He Has Done It

Psalm 22

Don’t read this psalm with Christ in mind.

I know this contradicts one of the key principles in the Spiritual Discipline of Praying the Psalms, but hear me out. Most Christians have so locked into Jesus quoting these words from the cross that we cannot help but try to squeeze every verse into Golgotha. Further, the song only has meaning to us if we can put it on the lips of Jesus.

Instead, let’s read the song without thinking about the cross. Trust me, if you do, the song comes alive.

The prayer of David opens as a traditional lament: My God, why have You forsaken me (1)? In the first two verses, David hurls some damning accusations at God: You have forsaken me (1), You are far from saving me (1), You are not answering my prayers (2), You are not giving me rest (2). Before we examine the rest of the prayer, I want to call your attention to how the psalm ends, with the simple phrase, “He has done it” (31). How do we get from “where are You” to “You have done it”? That is the power of this prayer.

We get from beginning to end with honest, gut-wrenching, faith-building prayer.

After the initial questions, David shifts to a clear confession of Who he believes he is praying to. God is holy (3), enthroned (3), One who proved Himself faithful to his fathers (4). David’s forefathers cried out to the Lord and He listened (5) and delivered them (5). In other words, the saints who have gone before knew a God who did not forget them, who answered their cries.

However, David’s suffering heart won’t let the praise and memories get too far. The next few verses (6-8) describe his current situation. David is scorned by the people (6), mocked for his faith (7), laughed at for trusting in the Lord (8). In short, David feels like a worm and not a human (6). Talk about discouraged.

But David won’t let the discouragement ride free either. He remembers God’s work in his past. God has been watching over his life from before he was born (9). YHWH has always been his God (10), which is why he cries out, “be not far from me” (11), an echo of the heart cry that kicked off the song.

In his prayer, David is very honest about the trouble that is near (11). He uses images of being surrounded by bulls (12), roaring lions (13), dogs (16), even a company of evildoers (16). We should not miss the fact that the trouble surrounding him has emptied him of all his strength. He is poured out like water (14), his strength is dried up (15), he lies in the dust of death (15). The picture of helplessness continues with vivid descriptions of his physically weakened state: he is so weak that one can see his bones (17).

The description of pain then shifts again to a confession of faith. David is crying out to the Lord because he believes the Lord can, indeed, save him. Save me from the mouth of the lions (21).

But in the middle of verse 21 is where this song takes a major turn. And if we read it only trying to force it into the story of the cross, then we miss the impact it might have on us today. The final ten verses tell a different story, not a story of a God who is far from saving, but the story of a God who does not hide His face (24), a God who delivers (21), a God who satisfies (26), a God who rules the nations (28). This God is worthy of our fear (23), of standing in awe of Him (23), of praising Him in the congregation (25), of paying our vows (25), of turning and trusting in the Lord (27). In fact, this God is worthy of His story being told from one generation to the next: posterity shall serve Him and it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation (30). What shall be told? That God has answered our prayers and delivered us.

Amazing. The heart cry of “why have You forsaken me” turns into the storytelling of one generation to another that God has done it, He has answered and delivered His people.

If we consign this song to the cross, we miss the beauty and life-giving path for the rest of us. Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you, like God is far away? Do you ever feel worthless, weak, void of all strength? If so, then welcome to the journey of faith. Look down. You are walking on the well-worn path of God’s people. Mocked. Gloated over. Dried up.

The question is, which story will you trust in? Will you put your trust in the “God has forgotten about me, and I am a worm” story, or will you trust in the “God rules the nations and has not hidden His face from me”?

Now, we can invite Jesus to the conversation. Jesus, on the cross, prays this entire prayer, not just the first verse. He was mocked and poured out like water, surrounded by a company of evildoers, staring and gloating over Him. But since we know the rest of the story, we know that God had not forgotten Him but delivered His soul from the sword even as they divided His garments and cast lots for His clothing.

His enemies were gambling for scraps of cloth while the Father was at work to save mankind from the wages of sin.

Now, take Christ out of the story and insert ourselves. When we feel like God has forgotten us, is far away, when we feel like our strength is totally gone, will we believe in the same God who defeated death, hell, and the grave in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus? Can we say with confidence, “I can’t wait to stand before the congregation and tell of God’s great work to save me so that generations yet to come will trust in the faithfulness of the King of Kings!”

Yes, He has done it. Mock me all you want, but He has done it and will do it again.