My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
Title. - Upon Aijaleth Shahar - margin, 'the hind of the morning.' The hind, or roe, is the enigmatical emblem of one persecuted to death (Isaiah 13:14). The hind is the emblem of loveliness, Song of Solomon 2:9; and among the Arabians, of innocence. The persecutors are similarly designated by such terms as 'bulls, lions, dogs;' so that we naturally look for such a designation of the persecuted one as shall correspond. The unusual Hebrew, ejaluthi, "my strength" (Psalms 22:19), probably refers to the Aijeleth, 'hind,' which, void of strength itself, seeks it from Yahweh. The addition 'of the morning' implies prosperity dawning after suffering, as in Messiah's case, note, Psalms 22:21.-The sufferer's complaint turned into thanksgiving for the blessed result of His sufferings to the Church, and to all nations. He complains that He is forsaken and His continual cry disregarded, though the Holy One had never before confounded them that trusted in Him (Psalms 22:1-10); still He believes in spite of adverse appearances, and prays (Psalms 22:11); His trouble, His renewed prayer, "Be not far from me," ending in assurance of being heard (Psalms 22:12-21); blessed result; His praise among His brethren; the seed of Jacob glorify God; His praise in the great congregation; the meek satisfied; eternal life; all the ends of the world converted: His righteousness declared to all generations (Psalms 22:22-31.)
My God, my God - the cry of Messiah on the cross close upon the ninth hour, after the supernatural darkness had lasted almost three hours from the sixth hour. Instead of sebachtaniy, of the Chaldee Targum, the Hebrew has the form 'Hazabtani.' Christ's faith laid hold of God as His God, even when the Father withdrew His manifested presence, on account of our sins, which were imputed to Him. The answer to His question is contained in Hebrews 5:8-9. The expressive repetition THRICE (Psalms 22:1-2) of the cry, "my God," implies that the Sufferer clung firmly to this truth, that God was still His God, in spite of all appearances to the contrary. This was His antidote to despair, and the pledge that God would yet interpose as His Deliverer. The "why" implies conscious innocence of having given in Himself any ground why God should forsake Him. Believers can in a subordinate sense plead, amidst spiritual darkness, that God is their God by covenant of promise, and therefore cannot finally forsake them (Psalms 138:8).
So far from helping me. The holy sufferer thrice dwells on God's seeming distance from Him as His chief trial, here and in Psalms 22:11; Psalms 22:19.
Words of my roaring - i:e., loud complaint. The image is from the roaring of a wild beast in the agony of a severe wound (cf. Hebrews 5:7), beautifully answering in contrast to the roaring (the same Hebrew, shaa'ag (H7580)) of His lion-like foes (Psalms 22:13). The more they roared for His destruction, the more He cried to His God.