You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! 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. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
This Psalm perhaps contains some thoughts on how Jesus may have felt on the cross. Even though this Psalm was written by David, it does not correspond to any particular period of his life. Consequently, it is considered to be a prophetic Psalm written to describe the suffering of the Messiah. The first part contains a detailed description of crucifixion written in a time and culture that knew nothing of it. This is one of the Psalms Jesus meditated upon and prayed while He was on the cross. It conveys the pain He felt from not just the physical suffering, but also the more excruciating anguish he experienced from being total abandoned by His Father. Although we may experience physical pain as great or greater than Jesus felt, we cannot even conceive of the agony of His spiritual and emotional suffering or the total separation from His Father. He endured it so we don’t have to.
The second half of the Psalm, beginning with verse 23 is a song of triumph even in the midst of abandonment. Jesus knew that because He was abandoned, He had accomplished His task. He was still suffering and He would die but He knew that this was the Father’s plan. It was accomplished. Jesus knew that now deliverance and salvation had come upon those who lived in darkness and in the fear of death. The way was now opened into heaven for Jew and Gentile alike, for all those who are humble and totally broken to accept the gift that Jesus has given, full and final payment for all their sins.
We can find that meditating on this Psalm in prayer in a time of suffering can be quite helpful and comforting. As we reflect on the experience and sorrow of the speaker and of Jesus, we can realize how much he knows and understands what we are going through. This can help us endure and even rejoice in the midst of our anguish.