Never Abandoned
Greg Laurie
From Harvest
AUDIO
“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
—Deuteronomy 31:8
Psalm 22 is one of the most unique psalms in all the Bible. We call it a messianic prophecy, which simply means that it’s one of the remarkable passages in the Old Testament that points to Jesus as the Messiah.
And not only is Psalm 22 a messianic prophecy, but it’s also a graphic description of the events that took place on the day of the crucifixion. In many ways, it is more detailed and specific than the accounts of the crucifixion that the Gospels provide.
What makes it so amazing is that David penned these words one thousand years before the crucifixion of Jesus. In fact, the Jews didn’t practice crucifixion, and the Romans didn’t come up with it. It was a form of death initially devised by the Medes, Persians, and Assyrians. And then it spread throughout the ancient East.
The Romans took it from the Phoenicians. Thus, crucifixion was something that wasn’t even practiced when David wrote Psalm 22. Even so, it reads like a vivid eyewitness account of what happened on the day of the crucifixion of Jesus. That is what makes it all the more remarkable.
A number of things stand out in Psalm 22 that concern the death of Jesus Christ. Rather than describing a situation that he was going through, David, as God spoke to him, described the suffering of the Messiah. And perhaps he didn’t even fully grasp everything he was writing down.
The psalm opens with the words, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (22:1 NLT). Of course, Jesus spoke these words from the cross.
The Bible tells us that a mysterious darkness fell upon the earth in the middle of the afternoon. Suddenly, it was pitch black for three long hours, and Jesus was silent. After the three hours had passed, the silence was broken as Jesus cried out from the cross, “‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ which means ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’” (Matthew 27:46 NLT).
From a human standpoint, it’s impossible to fathom what actually took place. But it’s important to try and grasp what was happening here because it is of the greatest significance. It speaks to us of God’s love for us.
When Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” it wasn’t the delusion of a man who merely was in pain. It wasn’t that the faith of Jesus was failing Him. He wasn’t delirious or losing His mind. Rather, something of profound significance was taking place. And Jesus merely was stating the truth of the situation.
This is not the way God normally deals with His own when they face life’s hardest moments. If you are a child of God, then you never have been, and never will be, forsaken by God. Jesus made sure of this on the cross. He said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5 NLT).
The ear of God was closed to Him for a time so that it might be open to us forever.
PSALM 22
The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah
To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.
1My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They [b]shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8“He [c]trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
11Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13They [d]gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted [e]within Me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They[f] pierced My hands and My feet;
17I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20Deliver Me from the sword,
My[g] precious life from the power of the dog.
21Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
22I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you [h]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the [i]nations
Shall worship before [j]You.
28For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to [k]the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this.
Footnotes:
- Psalm 22:1 Heb. Aijeleth Hashahar
- Psalm 22:7 Show contempt with their mouth
- Psalm 22:8 LXX, Syr., Vg. hoped; Tg. praised
- Psalm 22:13 Lit. have opened their mouths at Me
- Psalm 22:14 Lit. in the midst of My bowels
- Psalm 22:16 So with some Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT Like a lion instead of They pierced
- Psalm 22:20 Lit. My only one
- Psalm 22:23 Lit. seed
- Psalm 22:27 Gentiles
- Psalm 22:27 So with MT, LXX, Tg.; Arab., Syr., Vg. Him
- Psalm 22:29 Death
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