Psalms 22 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 22

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

22:1   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2   O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest.
3   Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises¹ of Israel.
4   In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
5   To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6   But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7   All who see me mock me;
    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8   “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
9   Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
    you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10   On you was I cast from my birth,
    and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11   Be not far from me,
    for trouble is near,
    and there is none to help.
12   Many bulls encompass me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13   they open wide their mouths at me,
    like a ravening and roaring lion.
14   I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint;
  my heart is like wax;
    it is melted within my breast;
15   my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
    you lay me in the dust of death.
16   For dogs encompass me;
    a company of evildoers encircles me;
  they have pierced my hands and feet²—
17   I can count all my bones—
  they stare and gloat over me;
18   they divide my garments among them,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.
19   But you, O LORD, do not be far off!
    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20   Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog!
21     Save me from the mouth of the lion!
  You have rescued³ me from the horns of the wild oxen!
22   I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23   You who fear the LORD, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24   For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted,
  and he has not hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he cried to him.
25   From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26   The afflicted⁴ shall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
    May your hearts live forever!
27   All the ends of the earth shall remember
    and turn to the LORD,
  and all the families of the nations
    shall worship before you.
28   For kingship belongs to the LORD,
    and he rules over the nations.
29   All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
    even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30   Posterity shall serve him;
    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31   they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
    that he has done it.

Footnotes

[1] 22:3 Or dwelling in the praises
[2] 22:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts like a lion [they are at] my hands and feet
[3] 22:21 Hebrew answered
[4] 22:26 Or The meek

Commentary

Prophetic psalm pointing us to the sufferings and exaltation of Christ. David may have written it when he had allied himself with the Philistines.

v1-21: The first part of the psalm asks the questions, 'Is God faithful?' There is a cycle of despair (v1-2, 6-8, 12-18) and of hope (v3-5, 9-11, 19-21).

v1-2: The writer felt forsaken by God; when trouble is near, we must turn to the God who can come nearer. The writer endured a time of trial, and cried out to God night and day during that trial. The Lord Jesus quoted these words whilst suffering on the cross, Mark 15.34. He thus identified with the Psalmist's experience, and He doubtless fulfilled it more fully than David ever did.

There is much to learn simply by considering the Psalmist's own experience and how he found hope in his suffering. Do not jump straight into the prophetic meaning. The expression of personal suffering is honest. There is no pretence. And God will isten to our honest painful cries to Him.

v3-5: He is able to praise God, for God remains true, whatever our circumstances. Others had experienced deliverance (Heb 5.7; 12.3 refer to the Lord Jesus); he had no doubt that deliverance was possible for him also.

God the Holy One - the God of history and the God of the nation. There is an immediate and personal experience. But this is part of a much bigger picture. God has been faithful and He will be faithful.

v6-8: Bearing human scorn, see Matt 27.42-43 refer to these verses. The godly man was mocked by those who rejected the ways of God. As above, this cry of despair is followed by a declaration of hope (v9). THere is always hope; for God is always true to Himself.

v9-11: The psalmist prayed to God, but not for the first time. There was an on going relationship with God. He had always trusted in God, and this time of trial was no different. Some call on God only in times of desperate need; the writer is not such a person.

v12-13: One man suffering at the hands of many, surrounded by "bulls of Bashan", and lions and dogs and wild oxen (see v20-21). The references to animals provides a strong imagery of the Psalmist's pain.

Christ suffered Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha, enduring the cruelty of man throughout those hours.

v14-15: A description of physical pain; these words can only describe Christ's suffering. The psalmist was suffering greatly, yet he foresaw something much more severe that would happen to Christ.

v16: As in v12-13, the attack of evil men, bringing further suffering. It was men who nailed Christ's hands and feet.

v17: As in v14-15, physical suffering, as Christ was made a spectacle before the people. As He was stretched out on the cross, His ribs would have stood out across His chest, hence "I can count all my bones."

v18: An extra detail, fulfilled in John 19.24. Such Scriptures as this, fulfilled in such detail 1000 years later, provide evidence of the accuracy and reliability of the Bible; this is no ordinary book.

v19-21: Hasten to help me, deliver me, save me; the Good Shepherd has given His life for the sheep.

The RAV has the words "You have answered me" (which the NIV does not have); here is the turning point, the prayers are answered, God has helped and delivered, proving Himself faithful. He did not allow His Holy One to see corruption, Ps 16.10. This answer introduces the long, hope-filled, conclusion to the Psalm.

v22-31: The second part of the psalm provides the glorious answer, 'God is faithful.'

v22-23: Response in praise to God for His faithfulness; praise led by Christ Himself, the captain of our salvation, the One who has gone before.

v24: God the Father has honoured the sufferings of Christ; He has not despised nor abhorred those sufferings, even though man did, Is 53.3. Heb 5.7 refers to Christ's prayers, always heard, prayers from a perfect heart and pure motives.

v25-26: The praise continues, with hearts set on the Lord God

v27-28: A reference to the good news of Christ, His death and resurrection being spread throughout the world. Many shall worship God, trusting Him to save. In Abraham all nations would be blessed (Gen 12.3), and here we see that the same promise holds true. The book of Revelation records people from every nation represented before the throne of God. Only in Christ could this be possible.

The nations themselves will become subject to Him, as every knee bows before the Christ, the chosen One of God.

v29: Blessing on great and small, the living and the dead; in Christ.

v30-31: The testimony of the generation, "posterity" (or, better, "seed"), the seed of Christ, future generations who will serve Him and make Him known.