Psalm 22

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:6

Verse 6 6.But I am a worm, and not a man. David does not murmur against God as if God had dealt hardly with him; but in bewailing his condition, he says, in order the more effectually to induce God to show him mercy, that he is not accounted so much as a man. This, it is true, seems at first sight to have a tendency to discourage the mind, or rather to destroy faith; but it will appear more clearly from the sequel, that so far from this being the case, David declares how miserable his condition... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:7

Verse 7 7.All those who see me mock at me, etc., (505) This is an explanation of the preceding sentence. He had said that he was an object of scorn to the lowest of men, and, as it were, to the refuse of the people. He now informs us of the ignominy with which he had been treated, — that not content with opprobrious language, they also showed their insolence by their very gesture, both by shooting out their lips, (506) and by shaking their heads. As the words which we renderthey thrust out the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:8

Verse 8 How severe a temptation this must have been to David every man may judge from his own experience. But by the remedy he used he afforded a proof of the sincerity of his confidence: for unless he had had God as the undoubted witness and approver of the sincerity of his heart, he would never have dared to come before him with this complaint. Whenever, therefore, men charge us with hypocrisy, let it be our endeavor that the inward sincerity of our hearts may answer for us before God. And... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:9

Verse 9 9.Surely thou. David again here raises a new fortress, in order to withstand and repel the machinations of Satan. He briefly enumerates the benefits which God had bestowed upon him, by which he had long since learned that he was his father. Yea, he declares that even before he was born God had shown towards him such evidence of his fatherly love, that although now overwhelmed with the darkness of death, he might upon good ground venture to hope for life from him. And it is the Holy... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:11

Verse 11 11.Depart not far from me. Here he employs another argument to induce God to show him mercy, alleging that he is sorely pressed and hemmed in by the greatest distress. He doubtless set before his eyes the office which the Scriptures every where attribute to God of succouring the miserable, and of being the more ready to help us the more we are afflicted. Even despair itself, therefore, served as a ladder to elevate his mind to the exercise of devout and fervent prayer. In like manner,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:12

Verse 12 12.Strong bulls have encompassed me. The Psalmist now complains of the cruelty and barbarous rage of his enemies; and he compares them first to bulls, secondly to lions, and thirdly to dogs. When the anger of bulls is kindled, we know how fierce and terrible they are. The lion, also, is a cruel beast, and dreadful to mankind. And the eager and fierce boldness with which dogs, when once they are irritated, rush upon a man to do him injury, is well known. In short, David’s enemies were... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:14

Verse 14 14.I am poured out like water. Hitherto he has informed us that being surrounded by wild beasts, he was not far from death, as if he had been at the point of being devoured every moment. He now bewails, in addition to this, his inward distress; from which we learn that he was not stupid or insensible in dangers. It could have been no ordinary fear which made him almost pine away, by which his bones were disjointed, and his heart poured out like water. We see, then, that David was not... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:15

Verse 15 15.My strength is dried up. He means the vigor which is imparted to us by the radical moisture, as physicians call it. What he adds in the next clause, My tongue cleaveth to my jaws, is of the same import. We know that excessive grief not only consumes the vital spirits, but also dries up almost all the moisture which is in our bodies. He next declares, that in consequence of this, he was adjudged or devoted to the grave: Thou hast brought me to the dust of death. By this he intimates,... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:16

Verse 16 16.They have pierced my hands and my feet. The original word, which we have translated they have pierced, is כארי, caari, which literally rendered is, like a lion. As all the Hebrew Bibles at this day, without exception, have this reading, I would have had great hesitation in departing from a reading which they all support, were it not that the scope of the discourse compels me to do so, and were there not strong grounds for conjecturing that this passage has been fraudulently... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:17

Verse 17 17.I will number. The Hebrew word עצמות, atsmoth which signifies bones, is derived from another word, which signifies strength; and, therefore, this term is sometimes applied to friends, by whose defense we are strengthened, or to arguments and reasons which are, as it were, the sinews and the strength of the defense of a cause. Some, therefore, put this meaning upon the passage, — I will profit nothing by reckoning up all my arguments in self-vindication; for my enemies are fully... read more

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:6

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:7

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:8

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:9

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:11

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:12

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:14

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:15

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:16

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 22:17

Verse of the Day

Daily Devotional

Group of Brands