Psalms 22:26

The meek shall eat and be satisfied,.... Such who, being made thoroughly sensible of sin, look upon themselves the chief of sinners, and the least of saints; and being truly convicted of the

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

The meek, i.e. faithful or godly persons, who are frequently called meek ones, as 76:9 149:4 61:1 , because the grace of God doth soften and sweeten the hearts of sinners, and subdues their pride, and passion, and rebellion against God, and their fierceness towards men. Or, the poor, as this word is oft rendered; which seems well to suit this place, partly, because these are opposed to the fat ones upon earth, ; partly, because the following eating and satisfaction may seem most proper and acceptable to such as were in want; partly, because here is an allusion to the legal feasts, made of the remainders of the sacrifices, in which the poor had a share; and partly, because this well agrees to the time of Christ’ s coming, when the body of the Jewish nation were a poor and afflicted people, and the poor especially did receive the gospel, . Eat and be satisfied; which is mentioned as a great blessing, , as it is threatened as a grievous curse that men should eat and not be satisfied, . But because it was comparatively a poor and mean thing to have one’ s belly filled and satisfied with that food which perisheth and passeth away presently after it is received, this magnificent promise is doubtless to be understood spiritually, of those spiritual blessings, that grace, and peace, and comfort, and full satisfaction, which all believing and pious souls have in the sense of God’ s love, and the pardon of their sins, and in the influences of God’ s Spirit into their souls. That seek him; that seek his favour; or that inquire after him, and labour to know and discern him; wherein possibly the Spirit of God may intimate to us the necessity of seeking, and the difficulty of finding or discovering God, when he shall appear in the flesh, and in the form of a servant; which was likely to hide him from the eyes of the carnal and careless Jews, and not to be discerned but by those that were studious and inquisitive concerning the mind of God revealed in the Scriptures concerning that matter. Your heart, i.e. their; for he speaks of the same persons still, though there be a change from the third to the second person, as is usual in these poetical and prophetical books of Scripture. Shall live, i.e. shall be greafiy refreshed and comforted; life being oft put for a happy and comfortable life, as ; in which respect Jacob’ s heart or spirit is said to have revived, ; as, on the contrary, Nabal’ s heart was said to have died within him, , when it was oppressed with great sadness. For ever; your comfort shall not be short and transitory, as worldly comforts are, but everlasting.

Psalms 22:26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.Ver. 26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied] They shall be well filled at my peace offering feast, saith David; at my holy supper, saith Christ; and in me shall have the full fruition of all good things; as at a feast of fat things full of marrow, of wines refined on the lees, Isaiah 25:6 Nec copiam huius saeculi concupiscent nec timebunt inopiam, saith Austin; Here they shall neither covet the wealth of this world nor fear the want of it. They shall praise the Lord] viz. At the eucharist, and after. Your heart shall live for ever] Apostrophe ad mansuetos emphatica. You meek of the earth and seekers of the Lord, who have eaten of Christ’ s flesh that was given for the life of the world, John 6:51, your heart shall live for ever; and if so, then in death itself. As Aristotle giveth the reason of the swan’ s singing a little before his death, because generous blood goeth then to the heart, making it cheerful, and that thence cometh the melody.

(26) The meek.—Better, The afflicted. This term, combined here with so many expressions for the worship of Jehovah, points to the Levites. Your heart.—LXX. and Vulg., “their,” which carries on the construction better. But such sudden changes of person are common in Hebrew; see even next verse. The feast that was made after a great sacrifice, such as 2 Chronicles 7:5, not improbably suggested the figure of the banquet at which all the restored of Israel should meet; afterwards elaborated in the prophets (comp. Isaiah 25:6), and adopted in its refined spiritual sense by our Lord (Luke 14:16). The prophetic glance reaches further than the immediate occasion, and in the sufferer’s triumphant sense of vindication and restoration he embraces the whole world. (Comp. Jeremiah 16:19.) The interposition of Divine judgment in favour of Israel will warn the nations into sudden recollection of Him, and bring them submissive to His throne.

Verse 26. The meek shall eat] ענוים anavim. the POOR, shall eat. In the true only Sacrifice there shall be such a provision for all believers, that they shall have a fulness of joy. Those who offered the sacrifice, fed on what they offered. Jesus, the true Sacrifice, is the bread that came down from heaven; they who eat of this bread shall never die.

26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied] The flesh of a sacrifice offered in performance of a vow was to be eaten on the same day on which it was offered, or on the morrow (Leviticus 7:16; Numbers 15:3). The Psalmist will invite the meek to join him in this eucharistic meal. Such an invitation is not indeed prescribed in the Law, but it is in full accordance with the command to invite the poor and needy to share in the tithes (Deuteronomy 14:29; Deuteronomy 26:12; where the phrase ‘eat and be satisfied’ occurs), and in the harvest festivals (Deuteronomy 16:11; Deuteronomy 16:14). There seems to be no good reason for supposing that the words are to be understood wholly in a figurative and spiritual sense, though on the other hand their meaning is not to be limited to the external performance of a ritual ceremony. At any rate the language of this and the preceding verse is based upon the idea of a sacrifice of thanksgiving of which the worshippers partook (Psalms 23:5). ‘Eat and be satisfied’ is not merely a current formula for the refreshment which flows from Divine blessing, the Psalmist anticipating that his own deliverance will lead to the prosperity of all the godly. that seek him] R.V., that seek after him. All Jehovah’s devoted followers (see on Psalms 24:6) will swell the anthem. your heart shall live &c.] R.V., let your heart live for ever. The entertainer invokes a blessing on his guests. May those who were ready to perish be revived and quickened with an undying energy! With the whole verse cp. Psalms 69:32. If the primary and immediate reference is to a sacrificial feast, it is clear that the words reach far beyond the outward rite to the spiritual communion of which it was the symbol; while the Christian reader cannot but see the counterpart and fulfilment of the words in the Holy Eucharist.

The meek shall eat and be satisfied - The word “meek” - ענוים ‛ănâviym - means here rather “afflicted, distressed, miserable.” This is its usual meaning.

26. The meek shall eat—The poor and humble shall eat the sacrificial meal (Psalms 22:25) with him in accordance with Deuteronomy 16:11