They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
The verse records that the forefathers kept constant trust in God in evil times, crying out to Him and being surely rescued, trusting in Him and never being left to fall or put to shame. The psalm as a whole, including this verse, sets forth in the flesh the experience of Jesus Christ, David's greater Son, when the sins of the world were laid upon Him, foreshadowing His lowly life, rejection, unjust trial, betrayal, condemnation, suffering and death on the cross, fulfilled literally at Calvary and seen in the closing acts of the Gospels. It belongs to the prophetic picture of His inner human experience standing in the sinner's place even unto death, His human heart trembling over sufficiency for the plan of salvation and shut by human limitation from knowledge of His triumph, yet leaving His case in God's hand by crying and trusting for deliverance without being confounded, pouring out His soul with strong crying and tears from greatness of desire, and in all such temptation and doubt there was no sin and no distrust of God. Those sufferings reveal God's eternal justice and holiness and the unchanging excellence and binding force of His law and the grave guilt of sin, honoring the divine law rather than purchasing permission to disregard it. The setting forth of His experience gives instruction and comfort, showing Him as Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, Fellow-helper, and mighty Saviour all the journey through, whose victorious outcome assures that those who trust in God can also come through temptation as conquerors.
Meaning and Context
The fathers put constant trust in God in their evil days, and he saved them, so that their crying to him brought sure deliverance and their trusting meant they were never left to fall or confounded. Their crying was answered with deliverance without fail, and their trust was answered with preservation from falling and shame.
The verse exemplifies the pattern of the Psalms to begin with a deep sense of need and to end in triumph and confidence in God. It belongs to a psalm whose latter part 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.
Prophecy of Christ
Psalm 22, including this verse, sets forth the experience in the flesh of Jesus Christ, David's greater Son, in what He passed through when the sins of the world were laid upon Him. In measure it was also David's own experience as typical of Christ's, while its full agony and sacrifice were realized in Christ. The psalm is prophetic of the Lord in His humiliation and depicts Christ's sufferings prophetically. It clearly presents God's foreknowledge of Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion and is to be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion.
The psalm is a prophecy of Christ's first coming whose fulfillment is seen in the closing acts of the Gospels, from His sufferings to the cross, and was fulfilled literally at Calvary. It foretells the Messiah's lowly life, rejection, unjust trial, suffering and death, including His words on the cross. The psalm is filled with the experience of Jesus standing in the sinner's place on earth and passing through suffering for sinners' sake, even suffering connected with His death on the cross. It describes the experience of Jesus Christ and gives insight into struggles of His life that the Gospel accounts do not fully reveal. It predicts Jesus' prayers of agony, which He offered on behalf of humanity as He suffered and bore sin in His vicarious sacrifice.
As prophecy of Christ in His humanity, the psalm shows His human heart and human feelings trembling over whether He Himself was sufficient for the work of the plan of salvation, questioning Himself and not God. It shows Him brought to the place where human limitation shut from Him the knowledge of His triumph, so that all He could do was leave His case in the hand of God, crying to God and trusting in God for deliverance without being confounded. It is prophecy of Christ in the flesh and shows His feelings when He took the sins of humanity upon Himself and passed through what the sinner must pass through in overcoming sin. His pouring out of His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death did not earn or purchase the deliverance He desired but flowed from the greatness of His desire, and His followers in this world follow the same pattern. In all such temptation and doubt there was no sin and no distrust of God.
Christ's sufferings portrayed here reveal God's eternal justice and holiness, the unchanging excellence and binding force of His law, and the grave guilt of sin. His suffering honors the divine law and does not purchase permission to disregard it. The verse belongs to a group of Old Testament predictions that the life of Jesus fulfilled as scriptural witness to Christ. Its prediction of the tragedy of Christ's suffering and death helped Nicodemus recognize that the crucifixion was the sacrifice of God's Son for the world. The setting forth of the experience of Jesus Christ gives instruction and comfort, showing Jesus as Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, Fellow-helper, and mighty Saviour all the journey through. He met in Himself all the experiences, trials, and conflicts of His followers, and His experience there must also become their experience so the faith of Jesus may be developed in them.
Trust Brings Deliverance
Those who cried out to God were delivered, and those who trusted in him were not put to shame and were not confounded. God's past deliverance of his people stands as reassurance that trust in him brings help. The psalm sets forth the struggle Jesus passed through and its victorious outcome, and his victory shows that those who trust in God can also come through temptation as conquerors. That same deliverance undergirds assurance that God's word will be fulfilled, for when prophecy is fulfilled its words agree with history, so that God's believing children who trust his word need not be ashamed or confounded when prophecy is tested.
Trust in the Lord will not be put to shame but holds firm during bitter persecution even under threat of death. It keeps believers adoring God under his justice, fleeing to his heart under his wrath, and fearing him under threat of extermination. It keeps them blessing the stroke of his hand under ills and death as blows of a tempest that bring them into port. So those who call on God are delivered and those who trust in him will not be confounded, giving comfort to persecuted believers who find refuge in God despite having no peace or rest on earth.
The verse records that the forefathers kept constant trust in God in evil times, crying out to Him and being surely rescued, trusting in Him and never being left to fall or put to shame. The psalm as a whole, including this verse, sets forth in the flesh the experience of Jesus Christ, David's greater Son, when the sins of the world were laid upon Him, foreshadowing His lowly life, rejection, unjust trial, betrayal, condemnation, suffering and death on the cross, fulfilled literally at Calvary and seen in the closing acts of the Gospels. It belongs to the prophetic picture of His inner human experience standing in the sinner's place even unto death, His human heart trembling over sufficiency for the plan of salvation and shut by human limitation from knowledge of His triumph, yet leaving His case in God's hand by crying and trusting for deliverance without being confounded, pouring out His soul with strong crying and tears from greatness of desire, and in all such temptation and doubt there was no sin and no distrust of God. Those sufferings reveal God's eternal justice and holiness and the unchanging excellence and binding force of His law and the grave guilt of sin, honoring the divine law rather than purchasing permission to disregard it. The setting forth of His experience gives instruction and comfort, showing Him as Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, Fellow-helper, and mighty Saviour all the journey through, whose victorious outcome assures that those who trust in God can also come through temptation as conquerors.
Meaning and Context
The fathers put constant trust in God in their evil days, and he saved them, so that their crying to him brought sure deliverance and their trusting meant they were never left to fall or confounded. Their crying was answered with deliverance without fail, and their trust was answered with preservation from falling and shame.
The verse exemplifies the pattern of the Psalms to begin with a deep sense of need and to end in triumph and confidence in God. It belongs to a psalm whose latter part 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.
Prophecy of Christ
Psalm 22, including this verse, sets forth the experience in the flesh of Jesus Christ, David's greater Son, in what He passed through when the sins of the world were laid upon Him. In measure it was also David's own experience as typical of Christ's, while its full agony and sacrifice were realized in Christ. The psalm is prophetic of the Lord in His humiliation and depicts Christ's sufferings prophetically. It clearly presents God's foreknowledge of Jesus' betrayal and crucifixion and is to be read in connection with His betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion.
The psalm is a prophecy of Christ's first coming whose fulfillment is seen in the closing acts of the Gospels, from His sufferings to the cross, and was fulfilled literally at Calvary. It foretells the Messiah's lowly life, rejection, unjust trial, suffering and death, including His words on the cross. The psalm is filled with the experience of Jesus standing in the sinner's place on earth and passing through suffering for sinners' sake, even suffering connected with His death on the cross. It describes the experience of Jesus Christ and gives insight into struggles of His life that the Gospel accounts do not fully reveal. It predicts Jesus' prayers of agony, which He offered on behalf of humanity as He suffered and bore sin in His vicarious sacrifice.
As prophecy of Christ in His humanity, the psalm shows His human heart and human feelings trembling over whether He Himself was sufficient for the work of the plan of salvation, questioning Himself and not God. It shows Him brought to the place where human limitation shut from Him the knowledge of His triumph, so that all He could do was leave His case in the hand of God, crying to God and trusting in God for deliverance without being confounded. It is prophecy of Christ in the flesh and shows His feelings when He took the sins of humanity upon Himself and passed through what the sinner must pass through in overcoming sin. His pouring out of His soul with strong crying and tears even unto death did not earn or purchase the deliverance He desired but flowed from the greatness of His desire, and His followers in this world follow the same pattern. In all such temptation and doubt there was no sin and no distrust of God.
Christ's sufferings portrayed here reveal God's eternal justice and holiness, the unchanging excellence and binding force of His law, and the grave guilt of sin. His suffering honors the divine law and does not purchase permission to disregard it. The verse belongs to a group of Old Testament predictions that the life of Jesus fulfilled as scriptural witness to Christ. Its prediction of the tragedy of Christ's suffering and death helped Nicodemus recognize that the crucifixion was the sacrifice of God's Son for the world. The setting forth of the experience of Jesus Christ gives instruction and comfort, showing Jesus as Fellow-sufferer, Fellow-sympathizer, Fellow-helper, and mighty Saviour all the journey through. He met in Himself all the experiences, trials, and conflicts of His followers, and His experience there must also become their experience so the faith of Jesus may be developed in them.
Trust Brings Deliverance
Those who cried out to God were delivered, and those who trusted in him were not put to shame and were not confounded. God's past deliverance of his people stands as reassurance that trust in him brings help. The psalm sets forth the struggle Jesus passed through and its victorious outcome, and his victory shows that those who trust in God can also come through temptation as conquerors. That same deliverance undergirds assurance that God's word will be fulfilled, for when prophecy is fulfilled its words agree with history, so that God's believing children who trust his word need not be ashamed or confounded when prophecy is tested.
Trust in the Lord will not be put to shame but holds firm during bitter persecution even under threat of death. It keeps believers adoring God under his justice, fleeing to his heart under his wrath, and fearing him under threat of extermination. It keeps them blessing the stroke of his hand under ills and death as blows of a tempest that bring them into port. So those who call on God are delivered and those who trust in him will not be confounded, giving comfort to persecuted believers who find refuge in God despite having no peace or rest on earth.