Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
The verse tells that earlier generations kept trusting in God and He rescued them in their times of trouble. It belongs to a psalm that foretells the sufferings, humiliation and agony of Jesus Christ in human flesh when the sins of the world were laid upon Him. Spoken by Christ in His humanity, it shows Him with a troubled human heart leaving His case in God's hand in trust as His fathers trusted and were delivered, without sin and without distrust of God. His struggle and victory there are set forth for instruction and comfort, to become the experience of His followers so the faith of Jesus may be developed in them. Remembering how those before them trusted and were delivered gives reason to trust God for present help and to plead past answers in present trouble.
Christ Foretold in Psalm
Psalm 22 expresses the experience of Jesus Christ in human flesh when the sins of the world were laid upon Him, and while David knew something of that experience, it points especially to his greater Son. It is prophecy of Christ in the flesh that prophetically depicts and foretells His sufferings, humiliation, and experience, and it is preeminently prophetic of Christ in His humiliation. It must be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, which God foresaw would come upon Jesus.
Some of its words were also fulfilled in David's own life, but their full meaning is realized in Christ's agony and sacrifice. They were fulfilled literally in those events of betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, showing that God carries out what He has foretold even when fulfillment seems humanly impossible. The psalm foretells particulars of the Messiah's work and ministry, including His lowly life, His rejection by His people, the injustice shown Him in His trial, His death with criminals, His burial with the rich, the agony of His life as He bore the sins of men, and His very words upon the cross. It also predicted His prayers of agony, offered on humanity's behalf.
The psalm portrays Jesus standing in the sinner's place during His earthly life and suffering, passing through just what the sinner himself must pass through. In that place He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death. The agreement of Jesus' life with what God predicted beforehand stands as God's written witness to His Son given beforehand that the Father sent Him. His life testified to the truth of what God had foretold in Scripture, and the psalm stands among the prophecies giving the Messiah's picture and foretelling His experiences, including His death.
Beyond suffering, the psalm, especially its latter part, sets forth promises of an eternal reign of righteousness whose full fulfillment required the Lord's resurrection. The testimony that the fathers trusted and were delivered is used to show that Christ will break in pieces the oppressor in the final overthrow of ungodly rule.
Trust Brings Deliverance
Our fathers placed constant trust in God, and He saved them in their evil days. They trusted, and they were delivered out of severe distress. Their experience of trusting God and being helped gives reason to trust Him for present help and deliverance.
Spoken by Christ in His humanity, the verse shows Him with a troubled human heart facing the consummation, efficiency, and success of the plan of salvation. He questioned not God but whether He Himself was sufficient for the work, leaving His case in God's hand in trust as His fathers trusted and were delivered. He suffered temptation and doubt with strong crying, yet without sin and without distrust of God.
Christ's sufferings portrayed in the psalm reveal God's eternal justice and holiness, the enduring excellence and obligation of His law, and the grave guilt of sin. His suffering honored the divine law rather than granting permission to despise or disobey it. The psalm is filled with the experience of Jesus standing in the sinner's place during His earthly life and suffering, and its testimony to God's deliverance also reflects the Lord's work for His people.
Following Christ in Trust
The verse sets forth the experience of Jesus Christ for instruction and comfort, and that experience must become the experience of His followers so that the faith of Jesus may be developed in them. It shows the converse truth that He met in Himself all human experiences, trials, and conflicts, and that He is Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, and Fellow-helper as well as mighty Saviour all the journey through. Read as part of the account of His struggle and victory, it points to trust in God through severe distress and deliverance from it. It therefore encourages the tempted to look to His victory as both the pattern and the source of their own.
The psalm is prophecy of Christ in the flesh showing His feelings when He took the sins of humanity upon Himself and passed through just 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 those things. So followers of the Master in this world must fight hard battles against sinful craving. They must trust God for victory whether instantaneous or after agony, and thereby learn how to help others who fight.
The experience of earlier generations who trusted God and were delivered gives reason to trust Him for present help and deliverance. Recalling how they trusted and were delivered can serve as an argument in prayer, since past answers give grounds to plead with God in present trouble.
The verse tells that earlier generations kept trusting in God and He rescued them in their times of trouble. It belongs to a psalm that foretells the sufferings, humiliation and agony of Jesus Christ in human flesh when the sins of the world were laid upon Him. Spoken by Christ in His humanity, it shows Him with a troubled human heart leaving His case in God's hand in trust as His fathers trusted and were delivered, without sin and without distrust of God. His struggle and victory there are set forth for instruction and comfort, to become the experience of His followers so the faith of Jesus may be developed in them. Remembering how those before them trusted and were delivered gives reason to trust God for present help and to plead past answers in present trouble.
Christ Foretold in Psalm
Psalm 22 expresses the experience of Jesus Christ in human flesh when the sins of the world were laid upon Him, and while David knew something of that experience, it points especially to his greater Son. It is prophecy of Christ in the flesh that prophetically depicts and foretells His sufferings, humiliation, and experience, and it is preeminently prophetic of Christ in His humiliation. It must be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, which God foresaw would come upon Jesus.
Some of its words were also fulfilled in David's own life, but their full meaning is realized in Christ's agony and sacrifice. They were fulfilled literally in those events of betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, showing that God carries out what He has foretold even when fulfillment seems humanly impossible. The psalm foretells particulars of the Messiah's work and ministry, including His lowly life, His rejection by His people, the injustice shown Him in His trial, His death with criminals, His burial with the rich, the agony of His life as He bore the sins of men, and His very words upon the cross. It also predicted His prayers of agony, offered on humanity's behalf.
The psalm portrays Jesus standing in the sinner's place during His earthly life and suffering, passing through just what the sinner himself must pass through. In that place He poured out His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death. The agreement of Jesus' life with what God predicted beforehand stands as God's written witness to His Son given beforehand that the Father sent Him. His life testified to the truth of what God had foretold in Scripture, and the psalm stands among the prophecies giving the Messiah's picture and foretelling His experiences, including His death.
Beyond suffering, the psalm, especially its latter part, sets forth promises of an eternal reign of righteousness whose full fulfillment required the Lord's resurrection. The testimony that the fathers trusted and were delivered is used to show that Christ will break in pieces the oppressor in the final overthrow of ungodly rule.
Trust Brings Deliverance
Our fathers placed constant trust in God, and He saved them in their evil days. They trusted, and they were delivered out of severe distress. Their experience of trusting God and being helped gives reason to trust Him for present help and deliverance.
Spoken by Christ in His humanity, the verse shows Him with a troubled human heart facing the consummation, efficiency, and success of the plan of salvation. He questioned not God but whether He Himself was sufficient for the work, leaving His case in God's hand in trust as His fathers trusted and were delivered. He suffered temptation and doubt with strong crying, yet without sin and without distrust of God.
Christ's sufferings portrayed in the psalm reveal God's eternal justice and holiness, the enduring excellence and obligation of His law, and the grave guilt of sin. His suffering honored the divine law rather than granting permission to despise or disobey it. The psalm is filled with the experience of Jesus standing in the sinner's place during His earthly life and suffering, and its testimony to God's deliverance also reflects the Lord's work for His people.
Following Christ in Trust
The verse sets forth the experience of Jesus Christ for instruction and comfort, and that experience must become the experience of His followers so that the faith of Jesus may be developed in them. It shows the converse truth that He met in Himself all human experiences, trials, and conflicts, and that He is Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, and Fellow-helper as well as mighty Saviour all the journey through. Read as part of the account of His struggle and victory, it points to trust in God through severe distress and deliverance from it. It therefore encourages the tempted to look to His victory as both the pattern and the source of their own.
The psalm is prophecy of Christ in the flesh showing His feelings when He took the sins of humanity upon Himself and passed through just 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 those things. So followers of the Master in this world must fight hard battles against sinful craving. They must trust God for victory whether instantaneous or after agony, and thereby learn how to help others who fight.
The experience of earlier generations who trusted God and were delivered gives reason to trust Him for present help and deliverance. Recalling how they trusted and were delivered can serve as an argument in prayer, since past answers give grounds to plead with God in present trouble.