Psalm 22

As incredible as this psalm is, it reads much like some of the earlier psalmswhere David is in trouble, then prays to God and receives comfort. The Old Testament Jew would likely see the words as illustrating a feeling of abandonment. Imagine being surrounded by bulls and lions with your bones out of joint and dried up strength. Or hands and feet which have been pierced with people staring at your naked body while your enemies divide up your clothing and cast lots for the best piece.

Of course on this side of the cross we see Psalm 22 for what it is -- a Messianic psalm with incredible details forecast about the crucifixion. This psalm is tied closely to Calvary anyway because Jesus quotes the first line of verse one from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I have learned that starting to recite a psalm was equivalent to reciting the entire psalm. So Jesus' cry from the cross was not so much a cry of despair, but it was a reminder of what was happening here. Psalm 22 does not end with death. Psalm 22 ends with the proclamation of the greatness of God, told through all generations.

The cries of despair in the beginning do seem familiar though. Many times a feeling of divine abandonment call fill our hearts, wondering why God doesn't answer. David has voiced these feelings before in the psalter. This time the cries turn to prophecy of the death and resurrection of Messiah. And we await the time when "all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him."