Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 22:1

Clarke's Commentary

PSALM XXII

Under great affliction and distress, the psalmist prays unto

God, 1-3;

appeals to God's wonted kinkiness in behalf of his people, 4, 5;

relates the insults that he received, 6-8;

mentions the goodness of God to him in his youth, as a reason

why he should expect help now, 9-11;

details his sufferings, and the indignities offered to him,

12-18,

prays with the confidence of being heard and delivered, 19-24;

praises God. and foretells the conversion of the nations to the

true religion, 25-31.

NOTES ON PSALM XXII

The title of this Psalm, To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David, has given rise to many conjectures. The words אילת השחר aiyeleth hashshachar are translated in the margin, "the hind of the morning;" but what was this? Was it the name of a musical instrument? or of a tune? or of a band of music? Calmet argues for the last, and translates "A Psalm of David, addressed to the Musicmaster who presides over the Band called the Morning Hind." This is more likely than any of the other conjectures I have seen. But aiyeleth hashshachar may be the name of the Psalm itself, for it was customary among the Asiatics to give names to their poetic compositions which often bore no relation to the subject itself. Mr. Harmer and others have collected a few instances from D'Herbelot's Bibliotheque Orientale. I could add many more from MSS. in my own collection:-thus Saady calls a famous miscellaneous work of his Gulisstan, "The Country of Roses," or, "The Rose Garden:" and yet there is nothing relative to such a country, nor concerning roses nor rose gardens, in the book. Another is called Negaristan, "The Gallery of Pictures; " yet no picture gallery is mentioned. Another Beharistan, "The Spring Season; " Bostan, "The Garden;" Anvar Soheely, "The Light of Canopus;" Bahar Danush, "The Garden of Knowledge; " Tuhfit Almumeneen, "The Gift of the Faithful," a treatise on medicine; Kemeea Isadut, "The Alchymy of Life; " Mukhzeen al Asrar, "The Magazine of Secrets;" Sulselet al Zahab, "The Golden Chain; " Zuhfit al Abrar, "The Rosary of the Pious:" Merat al Asrar, "The Mirror of Secrets; " Durj ul Durar, "The most precious Jewels;" Deru Majlis, "The Jewel of the Assembly;" Al Bordah, "The Variegated Garment;" a poem written by Al Basiree, in praise of the Mohammedan religion, in gratitude for a cure which he believed he received from the prophet who appeared to him in a dream. The poem is written in one hundred and sixty-two couplets, each of which ends with [Arabic] mim, the first letter in the name of Mohammed.

Scarcely one of the above titles, and their number might be easily trebled, bears any relation to the subject of the work to which it is prefixed, no more than Aijeleth Shahar bears to the matter contained in the twenty-second Psalm. Such titles are of very little importance in themselves; and of no farther use to us than as they serve to distinguish the different books, poems, or Psalms, to which they are prefixed. To me, many seem to have spent their time uselessly in the investigation of such subjects. 2 Samuel 1:18.

On the subject of the Psalm itself, there is considerable diversity of opinion:

1. Some referring it all to David;

2. Others referring it all to Christ; and,

3. Some, because of the application of several verses of it to our Lord in his sufferings, take a middle way, and apply it primarily to David, and in a secondary or accommodated sense, to Christ.

Of this opinion was Theodore of Mopsuestia. who gave a very rational account of his own plan of interpretation; for which he was condemned by the second council of Constantinople or fifth OEcumenic council. Grotius and others have nearly copied his plan; and I think, with a little correction, it is the only safe one. That several parts of it relate to David, primarily, there is very little reason to doubt; that several passages may be applied by way of accommodation to our Lord, though originally belonging to and expressing the state of David, may be piously believed; and that it contains portions which are direct prophecies of our Lord's passion, death, and victory, appears too evident to be safely denied. On this plan I propose to treat it in the following paraphrase; keeping it as near to the Gospel standard as I can. Dr. Delaney supposes the Psalm to have been written by David when he was at Mahanaim, the very place where God appeared to Jacob in his distress. See Genesis 32:2. And on this supposition the third, fourth, and fifth verses may be easily and strikingly illustrated: Our fathers trusted in thee; why may not I? Thou didst deliver THEM; why may not I expect deliverance also? THEY cried unto thee, trusted in thee, and were not confounded; I cry until thee, trust in thee; and why should I be confounded? For thou art the same God, thou changest not; and with thee there is no respect of persons. Thus David encouraged himself in the Lord; and these considerations helped to sustain him in his painful exercises and heavy distresses.

Verse Psalms 22:1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? — Show me the cause why thou hast abandoned me to my enemies; and why thou seemest to disregard my prayers and cries? For a full illustration of this passage, I beg the reader to refer to Clarke's note on "Matthew 27:46".

The words of my roaring? — שאגתי shaagathi, The Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, AEthiopic, and Arabic, with the Anglo-Saxon, make use of terms which may be thus translated: "My sins (or foolishness) are the cause why deliverance is so far from me." It appears that these versions have read שגגתי shegagathi, "my sin of ignorance," instead of שאגתי shaagathi, "my roaring:" but no MS. extant supports this reading.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 22:0 Suffering and salvation

At the time of the writing of this psalm, David had reached what he thought was the farthest extreme of suffering. He was almost at the point of despair. Christians know that they are required to share the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24), but David was probably unaware that, in the experiences recorded here, he was also having a share in those sufferings. His experiences were a foretaste of the greater sufferings that the messianic king Jesus would one day endure on the cross.

Although in his suffering the psalmist trusts in God, he is puzzled that God has not answered his prayers and rescued him. After all, God rescued people of former times who trusted in him (1-5). But, thinks the psalmist, he is hardly even a man. He feels more like a worm, so painful is the cruel mockery he receives from his enemies (6-8). He feels as helpless, yet as dependent, as a baby. He therefore pleads that as God looked after him when he was a baby, so he will look after him now (9-11).
The writer’s physical sufferings are beyond description. His enemies seem to him like wild animals that have surrounded their helpless victim (12-15). They are like a pack of vicious dogs that stare and gloat over him with a fierceness that tells him they are getting ready for the kill. Already they are biting at his hands and feet and tearing his clothes from him (16-18). In desperation he cries to God, for only God can save him now (19-21).

God did save him. He therefore will perform his duties according to the vow that he made when he called on God’s help. He invites all the people of Israel to join him in a sacrificial feast to celebrate the fulfilment of his vow. With him they can then praise God for his great deliverance (22-26; see Leviticus 7:11-18 for the ceremony that marked the fulfilment of a vow). His joy overflows as he extends his call to people everywhere to bow before God and worship him because of his great salvation (27-29). From generation to generation people will praise God for all he has done (30-31).

The intensity of David’s feelings caused him to use words so extravagant that their fullest meaning extended beyond his own experiences to the death of Christ and the triumphant spread of the gospel (cf. v. 1-2 with Matthew 27:46; cf. v. 6-8 with Matthew 27:39-43; cf. v. 14-16 with John 19:18; cf. v. 18 with John 19:23-24; cf. v. 19-21 with Hebrews 5:7; cf. v. 22 with Hebrews 2:12; cf. v. 27-31 with Matthew 28:19; Philippians 2:9-11).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou answerest not; And in the night season, and am not silent.”

Jesus’ quoting the first line of this Psalm during his agony upon the Cross has led to many opinions. It has been supposed that Christ here merely quoted these words from the psalm to call attention to the whole bundle of prophecies in it which were being fulfilled literally at that very time. It is also believed by many that God Himself did indeed, for a little while, withdraw his presence from Christ in order to make it possible for Christ to die. There is much in the sacred Scriptures to commend this view.

Christ is spoken of in Hebrews 2:9 as the One, who by the grace of God did indeed, “Taste of death for every man.” Isaiah tells us that, “God laid upon him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). Paul mentioned that God Himself “Set forth the Christ to be a propitiation” (Romans 3:25), or an atonement, for the sins of all men. “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3); and “Him (Christ) who knew no sin, God made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The ultimate consequence of sin is separation from God; and, in Christ’s becoming a substitute for sinful men upon the cross, he not only tasted of death, but also tasted the terrible consequences of sin in that soul-torturing experience of separation from the Creator. It is our understanding of Christ’s plaintive cry, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me,” that Jesus did indeed, momentarily, taste the awful agony of separation from the Father. “For a moment in that last agony, the Perfect Man was alone with the sins of the whole world.”W. L. Watkinson, p. 105.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

My God, my God - These are the very words uttered by the Saviour when on the cross Matthew 27:46; and he evidently used them as best adapted of all the words that could have been chosen to express the extremity of his sorrow. The fact that he employed them may be referred to as “some” evidence that the psalm was designed to refer to him; though it must be admitted that this circumstance is no conclusive proof of such a design, since he might have used words having originally another reference, as best fitted to express his own sufferings. The language is abrupt, and is uttered without any previous intimation of what would produce or cause it. It comes from the midst of suffering - from one enduring intense agony - as if a new form of sorrow suddenly came upon him which he was unable to endure. That new form of suffering was the feeling that now he was forsaken by the last friend of the wretched - God himself. We may suppose that he had patiently borne all the other forms of trial, but the moment the thought strikes him that he is forsaken of God, he cries out in the bitterness of his soul, under the pressure of anguish which is no longer to be borne. All other forms of suffering he could bear. All others he had borne. But this crushes him; overpowers him; is beyond all that the soul can sustain - for the soul may bear all else but this. It is to be observed, however, that the sufferer himself still has confidence in God. He addresses him as his God, though he seems to have forsaken him: “My God; My God.”

Why hast thou forsaken me? - Why hast thou abandoned me, or left me to myself, to suffer unaided and alone? As applicable to the Saviour, this refers to those dreadful moments on the cross when, forsaken by people, he seemed also to be forsaken by God Himself. God did not interpose to rescue him, but left him to bear those dreadful agonies alone. He bore the burden of the world’s atonement by himself. He was overwhelmed with grief, and crushed with pain, for the sins of the world, as well as the agonies of the cross, had come upon him. But there was evidently more than this; “what” more we are unable fully to understand! There was a higher sense in which he was forsaken of God, for no mere physical sufferings, no pains of dying even on the cross, would have extorted this cry. If he had enjoyed the light of his Father’s countenance; if these had been merely physical sufferings; if there was nothing else than what is apparent to our view in the record of those sufferings, we cannot suppose that this cry would have been heard even on the cross.

There is evidently some sense in which it was true that the dying Saviour was given up to darkness - to mental trouble, to despair, “as if” He who is the last hope of the suffering and the dying - the Father of mercies - had withdrawn from him; as if he were personally; a sinner; as if he were himself guilty or blameworthy on account of the sins for which he was making an expiation. In some sense he experienced what the sinner will himself experience when, for his own sins, he will be at last forsaken of God, and abandoned to despair. Every word in this wonderful exclamation may be supposed to be emphatic. “Why.” What is the cause? How is it to be accounted for? What end is to be answered by it? “Hast thou.” Thou, my Father; thou, the comforter of those in trouble; thou, to whom the suffering and the dying may look when all else fails. “Forsaken.” Left me to suffer alone; withdrawn the light of thy countenance - the comfort of thy presence - the joy of thy manifested favor. “Me.” Thy well-beloved Son; me. whom thou hast sent into the world to accomplish thine own work in redeeming man; me, against whom no sin can be charged, whose life has been perfectly pure and holy; why, now, in the extremity of these sufferings, hast thou forsaken me, and added to the agony of the cross the deeper agony of being abandoned by the God whom I love, the Father who loved me before the foundation of the world, John 17:24. There is a reason why God should forsake the wicked; but why should he forsake his own pure and holy Son in the agonies of death?

Why art thou so far from helping me? - Margin, from my salvation. So the Hebrew. The idea is that of one who stood so far off that he could not hear the cry, or that he could not reach out the hand to deliver. Compare Psalms 10:1.

And from the words of my roaring - The word used here properly denotes the roaring of a lion, Job 4:10; Isaiah 5:29; Zechariah 11:3; and then the outcry or the groaning of a person in great pain, Job 3:24; Psalms 32:3. It refers here to a loud cry for help or deliverance, and is descriptive of the intense suffering of the Redeemer on the cross. Compare Matthew 27:50; Luke 23:46.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

1.My God! The first verse contains two remarkable sentences, which, although apparently contrary to each other, are yet ever entering into the minds of the godly together. When the Psalmist speaks of being forsaken and cast off by God, it seems to be the complaint of a man in despair; for can a man have a single spark of faith remaining in him, when he believes that there is no longer any succor for him in God? And yet, in calling God twice his own God, and depositing his groanings into his bosom, he makes a very distinct confession of his faith. With this inward conflict the godly must necessarily be exercised whenever God withdraws from them the tokens of his favor, so that, in whatever direction they turn their eyes, they see nothing but the darkness of night. I say, that the people of God, in wrestling with themselves, on the one hand discover the weakness of the flesh, and on the other give evidence of their faith. With respect to the reprobate, as they cherish in their hearts their distrust of God, their perplexity of mind overwhelms them, and thus totally incapacitates them for aspiring after the grace of God by faith. That David sustained the assaults of temptation, without being overwhelmed, or swallowed up by it, may be easily gathered from his words. He was greatly oppressed with sorrow, but notwithstanding this, he breaks forth into the language of assurance, My God! my God! which he could not have done without vigorously resisting the contrary apprehension ⁽⁴⁹⁹⁾ that God had forsaken him. There is not one of the godly who does not daily experience in himself the same thing. According to the judgment of the flesh, he thinks he is cast off and forsaken by God, while yet he apprehends by faith the grace of God, which is hidden from the eye of sense and reason; and thus it comes to pass, that contrary affections are mingled and interwoven in the prayers of the faithful. Carnal sense and reason cannot but conceive of God as being either favorable or hostile, according to the present condition of things which is presented to their view. When, therefore, he suffers us to lie long in sorrow, and as it were to pine away under it, we must necessarily feel, according to the apprehension of the flesh, as if he had quite forgotten us. When such a perplexing thought takes entire possession of the mind of man, it overwhelms him in profound unbelief, and he neither seeks, nor any longer expects, to find a remedy. But if faith come to his aid against such a temptation, the same person who, judging from the outward appearance of things, regarded God as incensed against him, or as having abandoned him, beholds in the mirror of the promises the grace of God which is hidden and distant. Between these two contrary affections the faithful are agitated, and, as it were, fluctuate, when Satan, on the one hand, by exhibiting to their view the signs of the wrath of God, urges them on to despair, and endeavors entirely to overthrow their faith; while faith, on the other hand, by calling them back to the promises, teaches them to wait patiently and to trust in God, until he again show them his fatherly countenance.

We see then the source from which proceeded this exclamation, My God! my God! and from which also proceeded the complaint which follows immediately after, Why hast thou forsaken me? Whilst the vehemence of grief, and the infirmity of the flesh, forced from the Psalmist these words, I am forsaken of God; faith, lest he should when so severely tried sink into despair, put into his mouth a correction of this language, so that he boldly called God, of whom he thought he was forsaken, his God. Yea, we see that he has given the first place to faith. Before he allows himself to utter his complaint, in order to give faith the chief place, he first declares that he still claimed God as his own God, and betook himself to him for refuge. And as the affections of the flesh, when once they break forth, are not easily restrained, but rather carry us beyond the bounds of reason, it is surely well to repress them at the very commencement. David, therefore, observed the best possible order in giving his faith the precedency - in expressing it before giving vent to his sorrow, and in qualifying, by devout prayer, the complaint which he afterwards makes with respect to the greatness of his calamities. Had he spoken simply and precisely in these terms, Lord, why forsakest thou me? he would have seemed, by a complaint so bitter, to murmur against God; and besides, his mind would have been in great danger of being embittered with discontent through the greatness of his grief. But, by here raising up against murmuring and discontent the rampart of faith, he keeps all his thoughts and feelings under restraint, that they may not break beyond due bounds. Nor is the repetition superfluous when he twice calls God his God; and, a little after, he even repeats the same words the third time. When God, as if he had cast off all care about us, passes over our miseries and groanings as if he saw them not, the conflict with this species of temptation is arduous and painful, and therefore David the more strenuously exerts himself in seeking the confirmation of his faith. Faith does not gain the victory at the first encounter, but after receiving many blows, and after being exercised with many tossings, she at length comes forth victorious. I do not say that David was so courageous and valiant a champion as that his faith did not waver. The faithful may put forth all their efforts to subdue their carnal affections, that they may subject and devote themselves wholly to God; but still there is always some infirmity remaining in them. From this proceeded that halting of holy Jacob, of which Moses makes mention in Genesis 32:24; for although in wrestling with God he prevailed, yet he ever after bore the mark of his sinful defect. By such examples God encourages his servants to perseverance, lest, from a consciousness of their own infirmity, they should sink into despair. The means therefore which we ought to adopt, whenever our flesh becomes tumultuous, and, like an impetuous tempest, hurries us into impatience, is to strive against it, and to endeavor to restrain its impetuosity. In doing this we will, it is true, be agitated and sorely tried, but our faith will, nevertheless, continue safe, and be preserved from shipwreck. Farther, we may gather from the very form of the complaint which David here makes, that he did not without cause redouble the words by which his faith might be sustained. He does not simply say that he was forsaken by God, but he adds, that God was far from his help, in as-much as when he saw him in the greatest danger, he gave him no token to encourage him in the hope of obtaining deliverance. Since God has the ability to succor us, if, when he sees us exposed as a prey to our enemies, he nevertheless sits still as if he cared not about us, who would not say that he has drawn back his hand that he may not deliver us? Again, by the expression, the words of my roaring, the Psalmist intimates that he was distressed and tormented in the highest degree. He certainly was not a man of so little courage as, on account of some slight or ordinary affliction, to howl in this manner like a brute beast. ⁽⁵⁰⁰⁾ We must therefore come to the conclusion, that the distress was very great which could extort such roaring from a man who was distinguished for meekness, and for the undaunted courage with which he endured calamities.

As our Savior Jesus Christ, when hanging on the cross, and when ready to yield up his soul into the hands of God his Father, made use of these very words, (Matthew 27:46,) we must consider how these two things can agree, that Christ was the only begotten Son of God, and that yet he was so penetrated with grief, seized with so great mental trouble, as to cry out that God his Father had forsaken him. The apparent contradiction between these two statements has constrained many interpreters to have recourse to evasions for fear of charging Christ with blame in this matter. ⁽⁵⁰¹⁾ Accordingly, they have said that Christ made this complaint rather according to the opinion of the common people, who witnessed his sufferings, than from any feeling which he had of being deserted by his father. But they have not considered that they greatly lessen the benefit of our redemption, in imagining that Christ was altogether exempted from the terrors which the judgment of God strikes into sinners. It was a groundless fear to be afraid of making Christ subject to so great sorrow, lest they should diminish his glory. As Peter, in Acts 2:24, clearly testifies that “it was not possible that he should be holden of the pains of death,” it follows that he was not altogether exempted from them. And as he became our representative, and took upon him our sins, it was certainly necessary that he should appear before the judgment-seat of God as a sinner. From this proceeded the terror and dread which constrained him to pray for deliverance from death; not that it was so grievous to him merely to depart from this life; but because there was before his eyes the curse of God, to which all who are sinners are exposed. Now, if during his first conflict “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood,” and he needed an angel to comfort him, (Luke 22:43,) it is not wonderful if, in his last sufferings on the cross, he uttered a complaint which indicated the deepest sorrow. By the way, it should be marked, that Christ, although subject to human passions and affections, never fell into sin through the weakness of the flesh; for the perfection of his nature preserved him from all excess. He could therefore overcome all the temptations with which Satan assailed him, without receiving any wound in the conflict which might afterwards constrain him to halt. In short, there is no doubt that Christ, in uttering this exclamation upon the cross, manifestly showed, that although David here bewails his own distresses, this psalm was composed under the influence of the Spirit of prophecy concerning David’s King and Lord.

(499) “Ce qu il ne pouvoit faire si non en resistant vivement a la apprehension contraire.” — Fr.

(500) “Et de faict, il n’estoit point de si petit courage, que pour quelque real leger il hurlast ainsi comme une beste brute.” — Fr. “The original word [for roaring ] properly denotes the roaring of a lion, and is often applied to the deep groaning of men in sickness. See among other places, Psalms 32:3.” —Bishop Mant.

(501) “Pour crainte de charger Christ de ce blasme.” — Fr.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 22:1-31

Psalms 22:1-31 is one of those prophetic psalms which stands out probably among all of the Messianic psalms. This psalm is again a psalm of David, and it is a very graphic description of death by crucifixion. Now, at the time that David wrote this, stoning was the method of capital punishment. Actually, it was almost 1000 years later that crucifixion was introduced by the Romans as a form of capital punishment. So that David would describe death by crucifixion is sort of a miracle in itself, and yet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he wrote graphically of the death of Jesus Christ. The very first phrase of this psalm was quoted by Jesus on the cross. As Jesus cried out,

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? ( Psalms 22:1 )

In that cry of Jesus from the cross, we understand more completely the agony in the garden, as He was seeking to, if possible, escape the cross. For in the garden we read that He was praying, "Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not My will, Thy will be done" ( Matthew 26:39 ). And that thrice repeated prayer in the garden, sweating as it were great drops of blood to the ground. The agony of Christ in the garden is explained of the cry of Christ on the cross, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" But He was forsaken of God for a moment. And the reason for His being forsaken is given to us in this psalm in verse Psalms 22:3 . But He was forsaken by God for a moment in order that you would not have to be forsaken by God eternally. He was forsaken by God when God placed upon Him the iniquities of us all. He bore the penalty of our sin.

You see, sin always results in separation from God. God said to Adam, "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die" ( Genesis 2:17 ). Talking about spiritual death, where man's spirit is separated from God. Now when the Bible talks about death, as a general rule, it is talking about spiritual death which is the separation of a man's soul and spirit from God. We talk about death when a man's soul and spirit are separated from his body, but you may be walking around, all of your body motor functions working, and seem to be very much alive, but God looks at you and says, "Hey, you're dead." Your soul and spirit are separated from God; your spirit is dead. "You," Paul said, "hath He made alive who were dead in your trespasses and sins" ( Ephesians 2:1 ).

So here we see when Jesus took upon Himself all of our sin, because sin does separate from God, as Isaiah the prophet said in chapter 59, "God's hand is not short that He cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that He cannot hear, but your sins have separated you from God." Always the result or the effect of sin. So when God laid on Him the iniquities of us all. The cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

So Jesus identifies this psalm. Maybe He was trying to give a hint to the disciples, "Go back home and read the psalm, you'll know what's going on. Read the whole thing, you'll understand what is happening." The rabbis would often in those days just give you the first verse of a psalm and expect you to go home and do your homework, read the whole thing. Maybe Jesus was following one of their methods, just giving them the first verse of the psalm, knowing that then they would then go search out the whole psalm.

My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, and thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent ( Psalms 22:1-2 ).

Remember that darkness covered the land, and so crying in the day, crying in the night, the darkness. But the reason why the separation, forsaken:

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabits the praises of Israel ( Psalms 22:3 ).

The holy God could not be in fellowship with sin. It is impossible that a holy God be one with sin. And the word fellowship means a oneness, a community, a commonness. When God placed upon Jesus the sins of us all, it brought that separation. "For Thou art holy," the reason for His being forsaken.

Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and you delivered them. They cried, and they were delivered: they trusted, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; I am a reproach of men, and despised of the people ( Psalms 22:4-6 ).

This, of course, was prophesied in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, how He would be despised and rejected of men. "A reproach of men, I am despised of the people."

All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying, He trusted in the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him ( Psalms 22:7-8 ).

Remember the high priest and all when Jesus was hanging on the cross, they said, "Ha ha! He trusted in the Lord to deliver Him. Now let Him come down if He is truly the Messiah, and we will worship Him." All of these things.

But thou art he that took me out the womb: you did make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly ( Psalms 22:9-10 ).

Now, again, where does consciousness, or where does life begin? If there is indeed something within the plants of some form of primitive understanding, or maybe it is highly sophisticated, more highly than we are. Who knows? They have found that there is quite a consciousness of the child in the fetal state. That from the tenth week or so, about the twelfth week the child begins to have very normal functions, sleeping, the awake times. If the mother yells, it might wake up the child. Runs down the stairs. And at that point it begins to recognize the mother's voice, and that is why the child is always more comfortable with the mother than even with the grandmother when it is first born. Because it is used to the mother's voice; it has been hearing it for sixth months. After the third month the child begins to hear the mother's voice. "Thou art my God from my mother's belly." And so it speaks really of an awareness, a consciousness. "You did make me hope when I was upon my mother's breast."

Be not far from me; for my trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: the strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion ( Psalms 22:11-13 ).

Now, again, descriptive of the cross:

I am poured out like water ( Psalms 22:14 ),

Remember when they thrust the spear in His side, there came forth blood and water.

all my bones are out of joint ( Psalms 22:14 ):

One of the things that takes place during crucifixion, as a person is hanging there, and usually held there by the spikes, your muscles after awhile begin to fatigue and give way. And when your muscles give way, your body begins to drop and actually the joints, because the muscles have fatigued, the joints begin... your body begins to fall out of joint, actually, from the hanging there. And this description of all my bones are out of joint, of course, the excruciating pain of the joints loosening, often killed the prisoner.

my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue ( Psalms 22:14-15 )

That thirst, that horrible thirst that you receive when you are hanging there, and through the sweat your body liquids are dissipated. Then you get that horrible thirst, the dry mouth, the cotton taste.

my tongue cleaves to my jaws; for thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet ( Psalms 22:15-16 ).

Now, the Jehovah Witnesses seek to teach us that Jesus was crucified on a pole, that the cross is actually the pagan Tou symbol, and so the church is actually worshipping a pagan symbol. They tell this to all of their poor deceived people. And they then quote from a sixteenth century book and show them the pictures of this sixteenth century book written by a monk in which he describes the struttural, the pole, and the many methods of crucifixion of the Roman government. And he shows the picture of this man who is crucified on a pole, his hands above his head, one spike through his hands, and then, of course, the one spike through his feet. And they say that the church, in picturing Christ on a t-shaped cross, actually the pagan symbol Tou, and the whole church is following Babylonian paganism and so forth; the whole church is Babylon. We are the only ones that tell you the truth. And they deceive the people. It is interesting that in the New Testament it speaks about the nails, plural, in His hands. The nails, plural, in His hands.

"They pierced My hands and My feet." What the Jehovah Witnesses didn't tell the people is that this same sixteenth century author and the book that they take the picture from, and they quote him, supposedly translating the Latin that is there, they don't tell the people that they have mistranslated the Latin that is there, and on two pages further on the book, he has the t-shaped cross. And he says this no doubt is the kind of the cross that Jesus was crucified on, because it refers to their nailing the nails through His hands and His feet. And they don't tell the people that they have deceived them. They have taken one page of the book, mistranslated the Latin from it, and a couple of pages later, the same author in the same book shows the type the cross that we usually think of when we think of the cross, and says "This no doubt is the shape of the cross that Jesus was crucified on." But that's what I say, they are... I feel sorry for the people that are deceived. It is the leaders in New York that are going to have to really answer to God for the deception of these poor people around the United States, keeping them in deception and darkness. My heart goes out to them.

I may tell all my bones: for they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture ( Psalms 22:17-18 ).

Now you remember when Jesus was crucified, they tore His garment, divided it into four, but with the coat they said, "Oh this coat is nice. It been woven all the way from the top to the bottom without any seam. Let's not tear it; let's cast lots to see whose this will be." So here it was prophesied. Now Schoenfield, who is called a scholar by many of those men who like to pat each other on the back and tell each other how brilliant they are, declared that the whole Passover, crucifixion of Jesus was a gigantic plot that Jesus set up. And that the disciples had spiked the vinegar that they finally put to His lips, to put Him in a swoon so that they would think that He was dead. And that after they had buried Him, of course, the disciples came and whisked Him away. And it was just all a big plot, and Jesus set the whole thing up. He deliberately angered them. He deliberately set the whole thing up so that He actually plotted the whole crucifixion and everything else. And it was just a big, gigantic plot of Jesus. Well, it was very ingenious of Jesus to somehow get the soldiers to go along with the plot and not to tear His robe, but to cast lots for it. That was very clever of Him indeed. And even to get the high priest to go along and say, "Oh, He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He is the Son of God, then let Him come down. He said He delights in Him, okay, if God wants Him then let Him save Him." Schoenfield just turns out to be a liar like so many others and his book of fraud. And it turns out that Schoenfield's book is the fraud, not Jesus. As is always the case.

But in one sense, of course, it was a plot, and Jesus was a part of the plot. It was a plot that was hatched by God before the foundations of the earth. For Christ was crucified before the foundations of the earth. "You, according to God's predetermined council and foreknowledge, with your wicked hands have crucified and slain" ( Acts 2:23 ). You see, when Peter talks about the cross, he talks about prophecy, the foreknowledge of God. Yes, it was a plot. God plotted it a long time ago, and Jesus carried it out. But it is your salvation and it is my salvation.

But be not far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorn ( Psalms 22:19-21 ).

Now on the altars they had on each corner of an altar a horn, a single horn going up as the horn of a unicorn. And when they were really desperate and really wanting to cry out unto God, they go unto the altar and they'd grab hold of the horns of this unicorn. You remember when Joab, the general of David was... after David, when he was dying he said to Solomon, "Now Joab has spilt so much blood, now take care of him. Don't let his old gray head go down to the grave in peace." And so when Solomon was doing the cleanup for David, after David's death, he ordered them to bring Joab, because of all of the innocent blood that he had shed, in order that he might give his life. And Joab ran into the altar and he grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. And the guy came back and said, "He is holding on to the horns of the altar." Well, when they were really desperate they would run in and grab hold of the horns of the altar, and there they would pray and intercede unto God. And so here it speaks of that kind of intercession from the horns of the unicorn.

I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation I will 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 ( Psalms 22:22-24 ).

God heard Jesus when He cried.

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: and shall praise the LORD. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the LORD ( Psalms 22:25-27 ):

Now the salvation that went out to the Gentiles is predicted.

with all the families of the nations they'll worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. And all they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him ( Psalms 22:27-29 ):

So the intimation of the resurrection. "Even those that have gone down into the dust of the earth, shall bow before Him." In Philippians we read, "God has given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow," every knee shall bow, "and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God the Father." So God has given to Him the kingdom. The kingdom is the Lord's. He is the governor.

and all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: none can keep his own soul alive. 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 ( Psalms 22:29-31 ).

And so the gospel has come to us, of the glorious work of Jesus Christ in His death for our sins. The fulfillment of Psalms 22:1-31 . "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Again David felt frustrated by God’s lack of response to his cries (cf. Psalms 13:1-4). God would not answer David regardless of when he prayed. The Lord Jesus quoted David’s words as He hung on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).

"There are two ways in which we may understand Jesus’ use of these words, either as fuller sense (sensus plenior) or typology. . . . Franz Delitzsch well illustrates what we mean by fuller sense in his comment on Psalms 22 : ’. . . David descends, with his complaint, into a depth that lies beyond the depth of his affliction, and rises, with his hopes, to a height that lies far beyond the height of the reward of his affliction’ [Note: Delitzsch, 1:307.] The fuller meaning can be understood in the comprehensive sense as well. That is, the suffering on this occasion was insufficient to qualify for these gigantic terms of the text, so we understand David as summing up the suffering of his entire life. . . . In comparison to the fuller sense, the typological interpretation sees Jesus as the type of sufferer in Psalms 22, and the psalmist becomes the model. James Mays’s interpretation of this psalm belongs in this category, although he prefers to see Jesus as setting himself in its paradigm: ’He joins the multitudinous company of the afflicted and becomes one with them in their suffering.’ [Note: James L. Mays, "Prayer and Christology: Psalms 22 as Perspective on the Passion," Theology Today 42 (1985):323.] When the fuller sense method is applied, it recognizes that a future fulfillment is built into the language and meaning of the text, whereas typology looks back to a person or event as representative of a future event or person. It may or may not be a prophetic element built into the text." [Note: Bullock, p. 44.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

David’s frustration and God’s faithfulness to his forefathers 22:1-5

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. Frustration and faith 22:1-10

David felt forsaken by God and ridiculed by his enemies, yet his confidence was in the Lord’s continuing care.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 22

The mood of this psalm contrasts dramatically with that of Psalms 21. In this one, David felt forsaken by God, and the threats of his enemies lay heavily on his heart. He evidently felt death might be close. He described his condition as facing execution. Nevertheless the Lord answered his prayer for help.

"No Christian can read this without being vividly confronted with the crucifixion. It is not only a matter of prophecy minutely fulfilled, but of the sufferer’s humility-there is no plea for vengeance-and his vision of a world-wide ingathering of the Gentiles." [Note: Kidner, p. 105.]

The righteous sufferer motif that is so prominent in this individual lament psalm finds its fulfillment in the Messiah (cf. Psalms 69; et al.). [Note: Chisholm, "A Theology . . .," pp. 289-90.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

My God, my God,.... God is the God of Christ as he is man; he prepared a body for him, an human nature; anointed it with the oil of gladness; supported it under all its sorrows and sufferings, and at last exalted it at his own right hand:, and Christ behaved towards him as his covenant God; prayed to him, believed in him, loved him, and was obedient to him as such; and here expresses his faith of interest in him, when he hid his face from him, on account of which he expostulates with him thus, "why hast thou forsaken me?" which is to be understood, not as if the hypostatical or personal union of the divine and human natures were dissolved, or that the one was now separated from the other: for the fulness of the Godhead still dwelt bodily in him; nor that he ceased to be the object of the Father's love; for so he was in the midst of all his sufferings, yea, his Father loved him because he laid down his life for the sheep; nor that the principle of joy and comfort was lost in him, only the act and sense of it; he was now deprived of the gracious presence of God, of the manifestations of his love to his human soul, and had a sense of divine wrath, not for his own sins, but for the sins of his people, and was for a while destitute of help and comfort; all which were necessary in order to make satisfaction for sin: for as he had the sins of his people imputed to him, he must bear the whole punishment of them, which is twofold the punishment of loss and the punishment of sense; the former lies in a deprivation of the divine presence, and the latter in a sense of divine wrath, and both Christ sustained as the surety of his people. This expostulation is made not as ignorant of the reason of it; he knew that as he was wounded and bruised for the sins of his people, he was deserted on the same account; nor as impatient, for he was a mirror of patience in all his sufferings; and much less as in despair; for, in these very words, he strongly expresses and repeats his faith of interest in God; see Psalms 22:8; and also Isaiah 50:6. But this is done to set forth the greatness and bitterness of his sufferings; that not only men hid their faces from him, and the sun in the firmament withdrew its light and heat from him, but, what was most grievous of all, his God departed from him. From hence it appears that he was truly man, had an human soul, and endured sorrows and sufferings in it; and this may be of use to his members, to expect the hidings of God's face, though on another account; and to teach them to wait patiently for him, and to trust in the Lord, and stay themselves upon their God, even while they walk in darkness and see no light;

[why art thou so] far from helping me? or from my salvation; from saving and delivering him out of his sorrows and sufferings? not that he despaired of help; he firmly believed he should have it, and accordingly had it: but he expostulates about the deferring of it. He adds,

[and from] the words of my roaring? which expresses the vehemency of his spirit in crying to God, the exceeding greatness of his sorrows, and his excruciating pains and sufferings: this is what the apostle means by his "strong crying and tears", Hebrews 5:7; or "the words of my roaring [are] far from my salvation"; there is a great space or interval between the one and the other, as Gussetius u observes.

u Comment. Ebr. p. 788.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

To the chief musician upon Aijeleth Shahar. A psalm of David.

      1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?   2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.   3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.   4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.   5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.   6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.   7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,   8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.   9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.   10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

      Some think they find Christ in the title of this psalm, upon Aijeleth Shahar--The hind of the morning. Christ is as the swift hind upon the mountains of spices (Song of Solomon 8:14), as the loving hind and the pleasant roe, to all believers (Proverbs 5:19); he giveth goodly words like Naphtali, who is compared to a hind let loose,Genesis 49:21. He is the hind of the morning, marked out by the counsels of God from eternity, to be run down by those dogs that compassed him, Psalms 22:16; Psalms 22:16. But others think it denotes only the tune to which the psalm was set. In these verses we have,

      I. A sad complaint of God's withdrawings, Psalms 22:1; Psalms 22:2.

      1. This may be applied to David, or any other child of God, in the want of the tokens of his favour, pressed with the burden of his displeasure, roaring under it, as one overwhelmed with grief and terror, crying earnestly for relief, and, in this case, apprehending himself forsaken of God, unhelped, unheard, yet calling him, again and again, "My God," and continuing to cry day and night to him and earnestly desiring his gracious returns. Note, (1.) Spiritual desertions are the saints' sorest afflictions; when their evidences are clouded, divine consolations suspended, their communion with God interrupted, and the terrors of God set in array against them, how sad are their spirits, and how sapless all their comforts! (2.) Even their complaint of these burdens is a good sign of spiritual life and spiritual senses exercised. To cry out, "My God, why am I sick? Why am I poor?" would give cause to suspect discontent and worldliness. But, Why has though forsaken me? is the language of a heart binding up its happiness in God's favour. (3.) When we are lamenting God's withdrawings, yet still we must call him our God, and continue to call upon him as ours. When we want the faith of assurance we must live by a faith of adherence. "However it be, yet God is good, and he is mine; though he slay me, yet I trust in him; though he do not answer me immediately, I will continue praying and waiting; though he be silent, I will not be silent."

      2. But is must be applied to Christ: for, in the first words of this complaint, he poured out his soul before God when he was upon the cross (Matthew 27:46); probably he proceeded to the following words, and, some think, repeated the whole psalm, if not aloud (because they cavilled at the first words), yet to himself. Note, (1.) Christ, in his sufferings, cried earnestly to his Father for his favour and presence with him. He cried in the day-time, upon the cross, and in the night-season, when he was in agony in the garden. He offered up strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him, and with some fear too, Hebrews 5:7. (2.) Yet God forsook him, was far from helping him, and did not hear him, and it was this that he complained of more than all his sufferings. God delivered him into the hands of his enemies; it was by his determinate counsel that he was crucified and slain, and he did not give in sensible comforts. But, Christ having made himself sin for us, in conformity thereunto the Father laid him under the present impressions of his wrath and displeasure against sin. It pleased the Lord to bruise him and put him to grief,Isaiah 53:10. But even then he kept fast hold of his relation to his Father as his God, by whom he was now employed, whom he was now serving, and with whom he should shortly be glorified.

      II. Encouragement taken, in reference hereunto, Psalms 22:3-5; Psalms 22:3-5. Though God did not hear him, did not help him, yet, 1. He will think well of God: "But thou art holy, not unjust, untrue, nor unkind, in any of thy dispensations. Though thou dost not immediately come in to the relief of thy afflicted people, yet though lovest them, art true to thy covenant with them, and dost not countenance the iniquity of their persecutors, Habakkuk 1:13. And, as thou art infinitely pure and upright thyself, so thou delightest in the services of thy upright people: Thou inhabitest the praises of Israel; thou art pleased to manifest thy glory, and grace, and special presence with thy people, in the sanctuary, where they attend thee with their praises. There thou art always ready to receive their homage, and of the tabernacle of meeting thou hast said, This is my rest for ever." This bespeaks God's wonderful condescension to his faithful worshippers--(that, though he is attended with the praises of angels, yet he is pleased to inhabit the praises of Israel), and it may comfort us in all our complaints--that, though God seem, for a while, to turn a deaf ear to them, yet he is so well pleased with his people's praises that he will, in due time, give them cause to change their note: Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him. Our Lord Jesus, in his sufferings, had an eye to the holiness of God, to preserve and advance the honour of that, and of his grace in inhabiting the praises of Israel notwithstanding the iniquities of their holy things. 2. He will take comfort from the experiences which the saints in former ages had of the benefit of faith and prayer (Psalms 22:4; Psalms 22:5): "Our fathers trusted in thee, cried unto thee, and thou didst deliver them; therefore thou wilt, in due time, deliver me, for never any that hoped in thee were made ashamed of their hope, never any that sought thee sought thee in vain. And thou art still the same in thyself and the same to thy people that ever thou wast. They were our fathers, and thy people are beloved for the fathers' sake," Romans 11:28. The entail of the covenant is designed for the support of the seed of the faithful. He that was our fathers' God must be ours, and will therefore be ours. Our Lord Jesus, in his sufferings, supported himself with this--that all the fathers who were types of him in his sufferings, Noah, Joseph, David, Jonah, and others, were in due time delivered and were types of his exaltation too; therefore he knew that he also should not be confounded,Isaiah 50:7.

      III. The complaint renewed of another grievance, and that is the contempt and reproach of men. This complaint is by no means so bitter as that before of God's withdrawings; but, as that touches a gracious soul, so this a generous soul, in a very tender part, Psalms 22:6-8; Psalms 22:6-8. Our fathers were honoured, the patriarchs in their day, first or last, appeared great in the eye of the world, Abraham, Moses, David; but Christ is a worm, and no man. It was great condescension that he became man, a step downwards, which is, and will be, the wonder of angels; yet, as if it were too much, too great, to be a man, he becomes a worm, and no man. He was Adam--a mean man, and Enosh--a man of sorrows, but lo Ish--not a considerable man: for he took upon him the form of a servant, and his visage was marred more than any man's,Isaiah 52:14. Man, at the best, is a worm; but he became a worm, and no man. If he had not made himself a worm, he could not have been trampled upon as he was. The word signifies such a worm as was used in dyeing scarlet or purple, whence some make it an allusion to his bloody sufferings. See what abuses were put upon him. 1. He was reproached as a bad man, as a blasphemer, a sabbath-breaker, a wine-bibber, a false prophet, an enemy to Cæsar, a confederate with the prince of the devils. 2. He was despised of the people as a mean contemptible man, not worth taking notice of, his country in no repute, his relations poor mechanics, his followers none of the rulers, or the Pharisees, but the mob. 3. He was ridiculed as a foolish man, and one that not only deceived others, but himself too. Those that saw him hanging on the cross laughed him to scorn. So far were they from pitying him, or concerning themselves for him, that they added to his afflictions, with all the gestures and expressions of insolence upbraiding him with his fall. They make mouths at him, make merry over him, and make a jest of his sufferings: They shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying, This was he that said he trusted God would deliver him; now let him deliver him. David was sometimes taunted for his confidence in God; but in the sufferings of Christ this was literally and exactly fulfilled. Those very gestures were used by those that reviled him (Matthew 27:39); they wagged their heads, nay, and so far did their malice make them forget themselves that they used the very words (Matthew 27:43; Matthew 27:43), He trusted in God; let him deliver him. Our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy for the dishonour we had done to God by our sins, did it by submitting to the lowest possible instance of ignominy and disgrace.

      IV. Encouragement taken as to this also (Psalms 22:9; Psalms 22:10): Men despise me, but thou art he that took me out of the womb. David and other good men have often, for direction to us, encouraged themselves with this, that God was not only the God of their fathers, as before (Psalms 22:4; Psalms 22:4), but the God of their infancy, who began by times to take care of them, as soon as they had a being, and therefore, they hope, will never cast them off. He that did so well for us in that helpless useless state will not leave us when he has reared us and nursed us up into some capacity of serving him. See the early instances of God's providential care for us, 1. In the birth: He took us also out of the womb, else we had died there, or been stifled in the birth. Every man's particular time begins with this pregnant proof of God's providence, as time, in general, began with the creation, that pregnant proof of his being. 2. At the breast: "Then didst thou make me hope;" that is, "thou didst that for me, in providing sustenance for me and protecting me from the dangers to which I was exposed, which encourages me to hope in thee all my days." The blessings of the breasts, as they crown the blessings of the womb, so they are earnests of the blessings of our whole lives; surely he that fed us then will never starve us, Job 3:12. 3. In our early dedication to him: I was cast upon thee from the womb, which perhaps refers to his circumcision on the eighth day; he was then by his parents committed and given up to God as his God in covenant; for circumcision was a seal of the covenant; and this encouraged him to trust in God. Those have reason to think themselves safe who were so soon, so solemnly, gathered under the wings of the divine majesty. 4. In the experience we have had of God's goodness to us all along ever since, drawn out in a constant uninterrupted series of preservations and supplies: Thou art my God, providing me and watching over me for good, from my mother's belly, that is, from my coming into the world unto this day. And if, as soon as we became capable of exercising reason, we put our confidence in God and committed ourselves and our way to him, we need not doubt but he will always remember the kindness of our youth and the love of our espousals,Jeremiah 2:2. This is applicable to our Lord Jesus, over whose incarnation and birth the divine Providence watched with a peculiar care, when he was born in a stable, laid in a manger, and immediately exposed to the malice of Herod, and forced to flee into Egypt. When he was a child God loved him and called him thence (Hosea 11:1), and the remembrance of this comforted him in his sufferings. Men reproached him, and discouraged his confidence in God; but God had honoured him and encouraged his confidence in him.