NOTES for Psa 22

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¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

³But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

⁵They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

⁷All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying,

⁸He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

⁹But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

¹⁰I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

¹¹Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

¹³They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

¹⁹But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

²²I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

²³Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

²⁴For 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.

²⁵My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

²⁶The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

²⁷All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.

²⁹All 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 soul.

³⁰A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

³¹They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

A prophetic psalm, astonishing in its detailed description of the coming sufferings of the Son of David. It is no accident that its words will be heard on Golgotha.

What inspired the psalmist to compose this psalm? Was it direct prophetic insight, or did the bitter experience of his own calamities and humiliations suggest to him wholly unexpected images that became reality centuries later?

But the psalm speaks not only of the coming sufferings and crucifixion of the persecuted Righteous One. Amid the pain, praise of the Lord rings out unexpectedly yet naturally. It contains not only a wish for earthly suffering to cease and for the poor to be fed, but also a prophetic wish of eternal life for those who seek the Lord. And there is another prophecy, one that began to be fulfilled after Golgotha: that at all the ends of the earth the Gentiles will come to know the Lord and will come to Him.

It is hardly an accident that the beginning of the psalm contains the note “at the appearance of the dawn.” Although this is an ordinary instruction to the psalm’s performers, these words allow us to imagine not only early morning in Jerusalem, but also the dawn of the Resurrection.

Other notes

For Psa 22:1-6

¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

³But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

⁵They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

The psalmist portrays the Lord as a good shepherd caring for his sheep. In our time, many people... Read more

The psalmist portrays the Lord as a good shepherd caring for his sheep. In our time, many people dislike being compared with sheep; they would prefer to identify themselves with more independent and predatory animals. But such is the paradox of the spiritual life: the humble become steadfast, those who acknowledge their weakness receive strength, while those who rely only on their own resources lose them without God...

It is remarkable that David, himself a king and accustomed to treating his subjects as a flock under his protection, does not separate himself from the sheep here and is ready to follow the Shepherd together with everyone else.

This psalm helps us better understand the words of the Son of David, who called Himself the Good Shepherd. He certainly had every right to do so, and not only because He cared for His disciples. By taking a title known to His listeners from this psalm, He testified about Himself as God.

For Psa 22:1-2

¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

This assertion - can be, one of the most important for every believer: this world wasn’t created by itself and doesn’t exist in itself, but it has a Creator and Master... Read more

This assertion - can be, one of the most important for every believer: this world wasn’t created by itself and doesn’t exist in itself, but it has a Creator and Master. God created this universe, and its future is in His hands. So we believe that this world, this life has some reasonable (great reasonable!) and unwavering foundations and goals, what permits not to be despair in our everyday life. Another question - why this Master allows for so long time the "unfaithful steward " (cf Luke 16) play the master in His possessions.

For Psa 22:1-2

¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

²O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

This statement may be one of the most important for every believing person... Read more

This statement may be one of the most important for every believing person: this world did not create itself and does not exist by itself, but has a Creator and Owner. God created this universe, and its future is in His hands. Thus we believe that this world and this life have certain rational, indeed suprarational, and unshakable foundations and purposes, which allows us not to despair in our everyday life. Another question is why this Owner allows "unfaithful managers" (see Luke 16) to run His possessions for so long.

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NOTES for Psa 22

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Readings for 17 March 2022

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