The Book of Psalms

⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑

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- Chapter 22 -

The Psalm of the Cross

(Matthew 27:32-56; Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:26-43; John 19:16-30)

Unto the end. For the tasks of early morning. A Psalm of David.(a)

O God, my God, look upon me. Why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my offenses.(b)

My God, I will cry out by day, and you will not heed, and by night, and it will not be foolishness for me.

But you dwell in holiness, O Praise of Israel.

In you, our fathers have hoped. They hoped, and you freed them.

They cried out to you, and they were saved. In you, they hoped and were not confounded.

But I am a worm and not a man: a disgrace among men, and an outcast of the people.

All those who saw me have derided me. They have spoken with the lips and shook the head.

He has hoped in the Lord, let him rescue him. Let him save him because he chooses him.

For you are the one who has drawn me out of the womb, my hope from the breasts of my mother.

I have been thrown upon you from the womb; from the womb of my mother, you are my God.

Do not depart from me. For tribulation is near, since there is no one who may help me.

Many calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have besieged me.

They have opened their mouths over me, just like a lion seizing and roaring.

And so, I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered. My heart has become like wax, melting in the midst of my chest.

My strength has dried up like clay, and my tongue has adhered to my jaws. And you have pulled me down, into the dust of death.

For many dogs have surrounded me. The council of the malicious has besieged me. They have pierced my hands and feet.

They have numbered all my bones. And they have examined me and stared at me.

They divided my garments among them, and over my vestment, they cast lots.

But you, O Lord, do not take your help far from me; be attentive to my defense.

O God, rescue my soul from the spear, and my only one from the hand of the dog.

Save me from the mouth of the lion, and my humility from the horns of the single-horned beast.(c)

I will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the Church, I will praise you.

You who fear the Lord, praise him. All the offspring of Jacob, glorify him.

May all the offspring of Israel fear him. For he has neither spurned nor despised the pleas of the poor. Neither has he turned his face away from me. And when I cried out to him, he heeded me.

My praise is with you, within a great church. I will pay my vows in the sight of those who fear him.

The poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who yearn for the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will live forever and ever.

All the ends of the earth will remember, and they will be converted to the Lord. And all the families of the Gentiles will adore in his sight.

For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he will have dominion over the Gentiles.

All the fat of the earth have gnashed their teeth, and they have adored. In his sight, they will fall down, all those who descend to the ground.

And my soul will live for him, and my offspring will serve him.

There will be announced for the Lord a future generation, and the heavens will announce his justice to a people who will be born, whom the Lord has made.(d)

Footnotes

(a)21:1 This psalm is about the time of early morning, metaphorically referring to the end of a dark time, and to the beginning of a time of light, when God saves at the end of suffering. It is also a fitting psalm for the start of the day.(Conte)

(b)21:2 The words of my sins:That is, the sins of the world, which I have taken upon myself, cry out against me, and are the cause of all my sufferings.(Challoner)

(c)21:22 Single-horned beast:The word ‘unicornium’ does not refer to the mythical horse with a single horn. It refers literally to some type of wild animal with one horn in ancient times. This animal is most likely some species that has since gone extinct. Some have speculated that it could refer to the rhinoceros of India (Rhinoceros unicornis), which has one horn, unlike its African cousin, which has two horns. It also has a figurative meaning. Notice that the first part of the verse refers to being saved by lions. It is not the case that the Israelites were largely afraid of being eaten by lions; rather, the lion is figurative for a king or for governmental authority. Save me from governmental authority gone astray. Likewise, save my humility from the horns of the single-horned beast. This beast could represent law enforcement and military bodies gone astray. Guns and tanks can be figuratively said to have a single horn, yet they shoot many horns (bullets, etc.) from their single horn. May I be humble in the face of law enforcement and military authorities gone astray. The single-horned beast can also be said to be a figure of the Antichrist’s kingdom. The figure of a horn is often used in the Old Testament to signify a leader of a kingdom. The Antichrist’s kingdom has a single horn, in the sense that he is one leader who will have dominion over nearly the whole world. And it has many horns, in that there are many other leaders who exercise authority under the Antichrist.(Conte)

(d)21:32 The phrase ‘quem fecit Dominus’ refers to the people whom the Lord has made (a future generation, not yet born), not to the justice. The word ‘justitiam’ is feminine, but the word ‘populo’ and the word ‘quem’ are each masculine.(Conte)