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"In evil long I took delight;
unawed by shame or fear,
till a new object struck my sight
And stopped my wild career.
I saw one handing on a tree
In agony and blood,
Who fixed his languid eyes on me
As near his cross I stood.
Sure, never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look,
it seemed to change me
With his death
Thou not a word he spoke.
My conscience felt and owned
the guilt and plunged me in despair
I saw my sins his blood had spilt
And helped to nail him there.
A second look he gave me,
Which said, I freely forgive,
This blood is for thy ransom paid
I died that thou might live.
That Jesus died for me
And through his blood,
His precious blood.
I've been from sin set free.
What a great gift to be thankful for, as John Newton points out in that hymn, the gift of salvation. David will be our teacher as he writes in Psalm 22 under the inspiration of the H.S., about the cross. He writes not as he views the cross because he never saw it. He writes not as he looks back at the cross for David writes centuries before the cross ever became a reality.
Yet David sees it as clearly as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Through the agency of the H.S. and the mind of God, David is given insight into the cross of Calvary.
So David gives us six revelations about the cross. David brings us face to face with the sacrificial lamb.
We come face to face with the suffering servant. David is about to give us a detailed, explicit account of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ 1,000 years before Christ.
In doing so, David pens in this poem the prayer and praise that erupts from the cross. This poem is quoted seven times in the New Testament and every time in reference to Christ. This psalm describes a crucifixion before it was even heard of because crucifixions where unheard of in David's time.
Yet, this account is as accurate as the gospel narratives. So Acts 2 is correct when it describes David as a prophet and through the inspiration of the H.S. he prophesied about Calvary.
The psalm has two parts: In v.21-22 you have the prayer and in v.22-31 you have the praise. First comes a prayer. The scene is the Messiah hanging on a cross and David through the inspiration of the H.S. sees Jesus praying. It is a plaintiff prayer. It is a deep petition from the heart of the Savior. It is a portal into the mind of God. It is a portent or omen. It is a prodigy or something marvelous. It is a proficient prayer from the Prince of Peace. But why is our Savior praying this prayer?
What is the cause of this cry from the cross? Notice it is a prayer based on separation v.1-2. After three hours of supernatural darkness comes the ninth hour and Jesus is pained by the silence