Old Testament Commentary - Psalms 22

by Don R. Hender

He was to descend below all things in his ordeal of suffering for the sins of the world. And while David does apply the prophetic verses which reference the course of the Messiah and his suffering, to himself proving the 'dualistic' nature of scripture that what may be applied to one can often be applied to all, it is of truth the Messiah which these verses to present. Again which prophet is referenced has been lost, but the psalm has remained, the singing in remembrance of the course of the plan of God and the suffering of His Son. David was in some sense a type and parallel of the Savior. The emence suffering for the grevious sins of the world was felt by both David, the name sake of the 'Beloved' and by Christ himself. David suffered because of his own sins having broken the commandments of God. Christ also suffered from all the sins of the world, he suffered for all men's braking of the commandments of God. The only difference was that David suffered for his own sins, and Christ suffered for all those of all of us, an infinite sacrifice for sin. In this hymn any who have sinned can feel the suffering of the sin bound soul. Any who have repented sorely can associate themselves with the emotions and feelings of these words. David did, though they were primarily the prophetic words which did describe the suffering of the Messiah. Specifically this can be seen by certain precise events such as the piercing of the hands and feet and the dividing of his vesture among them. David sings of his sorrow, using the words of the Lord's sorrow and grief for sin. From whence David referenced and paraphrased from has been lost, But we have the resulting ancient hymn which has preserved for our understanding that these things were known among the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial] Commentary & Explanation Footnotes ~ References ~ JST

CHAPTER 22
A Messianic Psalm of David—He foretells events in Messiah's life—Messiah says: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?—They pierce his hands and feet—He shall yet govern among all nations.

To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.

1 ^aMy God, my God, why hast thou ^bforsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from ^cthe 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 ^atrusted 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 ^areproach of men, and ^bdespised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to ^ascorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He ^atrusted 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.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my ^aheart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the ^awicked have inclosed me: they ^bpierced my hands and my feet^a.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my ^agarments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture^a.
16^a they pierced by hands and by feet Within these verses which David applies to himself can be seen the scriptural references David has drawn from which specifically detail the suffering of the Lord at his crucifixion. Here in the ordeal of the harsh treatment at the hands of the Sanhedrin, the appearance before Herod and the treatment by the Roman's, is pronounced the very piercing of his hands and feet upon the nailing him to the crosss. David sings this some 1,000 years prior to the event. David's application is to himself and his own suffering for his own grevious sins, yet it is the description of the suffering Lord which is drawn on by the psalmist for his song he sings.
18^a They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture David may have felt so down troden to have been guilty of so greviously braking the commandments of God, but it is certainly the details of the experience of Christ which are referenced here from the words of such prophets as we no longer have in the Jewish Old Testament today.

19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, ^ahaste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; ^amy darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the ^aunicorns.

22 I will declare thy ^aname unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 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.

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great ^acongregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the ^aworld shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the ^akingdom is the LORD's: and he is the ^bgovernor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own ^asoul.

30 A seed shall serve him^a; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall ^adeclare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. 30^a A seed shall serve him 'The Seed' is the 'Seed of a Woman' promised from the days of Eve, referenced by the words of Abraham and brought forth as the Son of God. The Firstborn in the Spirit of the Father, His own seed upon earth in the flesh; He it is that has served him as the ministering God of the 'fallen' Second Estate.

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 22 A Messianic Psalm of David—He foretells events in Messiah's life—Messiah says: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?—They pierce his hands and feet—He shall yet govern among all nations.
To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.
1 ^aMy God, my God, why hast thou ^bforsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from ^cthe 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 ^atrusted 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 ^areproach of men, and ^bdespised of the people. 7 All they that see me laugh me to ^ascorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 He ^atrusted 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. 11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. 12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my ^aheart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the ^awicked have inclosed me: they ^bpierced my hands and my feet^a. 17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. 18 They part my ^agarments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture^a.	16^a they pierced by hands and by feet Within these verses which David applies to himself can be seen the scriptural references David has drawn from which specifically detail the suffering of the Lord at his crucifixion. Here in the ordeal of the harsh treatment at the hands of the Sanhedrin, the appearance before Herod and the treatment by the Roman's, is pronounced the very piercing of his hands and feet upon the nailing him to the crosss. David sings this some 1,000 years prior to the event. David's application is to himself and his own suffering for his own grevious sins, yet it is the description of the suffering Lord which is drawn on by the psalmist for his song he sings. 18^a They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture David may have felt so down troden to have been guilty of so greviously braking the commandments of God, but it is certainly the details of the experience of Christ which are referenced here from the words of such prophets as we no longer have in the Jewish Old Testament today.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, ^ahaste thee to help me. 20 Deliver my soul from the sword; ^amy darling from the power of the dog. 21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the ^aunicorns.
22 I will declare thy ^aname unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. 23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. 24 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.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great ^acongregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. 26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. 27 All the ends of the ^aworld shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the ^akingdom is the LORD's: and he is the ^bgovernor among the nations. 29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own ^asoul.
30 A seed shall serve him^a; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 31 They shall come, and shall ^adeclare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.	30^a A seed shall serve him 'The Seed' is the 'Seed of a Woman' promised from the days of Eve, referenced by the words of Abraham and brought forth as the Son of God. The Firstborn in the Spirit of the Father, His own seed upon earth in the flesh; He it is that has served him as the ministering God of the 'fallen' Second Estate.