Analyzing Psalm 22: An Introduction
1 Chronicles 17 - A beautiful Psalm predicts the suffering and death of Jesus.
My new devotional series is an in-depth analysis of Psalm 22. I love this Psalm and find it to be appropriate reading during the somber “Lenten” season leading up to Holy Week. I don’t really observe Lent now, having learned some great lessons doing my exploration of Paul’s epistle to the Galatians about these church observances, feasts and calendars. Many mainstream churches consider Lent to be an “obligation” for believers (bordering on another legalism). Giving up chocolate or wine or TV or the internet (ok - that’s going too far!) seems like a sacrifice to us in our pampered age until you really understand what Jesus went through during His trial and on the Cross. No one can ever match that suffering and sacrifice and our feeble attempts can look like self-righteousness. Analyzing Psalm 22 will allow us to solemnly explore His suffering (through verse 21) and His triumph (verses 22-31), perhaps a better use of the time between now and Holy Week. Psalm 22 is an amazing prophetic work!
Who wrote Psalm 22 and when was it written? According to the Blue Letter Bible, it was likely written by King David in 1044 B.C., during events that are parallel in time and documented in 1 Chronicles 17 (God’s covenant with David); other Biblical historians believe it might have been written during a time of great difficulty in David’s life, but regardless of the case, it was likely a prophecy that was brought to this great king:
”And it came about, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under curtains.” Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” It came about the same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, “Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’ ”
“ ‘Now, therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth. I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and not be moved again; and the wicked will not waste them anymore as formerly, even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you. When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My lovingkindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Then David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard of a man of high degree, O Lord God. What more can David still say to You concerning the honor bestowed on Your servant? For You know Your servant. O Lord, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. O Lord, there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make You a name by great and terrible things, in driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt? For Your people Israel You made Your own people forever, and You, O Lord, became their God.”
“Now, O Lord, let the word that You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house be established forever, and do as You have spoken. Let Your name be established and magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel; and the house of David Your servant is established before You.’ For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You. Now, O Lord, You are God, and have promised this good thing to Your servant. And now it has pleased You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You; for You, O Lord, have blessed, and it is blessed forever.”“
1 Chronicles 17:1-27 NASB1995
The famous statue of David by Michelangelo is shown in the photo above (minus the very realistic body parts that get every person giggling or blushing when they visit the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence).
Commentary on this Psalm is quite interesting. Here is an introduction from Enduring Word to Psalm 22:
This is another psalm with a title: To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. We can say that this is a Psalm sung to the Greatest Musician, to an unknown tune, by the Sweet Psalmist of Israel (2 Samuel 23:1). Here, David sings as more than an artist, but also as one of the greatest prophets ever to speak, pointing more to his Greater Son, Jesus the Messiah, than even to himself.
“This is a kind of gem among the Psalms, and is peculiarly excellent and remarkable. It contains those deep, sublime, and heavy sufferings of Christ, when agonizing in the midst of the terrors and pangs of divine wrath and death which surpass all human thought and comprehension.” (Martin Luther, cited in Charles Spurgeon).
I also like this explanation of Psalm 22 from Precept Austin (links go to Biblia):
Psalm 22 is often called the "Crucifixion Psalm" or "The Psalm of the Cross" and is clearly a Messianic psalm giving a detailed prophetic description of our Lord's crucifixion almost 1000 years before the actual event. Spurgeon writes "For plaintive expressions uprising from unutterable depths of woe we may say of this psalm, "there is none like it." It is the photograph of our Lord's saddest hours, the record of His dying words, the lachrymatory (containers used in Roman tombs to collect funeral tears) of His last tears, the memorial of His expiring joys.
Before us in Psalm 22 we have a description both of the darkness and of the glory of the Cross, the sufferings of Christ and the glory which shall follow (Heb 2:9). Oh for grace to draw near and see this great sight! We should read Psalm 22:1-31 reverently, removing the sandals from our feet, as Jehovah instructed Moses at the burning bush (Ex 3:5), for if there be holy ground anywhere in Scripture it is in this Psalm." "And can it be that I should gain, An interest in the Savior’s blood? Died He for me, who caused His pain—For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?" (Charles Wesley)
My next devotional will look at the first two verses of Psalm 22 - The Foresaken One.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please guide my hand and lead my thoughts during this next devotional series on Psalm 22. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 2/18/2024 to review the timeline for the writing of the Psalms.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission.
The personal testimony of Bruce Hurt, create of Precept Austin may be found Here.