Day 960: Death defeated - Psalm 22 vs 22 - 31

22-24 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.

25-26 From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted (meek) shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live for ever!

27-31 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations 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. Psalm 22:22-31 English Standard Version.

In the previous verses of this Psalm of David, he described a time when he was surrounded by people baying for his blood. He felt as if he had been laid 'in the dust of death'. But although he felt as if God had forsaken him, he had still cried out to the Lord for rescue. What is the testimony he now gives in vs 22-24?

He would tell all those who loved God, that God had NOT deserted him. We have a similar testimony in another Psalm he wrote where he says: “ my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” (Psalm 16:9-10)

Who is it, in vs 25-26, who would particularly take courage from David's testimony?

He says it is the 'afflicted meek' who seek the Lord. Many years later the Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:4-5) History shows that meek people who seek to follow the Lord are often afflicted, and sometimes face execution. That was true of Jesus. But such people can be encouraged by how God rescued David from death. What would be the ultimate result of knowing there is a God who is able to deliver a soul from death? (vs 27-29)

David speaks of people from all over the world ‘turning to the Lord’, even kings of the earth! He says that a people yet to be born would hear the message of what God had done, and that He is a God of righteousness. And this is what happened. Things David wrote about in this Psalm happened to Jesus Christ at His crucifixion. He felt forsaken, His hands and feet were pierced, His clothes were divided among the Roman soldiers and people scoffed at His sufferings. But, like David, Jesus was delivered from death, and in an even greater way.

The apostle Peter used David's testimony of deliverance to illustrate the wonderful victory God gave Jesus when He raised Him from the garden tomb. His rescue wasn't just from death - He went through death triumphantly. And He was raised in bodily form. This is the message that has spread all over the world, and which has led even kings to worship the Lord.

The apostle Paul describes this victory over death, which all those who turn to the Lord will experience, in this way: “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:52-57)

That's the glorious victory Christians celebrate each week as they recall Christ's resurrection.