PSALM 22:16–31 A Confident Confession
READ: PSALM 22:16–31
v. 24 “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.”
David wrote Psalm 22 to express his need of deliverance and his confidence that this deliverance would be given. This psalm summarizes the consistent pattern of hardship and persecution in David’s life. Suffering did not happen to David once or twice, but regularly and often. Yet, although David’s suffering was at times very bitter, God always answered his prayer.
Since David saw that God always answered him, the tone of the second half of Psalm 22 changes to a confident confession. The cry of despair in verse 1 gives way to an amazing confession of faith in verse 24. David knew that God heard him. David was confident that his affliction was known to the LORD and that deliverance was on the way. Since God’s attention and help are never in doubt, his children need to trust him and wait. This became the message of the psalm to the congregation (v. 25). David called others to celebrate God’s love, grace, and deliverance with him. God’s help is so certain that we can rejoice in it before it is even given.
If Psalm 22 illustrates the suffering of the Lord Jesus on our behalf, it also speaks of his victory. The Lord Jesus cried out in pain on the cross. This cry was heard, just as David wrote in verse 24. God did not despise the affliction of the afflicted. God did forsake his Son for a time and for a purpose—but then he showed him his love again! The apostles later preached how God the Father raised up his Son by his mighty power. The Lord Jesus was a faithful, obedient, and innocent Son. Therefore, after he endured all, he was glorified in his resurrection and ascension. Like David, the Lord Jesus expressed his confidence in his future deliverance. Before the cross he already felt sure of the resurrection. This is why he did not shrink back from his path, even at the hardest points.
The suffering and glory of Jesus are a pattern that all believers share in. There are times in this life when we must walk the path of suffering. But we know that we may share in the victory that the Lord has accomplished. God does not despise the affliction of the afflicted. Our deliverance is sure, and we can even rejoice while we wait.
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