Good Friday Service: Psalm 22

I'm going to begin by saying, if you don't have a copy of God's Word with you this evening, there's no shame in that.

In fact, people were asking me even this week, what exactly is the Good Friday gathering going to look like?

And I would say, I don't know. I'm not sure yet exactly what we're going to do.

I would tell those people that I will be preaching, but they may not have known to pass that information on to you.

And so we want you to have one if you would like to have one.

And so if you don't have a copy of God's Word with you, again, there's no shame in this, and you'd like one,

if you'll slip your hands up. We've got Matt and Tyler around the room. They can get one to you.

You can also be quick on the draw with your phones and pull open something.

Okay, nobody. Okay. All right. Very good, then.

I'm going to assume that you're ready to go, and we're going to get into a text together.

As we gather this evening to consider the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Golgotha,

I would like for us to consider some of Jesus' final words as He suffered on our behalf

and reflect upon what may have been some of His final thoughts as He gave His life for the sake of ours.

To do so, please turn with me in your copy of God's Word to Psalm 22.

Psalm 22.

This psalm serves as a divine commentary on much of what Jesus uttered on the cross,

as we will see that three of His statements come from this psalm.

Because Jesus cites this psalm so prevalently,

I believe that it is safe to assume that He was pondering this psalm as He suffered.

It may not have been the only text of Scripture that He meditated upon,

but it was surely one of them.

It may well have been the dominant one,

and therefore can grant us some level of insight into His thoughts.

The author of this psalm is King David,

and no events of his life match the description found here,

as many of his psalms do.

You could say, oh, we know when David wrote this particular psalm,

the trouble that he was experiencing at this time,

but not in this case.

So it is widely agreed that this psalm is prophetic,

that David was speaking of the suffering of Jesus.

In that, it alludes to five different incidents

that occurred in the process of Jesus being tried and crucified.

We also know that Peter, the apostle,

refers to David as a prophet in Acts 2, verse 30.

Acts 2:30

There he's referencing a different psalm,

but he calls there David the prophet.

So, as we take some time this evening

to consider some of Jesus' final words,

and most likely some of His final thoughts,

I want to invite you to have your heart warmed

by the loving kindness of God to us

in the death of Jesus Christ.

Before I read Psalm 22,

as is my habit,

I want to remind you, beloved,

this is God's Word to us.

It was written for His glory

and for our good,

and we would all do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Psalm 22, beginning in verse 1.

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me

from the words of my groaning?

Oh, my God, I cry by day,

but you do not answer,

and by night,

but I find no rest.

Yet, you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted.

They trusted,

and you delivered them.

To you they cried

and were rescued.

In you they trusted

and were not put to shame.

But I am a worm

and not a man.

Scorned by mankind

and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

He trusts in the Lord.

Let Him deliver him.

Let Him rescue him.

For He delights in him.

Yet you are He

who took me from the womb.

You made me trust you

at my mother's breasts.

On you was I cast from my birth

and from my mother's womb.

You have been my God.

Be not far from me

for trouble is near

and there is none to help.

Many bulls encompass me.

Strong bulls of bashan surround me.

They open wide their mouths at me

like a ravening and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is like wax.

It is melted within my breast.

My strength is dried up like a pot shirt

and my tongue sticks to my jaws.

You lay me in the dust of death.

For dogs encompass me.

A company of evildoers encircles me.

They have pierced my hands and feet.

I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me.

They divide my garments among them

and for my clothing they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not be far off.

O you, my help, come quickly to my aid.

Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog.

Save me from the mouth of the lion.

You have rescued me from the horns

of the wild oxen.

I will tell of your name to my brothers.

In the midst of the congregation,

I will praise you.

You who fear the Lord, praise Him.

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify Him

and stand in awe of Him,

all you offspring of Israel.

For He has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted.

And He has not hidden His face from Him,

but has heard when He cried to Him.

From you comes my praise in the great congregation.

My vows I will perform before those who fear Him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied.

Those who seek Him shall praise the Lord.

May your hearts live forever.

All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and He rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship.

Before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep Himself alive.

Posterity shall serve Him.

It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation.

They shall come and proclaim His righteousness

to a people yet unborn,

that He has done it.

So, first, let's look at the five incidents

that occurred in the process of Jesus being tried

and crucified that this psalm alludes to.

I hope that you're familiar enough

with the New Testament text

that speaks of these things,

the Gospel accounts,

that you were picking up some hints of them

as you moved throughout it.

Now, those of you who are used to me

working verse by verse through a text,

beginning at verse 1 and working my way down,

I'm not going to do that tonight.

We're going to take it in fragments,

although I will reference every bit of Psalm 22.

In fact, for a test of that,

I wrote down 1 through 31

and checked them off

as I was sure that I referenced it in my notes.

But it'll come in a different order

than 1 through 31

because it's my hope for our thinking

to move from those matters

which aren't unimportant,

but they're less important to those matters

that are more important for us this evening.

So, let's look at these five incidents

that occurred.

Number one,

the dividing of Jesus' garments

and the casting of lots.

We can read in John 19,

John 19:23

verse 23 and 24,

when the soldiers had crucified Jesus,

they took His garments

and divided them into four parts,

one part for each soldier,

also His tunic.

But the tunic was seamless,

woven in one piece from top to bottom.

So they said to one another,

let us not tear it,

but cast lots for it

to see whose it shall be.

This was to fill the Scripture

which says,

and here citing directly,

John does Psalm 22 and verse 18.

They divided my garments among them

and for my clothing,

they cast lots.

So the soldiers did these things.

So first,

the dividing of Jesus' garments

and the casting of lots

we find in Psalm 22.

Secondly,

the piercing of Jesus' hands and feet

and His severe beating.

Now, we only find out

about the piercing of Jesus' hands and feet

because of doubting Thomas.

Now, it was understood

that this is the way people were crucified.

Big nails put through their wrists

and through their feet.

But we don't know for sure

this was the case with Christ

except John's record again,

chapter 20, verse 24,

and following,

where John records for us,

now Thomas, one of the twelve,

called the twin,

was not with them when Jesus came.

So the other disciples told Him,

We have seen the Lord,

but He said to them,

Unless I see in His hands

the mark of the nails

and place my finger

into the mark of the nails

and place my hand into His side,

I will never believe.

Eight days later,

His disciples were inside again

and Thomas was with them.

Although the doors were locked,

Jesus came and stood among them

and said,

Peace be with you.

Then He said to Thomas,

Put your finger here

and see my hands

and put out your hand

and place it in my side.

Do not disbelieve,

but believe.

And Thomas answered Him,

My Lord and my God.

So we see, right,

that Jesus' hands

were nailed through

in His feet.

We know that Jesus

was severely beaten

from texts like Matthew 27

and the prophet Isaiah

wrote in Isaiah 52 and verse 14,

As many were astonished at you,

His appearance was so marred

beyond human semblance

and His form beyond that

of the children of mankind.

And again, we find this

in Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:16

verse 16 and 17.

The psalmist says,

For dogs encompass me,

a company of evil doers

encircles me.

They have pierced my hands

and feet.

I can count all my bones.

The flesh is ripped off my body.

They stare and gloat over me.

Third, the mocking of the soldiers.

In Mark 15, verse 16 and following,

Mark 15:16

we read,

And the soldiers led Him away

inside the palace.

That is the governor's headquarters.

And they called together

the whole battalion.

And they clothed Him

in a purple cloak.

And twisting together

a crown of thorns,

they put it on Him.

And they began to salute Him.

Hail, King of the Jews!

And they were striking His head

with a reed

and spitting on Him

and kneeling down

in homage to Him.

When they had mocked Him,

they stripped Him

of the purple cloak

and put His own clothes on Him.

And they led Him out

to crucify Him.

And then Luke adds

in Luke 22,

Luke 22:63

verse 63 and following,

Now the men

who were holding Jesus in custody

were mocking Him

as they beat Him.

They also blindfolded Him

and kept asking Him,

Prophesy!

Who is it that struck you?

And they said many other things

against Him,

blaspheming Him.

And so,

Jesus became a mockery,

an object of derision

and sport

for the Roman battalion.

The Creator of all the universe

became a laughingstock

to those whom He created.

And we see this

in Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:6

verses 6 and 7.

A psalmist wrote,

But I am a worm

and not a man,

scorned by mankind

and despised

by the people.

All who see me

mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

Fourth, we see

the mocking of the bystanders

and religious leaders.

So not just the Roman guard.

Matthew 27,

Matthew 27:39

verse 39 says,

And those who passed by

derided Him,

wagging their heads,

which was a sign

of that disapproval.

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:7

verse 7 and 8,

All those who see me

mock me.

That's fascinating.

Let's go back again.

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:7

verse 7 and 8.

Without the polka music

this time, please.

All who see me

mock me.

They make mouths at me.

They wag their heads.

He trusts in the Lord.

This is the speaking

of derision.

Let Him deliver him.

Let Him rescue him,

for He delights in him.

In Luke 23,

Luke 23:35

verse 35 and following,

Luke records,

And the people stood by.

So everyone who's passing by,

according to Matthew,

is mocking Jesus.

Here Luke says,

And the people stood by,

watching,

but the rulers

scoffed at Him,

saying,

He saved others.

Let Him save Himself.

If He is the Christ of God,

His chosen one.

The soldiers also mocked Him,

coming up and offering Him

sour wine and saying,

If you are the King of the Jews,

save yourself.

There was also an inscription over Him,

This is the King of the Jews.

Now, we'll read in just a moment

a bit of interesting text

in John chapter 19.

John 19 · chapter mention

Most of us know

that there was this sign

placed over Jesus' head

that declared Him

the King of the Jews.

The religious leaders

did not want such a sign

to exist above Him.

It was this very claim

that they were crucifying Him for.

And so,

as this claim stood above Him,

they had to stand around

and make light of it.

They had to say,

Oh, here's the proof

that He's not who He claimed to be

or that this sign waves over Him

because He can't save Himself

from the cross.

In John chapter 19,

John 19:19

verse 19 and following,

we read this,

Pilate also wrote an inscription

and put it on the cross.

It read,

Jesus of Nazareth,

the King of the Jews.

Many of the Jews

read this inscription,

for the place where Jesus

was crucified was near the city

and it was written in Aramaic,

in Latin,

and in Greek.

Everybody could read it.

So the chief priest of the Jews

said to Pilate,

Do not write,

The King of the Jews,

but rather,

this man said,

I am the King of the Jews.

And then Pilate answered,

and I don't know if it's because

Pilate was beginning to believe

or if Pilate just was tired

of placating them,

but he answered,

What I have written,

I have written.

So this statement stood over Christ

as He hanged there and died.

And the people had to make light of it

to justify His murder.

Fifth,

the fifth incident we see

in Psalm 22

is the mocking of the criminals.

Those that

hung on His left and His right.

Matthew 27 and verse 44.

And the robbers,

plural,

the robbers who were crucified with Him

also reviled Him

in the same way.

Luke tells us

that one of these robbers

came to believe

that Jesus was the Christ

in Luke 23,

Luke 23:39

verse 39 and following.

Luke records this,

one of the criminals

who were hanged

railed at Him saying,

Are you not the Christ?

Save yourself and us.

But the other,

now believing,

rebuked Him saying,

Do you not fear God

since you are under

the same sentence

of condemnation?

And we indeed justly,

for we are receiving

the due reward of our deeds,

but this man has done

nothing wrong.

And he said,

Jesus,

remember me

when you come

into your kingdom.

And Jesus said to him,

Truly,

I say to you,

today you will be with me

in paradise.

Again,

we see in Psalm 22

and in verse 8,

these words of derision,

He trusts in the Lord.

Let Him deliver Him.

Let Him rescue Him,

for He delights in Him.

Jesus was even mocked

by those found guilty

and experiencing

the same death.

In Luke 23,

we find Him

so willing to forgive

the transgressions

at whose hands

He suffered.

In Luke 23,

34,

He utters the words,

Father,

forgive them,

for they know not

what they do.

He pitied the ignorance

that would murder

the one who came

to save their souls.

And we see the promise

of paradise

given to a repentant criminal

who hung at Jesus' side.

So can you see

that Psalm 22

is speaking toward

this event

that would happen

one day?

These things are going on

just as Psalm 22

said that they would.

And what must have been

going through

the mind of our Savior

as He experienced

the most cruel of deaths

ever employed

by a nation state?

This form of death

was not only

extremely painful,

but it was meant

to be a spectacle.

The condemned

were placed on display

in a place of prominence

for all to see

and to consider

the cost of law-breaking.

So not only

is Jesus dying

a painful physical death,

He's being rejected

at every turn

by those

that He's dying for.

In Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:12

verse 12 and 13,

what must Jesus

have been thinking,

right?

Thinking about this Psalm.

We're going to see

that He speaks

directly from it

in a moment.

Verse 12 and 13 say,

many bulls encompass me.

Strong bulls of passion

surround me.

They open wide

their mouths at me

like a ravening

and roaring lion,

right?

Seeking my life.

In the midst of all

of David's prophecy

of the coming Christ,

he writes for us,

carried along by the Spirit,

these reprieves,

like these moments

of rest and reflection

from all of the suffering.

And here, I think,

we get the most

wonderful glimpse

of the mind of Christ.

So try to put yourself

in His place.

And we can't do this

perfectly, to be sure.

But considering

the great horrors

around Him

and Him thinking

about Psalm 22

and running through

the writing of,

inspired writing

of David.

So we read in Psalm 22

Psalms 22:9–11

verse 9 through 11,

Yet,

this is a wonderful word,

Yet,

You are He

who took me

from the womb.

You made me trust You

at my mother's breasts.

On You was I cast

from my birth

and from my mother's womb.

You have been

my God.

Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none

to help.

So we can imagine

that Jesus,

in this great anguish,

turns to God

in the writing of David

in Psalm 22

and finds comfort.

Yet,

You are God.

The psalmist,

and as I've argued,

Jesus suffering greatly,

looks to God the Father

who was with Him

from the very beginning

and is,

therefore,

to be trusted

for help,

comfort,

for peace,

and for

final

deliverance.

So,

we get these reprieves

in the midst

of Psalm 22.

Now,

to think about this

a bit more,

let's take a look

at the three statements

that Jesus uttered

on the cross

that are found

in this psalm.

The first,

we can read of

in Matthew 27

and verse 46,

also Mark 15,

34.

Matthew records for us

about the ninth hour,

Jesus cried out

with a loud voice

saying,

Eli,

Eli,

lama sabachthani,

sabachthani,

that is,

my God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

At about 3 p.m.

on that Friday,

the sky went dark

and Jesus laid down

His life.

The sinless for the sinful,

the worthy for the unworthy,

the blessed for the destitute.

John Stott once said,

our sins blotted out

the sunshine

of His Father's face.

Christ became sin

on our behalf.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5,

21,

for our sake He made Him

to be sin,

who knew no sin,

so that in Him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

That great exchange

that we talk about

so often

as Christ followers.

In the Garden of Gethsemane,

the night before

Jesus' crucifixion,

He prayed,

as recorded in Matthew 26,

Matthew 26:39

verse 39,

and going a little farther,

He fell on His face

and prayed saying,

My Father,

if it be possible,

let this cup

pass from Me.

Nevertheless,

not as I will,

but as You will.

Now, beloved,

it's important to understand

that Jesus' anguish

over His coming crucifixion

was not due to the

physical suffering

He would experience.

As great as it was,

this was not what was

causing Him

to sweat blood.

But rather,

He was in such anguish

because of the wrath

of God

that He was going

to bear.

Jesus had in mind

passages like

Jeremiah 25.

This is verse 15 and 16

of Jeremiah 25.

Thus the Lord,

the God of Israel,

said to Me,

this would be Jeremiah,

Take from My hand

this cup of the wine

of wrath

and make all the nations

to whom I send you

drink it.

They shall drink it

and stagger

and be crazed

because of the sword

that I am sending

among them.

And then verse 27,

Then you shall say to them,

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

Drink,

be drunk,

and vomit.

Fall and rise no more

because of the sword

that I am sending

among you.

This is the type of thing

that Jesus has

in His mind.

He knows that He has come

to be a propitiation,

a replacement sacrifice

for all that would trust

in Him.

And He is looking to

this next day

God's wrath

being poured out on Him.

And this is the cry.

If there's any other way,

let this cup

pass

from Me.

God is

just.

And God is

unchanging.

And therefore,

God must

punish

sin.

God does not

deal with disobedience

the way so many of us

imperfect parents

deal with disobedience.

Right?

My grace to my children

is often

my laziness.

I just overlook

the things

that they're doing.

This is not

the way

the just God

of the universe

functions.

There have been

infractions

and they must

be paid for.

If you and I

were to have

any hope

of the forgiveness

of our sin,

we needed

a substitute.

The sins

must be

paid for.

Jesus came

to die

our death.

So as He hung

on that

cursed tree,

He bore

all of the wrath

for all of the sin

do you

and I

and all those

who will ever

or will

whoever

or will ever

be called

by His name.

God the Father

turned His face

away from His Son

and poured

infinite wrath

out

on Him.

We see the beginning

of Psalm 22

Psalms 22:1

verse 1.

My God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

This is what

Jesus is uttering.

He is

citing from.

So we get

a little more,

a bit of an expansion

when we look at

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:1

verse 1

and then into

verse 2.

The psalmist says,

Why are you so far

from saving me

from the words

of my groaning?

Oh,

my God,

I cry by day

but you do not

answer and by night

but I find

no rest.

Can you feel,

I hope you can,

the expanding

anguish?

What's wrapped up

in this phrase,

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

Why have you

turned away

from me?

And then,

Psalm 22

gives us

another reprieve

and I suggest

the hope

that pulled

Christ,

the man,

through this

immeasurable

suffering.

The writer of Hebrews

tells us in Hebrews 12

too that Jesus

endured the cross

for the joy

set before him.

So,

what I'm postulating

and we have no

clear evidence

of this

is that Jesus

says the words,

my God,

my God,

why have you

forsaken me?

And he's thinking

about in this time,

he's meditating

upon,

he's pondering

verses 3

and 4

and 5,

yet you are

holy

and throned

on the praises

of Israel.

In you our fathers

trusted,

they trusted

and you

delivered them.

To you they cried

and were rescued.

In you they trusted

and were not

put to shame.

Jesus knew

that he was fulfilling

the will of the Father,

his good Father

and his will

would be

accomplished.

The second utterance

and a bit briefer

in this case.

We can read in

John chapter 19

John 19:28

verse 28.

After this,

Jesus,

knowing that

all was now

finished,

said,

and John includes

the parenthetical,

to fulfill the

scripture,

I thirst.

Now this is

certainly a direct

reference to

Psalm 69

and verse 21

which says,

again prophetic,

they gave me

poison for food

and for my thirst

they gave me

sour wine

to drink.

So Jesus says,

I thirst

so that this

scripture would

be fulfilled.

But I think we also

see it in

Psalm 22.

It's a little more

difficult to get at

but let me make the case

for you briefly

and then we'll move on

to the third

statement.

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:14

verse 14

and 15.

David writes,

I am poured out

like water

and all my bones

are out of joint.

My heart

is like wax.

It is melted

within my breast.

My strength

is dried up

like a pot shirt

and my tongue

sticks to my jaws.

You lay me

in the dust

of death.

You hear the dry

and thirsty

language found

throughout

those two verses

and so Jesus

utters,

I thirst.

finished.

Thirdly,

and I think

most importantly,

in John 19

and 30,

when Jesus

had received

the sour wine

he said,

it is

finished

and he bowed

his head

and gave up

his spirit.

Jesus,

upon accomplishing

the task

that he became

a man to accomplish

uttered these

simple

but profound

words,

it is

finished.

He had done

all that he

was sent

to do

when he died

upon

the cross.

The writer of

Hebrews says

in Hebrews

Hebrews 1:3

chapter 1

verse 3,

Jesus Christ

is the radiance

of the glory

of God

and the exact

imprint

of his nature

and he upholds

the universe

by the word

of his power.

After making

purification

for sins,

he sat down

at the right

hand

of the majesty

on high.

Beloved,

this is so

significant

to the Hebrew

hearers

of the book

of Hebrews

because

in the temple

worship

all of the

continual

ongoing

ceremonial sacrifices

that had to be made,

blood flowed

constantly

from the temple

and it was meant

to show

God's people

their great need

of a perfect

sacrifice

was meant

to show them

that all

these sacrifices

are inadequate

to cover

your sins.

So keep at it,

Israel.

Just keep making

sacrifice.

Keep making

sacrifice.

And all of the

careful instruction

for how the temple

was to be laid

out,

there's a piece

of furniture

that does not

exist in this

place

anywhere

to sit.

The priests

did not sit

down.

They were at

work constantly.

They worked

in shifts

and they did

not rest.

But our Lord

and Savior

Jesus Christ

finished the

work

and he sat

down.

This would

have been

astounding

to them

when they

heard it.

To us

we go,

yeah,

cool,

he's sitting.

No,

he is at

rest,

right?

He has made

that full

and final

sacrifice.

He drank

the entire

cup

of God's

wrath.

And when

he finished

it,

he turned

it over

and he

set it

down

and he

said,

it is

finished.

A complete

and perfect

sacrifice

for all

time

for those

who believe

in him.

Now,

I've been

making the

case that

this comes

from Psalm

22.

If you're

tracking me,

it's okay

if you're not,

if you're

tracking me

and you're

being astute,

you go,

where is that

found?

Let me

show you.

Psalm

22,

I'm going

to start

at verse

29 and

read through

31.

David

says,

All the

prosperous

of the

earth eat

and worship.

Before him

shall bow

all who

go down

to the

dust,

even the

one who

could not

keep himself

alive.

Posterity

shall serve

him that

shall be

told of

the Lord

to the

coming

generation.

They

shall

clumb

and

proclaim

his

righteousness

to a

people

yet

unborn.

And here

it is,

that he

has

done it.

And in

Hebrew,

this phrase

could have

very easily

been

translated

for us

that it

is

finished.

It would

have been

very precise

and faithful

to the

original text.

He

has

done it.

It

is

finished.

So,

I hope,

just considering

Christ's

death for

us,

you are

moved to

worship.

Let me

give you a

little more

specific

application,

and I

want to

do it

quickly,

and here's

where I'm

picking up

some of

the verses

I haven't

referenced.

I won't

read them

for the

sake of

time,

but

first,

note

how

we're

believing,

and I

think it's

a fair

belief,

that Jesus

Christ,

as He

hung on

the cross,

is carried

through

suffering by

considering,

He's

pondering the

Word of

God.

He's

looking back

to the

promises of

Scripture,

and He's

picking them

up.

He's

meditating

upon them,

and He's

turning that

into belief.

He's

pondering the

Word of

God.

And,

beloved,

we are to

do the

same.

Look to

Christ and

His great

anguish.

We have

never

experienced

such

suffering,

and we

never

will,

praise the

Lord,

because of

Him.

But when

you are

going

through

tough

times,

ponder

the

Word of

God.

Secondly,

we can

see that

Christ is

praying to

God for

help in

His time

of need.

So,

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:19–21

verse 19

through 21,

we see Him

cry out to

God.

Verse 21,

Save me

from the

mouth of

the lion,

and in

this sure

confidence,

you have

rescued me

from the

horns of

the wild

oxen.

Cry out to

God for

help in

times of

need.

Third,

we see

Jesus

praising

God for

the purposes

of suffering.

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:2–5

verse 2

through 5,

we see

Him seeing

how God

is working

in the

midst.

And we

know,

Romans 8,

that God

is bringing

about purpose

in all of

our suffering.

He's working

to bring us

to be like

our Lord and

Savior,

Jesus Christ.

So,

He is

pondering the

Word of

God.

He's praying

to God for

help in time

of need.

He's praising

God for the

purpose of

suffering.

And finally,

proclaiming

God's

goodness

to one

another

and to

the world.

To one

another,

we see in

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:22–26

verses 22

through 26.

I'll skip

down to

verse 25.

From you

comes my

praise in

the great

congregation.

My vows

I will

perform before

those who

fear Him.

We're to

sing God's

praises

to one

another.

And praise

God that

Jesus has

counted us,

those who

have placed

believing faith

in Him,

amongst the

congregation.

Again,

the book of

Hebrews,

the writer of

Hebrews says

in chapter 2,

verse 11

and 12,

for He

who sanctifies

and those

who are

sanctified

all have

one source.

That is why

He is not

ashamed to

call them

brothers,

saying,

I will tell

of your

name,

to my

brothers.

In the

midst of

the congregation,

I will

sing your

praise.

And because

Christ has

purchased us,

we are not

ashamed to

call one

another brother

and to share

His goodness

with each

other.

And we're

also meant

to do

this to

the world.

Again,

Psalm 22,

27 and

28,

all the

ends of

the earth

shall

remember

and turn

to the

Lord,

and all

the families

of the

nations

shall

worship

before

you.

For

kingship

belongs

to the

Lord,

and He

rules

over the

nations.

This

good news

of Jesus

Christ

is meant

to be

proclaimed

to all

people

everywhere.

So I

hope,

once again,

that your

heart has

been warmed

by the

loving kindness

of God

to us

in the

death

of Jesus

Christ.

Please join me

in prayer,

and then

we're going

to close

in a

couple

of songs

of praise.