Psalm of an Innocent Man

Synopsis     Psalms 21:8-22:21     9/9/2021 

King David used the psalm to express his confidence that God would save him. And he anticipated singing and chanting God’s praise once his rescue was complete.   

In Psalm 22, David delivered the heartfelt cry of an innocent man. Accordingly, he began by openly wondering the reason for God’s abandonment.

Furthermore, he described the way other people mocked him to scorn at the very moment that circumstances seemed to be against him.  Finally, David marveled at the treachery of other men who seemed poised and ready to attack him only in his moment of great weakness. 

Psalm of an Innocent Man 

In the latter Psalm, David anticipated many of the experiences that Jesus was destined to experience in his passion.  

He cried out in wonder that God may have abandoned him. 

And his tormentors mocked him by suggesting that God would rescue him if he really loved him.  

And for those who seemed to have triumphed over him, he struggled knowing that his tormentors were dividing his garments and wrongfully taking ownership of his possessions.  

Innocence 

I am not innocent. In fact, I am probably the worst sinner that I will ever know. And so, my intuitive interpretation of this psalm is jaded. 

But Jesus was innocent. Still, He wasn’t innocently naïve like an unborn child. Instead, he was fully, knowingly and willingly innocent because He always chose righteousness. He always chose to enter into the full possibility of every moment of His life on earth. 

In perhaps the most historically awesome irony ever, the people living in the moment of Jesus’ crucifixion, mocked Him with the very words from this psalm. In this way, the hearts of all human beings toward God were revealed. For me this means, had been there, I most likely would have done the same thing.  

It’s sometimes terrifying to admit that I have spent most of my life at enmity with God. But it’s moments like this that penetrate the veneer of human personality and expose my core. And who I really am very much remains a work in progress. And that progress is entirely dependent on the grace of God manifest the ministry of His church community.  

“He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.” Matt 27:43