Psalm 22 - When the King Cries Out
- Alan Salwei
- Feb 20
- 5 min read
You may feel far from God, but He is never far from you.
Psalm 22
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the LORD.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
Q&A 37
Q. What do you understand
by the word “suffered”?
A. That during his whole life on earth,
but especially at the end,
Christ sustained
in body and soul
the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race.
This he did in order that,
by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice,
he might set us free, body and soul,
from eternal condemnation,
and gain for us
God’s grace,
righteousness,
and eternal life.
Summary
Psalm 22 opens with those famous words “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” These words gained fame when Jesus quoted Psalm 22 while suffering on the Cross.
This is a psalm of lament expressing the pain of unanswered prayer. The opening words of this Psalm resonated with Jesus as he bore the weight of our sin on the cross.
While the first 21 verses of this Psalm speak to the pain of unanswered prayer, there is a shift that takes place around verse 22. David, the psalmist, goes from agonizing over unanswered prayer to praising God for answered prayer. What starts as an expression of pain turns into an outpouring of praise.
Dig Deeper
The first section of this psalm laments over God’s apparent absence despite the psalmist remaining steadfast in prayer. David writes of crying out day by day yet not receiving a reply.
Part of trusting God is trusting not only in his goodness, but also in his timing. When you humble yourself in prayer, do so in full faith that God can and will provide what you truly need. There may be a difference between what you want and what you need; recognizing this is an important step in learning to trust God.
What seems like an agonizing wait for you may be a matter of God’s timing. If you are living through a time that resonates with the opening of this psalm, know that this lament is not forever.
David’s expressions of lament were turned into words of praise. When Jesus faced the torment of the curse of sin on the cross, he too spoke these words. Then on the third day he rose from the grave, breaking the spiritual chains of sin, and setting captive sinners free.
If both King David and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ faced times of lament, why should we expect to be spared hardship in this life? There will be trouble in this world, when it inevitably comes, trust in the grace of Jesus. If you feel abandoned or alone, do not hesitate to share this with God through prayer. And when God answers your prayer, do not neglect to sing his praises.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is enthroned as the Holy One;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will never be far from the LORD;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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