What is the meaning of Psalm 22:13? They open their mouths against me “They open their mouths against me” (Psalm 22:13) pictures hostile faces gaping wide in menace. • David knew literal adversaries who ridiculed him (Psalm 35:21; Job 16:10; Lamentations 2:16). • At the cross, the crowd “kept hurling abuse” and “wagging their heads” at Jesus (Matthew 27:39-43; Luke 23:35), fulfilling this verse with striking precision. • The phrase underscores more than words; it conveys a readiness to devour, revealing the heart-level aggression of sin’s enemies toward God’s anointed. Like lions The comparison shifts the focus to sheer predator ferocity. • Lions symbolize lethal power throughout Scripture (Psalm 17:12; Daniel 6:16-24). • Paul felt similar danger when “I was delivered from the lion’s mouth” (2 Timothy 4:17). • Peter warns believers that the devil “prowls around like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8), linking David’s experience—and Christ’s—to a wider spiritual battlefield. That roar The roar signals domination and terror. • Amos 3:8: “The lion has roared—who will not fear?” • The taunting soldiers and sneering leaders roared contempt at Golgotha, yet their roar only amplified God’s redemptive plan (Acts 2:23). • Roaring also mimics Satan’s tactics: loud intimidation meant to shake trust, yet “The LORD roars from Zion” in ultimate authority (Hosea 11:10), assuring the faithful that God’s voice overrides every enemy roar. And maul Mauling depicts tearing flesh—violence fully unleashed. • David feared being “torn apart” with none to rescue (Psalm 7:2). • Christ’s body was literally mauled—scourged, pierced, crucified (John 19:1-3, 34). • The verse therefore points both to David’s peril and to the Messiah’s sacrificial suffering, showing sin and hatred expending their full force, yet within God’s sovereign purpose. summary Psalm 22:13 lays bare the savage hostility aimed at God’s chosen King—first David, ultimately Jesus. Enemies gape wide, stalk like lions, roar in intimidation, and tear with brutal intent. The verse reassures believers that every hostile mouth, roar, and wound was foreseen, folded into God’s saving plan, and finally silenced by the Lion of Judah who rose victorious. |
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