But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
God is holy and He dwells amid the praises of His people Israel. The psalm prophetically depicts Christ in His first coming, humiliation and sufferings, fulfilled literally in His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion at Calvary. It expresses His inner experience in the flesh when the sins of the world were laid upon Him and He stood in the sinner's place, pouring out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death as humanity's representative. In His humanity His human heart trembled over the success of the plan of salvation, limited from seeing His triumph and leaving His case in God's hand, yet suffering temptation and doubt without sin or distrust of God and coming through as conqueror. His sufferings reveal God's eternal justice and holiness, the lasting obligation of His law and the grave guilt of sin, and set the pattern His followers must also share that the faith of Jesus may be developed in them.
Holy Dwelling in Praise
God is holy, and He inhabits and dwells amid the praises of Israel, His people. He lives in the praise of His people, making their praises His dwelling place. God Himself is our salvation, so praise reveals the salvation of God.
Even when crying day and night seems to bring no answer, God is still holy and all His works are just. David continued crying to God despite receiving no answer, and still acknowledged Him as holy. Delay of an answer to prayer does not prove that God has rejected the one praying. Such delay can lead to self-examination and humility without despair.
Prophecy of Christ's Suffering
Psalm 22 is a prophecy of Christ's first coming, humiliation, sufferings and experience, fulfilled literally at Calvary and to be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion and the closing events of the Gospels. It clearly foretells His betrayal and crucifixion and describes the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus' life fulfilled its predictions of the Messiah.
Its burden applies first to David and finally in an antitypical sense to Christ. In a measure it was David's experience, but it was typical of the experience of David's greater Son, with some parts reflected in David's life and the full agony and sacrifice realized in Christ. This does not mean every verse in the psalm is specifically fulfilled in Christ.
The psalm foretells details of the Messiah's life and ministry, including His lowly life, rejection, unjust trial, death with criminals, burial with the rich, suffering as He bore human sin, and words spoken on the cross. It pointed to His death in an event involving both Jews and Gentiles, and helped identify the Messiah and foretell the tragedy of His sacrifice. Jesus' life fulfilled these predictions, making the psalm a witness to His messianic mission and identity.
The verse expresses the experience in the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ when the sins of the world were laid upon Him. It belongs to a psalm filled with the experience of Jesus standing in the sinner's place during His earthly life, passing through for sinners' sake what the repentant sinner must pass through and even what the lost must pass through in giving Himself to die on the cross. He prayed and suffered on behalf of humanity as its representative, bearing sin and meeting temptation in fallen human flesh. He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death, not to purchase by agony and prayer what He desired but because His desires were so great they led Him to those things. David felt in vision something of this inner experience during struggle with the enemy, revealing the suffering Christ endured in His inmost soul beyond what is shown by the outward events of His life.
It shows Christ in His humanity, with human heart and human feelings trembling over the consummation, efficiency and success of the plan of salvation. He questioned not God but whether He Himself was sufficient for the work, coming to the place where human limitations shut from Him the knowledge of His triumph so that all He could do was leave His case in the hand of God. He suffered temptation and doubt with no sin and no distrust of God, and prayed prayers of agony as humanity's representative. The psalm thus shows something of His severe trial and how He came through it as a conqueror.
Its latter portion sets forth the eternal reign of righteousness promised to David. Those promises could not have been fulfilled in their fullness without the Lord's resurrection.
Doctrine and Follower's Pattern
The sufferings of Christ portrayed in the psalm reveal the eternal justice and holiness of God, the lasting excellence and binding obligation of His law, and the exceeding guilt of sin. His suffering honored the divine law instead of granting anyone freedom to despise or disregard it.
The experience set forth in the verse is one His followers must also share, in order that the faith of Jesus may be developed in them. It sets the pattern for their hard battles to overcome sinful habits and the craving for sin. The verse shows His feelings when in the flesh He took the sins of humanity upon Himself and passed through what the sinner himself must pass through. He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death, not to purchase by agony and prayer what He desired, but because His desires were so great that they led Him to agony and prayer. The converse truth is also shown, that Jesus met in Himself all human experiences, trials, and conflicts, making Him Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, and Fellow-helper, as well as mighty Saviour all the journey through.
God is holy and He dwells amid the praises of His people Israel. The psalm prophetically depicts Christ in His first coming, humiliation and sufferings, fulfilled literally in His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion at Calvary. It expresses His inner experience in the flesh when the sins of the world were laid upon Him and He stood in the sinner's place, pouring out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death as humanity's representative. In His humanity His human heart trembled over the success of the plan of salvation, limited from seeing His triumph and leaving His case in God's hand, yet suffering temptation and doubt without sin or distrust of God and coming through as conqueror. His sufferings reveal God's eternal justice and holiness, the lasting obligation of His law and the grave guilt of sin, and set the pattern His followers must also share that the faith of Jesus may be developed in them.
Holy Dwelling in Praise
God is holy, and He inhabits and dwells amid the praises of Israel, His people. He lives in the praise of His people, making their praises His dwelling place. God Himself is our salvation, so praise reveals the salvation of God.
Even when crying day and night seems to bring no answer, God is still holy and all His works are just. David continued crying to God despite receiving no answer, and still acknowledged Him as holy. Delay of an answer to prayer does not prove that God has rejected the one praying. Such delay can lead to self-examination and humility without despair.
Prophecy of Christ's Suffering
Psalm 22 is a prophecy of Christ's first coming, humiliation, sufferings and experience, fulfilled literally at Calvary and to be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation and crucifixion and the closing events of the Gospels. It clearly foretells His betrayal and crucifixion and describes the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus' life fulfilled its predictions of the Messiah.
Its burden applies first to David and finally in an antitypical sense to Christ. In a measure it was David's experience, but it was typical of the experience of David's greater Son, with some parts reflected in David's life and the full agony and sacrifice realized in Christ. This does not mean every verse in the psalm is specifically fulfilled in Christ.
The psalm foretells details of the Messiah's life and ministry, including His lowly life, rejection, unjust trial, death with criminals, burial with the rich, suffering as He bore human sin, and words spoken on the cross. It pointed to His death in an event involving both Jews and Gentiles, and helped identify the Messiah and foretell the tragedy of His sacrifice. Jesus' life fulfilled these predictions, making the psalm a witness to His messianic mission and identity.
The verse expresses the experience in the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ when the sins of the world were laid upon Him. It belongs to a psalm filled with the experience of Jesus standing in the sinner's place during His earthly life, passing through for sinners' sake what the repentant sinner must pass through and even what the lost must pass through in giving Himself to die on the cross. He prayed and suffered on behalf of humanity as its representative, bearing sin and meeting temptation in fallen human flesh. He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death, not to purchase by agony and prayer what He desired but because His desires were so great they led Him to those things. David felt in vision something of this inner experience during struggle with the enemy, revealing the suffering Christ endured in His inmost soul beyond what is shown by the outward events of His life.
It shows Christ in His humanity, with human heart and human feelings trembling over the consummation, efficiency and success of the plan of salvation. He questioned not God but whether He Himself was sufficient for the work, coming to the place where human limitations shut from Him the knowledge of His triumph so that all He could do was leave His case in the hand of God. He suffered temptation and doubt with no sin and no distrust of God, and prayed prayers of agony as humanity's representative. The psalm thus shows something of His severe trial and how He came through it as a conqueror.
Its latter portion sets forth the eternal reign of righteousness promised to David. Those promises could not have been fulfilled in their fullness without the Lord's resurrection.
Doctrine and Follower's Pattern
The sufferings of Christ portrayed in the psalm reveal the eternal justice and holiness of God, the lasting excellence and binding obligation of His law, and the exceeding guilt of sin. His suffering honored the divine law instead of granting anyone freedom to despise or disregard it.
The experience set forth in the verse is one His followers must also share, in order that the faith of Jesus may be developed in them. It sets the pattern for their hard battles to overcome sinful habits and the craving for sin. The verse shows His feelings when in the flesh He took the sins of humanity upon Himself and passed through what the sinner himself must pass through. He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death, not to purchase by agony and prayer what He desired, but because His desires were so great that they led Him to agony and prayer. The converse truth is also shown, that Jesus met in Himself all human experiences, trials, and conflicts, making Him Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, and Fellow-helper, as well as mighty Saviour all the journey through.