| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the Chief Musician; set to Aijeleth hash-Shahar. A Psalm of David |
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1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
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My God, my God – Jews read from Psalm 22 and cried aloud these words at the wailing place in Jerusalem. C275*
Forsaken me – There came a time when the gate of earth and the door of heaven were both closed to Jesus. He hung suspended between the earth and heaven; he had given up earth at his consecration, and now the door of heaven was also closed. R4529:5*
Such a dark moment might be permitted to even the most worthy followers of the Lamb. F143
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2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou answerest not;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
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3 But thou art holy,
O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
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4 Our fathers trusted in thee:
They trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
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5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered:
They trusted in thee, and were not put to shame.
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6 But I am a scarlet worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised of the people.
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7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn:
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
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8 Commit thyself unto Jehovah; let him deliver him:
Let him rescue him, seeing he delighteth in him.
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9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb;
Thou didst make me trust when I was upon my mother's breasts.
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10 I was cast upon thee from the womb;
Thou art my God since my mother bare me.
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11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
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None to help – Pray, pleading our need. R5380:5*
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12 Many bulls have compassed me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
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13 They gape upon me with their mouth,
As a ravening and a roaring lion.
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14 I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint:
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me.
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It is melted – As every particle of the meat offering was exposed to the fire. R84:2*
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15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd;
And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
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16 For dogs have compassed me:
A company of evil-doers have inclosed me;
They pierced my hands and my feet.
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17 I may count all my bones;
They look and stare upon me.
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18 They part my garments among them,
And upon my vesture do they cast lots.
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Part my garments – Minutely fulfilled. R1394:5, R3370:3
Little did the soldiers think, as they divided his garments, that they were fulfilling prophecy. R3901:5
Upon my vesture – Symbolizing the righteousness of Christ, which can be appropriated only as a whole. R2474:1
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19 But be not thou far off, O Jehovah;
O thou my succor, haste thee to help me.
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20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
My darling from the power of the dog.
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21 Save me from the lion's mouth;
Yes, from the horns of the wild-oxen thou hast answered me.
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22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
In the midst of the assembly will I praise thee.
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Unto my brethren – The Little Flock, the Bride class. R5007:1
Who have received the spirit of adoption. E109
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23 Ye that fear Jehovah, praise him;
All ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him;
And stand in awe of him, all ye the seed of Israel.
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That fear the LORD – Perfect love casts out slavish, but not reverential, fear. R2289:4
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24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Neither hath he hid his face from him;
But when he cried unto him, he heard.
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25 Of thee cometh my praise in the great assembly:
I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
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My vows before them – Nothing in the Scriptures intimates that our Vow to the Lord must be kept secret. Indeed, our baptismal vow we are required to symbolize or profess publicly. R4266:4
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26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied;
They shall praise Jehovah that seek after him:
Let your heart live for ever.
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The meek shall eat – The table of the Lord has been spread for his Church from the very beginning of the Gospel age, and has always been supplied with meat in season. R1899:2
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27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah;
And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
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Shall remember – The resurrected ones shall have personalities identical to those with which they went into the grave, able to recall their former degraded conditions. R360:5, R604:3*
Turn unto the LORD – In due time. (1 Tim 2:4) SM311:1
The Christian church has been right in believing in the eventual conversion of the world, but it is the work of the Kingdom and not of the Gospel age. HG14:2
All the kindreds – Including those who have perished from the earth, for the Scriptures assure us of the awakening of all the sleeping millions of earth's population. HG434:2
Worship before thee – "All nations shall come and worship before thee" (Rev 15:4); the ultimate result of the work of Christ. R99:2*
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28 For the kingdom is Jehovah's;
And he is the ruler over the nations.
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Kingdom Is the LORD'S – The conversion of the world is not due while the devil is "the prince of this world." R532:4, R256:4, R321:1, R5:2
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29 All the fat ones of the earth shall eat and worship:
All they that go down to the dust shall bow before him,
Even he that cannot keep his soul alive.
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Keep alive his own soul – The soul can be destroyed by its Creator. R1882:1; HG334:5
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30 A seed shall serve him;
It shall be counted unto Jehovah for his generation.
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| 31 They shall come and shall declare his righteousness |
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