Psalm 22:22 “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.”
[You, the prayer-answering, all-wise, infinitely powerful, all-good God, are worthy of praise. You are Yahweh, Elohim and Adonai, the God of perfect character, marvelous wisdom, rich love, unending righteousness and immeasurable power. Yes, before all I will declare your name and praise you!]
Psalm 22:23 “You who fear the LORD, praise him!”
[To fear the Lord is to stand in awe of His power and greatness, His hatred of sin and love of righteousness; it is to care deeply what He thinks about things, and obey Him fully. This leads to praise, worship and thanksgiving from us and those who are around us, it leads to honor and glory for Him.]
“All you descendants of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!”
[To honor and revere you, Lord God, with enthusiasm and joy are the responses of those who spend time in worship and your Word. Then they can see your beautiful and majestic Character, Lord God, the Triune Ruler and Perfect One.]
Psalm 22:24 “For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one;
[You were very much aware of Jesus’ suffering, Father, and you allowed it, knowing that it was necessary for Him to be the perfect Savior: “Because [Jesus] himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 18).
Jesus “endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 12:4). You valued His suffering because you knew it was necessary; at the same time He was able to reject the shame of his suffering because He looked forward to what it would do in saving many and giving His Father glory.
You are also aware of the suffering of your children, ever giving them the grace needed to move through with power and become more like Christ. Help us to not despise or disdain the suffering you allow into our lives, but to look beyond it in joy to what it will accomplish in our lives and to the honor it will bring to you as we respond in faith.]
“he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
[You came in at the right time and rescued Jesus, not from the cross, but from the grave; you are the absolutely reliable One. You also did this repeatedly for David when he cried out to you, who wrote, “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles” (Ps. 34:6).
And you do the same in our lives when we flee to you for help: “The angel of the Lord encamps round about those who fear him and delivers them” (Psalm 34:7).
As David so confidently states in Ps. 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” Help us to consistently run to you, Lord, for refuge in each situation, to fear you, not men, to trust you, not ourselves.]
