This psalm of David poses a puzzle. The speaker’s hands and feet are pierced (verse 16), his bony frame exposed (verse 17) as he experiences fatal dehydration (verse 15). This is not describing illness or persecution but rather an execution. Nothing like this ever happened to David, and the usual cries for justice are absent. It’s as if this were a punishment that, though not deserved, must be submitted to. Jesus understood this psalm to be about his death (Matthew 27:46). Here, then, we have something remarkable—a look into the horror and agony of his heart, described by Jesus himself.
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