TRV
Translation
King James Version
¶ To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Complete Jewish Bible
For the leader. Set to "Sunrise."A psalm of David: My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me? Why so far from helping me, so far from my anguished cries?
Berean Standard Bible
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
American Standard Version
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou sofar from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
World English Bible Messianic
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
Geneva Bible (1599)
To him that excelleth upon Aiieleth Hasshahar. A Psalme of Dauid. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, and art so farre from mine health, and from the wordes of my roaring?
Young's Literal Translation
To the Overseer, on `The Hind of the Morning.' --A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation, The words of my roaring?
In the KJVVerse 14,206 of 31,102
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Commentary on Psalms 22 verses 1–10
1 ¶ To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
Some think they find Christ in the title of this psalm, upon Aijeleth Shahar - The hind of the morning. Christ is as the swift hind upon the mountains of spices (Sol 8:14), as the loving hind and the pleasant roe, to all believers (Pro 5:19); he giveth goodly words like Naphtali, who is compared to a hind let loose, Gen 49:21. He is the hind of the morning, marked out by the counsels of God from eternity, to be run down by those dogs that compassed him, Psa 22:16. But others think it denotes only the tune to which the psalm was set. In these verses we have,
I. A sad complaint of God's withdrawings, Psa 22:1, Psa 22:2.
1.This may be applied to David, or any other child of God, in the want of the tokens of his favour, pressed with the burden of his displeasure, roaring under it, as one overwhelmed with grief and terror, crying earnestly for relief, and, in this case, apprehending himself forsaken of God, unhelped, unheard, yet calling him, again and again, "My God," and continuing to cry day and night to him and earnestly desiring his gracious returns. Note, (1.) Spiritual desertions are the saints' sorest afflictions; when their evidences are clouded, divine consolations suspended, their communion with God interrupted, and the terrors of God set in array against them, how sad are their spirits, and how sapless all their comforts! (2.) Even their complaint of these burdens is a good sign of spiritual life and spiritual senses exercised. To cry out, "My God, why am I sick? Why am I poor?" would give cause to suspect discontent and worldliness. But, Why has though forsaken me? is the language of a heart binding up its happiness in God's favour. (3.) When we are lamenting God's withdrawings, yet still we must call him our God, and continue to call upon him as ours. When we want the faith of assurance we must live by a faith of adherence. "However it be, yet God is good, and he is mine; though he slay me, yet I trust in him; though he do not answer me immediately, I will continue praying and waiting; though he be silent, I will not be silent."
2.But is must be applied to Christ: for, in the first words of this complaint, he poured out his soul before God when he was upon the cross (Mat 27:46); probably he proceeded to the following words, and, some think, repeated the whole psalm, if not aloud (because they cavilled at the first words), yet to himself. Note, (1.) Christ, in his sufferings, cried earnestly to his Father for his favour and presence with him. He cried in the day-time, upon the cross, and in the night-season, when he was in agony in the garden. He offered up strong crying and tears to him that was able to save him, and with some fear too, Heb 5:7. (2.) Yet God forsook him, was far from helping him, and did not hear him, and it was this that he complained of more than all his sufferings. God delivered him into the hands of his enemies; it was by his determinate counsel that he was crucified and slain, and he did not give in sensible comforts. But, Christ having made himself sin for us, in conformity thereunto the Father laid him under the present impressions of his wrath and displeasure against sin. It pleased the Lord to bruise him and put him to grief, Isa 53:10. But even then he kept fast hold of his relation to his Father as his God, by whom he was now employed, whom he was now serving, and with whom he should shortly be glorified.
II. Encouragement taken, in reference hereunto, Psa 22:3-5. Though God did not hear him, did not help him, yet, 1. He will think well of God: "But thou art holy, not unjust, untrue, nor unkind, in any of thy dispensations. Though thou dost not immediately come in to the relief of thy afflicted people, yet though lovest them, art true to thy covenant with them, and dost not countenance the iniquity of their persecutors, Hab 1:13. And, as thou art infinitely pure and upright thyself, so thou delightest in the services of thy upright people: Thou inhabitest the praises of Israel; thou art pleased to manifest thy glory, and grace, and special presence with thy people, in the sanctuary, where they attend thee with their praises. There thou art always ready to receive their homage, and of the tabernacle of meeting thou hast said, This is my rest for ever." This bespeaks God's wonderful condescension to his faithful worshippers - (that, though he is attended with the praises of angels, yet he is pleased to inhabit the praises of Israel), and it may comfort us in all our complaints - that, though God seem, for a while, to turn a deaf ear to them, yet he is so well pleased with his people's praises that he will, in due time, give them cause to change their note: Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him. Our Lord Jesus, in his sufferings, had an eye to the holiness of God, to preserve and advance the honour of that, and of his grace in inhabiting the praises of Israel notwithstanding the iniquities of their holy things. 2. He will take comfort from the experiences which the saints in former ages had of the benefit of faith and prayer (Psa 22:4, Psa 22:5): "Our fathers trusted in thee, cried unto thee, and thou didst deliver them; therefore thou wilt, in due time, deliver me, for never any that hoped in thee were made ashamed of their hope, never any that sought thee sought thee in vain. And thou art still the same in thyself and the same to thy people that ever thou wast. They were our fathers, and thy people are beloved for the fathers' sake," Rom 11:28. The entail of the covenant is designed for the support of the seed of the faithful. He that was our fathers' God must be ours, and will therefore be ours. Our Lord Jesus, in his sufferings, supported himself with this - that all the fathers who were types of him in his sufferings, Noah, Joseph, David, Jonah, and others, were in due time delivered and were types of his exaltation too; therefore he knew that he also should not be confounded, Isa 50:7.
III. The complaint renewed of another grievance, and that is the contempt and reproach of men. This complaint is by no means so bitter as that before of God's withdrawings; but, as that touches a gracious soul, so this a generous soul, in a very tender part, Psa 22:6-8. Our fathers were honoured, the patriarchs in their day, first or last, appeared great in the eye of the world, Abraham, Moses, David; but Christ is a worm, and no man. It was great condescension that he became man, a step downwards, which is, and will be, the wonder of angels; yet, as if it were too much, too great, to be a man, he becomes a worm, and no man. He was Adam - a mean man, and Enosh - a man of sorrows, but lo Ish - not a considerable man: for he took upon him the form of a servant, and his visage was marred more than any man's, Isa 52:14. Man, at the best, is a worm; but he became a worm, and no man. If he had not made himself a worm, he could not have been trampled upon as he was. The word signifies such a worm as was used in dyeing scarlet or purple, whence some make it an allusion to his bloody sufferings. See what abuses were put upon him. 1. He was reproached as a bad man, as a blasphemer, a sabbath-breaker, a wine-bibber, a false prophet, an enemy to Caesar, a confederate with the prince of the devils. 2. He was despised of the people as a mean contemptible man, not worth taking notice of, his country in no repute, his relations poor mechanics, his followers none of the rulers, or the Pharisees, but the mob. 3. He was ridiculed as a foolish man, and one that not only deceived others, but himself too. Those that saw him hanging on the cross laughed him to scorn. So far were they from pitying him, or concerning themselves for him, that they added to his afflictions, with all the gestures and expressions of insolence upbraiding him with his fall. They make mouths at him, make merry over him, and make a jest of his sufferings: They shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying, This was he that said he trusted God would deliver him; now let him deliver him. David was sometimes taunted for his confidence in God; but in the sufferings of Christ this was literally and exactly fulfilled. Those very gestures were used by those that reviled him (Mat 27:39); they wagged their heads, nay, and so far did their malice make them forget themselves that they used the very words (Mat 27:43), He trusted in God; let him deliver him. Our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy for the dishonour we had done to God by our sins, did it by submitting to the lowest possible instance of ignominy and disgrace.
IV. Encouragement taken as to this also (Psa 22:9, Psa 22:10): Men despise me, but thou art he that took me out of the womb. David and other good men have often, for direction to us, encouraged themselves with this, that God was not only the God of their fathers, as before (Psa 22:4), but the God of their infancy, who began by times to take care of them, as soon as they had a being, and therefore, they hope, will never cast them off. He that did so well for us in that helpless useless state will not leave us when he has reared us and nursed us up into some capacity of serving him. See the early instances of God's providential care for us, 1. In the birth: He took us also out of the womb, else we had died there, or been stifled in the birth. Every man's particular time begins with this pregnant proof of God's providence, as time, in general, began with the creation, that pregnant proof of his being. 2. At the breast: "Then didst thou make me hope;" that is, "thou didst that for me, in providing sustenance for me and protecting me from the dangers to which I was exposed, which encourages me to hope in thee all my days." The blessings of the breasts, as they crown the blessings of the womb, so they are earnests of the blessings of our whole lives; surely he that fed us then will never starve us, Job 3:12. 3. In our early dedication to him: I was cast upon thee from the womb, which perhaps refers to his circumcision on the eighth day; he was then by his parents committed and given up to God as his God in covenant; for circumcision was a seal of the covenant; and this encouraged him to trust in God. Those have reason to think themselves safe who were so soon, so solemnly, gathered under the wings of the divine majesty. 4. In the experience we have had of God's goodness to us all along ever since, drawn out in a constant uninterrupted series of preservations and supplies: Thou art my God, providing me and watching over me for good, from my mother's belly, that is, from my coming into the world unto this day. And if, as soon as we became capable of exercising reason, we put our confidence in God and committed ourselves and our way to him, we need not doubt but he will always remember the kindness of our youth and the love of our espousals, Jer 2:2. This is applicable to our Lord Jesus, over whose incarnation and birth the divine Providence watched with a peculiar care, when he was born in a stable, laid in a manger, and immediately exposed to the malice of Herod, and forced to flee into Egypt. When he was a child God loved him and called him thence (Hos 11:1), and the remembrance of this comforted him in his sufferings. Men reproached him, and discouraged his confidence in God; but God had honoured him and encouraged his confidence in him.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–10. Public domain.
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Mark 15:33-39AD 60
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [Psalms 22:1] And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
Matthew 27:45-54AD 60
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? [Psalms 22:1] Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
Eusebius of CaesareaAD 339
PROOF OF THE GOSPEL 10:8.495-96
It is to impel us to ask why the Father forsook him, that he says, “Why have you forsaken me?” The answer is, to ransom the whole human race, buying them with him precious blood from their former slavery to their invisible tyrants, the unclean demons and the rulers and spirits of evil. And the Father forsook him for another reason, namely, that the love of Christ himself for people might be set forth. For no one had power over his life, but he gave it willingly for people, as he teaches us himself in the words, “No one takes my life from me: I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”
Gregory of NazianzusAD 390
ON THE SON, THEOLOGICAL ORATION 4(30).5
It was not he who was forsaken, either by the Father or by his own Godhead, as some have thought, as if it were afraid of the passion and therefore withdrew itself from him in his sufferings (for who compelled him either to be born on earth at all or to be lifted up on the cross?). But … he was in his own person representing us. For we were the forsaken and the despised, but now by the sufferings of him who could not suffer, we have been taken up and saved. Similarly, he makes his own our folly and our transgressions and says what follows in the psalm, for it is very evident that the twenty-second refers to Christ.
Ambrose of MilanAD 397
Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.7.56
Seeing, then, that he took on himself a soul he also took the affections of a soul, for God could not have been distressed or have died in respect of his being God.… As being man, therefore, he speaks, bearing with him my terrors, for when we are in the midst of dangers we think ourself abandoned by God. As man, therefore, he is distressed, as man he weeps, as man he is crucified.
Augustine of HippoAD 430
Exposition on Psalm 22
"O God, my God, look upon me, why have You forsaken me far from my salvation?" [Psalm 22:1]. Far removed from my salvation: for "salvation is far from sinners." "The words of my sins." For these are not the words of righteousness, but of my sins. For it is the old man nailed to the Cross that speaks, ignorant even of the reason why God has forsaken him: or else it may be thus, The words of my sins are far from my salvation.
Cyril of AlexandriaAD 444
LETTER 17:11
We confess that he, the Son begotten of God the Father and only-begotten God, though being incapable of suffering according to his own nature, suffered in his own flesh for our sake, according to the Scriptures. And he made his own the sufferings of his own flesh in his crucified body impassibly, for by the grace of God and for the sake of all he tasted death by having surrendered to it his own body although by nature he was life and was himself the resurrection. In order that by his ineffable power, after having trampled on death in his own flesh first, he might become “the firstborn from the dead” and “the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” and in order that he might prepare the way for the rise to immortality for the nature of people, by the grace of God, as we said just now, for the sake of all he tasted death, but on the third day he came back to life after despoiling hell.
Theodoret of CyrusAD 458
COMMENTARY ON THE PSALMS 22:3
Just as the one who was a fount of righteousness assumed our sin, and the one who was an ocean of blessing accepted a curse lying on us and scorning shame endured a cross, so too he uttered the words on our behalf.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Psalms 22:1 immediately plunges the reader into the profound anguish of the psalmist, King David, as he cries out to God from a place of deep perceived abandonment and intense suffering. It serves as a raw, visceral lament, vocalizing a desperate sense of divine distance and an urgent plea for help. This initial cry not only captures the psalmist's personal torment but also sets the stage for a psalm that prophetically foreshadows the ultimate suffering of the Messiah, moving from the depths of despair to an ultimate declaration of trust and God's sovereign faithfulness.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Psalm 22:1 employs several powerful literary devices to convey the psalmist's profound anguish. The most striking is the rhetorical question, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" This question is not posed to elicit an answer from God in the moment, but rather to express the psalmist's deep confusion, despair, and the perceived incongruity between God's character and his present suffering. The repetition of "My God, my God" serves as an apostrophe, a direct address to an absent or unresponsive entity, intensifying the personal and desperate nature of the plea. This repetition also emphasizes the intimate yet seemingly fractured relationship between the psalmist and his Creator. Parallelism is evident in the subsequent lines, where "far from helping me" and "from the words of my roaring" reinforce the idea of God's perceived distance and unresponsiveness to the psalmist's cries. The phrase "words of my roaring" is a vivid metaphor or hyperbole, likening the psalmist's cries of anguish to the deep, guttural roar of a wild animal, conveying the raw, primal, and overwhelming nature of his pain, which transcends mere articulate speech. Finally, the superscription's "Aijeleth Shahar" (Doe of the Morning) can be seen as a form of symbolism, potentially hinting at the psalmist's vulnerability as a hunted creature or foreshadowing the dawn of deliverance.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Psalms 22:1 encapsulates a foundational theological tension within biblical faith: the experience of the righteous sufferer who feels abandoned by God. This verse validates the human experience of profound spiritual distress, demonstrating that even those in deep relationship with God can grapple with feelings of divine absence and unanswered prayer. It challenges simplistic understandings of God's immediate intervention and invites believers into a deeper, more honest form of lament. Theologically, it affirms that crying out to God in our deepest pain is not a sign of weak faith but an act of profound trust, acknowledging God as the only source of help. This psalm, beginning with such a desperate cry, ultimately pivots to a powerful declaration of God's faithfulness and ultimate deliverance, illustrating the journey from despair to worship. This journey is a testament to the enduring truth that God's presence, though sometimes unfelt, is never truly absent, and His ultimate purposes for His people will prevail, even through the most agonizing trials.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Psalms 22:1 offers profound comfort and challenge for contemporary believers. In a world where suffering is pervasive and faith can feel fragile, this verse grants permission to express raw, unvarnished pain and confusion directly to God. It reminds us that spiritual anguish, even the feeling of being utterly forsaken, is not alien to the experience of biblical heroes like David, nor ultimately to Christ Himself. This psalm teaches us that authentic faith does not demand a constant feeling of God's presence, but rather the courage to cry out to Him even when He seems distant or silent. It encourages honesty in our prayers, validating our "roaring" and reminding us that God hears even our most inarticulate cries. By acknowledging the legitimacy of lament, this verse invites us to bring our whole selves—our doubts, fears, and deepest hurts—before a God who is big enough to handle our questions and faithful enough to ultimately deliver. It transforms despair into a pathway for deeper trust, as the psalm itself moves from the depths of abandonment to a triumphant declaration of God's praise.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why is this verse so famous, especially in the New Testament?
Answer: This verse is famously significant because Jesus Himself quoted it from the cross, as recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. This direct quotation highlights the profound prophetic nature of Psalm 22, demonstrating how David's ancient lament precisely foreshadowed the ultimate suffering of the Messiah. Jesus' cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" underscores the depth of His identification with human suffering and the unique theological mystery of His bearing the world's sin, which involved a profound, albeit temporary, separation from the Father's fellowship.
Did God truly forsake Jesus on the cross?
Answer: Theologically, this is a complex and profound question. When Jesus cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", He was expressing the horrific reality of bearing the full weight of humanity's sin. In that moment, as He became sin for us (as in 2 Corinthians 5:21), the holy communion between Father and Son, which had existed eternally, was uniquely and temporarily broken. This was not a relational abandonment in the sense of a loss of love or covenant, but a functional separation necessary for the atonement. The Father, being perfectly holy, could not look upon sin, and thus, Jesus experienced the full, unmitigated wrath of God against sin. This was the ultimate act of substitutionary atonement, where Jesus truly experienced the consequence of sin – separation from God – on our behalf, so that we might never be truly forsaken (as promised in Hebrews 13:5).
What does "Aijeleth Shahar" mean, and why is it in the psalm title?
Answer: "Aijeleth Shahar" (Hebrew: אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר, 'ayyeleth haššāḥar') literally translates to "Doe of the Morning" or "Hind of the Dawn." It is a musical notation, likely indicating the specific tune or melody to which the psalm was to be sung in ancient Israelite worship. This practice was common for psalms, providing a familiar framework for their recitation or performance. While primarily a musical direction, some scholars suggest it might also carry symbolic weight, perhaps hinting at the psalmist's vulnerability (like a hunted deer) or the eventual breaking of light (dawn) after a period of darkness and suffering, which aligns with the psalm's movement from lament to praise.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Psalms 22:1 finds its profoundest fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. David's cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?", becomes the very words uttered by Jesus on the cross (as recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34). This is not merely a coincidence but a deliberate echo, demonstrating that David, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, prophetically spoke of the Messiah's ultimate suffering. On the cross, Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, bore the full weight of humanity's sin, becoming "sin for us" (as in 2 Corinthians 5:21). In that unparalleled moment, the eternal communion between the Father and the Son was, in a unique and agonizing way, broken, as the Father's holy wrath against sin was poured out upon His beloved Son. Jesus' cry of abandonment was the ultimate expression of substitutionary atonement, where He experienced the very consequence of sin—separation from God—so that those who believe in Him would never be truly forsaken (a promise echoed in Hebrews 13:5 and Romans 8:38-39). Thus, David's ancient lament becomes the very voice of our suffering Savior, who endured ultimate abandonment to secure our eternal reconciliation and adoption into God's family.