Psalms 21:0 ¶ To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.
This is yet another psalm identified as a composition of David, the shepherd King of Israel. It is a song of praise to God for giving the king victory over his enemies.
Psalms 21:1 ¶ The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!
Psalms 21:2 Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
King David is expressing his joy for the LORD’s provision of strength and salvation/deliverance from the enemy; in fact, it is a source of great rejoicing. He acknowledges that the LORD has answered the desire of his heart in accordance with his prayers.
Selah = Pause and meditate on this truth.
Like David, we should be quick to praise the LORD for answered prayer!
Psalms 21:3 For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
“preventest” = “precede…meet”
David thanks the LORD for going before him and making him prosperous in goodness and kindness. He acknowledges that it is the LORD that gave him the crown he wore as king.
Just as David recognized that the good things in his life were from the LORD, so should we.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Spurgeon: “All our mercies are to be viewed as “blessings; gifts of a blessed God, meant to make us blessed; they are “blessings of goodness,” not of merit, but of free favour; and they come to us in a preventing way, a way of prudent foresight, such as only preventing love could have arranged.”
Psalms 21:4 He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.
David had asked the LORD to make him strong in life and is giving thanks to the LORD for answering that prayer. I think the reference to giving him life forever is a reference to the fact that the LORD promised that his seed would rule forever on the throne of Israel—a promise that will culminate in Jesus taking the throne of David in the millennial kingdom.
2 Samuel 7:11–16 “Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever….thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”
Isaiah 9:6–7 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”
Luke 1:30–33 “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Psalms 21:5 His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.
Psalms 21:6 For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
Because the LORD had given him the victory, David was honored and glorified. Why? He knew that his blessings were a result of the LORD’s blessing upon him. David rejoiced at the LORD’s countenance or presence among them—a reference, I believe, to the tabernacle.
How blessed we are to have the LORD’s presence in our very being when we place our faith in Jesus as our Savior.
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”
Psalms 21:7 ¶ For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.
David boldly declared that his trust in the LORD was steadfast and unmovable because it was anchored in God’s lovingkindness.
We are so blessed as Christians today to be anchored in the family of God through the seal of the Holy Spirit when we accept God’s gift of salvation in Jesus.
Ephesians 1:12–14 “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
Psalms 21:8 Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
Psalms 21:9 Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.
Psalms 21:10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.
As David often does, he identifies his enemies as enemies of the LORD. He knows that the LORD knows who His enemies are and that He will destroy them and their descendants. What is not addressed is the timing of that judgment. I am sure that David was making application to his time as king.
The reference to destruction by fire cannot help but bring to mind the judgment of hell.
Matthew 13:49–50 “So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
Revelation 20:14–15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
We know that it is true that no enemy of the LORD will ever prove victorious against Him. It is true that He will exact His wrath against His enemies in accordance with His time and purposes. We also know it is true that every person is held accountable for their own sin and that every person has the opportunity to turn to God in repentance for salvation.
1 Chronicles 29:11 “Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.”
Isaiah 43:13 “Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?”
Nahum 1:2 “God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies.”
Ezekiel 18:20 “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son:”
Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Psalms 21:11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
Psalms 21:12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.
Why is God going to destroy His enemies? Because they plot evil against Him and His people—plots that will never succeed because they have no power against Almighty God.
David is confident that the enemies of the LORD will never prove victorious against Him; and, as noted previously, he considered his enemies and the LORD’s to be the same.
Psalms 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.
I liked the CJB translation for this verse: “Arise, ADONAI, in your strength;
and we will sing and praise your power.”
David identifies the desire to praise God in song as the inspiration behind this song.
Spurgeon: “Joy should always flow in the channel of praise. All the attributes of God are fitting subjects to be celebrated by the music of our hearts and voices, and when we observe a display of his power, we must extol it.”
Psa. 22:0 To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.
This preface is the author’s signature on this song. According to some of the different translations, it is also providing the chief Musician instructions as to the melody to be used for the song.
I’ve had this Psalm and the following two Psalms on my heart for a while. From the outset I know this one is going to be difficult for me in that David is expressing his heart, yet there are obvious prophetic connections to the heart of the Savior at the time of His crucifixion. I think it is an amazing evidence of the Holy Spirit’s inspiration to give David words that would connect to the heart of Jesus in His anguish and to the response of the people to this Man of God as he endured suffering.
Psa. 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
David is obviously at a time of despair in his life. He feels that God has left him on his own and is refusing to respond to his pleas for help.
Frankly, the first thoughts that come to mind when reading this verse are the words of Jesus from the cross.
Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
We know that Jesus was a son of David, the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. We also know that Jesus knew the scripture well. At the time of the utmost despair for our LORD, He used the words of the psalmist to express the feelings in His own heart. It was at that moment that He was separated from the Father—the one and only time that He has ever been out of fellowship with His Father. In that noble moment, He was experiencing the worst in His humanity. His heart immediately connected to the heart of His forefather David as expressed in this verse.
Psa. 22:2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
This verse tells us that David was persistent in his pleas to the LORD; he was praying day and night. However, he felt like he was talking to a void—to emptiness.
Psa. 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
This is one of those verses that make me think of the LORD’s declaration that David was a man after His own heart.
1Samuel 13:14 “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”
1Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
In spite of the LORD’s apparent rejection, David chooses to praise God. He affirms that God is holy—totally pure and righteous. David knows that God is still faithful to Israel and worthy of praise.
Psa. 22:4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
Psa. 22:5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
In these verses David reminds himself of God’s faithfulness to his ancestors. Their trust was rewarded with deliverance. When they prayed, God answered accordingly.
Every believer should take note of David’s example. In life we are going to experience tough times. During those times we should remember how God has worked in our lives and the lives of those we love. This will provide encouragement to keep trusting and waiting in patience for God to work according to His will and in His time.
Psa. 22:6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
Psa. 22:7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
Psa. 22:8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
David is so transparent. Just like us, his emotions go up and down. He takes a step forward only to take two backwards. He just reminded himself of God’s faithfulness, so now he turns to another excuse to wallow in his misery. He is basically saying, “but I’m not as worthy as they.” He compares himself to a worm; the Hebrew defines this as a maggot. He feels like everyone has judged him to be a fool. He has been bold about his trust that God would deliver him, and now everyone can see that God hasn’t. They are making fun of David who had taken such delight in his close relationship to God.
I couldn’t help but think of the words in Isaiah 53 that spoke of the coming Messiah.
Isaiah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
I also thought of the words of those who mocked Jesus on the cross.
Matthew 27:41-43 “Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.”
It’s so important for every believer to understand that God’s ways are not our ways.
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
What we determine to be rejection may actually be the hand of God at work in our lives and/or in the lives of those around us. His loving hand will shape and mold us into beautiful vessels of honor if we will but faithfully trust Him. God had already affirmed Jesus as His Son by many miracles. The religious leaders had rejected those signs, yet were asking for another. In the greatest act of love possible, God abandoned His Son to death on the cross for my sin.
Those who determine to be faithful to the LORD must be prepared to face ridicule, persecution and judgment from others. The prosperity gospel is in vogue today. This would relegate those who are “poor” (I speak in relative terms) or who suffer illness or other types of trouble to the position of Job before His friends. They just assumed that he was being punished rather than refined. They assumed he was in disfavor with God when he was actually being singled out by God for his faithfulness as a testimony to that faith.
Psa. 22:9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts.
Psa. 22:10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly.
David recognized God as the Creator of mankind, even from the mother’s womb. I think the last half of the verse is a statement as to how David felt he had learned about trust and faith from infancy. He was dependent upon his mother for nourishment. Her faithfulness to feed and nourish him was a powerful lesson about love and faithfulness to the baby David.
I think verse ten is a statement about David’s family. He was brought up in a family of faith. In David’s mind, he couldn’t remember a time that he didn’t know God as his God.
This is another important truth for Christian parents. We should begin laying a foundation of faith for our children from infancy. We should strive to example faithfulness and love with the intent to teach them how to understand God’s faithfulness and love. We should respond to the hard times that come our way with a faith that our children can see. It reminds me of the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” We are constantly painting pictures of reference for our children by how we choose to live our lives, by how we respond to all the good times and the bad times.
Psa. 22:11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
David is pleading with the LORD to make His presence known to him. It’s like David knows that God is there, but he is so distraught he needs a sign of assurance. He feels hemmed in by trouble and is in anguish that there is no one to help.
I can’t help but think of friends that I know who are going through some tough times. These friends have families and friends that love them. I know that as I try to give words of encouragement, I feel so helpless sometimes. As a time of testing seems to go on and on, I can imagine that even though surrounded by people that love them, they can feel that there is no one to help—because God seems to be “far from them.” They know that deliverance comes from Him, but there is no deliverance. That is how I picture David, though I don’t know the time in his life during which this psalm was written.
Psa. 22:12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
Psa. 22:13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
The psalmist seems to be using poetic language to describe his enemies. He compares them to strong bulls and feels like he has been surrounded. He pictures them as hungry lions ready to devour their prey.
I can also make a connection in my mind to the way the chief priest and his cohorts surrounded the LORD with determination to get Him sentenced to death. They never let up, no matter how Pilate tried to appease them and spare the life of Jesus. They were like a group of hungry lions with the intent of their pursuit, roaring loudly as they moved in for the kill.
Matthew 27:20-23 “But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.”
I was listening to Joe Focht and he noted that Bashan was the land of the giants, e.g., Og. This makes a connection to evil spiritual forces, the fallen angels, who were responsible for the giants through their sin with women of earth. And we know that evil spiritual forces were at work throughout, beginning with Satan himself when he took possession of Jude.
Psa. 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
Psa. 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
“bones” = “a bone (as strong); by extension, the body; figuratively, the substance.”
“out of joint” = “to break through, i.e. spread or separate… be out of joint, part…stretch”
“potsherd” = “a piece of broken pottery”
These are hard verses to understand pertaining to the psalmist, especially verse 14. I think the second phrase in verse 14 would better read, “my substance is spread thin” or “stretched to its limit.” David is painting a picture of a man who feels like he is facing death.
Again, one can’t help but be reminded of the crucifixion of Jesus. I’ve often heard it taught that Jesus died of a broken heart. I found the following explanation by Dr. C. Truman Davis at http://www.konnections.com/kcundick/crucifix.html regarding what happened when the soldier pierced His side to affirm He was dead: “The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John reports: ‘And immediately there came out blood and water.’ That is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac surrounding the heart, giving postmortem evidence that Our Lord died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.”
Other verses in John’s account of the crucifixion tell us how Jesus experienced dehydration and thirst as expressed in verse 15.
John 19:28-29 “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.”
Psa. 22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
David continues painting the picture of a man facing death at the hand of a group of his enemies. The CJB had an interesting translation that would seem to apply better to David: “Dogs are all around me, a pack of villains closes in on me like a lion [at] my hands and feet.”
Eerdman’s Dictionary has this to say about the use of “dogs” in the scripture: “In the Bible the dog (Heb. keleb≈) carries a very negative image, representing the despised, the unclean, or the enemy waiting to devour.”
Again, one can make a vivid connection to the crucifixion. Jesus was mocked by His enemies as He hung on the cross. He was surrounded by His enemies; only a few of His followers accompanied His sorrowing mother at the foot of the cross. The piercing of the hands and feet are so descriptive of the crucifixion. I found the following note on the history of crucifixion at http://www.bible.ca/d-history-archeology-crucifixion-cross.htm: “Britannica reports that the first historical record of Crucifixion was about 519 BC when "Darius I, king of Persia, crucified 3,000 political opponents in Babylon" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, crucifixion).
Some further detail is given in "The Eerdman's Bible Dictionary", Rev. Ed., 1975: CROSS ... Crucifixion is first attested among the Persians (cf. Herodotus, Hist. i.128.2; iii.132.2, 159.1), perhaps derived from the Assyrian impalement. It was later employed by the Greeks, especially Alexander the Great, and by the Carthaginians, from whom the Romans adapted the practice as a punishment for slaves and non-citizens, and occasionaly for citizens guilty of treason.”
This would have been at least 500 years after the time of David.
Psa. 22:17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
Psa. 22:18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
It continues to get harder to make application to David with these verses. Maybe it’s a poetic way of expressing his hunger. The Hebrew for look is interesting, “to scan, i.e. look intently at; by implication, to regard with pleasure….” David knows that his enemies enjoy the fact that he is suffering. As for his clothing, maybe David is thinking how they will enjoy the spoil they will take at his death.
Application to Jesus at the cross, however, is straight from scripture, and that scripture specifically states that the act was a fulfillment of prophecy, identifying David as a prophet.
Matthew 27:35 “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.”
Did David know he was prophesying? I think not, or I believe he would have declared it “in the name of the Lord.” It’s just another signature of the Holy Spirit regarding the unity of the whole of scripture under His authorship though he used 40 writers in the process. I enjoy listening to Chuck Missler, and he loves to make the following statement (taken from http://www.khouse.org/pages/the_joy_of_teaching_gods_word/chapter_1/).
“That the Bible, although composed of 66 books, penned by 40 different authors, over thousands of years, is an integrated pre-designed message system; and that the origin of this message system is from outside our time domain. It is truly extraterrestrial in its origin.”
Psa. 22:19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
This verse is very similar to verse 11. David is again asking God to be with Him and strengthen him; he doesn’t think he can hold on much longer on his own. The Hebrew for strengthen actually speaks of power and protection. David is telling God that he is depending on His power to protect him.
Psa. 22:20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
Psa. 22:21 Save me from the lion’s mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
I am reminded of learning in my study of Isaiah that a form of Jewish poetry is repetition. That helps one understand verse 20. The Hebrew for darling is a reference to life. So, again, David is praying for God to spare his life and deliver him from his enemies.
It’s interesting that in the last part of verse 21 David states that the LORD has heard him. At the beginning of the psalm he feels like the LORD is not listening to him; all of a sudden he expresses confidence that the LORD has heard him.
My first thought was that the phrase “horns of the unicorns” made reference to the altar in the temple, but I couldn’t find any support for that though I searched many resources. The altar had a horn at each corner, which could represent the horns of four unicorns or one-horned beasts. Although I can’t support it, I still feel that David has found strength in prayer at the altar—be it the real one or the one pictured in his heart.
Psa. 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
David boldly promises to praise the name of the LORD to his people. No longer is he wallowing in his fear. He has been given a sense of the nearness of the Lord just as he had asked.
I personally believe that God will always bless us with the sense of His presence if we will but diligently seek and ask.
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
I liked the comments of JFB on these verses in Matthew: “We ask for what we wish; we seek for what we miss; we knock for that from which we feel ourselves shut out. Answering to this threefold representation is the triple assurance of success to our believing efforts. ‘But ah!’ might some humble disciple say, ‘I cannot persuade myself that I have any interest with God.’ To meet this, our Lord repeats the triple assurance He had just given, but in such a form as to silence every such complaint.”
Psa. 22:23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
David now sends words of encouragement to all that “fear the LORD.” The Hebrew for fear refers to reverence. Obviously, this message is directed to the people of Israel, the seed of Jacob. David encourages the people to honor the LORD, to praises and glorify Him, to stand in awe of Him.
Psa. 22:24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
David continues to express confidence that the Lord hears the cries of His people; He doesn’t refuse to listen to their cries. He hears with understanding and discernment.
Psa. 22:25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
David affirms his commitment to praise God publicly before the people as he promised he would previously (cf verse 22).
Psa. 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
“meek” = “depressed (figuratively), in mind (gentle) or circumstances (needy, especially saintly):—humble, lowly, meek, poor.”
Most of the translations use poor for the word meek, but I think it applies more to the humble. It’s talking about those who recognize their need before the LORD and are trusting in Him to provide for them. Their trust will never be disappointed. Granted, as David is learning, the provision may not come when and how they would like—but it will come in God’s timing according to His purpose.
Those who trust the LORD will praise the LORD. It’s an expression of their confidence in Him. This reminds me of the definition of faith in Hebrews.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (NIV)
David is using the heart to represent the person in this verse. Men and women of faith can look forward to living forever with the LORD.
Psa. 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
Psa. 22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor among the nations.
David is looking forward to the future; he seems to be prophesying of the Messianic Kingdom in these verses. I don’t think he was expecting “all” the people of the nations to worship the LORD in his day. David is aware that the LORD is on the throne whether the people of the world recognize Him or not. The day is coming when the people of earth will recognize the working of God throughout history according to His word and will turn back to Him in faith and worship. David knew that the LORD would one day establish His kingdom on earth. Just as I wonder how things are going to come down based on the revelation given me, I’m sure David wondered the same. Just as I have ideas about the possibilities, I’m sure David did also. It doesn’t matter whether we understand all the whys and wherefores; like David, I know that day is coming.
Psa. 22:29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
The first part of this verse has reference to those who are rich in light of their presence in the kingdom; they will be part of the LORD’s earthly kingdom and will enjoy fellowship with other people of faith as they worship Him. The next phrase references those that have died—believers and unbelievers. Scripture tells us that there is a time coming when every knee shall bow before the LORD. The prophet Isaiah confirmed this truth.
Isaiah 45:22-23 “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
The apostle Paul also stated this truth.
Philippians 2:10-11 “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The last phrase is a statement of the truth that life is only found in the LORD. Man has no hope for the future outside of faith in Jesus. There is nothing one can do to earn eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Psa. 22:30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
Psa. 22:31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
I think the NLT gets closest to expressing the intent of these verses: “Future generations will also serve him. Our children will hear about the wonders of the Lord. His righteous acts will be told to those yet unborn. They will hear about everything he has done.”
What has to be noted is that these future generations will not know unless they are taught. David was confident that they would know because he, for one, was going to teach his children. Our lives lay a foundation for the future of our children and their children etc.
“that he hath done this” – Done what?
Been faithful to the faithful.
Shown Himself able to deliver from the most hopeless of circumstances.
Embraces the praise of His people.
Responds to the prayer and worship of His people.
Rewards the meek.