The Book of Psalms
Psalm 22
Psalm XXII · Vol. II, pp. 998–1000
1 David complaineth in great discouragement. 9 He prayeth in great distress. 22 He praiseth God for mercy shown him.
To the chief musician upon Aijeleth Shahar,1 A psalm of David.
1 My God,a my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping 2me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, bI cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not; and in the night-season, and am not silent.3
b La.1.8,12, with He.5.7. Jn.11.42. Mat.26.38-44.
3 Heb. there is no silence to me.
3 Butc thou art holy, O thou that dinhabitest the praises of Israel.4
c Ex.15.11. Jos.24.19. De.32.4. Da.9.7.
4 'Thou inhabitest the sanctuary amid the praises of Israel.'—Boothroyd. 'He that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him,' 1 Jn. 4. 16; and God dwells, in the utterance of his name, amid the praises of his people—spiritual Israel.—C.
4 Our efathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
e Ro.4.18-20. He.11.13. Ge.xii.xiv.xix.xxvi.xxxi.xxxiii. Ex.vii.-xiv.; 2.23. Ps.107.6,13. Ju.iii.iv.vii.x. 1 Sa.vii.
7 Allj they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
j Mar.15.29. Mat.9.24; 27.29,39,43. Is.57.4; 37.22. Ps.44.14; 109.25. Job 16.4,10.
8 He trusted on the LORD6 that he would deliver him: klet him deliver him, 7seeing he delighted in him.8
6 Heb. He rolled himself on the LORD.
k Ps.91.14.
7 Or, if he delight in him.
8 These things were fulfilled in the cruel scoffing of the chief priests, scribes, and others during our Lord's crucifixion, Mat.27.39-43.—C.
9 But thou art he that ltook me out of the womb: nthou didst make me hope9 when I was upon my mother's breasts.
l Ps.139.15,16; 71.6. Je.31.22. Is.7.14; 9.6.
n Ps.71.5,17. Is.49.1,2. Lu.2.40-52.
9 Or, keep me in safety.
14 Is am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint:3 my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
s 2 Sa.14.14. Jos.7.5. Mat.26.38. Jn.12.27. Ps.69.1,2.
3 Or, sundered.
15 Myt strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;4 and uthou hast brought me into the dust of death.
t La.4.4. Ps.69.21. Mat.27.34. Jn.19.28,29.
4 Literally fulfilled when our Lord said, 'I thirst,' Jn. 19. 28, the natural consequence of the agony he endured for us, and the fulfilment of what the prophets had foretold concerning his sufferings.—C.
u Is.53.9,10. Mat.27.50. 1 Co.15.3.
16 For vdogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: xthey pierced my hands and my feet.
18 Theya part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
A.M. cir. 2983. B.C. cir. 1021.
a Lu.23.34. Jn.19.23,24. Mat.27.35.
19 Butb be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
b ver.11. Ps.40.13,17; 69.1,2,13-18,29; 109.1,21,26.
20 Deliver my soul from cthe sword; my darling5 from the power6 of dthe dog.
5 Heb. my only one, Ps. 35. 17. [Darling—'My dear life.' Boothroyd.—'My united one,' the humanity in union with Godhead. Lowth.—'My forsaken spirit.' Brown Patterson.—We prefer this last, as congenial to the translation of the same word, Ps. 25. 16, as well as to the opening clause of this psalm itself.—C.]
6 Heb. from the hand.
22 Ih will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.7
h Ps.40.9,10. Mar.16.15. He.2.11-16. Mat.12.49,50; 25.40; 28.10. Jn.20.17. Ro.8.29.
7 He prayed for help and deliverance. Now he returns grateful thanks that his prayers have been heard. In the fulness of his joy he praises God publicly, and calls upon others to join in his song of triumph.—P.
23 Yei that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
i Ps.115.11,13; 107.1,2. 1 Co.6.19,20; 10.31.
24 Forj 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.
j Ex.2.23-25; 3.7. Is.50.7,9. He.5.7. Ps.34.6,15; 116.4,6; 118.5,6; 18.6.
25 Myk praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
k Ps.66.13,16; 40.9,10; 50.14; 116.14-19. Ec.5.4,5.
26 Thel meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
l Mat.5.5. Is.25.6. Ps.69.32. Jn.6.51-57; 4.14.
27 Alln the ends of the world shall oremember and pturn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 Forq the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.
q Zec.14.9. Ob.21. Ps.110.2,3. Re.11.15.
29 All they that be rfat upon earth sshall eat and worship: all they that tgo down to the dust shall bow before him: and unone can keep alive his own soul.8
r Ps.78.31; 17.10; 73.7. Is.10.16.
s Ps.45.12; 72.10,11. Is.60.3,5,10. Re.21.24.
t Job 30.19. Ps.44.25; 113.7; 45.10,11. Is.29.4; 47.1. Phi.2.10.
8 Three distinct classes are here represented as submitting to and serving the Lord:—1. Those who are 'fat upon the earth;' i.e. the strong, prosperous, and successful. 2. 'Those who go down to the dust;' i.e. the lowly, the poor, the weak, and the oppressed. 3. 'Those who cannot keep alive their soul;' for such is the sense of the last clause:—those who are near to death; the aged, the infirm, the dying.—P.
31 Theyy shall come, and shall declare zhis righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
y Is.44.3-5; 38.19. Ps.145.4-7; 78.6.
z Ro.1.16,17; 3.21-26; 5.19,21. Is.45.24,25; 61.10,11. 2 Co.5.21.
Notes
Ver. 1. Forsaken me. These words, adopted by our Lord in the dark hour of his crucifixion, sufficiently demonstrate that the whole psalm is a prayer of Christ. Forsaken is interpreted by far from helping. God cannot forsake in presence, but he may as to immediate forth-putting of power to deliver. Compare ver. 16, 18, 22, with Jn. 20. 25, 27; Mat. 27. 35; He. 2. 12. C.
Ver. 12. Many bulls. Prophetic language, that it may suit all generations, must be emblematical; for words change, but emblems abide. These bulls, accordingly, are the emblems of aggressive power—the ecclesiastical rulers of the Jews, and the imperial rulers of the Roman empire, by whom Christ was persecuted to the death. C.
Ver. 13. Gaped . . . mouths. The marginal reading is better, and describes the bellowing of the bulls against their victim, well exemplified in the cry of the multitude, 'Away with him, away with him: crucify him, crucify him!' C.
Ver. 16. They pierced my hands and my feet. The translation of this clause has been much disputed. The Hebrew words in our received text will scarcely bear out the present rendering. The word rendered 'they pierced' almost any Hebrew scholar would translate 'as a lion,' and thus Gesenius and Hengstenberg translate it. It is worthy of note that some ancient MSS. have a different reading, slightly changing the final letter of the word, and thus making it signify 'they pierced,' with this reading agree all the ancient versions, and I therefore conclude that it is the true reading. It is possible that some fanatical Jew, finding that this passage was applied by Christians to our Lord, changed the original form of the word, and thus attempted to corrupt the text and obscure the meaning. P.
Ver. 21. Unicorns. There is no real unicorn known in nature, except the rhinoceros; the unicorn of heraldry is a creature of imagination. The meaning is well explained in a beautiful and consolatory proverb, 'Man's extremity is God's opportunity.' C.
Ver. 26. Your heart, &c. Your heart, your affections, being 'set upon things which are above,' Col. 3. 3. Christ, who is eternal life with the Father, 1 Jn. 1. 2, will be your life, Col. 3. 4, and give you eternal life, Jn. 10. 28. C.
Ver. 29. Fat upon earth, &c. Abundance of food produces forgetfulness of God, Is. 5. 12. To remedy this evil tendency, the Father, even by the example of the Son, always united worship with eating. So likewise does the apostolic injunction, 1 Co. 10. 31. The same principle is still more specially developed in the holy feast of the Lord's supper, 1 Co. 10. 16; 11. 28. C.
Ver. 30. A seed. Not seeds, as of many, but a seed; the one seed, they that are born of water, even of the Spirit, Jn. 3. 5; 1 Pe. 1. 23. C.
Reflections.—How fearful is the nature of sin, which drew such tremendous desertion and pain upon God's only begotten Son, when he came to the world! With the most holy resignation ought God's hidings and frowns to be endured, when they are sanctified by Jesus Christ's bearing them as our forerunner; and should be attended with kind thoughts of God, trust in him, and fervent prayers for deliverance. What earnest supplications are occasioned by a deep sense of need! But it is happy, in great distress, to have our blessed relation to God, and our own and others' experience of former deliverances, to encourage us to hope and wait for what we now need. What sinners before the Lord exceedingly were these dogs, these bulls, these wicked men, who with devils thus raged against the great God our Saviour! But, oh! what a debt of love and of praise the redeemed owe to their Lord, who so bare their sins, their griefs! And what ought they not cheerfully to suffer for his sake! What tidings—what supplies—what conquests—what continuance—what glories of grace—issue from the sufferings of our great Immanuel! Himself opens the triumphant song, and exhibits his experience for the comfort of his distressed brethren; and with joy declares his adherence to all his covenant engagements. Sweet is the entertainment of his flesh and blood—yea, of all the fulness of God which he has prepared for the poor, the afflicted, and meek! Precious and lasting is their life who by faith feed upon him! He goes forth persuading the nations high and low, to the obedience of faith. Let then his cause be oppressed as it may, in every age it will prove triumphant.