Psalms: A Guide To Prayer And Praise Session 5 - Psalm 22 Where Are You God?

The Church of Divine Guidance Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study Group studying the book Psalms: A Guide to Prayer and Praise by Ron Klug. The Psalms are some of the most widely read and best-loved portions of the Bible. For thousands of years these songs of faith have spoken to the hearts and minds of people around the world. The Psalms are songs–music our spirits sing to the Creator. They are poems–full of vibrant imagery and strong rhythms. And they are prayers–our deepest emotions expressed to the Lord who feels with us. Most importantly, the Psalms are God’s Word to us, revealing the truth about him and our relationship with him. Study along with us by getting a copy of the book by clicking this LINK or the image of the book at the end of the study notes. You can also hear the audio of each session of the study by clicking on the YouTube Thumbnail

Last week we looked at Psalms 42 and 43 they were a personal cry to God from someone who was despondent and depressed because he was not able to get to the Temple and to God’s presence.

He’s hounded by enemies who are keeping him from making the trip. 

Even when we pray we wonder if God has forgotten us, does He hear us, does He care?  All the time our enemies are taunting us.  Pointing and saying if God loves so much why are you sick, broke, alone, sad, and discouraged? Even in the face of those taunts we can say that our hope and trust is in God. 

Our longing for God’s presence is overwhelming until we remember who God is. And He loves us.  We remember that He said that He would never leave us.

Psalm 42 and 43 both end in hope and.

Psalm 42:11 (NLT)  Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!

Psalm 43:5 (NLT) Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!

This Psalm 22 isn’t much different in that it is written by someone who’s desperate.  Psalms 42 and 43 were written by sons of Korah who served as temple musicians. Psalm 22 was written by David.  All three are examples of lament, a personal cry to God in time of trouble.

This psalm can be seen as a personal lament and as a messianic psalm (one that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ and his reign). The psalmist is speaking of his own condition—himself. But at another level, the psalm expresses Israel’s deep longing for a Messiah or Savior. It also paints a prophetic and vivid picture of Christ crucified.

The popular axiom called Murphy’s Law fits the psalmist’s situation here well: If anything can go wrong, it will. He is surrounded by some rather vicious enemies, and it just seems to be getting worse. He musters up the wherewithal to offer a desperate prayer and soon finds a way not out of the situation, but through it, to God.
     
1. How would you counsel someone who felt abandoned by God?

There were some suggestions in Psalms 42 and 43.  The were the answer to question #12 in last week's study:

●     Desperately seek to get into God’s presence.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
Psalm 42:1-2 NIV

●     Remember

Psalm 42:4 NIV These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

Psalm 42:6-8 NIV My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.  Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.  By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

●     Place your hope

Psalm 42:5 NIV  Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:11 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43:5 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

●     Praise

Psalm 42:5 NIV Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43:4 NIV Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

READ PSALM 22:1–8

Psalm 22:1-8 NIV My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?  My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.  Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.  In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.  To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.  But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.  All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.  “He trusts in the Lord ,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

2. What was the writer’s emotional state at the beginning of this psalm? What was his attitude toward God?

He’s depressed, thinking that he is all alone.  He can't sleep.

He knows that God is God and that He is his nation's God and that He had delivered them time and time again. He does trust God.

3. When have you felt like this? What caused those feelings?

When I have been unemployed and in financial trouble are the times I’ve felt like David. 
        
4. How did the psalmist attempt to handle this feeling of being forsaken by God?

He remembered who God is.

Psalm 22:3-5 NIV Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.  In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.  To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

What is the significance of the word yet in verse 3?

Even though David was feeling that he was all alone He still knew that God was still in control because He was God.  He remembered God and His greatness, even when immersed in suffering. He did not curse or blaspheme God, and he knew that his present agony did not change God's holiness
        
 5. How does the record of God’s help toward others make the psalmist feel?

Psalm 22:4-5 NIV In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.  To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Made him feel unworthy

Why?

He said as much in the next verses

Psalm 22:6-8 NIV But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.  All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.  “He trusts in the Lord ,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

READ PSALM 22:9–18.

Psalm 22:9-18 NIV Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.  From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.  Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.  Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.  Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.  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.  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.  Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.  All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me.  They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.

6. Despite his own feelings and the mockery of others, what did the psalmist realize is verses 9 and 10?

Psalm 22:9-10 NIV Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.  From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Even though others were saying this God he trusts doesn't seem to be doing anything for him.  Let's see it.

What was his prayer?

His prayer was for protection and deliverance.

Psalm 22:11 NIV Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

7. Many graphic metaphors are used to describe the psalmist’s enemies. In one word or phrase, summarize the psalmist’s situation.

Grave danger

Jesus quoted from this psalm in

●      verse 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? - And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ).Mark 15:34 NIV

These verses also describe Jesus’s crucifixion. 

●   Verse 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. - Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. John 19:34 NIV

●     Verse 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. -  Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28 NIV

●      Verse 17 -  All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. -  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.  Matthew 27:39-44 NIV

●     Verse 16 - Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. -Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him. Mark 15:29-32 NIV

●     Verse 17 - All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. -  Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”  and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”John 19:31-37 NIV

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified
Jesus, took His garments and made four parts,
 to each soldier a part, and also the tunic.

●     Verse 18 - They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.  -  When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.  “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. John 19:23-24 NIV

READ PSALM 22:19–31

Psalm 22:19-31 NIV But you, Lord , do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me.  Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dogs.  Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me from the horns of the wild oxen.  I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.  You who fear the Lord , praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!  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.  From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.  The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!  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,  for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.  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.  Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

8. In anticipation of God’s help, the writer resolved to praise God among his fellow believers in the congregation. How did he fulfill this promise?

He encouraged the people to praise God by speaking directly to them.  Because God had not forsaken him.

Psalm 22:23-24 NIV You who fear the Lord , praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!  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.

9. What reasons did the psalmist have for praising God?

He had not left him. He had not turned on him because he was suffering.  Infact he had heard and helped him.

Psalm 22:24 NIV 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.

How would you summarize his personal testimony? 

God had always come to his rescue.

10. What is the psalmist’s vision of the future in verses 27–31?

Psalm 22:27-31 NIV 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,  for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.  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.  Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

That everything and everyone will eventually praise God.
        
How does this vision of the future compare with your own?

That is my view.

Romans 14:11 NIV It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”

Philippians 2:9-11 NIV Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 8:28-30 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

11. Psalm 22 begins in a mood of despair and ends on a note of triumph. What do you think enabled the psalmist to move into positive affirmation?

His praise focused his attention on God and who he was and what he had done.

Psalm 22:3-5 NIV Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.  In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.  To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Psalm 22:22-23, 25-31 NIV I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.  You who fear the Lord , praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!  From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.  The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him— may your hearts live forever!  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,  for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.  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.  Posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord.  They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!

12. What clues does this psalm give as to what we can do when we are feeling forsaken by God?

Focus on God and remember what he's done for you and for others.  Remember that He has always been and will always be with you.  Praise Him and encourage others to praise Him. 

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