Psalm 22

⁰³             Yet You are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁰⁴          In You our fathers trusted;

they trusted,

and You delivered them.

⁰⁵          To You they cried and were rescued;

in You they trusted and were not put to shame.

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God is Holy

For the Lord’s Day:  the 10^th of October 2004

Introduction:  “Some think that the eternal and immutable state of God is here set in opposition to the afflictions which David experienced.”  However, Calvin disagrees and argues that “it is more simple and natural to view the language as meaning, that God has always shown himself gracious to his chosen people.”

 

So in spite of the dramatic statements in the first two verses, the psalmist here proclaims “Yet You are holy.” In that simple “yet”, there is wrapped up the thought: “however” as well.  This is the foundation from which David would argue.  Unlike the pagan gods and goddesses addressed by neighboring pagans, who had little statistical evidence of ever providing answers to the requests of their unenlightened groveling adherents, David rested his assurance on the fact that the scriptures have detailed God’s providential care for His people.  In addition, there were the continual and ongoing blessings accomplished in his own lifetime.

 

“Yet, You are holy,” David assures his own troubled soul.  Were we hunkered down as Christians in the midst of the ethnic and religious struggles of the Middle East, could work up the same assurance that not only was the Lord God above the fray – but also dramatically working through that fray to turn the worst behavior of men towards the providential goal of history that He has always had in mind.

 

Yes indeed, God is totally awesome in His righteous holiness apart from the creation that He has established and continues to manage according to His righteous will and purpose.  Yet, there is something more important in the declaration of holiness, which is outlined in these select verses before us.  And that something important:  is the historic and continuous kind revelation of the divine holiness!

 

David admits the witness of the scriptures and traditions of which he is familiar, by summing up the purpose of the peculiar book and people who belong to the Father God.  There in those verbal and written accounts, the holiness of God was: “enthroned on the praises of Israel.”  Week by week since the time of Adam, one day a week has been set aside to give the Lord of all the earth, the constant and regular praise in weekly worship.  Apart from the natural witness of creation itself, the best ongoing witness to the existence of God is the ongoing worship and praise of His purpose and person in the history of both Covenant Churches.

 

Spurgeon, in his analysis of this verse observes that while “we may not question the holiness of God, but we may argue from it, and use it as a plea in our petitions.”  In this sense, like David – we can be encouraged to hold up the profound and increasing wickedness of our own generation, and thereby even hope for a new revival and reformation in our day. 

 

Development:  Our second verse in this select group of verses, outlines the revelation history of God’s kind goodness to those who belong to Him.  “In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You delivered them.”  Now there are three statements in this verse.  First, there is the faithful affirmation that David’s forebears believed in the God of Israel.  These patriarchs all had good reason to not only trust, but also to obey – because they too, like David were brought through many trials and tribulations.

 

Then we read for a second time: “they trusted.”  This careful double emphasis serves to demonstrate “the close relationship in the past between the ancient Israelites’ trust” in God and God’s “actions on their behalf.” (Translator’s Handbook)  And finally, in the third phrase the Psalmist triumphantly notes the ongoing work of Israel’s God to love, guide and protect His own.

 

“You delivered them,” David reminds himself and the saints in all the ages of the Church.  A year or so ago, we reviewed the Old Testament book of 1 Chronicles in the mid-week Bible Study.  While we were able to study only the first half of that double book – we learned that the primary purpose of that two volume book is to specifically summarize the whole Old Covenant experience down to the time of the later prophets.  In this sense, that book is very much like the New Testament book of Hebrews which redefines the covenantal experience in the New Covenantal context. This summary experience of both Covenant revelations is the ground of hope for David.  Even as Francis Schaeffer has written, “God is not silent” and in fact He has not only spoken but acted in the course of history.  Spurgeon notes “the ancient saints cried and trusted, and that in trouble we must do the same; and the invariable result was that they were not ashamed of their hope, for deliverance came in due time.”

 

Our last verse this morning summarizes the redemption history of both Covenant records:  “To You they cried and were rescued; in You they trusted and were not put to shame.”  For a third time, the word for “trust” is used and in the grammatical dynamics of the verse – the whole argument of this section is rehearsed and pressed home for the third time.  “To You they cried and were rescued; in You they trusted and were not put to shame.”

 

Years ago, when I studied Chemistry in High School my instructor encouraged me – in the midst of balancing a job with the educational process and a vociferous reading schedule.  He observed that while I did not have the time or mental capabilities of the brighter students, still he knew that I understood the essential dynamics that the laws of Chemistry were consistent and that given a minimum of evidence – I could come closer to understanding the dynamics than those who learned every chapter anew without sensing the bigger picture that underlie the whole field of endeavor.

 

“To You they cried and were rescued; in You they trusted and were not put to shame.”  This theme is the same covenantal emphasis of the whole history of the church.  Absolutely, grace is the means of salvation in every age and place, but even as David knew, the whole church can take great and abiding comfort from the ongoing kind and providential rule of our Creator God.

 

Application:  While we are thinking of that ongoing covenantal relationship between the Lord God Almighty and His chosen people in all times, perhaps it would be well to comment on the whole overview and outline of this treasured psalm.  My Translator’s Handbook outlines the spiritual movement of the nine various sections in this exceptional work. 

 

The first twenty-one verses of this psalm “may be divided into three parts, each of which contains a desperate plea for help, joined to an affirmation of faith and praise.”

 

In the second ten verses: “the psalmist promises to praise the Lord in public worship, and to offer the Lord the sacrifices he had promised; he ends by affirming the future universal dominion of the Lord.”

 

The poetry here can be carefully analyzed, as the literary devices are carefully arranged for our consideration:  “This psalm is characterized by two types of poetic movement: a series of alternating shifts downward and upward (negative and positive feelings), and a sustained shift from exclusion to inclusion in the final upward swing.”

 

In the first two-thirds of the Psalm, verses one to five, six to ten and eleven to eighteen demonstrate the back and forth emotions evident in the mind of David.  Isn’t this the way all of our minds work?  We would all rather be wrong than right, depressed than happy, intellectually dishonest than truthful.  The mirror of contemporary society should tell us much more about the human condition than the majority are willing to admit.  Three times, David descends emotionally and each time the Holy Spirit lifts his thoughts step by step to a better confidence in the love and kindness of the Father God.

 

And finally, David is convinced to give a threefold witness to the present generation of Israel, to the pagan people around and even to those yet unborn.  Thus, “the psalmist’s depression and hope, which struggled in lonely, uncertain contest, are finally resolved in an all-embracing proclamation.”  (Translator’s Handbook) And thereby the final prayers of our Lord and Savior are formed and framed leading to the final triumph of God’s finished work on the cross.

 

Much is accomplished in this special psalm.  We are shown the process of overcoming our fears – if we will but trust faithfully and completely in the Lord of all the earth.  And as a final comment – we are encouraged here in the context of this prayer to speak boldly before the throne of grace and seek the Lord’s counsel for our hearts and to pray the accomplishment of His providence and purpose in our day and time as well.  May we be students of His covenant and grace in this regard, and thereby show the world the object of our own faith and trust.  Amen.

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PREACHING RESOURCES

Calvin, John:  Commentary on Book of Psalms.

Delitzsch, F:  Commentary on the Old Testament – Psalms.

Spurgeon, C.H:  Treasury of David.

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