Psalm 22 Devotional:

1 David complained because he was brought into such extremities that he was past all hope, but after he had rehearsed the sorrows and griefs, wherewith he was vexed. 10 He recovereth himself from the bottomless pit of tentations, and groweth in hope. And here under his own person he setteth forth the figure of Christ, whom he did foresee by the spirit of prophecy, that he should marvelously, and strangely be rejected, and abased, before his Father should raise and exalt him again.

To him that excelleth upon Aijeleth Hashahar. A Psalm of David.

1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

3 But thou art holy, and dost inhabit the praises of Israel.

4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.

10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help me.

12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: 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 cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my desolate soul from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the poor; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he ruleth among the nations.

29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

As we have before discussed the thematic progression of the Psalms and their theological cohesion, even that many of the Psalms go together, and logically follow one another, so we have here another prime example, and can see how Psalm 22 fits perfectly with 20 and 21. Just as Psalm 20, (which is a prayer for victory and an example of trust in God) follows 19 which is a declaration of the glory of God in creation, and the more sure form of revelation, the word of God which is the foundation of our trust, so Psalm 22 follows after Psalm 21, and reminds us to trust in God even when deserted by Him for a time. And this reminder is written immediately after to show how apt we are to forget the mercies of God in our present circumstances, and to bless Him for our safety and security. And this idleness and forgetfulness God will not take lightly. For as God is holy and pure, often times He is repulsed by our carnal affections (for to forget God demands another object to replace him in the seat of the affections) and will withdraw His comfortable presence for a time and appear to be distant, by inward vexation or outward chastisement. Forasmuch as He hath promised, “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee” this must be borne and held fast in memory, and used in prayer to acquire comfort in times of distress, and affliction. And yet not to the intent that we should continue in worldliness, but that we should repent and increase in godliness. Just as the Song of Solomon says, “I opened to my well-beloved: but my well-beloved was gone and past: mine heart was gone when he did speak: I sought him, but I could not find him: I called him, but he answered me not.” Wherein we see that the bride rose up, but it was after the appointed time, for in the previous verse you see, “I sleep” indicating indolence, and “I have put off my coat, how shall I [put] it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?” indicating dismissal of holy duties, which was the principal cause of Christ’s departure. This is often the cause of the cry, “My God My God why hast thou forsaken me” which must be explained, because God does not forsake His people in the real sense, yet His people do cry “why hast thou forsaken me” when they do not *perceive* his presence, sometimes for the sake of their own sin and unbelief. For even Christ who suffered for sin made this cry at the cross, and was forsaken for a time by the Father, which reminds us not to give ourselves to doubt or despair but to believe unto life everlasting (even as Christ rose again from the dead), and to know confidently and assuredly that “He that hath begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ.” “Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.” “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” Therefore bear the rod with patience, knowing that those who humble themselves under it will be lifted up in due time, and those who despise it will be left to their own folly. This is a reminder then of that lesson Job learned, even that the Lord gives the light of His favor, and the Lord takes away the joy of our heart for a time, as it is written, “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Take heart then and be encouraged that his anger endureth but a moment. He may be angry with us for sin’s sake, but Christ in us shall increase His grace by the Spirit, and cause the face of the Father to shine down on us again and in brighter glory. Look not unto the things of this world as if their presence was the source of comfort, but unto Christ, thy Lord and Husband, who hath promised to deliver us from all our trials and shall deliver us, even as a young hart on the mountains of spices.

Henry,
“Some think they find Christ in the title of this psalm, upon Aijeleth Shahar–The hind of the morning. Christ is as the swift hind upon the mountains of spices (Song of Solomon 8:14), as the loving hind and the pleasant roe, to all believers (Proverbs 5:19); he giveth goodly words like Naphtali, who is compared to a hind let loose, Genesis 49:21. He is the hind of the morning, marked out by the counsels of God from eternity, to be run down by those dogs that compassed him; Psalms 22:16. But others think it denotes only the tune to which the psalm was set.”
i. Christ undergoing suffering for us. “My God My God”
ii. As the Substance of this hope. “Make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices.” Song 8:14 repeated in Revelation: He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
iii. To encourage us to wait patiently for Him in suffering.
iv. Who will never leave us nor forsake us.
v. Upon a certain tune. (Aijeleth Shahar)
vi. The symbolic importance of the Deer.
Gentleness
Grace (escaping danger)
Innocence
Prey (need for divine protection)
Swift (ready to pray, God’s readiness to hear)
Natural Beauty (God’s delight in us though we are helpless, see also Prov. 5:19)
Creature dependent upon God for fruitfulness. (Ps. 29:9)

Calvin,
The first verse contains two remarkable sentences, which, although apparently contrary to each other, are yet ever entering into the minds of the godly together. When the Psalmist speaks of being forsaken and cast off by God, it seems to be the complaint of a man in despair; for can a man have a single spark of faith remaining in him, when he believes that there is no longer any succor for him in God? And yet, in calling God twice his own God, and depositing his groanings into his bosom, he makes a very distinct confession of his faith. With this inward conflict the godly must necessarily be exercised whenever God withdraws from them the tokens of his favor, so that, in whatever direction they turn their eyes, they see nothing but the darkness of night. I say, that the people of God, in wrestling with themselves, on the one hand discover the weakness of the flesh, and on the other give evidence of their faith. With respect to the reprobate, as they cherish in their hearts their distrust of God, their perplexity of mind overwhelms them, and thus totally incapacitates them for aspiring after the grace of God by faith. That David sustained the assaults of temptation, without being overwhelmed, or swallowed up by it, may be easily gathered from his words. He was greatly oppressed with sorrow, but notwithstanding this, he breaks forth into the language of assurance, My God! my God! which he could not have done without vigorously resisting the contrary apprehension that God had forsaken him. There is not one of the godly who does not daily experience in himself the same thing. According to the judgment of the flesh, he thinks he is cast off and forsaken by God, while yet he apprehends by faith the grace of God, which is hidden from the eye of sense and reason; and thus it comes to pass, that contrary affections are mingled and interwoven in the prayers of the faithful. Carnal sense and reason cannot but conceive of God as being either favorable or hostile, according to the present condition of things which is presented to their view. When, therefore, he suffers us to lie long in sorrow, and as it were to pine away under it, we must necessarily feel, according to the apprehension of the flesh, as if he had quite forgotten us. When such a perplexing thought takes entire possession of the mind of man, it overwhelms him in profound unbelief, and he neither seeks, nor any longer expects, to find a remedy. But if faith come to his aid against such a temptation, the same person who, judging from the outward appearance of things, regarded God as incensed against him, or as having abandoned him, beholds in the mirror of the promises the grace of God which is hidden and distant. Between these two contrary affections the faithful are agitated, and, as it were, fluctuate, when Satan, on the one hand, by exhibiting to their view the signs of the wrath of God, urges them on to despair, and endeavors entirely to overthrow their faith; while faith, on the other hand, by calling them back to the promises, teaches them to wait patiently and to trust in God, until he again show them his fatherly countenance.

Opening Prayer.

Intro.

Lesson 29.

The necessity of understanding the historical and religious atmosphere in which we live. Part 8. An introduction to Foxe’s Acts and Monuments. [4]
Intro. Review.

(Foxe’s Utility)

10. The true spiritual conquest consists in that which is often most successful under affliction. Mortification, patience under trial, joy in Christ and hope for resurrection.
Heb. 11.

11. It is incumbent upon us to study the lives of those who by the Spirit of God gave up their lives unto death for the gospel. Yes to be intimately acquainted with their names and deeds. As the scripture is a history of these worthies, so this work is following that pattern, as Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ezra, Jeremiah, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John…

12. Wisdom makes us to reign like kings, where even the most powerful cannot bend our conscience or disturb our peace. But we have an invincible fortitude by grace.
i. Antithesis between the Christian method of conquering and the way of the world – Islam.
ii. Were the crusades justified?
iii. True believers cannot be conquered.
iv. True conquest is against the body and its lusts.

13. Christ is the true example of Christian manhood and did suffer grievous affliction at the hands of man.
i. As a King full of Authority.
ii. As a man full of Wisdom.
iii. As our Mediator and Advocate.
iv. As our Shepherd and example.
“When thou pass through the waters….” Isa 43:2

Conclusion.

Closing Prayer.

YouTube Audio: https://youtu.be/MIAokCAA5ZQ