Psalms 22
FBMeyerPsalms 22:1-15
the Cry of the Forsaken Psalms 22:1-15 The Hebrew inscription of this exquisite ode is, “ The hind of the morning.” The hind is the emblem of loveliness; see Son 2:7; Son 2:9. The cruel persecutors are designated as bulls, lions, and dogs. Perhaps the allusion to the morning refers to the daybreak of resurrection-hope. Of course our blessed Lord is in every syllable. Indeed, the psalm reads more as history than as prophecy. The divine Sufferer seems to have recited it to Himself when on the Cross; for it begins with “ My God, my God,” etc., and ends, according to some, with a word in the Hebrew, meaning “ It is finished.” The psalm is indeed a photograph of Calvary, a memorial of the heartbreak of Jesus. Sometimes to the soul in agony God seems not to hear; but through those hours of darkness the Easter day is hastening to break in resplendent glory. He will not suffer His holy one to see corruption, Psalms 16:10.
The Psalm of the crossThe Hebrew inscription to this exquisite ode, which demands as many pages as we can give it lines, is “the hind of the morning.” The “hind” stands for one persecuted to death and is also an emblem of loveliness (Sol. Son 2:7-9). The cruel persecutors are designated as “bulls, lions, and dogs.” Perhaps the addition “of the morning” (marg.) Refers to the dawn of brighter and better days.
There is a remarkable exchange in the latter part of the Psalm (Psalms 22:22-31) of triumph for complaint. Of course, our blessed Lord is in every syllable. Indeed, it reads more as a history than a prophecy. It seems as if the Divine Sufferer recited it to Himself during the agonies of his crucifixion, for it begins with “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” and it ends according to some, in the original, with “It is finished! It is the photograph of our Lord’s saddest hours: the record of his dying words; the memorial of his expiring joys.” If we have here the sufferings of Christ, we shall certainly have also the glory that should follow.
Psalms 22:1-8.Complaints that he is forsaken and unheard, although he had trusted for deliverance.
Psalms 22:9-21.Expostulations on the ground of past favor and of the extremity of his sufferings.
Psalms 22:22-31 Ejaculatons of Praise, as the cloud beings ot roll away. Ah, Psalm that was balm to the pierced heart of Jesus, how precious art thou to those who drink his cup!
Psalms 22:1 My God, my God!. Uttered by our Lord after the darkness had lasted for three long hours. His God still, though hidden. God was as near and tender as ever; but the human consciousness of the Sin-bearer, made a curse for us, had lost the sensible enjoyment of his presence.
Psalms 22:2 Thou hearest not. This is rendered in R.V. answerest not God’s silence is no reason for our silence; but on the contrary, an incentive to more importunity (Matthew 15:22-23).
Psalms 22:3 Thou art Holy. Though prayer is not immediately answered there is no imputation on the character of God. The praises of the saints are the throne of the Eternal.
Psalms 22:4-5 They trusted. The thrice repetition is very significant. Is this the prominent feature in our character that our children will recall, and on which they will base their pleas?
Psalms 22:7-10 They laugh me to scorn. His very enemies had remarked how he rolled himself upon God (8, marg.) And used it as a jeer, but the Sufferer turns it into a prayer. From his birth he had been God’s nursling, and could he be now deserted?
Psalms 22:11 Be not far from me. Trouble sometimes seems nearer than God. But this is only to the eye of sense. Faith descries the Deliverer coming across the waves, and saying, It is I.
Psalms 22:14 All my bones are out of joint. What a vivid picture of the anguish of the cross! The gaping crowds; the strength and virulence of their abuse; the bones wrenched from one another; the broken heart; the fevered lips; the pierced hands and feet; the parted garments; the thrusting of Jehovah’s sword against his fellow (Psalms 22:20; Zechariah 13:7).
Psalms 22:20 My Darling. We learn from the parallelism that this represents his soul. The Hebrew is my only one.
Psalms 22:21 Thou hast heard me. In the limits of one verse, prayer begins to change to praise. He who had said, “Thou hearest not” (Psalms 20:2), confesses that all the while God had been hearing and helping him. The dog, the lion, the wild oxen (R.V.), are emblems of the hatred of man, from which God had rescued his servant.
Psalms 22:22I will declare thy name.. John 17:26; Hebrews 2:12.
Psalms 22:24 He hath not despised. Man may despise (Psalms 22:6), but God cannot. Man may abhor a worm (Psalms 22:6), but God uses such to thresh mountains. And though his face may seem hidden (Psalms 22:1-2) it is not really so.
Psalms 22:25-26 My praise shall be of Thee. Of Thee, i.e., originating from Thee, shall be my praise. Praise shall be the ultimate perquisite of all who seek God. And all who feed on the words of Jesus must have everlasting life (John 6:51).
Psalms 22:27-31 All the ends of the world. There is surely here a forecast of the effects of the death of the cross, first on the Jews (Psalms 22:23), but also in these verses on the Gentiles. The ends of the earth converted; the usurper dethroned (Psalms 22:28); the resurrection accomplished (Psalms 22:29); and the seeing of a spiritual seed to satisfy the travail of the Redeemer’s soul.
Psalms 22:16-31
the Testimony of the Delivered Psalms 22:16-31 In the middle of Psa 22:21 there is a remarkable change from the plaintive to the triumphant: supplication and entreaty break out into exultation; hope saves the broken harp from the hands of despair, restrings it, and extracts from it strains to which angels, on their way home to God, are constrained to listen. He who had said, Thou hearest not, Psalms 22:2, confesses that all the while God has been hearing and helping. Now Jesus will join the saints in psalms of praise. See John 17:26 (will make it known) and Hebrews 2:12. Man may abhor a worm, but God uses worms to thresh mountains, Isaiah 41:14-15. In the closing verses there is a sure forecast of the effects of the death on the Cross not only upon the Jews, but also upon the ends of the earth, that is, the Gentiles. The usurper shall be dethroned, Psalms 22:28; resurrection shall be accomplished, Psalms 22:29; and a spiritual seed shall satisfy the Redeemer’ s travail, Psalms 22:30.
The Psalm of the crossThe Hebrew inscription to this exquisite ode, which demands as many pages as we can give it lines, is “the hind of the morning.” The “hind” stands for one persecuted to death and is also an emblem of loveliness (Sol. Son 2:7-9). The cruel persecutors are designated as “bulls, lions, and dogs.” Perhaps the addition “of the morning” (marg.) Refers to the dawn of brighter and better days.
There is a remarkable exchange in the latter part of the Psalm (Psalms 22:22-31) of triumph for complaint. Of course, our blessed Lord is in every syllable. Indeed, it reads more as a history than a prophecy. It seems as if the Divine Sufferer recited it to Himself during the agonies of his crucifixion, for it begins with “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” and it ends according to some, in the original, with “It is finished! It is the photograph of our Lord’s saddest hours: the record of his dying words; the memorial of his expiring joys.” If we have here the sufferings of Christ, we shall certainly have also the glory that should follow.
Psalms 22:1-8.Complaints that he is forsaken and unheard, although he had trusted for deliverance.
Psalms 22:9-21.Expostulations on the ground of past favor and of the extremity of his sufferings.
Psalms 22:22-31 Ejaculatons of Praise, as the cloud beings ot roll away. Ah, Psalm that was balm to the pierced heart of Jesus, how precious art thou to those who drink his cup!
Psalms 22:1 My God, my God!. Uttered by our Lord after the darkness had lasted for three long hours. His God still, though hidden. God was as near and tender as ever; but the human consciousness of the Sin-bearer, made a curse for us, had lost the sensible enjoyment of his presence.
Psalms 22:2 Thou hearest not. This is rendered in R.V. answerest not God’s silence is no reason for our silence; but on the contrary, an incentive to more importunity (Matthew 15:22-23).
Psalms 22:3 Thou art Holy. Though prayer is not immediately answered there is no imputation on the character of God. The praises of the saints are the throne of the Eternal.
Psalms 22:4-5 They trusted. The thrice repetition is very significant. Is this the prominent feature in our character that our children will recall, and on which they will base their pleas?
Psalms 22:7-10 They laugh me to scorn. His very enemies had remarked how he rolled himself upon God (8, marg.) And used it as a jeer, but the Sufferer turns it into a prayer. From his birth he had been God’s nursling, and could he be now deserted?
Psalms 22:11 Be not far from me. Trouble sometimes seems nearer than God. But this is only to the eye of sense. Faith descries the Deliverer coming across the waves, and saying, It is I.
Psalms 22:14 All my bones are out of joint. What a vivid picture of the anguish of the cross! The gaping crowds; the strength and virulence of their abuse; the bones wrenched from one another; the broken heart; the fevered lips; the pierced hands and feet; the parted garments; the thrusting of Jehovah’s sword against his fellow (Psalms 22:20; Zechariah 13:7).
Psalms 22:20 My Darling. We learn from the parallelism that this represents his soul. The Hebrew is my only one.
Psalms 22:21 Thou hast heard me. In the limits of one verse, prayer begins to change to praise. He who had said, “Thou hearest not” (Psalms 20:2), confesses that all the while God had been hearing and helping him. The dog, the lion, the wild oxen (R.V.), are emblems of the hatred of man, from which God had rescued his servant.
Psalms 22:22I will declare thy name.. John 17:26; Hebrews 2:12.
Psalms 22:24 He hath not despised. Man may despise (Psalms 22:6), but God cannot. Man may abhor a worm (Psalms 22:6), but God uses such to thresh mountains. And though his face may seem hidden (Psalms 22:1-2) it is not really so.
Psalms 22:25-26 My praise shall be of Thee. Of Thee, i.e., originating from Thee, shall be my praise. Praise shall be the ultimate perquisite of all who seek God. And all who feed on the words of Jesus must have everlasting life (John 6:51).
Psalms 22:27-31 All the ends of the world. There is surely here a forecast of the effects of the death of the cross, first on the Jews (Psalms 22:23), but also in these verses on the Gentiles. The ends of the earth converted; the usurper dethroned (Psalms 22:28); the resurrection accomplished (Psalms 22:29); and the seeing of a spiritual seed to satisfy the travail of the Redeemer’s soul.