Psalm 22 (A Song of Easter, the End Days, and Eternity) by Rich Cooley. - HTML preview

I. The Prelude

Last December Stephen Hawking hit on an already explosive subject when he expressed his fears over the future of artificial intelligence (AI)…

Professor Stephen Hawking’s verdict on AI in a recent BBC interview wasn’t exactly good news for the rest of us.

“Once humans develop AI it will take off on its own and redesign itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded,” he said. [Zoe Kleinman; BBC News; December 27, 2014]

A Christian knows this is inaccurate. Modern evolutionary materialists like Hawking reject spiritual realities; to most secular scientists consciousness is something like an illusion or simply a by-product of advanced programming; consciousness rather is obviously very real (hence your ability to understand what I’m writing) and will never be able to be explained by laboratory testing. Films like The Terminator give us fears of what could happen if we have to face robotic foes of amazing strength and human intelligence; films like Big Hero 6 give us hope that machines might make for new best friends; films like Bladerunner give us the greater hope of being able to ride off into the sunset with a robotic babe; all three scenarios however are simply modern fairy tales.

The Bible explains that man has an internal existence that is unique. Man is not a machine, nor is he even an animal. He is a life form patterned after divinity. He can think and reason beyond mere instinct and linear existence. He can think beyond the banana in front of him through willful, abstract, and contemplative reasonings. Apart from instinct a monkey will never be able to do that, and a computer will never be able to do that at all.

A robot may try to take over the world, but only if it has been programmed to do so; it will never be able to “think for itself” (although it’s interesting to consider the possibility of an advanced, human-like robot being possessed by a demonic spirit). There are explosive present dangers in robotics however. What militaries could do with killer machines and what hackers could do with robots if they begin appearing in our homes as helpers is enough to give anyone apocalyptic fears, but the typical materialistic “robot rebellion” scenario is a confession of a lamentable anthropological ignorance. Robotics will force scientists to realize that there is more to man than matter, and more importantly, that although there may be a link between robots and animals, mankind is a unique creation.

What does all this have to do with Psalm 22? Well, later in the BBC article cited above there is the description of a fascinating recent robotics experiment…

Scientists working on a project called OpenWorm recently mapped the 302 neuron connections which make up the small brain of a tiny roundworm -- the 1mm long Caenorhabditis elegans (humans have approximately 60 trillion synapses, or connections, between 100 billion neurons), and replicated them in the form of software.

The “brain” programme was then put into a simple robot made of Lego containing motors, a sonar sensor and touch sensors.

The robot itself was not actually programmed to “do” anything -- but it did.

“It is claimed that the robot behaved in ways that are similar to observed C. elegans,” wrote journalist Lucy Black.

“Stimulation of the nose stopped forward motion. Touching the anterior and posterior touch sensors made the robot move forward and back accordingly. Stimulating the food sensor made the robot move forward.”

Ms Black went on to ask some philosophical questions about what had been created.

Here we have an expensive modern reminder that worms are, well, worms. They are low life forms that act solely on instinct and linear reality. It’s extremely doleful therefore that the godly psalmist said concerning the Messianic suffering, “I [am] a worm and no man” (verse 6). Who was this psalmist and who was he describing?

The song writer was David (c. 1000 B.C.), assuming the introductory lines found throughout the book of Psalms were inspired. Whoever wrote it did so prophetically under the direct inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for there’s not a more poignant picture of the acute sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even though it was written many hundreds of years before his incarnation.

No one can relate the exact physical causation of the psalm. Perhaps David was just trying to write a personal description using figurative language (although this is extremely doubtful). The cause is irrelevant. Because so many elements of the poem have been minutely fulfilled, it’s obvious the Godhead wants us to take it as predictive history, as a spectacular prophecy. To understand how this song could perhaps be autobiographical of David and predictive, two things should be noted. First…

There are…expressions in it which in their intensity, as expressing wretchedness and woe, seem to go beyond anything that occurred in his experience, and which lead naturally to the question whether he did not refer to some other than himself. -- Barnes

That having been understood, the next point from Keil and Delitzch is extremely helpful…

… [David] looks upon himself in Jesus Christ. He does not distinguish himself from the Future One, but in himself he sees the Future One, whose image does not free itself from him till afterwards, and whose history will coincide with all that is excessive in his own utterances.

In other words, the language, even if poetically ornamental, excels any historical figure; and since David surely had foreknowledge of his future Messianic ancestor, when David considered himself, he realized that his life was simply a type of this greater Son to come, and wrote accordingly…

David and his afflictions may be here in a very modified sense, but, as the star is concealed by the light of the sun, he who sees Jesus will probably neither see nor care to see David. -- Spurgeon

Moving on, not only is Calvary graphically depicted, but the psalm itself unfolds salvation history in a way that absolutely forces us to view the song as speaking of the Christian concept of the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God who was to come into the world, suffer, leave, and return in glory. For not only is the resurrected Messiah showcased, but so is the salvation of the gentiles that was to come through him.

I’m writing this booklet to coincide with the run-up to Easter, but no matter what time of the year it is, the souls of us all could benefit from perusing such an amazing display of divine foreknowledge and salvific theology. Join me as we walk through the macabre and romantic poppy field of Psalm 22, savouring the bittersweet smells and hearing the cacophonous melodies of goblins and cherubs.

Before getting started, let’s review a few notes that will help make sense of this booklet; also, this is my personal translation of Psalm 22, and I need to explain a couple of things.

*The terms LORD, GOD, Jahve, and Hashem are all ways to describe the personal name of God, often transliterated as Y-h-w-h or J-h-v-h.

*Unless otherwise stated, apart from Psalm 22, which is my own, the Old Testament quotes are from the NASB and the New Testament are from the ALT3.

*The ALT3 distinguishes between singular and plural second person pronouns by means of an asterisk (*).

*This book mostly uses British spelling, except for the other Bible versions quoted, which normally use American spelling.

*Divine pronouns are normally not capitalized, unless they appear that way in Bible versions or other quotes.

*Words that appear in brackets within Biblical quotes are not found in the original texts, and were added by the translators (or are my personal comments, etc).

II. The Song

A. Verses 1-2

1) To the overseer, on “The Doe of the Dawn;” a Psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation [“are” or “and”] the words of my roaring?

2) My God, I call by day, and you answer not, and [by] night, and [there is] no repose to me.

Generally speaking, commentaries have spent a lot of time discussing what “the Doe of the Dawn” means. Given that this was a lyrical poem and that it was instructed to be given to the conductor, it seems sensible to consider the title to be the name of a tune, the name of another song whose tune became famous, or less likely the name of a musical instrument or band. Thus we’re alerted to the fact that it’s a song, and “the Doe of the Dawn” not only was an ancient note for the proper mood to be set, but given the meaning of the title, it still helps to determine the temperament.

Some commentaries launch forth into speculation about how the term is allegorical for the sunrise (etc.), but it’s helpful to me at least simply to take the title at face value. Going to a zoo can be a lacklustre experience. There’s something about seeing animals in an artificial environment that spoils their own majesty and beauty. Seeing a rare animal in the wild is exhilarating on the other hand. Unless you’re a hunter, probably the only time you’ll ever see deer is in the wee hours of the morning. You’re driving along and no one else is about, you turn the corner, then there stands this beautiful creature quietly feeding on grass. It sees you and then scurries away, and you feel the richer for the journey. This song likewise promises to be exhilarating, to draw you closer to your Maker, to draw forth awe and wonder at an unexpected and majestic sight.

Moving on, the song begins with the Messiah calling out passionately night and day, just as happened during the nighttime praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and with the last sayings while upon the cross. There’s nothing more frustrating than the perceived silence of God. We know he has the power to do anything, we’re crying to him, and he seemingly does nothing. That’s never easy to deal with. It’s comforting that our intercessory Messiah felt this frustration as well. God’s response is most often like the divine intervention displayed throughout the book of Esther; he doesn’t speak, he acts. His intervention is almost always silent and mysterious, yet perfectly measured for our timely deliverance. God never needs to speak louder, we just need to listen more attentively; not in some useless and pagan meditative way while sitting in the lotus position, but rather through patiently waiting for his providence to become manifest.

Obviously this passage has great relevance to the Gospel, since it was spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross while he was drawing close to death. I’m going to close the comments on this couplet by giving a quote from William Macdonald that discusses this meat-and-potatoes topic. We must strive never to just skip over the “Gospel bit” because we’ve “heard it all before.” We’re not called upon to be inventive, but rather to glorify the Son of God by both proclaiming and considering his person and work. I recently heard someone give a survey of the book of Acts who spent a massive amount of the small time allotted him expounding a bizarre theory that the Ethiopian eunuch preached to by Philip was actually carrying the Ark of the Covenant. Is there nothing better to talk about in the book of Acts than that? Here’s someone who has gotten bored with “the Gospel bit” and is trying to be overly innovative (I struggle with this too). The Bible can be entertaining, but it is not entertainment. May the Gospel always be first on our list of priorities, whether it’s “old hats” or not. Regarding the plaintive cry My God, My God, why have you forsaken me that Jesus uttered on the cross, Macdonald answers the question why…

First of all, God is holy, righteous and just, and this means that He must punish sin wherever He finds it. To wink at sin or to overlook it is impossible for God. That brings us to the second point. Although the Lord Jesus had no sins of His own, He took our sins upon Himself. He voluntarily assumed responsibility to pay the penalty of all our iniquities. The debt we owed was charged to His account, and He willingly became surety for it all. But now what can God do? All His righteous attributes demand that sin be punished. Yet here He looks down and sees His only begotten Son becoming the scapegoat for others. The Son of His love has become our sin-bearer. What will God do when He sees our sins laid on His own beloved Son?

There was never any doubt as to what God would do! He deliberately unleashed all the fury of His righteous wrath on His own beloved Son. The fierce torrent of divine judgment broke upon the innocent Victim. For our sakes, Christ was forsaken by God so that we might never be forsaken. [Believer’s Bible Commentary; pgs. 576-577]

B. Verses 3-5

3) And you [are] holy, sitting [perhaps “on” or “as” or “within”] the praises of Israel.

4) In you our fathers trusted; they trusted and you delivered them.

5) To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not ashamed.

The amazing thing about this passage is that even though the Messiah is experiencing the most excruciating agonies spiritually, mentally, and physically, there’s not the slightest hint of any malice towards the God who controls all things, but he rather confesses that the Father deserves all his praises...

Though he was himself a sufferer -- a great and apparently unpitied sufferer -- though he, by his afflictions, was not permitted to unite in those lofty praises, yet he could own that God was worthy of all those songs, and that it was proper that they should be addressed to him. -- Barnes

I think we very often take the providence of God in vain, especially in dealing with much more trivial matters than being violently executed. Since we understand he has the power over everything we have the tendency to blame him for everything. Perhaps we’re clearing out a room and we’ve lazily piled high a stack of old magazines; we turn to grab something else and the magazine stack tumbles and scatters across the floor. Our first instinct is to think in frustration, “Thanks a lot God!” This same instinct kicks in with every flat tire or blown light-bulb. The doctrine of providence is supposed to be a source of awe and comfort, and not a launch-pad of petulant complaints; may God help us in this!

On a footnote, while studying Hebrew every Christian student is probably hit with the same thought when they come across the semi-common word for “escape,” which I’ve rendered “delivered” above. The word in Hebrew is palat, and has many forms. It sounds an awful lot like the Greek pilatos, i.e., Pilate (the sense is heightened by the fact that in linguistics vowels don’t really matter, as normally only the consonants have permanence; both the Hebrew and Greek share p-l-t at the core). Jesus Christ was brought before a man on the night of his arrest whose name sounded like “escape.” It would have been easy for him to have misread providence, believing that Pilate was to be the means of escape he prayed about in Gethsemane. We need to be careful to make decisions based upon the Word of God and not bogus “clues from heaven” or phoney intuition.

In verse 4 above the “fathers” are mentioned, and this is so often forgotten when it comes to the Lord Jesus…

By whom are meant Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from whom our Lord descended; and the people of Israel when in Egypt, in the times of the judges, and in all ages before the coming of Christ, of whom, as concerning the flesh, or as to his human nature, Christ came. -- Gill

Jesus Christ was and is a Jew. In a world of growing anti-Semitism let’s quit being brainwashed by the liberal news media into sympathizing with blood-guzzling groups like Hamas (which in Hebrew sounds just like “violence”). If you’re a Christian then you have a Biblical mandate to be philo-Semitic, for they are “beloved on account of the fathers” (Romans 11:28).

Besides, it’s only because of the Jews that any gentile has a knowledge of the Lamb of God. Not only are we indebted to their preservation of the Old Testament, but their practice also kept the information accessible in ancient times.

A fascinating archaeological discovery dating back deep into antiquity is the Elephantine Papyri. One famous document discovered testifies to the Jews faithfully keeping the Passover hundreds of years before the time of Christ...

Now this year, the 5th year of King Darius, word was sent from the king to Arsames, saying: In the month of Nisan, let there be a Passover for the Judahite garrison... [www.kchanson.com]

According to most experts the “5th year of Darius” was 419 B.C.

C. Verses 6-8

6) And I [am] a worm and no man, a reproach of man and despised of a nation [or “people”].

7) All seeing me mock at me; they open wide [so reads the LEB] with [their] lip[s]; they shake [their] head...

8) “Roll unto Hashem; he will deliver him; he will rescue him, for he delighted in him.”

Someone asked John Macarthur during a question and answer session why was it okay to eat animals? The man was asking on behalf of his young daughter. It’s easy for children to have such thoughts, for animals are cute; only in our culture there’s no longer any basis for belief and custom, and so such questions become increasingly difficult to answer. There is the ever-present need for authority.

You see, when Disney or Dreamworks wants you to fall in love with an animated character they’ll sometimes give it giant eyes, as this perks our cute-o-meter. Many animals have endearing “cow-eyes” that appeal to kids. Moreover, any creature with eyes seem to possess an acute intelligence, whether they have one or not (thus the intentional depiction of “aliens” as being giant-eyed intellects, although shaped to look menacing rather than cute). So people may not want to eat animals because they seem adorable and intelligent; okay. But then someone else can come along and say, “Why should we eat innocent fruit and vegetables? We both share a common evolutionary past? Why should we lord it over the carrots and the squash?” Okay, so now we can no longer eat animals or vegetables, so we must starve. But wait, when you starve you’re living off your own body fat, so in a way you’re eating yourself. You see, the buck has to stop somewhere. We need to be under a common authority, and it’s better for that authority to be the all wise and all powerful Creator rather than Peta.

So some animals have endearing qualities that help safeguard them in our presence; worms have no such qualities. There’s nothing cute about them; rather their entire design evokes that which is repulsive and disgusting. A grown man sees a worm wriggling on the doorstep and shutters. No one wants to see it have rights, but only wants it away. It’s funny that if you believe in real Biblical doctrines such as Jesus Christ being the exclusive way to God, the Bible’s morality being completely accurate and binding (including its laws on sexuality), and if you believe God created the world according to the simple letter of the Scriptures, you likewise are a worm. If you preach unpopular Biblical truths of any kind there’s no endearing quality, no point of debate; you’re just disgusting and must be swiftly brushed off the porch…

And they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voice, saying, “Take such a [man] away from the earth, for it was not fitting [for] him to be living!”…[And]…they [were] crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air… -- Acts 22:22-23

A great deal of the time when the word “worm” appears in the Old Testament it is not translated. According to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament this happens 26 times in the book of Exodus while describing colours used in the Tabernacle. The reason is that there was a particular type of worm which was used to make crimson/scarlet dye, and so the term “worm” is always joined with the colour (i.e., the text literally reads in such places, “worm of crimson/scarlet”); translators render the colour but do not mention the worm. The fact that worms have such a close association with the colour crimson/scarlet in the Old Testament adds to the motif of the bleeding Saviour on the cross.

Now someone may say that Jesus of Nazareth didn’t really fulfil these passages, but eager disciples being aware of them, fabricated his life story in the New Testament to fit this psalm. As I’ve quoted elsewhere and as are found in countless other sources, there are Roman historians that testify to the demise of Jesus Christ. And as far as him being hated and despised as a worm, all one has to do is read the Talmud which came together several centuries after his ascension. The Talmud has disparaging references to Jesus Christ, insulting and castigating in ways that defy all decency. Why? This was long before quasi-Christians persecuted those of Judaism, so why the animosity? Well, it obviously testifies to how much this simple teacher of the Bible was hated in his own day.

As for verse 8, this was precisely fulfilled in the New Testament record…

Then likewise also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders and Pharisees, ridiculing [Him], were saying, “He saved others; He is not able to save Himself! Since He is King of Israel, let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him! He had confidence in God, let Him now deliver Him, if He wants Him, because He said, ‘I am God’s Son.’” -- Matthew 27:41-43

D. Verses 9-10

9) For you [are the] one drawing me forth from [the] belly, causing me to trust [while] on the breasts of my mother.

10) On you I was cast from [the] womb; from the belly of my mother you [are] my God.

Keil and Delitzch have an interesting comment here…

Twice he mentions his mother. Throughout the Old Testament there is never any mention made of a human father, or begetter, to the Messiah, but always only of His mother, or her who bare Him. And the words of the praying one here also imply that the beginning of his life, as regards its outward circumstances, was amidst poverty, which likewise accords with the picture of Christ as drawn both in the Old and New Testaments.

Since Mary was there at the cross, it would have been even more probable for the Christ to think about his early life with her. The poor are born and have nothing, and desperately need a mother. If we’re blessed, when we leave our mother in adulthood we’ll become poor and realize that we desperately need a heavenly Father. The same dependence that an infant has at the beginning of life to his mother, the dying one has at the end of life towards his heavenly Father.

On a footnote, it’s sad that society is devaluing human life at shocking rates; this is mainly because evolution teaches us that we’re just cosmic ash anyway. There are many horror stories of parents who have disabled children being refused care and being made to feel irresponsible for not having terminated the child in the womb. The elderly are consistently being marginalized, with euthanasia and assisted suicide doubtless leading to a massive effort to push old people into the grave more quickly. Maybe I’m a cynic, but when I’m being seen by a young doctor I think to myself, “How much does this person really care about my well-being?”

We need to value life by realizing men and women aren’t animals, but creatures made after the image of God. Scripture gives dignity to us all; it is the best motivation to show good will to the lowly.

E. Verses 11-13

11) You are not [or probably, “may you not be”] far from me, for trouble [is] near, for there is no helper.

12) Many bulls have encompassed me; mighty ones of Bashan have surrounded me.

13) They have opened against me their mouth [as] a lion tearing and roaring.

The enemies of the Messiah are referred to as animals throughout this psalm. “Bulls” and “mighty ones of Bashan” are basically the same thing (see Amos 4:1). John Phillips writes...

The Lord’s enemies would be like “Bulls of Bashan.” Bashan was a wide and fertile farming district stretching from the Jabbok to the spurs of Mount Hermon. It included Gilead and was famous for its pasturelands. Bulls will often gather in a circle around any new or unaccustomed object which they will charge upon the slightest provocation. The Lord’s enemies were like that, standing strong and menacing around the cross. [Exploring the Psalms (Volume 1); pg. 170 (Loizeaux Brothers edition)]

So the size, strength, and power of the enemies are being described here. Then comes the ferocious lion with his intimidating roar and his display of razor-sharp teeth. We must stop and wonder at the treatment of the Saviour here. He willingly set aside his divine glory and became a man. He willingly lived a lowly life and was harassed and despised. He willingly was condemned, tortured, stripped naked, and nailed to a tree; even then our hatred against him didn’t end, but as a powerful, unstoppable pack of aggressive, fierce animals, we zealously mauled him even while hanging on the cross.

Love is a funny thing, for it always sounds noble, but more often than not it is actually driven by a fairly ignoble selfishness. We fall in “love” with someone because we think that they “love” us and our ego is boosted. We fall in “love” with someone because they’re considered a good catch, so if they are seen with us this boosts our own cred. We fall in “love” with someone because we’re infatuated by the challenge of a lofty conquest. We fall in “love” with someone because the relationship might bring all sorts of new benefits, money and sex being the most important prospects. None of this really sounds like love to me, yet these “butterflies” are the theme of just about every ballad and poem since the dawn of time.

Think of our Top 40 conception of love versus the love of the Saviour. He loved us although we despised him and considered him sub-human. He loved us although he is the Everlasting God and we’re simply glorified talking dirt. He loved us even though he knew it would mean his poverty and pain, not riches and thrills. This isn’t exactly the stuff of a good Taylor Swift song.

F. Verses 14-16

14) As the waters I have been poured out, and all my bones have separated themselves; my heart has been like the wax: it has been melted in the midst of my inward parts.

15) Dried up as the earthenware potsherd [is] my power, and my tongue [is] being made to cling to my jaws; and to [the] dust of death you set me.

16) For encompassed me have dogs; a company of evil doers have enclosed me; as [from] the lion my hands and my feet [are mauled].

Here we have some of the strongest language attesting to death on a cross. The body is stretched and pulled under its own weight. Heat and thirst consume the victim’s moisture. The enemies surround and taunt while the pain of the wounds binding the victim become unbearable.

This last verse presents a bit of a difficulty linguistically, there being a couple of different possibilities as to the meaning of the word rendered “as [from] the lion.” It’s an argument that doesn’t mean much in the end, for as John Gill relates…

In this clause there is a various reading; in some copies in the margin it is, “as a lion my hands and my feet,” but in the text, “they have dug” or “pierced my hands and my feet;” both are joined together in the Targum, “biting as a lion my hands and my feet”...Either way the words are expressive of the same thing, and manifestly point to the sufferings of Christ, and that kind of death he should die, the death of the cross, and the nailing of his hands and feet to it, whereby they were pierced.

It’s interesting that crucifixion is presented in this poem as plain as day, yet it wasn’t a form of Israelite execution at the time that it was written. It would become the Roman form of execution nearly a thousand years later. This piercing (along with the spearing after his death) was prophesied in other places of course, as it is written…

…They will look on Me whom they have pierced… -- Zechariah 12:10

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms [of My hands]… -- Isaiah 49:16

… Upon one stone seven eyes: behold me engraving its engraving, says Jehovah of armies… -- Zechariah 3:9 [SLT]

… Another shall subscribe [with {remember this isn’t in the original}] his hand unto the LORD, and surname [himself {or others}] by the name of Israel. -- Isaiah 44:5b [KJV]

I realize that the last reference is a little obscure, but I believe two people are being contrasted in the verse. First in 44:5a is described one who says he is of Hashem, yet calls in the name of Jacob the deceiver (this man {or men} is probably the false prophet in Revelation 13). Then the Messiah is described, whose wounds attest to his mission from Hashem, and he surnames others after the princely Israel, through giving his people the power to become the children of God. I get this same exact sense from Zechariah 13…

And [one] shall say unto him, What [are] these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends. -- verse