I will sing of my Redeemer and his wondrous love to me;
on the cruel cross he suffered, from the curse to set me free.

Sing, O sing of my Redeemer!
With his blood he purchased me; on the cross he sealed my pardon,
paid the debt, and made me free.

Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ 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,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

David writes in detail of the Messiah who will be mocked, spit on, beaten beyond recognition, stripped of all dignity, nailed to two boards, then hoisted up and driven into the ground on a high hill for all humanity to pass by and see.  On the cross in excruciating pain and agony;

“Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) Matthew 27:46  Jesus is quoting Psalm 22!

David writes a song of prophecy, proclaiming the Redeemer Messiah. Jesus will come to earth to be born many generations later from the line of David!  Psalm 22 was written long before Jesus’ birth, ministry, followed by the crucifixion that details the sufferings that mirror Jesus’ experience, such as the mocking of onlookers, the piercing of hands and feet, and the casting of lots for his clothing!  Scripture always proves Scripture!

But how did David know?  When a person like David is in constant pursuit of the heart of God; the heart of God takes over all our hearts, minds, and souls.  Running after the heart of God as our main goal of Life effects our whole being which transforms us to think and act more like God as we humbly walk with God.  We become who we love and who influences us most! We become who we think about often.  We reflect the love of God as we pursue God.

Pursuing the heart of God causes our hearts to beat like the heart of our God!  Life takes on new meaning and the things of this world fade into the background in our personal pursuit of desiring all that God wants for us—a heart that beats in harmony with His heart!  David’s psalms of the redeemer come from possessing a heart like God’s.  Pursuing a heart like God’s also means that what breaks the heart of God also breaks our own hearts.

How deep the Father’s love for us indeed!  In his final moments, Jesus was standing in for the human condition, experiencing the ultimate separation from God caused by sin.

Think about it—

Jesus carried all the sins of the world upon his own shoulders. He was the only one who could for He knew no sin therefore He was the Perfect Sacrifice for sin. The agony and pain was real, very real as the Son of Man. As the Son of God, however his mission was clear and His love for us was relentless.  Jesus who could have called legions of angels to rescue Him—did not.  Jesus remained on the cross so He could redeem, “buy us back” from the bondage and slavery of our sin.  For a brief, and most painful moment for Jesus who was in constant contact with God, the Father who sent Him; God turned his face from His Son until the redemption from sin was complete.  God’s Holy Presence of Perfection cannot occupy the same space as sin. It is sin that blocks us from God.

The Son of Man cried out in pain and cried out “Why have you forsaken me; but the Son of God was resolved to finish the work God sent Him to do. And He did!

Max Lucado makes it personal as he writes how God must abandoned His Son until God’s plan was complete—

“Abandonment. That is the punishment for a criminal. Abandonment. That is the suffering borne by the most evil. Abandonment. That’s for the vile—not for you. Not you, the King of kings. Not you, the Beginning and the End. Not you, the One Unborn. After all, didn’t John call you the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29)?

Who has come to take away the sins of the world. Wait a minute. To take away the sins . . . I’d never thought about those words.

I’d read them but never thought about them. I thought you just, I don’t know, sent sin away. Banished it. I thought you just stood in front of the mountains of our sins and told them to be gone. Just like you did to the demons. Just like you did to the hypocrites in the temple.

I just thought you commanded the evil out. I never noticed that you took it out. It never occurred to me that you actually touched it—or worse still that it touched you.

That must have been a horrible moment. I know what it’s like to be touched by sin. I know what it’s like to smell the stench of that stuff. Remember what I used to be like? Before I knew you, I wallowed in that mire. I didn’t just touch sin, I loved it. I drank it. I danced with it. I was in the middle of it.

But why am I telling you? You remember. You were the One who saw me. You were the One who found me. I was lonely. I was afraid. Remember? “Why? Why me? Why has all this hurt happened?”

I know it wasn’t much of a question. It wasn’t the right question. But it was all I knew to ask. You see, God, I felt so confused. So desolate. Sin will do that to you. Sin leaves you shipwrecked, orphaned, adrift. Sin leaves you aban—

Oh. Oh, my.

My, goodness, God. Is that what happened? You mean sin did the same to you that it did to me?

Oh, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t understand. You really were alone, weren’t you?

Your question was real, wasn’t it, Jesus? You really were afraid. You really were alone. Just like I was. Only, I deserved it. You didn’t.

Forgive me, I spoke out of turn.

When was the last time you felt lonely? The next time you feel that way, look around. Everyone else may have deserted you, but God remains at your side.” –Lucado, Encouraging Word Bible

Oh Redeemer and Lord of My Life,

Thank you, thank you, thank you!