Chapter Twenty-Two

The psalm might have been written for the same reason as Psalm IV, that is, during David’s flight from Jerusalem from Absalom, when Sobi, Machir, and Berzellai, in the face of Absalom’s forces, brought provisions for David and his companions (see Ps 22:5, compare Ps 4:8). There is here an indirect hint that David feels some guilt before the Lord (Ps 22:3). We have noted that in the majority of psalms originating from the time of the Absalom persecution, either directly or indirectly, David expresses consciousness of his guilt before God.

My Lord is my shepherd, resting me and protecting me even in the valley of the shadow of death (1–4). He has prepared a table before me in the sight of my enemies, He has shown mercy, which may guard me all the days of my life (5–6).

Psalm 22:1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want of anything. “The Lord is my shepherd” – the fundamental thought of the psalm, elaborated in detail throughout its entire content. As a shepherd, the Lord guards and feeds David.

Psalm 22:2. He makes me lie down in verdant pastures and leads me beside still waters. “Verdant pastures” – meadows, covered with rich grass, onto which shepherds drive their flocks. “Still waters,” calm, not flowing turbulently, formed by heavy rains, which then quickly dry up, but springs never drying up, always flowing and providing water.

Psalm 22:3. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. “He restores my soul” – by His care for David the Lord sustains him, “my soul” – a Hebrew idiom – “me.” – “He guides me in the paths of righteousness” – by various events in his life or revelations of His will through the prophets, He indicates, in cases of deviation, the true path of life. Thus, for example, it was after the transgression with Bathsheba, which the prophet Nathan exposed. – “For the sake of His name” – an expression often repeated in the psalms and throughout the Bible. It means that the Lord, Who is holy and has no deficiency in Himself, requires also from His servants – people – moral purity, and therefore “guides [me] in the paths of righteousness,” so that man, as a servant and son of God, might not disgrace his Lord and Father God by his unworthiness.

Psalm 22:4. Even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear evil, because You are with me; Your rod and Your staff – they comfort me. “Valley of the shadow of death” – a valley full of dangers to life from possible attacks by enemies. This is the very valley in which he found himself at this time, full of dangers from the nearness of enemies. David believes that the Lord will save him from mortal dangers. – “Your rod and Your staff” – instruments by which shepherds protect their flocks from wild beasts. The Lord protects me by His strength, as a shepherd protects sheep with a staff.

Psalm 22:5. You have prepared a table before me in the sight of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. “You have anointed my head with oil,” thanks to the help sent, I experience a joyful mood, the outward sign of which in the East was the anointing of the head with oil.