of
Jesus
the
Messiah
in
1000 B.C.
1.
My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
Why
are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2. O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
By night, and am not silent.
The
fact is, Jesus meant exactly what he said. When he cried out these words, Jesus was
totally forsaken by God his Father. He
was alone on the cross, dying like a common criminal. Jesus, a true man, was calling out to his
Father, the true God. How vastly
different from the rest of his life these final hours were! His Father had always been with him before,
every moment of his life, as he healed the blind and raised the dead and taught
the crowds. His Father had always
answered his every request. But things
were different now, the time for teaching and healing was past. The crowds no longer pressed around. The hour
of darkness had come.
As
Jesus cried out the words, "Why have you forsaken me?" he was
undergoing all the torments of hell.
These were the torments which you and I as sinful humans deserve to
undergo, the torments of separation from God's love. Each of us has sinned--we
have disobeyed the perfect Law of God.
And each of us deserves the consequences of that disobedience, the
torments of hell. But imagine the love
our Heavenly Father has for mankind! In
spite of our sin and unworthiness, he has devised a plan to rescue us. His Son
has gone through hell for us, so we can have joy and peace, both in this life
and in the life to come!
When
Jesus hung on the cross, he carried the sins of all mankind (1 Pet
God did not answer. God was "far from the words of my
groaning." This time, God did not
intervene to help.
you are the praise of
4. In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5. They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
Though
Jesus hears no answer to his cries, he does not lose faith. He still praises God; still declares that he
is the Holy One, that there is no fault in him.
God is forever holy and just.
What an example to us all! Though
Jesus was totally forsaken by his Father, his faith remained strong. How much more should we, children who will never
be forsaken by our Heavenly Father (Ps
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults,
shaking their heads;
8. "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD
rescue him,
Let him deliver him, since he delights in
him."
you made me trust in you, even at my mother's breast.
10. From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12. Many
bulls surround me;
strong bulls of
13. Roaring
lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away
within me.
15. My
strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
You lay me in the dust of death.
Jesus
says, "You lay me in the dust of death." He realizes that although men have ordered
him executed, it is God who has permitted it as part of his divine
plan. "It was the LORD's will to crush him." (Is 53:10) We, in this century, cannot place the blame
for Jesus' death on the shoulders of any particular people alive today, as
sinful sentiments lead some to believe.
The death of Christ was caused by all people, because all
have done evil in the sight of God. (Ro 3:10-20)
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17. I can
count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18. They
divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
The crowds of supporters which
once followed Jesus are gone, replaced by a gang of enemies. One of his closest men became a traitor and
handed him over to the authorities.
Roman soldiers now mock him and ridicule his claim to be a king (Mt
27:27-35). Religious leaders rejoice as
they anticipate his death. Jesus
compares these evil men to dogs, animals which were considered in mideastern lands to be very dirty. The soldiers pierced his hands and feet as
they nailed him to the cross (Jn
Can
anyone read this and fail to see the perfect knowledge of God? Can anyone doubt that this psalm is the very
prayer of our Savior during his final hours on earth? As we read these words, we begin to realize
the agony of suffering that Jesus willingly took upon himself for our sake. We see the details of a prophecy that can fit
no one else but our crucified Lord. Can
any unbeliever claim that it is all mere coincidence?
Our
God and Father, who declares the end from the beginning of time (Is 46:10),
revealed this monumental event to David as proof to the world of his divine
wisdom and love. For through the painful
cries of Christ we hear God speaking wonderful words of love for sinners
everywhere. May the words of this psalm
strengthen our faith, as we see how clearly and accurately prophecy has been
fulfilled in Jesus!
O my Strength, come
quickly to help me.
20. Deliver my life 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.
What
did this death mean? What did it
accomplish? Was it merely the death of
some would-be revolutionary whose plans failed?
No! This was nothing less than
the self-planned death of the Son of God!
This death paid for all the sins of all people of all time (Heb
This
death was in every aspect an act of love.
Through this death, Jesus destroyed the dividing wall of hostility which
separated us from our Creator, making peace through his blood (
Yes,
all the sins of every person have been forgiven! This is the mystery of God's love. Although all mankind is in rebellion against
its Maker, although God would have been totally justified to sentence all of us
to hell, he has chosen instead to forgive us all our sins! Furthermore, he has given us faith to believe
that he has worked this gracious deed for us.
By this faith his love lives in us and overflows through our lives to
others. Let us never hesitate to share
the message of his crucifixion with those he now arranges for us to meet.
in the congregation 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
24. For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
He has not hidden his face from him,
but has listened to his cry for help.
The
remaining words of the psalm are the words of the risen Christ. He says to the Father, "I will
declare your name ...", because it is the resurrected Christ who is active
in the world today. It is Christ
who is causing God's name, the reputation of his love, to be spread to every
corner of the globe. For it is not
really we Christians who proclaim the Gospel, but the grace of God which is
with us (1 Co 15:10b). We may plant and
water, but God makes his Church grow (1 Co 3:6). All the good works we do, God has already
prepared for us to do (Eph
Let
us give all praise and glory to our Heavenly Father, who has saved us through
his Son Jesus! For he heard the prayers
of Jesus when he suffered, accepted his death as a sacrificial payment for our
sins, and raised him to eternal glory.
And since he heard the prayers of Jesus and accepted his sacrifice, he
will also hear the prayers of us, his adopted children, and answer them for
Christ's sake in a way which is best for us.
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26. The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him --
may your hearts live forever!
In
Old Testament times, it was common for a person to make a vow to the Lord as a
way of showing thanks for an answer to prayer.
Jesus has made a vow to his Father, a vow to declare his Father's name
to the ends of the earth (Ps
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.
In
these verses we see in a general way what the remaining years of the earth's
history will be. As the news of the life
and death of Jesus Christ is spread around the world, some from every nation
will turn to the Lord and worship before him.
This happens despite the innumerable ways which Satan uses in his
attempt to stop the Gospel's advance.
Christ is King over all the world. Everything
in the universe is subject to him (Ep
In
verse 29 we read that the rich will feast and worship. This can mean that the rich of the world,
too, will feast on this Gospel and submit to Christ. Those who are materially rich can be
spiritually poor. Christ is the Savior
of all men, rich and poor alike.
On
the other hand, that the rich will "worship" does not necessarily
mean that they will hold saving faith in Christ, but only that they will bow
before him in acknowledgement of his Kingship.
Interpreted this way, verse 29 stands in contrast to
verses 26 to 28. Whereas the
preceding three verses are words of comfort for the God-fearing, verse 29 is a
word of warning to those who reject God's love.
Whereas verses 26 to 28 picture for us what in a general way is
happening during the New Testament era, verse 29 points ahead to another
day. The words "all who go down to
the dust will kneel before him," assure us that the "rich" of
the earth, those who are too proud to accept Christ's work, will nevertheless
some day be forced to acknowledge his Lordship over the world. This will occur on Judgment Day, that Final
Day, when every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord (Phil 2:8-11).
On
that Day, however, those who did not believe in the Savior's work during their
earthly lives will not be granted Life, but will be cast into the everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt 25:41; Rv
20:11-15). Only those who cling to
Christ's work as payment for all their wickedness (Titus 2:14), only those who
believe that God remembers their sin no more (Heb 10:17), only those who do not
rely on their own works (Rom 3:27, Gal 3:10) will hear those comforting words,
"Come, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world." (Mt 25:34) God does
not want any man to perish (Ez 33:11), but because he
is just, those who reject the forgiveness Christ has earned for them will
suffer the punishment their sins have earned.
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31. They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn -- for he has done it.
Jesus
did not come to earth, as some suppose, to teach us how to live a good
life. This we cannot do, for even our
good works are always discolored by sin, and not acceptable to God (Is
64:6). Jesus came to earth to satisfy
God's Law by living the perfect life that we cannot live, and dying that
atoning death to make us holy in God's sight (He 10:10). Believing this, we have the promise of living
forever in perfect fellowship with our Creator-Redeemer.
In
response to the love Christ has for us, we will tell others the good news that
he has died for mankind. We spread the news, not of his great wisdom, nor of
his miraculous signs, but of his self-denying crucifixion, and the blessings
and forgiveness he thereby earned for us.
Let us pray always to the Father in Jesus' name that he will somehow
open up an opportunity for us to share with others the love which Jesus has for
us and for them. Pray that God will open
the hearts of all people to receive the forgiveness he has prepared for them!
Scripture quotations throughout this website are from the Holy Bible,
New International Version, c 1978 by the International Bible Society,