John Calvin Commentary Psalms 22:15

"My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death." — Psalms 22:15 (ASV)

My strength is dried up. He means the vigor that is imparted to us by what physicians call the essential bodily moisture. What he adds in the next clause, My tongue cleaveth to my jaws, has the same meaning. We know that excessive grief not only consumes the vital energy but also dries up almost all the moisture in our bodies.

He next declares that, as a consequence of this, he was condemned or consigned to the grave: Thou hast brought me to the dust of death. By this he indicates that all hope of life was taken from him. In this sense Paul also says (2 Corinthians 1:9) that he had received the sentence of death in himself. But David here speaks of himself in hyperbolic language, and he does this to lead us beyond himself to Christ.

The dreadful encounter of our Redeemer with death, which forced blood instead of sweat from his body; his descent into hell, by which he tasted the wrath of God that was due to sinners; and, in short, his emptying himself—these could not be adequately expressed by any ordinary language.

Moreover, David speaks of death in the way those in trouble are accustomed to speak of it. Struck with fear, they can think only of being reduced to dust and destruction.

Whenever the minds of the saints are surrounded and oppressed with this darkness, there is always some unbelief mixed with their spiritual struggle, which prevents them from immediately emerging from it to the light of a new life.

But in Christ, these two things were wonderfully combined: terror, stemming from a sense of God’s curse, and patience, arising from faith. This faith calmed all his emotions, so that they remained in complete and willing submission to God’s authority.

As for ourselves, who are not endowed with similar power, if at any time, when we behold nothing but destruction near us, we are greatly dismayed for a time, we should gradually strive to recover courage and to elevate ourselves to the hope that quickens the dead.