Chp.98-99 ~ Christ Suffered The Wrath Of God In The Flesh
Justin is laboring to show that David's prayer is a mirror image of Christ's sufferings on the night of his betrayal and the day of his death. The wrath and curse inflicted to his flesh could not destroy his eternal soul. Nevertheless, his soul indeed was afflicted with the struggle to pass from this body of death into the glory of his Father's honor. It was the will of the flesh that was seeking another way, but the understanding that was in him would not submit to his flesh but would only honor his Father's command. In his flesh, he could not have peace and rest understanding the thought of enduring the death penalty as a substitute for sinners to satisfy the demands of God's Justice. He was about to fill up in his flesh the sufferings necessary to pay the redemption price for the slaves of sin. So this Psalm is as much about David as it is Christ. For this is the answer of rest and peace to the sufferings of David who sinned in his very soul (Ezk.18:20). Christ is forsaken, being innocent of all sin so that the Father could say, "Peace and rest," to the groanings of David's sin-filled soul. “I shall repeat the whole Psalm, in order that you may hear His reverence to the Father, and how He refers all things to Him, and prays to be delivered by Him from this death; at the same time declaring in the Psalm who they are that rise up against Him, and showing that He has truly become man capable of suffering. Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 248). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. Psalm 21:title–23 (Brenton LXX En) For the end, concerning the morning aid, a Psalm of David. 1 O God, my God, attend to me: why hast thou forsaken me? the account of my transgressions is far from my salvation [innocence]. 2 O my God, I will cry to thee by day, but thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be accounted for folly to me. 3 But thou, the praise of Israel, dwellest in a sanctuary. 4 Our fathers hoped in thee; they hoped, and thou didst deliver them. 5 They cried to thee, and were saved: they hoped in thee, and were not ashamed. 6 But I am a worm, and not a man; a reproach of men, and scorn of the people. 7 All that saw me mocked me: they spoke with their lips, they shook the head, saying, 8 He hoped in the Lord: let him deliver him, let him save him, because he takes pleasure in him. 9 For thou art he that drew me out of the womb; my hope from my mother’s breasts. 10 I was cast on thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. 11 Stand not aloof from me; for affliction is near; for there is no helper. 12 Many bullocks have compassed me: fat bulls have beset me round. 13 They have opened their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are loosened: my heart in the midst of my belly is become like melting wax. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue is glued to my throat; and thou hast brought me down to the dust of death. 16 For many dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked doers has beset me round: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17 They counted all my bones; and they observed and looked upon me. 18 They parted my garments among themselves, and cast lots upon my raiment. 19 But thou, O Lord, remove not my help afar off: be ready for mine aid. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my only-begotten one from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion’s mouth; and regard my lowliness from the horns of the unicorns. 22 I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I sing praise to thee. 23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye seed of Jacob, glorify him: let all the seed of Israel fear him.
And when I had said these words, I continued: “Now I will demonstrate to you that the whole Psalm refers thus to Christ, by the words which I shall again explain. What is said at first—‘O God, my God, attend to me: why hast Thou forsaken me?’—announced from the beginning that which was to be said in the time of Christ. For when crucified, He spake: ‘O God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’ And what follows: ‘The words of my transgressions are far from my salvation. O my God, I will cry to Thee in the day-time, and Thou wilt not hear; and in the night-season, and it is not for want of understanding in me.’ These, as well as the things which He was to do, were spoken. For on the day on which He was to be crucified,2 having taken three of His disciples to the hill called Olivet, situated opposite to the temple in Jerusalem, He prayed in these words: ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.’3 And again He prayed: ‘Not as I will, but as Thou wilt;’4 showing by this that He had become truly a suffering man. Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 248). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company. This was based on the Alexandrian translation of the Hebrew, but gives more insight into what the translators believed. And as we previously noted, this was translated before Christ's first advent. Justin is arguing that it can only be referring to the sufferings of Jesus of Nazareth, but it is more likely that it refers to both David's and Jesus' suffering. David possessed "understanding," also, and more so did Christ, but the Hebrew seems to bring out that there was no answer for peace/rest to this particular suffering. Therefore, it is the original Hebrew that really makes the case for it to be referring to the sufferings of Christ. David could always pray it through until the necessary (the additional) understanding came which brought saving peace/rest (as observed in the following Psalm [23]), but in the case of Christ, who knew the only answer was his own death, for there was no rest/peace knowing he was to die in the place of sinners. The one prayer His Father said, no, to His Beloved was the prayer to avoid the death penalty for sinners. This was the one time Christ's will was challenged by the Father's, yet because Christ understood spiritually, it was the will of his flesh that struggled to rest at peace with the Father's answer/solution. He tells his disciples the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Mk.14:38). This was his own struggle with the nature of the flesh, his own struggle to swallow the wrath of God against sin and death, in the nature of the flesh. This is the foolishness of the cross! But the foolishness of God is wiser than man, for sin and death could not restrain the Spiritual nature of Christ! He lives!
But lest any one should say, He did not know then that He had to suffer, He adds immediately in the Psalm: ‘And it is not for want of understanding in me.’ Even as there was no ignorance on God’s part when He asked Adam where he was, or asked Cain where Abel was; but [it was done] to convince each what kind of man he was, and in order that through the record [of Scripture] we might have a knowledge of all: so likewise Christ declared that ignorance was not on His side, but on theirs, who thought that He was not the Christ, but fancied they would put Him to death, and that He, like some common mortal, would remain in Hades. Justin Martyr. (1885). Dialogue of Justin with Trypho, a Jew. In A. Roberts, J. Donaldson, & A. C. Coxe (Eds.), The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (Vol. 1, p. 248). Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Company.
It's clear that the early fathers understood the present condition of man "under sin" was summarized by this term: Hades, and in the Old Testament: Sheol. This term(s) always refers to the state of man in misery (sin) and death because of Adam's sin. This is the "realm" that Jesus descended into from the glory of the Father's abode according to the Apostles Creed. It is not to be confused with the second death or the final judgment in a "lake of fire"--the everlasting torments of Hell. Those of this realm of sin and death put Christ on trial and judged him a sinner, but this was the Father's good and eternal purpose to answer David's prayer. This was the understanding necessary to justify the righteousness of God and to justify the ungodly sinner, for God would be an unjust judge if He would just permit the guilty to go free without penalty. But because Jesus is the Righteous substitute to satisfy this "total" demand for Justice, there is peace for the guilty mind "who understands" the weight of his sin against the holiness of God. For David, this is understanding upon understanding, as opposed to the world, which is wrath upon wrath (Rom.2:5). From David's angle/image of this prayer, the weight of his sin is understood but did not have the necessary answer to free him from the guilt of his sin, because his conscience agreed his condemnation was Just. Christ's angle/image in these sufferings are the answer to David's conscience, which is to be life and peace with God. For Sheol/Hades couldn't hold down the Holiness and Righteousness of this man, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth.
