(5) Confounded—i.e., ashamed.

22:1-10 The Spirit of Christ, which was in the prophets, testifies in this psalm, clearly and fully, the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. We have a sorrowful complaint of God's withdrawings. This may be applied to any child of God, pressed down, overwhelmed with grief and terror. Spiritual desertions are the saints' sorest afflictions; but even their complaint of these burdens is a sign of spiritual life, and spiritual senses exercised. To cry our, My God, why am I sick? why am I poor? savours of discontent and worldliness. But, Why hast thou forsaken me? is the language of a heart binding up its happiness in God's favour. This must be applied to Christ. In the first words of this complaint, he poured out his soul before God when he was upon the cross, Mt 27:46. Being truly man, Christ felt a natural unwillingness to pass through such great sorrows, yet his zeal and love prevailed. Christ declared the holiness of God, his heavenly Father, in his sharpest sufferings; nay, declared them to be a proof of it, for which he would be continually praised by his Israel, more than for all other deliverances they received. Never any that hoped in thee, were made ashamed of their hope; never any that sought thee, sought thee in vain. Here is a complaint of the contempt and reproach of men. The Saviour here spoke of the abject state to which he was reduced. The history of Christ's sufferings, and of his birth, explains this prophecy.They cried unto thee - They offered earnest prayer and supplication.

And were delivered - From dangers and trials.

They trusted in thee, and were not confounded - They were not disappointed. Literally, "they were not ashamed." That is, they had not the confusion which those have who are disappointed. The idea in the word is, that when men put their trust in anything and are disappointed, they are conscious of a species of "shame" as if they had been foolish in relying on that which proved to be insufficient to help them; as if they had manifested a want of wisdom in not being more cautious, or in supposing that they could derive help from that which has proved to be fallacious. So in Jeremiah 14:3, "Their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters; they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; "they were ashamed and confounded," and covered their heads." That is, they felt as if they had acted "foolishly" or "unwisely" in expecting to find water there. Compare the notes at Job 6:20. In the expression here, "they trusted in thee, and were not confounded," it is meant that men who confide in God are never disappointed, or never have occasion for shame as if herein they had acted foolishly. They are never left to feel that they had put their trust where no help was to be found; that they had confided in one who had deceived them, or that they had reason to be ashamed of their act as an act of foolishness.

4, 5. Past experience of God's people is a ground of trust. The mention of "our fathers" does not destroy the applicability of the words as the language of our Saviour's human nature. i.e. Not disappointed of that for which they prayed and hoped.

They cried unto thee, and were delivered,.... As the Israelites did in Egyptian bondage, and as they in later times did when in distress; see Exodus 2:23; &c. The crying is to be understood of prayer to God, and sometimes designs mental prayer, sighing, and groaning, which cannot be uttered, when no voice is heard, as in Moses, Exodus 14:15; but oftener vocal prayer, put up in times of distress, and denotes the vehemency of trouble, and eagerness of desire to be heard and relieved; and this cry was from faith, it followed upon and was accompanied with trusting in the Lord; it was the prayer of faith, which is effectual and availeth much, and issued in deliverance;

they trusted in thee, and were not confounded: or ashamed; neither of the object of their trust, the living God, as those who trust in graven images; so Moab was ashamed of Chemosh, Jeremiah 48:13; nor of their hope and trust in him, it being such as makes not ashamed, Psalm 119:116, Romans 5:5; nor of the consequences of it; When men trust in anything and it fails them, and they have not what they expect by it, they are filled with shame and confusion, Isaiah 30:2; but they that trust in the Lord are never confounded, or made ashamed; their expectations do not perish: now Christ mentions this case of his ancestors as a reason of the praises of Israel, which they offered up to God for deliverances, and which he inhabited, Psalm 22:3; as also by way of encouragement to himself in his present circumstances, that though the Lord was at a distance from him, and seemed not to regard him and his cries, yet that he would deliver him; and likewise as an argument with God that he would do so, since it had been his wonted way and method with his fathers before; moreover he may take notice of it in order to represent his own forlorn, uncomfortable, and deplorable condition, which was abundantly worse than theirs, and the reverse of it, as it seemed at present.

They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.