Are You Forsaken?

Introduction

How many of you either currently are or maybe previously played organized sports of any kind? Whether that was in school or what we might call club ball. All right. How many of you who just raised your hands can honestly say that you enjoyed practice? I see fewer hands. Yeah, practice was kind of tough at times. I want to tell you about football practice. And it’s a drill that I understand that now has, I think, pretty much universally across the country been ruled as being illegal. And so that tells you kind of the football practice we used to have. It was a drill that we called bull in the ring. And let me describe that for you. Those of you didn’t play football back in the day.

You the coach would put eight, ten, twelve guys in a circle, and put the bull in the ring, the one guy in the middle. And the way we would do it, the coach would just randomly throw the ball to one of the guys in the circle. And it was his job to get from one side of that circle to the other by going through the guy who was in the middle. And so it just basically meant that a missile was going to be fired at you if you were standing in that middle. And your goal was to stop him from doing that. It wasn’t my favorite drill, because I was a tackler and I was always that guy in the middle. And I didn’t necessarily mind the contact because I learned pretty early on that if you were going to be good at football, you had to have one part of your brain missing that you not only enjoyed hitting somebody else, but you actually enjoyed being hit.

And so it wasn’t the physical contact that I dreaded so much. It was the anxiety of not knowing where that physical contact was to come from. Not knowing whether it was going to be the guy I’m looking at ahead, two guys on my periphery, or the guy behind me. And I tell you that story about that now illegal football drill to tell you that what hasn’t been eliminated and outlawed is that same feeling in life. Do you ever feel that way in life? That you are just surrounded by problems. Some of those problems may be people in your life, unfortunately. They may be situations or temptations, and you’re just surrounded by them, and Satan is randomly going to throw the ball to one of those, and today that’s the guy who’s going to attack you.

Or that’s the temptation or the trouble or the anxiety that you’re going to have to deal with in life. That’s tough. But such is the thing of life. And so we need to learn how to deal with the struggles, the anxiety that we have in life. And I want us to talk about that this morning in kind of a unique way. I want you to open your Bibles, particularly your old testaments, and go with me to Psalm 22. Psalm 22 is a very familiar Psalm. It was read in our Bible reading this morning. It’s a psalm that prophesies the death, the suffering, and the death of Jesus Christ. And so we could study this psalm as just that.

It’s also a psalm of David, as the title above it indicates. And so we could read this psalm and just really talk about the psalmist, the sweet singer of Israel, David, and how it probably applied in his own life. The circumstances that ended up prophesying of what Jesus would go through probably in some way, to some degree, described a situation that David was going through. And we’re going to look at both of those aspects of this psalm in our study this morning. But I also want us to make some application to what that psalm means in our life. Now let’s look at the obvious first of all. It means so much to our life because it does speak of Jesus Christ and what he did in that suffering death for us.

But I also want us to notice what we can see by his blessed example of how he dealt with the problems and the enemies that he faced in life.

1. In Our Struggles, We Still Trust God

Scholars debate about that opening line, especially as it was quoted by Jesus on the cross as he was suffering those things. Some scholars say that we really can’t put too much into that saying, Why have you forsaken me, God? Because God did not forsake him. God would not forsake his son. God was with him every moment of his life and every moment of his death. And so those scholars would say, all Jesus was doing when he said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Is that he was pointing his finger back to this Psalm and saying, that Psalm with that opening line was talking about me? But I think there’s more than that. I think that, if nothing else, the human side of Jesus felt forsaken by his father.

Or at least, though he was not totally forsaken, God did not just push him aside and to have nothing to do with him. But in some sense, God was turning his face away. He was allowing this to happen. Why have you forsaken me? Not in the sense, why have you totally and forever abandoned me, but why are you allowing me to go through this? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning. Oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear in the night season, and I am not silent. Jesus said to Peter, who drew his sword there in the garden, I could call legions of angels to come to rescue me from this.

If Jesus could have done that, he would have understood that his father could have done that as well. His father at any moment could have stepped in and stopped these evil proceedings. He prayed in the garden. If it’s possible, let this cup pass from me. So there was some true anxiety, some anguish in those words of Jesus. But the question today I want to put before you is have you ever felt that way? Why, God? Why? Why are you letting me go through this? Why are you letting that person treat me this way? Or those people treat me this way? Why are you letting Satan into my life to this degree? That this temptation that seems in my mind at least insurmountable. Why are you letting me have this anxiety and all these different problems?

I’ve cried out to you, haven’t you? God take this away. God stop this. Why are you allowing this to happen? But notice his answer. Verse 3, but you were holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were delivered. They trusted in you and were not ashamed. My God, my God, why are you letting me go through this? I don’t understand is the point. I don’t understand, and can we go this far? I don’t agree.

And so though the psalmist and our Savior had these real fundamental questions about God and what he was doing, or in this case, not doing, he still said in verse 3, but you are God. You are holy. I think the first lesson that we need to learn from this psalm, in our struggles, in our uncertainties, we still trust God. Though we don’t understand. And though we may not agree with what God is doing or allowing to happen, we still recognize Him as God. Having those doubts, those struggles do not have to shake the fundamental foundation of our faith. I don’t know what you’re doing, God. And can we dare even say, I don’t like what you’re doing, God. But you’re still God. And I trust in you.

He calls upon his forefathers. The forefathers trusted in you. Now, many times when the psalmist or other writers of Scripture will reference the fathers, those Israelites who went before, it’s much like Stephen in his sermon in Acts chapter 7. It’s to point out their faults and their flaws. But here the psalmist, David, and our Lord says, but they’ve trusted in you. And so I see the track record of what you’ve done for others. And I know that you will do that for me. And so though you are far from me right now, or at least it seems that way, though you have forsaken me and you’re not answering my prayers, I know that you’re still God, and I know, based upon what you’ve done in the past, that you will answer me.

2. I Am a Worm, But You Are My God

The faith and the trust, the confidence that we have in God. Verse 6, here’s what you did for those in the past. But again, here’s my current state. Psalm 22, verse 6, I am a worm and no man. A reproach of men and despised by the people. All those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head, saying, He trusted in the Lord. Let him rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him. I am a worm and no man. If I understand that verse correctly, that’s not him saying, that’s the way I feel about myself, but, as the following verses point out, that’s the way I’m being treated. That’s the way man views me. Sadly, even our own country’s history shows when you can devalue a human being, then you can rationalize in your own twisted mind the mistreatment of that human being.

And so he’s not a man.

That was man’s estimation of David at some point in his life, and certainly of Jesus throughout his life. And sadly, that’s going to be the view today. Christianity sadly is becoming less and less popular and more and more maligned. And it’s not just Christianity as a concept that’s being belittled and demeaned. It’s individual Christians.

But notice the contrast. I am a worm and not a man. That’s the way the world views me. But keep reading. Verse 9. But, a statement of contrast, but you are he who took me out of the womb. You made me trust while on my mother’s breast. I was cast upon you from birth. From my mother’s womb, you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near me, for there is none to help. To the world, I’m a worm and not a man. But you’re my God. And you’ve been with me from the moment I was born. And so the contrast I think we’re to see there is the world’s view of Christ and the Father’s view of Christ. And it was the Father’s view that sustained him.

And the same should be true of us. How many times is the New Testament to Jesus Himself tell us that it’s not the view of our fellow man, certainly not the fellow man who’s of the world, that should affect us closely. It’s the view of our God. How does he view me? Paul in the Roman letter said in Romans chapter 8 If God be for us, who can be against us? If God’s on your side, it doesn’t matter. And that’s kind of the point here is that I’m seeking to please God. I don’t care what man thinks of me. They can call me a worm, they can despise me, they can shoot out the lip and ridicule me. But you are my God. You have given me the attention and the care throughout my life, and that’s what’s motivating and moving me.

I’m trying to please just one. And that’s God.

3. Surrounded by Bulls, Lions and Dogs

Now he’s going to describe the feelings of that situation. This prophecy of Jesus being mistreated and beaten and executed at Calvary. And he’s going to picture the idea of being surrounded. And he’s going to use three animals to describe this. He’s going to talk about the bulls that have surrounded him. If you grew up in the country, you know the danger of climbing that fence and getting into that bull’s arena. He’s going to talk about lions. We’re a little less familiar with that, other than watching the National Geographic Channel and maybe certain movies, but the danger of a lion surrounding him. And then thirdly, he’s going to talk about dogs. Now, don’t let your mind go where it might naturally go. Don’t think of those fluffy little things that sit in your lap and can’t wait for you to get home.

These were the wild dogs. Think of the hyenas from the Lion King that are there. They want to tear you limb for limb. They want to eat your flesh. That’s the dogs that he’s going to talk about. Notice how he describes it. Verse 12 Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bation have encircled me. Bashan was a region in the northernmost part of the Transjordan. It’s in modern day Syria. And obviously they were well known or famous for their cows, because that’s going to be a reference throughout scripture. And so these strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They gape at me with their mouths like a raging and roaring lion. I’m poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax.

It has melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death. That certainly poetically describes the feelings of Jesus. I thirst. It’s one of the cries, seven cries of Jesus from the cross. That describes this thirst, this dehydration. I have my strength is dried up like a potshirt. A pot shirt is just a broken piece of pottery. And you imagine, especially in the arid climate of the Middle East, a piece of clay pottery that’s been in existence for some time and has broken off. It’s going to be just absolutely drained of any moisture at all. It is just this the driest dry that you can think of. And he says, My strength is dried up like that.

I’m just, I’m done. And again, the first thing we need to do is attach that to the suffering of Jesus on the cross. But I want us to also think about your own suffering. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt just at the, we would say at the end of your rope, that you just can’t do it anymore. My strength, my energy, my will, my drive to keep on, keeping on, is just gone. And it’s gone because, the text says, because these bulls have surrounded me. It’s gone because of the opposition and the temptation and the hardship and the anxieties of life. Dogs, verse 16, dogs have surrounded me. The congregation of the wicked have enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my feet.

An obvious prophecy of the way in which Jesus would die. We might pause here to make this observation that should strengthen our faith. That when David pinned those words, they have pierced my hands and my feet. Crucifixion, the death that Jesus suffered that would fulfill that piercing prophecy had not even been thought of.

And so before it was even a thing, David prophesied of the method currently unknown in his time of how Jesus would die. They pierced my hands and my feet. I count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Again, the New Testament would say that was Jesus. And it fulfilled that.

One is you could say, well, it fulfilled the prophecy that not a bone would be broken. But I think it probably says something a little different than that. That here in this dehydrated, he’s already talked about that, this dehydrated, emaciated state of being crucified and just having your body stretched to its limit, that Jesus could look down and see his bones. Dehydrated and stretched out like he was in that misery. He could look down and count his ribs. He could look down and see his clavicle and see all of those bones being exposed to the bulls, to the lions, to the dogs who would tear him peace from peace. Verse 19, but you, O Lord, do not be far from me. Remember how he started. You’ve forsaken me.

4. God Be With Me; You Have Answered Me

Why are you so far from my groanings? But Lord, please don’t be far from me. Oh my strength, hasten to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen. God be with me. That should be our prayer. Sometimes in your darkest hours, when you feel that you’ve each reached the end of your rope, you cannot go on. Just utter that four-word prayer. God be with me. God’s presence. God’s comfort, God’s solace, can get you through those difficult times. Be with me, God. Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen. And then notice how he finishes verse 21. You have answered me.

Do those words apply to Jesus on the cross? Save me was the prayer. And now he says, You’ve answered me. Now, how would we think God would answer that prayer if Jesus could say, even prophetically through the psalmist, you’ve answered me. Well, those legions of angels came down and smote the Roman army and the Jewish officials who were behind this. Jesus was brought down from that cross, and like the miracles he had performed, the holes in his hands and feet would have been healed, and the stripes on his back would have been closed up, and the skin would have been made fresh and new. That’s what we would expect to someone who said, You’ve answered me. But this gives us greater spiritual insight into how God can answer our prayers.

And let’s just pause here and make this obvious observation. God can answer our prayers any way he wants to. And in his wisdom, he often answers those prayers different than what we’re asking. And thanks be to him that he does.

And if you got bit by the poisonous serpent, you were going to die. And remember, they went to Moses and said, Moses, please pray to God. Ask God to stop this. Take this away from them. What did they want? And what do you think Moses prayed for? I assume from what they said that Moses prayed to God and said, God, make these snakes go away. And God answered their prayer, didn’t He? But He didn’t make the serpents go away. He told them to raise up this bronze serpent on a staff. And when you got bit, if you looked at that, you wouldn’t die and live. That was not the prayer they had prayed. I can’t imagine them ever conceiving of that and bowing their heads and saying, God, these poisonous snakes are biting us and killing us.

And so please, God, do this for us. Give us a bronze serpent so we can put that up and we look at that, and then when we get bit, we’ll look at that and we’ll live. They didn’t pray for that. But that’s how God answered their prayer. How was Jesus’ prayer answered? If this was his prayer, deliver me, God. Save me from these.

But it was answered by saving him in that way. So that should give us great spiritual insight into how God can answer our prayers and what we really, really need in life. And so here’s a couple applications about that. Maybe if I gain wisdom, maybe at some point in my life, my prayers need to change. And we do that, don’t we? I can remember when my parents were health was failing and they were getting older and in the hospital and losing all control. At some point in that process, my prayers changed. They changed from heal them, make them better, to take them. Ease their pain. Just make the transition as best as possible. Our prayers change when we realize what is best in that particular situation.

It also helps us that changing in prayer, or just accepting that God’s going to answer that prayer differently. It helps us to see the big picture. The big picture is not that this physical ailment or trouble or hardship go away. The big picture is that I be in fellowship with God here and in eternity. And don’t let that change.

Had just been put into the nursing home and was not given good prospects for his physical life. The words that stuck with me in that prayer is that our brother said, Be with him, God, and don’t let him outlive his faithfulness. And I thought, wow.

That puts it in perspective. That his faithfulness, his relationship to God, what was of paramount importance. You have answered me by delivering. That tells us that God can protect us from persecutions, hardships, and temptations. But that protection may not take the form that the protection of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had. They were spared from the fire. But another protection might be that God is with us as we pass through that fire.

5. Because You Have Answered Me, I Will Praise

Verse 22, because you have answered me, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will praise you. You who fear the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him, and fear him, all you offspring of Israel. For 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. You heard, you answered my prayer, not maybe in the way that I wanted it answered, but in your infinite wisdom, in a better, more glorious way. You’ve answered, and because of that, I will praise your name. Let us never forget that when we gather here upon the first day of the week to worship and praise him, that’s what we’re doing.

You want to make your worship more meaningful. You want to make it draw you closer to God. Meditate on that concept that I am here not just to fulfill some legal obligation, not just to check some box. I am here to praise my God because He’s answered me. I will declare your name to my brethren. My praise, verse 25, shall be of you in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever. Not just will I praise God, but my behavior will be changed. The poor shall eat and be satisfied. Why? I think largely because I’m going to help them. That’s my answer to God answering my prayers.

All the ends of the world, verse 27, shall remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations shall worship before you, for the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who cannot keep himself alive. Now, who is that? That was our Lord. And that may be us. Even though I cannot keep myself alive, I will praise you. A posterity shall serve him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this. Can you relate in your own way to being surrounded by the bulls of Bashin?

Conclusion

Be surrounded by these lions, these wild, ravenous dogs who want nothing more to destroy you. It might be people, it might be circumstances, it might be temptation, and sometimes it might be yourself. Pray this prayer that Jesus prayed to his Father. Have confidence that God can be and is with you through whatever struggles you have in life. Know that the answer to your prayers may be far better than you ever imagined. And declare his name in the assembly. It may be that there’s someone here who’s subject to the invitation. Know that that God will be with you. He will be by your side when you are circled by the travesty that is this life. Will you render obedience to him this morning? Will you believe, repent, confess, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins so that you can declare his name in the assembly?

Can we help you in that in any spiritual way this morning as together we stand and sing?