Devotional Reading from Psalm 22:22-31
Psalm 22:22–31
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
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.
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.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation:
I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied:
They shall praise the Lord that seek him:
Your heart shall live for ever.
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.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s:
And he is the governor among the nations.
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.
30 A seed shall serve him;
It shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness
Unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Have you ever taken one of those customer satisfaction surveys?
They ask, “are you pleased with your purchase?” Have you ever wondered if our Lord filled out one of those surveys what it would say about what he bought?
I believe we see in this portion of Psalm 22.
There is an obvious change in mood in comparison to the previous verses in this Psalm. We have been reading of pain but now we read praise. I believe it is because the suffering of the cross is over and the purpose behind the pain is being celebrated by our Lord. This portion of the Psalm is what the author of Hebrews was talking about when it said,
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
The Lord is pictured here as having endured the cross and now he enjoys his purchased possession.
I am so humbled and happy to know that my Lord is happy with his purchase. He is glad he made the deal. He considers us worth the pain! The opening words of our reading is quoted in Hebrews 2 as a reference to him.
Hebrews 2:11–12
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
He is not ashamed to call us family. I would be ashamed of me, but he is not ashamed to call me a brother.
I also see him active in worship. I knew that he promised that when two or three gathered in his name that he would be in the midst, but I didn’t know that he actually participated in the service. Hebrews 2:12 which quotes this Psalm shows him singing along with us. I imagine him beside me during the praise time smiling and singing at the top of his lungs. He is no longer suffering but singing with me! Can you believe that? He is singing with Me! I am not worthy. I am not even a member of the chosen people of Israel and yet he has brought me into his fold (Ps. 22:27). What did I do to deserve this privilege? The last words of this wonderful Psalm say it all,
“...He hath done this.” Psalm 22:31
When he said, “it is finished,” he meant that he paid it all!
He bought us, he claims us, he worships with us and rejoices that he made the ultimate transaction.
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