Reading: Psalm 22-24

QUESTIONS

Psalm 22:

  • Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you?
  • When you are suffering, are you able to proclaim His name in the assembly?  To Worship Him?
  • What is your posterity?  Have you lived with eternity in mind?  Not just of your life but of the lives of others?

Psalm 23:

  • What are all the ways Christ has been your shepherd?
  • Do you look forward to worship, to be in the House of the Lord?

Psalm 24:

  • Meditate on the righteousness of Christ, the only one with clean hands and a pure heart.
  • Have you opened the gates of your heart to let Jesus reign in it?
DEVOTION

This psalm captures the full depth of the passion of our Lord Jesus upon the cross. It captures the agony of the cross more than any other passage in the Bible.

I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a piece of pottery, And my tongue clings to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. (verses 14-17)

In Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ,” I had to avert my eyes as he received the stripes of the Roman whip and they nailed his hands and feet. Crucifixion was not a uniquely Roman form of execution, but they perfected it. Jesus knew what agony He would endure when sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Yet, I believe His physical torment did not compare to the Spiritual torment he endured. In Luke 12:49-50 Jesus talks of his baptism by fire. On the cross, Christ took on the full weight of the wrath of God. Quoting verse 1, He cried out “My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Not only did Christ take the sting of death on our behalf he also suffered the curse of God for our sins! See Acts 2:24, Galatians 3:13.

Apart from Christ, we deserve Hell. Revelation 14:10 describes Hell in this way; “he (worshipers of the beast) also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.”

In the story of Lazarus the beggar we read this about Hell: “Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame” (Luke 16:24).

Jesus endured the wrath of God to save us from Hell.

The good news is that Psalm 22 does not leave us in mourning. It is good to remember the price Christ paid but it is even better to remember why He paid that price. Psalm 22 ends with the gospel in all its beauty and hope.

A posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They will come and will declare His righteousness, to a people who will be born, that He has performed it. (verses 30-31)

Christ indeed paid the full price and he did so for each of us, His posterity. Our price was paid in full for He showed His righteousness on the cross and performed for us what we could never do for ourselves. The least we can do is to fall on our knees and worship Him and then go forth and tell others. Be one of those who tells the coming generation and declares His righteousness

– Phil Van Sickel