people rather than thinking about his problems. That can be a hard thing to do when you are in the midst of a trouble but when you discipline yourself to focus on God and not the problem your attitude and outlook will change! The issue is already resolved and God is in control.

David felt as if the life had been drained out of him. And again David’s pain and suffering represent the sufferings that Jesus would endure. Verses 16 – 18 are perfect examples of this prophetic writing.

If you are a child of God and your sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus; when you find yourself in a similar situation it is so helpful to encourage yourself with the Word of God. If you can just get these truths written in your heart that…

Nothing!

Nothing will ever happen to you that God does not already know about!

Psa 139:1-4
(1) You have searched me and have known me.
(2) You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
(3) You search my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
(4) For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Jehovah, You know it altogether.

Nothing will ever happen to you that is a mistake!

Psa 139:4
(4) For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Jehovah, You know it altogether.

Psa 139:16
(16) Your eyes saw my embryo; and in Your book all my members were written, the days they were formed, and not one was among them.

Nothing will ever happen that you cannot handle by God's power and grace!

2Co 12:9-10
(9) And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.
(10) Therefore I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am powerful.

Nothing will ever happen to you that will not eventually be used by God for some good purpose in your life!

Rom 8:28
(28) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Nothing will ever happen to you without God's presence!

Mat 28:20
(20) teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.

Nothing will ever separate you from God's love!

Rom 8:38-39
(38) For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
(39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Read Psalm 118:19-29

Psalm 118 is radically different than Psalm 22. “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord”.

Psa 118:19-29
(19) Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go into them, and I will praise Jehovah.
(20) This is the gate of Jehovah into which the righteous shall enter.
(21) I will praise You; for You have heard me, and are my salvation.
(22) The Stone which the builders refused has become the Head of the corner.
(23) This is from Jehovah; it is marvelous in our eyes.
(24) This is the day which Jehovah has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
(25) Save now, I beseech You, O Jehovah; O Jehovah, I beseech You, cause us to prosper now.
(26) Blessed is He coming in the name of Jehovah; we have blessed You out of the house of Jehovah.
(27) God is Jehovah, who gives light to us. Tie the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
(28) You are my God, and I will exalt You; You are my God, I will praise You.
(29) Oh give thanks to Jehovah; for He is good; for His mercy endures forever.


This is a pure praise unto the Lord. This is part of the psalms traditionally used at Passover. It reflects on the confidence that can be experienced in the Lord because of His enduring mercy and on the way He delivers His people in times of trouble.

In those days only the righteous, those with absolute loyalty and trust in the Lord were allowed to enter the Temple.

There is none righteous but one and he is Jesus Christ. As we read the prophetic reference to Jesus again in Psalms 24:3,4. Only Christ could enter the “gate of the Lord” of His own accord!

The Cornerstone

New Unger’s Bible Dictionary states that A cornerstone is a stone at the corner of two walls that unites them, specifically, the stone built into the one corner of the foundation of an edifice as the actual or nominal starting point of a building.

Jesus himself identified Himself as the cornerstone in Matthew 21:42 and Paul said in Ephesians

Eph 2:19-20
(19) Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
(20) and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

Why is Jesus being the cornerstone so important to know… well there are many reasons but the most important reason is He is the foundation of our faith. He is the standard and the only true benchmark for building our faith and relationship to God. You always check where you are based on your benchmark or cornerstone… this way you know that you are building your faith on solid ground if you keep in line with your cornerstone.

The Day of Thanksgiving

This verse is a popular song that we have sung at my church many times. This song reflects how God had delivered him our out danger and how full of joy and thankful he now is.

In closing

Both of our texts from Psalms 22 and Psalms 118 are prophetic in nature and speak to the coming of the Messiah. From these texts we can see a real picture of the Lord’s suffering some thousand years before it actually happened.

What is so awesome to me is that God was planning our redemption since before Adam fell in the Garden.

God Bless!