Psalm 22

Feeling forsaken by Jehovah (vs. 1-21a)—Whether this psalm is wholly Messianic or whether David’s sufferings and eventual euphoria are a type of Christ is not clear to all Bible students. That there are verses here that refer to Christ is undeniable. Here they are:

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me” (v. 1);
“He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him” (v. 8);
“They pierced My hands and My feet” (v. 16);
“They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots” (v. 18).

These four are clear allusions to the crucifixion of Jesus. The whole psalm is probably Messianic, though placed in the historical circumstances of David’s life, and I’ll write my comments below from David’s perspective, yet I encourage the reader to remember that “David” probably means “Jesus.”

Regardless, David feels forsaken by God (vs. 1-2), a feeling we all have at times in our lives. He does not deny—nor should we—the holiness of God (v. 3), and that trust has brought, and will bring, deliverance (vs. 4-5). It simply hadn’t happened to David yet. He feels virtually worthless—“I am a worm” (v. 6)—and all the people have turned against him as well; he is ridiculed and mocked (vs. 7-8). Yet, he knows that it is God Who “took me out of the womb” (v. 9); he has never turned from God (v. 10), and, at the moment, there is no one else to turn to (v. 11). He is surrounded by strong, vicious enemies (vs. 12-13), “poured out like water” (v. 14), without strength and near death (v. 15). In what can only be references to Jesus, “they pierced My hands and My feet” (v. 16), and “divide My garments among them” (v. 18). If we apply this in any way to David the king, it must only be poetic and figurative, for these things never literally happened to him. There is a final request (vs. 19-21a) for Jehovah to deliver him. And indeed…

“You have answered me” (vs. 21a-31)—The remainder of the song is a praise to the Lord for just that fact, and an encouragement to others to do the same. Because of His great deliverance, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You” (v. 22). Others—“you who fear the Lord” should also “praise Him” (v. 23). Jehovah does not forever hide His face; when we cry to Him, He hears (v. 24). Our praise should be public (“in the great assembly”), and we should be faithful in our commitments to Him (v. 25). He takes care of even the lowliest of His people (v. 26). One of the evidences of faithfulness is indeed praise: “Those who seek Him will praise the LORD” (v. 26). “All the ends of the earth” will, at some point, “remember and turn to the Lord,” and “shall worship before You” (v. 27). He’s the King and “rules over the nations” (v. 28). The prosperous “shall eat and worship,” and those near death “shall bow before Him” (v. 29). One cannot help but reminded of Paul’s great eulogy in Philippians 2:9-11: “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It will happen some day, and both David in Psalm 22 and Paul in Philippians 2 are agreed upon it. David ends Psalm 22 by announcing that God’s greatness will live on and on, from generation to generation (vs. 30-31).

Again, it is best to look at this psalm, though written by David, as a summary of the work of Christ on Calvary and its resultant blessings. Jesus did come in the flesh, with all the emotions, feeling, frailties, doubts, and pains that such entailed. But His death is the ultimate cause for universal praise to God; without Him, nothing else written in the book of Psalms has any meaning at all. This great psalm reminds us of the entire theme of the Old Testament: Christ is coming for the redemption of mankind. That was promised by God all the way back in Genesis 3:15, and is kept before us, constantly, as we read through the Old Testament writings.