Psalms Essay: Psalm 22
Psalm 22 – Historical Content:
The Psalms are functional songs composed for use in worship by the Israelites. The Book of Psalms consists of 150 psalms, each of which constitutes a religious song. When the Bible was divided into chapters, each Psalm was assigned its own chapter. There are many different types of psalms to include individual lament, communal lament, individual thanksgiving, communal thanksgiving, general praise, descriptive praise, enthronement, pilgrimage, royal, wisdom, and didactic. The Psalms span many centuries and authors. The oldest psalm is probably the prayer of Moses (90), and the earliest is probably psalm 137 written when the Hebrews were being held captive by the Babylonians 586 to 538 B.C. The psalms are the best examples we have in the bible of Hebrew poetry.
Literary Context: A psalm of David
Psalm 22 is an individual Lament. Psalm 22 is of particular importance during the season of Lent as a Psalm of continued faith during severe testing. I see the literal meaning as one that includes a plea to God for his help (1) Address, “My God why have you forsaken me?” (2-7) Complaint, O my God I cry out but you do not answer. (8-18) Trust, He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. (19-21) Deliverance, Deliver my life from the sword. (22-24) Assurance, I will declare your name to my brothers. (25-31) Praise, from you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly. This psalm has all of the following suffering, trust, deliverance, and praise. Since the womb I have trusted in you. I have known the Lord since my birth. My enemies despise me and don’t believe that you can rescue me. But He has listened to my cry for help. They will proclaim his righteousness for he has done it! The complaint is turned into rejoicing for triumph over his enemies. God’s past goodness is reflected in bringing future hope.
Grammar Content:
NIV Psalm 22
The word psalms is derived from the Greek: Psalmoi, originally meaning “songs sung to a harp”, from psallein “play on a stringed instrument”, Ψαλμοί. Psalms (Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or “praises”)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Azab -address, to loosen, refuse.
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, Tavla -maggot, crimson, scarlet worm.
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 “He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.” Chaphets -favor, have pleasure, pleased with.
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Par -breaking forth in wild strength.
13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me. Macac -to waste with fatigue, fear or grief.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, Cheres - piece of pottery, earth.
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death. Aphar -clay earth, ashes, mud, ground powder.
16 Dogs have surrounded me; Keleb -to yelp, or else to attack.
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs. Yaqur -valuable, to make rare.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or disdained Maowc - refuse.
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; Edah - family or crowd, congregation,
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 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,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 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.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.
Note: The words highlighted in bold are word studies, as you can see the original word in bold does not always translate as we would think.
Hermeneutical Interpretation:
Some believe this psalm testifies about the sufferings of Christ and the glory to follow. They feel the psalm is the Holy Spirit speaking through David as Christ speaking to the Father. That is an interesting way to read the psalm and especially interesting this time of year (Easter season). We could read this as the spirit of the Lord upon David speaking prophecy but I don’t know that that was the intended message. I believe it is David speaking from personal testimony in his heart and therefore the message is prophesied in a different way. The psalm is addressed to God, you seem so far away, our fathers trusted in you, and you delivered them for eternity. It reflects being in the midst of a trial and wondering where God has gone. It also shows David saying the enemies are surrounding me and I know the nature of my Lord, He will take care of it. This psalm is a true cry of a minister of the Lord in the midst of those who persecute and deny our Lord and Savior. This message gives me strength. It definitely shows us that just as in days past we need God’s help when faced with trials and when others come against us. We know that ultimately he is our savior and will hear our cries and deliver us from the enemies among us today and for generations to come. The process when trials arrive is always the same. Where are you Lord? Look at what I am facing! Thank you for delivering me! He will save us in our trials and He will walk with us from this life into eternity without ever leaving our side even for a moment, for this we should give him Glory each day.
References: NIV Study Bible, Strong’s Concordance, Nelson’s Compact Bible Handbook, Crosswalk commentaries. http://biblestudy.crosswalk.com/references/DescriptionRead.aspx?refid=1321&l=3§ion=Commentaries&type=Commentary&title http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/gospel-of-mark.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Mark http://biblestudy.crosswalk.com/mybst/default.aspx?type=library&contentid=46285&categoREF
