Our study of the great Psalm of Crucifixion entitled ‘The Crying Deer’ brings us to verses 22-31 which say, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live forever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindred of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD’S; and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon the earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the LORD for a generation. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”

As we look into these verses there is a calm and stillness.  The suffering storm of Calvary is over and our Saviour speaks.  I am extremely interested in the subject of his words immediately after Calvary’s price has been paid. 

In verse 22 we see our Saviour as both the preacher and music director in the gathering of the congregation.  Our Lord, once the price is paid, declares the works to his brethren.  He tells the ladies at the grave his first resurrection words. “Go to my brethren” I wonder why he didn’t tell the world?  He breaks out in praise not in a small group or while alone but in the congregation.  The word ‘praise’ is the Hebrew word ‘Haw-lal’ which means to be clear, to shine, to show out, to make a boast, to be clamorously foolish in public, to rave, and to celebrate.  If our Lord acted like this in telling us what He did at Calvary, how can we do less than this when we hear that it is done?  “We mention our sorrows readily enough; why are we so slow in declaring our deliverances?” (Spurgeon)

In verse 23 He invites all the seed of Jacob and Israel to join Him in this praise.  We find this address is to the ‘redeemed’ out of both Jews and Gentiles.  This praise flows out of a fear for Him.  The word ‘fear’ is not the knee knocking type but a reverential awe for God.  This fear is the beginning of all wisdom. 

In verse 24 we find our Lord is not bitter over the afflictions that have been laid upon Him.  He recounts the closing moments of Calvary when He hid not His face from the shame of this suffering.  When He cried to the Father, the curtain of forsaking between Him and the Father was lifted.  Let us remember that in our lowly humiliation is when we will be taken up and heard by the Father.

In verse 25 the subject of praise to the Father is again mentioned.  Let us mediate again on the before mentioned definition of praise.  Our Lord glories in the praise of His people.  He also in this verse reminds us of the ‘vows’ He has paid.  What did He vow while on Calvary’s Tree? In Isaiah 53 we are told that he saw his seed while in the travail of His soul and was satisfied. He has vowed to save a people from their sins.  He is not dying hoping they will be saved but He is giving His life’s blood knowing they will be saved.  When He was on the cross, I was on His mind.  What greater reason is there to give Him praise?

In verse 26 we are told of those who come to Calvary.  It is the ‘meek’ and those who have been brought low.  Pride is not welcomed at the foot of the Cross.  Those who come to Calvary respond the same.  They give Him praise because they have been allowed to seek Him.  They are told the words of Jesus from John’s gospel, “Whosoever eateth of this bread shall live forever”. 

Let us see in verse 27 the process of redemption in those for whom He died.  We see that first they will ‘remember’ the Lord.  This speaks of an awakening.  Then He says they shall ‘turn’ unto Him.  This speaks of repentance and a change of mind.  The natural outflow of remembrance and turning is that they worship Him.

Verse 28 reminds us that the suffering Saviour is now the Sovereign over all that is in heaven, earth, and under the earth.  He rules supreme!  We are told in verse 29 that even some of the rich and prosperous will come and worship Him.  The Bible tells us that the redeemed and the lost alike will bow the knee in the dust of death and confess that He is the Lord.  What a crushing thought that none can keep his soul alive. (Vs. 29)  What consolation to know that he that believeth in the Son shall never die.

In verse 30 we are told that no ‘strangers’ will come to Him but a seed (blood line), a generation of people that He purposed to bring to Himself in the ages before time.  In verse 31 this seed shall come from all over the world and shall declare boldly His righteous work on Calvary to all who are born on the earth.  How worthy Calvary is of our praise when we see it for what it really means to us, that Christ died just for me!