22 I will tell of Your name to my brethren ; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. 23 You who fear the Lord , praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob , glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel . 24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted ; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help , He heard . 25 From You comes my praise in the great assembly ; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him. 26 The afflicted will eat and be satisfied ; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord . Let your heart live forever ! 27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord , And all the families of the nations will worship before You. 28 For the kingdom is the Lord'S And He rules over the nations . 29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship , All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive . 30 Posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation . 31 They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born , that He has performed it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 22:22-31
Commentary on Psalm 22:22-31
(Read Psalm 22:22-31)
The Saviour now speaks as risen from the dead. The first words of the complaint were used by Christ himself upon the cross; the first words of the triumph are expressly applied to him, Hebrews 2:12. All our praises must refer to the work of redemption. The suffering of the Redeemer was graciously accepted as a full satisfaction for sin. Though it was offered for sinful men, the Father did not despise or abhor it for our sakes. This ought to be the matter of our thanksgiving. All humble, gracious souls should have a full satisfaction and happiness in him. Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness in Christ, shall not labour for that which satisfies not. Those that are much in praying, will be much in thanksgiving. Those that turn to God, will make conscience of worshipping before him. Let every tongue confess that he is Lord. High and low, rich and poor, bond and free, meet in Christ. Seeing we cannot keep alive our own souls, it is our wisdom, by obedient faith, to commit our souls to Christ, who is able to save and keep them alive for ever. A seed shall serve him. God will have a church in the world to the end of time. They shall be accounted to him for a generation; he will be the same to them that he was to those who went before them. His righteousness, and not any of their own, they shall declare to be the foundation of all their hopes, and the fountain of all their joys. Redemption by Christ is the Lord's own doing. Here we see the free love and compassion of God the Father, and of our Lord Jesus Christ, for us wretched sinners, as the source of all grace and consolation; the example we are to follow, the treatment as Christians we are to expect, and the conduct under it we are to adopt. Every lesson may here be learned that can profit the humbled soul. Let those who go about to establish their own righteousness inquire, why the beloved Son of God should thus suffer, if their own doings could atone for sin? Let the ungodly professor consider whether the Saviour thus honoured the Divine law, to purchase him the privilege of despising it. Let the careless take warning to flee from the wrath to come, and the trembling rest their hopes upon this merciful Redeemer. Let the tempted and distressed believer cheerfully expect a happy end of every trial.