For the overseer; According to "The Deer of the Dawn"; A Psalm of David
This is a psalm that is spoken of as being David’s. However, we do not know if it was written by David himself, speaking of one of his times of failure, a psalmist trying to write like David, or a descendent of David. We do know, however, that it is not just speaking of David. It is speaking of whoever finds him or herself in a situation that is described. In the Christian tradition, this psalm is most often related to the death of Jesus. In fact, the description of Jesus’ death in the gospels is closely related to this psalm, beyond all other passages in the Old Testament. This is probably the best prophetic description of Jesus’ death there is.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so distant from delivering me; from my roar?
My God, I cry by day but You do not answer.
By night and there is no rest.
The psalm begins with a complaint to God. The psalmist is in terrible trouble, and continues to cry out to God, but hears nothing from Him. The psalmist is not claiming that God has forsaken him because the psalmist isn’t experiencing a mystical sense of God—rather, he is proclaiming God’s rejection of him because God hasn’t helped him yet. The psalmist is in dire circumstances, being attacked unjustly and God is just doing nothing.
This passage is one of the most famous in the psalms because of Jesus’ declaring the same expression as he was on the cross (Mark 15:34). Some claim that Jesus is declaring his separation from God due to his “becoming sin”. However, the only way that Jesus “became sin” is the same way the psalmist did—he was unjustly hated and destroyed by his fellows. Those who should have honored him, shamed, hated and abused him. He was declared sinful despite his evidence. And, like the psalmist, while Jesus was on the cross, God did nothing. He allowed the evil death sentence be carried out.
Yet You are the Holy One
Enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Our ancestors trusted in You
They trusted and You delivered them
They cried out to You and escaped;
They trusted in You and were not disappointed.
Here, the psalmist remembers the stories of his forefathers in the past. The ancients, such as Jacob, Joseph and Moses, were often in dire circumstances, such as the psalmist, and God was there for them. They waited on God, trusted in Him, and prayed to God—and then God answered. The psalmist then is implying—you did it for them, why not me? If you are the God of deliverance, why haven’t I been delivered?
But I am a worm and not a man
A reproach of men and despised by the people.
All who see me, mock me;
Sneer with the lip and shake with the head.
"Commit yourself to Yahweh-- let Him deliver Him;
Let Him save Him because He cares for him."
The psalmist then answers his own question—he is not delivered because he has been completely rejected by his fellows. The very people who have been delivered by God—they are the ones who have rejected this poor man. He is being so thoroughly rejected by God’s people that he can no longer even call himself human—now he is an insignificant, disgusting, worm. No one would say a good word to him. Everyone who sees him makes fun of him. They know that he claims Yahweh to be his savior—“So” they say, “why isn’t Yahweh delivering you? If God really cared that much about you, then shouldn’t you already be delivered?”
Even so was Jesus rejected and mocked like this. It was God’s own people, given the authority of God to judge sinners among the people, who claimed that Jesus was a blasphemer—claiming to be one who sits next to the throne of God. Crucifixion itself was the indication of the curse of God, and everyone who walked by was to participate in this cursing. The rulers of God’s people came to Jesus and, knowing that the power of God flowed through him, said, “If God’s power is with you, why hasn’t He saved you? Why don’t you come down, by God’s power? Obviously, you are the one cursed by God.” (Matthew 27:42-43; Mark 15:36) Even though Jesus was innocent.
Yet you brought me out from the womb,
Made me secure at my mother's breasts.
From birth I was cast into Your care;
You have been my God from my mother's womb.
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near
And there is no one to help.
The psalmist reminds God now that Yahweh had selected the psalmist, even from birth. The psalmist asks for God’s help now, because the psalmist has depended on Yahweh his whole life, even before he was weaned. Again, the psalmist is wondering why God has left him in this persecution, although he doesn’t deserve it.
Mighty bulls surround me
The mighty of Bashan have encircled me.
They open their mouths against me
Like a tearing, roaring lion.
Now the psalmist returns back to his troubles, speaking of his oppressors. He compares them to bulls—Basham bulls, which were the strongest, most ferocious of the land. He also compares them to lions. These are animals that gore and kill— they are both mutilators. The psalmist is feeling torn apart by his enemies. It is not enough for them to kill him—no, they have to tear his flesh apart, bit by bit, torturing him over a period of time.
This is more literally what happened to Jesus. First he was beat, then he was whipped—with bits of his flesh being torn off of his body. Then he was crucified. Crucifixion is about killing, but more than that, it is lengthening the death as long as possible over an entire day. Crucifixion is death by asphyxiation—slowly cutting off oxegon until the victim, exhausted, ultimately allows himself to be strangled by his own body, unable to pull himself up to breathe anymore.
I am poured out like water;
All my bones give way
My heart is like wax;
Melting within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
My tongue cleaves to my palate;
You lay me in the dust of death.
The psalmist speaks poetically of his personal experience. He is so fearful, he is emotionally poured out, unable to keep his composure. He trembles and collapses. He is literally dried up, completely dehydrated, because of his fear. His tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. And he knows this is it—he’s dead.
For dogs surround me
A band of wicked close me in;
They pierced my hands and feet;
I count all my bones
They look, they stare at me.
They divide up my clothes among them
And cast lots for my garments.
And why is the psalmist in this terrible state? Because of his enemies—the so-called “people of God” who are prepared to destroy him. They are closing in, surrounding him, prepared to attack him like a pack of dogs. They have attacked him—beginning with his hands and feet, but it is certain that they do not stop there. Because of the suffering they have already caused him, he can see all of his ribs. They have taken his clothes from him and divide them amongst themselves. So there he is—naked, wounded, tortured, and shamed. So what can be done for him? Will he be delivered by God? Or is God in agreement with the attackers? What will be done? To find out the end, we have to read the rest of the psalm—which we will do next time.
But what has all this to do with Jesus death? What meaning do we get of Jesus’ death in this passage? Jesus’ death was not an attack from God, to pour out God’s wrath on mankind’s sin. Rather, Jesus’ death has to do with human sin and judgment—the fact that people attack the innocent if they get in the way of their own plans or ambitions. But with Jesus, we have a conclusion to the story. Jesus didn’t just die because we were sinners and more focused on the world’s ambition than God’s desire. He died to be resurrected—to establish a new kingdom, a new people, who would be focused on God’s power than on worldly power or pleasure. People who experienced God’s deliverance and are ready to depend on Him for their life—even like the psalmist.
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