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8/17 Reading Portions: 1 Samuel 9; Romans 7; Jeremiah 46; Psalm 22
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. Psalm 22:24
AFFLICTED
The 22nd Psalm is a Messianic psalm. It is prophetic of Jesus Christ, written by David 1,000 years before Christ was crucified, and hundreds of years before capital punishment upon a stake was even invented. Jesus, who has borne our grief and carried our sorrows, was…
…smitten by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4
As the most afflicted Man who ever lived, Jesus Christ…
…was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; Isaiah 53:3
Yet YHVH God, who is to be praised and feared (Psa 22:3), did not despise or abhor Christ’s affliction (v24a). The heavenly Father did not hide His face from the Son of God (v24b), for…
...it pleased the LORD to bruise Him [and] put Him to grief: Isaiah 53:10, KJV
Why? Because Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice paid the penalty for the sins of all those whom God would redeem by His grace. Moreover, the heavenly Father heard every cry of the Lord Jesus (v24c), including His despairing cry:
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Psalm 22:1; see also Matthew 27:46
Because God has saved us by His grace through faith in Christ (Eph 2:8-9), the righteousness of Christ is placed upon our account (Rom 5:19). Therefore, whatever affliction we may suffer, whether physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, the heavenly Father will not despise us or abhor us. He will not hide His face from those He has redeemed in Christ. For Christ’s sake, God the Father will not ignore our prayers. He hears our every cry with an eternal and loving ear. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
God, our Father, does not despise
His people in affliction;
He views us with redemption eyes
By our Lord’s crucifixion.
