So Psalm 22, beginning at verse 1. To the choir master, according to the doe of the dawn, a psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy and thrown 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, 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 bowls encompass me. Strong bowls 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 nation 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. That it is finished. As we identified Good Friday evening within this Psalm 22, there is a most abrupt change that takes place at verse 22. The first 21 verses of the psalm portray the deepest depths of suffering and agony. And the agony in these first 21 verses is expressed in three consecutive waves of assault. And the assault that the psalmist, our Savior, is experiencing is seemingly unrelenting. And this unrelenting onslaught of evil and onslaught of the evildoers encircling our Savior leads to a description of what seems to be the deepest depths of His agony in verses 14 and 15. as he seems to describe the near disintegration of his inner being. Verse 14, 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. Internally, our Savior is formless and void. No longer is He solid in Himself. His inner being is being poured out like water. There's no structure to His personhood, no framework left. All of His bones are out of joint. And that which is the very center and core of His being, His heart, is now like wax that is melted within his breast. This is a most poetic description of the disintegration of his very person as he is being crushed under the infinite weight of the wrath of Almighty God for our sins. Verse 14, I am poured out like water. Verse 15, my strength is dried up like a pot shirt and my tongue sticks to my jaws. I thirst and you lay me in the dust of death. He's lying naked in the dirt and left for dead. He's all alone with no way to escape it, no relief, no good Samaritan to come to his aid. And again. While this is a heavy bit of hyperbole for David, it is no hyperbole for the sufferings that Christ endured on that tree for us. For no words, no words, no matter how poetic or hyperbolic, can express the reality of the wrath of the infinite God being absorbed in the Savior's body and soul. In all of this, He endeared, willingly, in order to bring glory to His God and Father in making the amazing love of the Father towards us known. Again, as Augustine has it, the cross was a pulpit in which Christ preached His love to the world. is on that cross, Galatians 3.13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree. And this final wave of assault and agony leading unto death and the inward disintegration of His very person is again answered by our Savior with an expression of faith. As our Lord cries out, even now, in the deepest, darkest depths of His agony, He cries out to Yahweh, His God, in verses 19-21. 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. This third expression of faith ends with a hint towards a positive resolution, a final deliverance as trusting in Yahweh the Savior now declares, you have rescued me. You have rescued me. And this expression of assurance of rescue points, of course, to his resurrection. For he who was lying in the dust of death, verse 15, has been raised up. He is risen. And so this expression of assurance of rescue in verse 21 serves to transition us now this morning into the second smaller half of Psalm 22, where there is now a most dramatic shift in tone, as the tone of the final 10 verses couldn't be further from the dirge of the first 21. It is a shift from haunting lament to celebratory praise, from poverty to prosperity. From cursing to blessing, from forsakenness to exaltation, from death to life, from the cross to the kingdom. and from costly atonement to resurrection glory. And so while we looked at the first 21 verses, good Friday evening, it is these final 10 verses that will be the focus of our meditation this good Sunday morning. Far from the lament of the first 21 verses of the Psalm, the remaining verses constitute a celebratory praise to the Lord. And this celebratory praise here is a worship service of global and generational proportions. It is a great congregation that has gathered, verse 25, as all the ends of the earth shall remember and turn, and all the families of the nations worship, verse 27. All mortals shall bow before Him, verse 29. All the coming generations shall come and proclaim His righteousness, verse 30. This is a worship service of global and generational proportions. And why? What is the reason for such praise, such an explosion of worship in the world? verse 22 again 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 verse 24 because He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but he has heard when he cried to him." Yahweh has delivered his suffering servant from death. Yahweh has raised up the Savior who gave himself for our sins. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a point of worship and praise of Yahweh as the risen Savior now leads this company of brothers unto praise. Why are we here this morning, brethren? Well, I trust it is to make much of our God. I trust it is to worship the Lord. I trust it is to praise Yahweh for the resurrection of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen. And is it not the case, brethren, that we too have been led to this place by our beloved Jesus? Led unto praise by the risen Christ, just as this psalm betrays. Our holy God, who offered up his only son as a propitiation for our sins and crushed him on that tree as our sin bearer, has not forsaken the captain of our salvation to the grave, but has raised him up in glory and seated him at his right hand. And soon and very soon, he will put all his enemies under his feet as he comes to take us to be with him. Oh, praise the Lord. Hallelujah. Praise Jehovah. Amen. Praise Jehovah, for he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from our Savior, but has heard when he cried to him. And let me just for a moment take the time to ground this interpretation of the psalm in the New Testament. How can we be sure that the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is what is in view here? Why can we rest assured that the resurrection of Jesus is the reason given for Jesus' praise of God and the praise of his brethren alongside him? Well, again, I pointed to it briefly Friday night, Hebrews chapter two. Hebrews 2 and verse 11, for he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source, that is why he, Jesus, is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, and then he quotes from Psalm 22 verse 22, I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation. I will sing your praise." The author of Hebrews, in Hebrews 2, actually identifies the opening verse, our opening verse this morning, verse 22 of this psalm, as the words of Jesus. The very words of Jesus, who partook of flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, Hebrews 2 verse 14, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery, Hebrews 2 verse 15. And how are sinners like us delivered from the fear of death, but through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? By our being crucified with Christ and raised up with Him. Revelation 1.17 Fear not! Fear not, says Jesus. And why? Because I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades as Peter has it. First Peter one three. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Our hope comes through the resurrection to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you. And so it is the resurrected Christ, the resurrected Christ, the founder of our salvation, having tasted of death for us, and the captain of our salvation, having conquered death for us, who is now saying, Psalm 22, verse 22, I will tell of your name to my brothers in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you. Having been previously led by a company of evildoers, verse 16, to the slaughter, Now, he himself leads a company of brothers, verse 22, into worship and praise. Back in Psalm 22, verse 16, the suffering Savior was encircled by evildoers. Here in verse 22, he is now in the midst or encircled. The term is actually the same in the original. He is now encircled by this great congregation. the saints of God. He's encircled by you and by me. And He is leading this band of His brothers into worship, worship of the one and only true and living God. You who fear the Lord, praise Him. Praise Him. You who fear the Lord. These are the very words of Christ to us, brethren. Summoning us, His followers, to worship His God and Father. All you offspring of Jacob glorify him and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel. It is the aim of our risen Redeemer to lead us into worship of our God. And he died for this to bring many sons to glory, to that glory of God, that is his goodness, that we would now be all of us to the praise of his glorious grace. And so, Lord, forgive us our tendency to worship other things. O Lord, forgive us our tendency to bring before You other gods. What idols are there that we might have drug into His presence even this morning, this good Sunday morning? Money, possessions, fame, the praises of men, Oh, to just be liked, career, family, spouse, children, the American dream. Oh, may every soul here this morning and every morning be led by the Savior into worship, a pure heartfelt worship of the one true God who raised our Savior from the dead. Amen. For that, again, is the reason for our praise of Yahweh, at least that which is in view here in our psalm. Again, verse 23, 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, because 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. Back in verse 6 of the Psalm, Messiah is scorned by mankind and despised by the people. But here in verse 24, He is not despised or abhorred by God, but rather raised up to life. God has heard our Savior's cries for deliverance as He suffered and died for our sins. He has he who was inflicted by our sin has been heard as he cried out in agony and he has been delivered up by God. And so as we gather even this morning in worship, we gather around the risen Savior. and follow Jesus into the presence of our God to join him in his praise of God for rescuing him, raising him up from the grave and raising us who believe up with him. Jesus here leads the church in the praise of their God for his resurrection. And notice just how Jesus does this, how he leads his church into worship. Verse 22, again, I will tell of your name to my brothers. I will tell of your name. Jesus reveals to us the name of the Lord. In other words, Jesus reveals the character and the works of the Lord to the praise of the Lord. And he does so most supremely in his own sacrificial death on our behalf and in showcasing God's power towards us who believe the same power by which he raised Jesus from the grave. Jesus causes all the goodness of God to pass before us sinners through His cross and resurrection. Again, as Augustine put it, the cross was the pulpit in which Christ preached the love of God to the world. Now these final 10 verses of celebratory praise are full of the fruit or the blessings that flow now from the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the first of them being, as we have just seen, worship, worship, true worship of Yahweh. But secondly, notice, to whom the risen Christ tells of the name of the Lord in verse 22, that they might worship him. He tells it to his brothers. Those whom Jesus leads into worship are now called his brothers. Praise God for the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for as a result, we who come and put our faith in Jesus are now called his brethren, adopted as sons of the Most High God. So far from being the enemies of God, we are now the beloved children of God in Christ. Romans 8, 15, For we did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but we have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ Himself. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Amen. Thirdly, because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the meek of the earth shall feast. Verse 26, the afflicted, or the meek, shall eat and be satisfied. Those who suffer with Christ will likewise be glorified with Him. Here is the great reversal of all things that is ushered in through the humiliation and exaltation of the captain of our salvation. The first will be last and the last will be first. Those who mourn shall be comforted, those who hunger and thirst shall be satisfied, and the meek shall inherit the earth. The afflicted poor shall feast and feast at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Amen. Fourthly, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this feast will know no end. Its satisfactions will last forever and ever. Verse 26, the afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. Those who seek him shall praise the Lord. May your hearts live forever. flowing from the resurrection of Christ is eternal life for the believer. For Christ is, Revelation 1, the first and the last, the living one who died and behold, he is alive forevermore and he has the keys to death and Hades. And Revelation 2, those faithful unto death, he will give the crown of life. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second. Death. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Amen. Fifthly, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the covenant blessings of God, according to the promise of God, will flow at last to all the nations of the earth. The resurrection ushers in the global blessing of all the families of the earth as the curse is now. removed. Verse 27, All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before Him. Flowing from the resurrection of Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise given to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12, the blessing of all the nations of the earth. As the good news of Christ crucified for our sins and raised up for our justification is proclaimed, to the ends of the earth. All over the world sinners turn to the Lord and all the families of the nations worship the Lord. That which was promised in Genesis 12, in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. It was reiterated by the resurrected Jesus Acts 1 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth and this is now fulfilled brethren fulfilled in the mission of the church by which the Bride of Christ takes the Gospel of Christ to every corner of this planet, so that the Lamb who was slain would receive the full reward for His sufferings and God would be praised all over the earth. Hallelujah. Praise Jehovah. Amen. 6. The resurrection of Jesus also ushers in the kingdom of God, the sovereign, saving reign of God. 28. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and He rules over all the nations. that which was spoken of in Psalms 2, where the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed. But he who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord holds them in derision, speaks to them in his wrath, terrifies them in his fury, saying, As for me, I have set my king on my holy hill Zion. That whole dynamic plays out in this Psalm 22. And it is described in detail in the New Testament in Philippians 2, which speaks of Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of man and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. even death on a cross. Therefore, therefore, God has highly exalted Him, raised Him up, and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on the earth. And under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, Lord to the glory of God, the Father. For kingship belongs to the Lord, the risen Lord, and he rules over the nations. Hallelujah. Praise Jehovah. Seven, the resurrection of Christ from the dead means that all kinds of people will join in this salvific feast. Verse 29, 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. Now the last phrase is a bit challenging. But we can glean at least this for sure, that from this verse, we can see how flowing from the resurrection of Christ is the blessing of God to all kinds of people. Before it was the poor who feasted. Here it is the prosperous of the earth who feast, even all who go down to the dust. In other words, all mortal men, all kinds of men, both rich and poor, now feast. Our God is no respecter of persons, and we can pray and should pray for all people, 1 Timothy 2, for kings and all who are in high positions, and Luke 14, for the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And we can and we must go out to the highways and the hedges and compel all people to come in to the feast for all the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship before him shall bow all who go down to the dust. And notice as well how in the kingdom of God prosperity and worship of God are never at odds. All the prosperous of the earth shall eat and worship. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Finally, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, this good news of the risen Christ will be proclaimed to every generation to the end of the age. Not only shall he be praised among all the nations of the earth and among all kinds of men, but so too will every generation of men to the end of the age join in the feast and worship the Lord. Verse 30, posterity or seed 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. This promise is later echoed by the Apostle Peter on the day of Pentecost, who having pricked his fellow Jews to the heart with his preaching of the cross and the resurrection said to them, Acts 2.38, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. In other words, because he lives, his church will know no end. For Matthew 16, 18, I will build my church, says the risen Christ, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. For all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, says Jesus. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Go, go and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn that He has done it, that it is finished. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. Amen.