PSALM 22 (part 2): The Glory of the Worm (Psalm 22:6-11)

Last time, we studied the 1st Lamentation of Christ from the Cross describing His spiritual suffering (v1-5). This week, we study the 2nd Lamentation of Christfrom the Cross describing His mental suffering (v6-11), from His enemies who mocked and humiliated Him as He suffered. “But I am a WORM, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people” (v6, see Isaiah 53:3). This is made worse by the fact that ‘the people’ are His own people – Israel). Being a WORM is a figure of speech describing how helpless, despised, weak He felt, as those who hated Him treated Him as a worm, only worthy of being trampled under foot (see Isaiah 41:14, where Israel was compared to a worm under the foot of her enemies, yet God promised to deliver her). But there is also a deeper meaning to this picture. The word for ‘worm’ is ‘tolaith’ - the same word as for ‘scarlet’, for these worms were crushed to create a costly, brilliant, beautiful and enduring red dye from their blood. Crimson-dyed clothes were costly (Lam. 4:5). It was used for dyeing the curtains of the Tabernacle (Ex. 26:1), the garments of the high priests; in the purification rites of a leper (Lev 14:4–6), and of a house affected by leprosy; and it was added to the ashes of the red heifer (Num 19:6). Likewise, Christ was crushed for us and His Blood was used to cleanse, purify and clothe us as Temples of God. Moreover, thus worm would reproduce by attaching itself to the limb of a tree and would die in the process of giving birth! We were weak and helpless as a worm, worthy to be rejected and crushed because of our sin, but God valued us and redeemed us, by becoming a worm in our place, made weak, helpless and vulnerable to the attacks of people, and He was treated like a worm to be crushed by our sin and curse to make us whole. v7-8: All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head (show contempt with their mouth)” (for the fulfilment see Matthew 27:39, Mark 15:29), saying: “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” (for the fulfilment see Matthew 27:41-44). It is important to recognise the evil voice of the serpent behind this attack. It is more than the mockery of hatred. This was a mental torture, designed to attack and undermine His faith, His very connection with God, when He was at His most vulnerable, when it seemed as if God was abandoning Him and not hearing His prayers. The serpent, speaking through these men, tried to play with His mind and deceive and persuade Him by suggestion that God had finished with Him, that He did not actually love Him or delight in Him, and so He should let go of God. This was a more dangerous attack than the attack on His body, for it was satan’s voice trying to penetrate His inner heart, sowing seeds of doubt saying: “If God really loved you, you would not suffer like this, or He would have delivered you, so give up your faith in God.” But God did delight in Him and would deliver Him in the resurrection. Likewise, when we suffer, whether it is because we have sinned or not, satan comes as the accuser to whisper his lies to us that God does not love us any more, and that we should abandon our loyalty to God. At that time, it is important that we should not be passive, but answer these evil thoughts by declaring our faith, that God does love us, that He has redeemed us by His Blood, and that we will always love and trust God (Rev 12:10-11) This is exactly what Christ does, when He moves from His Lament to focusing back on God and declaring His faith in God in v9-10: “BUT YOU are He who took Me out of the womb; You made (caused) Me (to) trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God.” This predicts the Messiah will be sinless and in perfect fellowship with God from birth, not having a sin-nature because of the virgin birth (Gen 3:15, Isa 7:14, confirming that He is not suffering because of his sins. This is only true of Christ, not David (Psalm 51:5). So, He had never experienced any separation from God before. Whereas He previously established His faith on God’s proven faithfulness to Israel, as recorded in the Bible (v3-5), here He establishes his faith on God’s faithfulness in His own life. Based on God’s constant faithful Presence with Him as His God, throughout His life, He knows that God will not suddenly abandon Him now. From that place of faith, and prays that God would draw close to Him again to help Him, and deliver Him from trouble, as He has always done before: “Be not far from Me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help” (v11). God answered this prayer at His resurrection.