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1.
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My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The
inference, often made, that on the cross Jesus suffered complete neglect, is
quite mistaken. For several reasons, it becomes impossible to believe that Jesus
experienced total abandonment by his Father:
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- In quoting, Jesus switched from the Hebrew azavtani
(which means “forsaken me”) to the Aramaic sabachthani
(“entangled me”: s.w. Gen. 22:13: the thicket). Thus:
‘My God, my God, thou hast [an assertion, not a question!] ensnared
and provided me as the sacrificial victim!’
- If Jesus
were abandoned by his Father, then the vivid and twice-repeated type of Gen. 22
is quite misleading! “They went both of them together (the Father
and the Son)” (vv. 6,8).
- The idea of abandonment is so
important, if true, that it requires to be supported by more than one solitary
verse.
- Psalm 22:24 is explicit that Jesus was not left without divine
help. - “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.”
- The emphasis of such passages as 18:4-17 (see
notes) is so strong as to require not desertion, but actually its very
opposite.
- Other Messianic psalms speak of alarm or doubt such as is
natural to human weakness (94:17-19, RV mg.; 71:9-12; 73:13,17,21,22; 42:5;
116:11). As lesser mortals experience a sense of loneliness and helplessness, so
also must have Jesus. But in neither their case nor his was it
true.
- “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”
was spoken to the first “Jesus” (Joshua: Josh. 1:5), and applied to
those in Christ (Heb. 13:5). Then, is it conceivable that the servant is greater
than his Lord?
- Psalm 22:1 may carry the meaning: ‘Why does my
God let it appear to these my enemies that I am utterly forsaken?’
This is the very idea in Isa. 49:14,15.
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Why art thou so far from helping me? Contrast Psa.
35:3; 62:1,6,7. This so far is almost literal, for Golgotha was
“without the camp”, remote from the Holy of Holies and on the north
side of the temple area: Lev. 1:11.
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And from the words of my roaring. This is the
“strong crying” of Heb. 5:7; the figure of a lion (the
“Lion” of the tribe of Judah: Gen. 49:9; Rev. 5:5!) caught in a
trap.
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2.
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Daytime....night. At the crucifixion, there was both
daylight and (divinely-arranged) darkness!
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But thou hearest not. RV: answerest not. So it
would seem, at least at first. Every prayer gets its answer — either Yes,
or No, or Wait!
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3-5.
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Though separated by silence and darkness from the Father,
Christ still expresses trust in Him: ‘I know Thou wilt hear me,
since Thou didst hear Israel’: Exod. 15:1; 1 Sam. 2:1; Psa.
34:3,4.
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3.
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But thou art holy. Kadosh signifies righteous,
just, or pure. It is used of the Lord in the highest ideal of absolute
perfection. Christ’s words are the language of profound resignation:
‘Thou art just....Not as I will, but as Thou wilt.’ The unanswerable
justice of the Holy One was being enacted in solemn and terrible drama on
Golgotha. The perfect righteousness of the Holy One was being attested in the
sufferings of His Son (Rom. 3:25,26). This is what “flesh and blood”
— even the flesh and blood of His only-begotten Son — deserves;
mankind is being called upon to look, and consider!
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Here also is the triumph of faith. Even in the awesome
stillness Christ still trusts in the Hearer of prayers, although He appears to
hear him not. In the wide swirling ocean of dark temptation, the Saviour stands
like a rock and a beacon. ‘It matters not what I endure — even
(if possible) rejection; Thou alone art holy!’
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Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel =
“Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel”, i.e.
upon the “heavenly” throne under the outstretched wings of the
cherubim in the Most Holy (cp. vv. 21,24).
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4,5.
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Here is the intelligent pleading of precedent, and also for us
the answer to the questions we may sometimes ask or think: Why should I read the
Old Testament? or Why should I learn all that history? Our Saviour continually
mined these fields for gems of faith, and he stored up these treasures against
the time when he would need them. ‘Our fathers trusted in Thee; so
I trust, and more so. Thou didst deliver them; I know Thou wilt
deliver me. They cried unto Thee; I cry even more, my God, my God.
They were not confounded; so now leave me not in these straits to
the confusion of my face and the eclipse of Thy purpose, O Thou who inhabitest
the praises of Israel!’
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4.
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Our fathers trusted in thee. LXX hoped —
the word often used for hope of children: Rom. 4:18; hence Isa. 53:10: “He
shall see his seed” (cp. vv. 30,31 here).
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And thou didst deliver them, e.g. Isaac, the prototype
(Gen. 22:11,12), and Israel, God’s firstborn (Exod. 14:13).
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5.
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They cried: s.w. verse 2.
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6.
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But I am a worm. “I have said to the worm, thou
art my mother and my sister” (Job. 17:14; cp. 25:6; Isa. 41:14). An
expression of abject humiliation, and also a Hebrew term of derision for a man
with no offspring (cp. Isa. 53:8; but contrast, in the spiritual sense, vv.
10,11 there and vv. 30,31 here).
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But it is also much more: Christ was a very special worm,
as the Hebrew toolath indicates. This is the coccus, or
cochineal, a unique worm from which scarlet dye is produced by crushing. The dye
was used in the manufacture of the priestly garments and the other fabrics
associated with the Tabernacle. When the soldiers prepared to lead Christ out to
crucify him, they first stripped him and put on him a robe dyed scarlet (Matt.
27:28). Was he not the greatest of all priests, and the true Tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched and not man (Heb. 8:2)? The scarlet derived from the
toolath was required for the cleansing of lepers and those defiled
by the dead (Lev. 14:4; Num. 19:6; Heb. 9:19). As he stood before his
executioners in the scarlet robe, Christ was this very
toolath-worm, lowly and contemptible, yet in its
“crushing” bringing cleansing to others! “He was despised and
rejected”; yet with his bruising we are healed (Isa. 53:3-5), who
were once “dead” in the “leprosy” of sin.
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A reproach of men: In the LXX, it is the same word as
in Mark 15:32 only. Compare also Isa. 53:3. See notes, Psa. 69:19. Christ was
not just reproached by his enemies as he hung upon the cross. He was and
has often since been a reproach to his friends; this is in large part
Isaiah’s message: “We hid our faces....we
esteemed him not...” Have not each of us, at one time or another, felt
ashamed or embarrassed to be associated with Christ? Who among us has not
glanced furtively at the spectacle of a crucified Saviour, and then like Peter
slipped into the shadows, with perhaps an oath on the lips? Our Saviour went
forward to his cross of wood and nails; all too often his
“followers” flee from their “crosses” of words and
looks.
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7.
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All they that see me laugh me to scorn. Scorn and
mocking accompanied the Saviour from Gethsemane until he expired on Golgotha.
Judas set the tone with his insidious kiss. The men that apprehended him mocked
him, as did the officers of the various courts, the chief priests, the
Pharisees, the servants, the soldiers, and finally the common mob (Matt.
27:39-43; Luke 23:35). Unto the Gentiles, as Paul said, the crucified Christ was
a “foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23) — a source of laughter and
derision. In his sacrificial death, set forth be-fore all men, Christ was
enacting the prophesied experiences of his nation Israel. Like them, he was a
witness (Isa. 43:10,12; 44:8) in becoming a curse and byword to all nations
(Deut. 28:37), as “the man that hath seen affliction” (Lam.
3:1).
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8.
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He trusted on the Lord. For the same idea, see 1 Pet.
2:23. Literally: “he rolled (himself) unto the Lord”. This makes
most sense as an allusion to the cherubim chariot of Jehovah — “the
chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof” associated with Elijah (Mark
15:36).
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He delighted in him: s.w. 41:11, another psalm of
Messiah’s suffering.
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9.
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But thou art he that took me out of the womb. The Old
Testament has copious anticipations of the Virgin Birth: Psa. 71:6; 89:26,27;
110:3, LXX; Gen. 3:15; 49:1,25; Isa. 7:14; 49:1; Jer. 31:22; Mic. 5:1,2; 2 Sam.
7:14.
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AV mg. and RSV: Thou keepest me in safety is correct;
fulfilled in Matt. 2:13-16.
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10.
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I was cast upon thee from the womb. Since the
conception of Jesus was so abnormal, Mary would have no small worry concerning
his birth. But a woman of her devoutness and faith knew herself to be in
God’s care in every respect: “Cast upon the Lord that which he hath
given thee” (55:22; quoted in 1 Pet. 5:7).
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Thou art my God from my mother’s belly, but not
(as a false theology would have it) from all eternity!
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11.
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There is none to help. At the crucifixion there were
those who would have helped, but could not. All human aid, even all angelic
sustenance, had deserted Christ as he had known it would:
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“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye
shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am
not alone, because the Father is with me” (John 16:32).
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And though the Father is still silent, His Son is now
persuaded that the Supreme Creator will never really desert His supreme
creation. This momentary helplessness of the Son was designed by the Father
— so that no flesh, looking upon this spectacle, could every glory again.
In his absolute lack of strength Christ found the only help that was
meaningful.
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12.
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Strong bulls of Bashan. A fine figurative way of
describing powerful men of stature — the chief priests who compassed
Christ in his death. But Exod. 21:32 requires that when a bull gores a man,
there must be a payment of thirty pieces of silver! And this was done, to
provide Gentile believers in Christ with a place of burial in the Holy City:
Matt. 27:5,7.
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Bashan signifies “fruitful”. This very
fertile area east of the Jordan was noted for its excellent herds (Ezek. 39:18;
Amos 4:1). Livestock were sent there for fattening; there the bull attained its
full power and vigor (Deut. 32:14). These brutes are remarkable for their proud,
fierce, and sullen manner; being sacrificial animals, they are fitting
symbols of the priestly antagonists of our Lord. Well-fed, pampered with
all luxury, stout and strong, they gazed with contempt upon the poor and naked
and weakened frame of Jesus.
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13.
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They opened wide their mouths (RSV)... as a ravening
and roaring lion. Literally, “ravening” means “tearing in
pieces”. Compare the figures of speech in Lam. 2:15,16; 3:46. The
lion’s secretive crouching, sudden spring, fearful roar, and rending of
the prey give another representation of the bestiality of Christ’s
enemies: “My soul is among lions....even the sons of men, whose
teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword” (Psa. 57:4).
The “tearing to pieces” suggests the cruel and inhuman Roman
scourge, totally different from the Jewish whip. “The Roman lash was often
multi-thonged and inserted with pieces of lead, brass, or pointed bones —
so that when wielded with force, it tore away large chunks of flesh, exposing
veins, inner muscles, and sinews.” Strong men often died under the Roman
scourge, even before they were crucified. For others, it was called “the
halfway death”.
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With their mouth (RV). Not mouths, as AV: but
singular, signifying unanimity in an evil purpose; note “all” in
Matt. 26:59; 27:22; Mark 14:53,55,64; Luke 22:70.
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14.
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I am poured out like water. ‘My life-blood is
poured out like water’ (John 19:34), or like the blood of the Passover
lamb at the base of the altar.
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All my bones are out of joint. “Bones” may
signify fibers, in the wider sense of ligaments and muscles as well as bones,
When the beam to which the victim’s hands were nailed was lifted and
affixed to the upright stake, its sudden jerking would shake the body most
appallingly. The ligaments would be torn and even separated; the muscles
stretched and weakened and cramped. An excruciatingly painful weight would be
thrown upon the hands and wrists and shoulders.
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In a spiritual sense: the Hebrew is, literally: ‘My
bones have divided themselves’ (i.e. from me); LXX: “are
scattered” (s.w. Matt. 26:31). Also see the spiritual significance of Eph.
5:30.
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15.
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My strength is dried up like a potsherd. Christ feels
himself to be a broken, useless, and scorched vessel of earth — filled
with impurities. While the “potsherds” of the earth strive together
and with their Maker (Isa. 45:9; Prov. 26:23), this singularly unique
“potsherd” (made of the same “earth”) strove to the end
against his inherent weakness to gain the victory over sin on behalf of his
fellows.
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My tongue cleaveth to my jaws. As a result of loss of
blood, exposure, heat, and fever, the sufferer had by now become severely
dehydrated. “I thirst”, he cried (John 19:28). Those who have lived
through grueling deprivations testify that extreme thirst is the most
intolerable of all sufferings. The dryness of Christ’s mouth and lips and
tongue was such that his speech was practically unintelligible (Psa.
22:1).
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And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. This
is Gen. 3:19 in its most bitter fulfillment.
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16.
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Dogs....the assembly of the wicked. The first of these
means Gentiles (Matt. 15:26; Phil. 3:2; 2 Pet. 2:22); Pilate had to sign the
death-warrant, and Roman soldiers drove the nails. The second means the Jewish
Sanhedrin (edah = an appointed assembly).
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They pierced my hands and my feet. An unmistakable
anticipation of crucifixion. (The Hebrew k’ari means like
a lion, which is basically meaningless. But the LXX and other versions
presuppose the word karu, as in Psa. 40:6; 57:6.) David
must have felt himself to be a helpless victim of a vicious dog pack; they are
encircling him, sinking their sharp fangs into his exposed limbs, tearing and
rending his flesh while his life-blood flows out like water. So it is with
Christ, but the “fangs” are not literal teeth: they are iron spikes
and the staff of a spear: 2 Sam. 23:7. “And they shall look upon (or,
unto) him whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10; John 19:37; Rev.
1:7).
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17.
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LXX has: They counted all my bones. They look and stare.
Compare Luke 23:27,35; Gal. 3:1. “My knees are weak through fasting,
and my flesh faileth of fatness” (Psa. 109:24). “My heart is
smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread. By reason of
the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin” (102:4,5).
The man who went to the cross was a man who had already begun his sacrifice. By
this time he had no form or beauty that might lead natural men to desire him.
The flame of his life flickered low; his zeal for his Father’s
“house” had consumed him (69:9). He had willingly spent all; there
was no need to hold any strength in reserve. His emaciated condition, his
extended position upon the cross, and his nakedness all contrived to bring from
his tortured lips the pitiful observation: “I may count all my
bones!”
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18.
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They part my garments among them. These clothes were
the perquisites of the Roman quaternion. With reference to David the meaning is
probably this: The rebels (Absalom, Ahithophel, etc.) share out the honors of
state normally vested in the king; these would be symbolized by the special
robes for special occasions. So also with Christ: Gentiles have apportioned to
themselves his offices as Prophet, Priest, and King (but not sacrifice!); and
for two millennia Israel has gone without any of these.
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“For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Tim. 6:7).
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This is the second hint (cp. v. 17) of Christ’s total
nakedness, a great shame. Nakedness is a readily-recognized symbol of sin (Rev.
3:17; 16:15). Christ was cursed by the Mosaic Law in being hanged upon a tree
(Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13); the public nakedness to which he was subjected may
also be seen as part of that curse. It is one of the echoes of the early scenes
of Genesis to be found in the Saviour’s death; in many respects, Christ
became the “last Adam” to remove the curse brought by the sin of the
first.
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They cast lots upon my vesture. The division of his few
garments was begun, but at last the four soldiers came to the most valuable
garment, Christ’s tunic. It was seamless throughout (John 19:23), like the
robe of the high priest (Exod. 28:31,32); to rend it would be to destroy it. Its
seamless unity mirrored his blameless life. They cast lots and Christ’s
last possession passed into the hands of a nameless sinner. He now faced death
with nothing but his holy character and his indomitable spirit.
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Harry Whittaker (Studies in the Gospels, p. 773)
suggests that the special seamless robe, and perhaps his other clothes, the
“filthy garments” of his suffering (cp. Zech. 3:3,5) may have been
quietly purchased back, washed and folded, and laid by loving hands in his tomb:
‘Lay these by his side. He will surely need them before long.’
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20.
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Deliver....my darling. This highly unusual expression
means ‘my very special one’ (Gen. 22:2,12,16; Psa. 35:17; 68:6
(solitary); Prov. 4:3; Jer. 6:26; Amos 8:10; Zech. 12:10). LXX reads “my
firstborn”. Could this be a reference to Peter in peril? John 18:6-16.
Compare: “I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not” (Luke
22:32).
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21.
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Save me from the lion’s mouth. Both Paul and
Peter appropriate these words to themselves: 2 Tim. 4:17; 1 Pet. 5:8 (link this
with the comment on v. 20).
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From the horns of the unicorns. But the only
“unicorn” is an African antelope. RV, RSV, and NIV read wild
oxen. Note the parallelism in Isa. 34:7; Deut. 33:17; and Psa. 29:6. It is
probable that this expression describes the ox-cherubim of the sanctuary. Thus,
thou hast heard me from.... means: ‘Thou who art enthroned above
the temple-cherubim (vv. 3,24), hear my cry and come to my rescue.’ This
happened at Golgotha (see notes on Psa. 18:6-15, and esp. v. 10). Verse 24 and
the rending of the veil are in response to this prayer on the cross.
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22-31.
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The theme and tone in this section are dramatically different.
Yet this is not a different psalm tacked on to the other, but a very fitting,
very moving, logical development of what has gone before.
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The darkness enshrouding Golgotha is lifted (at least so far
as Jesus is concerned), and the last conscious moments of our Saviour’s
mortal life are ones of joy. More clearly than ever before can he foresee
“the joy set before him” (Heb. 12:2); buoyed up in this way he
endures the cross to the very end. His words, prophetically recorded by David,
indicate that his vision was of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb:
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22.
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I will declare thy name unto my brethren. Christ in his
death was declaring the righteousness of God and thereby providing a basis for
the forgiveness of man’s sins (Rom. 3:23-26). The words here are quoted in
Heb. 2:12 as additional proof that Jesus truly shared the stricken nature of his
disciples. They are his brethren, and are so called for the first time
after his resurrection: John 20:17,19. And the “Name” he manifested
to them (John 17:6) was this: “The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exod. 34:6,7). It is the
perfect follow-up to the picture of suffering and sacrifice already presented.
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In the midst of the congregation. The solitary
suffering of vv. 1-21 has brought into being a congregation (LXX:
ekklesia) of whom the suffering Servant is now the acknowledged
leader and king. It is no accident that when the risen Lord appeared to his
assembled brethren (John 20:19), he stood in the midst.
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“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou
gavest me out of the world....For I have given unto them the words which thou
gavest me....And I have declared unto them thy name (in life), and will
declare it (in death and resurrection): that the love wherewith thou hast
loved me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:6,8,26).
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23.
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Ye that fear the Lord comes first in the triad here,
followed by Jacob and then Israel. Again, Luke’s record
makes deliberate allusion in 23:40,47.
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24.
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For. This linking word is not unimportant. Compare
“therefore” in Isa. 53:12, and “wherefore” in Phil.
2:9.
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He hath not despised. An effective understatement for
the pleasure of the Lord (twice in Isa. 53:10).
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Neither hath he hid his face from him refers to the
shining forth of the glory of God’s cherubim (80:1; Num. 6:26; cp. vv.
3,21 here).
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When he cried....he heard, as in 28:1-3,6,7; 18:6-16;
3:4.
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25.
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My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I
will pay my vows. This latter phrase implies the eating of peace offerings
(Deut. 12:11,12), with Christ in his kingdom (Luke 22:16; Psa. 22:26; Isa. 25:6;
John 6:50,51).
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26.
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The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the
Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. For some of the numerous
connections between resurrection and eating, see Mark 5:43; John 12:1,2; Rev.
19:9; Exod. 24:11. And with special application to Christ himself, see Luke
24:35,42,43; Acts 10:41. Finally, of course, Christ himself is the
“bread of life” for those who are raised from the dead: John
6:33,40,41,50,51,54,58.
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That seek him is significantly echoed in Acts
15:17.
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27.
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All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the
Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. The
outcome of all the shame and suffering described in this psalm: a world-wide
kingdom of God. Remarkable!
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29.
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The theme of vv. 27, 28 is continued. Read as RV: All the
fat ones of the earth, even he that cannot keep his soul alive. An
acknowledgment at last that there is no salvation save through this Man: Psa.
49:7.
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30.
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A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord
for a generation. The “Seed” is a Biblical theme traceable as
far back as the garden of Eden. The “seed of the woman” (Gen. 3:15)
is both singular and plural, as is the seed of Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:15; Gal.
3:16,27-29). As in all things, the natural is a pattern of the spiritual: A
single seed placed in the ground can by God’s oversight produce a
multitude of fruit, a numerous “seed”. So it was, and will be, with
Jesus:
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“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24,
RSV).
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In his death Christ was the sower going forth into the field,
weeping as he bore the precious seed to its resting place. But he believed the
promise that the single “seed”, left to die in the ground, would
doubtless come again, being transformed into a harvest of a rejoicing multitude
(Psa. 126:6). This spiritual posterity would be reckoned a
“generation” in God’s sight, “a chosen generation”
(1 Pet. 2:9), the “children” whom God would give His Son (Isa. 8:18;
John 17:6; Heb. 2:13).
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31.
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They shall come, and declare his righteousness unto a
people that shall be born. The “rebirth” to spiritual life of
Christ’s spiritual seed will be the final and climactic declaration of
God’s righteousness in Christ (Rom. 3:25,26). When death is swallowed up
in victory, it will be as though a new nation were born in one day from the
“womb” of the earth (1 Cor. 15:54; Psa. 110:3; Isa. 66:8).
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