Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.
But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!
All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

• Psalm 22:1-31

Type of Psalm

Psalms of Affliction: Psalms where the psalmist is crying out in pain or distress, asking God where He is in the psalmist’s time of need.  But no matter how dire the circumstances or how long the lament, there seems to always be a word of praise.  Otherwise, why do we go to God in such times, other than to recognize Him as the only one who can help us?

Prophetic psalms: Prophetic psalms are those psalms containing prophecy that is not specifically Messianic prophecy.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“The Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets, testifies in this psalm, as clearly and fully as any where in all the Old Testament, ‘the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow’ (1Pet. 1:11); of him, no doubt, David here speaks, and not of himself, or any other man. Much of it is expressly applied to Christ in the New Testament, all of it may be applied to him, and some of it must be understood of him only. I. Of the humiliation of Christ (ver. 1-21). 1. He complains, and mixes comforts with his complaints; he complains (ver. 1,2), but comforts himself (ver. 3-5), complains again (ver. 6-8), but comforts himself again, ver. 9, 10. 2. He complains, and mixes prayers with his complaints; he complains of the power and rage of his enemies (ver. 12, 13, 16, 18), of his own bodily weakness and decay (ver. 14, 15, 17); but prays that God would not be far from him (ver. 11, 19), that he would save and deliver him, ver. 19-21. II. Of the exaltation of Christ, that his undertaking should be for the glory of God (ver. 22-25), for the salvation and joy of his people (ver. 26-29), and for the perpetuating of his own kingdom, ver. 30-31. In singing this psalm we must keep our thoughts fixed upon Christ.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 22:10 ” ‘God is strong and can help you not to fall’ (Jude 24). You and I are on a great climb. The wall is high, and the stakes are higher. You took your first step the day you confessed Christ as the Son of God. He gave you his harness—the Holy Spirit. In your hands he placed a rope—his Word.
“Your first steps were confident and strong, but with the journey came weariness, and with the height came fear. You lost your footing. You lost your focus. You lost your grip, and you fell. For a moment, which seemed like forever, you tumbled wildly. Out of control. Out of self-control. Disoriented. Dislodged. Falling.
“But then the rope tightened, and the tumble ceased. You hung in the harness and found it to be strong. You grasped the rope and found it to be true. And though you can’t see your guide, you know him. You know he is strong. You know he is able to keep you from falling.”

• Max Lucado, A Gentle Thunder

My Thoughts

The source (unknown) that lists the types of psalms did not list this as Messianic.  It is clearly so, as Matthew Henry states.  And as Matthew Henry also states, the psalm blends David talking about himself with talking about Jesus.  But the piercing of the hands and the feet, the mouth dry, the tongue sticking, the bones exposed as people looked on, the bones being out of joint, and the casting of lots for the clothing are all Messianic prophecies.

I have written before that I am irritated with pastors who say “Christ’s body, broken for you” for no bone was broken and no gospel says those words.  “Given” Yes, not broken.  But bones being out of joint?  Have your hands and feet nailed to a tree.  Have your lungs fill with fluid.  Then as you push up, putting pressure on the nails in your feet, just to get a little air and expel some fluid, it is quite reasonable that your bones would be out of joint.  And as you stay nailed to the tree, unless you are obese, your bones might show through the skin.

But David starts this psalm with a lament of “Where are you, God?”  Israel has trusted God, but the bulls of Bashan and lions are at David’s door.  His enemies mock him (which could also be Jesus – think the taunts that He had done so many miracles, but He doesn’t save Himself – He could but He doesn’t).

But God does not abandon the afflicted.  The poor will eat.  Those that seek God, truly seek Him, will find Him and praise Him.

The Lord has dominion over the earth and all nations will bow down.

And the final words…

“He has done it.”

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
    he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

• Psalm 23:1-6

Type of Psalm

Psalms of thanksgiving for God’s goodness to good people:  Giving God thanks as noted.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“A psalm which has been sung by good Christians, and will be while the world stands, with a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction. I. The psalmist here claims relation to God, as his shepherd, ver. 1. II. He recounts his experience of the kind things God had done for him as his shepherd, ver. 2, 3, 5. III. Hence he infers that he should want no good (ver. 1), that he needed to fear no evil (ver. 4), that God would never leave nor forsake him in a way of mercy; and therefore he resolves never to leave nor forsake God in a way of duty, ver. 6. In this he had certainly an eye, not only to the blessings of God’s providence, which made his outward condition prosperous, but to the communications of God’s grace, received by a lively faith, and returned in a warm devotion, which filled his soul with joy unspeakable. And, as in the foregoing psalm he represented Christ dying for his sheep, so here he represents Christians receiving the benefit of all the care and tenderness of that great and good shepherd.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 23:2 “Did you know that sheep cannot drink from noisy, running water? A sheep‘s nostrils are so close to its mouth that if it starts to drink and the water is moving, it will choke and could perhaps drown. It is necessary for the shepherd to dam the stream until a quiet pool is formed, and the moving water becomes still. Then the animal can put its muzzle into the water and drink without choking and gasping for air. When David wrote about our Lord being our shepherd, he said, ‘He leadeth me beside the still waters.’
“The grace of God is like the still, quiet pool of water. The water flows softly! Oh, grace of God, how you have been wounded in the house of your friends! Grace of God, how you have been made into a fetish before which modern men bow in worship. The sweet grace of God-how it has been used to hide what people really are. The grace of God has been preached in ways that have damned men instead of saved them. Yet it is still full and free—the grace of God!”

• A. W. Tozer, Who Put Jesus on the Cross?

My Thoughts

This psalm is so well known, but many do not know the significance.  Rev. Tozer talks about sheep drowning in rushing water, and the use of a dam.  I have heard that shepherds might use a little loop that can float.  Within the loop, the water is calm.

The Lord guides his path, but he goes into the darkest valley.  This shows us that God does not prevent suffering, but He is our guide to lead us through to the other side.  Much better than being all alone in the darkest valley.  God is with us and we shall fear no evil.

And in the psalmist mentioning rod and staff, you get both business ends, the gentle guidance and the whack to wake us up and get us on the right track.

And the psalm ends with our cup overflowing and God will be with us forever, here and in eternity.

Psalm 24

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
for he founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.
They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.

• Psalm 24:1-10

Type of Psalm

Didactic psalms: These psalms are psalms that are intended to teach.  In most cases the psalm instructs us in moral principles.

Psalms of praise: Exactly as stated.  God is being praised.

Matthew Henry’s Summary

“This psalm is concerning the kingdom of Jesus Christ, I. His providential kingdom, by which he rules the world, ver. 1, 2. II. The kingdom of his grace, by which he rules in his church. 1. Concerning the subjects of that kingdom; their character (ver. 4, 6), their charter, ver. 5. 2. Concerning the King of that kingdom; and a summons to all to give him admission, ver. 7-10.”

• Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary

Noted Biblical Scholars, Teachers, and Preachers Comments

Psalm 24:10 The Lord of hosts “The divine Warrior possibly comes back into consideration; He, the commander-in-chief, is ‘the Lord of armies’ (cf. 1 Sam. 17:45).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

My Thoughts

Earth belongs to God.

Who can stand before God?  The righteous.  The one with clean hands and a pure heart.

Lift up your gates.

Who is the king of Glory?

The Lord Almighty is the king of Glory.

A psalm clearly stated.

Some Serendipitous Reflections

Psalm 22

“1. When you are stricken with grief, feeling abandoned even by God, how do you express yourself: Disbelief? Tears? Anger? Woe is me? Wanting to crawl back into the womb? Thinking about your death? Bargaining with God? Faith in spite of a bleak outlook?
“2. At such times, does it help to know that Jesus experienced despair and felt the same way?
“3. Verses 1-21 shift between faith and despair. If ‘Faith’ was on the wall to your right, ‘Despair’ on the wall to your left, where would you position yourself in the room to show where you are spiritually? Why?
“4. Does it help you to recall the past in times of desperation? How would you rephrase verses 3-5 or 9-11?
“5. If you were to host a feast to celebrate God’s grace to you, what’s one thing you’d say in proposing a toast to your King?
“6. Since Jews, gentiles, the poor, the rich, people present and people future are all invited to Jesus’ feast (vv.22-31), how then will you reach out to others? Whom could you invite to Jesus’ feast this week?
“7. The author of Hebrews quotes verse 22, saying Jesus is ‘not ashamed to call them brothers’ (Heb 2:11-12). Do you ever think of Jesus as ‘brother’? What does this relationship mean to you?”

Psalm 23

“1. Read this psalm again in the negative (‘The Lord is not my shepherd…’). What verse is most disturbing?
“2. What dark valley do you walk now? Has God rescued or protected you with his ‘rod and staff’? What ‘green pastures and still waters’ has he brought your way?
“3. Who are your ‘enemies’ today? What would you like your cup to overflow with?”

Psalm 24

“1. How does Paul apply this psalm to freedom in Christ (v.1 ; see 1Co 10:25-26)?
“2. How do you prepare for Sunday worship? What might help you prepare this week?
“”3. What modern ‘idols’ tempt us to live for them instead of the true God? What does God’s reign call you to be and do?”

• Lyman Coleman, et al, The NIV Serendipity Bible for Study Groups

There is one set of questions for each psalm.

Substitute whatever group for any reference to a small group or ask who could come to your aid.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.