Prophet’s Reading Plan: Ezekiel 37-38
Messianic Prophecy
Read: Psalm 22
This
Davidic Psalm is a Psalm of the cross. It is a prophecy of Christ’s suffering
and the record of many of His dying words.
In this Psalm we see the sufferings of Christ and the glory that
follows. The gospels give us an account
of Jesus sufferings from the viewpoint of witnesses but this Psalm reveals the
viewpoint of Christ. It begins in verse
1 with Jesus’ famous cry, “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?” (See also Matt. 27:46). The first half of the Psalm depicts a sufferer
who is surrounded by enemies and who feels forsaken by God. (Verses 7 and 8 are referenced in Matthew
27:39, 43). In this Psalm we find David
crying out for deliverance and at the same time we see that he places his hope
and trust in the Lord, based on God’s past faithfulness. The second half of the Psalm expresses the
joy of deliverance. This praise
encourages all those who fear God to praise Him and is confident that all will
turn to the Lord (vs. 27).
Overview:
Verses 1-21: A cry for help
Verses 22-31: A foretaste of
deliverance
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
1.
David
felt the distress of unanswered prayer (vs. 2) but He did not blame God,
instead He trusted God and spoke of His greatness (vs. 3-5). How do you respond to unanswered prayer? Do you blame God or quit praying or do you
press in and keep on knocking?
2.
David
also knew the distress of being mocked (vs. 6), they mocked him for his trust
in the Lord, yet He continued to trust and recall God’s loving care. Have you experienced persecution for your
faith in the Lord? Ask the Lord to
strengthen you and to help your trust in Him to grow in spite of the mockery.
3.
David
committed to praising God when God answered his prayer (vs. 22-23). He knew that the Lord would vindicate Him
through this trial. Pray that the Lord
would do the same for you and that you would patiently wait for that
vindication.
