By Jeremy Bell
This is my personal study on Psalm 22 using groupings from my motif analysis, as I fully color coded in my book, Psalms in Motif Visualization. I have taken these groupings of the Psalm and put them together. So, the entirety of the Psalm will be posted, but these groupings will present the text in a different order. Jesus is the beginning and the end. Before the beginning, he was, after the end, he will be. Like perfect octaves in a scale, the same, yet distinct.
Music is mathematical. This may come as a serious blow to some of you, but at its’ core, music is math. Music is sound and sound is a wave. Waves vary in frequency, but they can be measured. When any given wave doubles in frequency, it is called an octave. A scale is a set of notes, ordered by fundamental frequency. O.k. that’s as deep as I’ll go on that topic, but those are the building blocks to all the music we hear. In traditional Western music, a scale is generally seven notes that repeat again at the octave. This entirely encompasses the beginning and the end. These are mathematically determined based on frequencies and our ears have come to know them well even if we do not know what’s happening mathematically.
Singing Origins
Guido of Arezzo was a monk in the early 1000’s that taught music. One of the ways he would identify notes in the scale for students was by using solfège. Syllables were assigned to notes and students were able to mentally hear the music they were reading. Over time, this method was fine-tuned and rather than have a syllable attached to specific notes, they became movable. The first syllable attached to the first note of the scale was “do” and this became known as the movable “do” application.
Today, a major scale in the traditional Western music would sound like this, according to the movable “do” application of solfège. “Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti” And then, it would start all over again as the original “do” doubles in frequency and becomes the octave. The “do” becomes the beginning and the end. Music is different around the world, but it is all based on mathematics and how those frequency breakdowns produce pitches. A culture becomes used to the mixture of sounds, but the math and the music are inseparable. This is not man made, this is in nature. It is a fascinating thing to me that there is a mathematical breakdown of frequencies that produces a 7-note scale. The 7 notes are identifiably different from each other, but they do not resolve.
Mystical Resolution
To resolve the scale to the ear, the octave must be repeated. The first and the last are the same, yet different. The world was created in six days, God rested on the seventh, but not everything was finished. Something happened that created a condition in which something needed to be resolved. Jesus said he was the first and last, the beginning and the end; that before the world was, he was, and the resolution and finishing of all things was through him. He was the same before creation as he was when he was born as a man, yet different.
I believe Psalm 22 has a refrain and I am going to pull it out, post it and repeat it. It is a little different from the rest of the Psalm, and I think this was done on purpose. I believe it serves as a reminder of absolute truth in circumstances that tempt us to discard what we know to be true. Try reading these verses as a refrain sometime after each section and see how it might change your viewpoint.
The Analysis Summary:
I have found Psalm 22 to be in Verse Refrain from. A verse is one idea that still has a breakdown of pattern, but those patterns are contained in one idea. The refrain is a bigger picture truth. A refrain could go anywhere as many times as desired.
When I write for Audio Visualization, my goal is to highlight the patterns and intent over strict translation. I hope it gives fresh encouragement, but I strongly recommend the Psalm to be read as is for proper understanding.
[ Psalm 22 ]
Psalm 22, Refrain Groupings:
The kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.
Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.
All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.
They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.
Psalm 22, Verse Groupings 1:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer;
in the night season, and am not silent.
But I am a worm, and no man;
a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
All those who see me mock me.
They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
“He trusts in Yahweh.
Let him deliver him.
Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”
I am poured out like water.
All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax.
It is melted within me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
I can count all of my bones.
They look and stare at me.
They divide my garments among them.
They cast lots for my clothing.
I will declare your name to my brothers.
Among the assembly, I will praise you.
My praise of you comes in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows before those who fear him.
Refrain:
The kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.
Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.
All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.
They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.
Verse Groupings 2:
But you, God, are holy,
you who inhabit the praises of Israel.
You brought me out of the womb.
You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts.
I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb.
You are my God since my mother bore me.
Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near.
For there is no one to help.
You have brought me into the dust of death.
But don’t be far off, Yahweh.
You are my help. Hurry to help me!
Deliver my soul from the sword,
You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!
The humble shall eat and be satisfied.
They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him.
Let your hearts live forever.
Refrain:
The kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.
Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.
All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.
They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.
Verse Groupings 3:
Our fathers trusted in you, God.
They trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried to you, and were delivered.
They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.
Many bulls have surrounded me.
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
They open their mouths wide against me,
lions tearing prey and roaring.
For dogs have surrounded me.
A company of evildoers have enclosed me.
They have pierced my hands and feet.
my precious life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion’s mouth!
Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.
For God has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
Neither has he hidden his face from him;
but when he cried to him, he heard.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh.
All the relatives of the nations shall worship before God.
Refrain:
The kingdom is Yahweh’s.
He is the ruler over the nations.
Posterity shall serve him.
Future generations shall be told about the Lord.
All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
even he who can’t keep his soul alive.
They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
for he has done it.
Introduction
In the beginning of this Psalm, it says, “For the Chief Musician; set to ‘The Doe of the Morning.’ A Psalm by David.” We do not know what “The Doe of the Morning” sounded like or if this was a reference to something Solomon wrote about later. David was Solomons father, and it is possible this is tied to The Song of Solomon in chapter 3. I like to think of “The Doe” as the “do” in the solfège. Doe, a deer, a female deer.
This doe is the beginning and the end of a scale. The beginning and the end are the same, yet different. Between them, there is process. Some perfection, some notes that yearn for resolution. This Psalm is real, and it is troubling. But there is hope. There is a God that we can turn to that can help us get through the worst of the worst, even death. And often it does not seem like He can hear or that He cares, so it’s important to remind ourselves of what is true.
God Has a Plan
God’s plan is orderly, and it takes time. Plans encompass the beginning and the end, but the plan creator is before the beginning and after the end. Pain and suffering are not evidence He does not exist or that He will help. It is important to remember that God has accomplished all that is necessary to magnify His glory through His people through Jesus. Jesus quoted this Psalm, he let us know what he was feeling and thinking. He may have felt forsaken at the time, but he remembered that the kingdom is Yahweh’s and that even those who go into the dust will bow to Him, those who cannot keep their souls alive.
God raised Jesus from the dead and Jesus sits at God the Father’s right hand in heaven. Any who want to be a part of Gods’ glorious plan need to have faith in Jesus and by the grace of God they are brought to Him through the power of the holy spirit. The kingdom has been given to Jesus and Jesus shares that kingdom with his people. If you know him and are having a terrible time in life, remember these things and hold onto them. Remember that Jesus wants you, he did not accidentally pick you up by mistake. Things are tough, but there is no place Jesus is not and no circumstance he is not in. Jesus is the beginning and the end. There is no other name under heaven by which a person can be saved, and if you are saved in His name, you are secure in the very nature of Joy.
Resources and Notes
All scripture in this article is from the WORLD ENGLISH BIBLE (WEB). The World English Bible (WEB) is a Public Domain (no copyright) Modern English translation of the Holy Bible. The World English Bible is based on the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible first published in 1901, the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensa Old Testament, and the Greek Majority Text New Testament.
For more related to this blog, check out my post on Practical Steps to Worship God in Spirit and in Truth.
This is a reliable translation, but it is always good to read other translations as well. Biblegateway.com has a multitude of translations to read from. It is a great resource.
Another great resource is Biblehub.com. There are multiple translations, commentaries, and so much more. Great research can be done on this platform.
One more I use regularly is Gotquestions.org. This is a great site to answer questions and find threads of related questions.
There are many resources. The key is that God wants relationship directly with you, the individual. His primary source for revealing who He is and growing in intimacy is His word, the scriptures. Don’t just read for instruction. Analyze and read for understanding. Explore, ask questions, and be transformed in Jesus every moment you possibly can. There is no dispute this is a key desire of God. People are brough to the Father, in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This… This is the Nature of Joy.
Jeremy is an author, musician, and business intelligence manager. His mission is to equip and encourage those in Christ, to equip and encourage others in Christ. Jesus, Christ, is the Nature of Joy and melody of the heart. Jeremy unites business analytics (business intelligence), songs, and Scripture for Christian living in the power of the Holy Spirit.