TITLE

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

XXII. Christ's Predicted Prayer On The Cross And Its Answer

B. Christ's Predicted Petition And Victory Of The Cross

(Psalm 22:19-31)

I. Introduction

A. Psalm 22 describes an execution by crucifixion that was not experienced by its author, David, and no word of confession of sin exists in the psalm, so it predicts Christ's sufferings on the cross, B. K. C., O. T., p. 809.

B. Jesus cited Psalm 22:1a at about the time of the evening sacrifice, at 3 p.m. on the cross (Matthew 27:36; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Matt. 27:36) and alluded to the psalm's last phrase before dying (John 19:30 with Psalm 22:31b), so He focused on fulfilling that psalm while suffering in our place on the cross.

C. We thus view Psalm 22:19-31 on Christ's predicted petition and victory of the cross for insight and edification:

II. Christ's Predicted Petition And Victory Of The Cross, Psalm 22:19-31.

A. Verse one of the Hebrew text comprises the introductory notes of the English Bible (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 992), so we stay with the numbering system in the English Bible for clarification with this lesson.

B. The thus translate the last half of the work in Psalm 22:19-31, noting Christ's fulfillments as follows:

1. "But You, O Jahweh, be not far away; O my Strength, come quickly to save Me," Psalm 22:19.

2. "Rescue My life principle from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dogs," Psalm 22:20.

3. "Save Me from the mouth of lions -- and from the horns of the wild oxen You [just now] answered Me," Psa. 22:21. (Both reputable commentators on the Hebrew text of the Psalms in H. C. Leupold, Exp. of the Psalms, 1974, p. 202-203, and J. A. Alexander, The Psalms, 1975, p. 104, claim this verse presents a sudden shift from the petition of the supplicant to God's sudden answer of that petition.)

4. "I will declare Your Name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise You," Psalm 22:22. [Note how this prediction was fulfilled in John 20:17, 21 at Christ's resurrection, His deliverance from death!]

5. "You who revere Jahweh -- praise Him! All of you descendants of Jacob, honor Him! Revere Him, all you descendants of Israel!" (Psalm 22:23) [This is fulfilled at Christ's return, 2 Thessalonians 1:10.)

6. "For He has not despised or made detestable the suffering of the Afflicted One; He has not Hidden His face from Him but (He) has listened to His cry for help," Psalm 22:24. [God the Father heard the Son's cry for help and saved Him from death at the resurrection, Ibid., Leupold, p. 204.]

7. "From You comes My praise in the great assembly; before those who revere Him will I fulfill My vows," Psalm 22:25.

8. "The afflicted ones will eat and be satisfied; they who seek Jahweh will praise Him -- may your hearts live forever!" (Psalm 22:26) [Note how this joy for believers occurred at Christ's resurrection, Lk. 24:36-43.]

9. "All the ends of the earth will remember, and they will turn to Jawheh, and all the families of the nations will bow down before Him!" (Psalm 22:27) [Christ's resurrection, closely followed by His call of the disciples to disciple the nations, cf. Matthew 28:9-10, 16-20, reflects this worldwide discipling outreach.]

10. "For to Jahweh belongs dominion and He rules over the nations," Psalm 22:28.

11. "For all the rich of the earth will eat and worship, all those who go down to the dust will kneel before Him -- even he who cannot keep his life principle alive," Psalm 22:29.

12. "Posterity will serve Him; it will be told of the Lord to the [coming] generation," Psalm 22:30. [Christ anticipated on the cross the salvation of people yet to be born, people like us who would one day put their trust in Christ due to His death for sin and victorious resurrection, cf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11.]

13. "They will proclaim His righteousness to a people to be born that He performed [it]," Psalm 22:31. [Jesus alluded to the Hebrew verb "performed" here ('asah, Ibid., Kittel, p. 993) in His last words, "It is finished" (John 19:30), indicating that in dying, He had finished performing the work of atonement.]

Lesson: On the cross, Jesus appealed to God the Father for deliverance, and He delivered Jesus, raising Him from the dead after Jesus' fulfillment of the Father's will that He die for sin. Christ's provision of atonement makes all believers of all the ages direct beneficiaries of His salvation, and their fitting response is to praise the Lord.

Application: (1) May we believers today rejoice in Christ's finished work on the cross and in the Father's answer to Him in raising Him from the dead, for our own eternal welfare exists in Jesus Christ, 1 John 5:11-12. (2) May we praise Him and heed His post-resurrection call to disciple the nations for Christ, Matthew 28:9-10, 16-20.