Psalm 22:26-31 - "Shall Eat and Be Satisfied"

“The poor shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the LORD. Let your heart live forever!" Today we will finish our study on Psalm 22. Remember when we started looking at Psalm 22, we said that Psalms 22, 23, and 24 form a trilogy on Christ the Shepherd. In Psalm 22, the Good Shepherd dies for the sheep (John 10:1-18).  In Psalm 23, the Great Shepherd lives for the sheep and cares for them (Heb. 13:20-21).  And in Psalm 24, the Chief Shepherd returns in glory to reward His sheep for their service (1 Peter 5:4). Psalm 22:1-21 gives us a powerful prophecy of the Good Shepherd suffering for the sheep! In those verses we can clearly see the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering of Jesus as He hung on the cross from 9am in the morning until 3pm in the afternoon.  It was during the last three hours of darkness that Jesus experienced His own Father forsaking Him as the wrath of God was poured out on Him for our sins! Psalm 22:22-25 takes us from the suffering and prayer of the Lord on the cross to the praise and glory of His resurrection. Now in verses 26-29, we move forward in prophecy to a view of the Messiah’s glorious kingdom! The image here in these verses is that of a feast, which was a familiar picture to the Jews of the anticipated Messianic kingdom (Isa. 25:6-9; Matt. 8:10-12; Luke 13:29; 14:15). When a Jewish worshiper brought a peace offering to the Lord, he retained part of it to use for a feast for himself, his family, and any friends he wanted to invite (Lev. 3; 7:15); and this tradition became a picture of the future glorious kingdom. But believing Gentiles will be also included in this feast (v. 27), and Messiah will reign over all the earth. God promised Abraham that his descendants would bring blessing to the whole world (Gen. 12:1-3). This has been fulfilled in the coming of Christ to die for the world, but when He comes again, it will have a glorious fulfillment in the establishing of His glorious kingdom. Both the poor and the prosperous will submit to Him and eat and drink at His table in the Kingdom (vv. 26 & 29), and find their satisfaction in His grace alone. “All those who go down to the dust Shall bow before Him…”. I can’t help but think of Philippians 2:8-11, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” This chapter ends speaking of the generations to come (vv. 30-31). The blessings of the atonement and the kingdom will not be temporary but perpetual, from one generation to another. Three generations are listed here: Those who saw and experienced the cross physically and personally. They shared the good news of the cross and resurrection with “The next generation”. And finally, and inclusively, “a people that shall be born”. This is speaking of us today!!!!! We are the “other sheep which were not of this fold” (John 10:16). But the emphasis isn't on what God's children have done but on the fact that the Lord did it all: "That He has done this" (v. 31). "It is finished" is what Jesus cried from the cross (John 19:30). I highly recommend every year at Easter time, on Good Friday, that you take the time to read and meditate on Psalm 22. Also, you should read the fulfillment of this chapter in Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24, and John 19-20. Your heart will be better prepared to worship the crucified and risen Lord Jesus in a very special way during Passion Week if you will do this! God bless!