Psa 22:1-2 | KingComments | STEP | With this psalm a series of three psalms begins in which we see the Lord Jesus as Shepherd: 1. Psalm 22 speaks of “the good Shepherd”, Who gives His life for His sheep ( ). 2. Psalm 23 speaks of “the great Shepherd”, Who was brought back by God from the dead ( ) and Who leads, feeds and protects His own. 3. Psalm 24 speaks of “the chief Shepherd”, Who will appear in power and reward all who have done a service as a shepherd among His people ( ). We see the following aspects in the order of these psalms: Psalm 22 – Psalm 23 – Psalm 24 Past – Present – Future. Savior – Shepherd – Ruler. Cross – Staff – Crown. Golgotha – Green pastures – Zion. The demand of God’s holiness – The distress of His own – The glory of the Son. Psalm 22 is unmistakably a Messianic psalm, as evidenced by its quotation in Hebrews 2 ( ; ). The entire book of Psalms refers to Him ( ), with the Messianic psalms overwhelmingly doing so. Although the psalm is written by David, it is not about David, but about Christ. David, as a prophet, speaks of Him (cf. ). This psalm is about the Savior’s death on the cross. We find here an elaboration of what we have already read in Psalm 20 about “the day of trouble” of the Messiah ( ). We hear Him speak of His inner feelings, of what went on in His innermost being during the hours He hung on the cross. In the Gospels we read mainly about His visible sufferings. Some of the features mentioned in the psalm show that we are not primarily hearing the experiences of David, but those of the Lord Jesus. When we read in “they pierced my hands and my feet”, this is not something what David – at least in a literal sense – experienced. This was done to the Lord Jesus when He was crucified. Death by crucifixion did not yet exist when David wrote this, approximately 1100 BC. The dislocation of the bones also points to crucifixion ( ), as does the counting of the bones, which could be done because the crucified person was (mostly) disrobed, while His body was dehydrated ( ). The psalm can be divided into two main parts. 1. The first part ( ) deals with “the sufferings of Christ” ( ). 2. The second part ( ) deals with “the glories to follow” ( ). The Lord Jesus speaks of these two aspects when He explains to two disciples on their way to Emmaus what is written of Him in all the Scriptures: “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” ( ). We see this reflected in this psalm: the psalm changes from a lamentation to a song of praise. For “for the choir director” see at Psalm 4:1. The feelings that David expresses in this psalm are the result of a severe ordeal, about which we know no further details. Yet, as far as we know, there is no event in this psalm that could correspond to actual experiences in his life. What he says transcends his feelings and experiences. The Holy Spirit has led him in such a way that here he prophetically describes the feelings of the Lord Jesus on the cross. Again, this psalm is not about feelings with which a believer can identify and express his own feelings because of similar experiences. Singing this psalm together is done to sing of the sufferings of the Messiah and to express a deep admiration for Him. It is an expression of feelings aroused by the psalm, not of feelings of personal experiences. Certainly, a person can feel unutterably miserable and even abandoned by God. This will also be the feeling of the believing remnant during the great tribulation. Many psalms speak of the Savior’s suffering in a way that also reflects the suffering of the remnant. Therein lies a comfort for the believer. But in this psalm the suffering is connected to the Savior’s work of atonement in which He is alone. The singing of the psalm is done “upon Aijeleth Hashshahar” which means ‘the hind of the dawn’. While the psalm describes the deep darkness of the Savior’s unique suffering on the cross, we also find in this heading the loveliness of the hind as the dawn of victory glows. The first rays of sunlight, just before dawn, resemble the horns of the hind. It is here an indication of the beginning of redemption. David writes this psalm for the choir director. The intention is that others will experience something of the content of this psalm by singing it. The melody is named ‘hind of the dawn’. It reminds us of what is written in Song of Songs 6: “Who is this that grows like the dawn?” ( ). She represents His bride, appearing on the scene on that morning without clouds. Christ, on the cross in the fearful God forsakenness, always thought of her whom He would possess as the fruit of His work. It was an essential part of the joy that was before Him. It is a gloomy song, but not without hope. This psalm provides the answer to the mystery of why, after the long night of sin and suffering, God allows a new day – the dawn – to come: it is because the Lord Jesus was made sin on the cross. For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1. The psalm begins in at the deepest possible point with an exclamation that is also, as it were, a summary of all the emotions expressed further on. The Lord Jesus exclaimed the words “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me” at the end of the three hours of darkness, after He had completely emptied the cup of God’s anger over sin ( ; ). This is something that no human being, and certainly no believer, has ever experienced, including David. Christ calls out to God, Whom He addresses as “My God”. He does it twice in a row in this verse, which increases the intensity of His cry. He is the only Man Who in all truth can call God “My God”. This has been so throughout His life, from the womb ( ) up to and including the first three hours on the cross. He has always gone His way in fellowship with God. There has never been a whisper of discord in that fellowship. And that God, with Whom He lived in such close fellowship, had forsaken Him. He did not ask His question about the “why” because He did not know. He knew better than anyone that God cannot have fellowship with sin. God had to leave Him because He made Him sin ( ). Christ was the true sin offering in these three hours of being forsaken. God had awakened the sword of His judgment against Him, Whom He calls “My Shepherd” and “My Associate” and with Whom He had perfect fellowship in His life on earth ( ). What is incomprehensible to us happened in those three hours: “The LORD was pleased to crush Him” ( ). This happened as punishment for sin, not His own sin, but substitutionary for the sin of others who accepted His sacrifice. People in hell will never be able to ask “why” God has forsaken them, because they have never had a living relationship with God. They will also know why they are there. The Righteous One asks “why” God had forsaken Him, so that all who know Him as the true sin offering would answer: “It is because of me.” Christ knew it, but the question should appeal to us. It is important to remember that the Lord Jesus as Man was forsaken by His God. As the eternal Son, He was not forsaken by His Father. Nowhere do we read in God’s Word that the Father has forsaken Him. On the contrary, we read that the Father was with Him ( ; cf. ). Never can the eternal Son be forsaken by the eternal Father. Even in the three hours of darkness, when God left His Son as come in the flesh, that is, the Man Christ, the eternal Son had perfect fellowship with the eternal Father. Here we have to do with a mystery which we cannot understand, but which is accepted and admired by faith. That it concerns the Lord Jesus as Man, we also see from the seven words He spoke on the cross. The first and the last word He introduces with “Father”. Here, in Psalm 22, is the fourth word, the middle one of the seven. In it He speaks not to His Father, but to His God. It is a special exclamation. This verse is uttered here in Hebrew by David. In the quotation in Matthew and Mark it is in Aramaic, together with the translation into Greek ( ; ). This means that this verse appears in all three languages used to write the Bible. This is the only verse in the Bible where this has happened. It emphasizes the importance of this exclamation. Also, that this psalm begins with it makes the importance clear. After His question of why God has forsaken Him, He asks a second question. That question is why God is far from His deliverance. That God was “far” from His “deliverance” meant for the Lord a fathomless depth of suffering. When there is always a close fellowship with someone, it is immediately felt when there is some distance in that fellowship. Between the Lord Jesus and His God not only some distance had come, but a deep rift through which the distance had become far and unbridgeable. The words of His lamentation sounded like the roaring of a lion [“groaning” is literally “roaring”]. These words, the expressions of one in deep trouble and suffering, were not heard because of the unbridgeable distance. There was no hand to deliver and no ear to hear. The Lord Jesus cried “by day”, but God did not answer ( ). He cried “by night”, but He had no rest. He continued to cry. He said this during His suffering on the cross. We can think of the “by day” being the first three hours on the cross, which is from 9-12 am, and the “by night” as being the three hours of darkness on the cross, which is from 12-15 pm. In these hours on the cross, an eternity is compressed. Despite the fact that God was far from the Lord and did not deliver Him and did not hear Him, the Lord had no doubt about the holiness of God ( ). On the contrary, He confirmed it. He justified God in His forsaking of Him precisely because God is holy and therefore could have nothing to do with Him whom He had made sin. God is enthroned, that is to say, established His government, on the praises of Israel. The praises of Israel were sung in the temple, near the altar in the court. The praises came from the mouths of those who praise Him for Who He is to His people. They were in the place where He had fellowship with them. The Lord Jesus was outside the city, outside the sanctuary where He was made sin. Three times the Lord reminds God of the trust the fathers had in Him and that they were delivered by Him ( ). This proves that God has always been faithful and has always been able to deliver! Never had anyone appealed to the faithfulness and help of God in vain, not even David ( ). God never disappoints anyone who appeals to Him in sincerity. With the fathers – and also with us – being forsaken by God means only that in the trouble of suffering and persecution we have no prospect of salvation, which makes us feel forsaken by God. Nevertheless, we cry out to God. And God always answers such cries for help in His time and His way. A believer will always experience the nearness of God in the midst of suffering. It was not so with the Lord Jesus. What the Lord Jesus experienced was unique. The Lord always called to trust in God and always did so Himself. And now He Himself was forsaken. This was because in those hours He was the object of the wrath of God, because of the fact that God had made Him sin. Therefore, God could not answer His call for help then. With these verses, which deal with the three hours of darkness during which the Lord Jesus was made sin and God did not deliver Him from His enemies, the psalm begins. The feelings of suffering inflicted on Him by men follows hereafter, although it actually preceded the suffering inflicted on Him by God.

‏ Psalms 22:1-2

Introduction

With this psalm a series of three psalms begins in which we see the Lord Jesus as Shepherd:

1. Psalm 22 speaks of “the good Shepherd”, Who gives His life for His sheep (Jn 10:11).

2. Psalm 23 speaks of “the great Shepherd”, Who was brought back by God from the dead (Heb 13:20-21) and Who leads, feeds and protects His own.

3. Psalm 24 speaks of “the chief Shepherd”, Who will appear in power and reward all who have done a service as a shepherd among His people (1Pet 5:4).

We see the following aspects in the order of these psalms:

Psalm 22 – Psalm 23 – Psalm 24

Past – Present – Future.

Savior – Shepherd – Ruler.

Cross – Staff – Crown.

Golgotha – Green pastures – Zion.

The demand of God’s holiness – The distress of His own – The glory of the Son.

Psalm 22 is unmistakably a Messianic psalm, as evidenced by its quotation in Hebrews 2 (Psa 22:22; Heb 2:12). The entire book of Psalms refers to Him (Lk 24:44), with the Messianic psalms overwhelmingly doing so. Although the psalm is written by David, it is not about David, but about Christ. David, as a prophet, speaks of Him (cf. Acts 2:29-30).

This psalm is about the Savior’s death on the cross. We find here an elaboration of what we have already read in Psalm 20 about “the day of trouble” of the Messiah (Psa 20:1b). We hear Him speak of His inner feelings, of what went on in His innermost being during the hours He hung on the cross. In the Gospels we read mainly about His visible sufferings.

Some of the features mentioned in the psalm show that we are not primarily hearing the experiences of David, but those of the Lord Jesus. When we read in Psa 22:16 “they pierced my hands and my feet”, this is not something what David – at least in a literal sense – experienced. This was done to the Lord Jesus when He was crucified. Death by crucifixion did not yet exist when David wrote this, approximately 1100 BC. The dislocation of the bones also points to crucifixion (Psa 22:14), as does the counting of the bones, which could be done because the crucified person was (mostly) disrobed, while His body was dehydrated (Psa 22:17-18).

The psalm can be divided into two main parts.

1. The first part (Psa 22:1-21) deals with “the sufferings of Christ” (1Pet 1:11b).

2. The second part (Psa 22:21b-31) deals with “the glories to follow” (1Pet 1:11c).

The Lord Jesus speaks of these two aspects when He explains to two disciples on their way to Emmaus what is written of Him in all the Scriptures: “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” (Lk 24:26-27). We see this reflected in this psalm: the psalm changes from a lamentation to a song of praise.

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

For “for the choir director” see at Psalm 4:1.

The feelings that David expresses in this psalm are the result of a severe ordeal, about which we know no further details. Yet, as far as we know, there is no event in this psalm that could correspond to actual experiences in his life. What he says transcends his feelings and experiences. The Holy Spirit has led him in such a way that here he prophetically describes the feelings of the Lord Jesus on the cross.

Again, this psalm is not about feelings with which a believer can identify and express his own feelings because of similar experiences. Singing this psalm together is done to sing of the sufferings of the Messiah and to express a deep admiration for Him. It is an expression of feelings aroused by the psalm, not of feelings of personal experiences.

Certainly, a person can feel unutterably miserable and even abandoned by God. This will also be the feeling of the believing remnant during the great tribulation. Many psalms speak of the Savior’s suffering in a way that also reflects the suffering of the remnant. Therein lies a comfort for the believer. But in this psalm the suffering is connected to the Savior’s work of atonement in which He is alone.

The singing of the psalm is done “upon Aijeleth Hashshahar” which means ‘the hind of the dawn’. While the psalm describes the deep darkness of the Savior’s unique suffering on the cross, we also find in this heading the loveliness of the hind as the dawn of victory glows. The first rays of sunlight, just before dawn, resemble the horns of the hind. It is here an indication of the beginning of redemption.

David writes this psalm for the choir director. The intention is that others will experience something of the content of this psalm by singing it. The melody is named ‘hind of the dawn’. It reminds us of what is written in Song of Songs 6: “Who is this that grows like the dawn?” (Song 6:10). She represents His bride, appearing on the scene on that morning without clouds. Christ, on the cross in the fearful God forsakenness, always thought of her whom He would possess as the fruit of His work. It was an essential part of the joy that was before Him.

It is a gloomy song, but not without hope. This psalm provides the answer to the mystery of why, after the long night of sin and suffering, God allows a new day – the dawn – to come: it is because the Lord Jesus was made sin on the cross.

For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1.

The psalm begins in Psa 22:1a at the deepest possible point with an exclamation that is also, as it were, a summary of all the emotions expressed further on. The Lord Jesus exclaimed the words “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me” at the end of the three hours of darkness, after He had completely emptied the cup of God’s anger over sin (Mt 27:45-46; Mk 15:33-34). This is something that no human being, and certainly no believer, has ever experienced, including David.

Christ calls out to God, Whom He addresses as “My God”. He does it twice in a row in this verse, which increases the intensity of His cry. He is the only Man Who in all truth can call God “My God”. This has been so throughout His life, from the womb (Psa 22:10) up to and including the first three hours on the cross. He has always gone His way in fellowship with God. There has never been a whisper of discord in that fellowship.

And that God, with Whom He lived in such close fellowship, had forsaken Him. He did not ask His question about the “why” because He did not know. He knew better than anyone that God cannot have fellowship with sin. God had to leave Him because He made Him sin (2Cor 5:21).

Christ was the true sin offering in these three hours of being forsaken. God had awakened the sword of His judgment against Him, Whom He calls “My Shepherd” and “My Associate” and with Whom He had perfect fellowship in His life on earth (Zec 13:7). What is incomprehensible to us happened in those three hours: “The LORD was pleased to crush Him” (Isa 53:10). This happened as punishment for sin, not His own sin, but substitutionary for the sin of others who accepted His sacrifice.

People in hell will never be able to ask “why” God has forsaken them, because they have never had a living relationship with God. They will also know why they are there. The Righteous One asks “why” God had forsaken Him, so that all who know Him as the true sin offering would answer: “It is because of me.” Christ knew it, but the question should appeal to us.

It is important to remember that the Lord Jesus as Man was forsaken by His God. As the eternal Son, He was not forsaken by His Father. Nowhere do we read in God’s Word that the Father has forsaken Him. On the contrary, we read that the Father was with Him (Jn 8:29 ; Jn 16:32; cf. Gen 22:6 ; 8). Never can the eternal Son be forsaken by the eternal Father. Even in the three hours of darkness, when God left His Son as come in the flesh, that is, the Man Christ, the eternal Son had perfect fellowship with the eternal Father. Here we have to do with a mystery which we cannot understand, but which is accepted and admired by faith.

That it concerns the Lord Jesus as Man, we also see from the seven words He spoke on the cross. The first and the last word He introduces with “Father”. Here, in Psalm 22, is the fourth word, the middle one of the seven. In it He speaks not to His Father, but to His God.

It is a special exclamation. This verse is uttered here in Hebrew by David. In the quotation in Matthew and Mark it is in Aramaic, together with the translation into Greek (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34). This means that this verse appears in all three languages used to write the Bible. This is the only verse in the Bible where this has happened. It emphasizes the importance of this exclamation. Also, that this psalm begins with it makes the importance clear.

After His question of why God has forsaken Him, He asks a second question. That question is why God is far from His deliverance. That God was “far” from His “deliverance” meant for the Lord a fathomless depth of suffering. When there is always a close fellowship with someone, it is immediately felt when there is some distance in that fellowship. Between the Lord Jesus and His God not only some distance had come, but a deep rift through which the distance had become far and unbridgeable. The words of His lamentation sounded like the roaring of a lion [“groaning” is literally “roaring”]. These words, the expressions of one in deep trouble and suffering, were not heard because of the unbridgeable distance. There was no hand to deliver and no ear to hear.

The Lord Jesus cried “by day”, but God did not answer (Psa 22:2). He cried “by night”, but He had no rest. He continued to cry. He said this during His suffering on the cross. We can think of the “by day” being the first three hours on the cross, which is from 9-12 am, and the “by night” as being the three hours of darkness on the cross, which is from 12-15 pm. In these hours on the cross, an eternity is compressed.

Despite the fact that God was far from the Lord and did not deliver Him and did not hear Him, the Lord had no doubt about the holiness of God (Psa 22:3). On the contrary, He confirmed it. He justified God in His forsaking of Him precisely because God is holy and therefore could have nothing to do with Him whom He had made sin.

God is enthroned, that is to say, established His government, on the praises of Israel. The praises of Israel were sung in the temple, near the altar in the court. The praises came from the mouths of those who praise Him for Who He is to His people. They were in the place where He had fellowship with them. The Lord Jesus was outside the city, outside the sanctuary where He was made sin.

Three times the Lord reminds God of the trust the fathers had in Him and that they were delivered by Him (Psa 22:4-5). This proves that God has always been faithful and has always been able to deliver! Never had anyone appealed to the faithfulness and help of God in vain, not even David (Psa 9:10). God never disappoints anyone who appeals to Him in sincerity.

With the fathers – and also with us – being forsaken by God means only that in the trouble of suffering and persecution we have no prospect of salvation, which makes us feel forsaken by God. Nevertheless, we cry out to God. And God always answers such cries for help in His time and His way. A believer will always experience the nearness of God in the midst of suffering. It was not so with the Lord Jesus.

What the Lord Jesus experienced was unique. The Lord always called to trust in God and always did so Himself. And now He Himself was forsaken. This was because in those hours He was the object of the wrath of God, because of the fact that God had made Him sin. Therefore, God could not answer His call for help then.

With these verses, which deal with the three hours of darkness during which the Lord Jesus was made sin and God did not deliver Him from His enemies, the psalm begins. The feelings of suffering inflicted on Him by men follows hereafter, although it actually preceded the suffering inflicted on Him by God.