Psalms · Chapter 22

V. 1. My God-Who art my friend and father, though now thou frownest upon me. The repetition denotes, the depth of his distress, which made him cry so earnestly. Forsaken-Withdrawn the light of thy countenance, the supports and comforts of thy spirit, and filled me with the terrors of thy wrath: this was in part verified in David, but much more fully in Christ. Roaring-My out-cries forced from me, by my miseries.

Verse 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?] Show me the cause why thou hast abandoned me to my enemies; and why thou seemest to disregard my prayers and cries? For a full illustration of this passage, I beg the reader to refer to Clarke’s note on “Matthew 27:46”. The words of my roaring?] ytgav shaagathi, The Vulgate, Septuagint, Syriac, Æthiopic, and Arabic, with the Anglo-Saxon, make use of terms which may be thus translated: “My sins (or foolishness) are the cause why deliverance is so far from me.” It appears that these versions have read ytggv shegagathi, “my sin of ignorance,” instead of ytgav shaagathi, “my roaring:” but no MS. extant supports this reading.

Verse 1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? — In these words Christ, when hanging on the cross, complained, that he was deprived, for a time, of the loving presence and comforting influence of his heavenly Father: and St. Matthew and St. Mark give us the very expressions which he used, Eli, Eli; or, as St. Mark has it, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. It is perhaps worthy of notice here, that sabachthani is not a Hebrew word; the Hebrew word being yntbz[, gnazabtani; and from hence it appears most likely that our Saviour used that dialect which was most commonly understood by the Jews in his time; and which, it is probable, was a mixed dialect, composed of Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac. Agreeably to this supposition, it may be further observed, that Eloi, Eloi, as St. Mark expresses our Saviour’s words, were more nearly Chaldee. Christ, it must be well observed, “was not ignorant of the reason why he was afflicted. He knew that all the rigours and pains which he endured on the cross were only because the chastisement of our peace was upon him: and God laid on him the iniquity of us all, Isaiah 53:5, 6. The words then imply, that he had done nothing to merit the evils which he suffered. This is the meaning of the question here, Why hast thou forsaken me? as also of that in Psalm 2:1, Why do the heathen rage?” &c. The repetition of the words, my God, my God, denotes the depth of his distress, which made him cry so earnestly. From the words of my roaring — From regarding, pitying, or answering my fervent prayers and strong cries, forced from me by my miseries. This latter clause seems to refer to Christ’s prayer in the garden.

Verse 1. My God, my God. The LXX, O Qeov o Qeov mou. The Chaldaic is like the English. The Hebrew forms the superlative degree by repetition. Example: “The heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.” The Lord called Abraham, Abraham; and again at the bush, Moses, Moses. When the Saviour became our covert, and received the storm of anger against a guilty world, his suffering humanity offered up strong cries and tears to God in these sublime words, Why hast thou forsaken me? Why hast thou left me to suffer alone? To taste the bitterness of death, to bear the grief, to carry the sorrows, and take away the sins of the world! The weight was so great, the sorrows so heavy that he sunk into the arms of death. Yet literally, he was not forsaken; the sun shines behind the darkest cloud. The Father always heard him, and received his spirit; yea, exalted him above every name as the just reward of his obedience.

1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me—The quotation of these words by Matthew (Matthew 27:46) and Mark (Mark 15:34) decides their application to Christ. The words mark the deepest soul suffering of Christ upon the cross, as “I thirst” expressed the point of his bodily agony. The “why” is not the cry of despair, impatience, or a rebellious heart, but of mystery. Into that mystery, as it applies to Christ, we may not curiously inquire. It was not, however, that the “Only Begotten of the Father” was enduring the wrath of God. He was still the “beloved Son, in whom the Father was well pleased,” and still he confidingly calls him “my God.” Yet he trod “the wine press alone,” (Isaiah 63:3,) and suffered “the just for the unjust.” Forsaken—The word simply has the negative signification of to leave, to withdraw from, as Psalm 71:11; Isaiah 54:7, but describes the point of the Saviour’s mysterious complaint, and the depth of his vicarious sufferings. In Matthew 27:46 the Saviour uses the Aramaic form, sabacqani, (sabachthani,) given in the Chaldee, yntqbv, (shebahktanee,) conformably to the dialect of the Palestine Jews, instead of the Hebrew yntbz[, (‘azabhtanee.) Far from helping me—Hebrew, Far from my salvation. By the law of parallelism this is exegetical of forsaken, in the previous line. Roaring—Better, outcry, or loud complaint.

Verse 2. I cry in the day-time, and in the night-season] This seems to be David’s own experience; and the words seem to refer to his own case alone. Though I am not heard, and thou appearest to forget or abandon me; yet I continue to cry both day and night after thy salvation.

Verse 2. I cry in the day-time, &c. — I continue praying night and day without intermission; but thou hearest not — St. Paul says, Hebrews 5:7, that Christ was heard in that he feared. Christ therefore here says that his Father heard him not, only to intimate that he did not exempt him from suffering the death of the cross, for which the Father, who heard him always, had wise reasons, taken from the end for which his Son became incarnate, John 12:27. And am not silent — Hebrew, I have no silence, no rest, or quietness, as the word hymwd, dumijah, here used, is sometimes rendered.

2. O my God—Still he holds to the endearing title “my God.” I cry in the daytime… and in the night—The long delay of hearing and of help intensifies the mystery expressed in the “why,” of verse 1.

V. 3. But thou art-Just and true in all thy ways, this he adds to strengthen his faith, and to enforce his prayers, and prevail with God for the honour of his holy name, to hear and help him. Inhabitest-Whom thy people are perpetually praising.

Verse 3. But thou art holy] Though I be not heard, even while I cry earnestly, yet I cannot impute any fault or unkindness to my Maker; for thou art holy, and canst do nothing but what is right. This is the language of profound resignation, in trials the most difficult to be borne. Inhabitest the praises of Israel.] Thou dwellest in the sanctuary where the praises, thanksgivings, and sacrifices of thy people are continually offered.

Verse 3. But thou art holy — “But notwithstanding thou dost not answer me at present, I am persuaded that thou wilt do so, for thou art holy, good, and gracious;” O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel — That dwellest in the place where the praises of Israel have always been offered for mercies granted unto them: or, who receivest and rightly possessest the praises of Israel; whom thy people are perpetually praising for one mercy or another; and therefore, I trust I also shall have occasion to praise thee.

3. Thou art holy—Faith strengthens itself (verses 3-5) in the reflection, God is holy,—and in the retrospect, Our fathers (the fathers of the nation) trusted; they cried, and were delivered. His must be a righteous cause which derives support from the holiness and covenant faithfulness of God. Inhabitest the praises of Israel—Sittest enthroned over the praises of Israel.

Verse 4. Our fathers trusted in thee] David is supposed to have been, at the time of composing this Psalm, at Mahanaim, where Jacob was once in such great distress; where he wrestled with the angel, and was so signally blessed. David might well allude to this circumstance in order to strengthen his faith in God. I am now in the place where God so signally blessed the head and father of our tribes. I wrestle with God, as he did; may I not expect similar success?

Verses 4, 5. Our fathers, &c. — That is, my fathers, according to the flesh, the Israelites; trusted in thee, and were delivered — Were not disappointed of that for which they prayed and hoped: but whenever they cried unto thee in their distress, thou didst send them deliverance, as by Gideon, Samson, Samuel, &c. To trust in God is the way to obtain deliverance, and “the former instances of the divine favour are so many arguments why we should hope for the same; but it may not always be vouchsafed when we expect it. The patriarchs, and Israelites of old, were often saved from their enemies: but the holy Jesus was left to languish and expire under the malice of his. God knows what is proper for him to do and for us to suffer; we know neither. This consideration is an anchor for the afflicted soul, sure and steadfast.” — Horne.

Verse 5. They cried unto thee] So do I. THEY were delivered; so may I. THEY trusted in thee; I also trust in thee. And were not confounded; and is it likely that I shall be put to confusion?

Verses 4, 5. Our fathers, &c. — That is, my fathers, according to the flesh, the Israelites; trusted in thee, and were delivered — Were not disappointed of that for which they prayed and hoped: but whenever they cried unto thee in their distress, thou didst send them deliverance, as by Gideon, Samson, Samuel, &c. To trust in God is the way to obtain deliverance, and “the former instances of the divine favour are so many arguments why we should hope for the same; but it may not always be vouchsafed when we expect it. The patriarchs, and Israelites of old, were often saved from their enemies: but the holy Jesus was left to languish and expire under the malice of his. God knows what is proper for him to do and for us to suffer; we know neither. This consideration is an anchor for the afflicted soul, sure and steadfast.” — Horne.

V. 6. A worm-Neglected and despised. People-Not only of the great men, but also of the common people. Which doth not so truly agree to David as to Christ.

Verse 6. But I am a worm, and no man] I can see no sense in which our Lord could use these terms. David might well use them to express his vileness and worthlessness. The old Psalter gives this a remarkable turn: I am a worme, that es, I am borne of the mayden with outen manseede; and nout man anely, bot god als so: and nevir the latter, I am reprove of men. In spitting, buffetyng, and punging with the thornes and outkasting of folk; for thai chesed Barraban the thefe, and nought me.

Verse 6. But I am a worm, and no man — Neglected and despised, as a mean reptile; a reproach of men, and despised of the people — Not only of the great men, but also of the common people. This does not so truly agree to David (who, though he was hated and persecuted by Saul and his courtiers, was honoured and beloved by the body of the people) as to Christ: see Isaiah 53:2, 3. “Christ may be said to have been a worm. with respect to the mean and poor condition in which he lived; but especially to that kind of death which he suffered; for he was stripped of his clothes, and fixed upon the cross, naked as a worm of the earth.” — Dodd. See Philippians 2:7; Matthew 27:39-43.

6. But I am a worm, and no man—The contrast is with the “fathers.” They trusted and were helped, “but I, ah! a worm and not a man.” Nothing can exceed these verses in plaintive tenderness, in humility, and in childlike clinging to God. The word t[lwt, (tholaath,) rendered “worm,” is here used proverbially for lowness, vileness, insignificance; and it is literally the name of the scarlet worm, (coccus ilicis,) an insignificant insect which fed on plants, chiefly the holm oak. It was extensively used for scarlet dye. A reproach of men… despised—Comp. Isaiah 53:3; Matthew 27:21-31.

V. 7. Shoot out-They gape with their mouths, in mockery. This and the next verse are applied to Christ, Matthew 27:39,43.

Verse 7. Laugh me to scorn] They utterly despised me; set me at naught; treated me with the utmost contempt. Laugh to scorn is so completely antiquated that it should be no longer used; derided, despised, treated with contempt, are much more expressive and are still in common use. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head] This is applied by St. Matthew, Matthew 27:39, to the conduct of the Jews towards our Lord, when he hung upon the cross; as is also the following verse. But both are primarily true of the insults which David suffered from Shimei and others during the rebellion of Absalom; and, as the cases were so similar, the evangelist thought proper to express a similar conduct to Jesus Christ by the same expressions. These insults our Lord literally received, no doubt David received the same.

Verse 7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn — Instead of pitying, or helping, they deride and insult over me: such is their inhumanity; they shoot out the lip — They gape with their mouths, and put forth their tongues in mockery; they shake the head — Another custom of scoffers. This and the next verse are applied to Christ, (Matthew 27:39, 43,) in whom they were literally fulfilled when he hung upon the cross; and the priests and elders used the very words that had been put into their mouths by the spirit of prophecy so long before. “O the wisdom and knowledge of God,” exclaims Dr. Horne, “and the infatuation and blindness of man! The same are too often the sentiments of those who live in times when the church and her righteous cause, with their advocates, are under the clouds of persecution, and seem to sink beneath the displeasure of the powers of the world. But such do not believe, or do not consider, that in the Christian economy death is followed by a resurrection, when it will appear that God forsaketh not them that are his, but they are preserved for ever.”

7. Laugh me to scorn—Literally, mock at me; deride me by mimic imitations of my acts, words, or professions. See Matthew 27:29-31. They shoot out the lip—The idea is, a protrusion of the lips as an expression of scorn. Mendelssohn says: “It does not signify an opening of the mouth, as if for laughter, but a slight motion of the lips according to the way of mockers. Our old English word pout pretty well gives the force of the word.”—Phillips. They shake the head—Swaying the head to and fro in scorn. Psalm 109:25. The idea is literally given in Matthew 27:39.

8. He trusted on the Lord… let him deliver him—Rather, He rolled himself upon Jehovah. This passage was derisively applied to Christ while on the cross, as a test of his divine Sonship. Matthew 27:43. The whole verse is, in the Hebrew, intensely and cruelly sarcastic, and the refinement of blasphemy: “He rolled himself upon Jehovah; he will cause him to escape; he will rescue him, for he took pleasure in him!” Matthew follows almost verbatim the Septuagint.

Verse 9. But thou art he that took me out of the womb] Thou hast made me; and hast guided and defended me from my earliest infancy.

Verses 9, 10. Thou art he, &c. — This seems to refer to the miraculous conception of Christ, who was the Son of God, in a sense in which no other man ever was, being formed, as to his human nature, by the power of God, in the womb of a pure virgin. Therefore he said, at his entrance into the world, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Thou didst make me hope — Or, trust, that is, Thou didst give me sufficient ground for hope and trust, if I had been capable of it, because of thy wonderful and watchful care over me in that weak and helpless state; when I was upon my mother’s breasts — When I was a sucking child. This was eminently true of Christ, whom God so miraculously preserved and provided for in his infancy, giving, in a supernatural way, an order to Joseph and Mary to carry him into Egypt, as we read Matthew 2:20, 21. I was cast upon thee from the womb — Thou didst take me at my birth, and in a particular manner didst charge thyself with the care of me.

Ver. 9, 10. Thou art he that took me out of the womb. The Messiah applies these words to himself, in Isaiah 49:1. “The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.” He only was born of a virgin, and born the Holy One of Israel. But let all parents especially dedicate their infants to the Lord: else the gentiles would shame us by dedicating their offspring to their idols.

9. But thou art he, etc.—The strong adversative force of the Hebrew conjunction indicates the firm, withstanding faith of the Sufferer. God is still his Father; and he who gave being at first, and nourished the flickering life of infancy, will not now abandon the life he gave. He will not cast off his own child. The argument is given Matthew 6:25. The gift of life is the greater blessing, and will God withhold the lesser?

Verses 9, 10. Thou art he, &c. — This seems to refer to the miraculous conception of Christ, who was the Son of God, in a sense in which no other man ever was, being formed, as to his human nature, by the power of God, in the womb of a pure virgin. Therefore he said, at his entrance into the world, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me. Thou didst make me hope — Or, trust, that is, Thou didst give me sufficient ground for hope and trust, if I had been capable of it, because of thy wonderful and watchful care over me in that weak and helpless state; when I was upon my mother’s breasts — When I was a sucking child. This was eminently true of Christ, whom God so miraculously preserved and provided for in his infancy, giving, in a supernatural way, an order to Joseph and Mary to carry him into Egypt, as we read Matthew 2:20, 21. I was cast upon thee from the womb — Thou didst take me at my birth, and in a particular manner didst charge thyself with the care of me.

Ver. 9, 10. Thou art he that took me out of the womb. The Messiah applies these words to himself, in Isaiah 49:1. “The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.” He only was born of a virgin, and born the Holy One of Israel. But let all parents especially dedicate their infants to the Lord: else the gentiles would shame us by dedicating their offspring to their idols.

Verse 11. Be not far from me; for trouble is near] A present God is a present blessing. We always need the Divine help; but more especially when troubles and trials are at hand.

Verses 11-13. Be not far from me — As to affection and succour; for trouble is near — At hand, and ready to swallow me up; for there is none to help — Thy help therefore will be the more seasonable, because it is most necessary, and thou wilt have the more glory by it, because it will appear that it is thy work alone. Many bulls have compassed me — Wicked, violent, and potent enemies, for such are so called, Ezekiel 39:18; Amos 4:1. Strong bulls of Bashan — Fat and lusty, as the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious. “By these,” says Dr. Dodd, “are represented the haughty senators, the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the other great men of Judea; who, after having resolved upon his death, Psalm 2:2, were so insolent as to make their appearance about his cross, and to insult him with their mockeries.” They gaped upon me with their mouths — To tear and devour me, as the following metaphor explains it.

11. Contains two urgent reasons for immediate help. None to help— Hebrew, Because there is not a helper. See Isaiah 63:3, 5. Luther strikingly observes, “that the more despised and forsaken a man is, the nearer and more gracious God is to him.”

V. 12. Bulls-Wicked and violent, and potent enemies; for such are so called, Ezekiel 39:18 Amos 4:1. Of Bashan-As the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious.

Verse 12. Many bulls have compassed me] The bull is the emblem of brutal strength, that gores and tramples down all before it. Such was Absalom, Ahithophel, and others, who rose up in rebellion against David; and such were the Jewish rulers who conspired against Christ. Strong bulls of Bashan] Bashan was a district beyond Jordan, very fertile, where they were accustomed to fatten cattle, which became, in consequence of the excellent pasture, the largest, as well as the fattest, in the country. See Calmet. All in whose hands were the chief power and influence became David’s enemies; for Absalom had stolen away the hearts of all Israel. Against Christ, the chiefs both of Jews and Gentiles were united.

Verses 11-13. Be not far from me — As to affection and succour; for trouble is near — At hand, and ready to swallow me up; for there is none to help — Thy help therefore will be the more seasonable, because it is most necessary, and thou wilt have the more glory by it, because it will appear that it is thy work alone. Many bulls have compassed me — Wicked, violent, and potent enemies, for such are so called, Ezekiel 39:18; Amos 4:1. Strong bulls of Bashan — Fat and lusty, as the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious. “By these,” says Dr. Dodd, “are represented the haughty senators, the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the other great men of Judea; who, after having resolved upon his death, Psalm 2:2, were so insolent as to make their appearance about his cross, and to insult him with their mockeries.” They gaped upon me with their mouths — To tear and devour me, as the following metaphor explains it.

12. Many bulls have compassed me— “Under the names of ferocious beasts, mentioned here and in verses 13, 16, 20, 21, are signified powerful and deadly enemies.”—French and Skinner. The word denotes young bulls, in their full strength and vigour. Rosenmuller says, of the third year. Of Bashan—A rich district in northern Gilead noted for its fat cattle. The bulls of Hermon and Bashan were often too wild for the yoke and exceedingly fierce. See Job 39:9-12, where another word is used to signify the same animal. See note on verse 21.

Verse 13. They gaped upon me] They were fiercely and madly beat on my destruction.

Verses 11-13. Be not far from me — As to affection and succour; for trouble is near — At hand, and ready to swallow me up; for there is none to help — Thy help therefore will be the more seasonable, because it is most necessary, and thou wilt have the more glory by it, because it will appear that it is thy work alone. Many bulls have compassed me — Wicked, violent, and potent enemies, for such are so called, Ezekiel 39:18; Amos 4:1. Strong bulls of Bashan — Fat and lusty, as the cattle there bred were, and therefore fierce and furious. “By these,” says Dr. Dodd, “are represented the haughty senators, the chief priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, and the other great men of Judea; who, after having resolved upon his death, Psalm 2:2, were so insolent as to make their appearance about his cross, and to insult him with their mockeries.” They gaped upon me with their mouths — To tear and devour me, as the following metaphor explains it.

13. They gaped upon—This was not in scorn, like the shooting “out the lip” of verse 7; but an act simply of brutal ferocity, the parallel to which is the rending and roaring lion of the next line.

V. 14. Water-My spirits are spent and gone like water which once spilt can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water. Bones-I am as unable to help myself, and as full of torment, as if all my bones were disjointed. Wax-Melted, through fear and overwhelming grief.

Verse 14. I am poured out like water] That is, as the old Psalter: Thai rought na mare to sla me than to spil water.

The images in this verse are strongly descriptive of a person in the deepest distress; whose strength, courage, hope, and expectation of succour and relief, had entirely failed.

Our Lord’s sufferings were extreme; but I cannot think there is any sound theologic sense in which these things can be spoken of Christ, either in his agony in the garden, or his death upon the cross.

Verses 14, 15. I am poured out like water — My spirits are spent and gone like water, which, once spilt, can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water. My bones are out of joint — I am as unable to help myself, and as full of pain, as if all my bones were disjointed. My heart is like wax — Melted through fear and overwhelming grief. My strength is dried — I have, in a manner, no more moisture left in me, than is in a dry potsherd. My tongue cleaveth, &c. — Through excessive thirst and drought. Thou hast brought me to death — By thy providence delivering me into the power of mine enemies, and by thy terrors in my soul.

Ver. 14. All my bones are out of joint. Hebrews separated. The method of crucifixion was to lay the cross on the ground, and nail the hands and feet of the victim to the wood. Then, on elevation, the jirk into the hole would very much distend the joints, and expose the bones of the thorax or breast. David himself was never in this situation. No group of executioners ever parted his raiment, or cast lots for his vesture; nor did they ever offer him the stupifying potion of vinegar and gall.

14. I am poured out like water—A figure denoting a profuse waste of the vital forces. But in 2 Samuel 14:14, the figure implies that the loss is irrecoverable, “as water spill which cannot be gathered up again,” which gave to the ceremony of pouring out water “before the Lord” the significance of a confirmation of a covenant whose engagements could not be recalled. 1 Samuel 7:6. The life of Christ was freely given. “He poured out his soul unto death,” (Isaiah 53:12,) in his soul agony and bloody sweat. Matthew 26:38; Luke 22:44. Bones… out of joint—As if the ligaments were dissolved and the muscles weakened, so that the limbs were uncontrollable. This would be the natural effect of crucifixion. But of Christ, not a bone was broken. John 19:36. My heart is like wax—The loss of courage and resolution through fear is often signified by the melting of wax. Psalm 68:2; Micah 1:4; Joshua 2:11. Jesus was “sore amazed” and “very heavy,” (Mark 14:33,) and fear was a leading feature of his sufferings. Hebrews 5:7. See verses 19-21 of this psalm.

V. 15. Dried-I have in a manner no more moisture left in me, than is in a dry potsherd. Cleaveth-Through excessive thirst and drought. Death-Thy providence, delivering me into the power of mine enemies, and by thy terrors in my soul.

Verse 15. My strength is dried up] All these expressions mark a most distressed and hopeless case.

Into the dust of death.] This means only that he was apparently brought nigh to the grave, and consequent corruption; this latter David saw; but Jesus Christ never saw corruption.

Verses 14, 15. I am poured out like water — My spirits are spent and gone like water, which, once spilt, can never be recovered; my very flesh is melted within me, and I am become as weak as water. My bones are out of joint — I am as unable to help myself, and as full of pain, as if all my bones were disjointed. My heart is like wax — Melted through fear and overwhelming grief. My strength is dried — I have, in a manner, no more moisture left in me, than is in a dry potsherd. My tongue cleaveth, &c. — Through excessive thirst and drought. Thou hast brought me to death — By thy providence delivering me into the power of mine enemies, and by thy terrors in my soul.

15. Dried up like a potsherd—The humidity of my body is burned out like a piece of pottery in a furnace. The metaphor is twofold—the shrinking or drying by heat, and worthlessness, as a sherd or fragment of pottery. Isaiah 45:9; Lamentations 4:2. My tongue cleaveth to my jaws—yhwqlm, (malkohah,) my jaws, from jql, (lakahh,) he received, applies to the jaws because they receive the food. The word is always elsewhere, except once, rendered prey. The Septuagint, “My tongue is glued to my throat,” and Vulgate, “faucibus,” are incorrect, as also the version of the liturgy, “gums.” This condition of the tongue, naturally so humid, involves great exhaustion and thirst, and prophetically points to the closing part of the sufferings on the cross when the Saviour cried, “I thirst.” John 19:28; Psalm 69:21. His soul agony reached its highest expression in the complaint, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” and when this had passed, and he returned to a consciousness of his physical suffering, the sensation which arose above all others was signified in the words, “I thirst.” Thou hast brought me into the dust of death— The word rendered “thou hast brought me,” means to arrange, dispose, place, as 2 Kings 4:38; Isaiah 26:2; Ezekiel 24:3; and the idea is, Thou hast laid me out for the grave. On “dust of death,” a poetical phrase for the decomposition of death, see Psalm 30:9.

V. 16. Dogs-So he calls his enemies for their insatiable greediness, and implacable fierceness against him. Pierced-These words cannot with any probability be applied to David, but were properly and literally verified in Christ.

Verse 16. For dogs have compassed me] This may refer to the Gentiles, the Roman soldiers, and others by whom our Lord was surrounded in his trial, and at his cross.

They pierced my hands and my feet] The other sufferings David, as a type of our Lord, might pass through; but the piercing of the hands and feet was peculiar to our Lord; therefore, this verse may pass for a direct revelation. Our Lord’s hands and feet were pierced when he was nailed to the cross, David’s never were pierced.

But there is a various reading here which is of great importance. Instead of wrak caaru, they pierced, which is what is called the kethib, or marginal reading, and which our translators have followed; the keri or textual reading is yrak caari, as a lion. In support of each reading there are both MSS. and eminent critics. The Chaldee has, “Biting as a lion my hands and my feet;” but the Syriac, Vulgate, Septuagint, Æthiopic, and Arabic read, “they pierced or digged;” and in the Anglo-Saxon the words are, [Anglo-Saxon]: “They dalve (digged) hands mine, and feet mine.” The Complutensian Polyglot has wrak caaru, they digged or pierced, in the text; for which it gives hrk carah, to cut, dig, or penetrate, in the margin, as the root whence wrak is derived. But the Polyglots of Potken, Antwerp, Paris, and London, have yrak caari in the text; and wrak caaru is referred to in the margin; and this is the case with the most correct Hebrew Bibles. The whole difference here lies between y yod and w vau, which might easily be mistaken for each other; the former making like a lion; the latter, they pierced. The latter is to me most evidently the true reading.

Verse 16. Dogs have compassed me — So he calls his enemies, or rather the enemies of Christ, for their insatiable greediness, and implacable fierceness against him. The idea seems to be taken from a number of dogs encompassing a distressed deer, which they have hunted down, as is intimated in the remarks on the title. Hereby, Dr. Dodd thinks, are represented the Roman soldiers and the other Gentiles who were with the Jews around the cross. But without such a particular application, it may be interpreted generally of Christ’s enemies, either consulting and conspiring against him, or assaulting him with violence. They pierced my hands and my feet — These words cannot, with any probability, be applied to David, nor to the attempts of his enemies upon him; for their design was, not to torment his hands or feet, but to take away his life. And if it be pretended that it is to be understood of him in a metaphorical sense, it must be considered that it is so uncouth and unusual a metaphor that those who are of this opinion cannot produce any example of such a one, either in the Scriptures or in other authors; nor are they able to make any tolerable sense of the words thus understood. But what need is there of such forced interpretations, when this clause was most properly and literally verified in Christ, whose hands and feet were really pierced, and nailed to the cross, according to the manner of the Roman crucifixions? to whom therefore it is applied in the New Testament.

Ver. 16. They pierced my hands and my feet. The LXX, wruxan ceirav mou kai podav: they digged my hands and my feet. The masoretic rabbins, to weaken the force of this text, have thrown the word wrak kaaru, “they pierced,” into the margin, and introduced into the text the word yrak keari, “as a lion.” The variation is but of a single letter, the y yod being substituted for the w vau. But if this were correct, how does it weaken the text? How does this little artifice agree with dogs in the words before? Must the lion wait for his meal, and come to finish what the dogs had begun? Does a lion aim at a man’s hands and feet; say rather, at the head, the arm, or the shoulder. Above all, how came the seventy learned Jews to be ignorant of such a reading. In fact it is the weakness of enmity, similar to their assertions that Isaiah’s prophecy, “he was wounded for our transgressions,” refers to king Josiah who was killed in battle. The elder rabbins, like the LXX, and several of the Hebrew MSS. all support the true reading of the text.

16. Dogs—Called “assembly of the wicked” in next line, the only bitter comparison in the psalm. The wild dogs of the East are meant, a figure at once of impurity, baseness, and cruelty. In Egypt, and the East generally, dogs usually go at large. Having no master to care for them, hunger makes them ferocious. Their physiognomy is ignoble, and their appearance haggard and disgusting. They were always the synonyme of vileness, contention, and uncleanness. 1 Samuel 24:14; 2 Samuel 9:8; Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15. They pierced my hands and my feet—Few passages of Scripture have been more sharply contested. Standing as it does in our English version, it is a wonderful prediction of the manner of Christ’s death. The difficulty lies in the word rendered pierced. On the one hand, yrak, (kaaree,) which is the form of the word in the common Hebrew text, has been taken as two words, k, the particle of comparison, (as, like, or taking Quamets as indicating the article, as the,) and yra, (a lion,) which would read: “The congregation of the wicked have enclosed me; as a lion, (or, as the lion,) my hands and my feet;” or, as Hengstenberg: “They beset me, lionlike, on my hands and my feet.” But, though this would seem a natural and easy way to dispose of the grammatical difficulty, and has four examples where the same form occurs, (namely: Numbers 23:24; 24:9; Isaiah 38:13; Ezekiel 22:25,) yet it involves grave difficulty as to the sense. In the four other cases mentioned the allusion to the lion is perfectly clear, and the sense easy and natural, but in this it completely destroys the sense, leaving the metaphor unexplained, or, rather, contradicted. Dr. Alexander, who adheres to the Messianic application of the passage, suggests an ellipsis, and the reading: “Like a lion [they have wounded] my hands and my feet.” Professor Stuart, also, by bringing forward from the preceding line the verb ynwpyqh, (translated “enclosed me,”) and giving its radical sense to strike, stab, pierce, cut, proposes the rendering: “As a lion [they pierce] my hands and my feet.” But this is not satisfactory. If the reference be to the habit of the lion in attacking his prey, it is not according to fact; if to cutting and tearing his prey, why specify hands and feet, and not rather, as Psalm 7:2: “Lest he tear my soul (that is, tear me) like a lion, rending it in pieces;” or, Isaiah 38:13: “As a lion, so will he break all my bones.” This is lionlike; but, on the hypothesis now under consideration, the allusion to the lion is simply unnatural and absurd. The lion does not seize the hands and feet, but springs upon the victim. It must be further considered that ylgrw ydy, (my hands and my feet,) are in the accusative, and hence the limbs are not mentioned incidentally, but as the objective point of attack, which still more forcibly shows the unnaturalness of the metaphor as an allusion to the habits of the lion. The language is clearly unique, and the difficulty of explaining it according to the well known habits of the lion is so formidable that the Jews themselves, according to the little Masora, held that yrak (kaaree) in the two passages (Psalm 22:16, and Isaiah 38:13) is in two different meanings. Evidently, here the prophet outsteps the limit of type and history, and, as in the case of the “Priest-King,” (Psalm 110:4,) ascends to the height of absolute revelation concerning Messiah. Two other interpretations of the passage in question have obtained. First, yrak has been taken as an irregular form of the plural participle of the root rwk, in the sense of hrk, to dig, pierce through, bore, by dropping µ, the regular plural termination, and inserting a. The anomaly, though of extreme rarity, is admissible by the best authority. They then read, “Piercing my hands and my feet:” or, considering the participle as a noun in regimen, “Piercers of my hands and my feet.”

But, secondly, instead of a participle the ancient versions read it as a verb, wrak, (kaaroo,) which simply changes the yod (y) into vauv, (w,) with corresponding vowel points. Thus the Septuagint, they pierced; Vulgate, they pierced, stabbed; Jerome, they fastened; Syriac, they penetrated, perforated. Manuscripts, also, of unquestioned authority have the same. Kennicott mentions four Hebrew manuscripts having wrak in the text and yrak in the margin. It is evident that the Septuagint followed manuscripts which read “they pierced,” the same as our English version. The lexical and grammatical difficulties which beset the present reading of the text would seem to dictate the necessity of correcting, and taking the word as a verb. But, whether as an irregular participle, or by correcting the text as a verb, the sense will be the same though, as Tregelles remarks, “the latter is preferable.” It is notable that the most natural evidences of crucifixion were laid in the wounded “hands and feet” by the Saviour himself, (Luke 24:39;) “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.” The passage in question is not directly quoted in the New Testament, but allusions which belong to the crucifixion occur both in the Old and New Testaments. Isaiah 53:5: “He was pierced [ llwhm from llj, bore through, perforate, pierce] for our transgressions.” Zechariah 12:10: “They shall look on me whom they have pierced,” (wrqd,) quoted John 19:37; Revelation 1:7.

V. 17. May tell-By my being stretched out upon the cross.

Verse 17. I may tell all my bones] This may refer to the violent extension of his body when the whole of its weight hung upon the nails which attached his hands to the transverse beam of the cross. The body being thus extended, the principal bones became prominent, and easily discernible.

Verses 17-21. I may tell all my bones — Theodoret observes, that when Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones. They — Namely, my enemies; look and stare at me — With delight and complacency, at my calamities, and I am a spectacle to earth and heaven. They part my garments among them — This also cannot be applied to David, without a strained and unprecedented metaphor, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24. Deliver my soul from the sword — That is, from the rage and violence of mine enemies, as the next clause explains it, and, as the sword is often to be taken in Scripture. My darling — Hebrew, my one, or only one, namely, his soul, as he now said, which he so terms, because it was very dear to him, or because it was left alone, and destitute of friends and helpers. From the power of the dog — “The ravening fury of the dog,” says Dr. Horne, “the lion, and the unicorn, or oryx, (a fierce and untameable creature of the stag kind,) is made use of to describe the rage of the devil, and his instruments, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all these Christ supplicates the Father for deliverance. How great need have we to supplicate for the same through him!”

17. I may tell all my bones—In verse 14: “All my bones are out of joint.” The protrusion of the bones, so that one could count them, is not merely the effect of a wasting suffering. but of violent and unnatural treatment, as the crucifixion. They look and stare upon me—They closely watch me. Compare the watching of Jesus, Matthew 27:36-54. The idea of satisfaction is also suggested. They feast their eyes upon me. They behold me not only with indifference, but are regaled at the sight of my misery.

V. 18. They part-This also cannot be applied to David, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35 John 19:24.

Verse 18. They part my garments] This could be true in no sense of David. The fact took place at the crucifixion of our Lord. The soldiers divided his upper garment into four parts, each soldier taking a part; but his tunic or inward vestment being without seam, woven in one entire piece, they agreed not to divide, but to cast lots whose the whole should be. Of this scripture the Roman soldiers knew nothing; but they fulfilled it to the letter. This was foreseen by the Spirit of God; and this is a direct revelation concerning Jesus Christ, which impresses the whole account with the broad seal of eternal truth.

Verses 17-21. I may tell all my bones — Theodoret observes, that when Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones. They — Namely, my enemies; look and stare at me — With delight and complacency, at my calamities, and I am a spectacle to earth and heaven. They part my garments among them — This also cannot be applied to David, without a strained and unprecedented metaphor, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24. Deliver my soul from the sword — That is, from the rage and violence of mine enemies, as the next clause explains it, and, as the sword is often to be taken in Scripture. My darling — Hebrew, my one, or only one, namely, his soul, as he now said, which he so terms, because it was very dear to him, or because it was left alone, and destitute of friends and helpers. From the power of the dog — “The ravening fury of the dog,” says Dr. Horne, “the lion, and the unicorn, or oryx, (a fierce and untameable creature of the stag kind,) is made use of to describe the rage of the devil, and his instruments, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all these Christ supplicates the Father for deliverance. How great need have we to supplicate for the same through him!”

18. They part my garments—The finishing touch in the description of cold brutality. Under the eye of Jesus the soldiers fulfilled this prediction, John 19:23, 24, where see the note. Vesture—The oriental robe, or mantle, worn loosely upon the person, which served as a covering by night. Exodus 22:26, 27. The word is not decisive of the particular part of the raiment, but the casting lots for it determines, as it could not be divided without destroying it.

Verse 19. Be not thou far from me] In the first verse he asks, Why hast thou forsaken me? Or, as if astonished at their wickedness, Into what hands hast thou permitted me to fall? Now he prays, Be not far from me. St. Jerome observes here, that it is the humanity of our blessed Lord which speaks to his divinity. Jesus was perfect man; and as man he suffered and died. But this perfect and sinless man could not have sustained those sufferings so as to make them expiatory had he not been supported by the Divine nature. All the expressions in this Psalm that indicate any weakness, as far as it relates to Christ, (and indeed it relates principally to him,) are to be understood of the human nature; for, that in him God and man were united, but not confounded, the whole New Testament to me bears evidence, the manhood being a perfect man, the Godhead dwelling bodily in that manhood. Jesus, as MAN, was conceived, born, grew up, increased in wisdom, stature, and favour with God and man; hungered, thirsted, suffered, and died. Jesus, as GOD, knew all things, was from the beginning with God, healed the diseased, cleansed the lepers, and raised the dead; calmed the raging of the sea, and laid the tempest by a word; quickened the human nature, raised it from the dead, took it up into heaven, where as the Lamb newly slain, it ever appears in the presence of God for us. These are all Scripture facts. The man Christ Jesus could not work those miracles; the God in that man could not have suffered those sufferings. Yet one person appears to do and suffer all; here then is GOD manifested in the FLESH.

O my strength] The divinity being the power by which the humanity was sustained in this dreadful conflict.

Verses 17-21. I may tell all my bones — Theodoret observes, that when Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones. They — Namely, my enemies; look and stare at me — With delight and complacency, at my calamities, and I am a spectacle to earth and heaven. They part my garments among them — This also cannot be applied to David, without a strained and unprecedented metaphor, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24. Deliver my soul from the sword — That is, from the rage and violence of mine enemies, as the next clause explains it, and, as the sword is often to be taken in Scripture. My darling — Hebrew, my one, or only one, namely, his soul, as he now said, which he so terms, because it was very dear to him, or because it was left alone, and destitute of friends and helpers. From the power of the dog — “The ravening fury of the dog,” says Dr. Horne, “the lion, and the unicorn, or oryx, (a fierce and untameable creature of the stag kind,) is made use of to describe the rage of the devil, and his instruments, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all these Christ supplicates the Father for deliverance. How great need have we to supplicate for the same through him!”

19. But be not thou far from me—From his persecutors the afflicted petitioner turns his eye to his Deliverer. The appeal is exceedingly plaintive, as in verse 11, and is the echo of verse 1. O my strength—He appropriates to God the title which best befits his helplessness.

V. 20. Darling-Heb. my only one; his soul, which he so calls, because it was left alone and destitute of friends and helpers.

Verse 20. Deliver my soul from the sword] Deliver yvpn naphshi, my life; save me alive, or raise me again.

My darling] ytdyjy yechidathi, my only one. The only human being that was ever produced since the creation, even by the power of God himself, without the agency of man. ADAM the first was created out of the dust of the earth; that was his mother; God was the framer. ADAM the second was produced in the womb of the virgin; that was his mother. But that which was conceived in her was by the power of the Holy Ghost; hence the man Christ Jesus is the ONLY Son of God; God is his Father, and he is his ONLY ONE.

Verses 17-21. I may tell all my bones — Theodoret observes, that when Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones. They — Namely, my enemies; look and stare at me — With delight and complacency, at my calamities, and I am a spectacle to earth and heaven. They part my garments among them — This also cannot be applied to David, without a strained and unprecedented metaphor, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24. Deliver my soul from the sword — That is, from the rage and violence of mine enemies, as the next clause explains it, and, as the sword is often to be taken in Scripture. My darling — Hebrew, my one, or only one, namely, his soul, as he now said, which he so terms, because it was very dear to him, or because it was left alone, and destitute of friends and helpers. From the power of the dog — “The ravening fury of the dog,” says Dr. Horne, “the lion, and the unicorn, or oryx, (a fierce and untameable creature of the stag kind,) is made use of to describe the rage of the devil, and his instruments, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all these Christ supplicates the Father for deliverance. How great need have we to supplicate for the same through him!”

20. My darling—Hebrew, My only one. The word is an adjective, and signifies alone, only; and, as it corresponds to soul in the previous hemistich, it may be only a poetical variation of the same here, as signifying his dearest and only possession. Psalm 35:17. Or, we may read my forsaken one, as being deserted, left alone; and this accords better with the general tone of the psalm. So in Psalm 25:16; 68:6, where it is rendered desolate and solitary. Dog—See on verse 16.

V. 21. Heard-Answered and delivered me.

Verse 21. Save me from the lion’s mouth] Probably our Lord here includes his Church with himself. The lion may then mean the Jews; the unicorns, רמים remin (probably the rhinoceros,) the Gentiles. For the unicorn, see Clarke’s note on “Numbers 23:22”. There is no quadruped or land animal with one horn only, except the rhinoceros; but there is a marine animal, the narwhal or monodon, a species of whale, that has a very fine curled ivory horn, which projects from its snout. One in my own museum measures seven feet four inches, and is very beautiful. Some of these animals have struck their horn through the side of a ship; and with it they easily transfix the whale, or any such animal. The old Psalter says, “The unicorn es ane of the prudest best that es, so that he wil dye for dedeyn if he be haldyn ogayn his wil.”

Verses 17-21. I may tell all my bones — Theodoret observes, that when Christ was extended, and his limbs distorted, on the cross, it might be easy for a spectator literally to tell all his bones. They — Namely, my enemies; look and stare at me — With delight and complacency, at my calamities, and I am a spectacle to earth and heaven. They part my garments among them — This also cannot be applied to David, without a strained and unprecedented metaphor, but was literally fulfilled in Christ, Matthew 27:35; John 19:24. Deliver my soul from the sword — That is, from the rage and violence of mine enemies, as the next clause explains it, and, as the sword is often to be taken in Scripture. My darling — Hebrew, my one, or only one, namely, his soul, as he now said, which he so terms, because it was very dear to him, or because it was left alone, and destitute of friends and helpers. From the power of the dog — “The ravening fury of the dog,” says Dr. Horne, “the lion, and the unicorn, or oryx, (a fierce and untameable creature of the stag kind,) is made use of to describe the rage of the devil, and his instruments, whether spiritual or corporeal. From all these Christ supplicates the Father for deliverance. How great need have we to supplicate for the same through him!”

Ver. 21. The horns of the unicorns, irresistible in fight, as described in Numbers 23:22.

21. Lion’s mouth… horns of the unicorns—Two descriptions of imminent death. The lion’s mouth is already open to devour its prey. The unicorn was either a fabulous animal, as is most probable, or belonged to some extinct species of the bovine genus. The word “unicorn” is not in the Hebrew. The Vulgate, unicornium, is the representative of the Septuagint, monokerwtwn, both signifying an animal with one horn. The Hebrew µar, (reem) denotes no such animal. The word occurs nine times, and best suits the Asiatic buffalo. In Deuteronomy 33:17 two horns are given. In Psalm 29:6, a “young unicorn” and a calf are synonymous. In Isaiah 34:7 unicorns are classed with “bullocks and bulls,” as animals to be offered in sacrifice. In Psalm 92:10 “horn” is not in the Hebrew. A wild buffalo, refusing the yoke, (Job 39:9-12,) is undoubtedly intended. See note on verse 12. If the extinct urus, or wild bull, is meant, it is yet to be verified by discovery. The wild buffalo sufficiently answers the description of the reem of the Scriptures. It must have been an animal with which the Hebrews were familiar. Livingstone says of the African buffalo: “A herd of buffaloes kept a number of lions from their young by the males turning their heads to the enemy, the cows and their young being in the rear. One toss from a bull would kill the stoutest lion that ever breathed.” Van Lennep says of the Hindu buffalo, that it is “of such power and vigor as by his charge to prostrate a well-sized elephant.”

V. 22. Declare-When thou hast delivered me. Thy name-that power and faithfulness and goodness, which thou hast manifested on my behalf. Congregations-The same whom he calls the congregation, and the seed of Jacob and Israel: which also does not so fitly agree to David, who never gives this title to any, but such as were near a-kin to him, as it does to Christ, who extends this name to all his disciples, Matthew 12:48,49, and to whom this very text is applied, Hebrews 2:11,12.

Verse 22. I will declare the name unto my brethren] I will make a complete revelation concerning the God of justice and love, to my disciples; and I will announce to the Jewish people thy merciful design in sending me to be the Saviour of the world.

Verse 22. I will declare thy name — “Nothing is more common in the Psalms than these sudden transitions, and nothing more beautiful. Our Saviour here passes from the mournful view of death to the comfortable prospect of his resurrection. He intimates that, after God shall have delivered him from the power of death, by a glorious resurrection, he would more fully publish his gospel, by which the adorable perfections of God, and especially his wisdom and mercy, would be more eminently displayed among his apostles, and among the rest of his disciples and followers, whom he is not ashamed to call his brethren, Hebrews 2:11. The following verses can certainly be applied to David only in a very restrained sense, but are literally true of Christ and his triumphant reign; when in the latter days, all the people upon earth, even in the most remote corners of the world, shall worship and adore him.” — Dodd.

22. I will declare thy name unto my brethren—A sudden break in the connexion, and an abrupt opening of the final division of the psalm are apparent. From the deepest dejection and peril the tone and theme are changed to thanksgiving, hope, and triumph. Prophetically, the former part describes the passion; that which follows, the triumphs of the Redeemer after the resurrection. The transition point is found in the words, (verse 21,) “Thou hast heard me.” Certainly the answer to his prayer intervenes between verses 21, 22. Bishop Horsley and others read it thus:—

21. Save me from the mouth of the lion,

And from the horns of the unicorns.

22. ——Thou hast heard me.

I will declare thy name, etc.

The same sudden answers to prayer, marked by abrupt transitions, elsewhere occur. Psalm 6:8; 20:5; 28:6; 60:6. Unto my brethren— Historically applied, these words are remarkable. David, though cut off from his people and exiled, still counts himself in the brotherhood of the saints, to whom his first thought is to divulge the glad tidings. But, prophetically, these are the words of Christ to his disciples, thus quoted in Hebrews 2:11. Christ calls his disciples “brethren,” (John 20:17,) and “friends,” (John 15:15,) and he alone reveals the Father to us. Luke 10:22; John 1:18. Congregation—The word commonly used to denote the general assembly, or collective whole, of the covenant people. In verse 25 called the “great congregation,” and defined as “them that fear God.” The quotation of this, in Hebrews 2:12, is made verbally from the Septuagint, where ekklhsia is the common Greek word for lhq, (congregation,) as it is in the New Testament for Church. See on Psalm 35:10, 18.

Verse 23. Ye that fear the Lord] This is an exhortation to the Jews particularly, to profit by the preaching of the Gospel. Perhaps, by them that fear him, the Gentiles, and particularly the proselytes, may be intended. The Jews are mentioned by name: Glorify him, all ye seed of Jacob; fear him, all ye seed of Israel.

Verses 23-25. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him — Not only for my sake, (they are the words of the risen and exalted Saviour,) but chiefly for your own benefit, received through my deliverance from death, and exaltation to God’s right hand, by which I am made head over all things, for the good of my church and people. All ye seed of Jacob, &c. — He first addresses himself to his ancient people, to whom the gospel was first to be preached. How long, O Lord, holy and true, shall thy once highly favoured nation continue deaf to this gracious call of thine? For he hath not despised thee, &c. — He hath not rejected, but graciously accepted, my humiliation and sufferings, as a propitiation and sacrifice for the sins of the world, which acceptance is testified by my resurrection from the dead: inasmuch as the discharge of the surety proves the payment of the debt. This is the great subject of praise and thanksgiving in the church of Christ. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation — In the universal church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, as the following verses explain it. I will pay my vows before them that fear him — Those praises and services which, in my distress, I vowed to return unto thee when thou didst deliver me. “The vow of Christ was to build and consecrate to Jehovah a spiritual temple, in which the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise should be continually offered. This vow he performed, after his resurrection, by the hands of his apostles, and still continues to perform, by those of his ministers, carrying on the work of edification in the great congregation of the Gentile Christian Church. The vows of Christ cannot fail of being performed. Happy are they whom he vouchsafeth to use as his instruments in the performance of them.” — Horne.

23. Ye that fear the Lord—The call is to spiritual Israel. Verses 23, 24, as Bishop Lowth suggests, contain the praise song of the preceding verse, which the psalmist now puts into the mouth of the Church.

V. 24. Abhorred-He did not turn away his face from it, as men do from things which they abhor. From him-For ever: tho’ he did so for a time.

Verse 24. For he hath not despised] It is his property to help and save the poor and the humble; and he rejects not the sighings of a contrite heart. Perhaps it may mean, Though ye have despised me in my humiliation, yet God has graciously received me in the character of a sufferer on account of sin; as by that humiliation unto death the great atonement was made for the sin of the world.

Verses 23-25. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him — Not only for my sake, (they are the words of the risen and exalted Saviour,) but chiefly for your own benefit, received through my deliverance from death, and exaltation to God’s right hand, by which I am made head over all things, for the good of my church and people. All ye seed of Jacob, &c. — He first addresses himself to his ancient people, to whom the gospel was first to be preached. How long, O Lord, holy and true, shall thy once highly favoured nation continue deaf to this gracious call of thine? For he hath not despised thee, &c. — He hath not rejected, but graciously accepted, my humiliation and sufferings, as a propitiation and sacrifice for the sins of the world, which acceptance is testified by my resurrection from the dead: inasmuch as the discharge of the surety proves the payment of the debt. This is the great subject of praise and thanksgiving in the church of Christ. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation — In the universal church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, as the following verses explain it. I will pay my vows before them that fear him — Those praises and services which, in my distress, I vowed to return unto thee when thou didst deliver me. “The vow of Christ was to build and consecrate to Jehovah a spiritual temple, in which the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise should be continually offered. This vow he performed, after his resurrection, by the hands of his apostles, and still continues to perform, by those of his ministers, carrying on the work of edification in the great congregation of the Gentile Christian Church. The vows of Christ cannot fail of being performed. Happy are they whom he vouchsafeth to use as his instruments in the performance of them.” — Horne.

24. For he hath not despised—Because “he hath not despised.” The answer of prayer, even of the afflicted poor, is the theme and occasion of this public praise.

V. 25. Great congregation-In the universal church, of Jews and Gentiles.

Verse 25. The great congregation] In Psalm 22:22 he declares that he will praise God in the midst of the congregation. Here the Jews seem to be intended. In this verse he says he will praise him in the GREAT CONGREGATION. Here the Gentiles are probably meant. The Jewish nation was but a small number in comparison of the Gentile world. And those of the former who received the Gospel were very few when compared with those among the Gentiles who received the Divine testimony. The one was (for there is scarcely a converted Jew now) lhq kahal, an assembly; the other was, is, and will be increasingly, br lhq kahal rab, a GREAT ASSEMBLY. Salvation was of the Jews, it is now of the Gentiles.

Verses 23-25. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him — Not only for my sake, (they are the words of the risen and exalted Saviour,) but chiefly for your own benefit, received through my deliverance from death, and exaltation to God’s right hand, by which I am made head over all things, for the good of my church and people. All ye seed of Jacob, &c. — He first addresses himself to his ancient people, to whom the gospel was first to be preached. How long, O Lord, holy and true, shall thy once highly favoured nation continue deaf to this gracious call of thine? For he hath not despised thee, &c. — He hath not rejected, but graciously accepted, my humiliation and sufferings, as a propitiation and sacrifice for the sins of the world, which acceptance is testified by my resurrection from the dead: inasmuch as the discharge of the surety proves the payment of the debt. This is the great subject of praise and thanksgiving in the church of Christ. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation — In the universal church, made up of Jews and Gentiles, as the following verses explain it. I will pay my vows before them that fear him — Those praises and services which, in my distress, I vowed to return unto thee when thou didst deliver me. “The vow of Christ was to build and consecrate to Jehovah a spiritual temple, in which the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise should be continually offered. This vow he performed, after his resurrection, by the hands of his apostles, and still continues to perform, by those of his ministers, carrying on the work of edification in the great congregation of the Gentile Christian Church. The vows of Christ cannot fail of being performed. Happy are they whom he vouchsafeth to use as his instruments in the performance of them.” — Horne.

25. The great congregation—The full assembly of the faithful, as at the great national feasts; prophetically, the Church universal or “holy catholic Church.” I will pay my vows—I will pay the sacrifice which I vowed— my (rdn jbz) votive offering. This was one species of the µymlv, (shelameem,) peace offerings, consisting of a sacrifice accompanied by a social meal in the cloisters of the tabernacle or temple, as an acknowledgment of answer to prayer, and of peace and friendship with God. The allusion is to Leviticus 7:16-18.

V. 26. Satisfied-This is doubtless to be understood, of those spiritual blessings, that grace and peace, and comfort, which all believing souls have in the sense of God’s love, the pardon of their sins, and the influences of God’s spirit. Seek him-That seek his favour. Your heart-He speaks of the same persons still, though there be a change from the third to the second person, as is usual in these poetical books. For ever-Your comfort shall not be short and transitory, as worldly comforts are, but everlasting.

Verse 26. The meek shall eat] µywn[ anavim. the POOR, shall eat. In the true only Sacrifice there shall be such a provision for all believers, that they shall have a fulness of joy. Those who offered the sacrifice, fed on what they offered. Jesus, the true Sacrifice, is the bread that came down from heaven; they who eat of this bread shall never die.

Verse 26. The meek — That is, the poor or humble, gentle and teachable, namely, believing and godly persons whose hearts the grace of God hath softened and sweetened, subduing their pride and passion, and their rebellion against God, and fierceness toward men; shall eat and be satisfied — Shall partake of those spiritual blessings which God hath provided for them in his gospel, that grace, and peace, and comfort, which all believing souls enjoy, in a sense of God’s love, in the pardon of their sins, and in the influences of God’s Spirit. Of these and not of any temporal blessings, this clause is doubtless to be understood. They shall praise the Lord that seek him — That seek his favour, and the true spiritual knowledge of, and communion with, him. Your heart shall live — He speaks of the same persons still, though there be a change from the third to the second person, as is usual in these poetical books. For ever — Your comfort shall not be short and transitory, as worldly comforts are, but everlasting.

26. The meek shall eat—The poor and humble shall eat the sacrificial meal (verse 25) with him in accordance with Deuteronomy 16:11.

V. 27. The world-All nations from one end of the world to the other. So this is an evident prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles, and a clear proof, that this psalm immediately speaks of Christ; to whom alone, this and divers other passages of it, belong. Remember-They shall remember their former wickedness with grief and shame, and fear; particularly in worshiping dead and impotent idols. They shall remember their great and manifold obligation to God, which they had quite forgotten, his patience in sparing them so long, in the midst of all their impieties, and in giving his son for them: they shall remember the gracious words and glorious works of Christ, what he did, and suffered for them; which possibly divers of them had been eye and ear-witnesses of. The Lord-Into the only true God, and unto Jesus Christ, to whom this name of Jehovah is often ascribed in scripture.

Verse 27. All the ends of the world] The Gospel shall be preached to every nation under heaven; and all the kindred of nations, twjpvm mishpechoth, the families of the nations: not only the nations of the world shall receive the Gospel as a revelation from God, but each family shall embrace it for their own salvation. They shall worship before Jesus the Saviour, and through him shall all their praises be offered unto God.

Verse 27. All the ends of the world — All nations, from one end of the world to the other. So this is an evident prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles to the knowledge of God and Christ by the gospel, and a clear proof that this Psalm immediately speaks of Christ; to whom alone this and divers other passages of it belong. Shall remember — They shall remember their former wickedness with grief, and shame, and fear; particularly in worshipping dead and impotent idols. They shall remember their great and manifold obligations to God, which they had quite forgotten, his patience in sparing them so long, in the midst of all their impieties, and in revealing his gospel to them, and in giving his Son for them: they shall remember the gracious words and glorious works of Christ, what he did and suffered for them; which possibly divers of them had been eye and ear witnesses of. And turn unto the Lord — Unto the only true God, and unto Jesus Christ, to whom this name of Jehovah is often ascribed in Scripture. All the kindreds of the nations — Hebrew, twjpvm lk, cal mishpechoth, all the families. Which is not to be understood strictly of every particular person and family, but of all sorts, and of great numbers of them; as such universal phrases are often to be understood in Scripture.

Ver. 27. All the ends of the world shall remember. David having described the sufferings of Christ, spake this of the glory that should follow. The nation that will not serve him shall be destroyed. The kingdom, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the Most High.

27. All the ends of the world—The language of this verse cannot apply to David’s kingdom, but is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles by the preaching of the gospel. Matthew 28:19; Romans 16:26; Zechariah 14:9. David could not, in sobriety of language, suppose that his personal sufferings and deliverance could have the worldwide effect to turn the heathen nations to God. It is one of those numerous passages foretelling Messiah’s universal reign, which lie along through the entire course of Old Testament revelation. Shall remember—They shall call to mind the wonderful death, resurrection, and ascension of Messiah, his triumph over all his foes, and the resultant effect of the preaching of the gospel.

V. 28. For-This is added as a reason, why the Gentiles should be converted, because God is not only God and the Lord of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, and of all nations.

Verse 28. The kingdom is the Lord’s] That universal sway of the Gospel which in the New Testament is called the kingdom of God; in which all men shall be God’s subjects; and righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, be universally diffused.

Verse 28. For the kingdom is the Lord’s — This is added as a reason why the Gentiles should be converted, because God is not only the God and Lord of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, and of all nations. And, therefore, though for a time he thought fit to confine his kingdom or visible church to Israel, yet he had resolved, in due time, to enlarge it, and to set up his throne and government in the Gentile world, which were no less created and redeemed by him than the Jews, Romans 3:29, 30; Zechariah 14:9.

V. 29. Fat-Kings and princes, and the great men of the world. Shall eat-Shall feed upon the bread of life, Christ and all his benefits. Worship-This is added to shew what kind of eating he spoke of. Go down-That is, all mankind, for none can escape death.

Verse 29. All they that be fat upon earth] The rich, the great, the mighty, even princes, governors, and kings, shall embrace the Gospel. They shall count it their greatest honour to be called Christian; to join in the assemblies of his people, to commemorate his sacrificial death, to dispense the word of life, to discourage vice, and to encourage the profession and practice of pure and undefiled religion.

That go down to the dust] Every dying man shall put his trust in Christ, and shall expect glory only through the great Saviour of mankind. None can keep alive his own soul.] The Vulgate has: Et anima mea illi vivet, et semen meum serviet ipsi; “and my soul shall live to him, and my seed shall serve him.” And with this agree the Syriac, Septuagint, Æthiopic, Arabic, and Anglo-Saxon. The old Psalter follows them closely: And my saule sal lyf til him; and my sede hym sal serve. I believe this to be the true reading. Instead of wvpn naphsho, HIS soul, some MSS., in accordance with the above ancient versions, have yvpn naphshi, MY soul. And instead of al lo, not, two MSS., with the versions, have wl lo, to HIM. And for hyj chiyah, shall vivify, some have hyjy yichyeh, shall live. The text, therefore, should be read, My soul (yvpn napshi) shall live (wl lo) to him: my seed (זרעי zari) shall serve him. These may be the words of David himself: “I will live to this Saviour while I live; and my spiritual posterity shall serve him through all generations.”

Verse 29. All they that be fat upon the earth — It was said, verse 26, that the meek, the lowly, and poor should eat and be satisfied: it is here foretold, that the fat ones of the earth; the rich and great, the nobles, princes, and kings, should be called in to partake of the feast. And worship — This word is added to show what kind of eating he spoke of, that it is a spiritual eating, a feeding upon the bread of life, a partaking of Christ and his benefits. High and low, rich and poor; all mankind are invited to partake of the gospel-feast. All they that go down to the dust — That is, the whole human race; for none can escape death; shall bow before him — “As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” And none can keep alive his own soul — Can secure or preserve his natural life longer than God is pleased to continue it to him, or can be the author to himself of spiritual and eternal life. It is, therefore, the great interest as well as duty of all to bow before the Lord Jesus; to give themselves up to him to be his subjects and worshippers; for this is the only way, and it is a sure way, to secure happiness when they go down to the dust. Seeing we cannot keep alive our own souls, it is our wisdom, by an obedient faith, to commit our souls to Jesus Christ, who is able to save them, and keep them alive for ever. Observe, reader, all who would partake of the benefits of Christ’s passion, here or hereafter, must worship, confide in, love and obey him as a Saviour and a king, before they are called to bow before and adore him as a judge. But the latter part of this verse is understood differently by some. All that descend into the dust, they suppose to mean all the poor, who, as well as the rich, are called upon, and shall have the privilege to worship him. For none can keep alive his own soul — That is, the greatest, as well as the meanest, must acknowledge that their salvation proceeds from him alone.

29. Shall eat and worship—The idea of the sacrificial feast (see on verse 25) is resumed; but it is now a spiritual feast, differing from the shelameem in this, that of this gospel feast all classes, without distinction, may partake, not the poor only. See verse 26. All… fat upon earth—All rich, worldly prosperous, mighty. Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 92:14. All… that go down to the dust—A description here of sorrow and poverty. Job 30:19; Psalm 113:7; Isaiah 3:26; 47:1. None can keep alive his own soul—Literally, whosoever cannot keep his soul alive, or respite his life from the grave. “A strong expression for extreme destitution. He who was just about to perish is now seen kneeling at the sacrificial feast, in honour of this great salvation.”—Alexander.

V. 30. A seed-Christ shall not want a seed or posterity, for though the Jewish nation will generally reject him, the Gentiles shall come in their stead. A generation-That believing seed shall be reputed both by God and men, The generation, or people of the Lord, as the Jews formerly were.

Verse 30. Shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.] They shall be called Christians after the name of Christ.

Verse 30. A seed shall serve him — Christ shall not want a seed or posterity, for though the Jewish nation will generally reject him, the Gentiles shall come in their stead. It shall be accounted for a generation — That believing seed shall be reputed, both by God and men, the generation, or people of the Lord, as the Jews formerly were.

30. A seed shall serve him—Posterity shall serve him—the descendants of the first generation of worshippers and their converts who succeed them. No limitation of time shall be fixed to Messiah’s honour and dominion. It shall be accounted—Numbered and registered, as the word denotes. To the Lord—Unto Adonah, not Jehovah; a title of dominion, and applies to Christ here, as in Psalm 110:1, 5, where see notes. For a generation— For the generation. The definite article belongs here, but is syncopated by the preposition. The “generation” is equal to “a peculiar people,” or purchased people. 1 Peter 2:9. “Generation,” here, is not used of time, but of kind, quality, species, (as Psalm 14:5; 24:6; 73:15;) running through all generations of time. Psalm 48:13; 78:4.

V. 31. They-The seed last mentioned. Come-From Judea and Jerusalem (from whence the gospel was first to go forth) to the Gentile world, to the several parts whereof the apostles went upon this errand. His-God’s righteousness: his wonderful grace and mercy unto mankind, in giving them Christ and the gospel; for righteousness is often put for mercy or kindness. Unto-Unto succeeding generations. Whereby David gives us a key to understand this psalm, and teaches us that he speaks not here of himself, but of things which were to be done in after-ages, even of the spreading of the gospel among the Gentiles, in the time of the New Testament. That he-They shall declare that this is the work of God, and not of man.

Verse 31. Unto a people that shall be born] That is, one generation shall continue to announce unto another the true religion of the Lord Jesus; so that it shall be for ever propagated in the earth. Of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Verse 31. They shall come — The seed last mentioned, or, some shall come, (for this may be indefinitely spoken,) and do the work here mentioned, namely, the apostles and ministers of the gospel shall come from Judea and Jerusalem, from whence the gospel was to go forth, to the Gentile world, to the several parts whereof the apostles went upon this errand. And shall declare his righteousness: either, 1st, His wonderful grace and mercy to mankind. in giving them Christ and the gospel: for righteousness is often put for mercy or kindness. Or, 2d, That righteousness which God hath appointed for the justification of sinners, called the righteousness of faith, Romans 3:21, 22; Philippians 3:9, which the Jews were ignorant of, and would not submit to, Romans 10:3, but which the Gentiles joyfully embraced. Or, 3d, His truth or faithfulness, (which is very frequently and properly called righteousness,) in the performance of those exceeding great and precious promises made and recorded in the Old Testament, and especially those two concerning the sending of Messias, and concerning the calling of the Gentiles; Unto a people that shall be born — Either, 1st, Spiritually, that is, born again: for conversion to God is sometimes called a birth, and creation, even in the Old Testament. Or rather, 2d, Naturally, that is, unto succeeding generations. Whereby David gives us a key to understand this Psalm, and teacheth us that he speaks not here of himself, or of the occurrences of his times, but of things which were to be done in after ages, even in the spreading of the gospel among the Gentiles, in the time of the New Testament. That he hath done this — They shall declare that this is the work of God, and not of man, and is carried on by his power alone in the world, against all the policy and power of men.

31. They shall come—The “seed,” or “generation” of the previous verse, shall come; that is, be born, appear upon the scene. Declare… unto a people that shall be born—Tell to the succeeding generation the wonderful works of God, as Psalm 48:13; 71:18; 102:28, and as the law of Moses required. Deuteronomy 11:19; 32:46. Thus shall Messiah’s kingdom be perpetual. Daniel 7:14. Righteousness, includes both the rectitude and the faithfulness of God in respect to the matters treated in the psalm, to wit: the sufferings and triumphs of Messiah, or the great work of redemption. That he hath done—Because he has finished it, namely, the work of redemption. The broad, significant term hc[, (‘asah,) here rendered “he hath done,” often takes the sense of accomplish, fulfil, execute, finish. It is the word which expresses the completion of the six days’ work of the Creator, (Genesis 2:2, 3,) the accomplishment of special, providential deliverances, as Psalm 37:5; 52:11; the redemption of the Church, as Isaiah 44:23. In this sense it should be here understood, answering to the last utterance of Christ, except one, upon the cross— “It is finished.” Thus the beginning and the final words of this wonderful psalm are the most solemn echoes of Calvary.