KJV Psalm 22:1-4: “My God , My God … but Thou art Holy … our fathers trusted, and Thou didst deliver … “

NASB Psalm 22: 1-4: “My God, my God … Yet You are holy … In You, our fathers trusted … and You delivered…”

Most of us would not see the cross as a worship scene. Suffering, agony, the blasphemous cries from the crowd and the taunting of soldiers and officials — these are what come to our mind. And yet, Psalm 22 suggests that there was a heart that went up in worship to God amidst the loneliness and suffering of that scene.

Worship began in the upper room when He joined His disciples in singing the final Psalm of the Great Hallel, Psalm 118. He moved out to Gethsemane singing, “O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good; for His mercy endure forever” (118:29). The notes of worship ascended again in the Garden with His three-fold, “Not My will,” and it reached a crescendo at the cross.

Think with me first of a Man Who clung to His God amidst the most desperate of circumstances. Here, amidst all that was so adverse, He owns God as “My God.” Nothing could shake His relationship with His God. Let men mock, let demons assault, and let the sword smite, but God is still “My God” to this lonely sufferer. We may not appreciate it as worship, but absolute devotion amidst trial rises to God as a sweet-smelling savour. The closest any other believer ever came to this was when Job said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Job’s sufferings pale, however, before the suffering Man of Calvary. The burden our Saviour bore was that of the awful burden of sin and its consequent judgment from the hand of an Omnipotent God.

On the cross, the Lord Jesus “justified” the hand that was upraised and crushed Him. “Thou art holy” means that He owned that God was not acting unjustly or unfairly. God was maintaining His holy character when He had to smite the sin-bearer. How often have mere mortals questioned the justice of God when undergoing the tragedies of life’s experiences? How often have rash words been uttered and unkind thoughts entertained by even the most pious of believers when faced with life’s difficulties? But not this Man. He owns and worships God for His holiness.

In the allusion to the fathers and their deliverance, the Lord owns the faithfulness of God and His reliability. He may be forsaken for a period of time consistent with God’s holy character and the nature of the sin that He bore, but He rested in complete confidence in the ever-faithful God. His final words on the cross bear testimony to this: “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.”

On the cross, the Lord Jesus worshipped His God for His relationship, holiness, and faithfulness. Who can measure what the heart of God received in worship and delight?

Consider

There is a difference of thought as to whether the Lord Jesus or the Father is the speaker in all of verses 22-31. Allow me to suggest that it is the Son Who is the speaker. If so, then look at the further expressions of worship that mark the Psalm.