MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? Part 2
February 15, 2022

A. Starting point: Rev. 7:12

“Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.”
B. Praying from: PSALM 22:16-31
Meaning
He became a curse in order to redeem us ‘from the curse of the law’ (Gal. 3:13). These actual quotations from the first part of Psalm 22 demonstrate that Jesus and the Gospel writers saw how closely this psalm reflects Jesus’ sufferings and death. The psalm ends with praise. For the psalmist, the praise arises because God rescued him from death. Jesus died, but God rescued him by raising him from the dead. Thus Hebrews 2:11–12 quotes Psalm 22:22 which has Jesus announce,
I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.
The psalm begins by asking God why he has been absent from the psalmist (vv. 1–2), even though Israel praises him and he has rescued his ancestors in the past (vv. 3–5). Since God is absent, the psalmist’s enemies have demeaned him (vv. 6–8). He feels sub-human (v. 6), even though he has had a relationship with God since birth (vv. 9–11). He then complains about the harmful actions of his enemies, referring to them using animal analogies (bulls, lions, dogs), and notes his fearful response (vv. 12–18). He makes one final appeal for help (vv. 19–21) before concluding his prayer with praise (vv. 22–31).
Context
The psalm begins by asking God why he has been absent from the psalmist (vv. 1–2), even though Israel praises him and he has rescued his ancestors in the past (vv. 3–5). Since God is absent, the psalmist’s enemies have demeaned him (vv. 6–8). He feels sub-human (v. 6), even though he has had a relationship with God since birth (vv. 9–11). He then complains about the harmful actions of his enemies, referring to them using animal analogies (bulls, lions, dogs), and notes his fearful response (vv. 12–18). He makes one final appeal for help (vv. 19–21) before concluding his prayer with praise (vv. 22–31). For the rest of the title, see the Introduction.

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

“16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my 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 unicorns.
22 I will declare thy name 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 congregation: 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 world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD’S: and he is the governor 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 soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”

C. Praying Time:
Comment
22:12–18. The attack of the enemy
Verses 14 and 15 describe the psalmist’s reaction to his enemies, and it is one of utter terror. The description of terror is figurative but emphasizes the physiology of fear. His heart is not strong, but rather like melted wax. His mouth is dry with fear, dry like a potsherd, and thus his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. Dust (the dust of death) is associated with death because humans are created from the dust of the ground and the breath of God (Gen. 2:7), and at death the breath returns to God and the dust returns to the ground (Eccl. 12:7).

First bulls, then lions; now the psalmist compares his enemies to dogs, again dangerous animals. In ancient Israel, the dog was not considered ‘man’s best friend’, but a beast who runs around scavenging what it can, even corpses if they are available (1 Kgs 14:11; 16:4; 21:23–24; 2 Kgs 9:10, 36). The dogs are a pack of villains who encircle the psalmist like a pack of dogs might encircle a potential target of attack, waiting for the right moment to spring into action. Verse 16c is difficult and unclear. The Hebrew text (MT) has ‘like a lion at my hands and feet’. The verse would then say that they surround him like dogs and encircle him like lions. Most versions change this to a verb of some sort. The most obvious verb would be one that means ‘to dig’, but since this does not fit the context, the meaning is extended to mean ‘to pierce’ (as in NIV, following the Septuagint), although many feel this extends the meaning beyond that permitted by the Hebrew verb. Lately, support has been growing for the verb ‘shrivel’ (listed as kāra‘ V in DCH), thus producing NRSV’s ‘my hands and feet have shrivelled’. The New Testament (see Meaning) takes its understanding of the verse from the Septuagint.

Hunger is presumably what puts his bones on display as they stick out under his skin (Job 33:21). Rather than pity him or help him, people just stare and gloat and try to benefit from his impending death by dividing up his clothing.
22:19–21. Come close
The psalmist now renews his plea for help and asks God to come to him quickly in his distress. He sees God as the only resource that can help him with his enemies who come at him with the sword. Again, he refers to his enemies as dogs (v. 20b; cf. v. 16), lions (v. 21a; cf. v. 13) and oxen (21b; cf. v. 12).
22:22–31. I will praise you
As is typical in most, but not all, laments, the psalmist concludes with a declaration of praise and confidence that God will hear and act on his prayer. He first promises to praise God himself, and also publicly, in the context of corporate worship (v. 22). He then calls on his fellow Israelites to join in the praise (v. 23). The reason for praise is that God has heard and made his presence known (not hidden his face) to his suffering supplicant. Until now, the psalmist has complained about God being distant. Perhaps the psalm itself was composed after God did respond, or perhaps this praise is expressed in the context of confidence that he will respond and help. In either case, the psalmist does not end in a quandary, but rather he has confidence that his God is a God who saves.

In verse 25, the psalmist declares that he will fulfil his vows. Vows are promises undertaken on condition that God will answer a plea for help. Perhaps the vow included donations of food or resources for the poor, which would explain why they will eat and be satisfied.

According to verse 27, praise for God will extend beyond Israel to include all nations. The phrase, all the families (mišpāḥôt) of the nations, evokes the similar ‘peoples [mišpāḥôt; lit. families] on earth’ of Genesis 12:3, where God promised Abraham that he would bless not only Abraham and his descendants (Israel), but all the peoples of the earth. The psalmist here envisions even the nations (gôyîm) turning to God in praise. Why? Because he is King not just of Israel, but of the whole world (he has dominion and rules over the nations).

All—both rich and poor—will worship him, even those so poor that they do not have the resources to stay alive. And even more wonderful is the fact that it will not just be the present generation, but generations to come, who will hear about God’s saving activity.
Meaning
Psalm 22 is a psalm of lament by a person who does not feel the presence of God in the midst of suffering, but rather experiences fear in the face of persecution by enemies. The well-known Christological sense of the psalm (see below) should not distract us from the fact that the psalm is not a prophecy, but rather a lament which may be a model prayer for worshippers today who can use this psalm to call on God to make himself present in the midst of pain. The confidence and joy expressed at the end can impart hope, as the psalmist moves towards God rather than staying mired in disappointment.

Jesus experienced a similar situation when he was attacked by those who hated him, and so he and the Gospel writers used the psalm to articulate his feelings and the events surrounding his crucifixion. First, 22:18 is cited (Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; John 19:24) or alluded to (Luke 23:34) in reference to the soldiers who divided the clothes of the condemned Jesus among themselves. He experienced the taunts and saw the derisive shaking of heads of those who passed by the cross (Matt. 27:39; Mark 15:29; Luke 23:35, referencing 22:7–8). Jesus expressed his feeling of divine abandonment by uttering the first verse of Psalm 22 (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34). The Father loved the Son, but sacrificed himself by withdrawing his special presence from him, so the Son could experience the full force of the meaninglessness of the fallen world. He became a curse in order to redeem us ‘from the curse of the law’ (Gal. 3:13). These actual quotations from the first part of Psalm 22 demonstrate that Jesus and the Gospel writers saw how closely this psalm reflects Jesus’ sufferings and death. The psalm ends with praise. For the psalmist, the praise arises because God rescued him from death. Jesus died, but God rescued him by raising him from the dead. Thus Hebrews 2:11–12 quotes Psalm 22:22 which has Jesus announce,
I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.

D. THE A-MEN OF ROMANS 16:20, 24, 27
16:20 “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. A-men.”