A Song of Praise With Confidence
March 17, 2024
Commentary
The first half of this psalm examined the terrible shame and suffering of Jesus hanging on the cross. Those verses let us know something of what Jesus thought, of how He suffered, and of how He prayed when He was on the cross. However, in today’s passage the scene shifts from a song of lament to a song of praise with a confidence that God the Father is nearby. Instead of a scene of sorrow it is a scene of happiness. Five times in these ten verses Jesus says:
1. “You who fear the Lord, praise Him” – (v. 23).
2. “Those who seek Him (Jesus) will praise the Lord” – (v. 26).
3. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord” – (v. 27).
4. “For the kingdom is the Lord’s” – (v. 28).
5. “It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation” – (v. 30).
Our text in this psalm includes all peoples, all families, all races, and all cultures. It calls for all to come to the resurrected, exalted, glorified Lord whom the Father has delivered from death. The spread of the gospel to all the nations has always been an essential part of the plan of God. Unborn generations are depending on our faithfulness today. As we teach our children about the Lord, they will teach their children and in turn their children’s children. World missions has not been an innovation of modern times but a biblical priority from the beginning. The question is, do we want to be a part of it and enter that exciting process by being contagious.
Application
It is my desire that my life might become contagious for the Lord and spread to others. If that is going to happen in my life I must be filled with compassion, love, and boldness. It also means that I must have JOY (Jesus, others, and myself - in that order). It means that I maintain the right priorities in my life (Matt. 6:33).
Psalms 22:22– 31 (NET)
Verses not found.
Illustration: Nicholes quotMeasles Are Contagious”
I remember when I was in elementary school that there was an epidemic of measles broke out that was so contagious that it spread through the school like wild fire. Suddenly I became very conscious of who I talked with, realizing that I could catch a sickness that I didn’t want. It came to the point that the school almost had to be closed because many of the teachers and students were down and out. Finally the inevitable happened and my body broke out all over with red blotches. I itched like crazy and had to stay home in bed for several days. In this same way we become contagious in the way we act. I mean by this that our actions and attitude rub off on other people. (Lou Nicholes – Author and Missionary with Word of Life Fellowship).