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Psalm 22

Psalm 22 moves from a sufferer’s cry of abandonment to praise of the God who hears and rules the nations.

A sufferer cries to God through unanswered prayer, public mockery, and the threat of death. The heading names David, though the occasion is unknown. He recalls God’s care from birth and Israel’s past deliverance while pleading for help against enemies pictured as fierce animals. In verse 21, the plea turns to an acknowledgment of rescue. Praise then spreads from the gathered people of Israel to the nations and to generations yet to be born.

feeling distant from Godgriefpraise and worship
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1For the Chief Musician; set to “The Doe of the Morning.” A Psalm by David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?
2My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don’t answer; in the night season, and am not silent.
3But you are holy, you who inhabit the praises of Israel.
4Our fathers trusted in you. They trusted, and you delivered them.
5They cried to you, and were delivered. They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.
6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7All those who see me mock me. They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
8“He trusts in the LORD. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, since he delights in him.”
9But you brought me out of the womb. You made me trust while at my mother’s breasts.
10I was thrown on you from my mother’s womb. You are my God since my mother bore me.
11Don’t be far from me, for trouble is near. For there is no one to help.
12Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13They open their mouths wide against me, lions tearing prey and roaring.
14I am poured out like water. All my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death.
16For dogs have surrounded me. A company of evildoers have enclosed me. They have pierced my hands and feet.
17I can count all of my bones. They look and stare at me.
18They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.
19But don’t be far off, LORD. You are my help. Hurry to help me!
20Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog.
21Save me from the lion’s mouth! Yes, you have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you.
23You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!
24For he 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.
25My praise of you comes in the great assembly. I will pay my vows before those who fear him.
26The humble shall eat and be satisfied. They shall praise the LORD who seek after him. Let your hearts live forever.
27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
28For the kingdom is the LORD’s. He is the ruler over the nations.
29All 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.
30Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord.
31They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected. Tap a number for its page.
Key verses
Psalm 22:1The opening cry holds together the sufferer’s sense of abandonment and his continued appeal to God.
Psalm 22:26The promise of food and praise for the humble extends the celebration of rescue beyond the sufferer.
Psalm 22:27The widening circle of worship reaches every nation, grounding the psalm’s hope in God’s rule over all.
Where this chapter reaches

Matthew and Mark record Jesus speaking the opening cry at his crucifixion, and John links the division of his clothing to the psalm’s words. Hebrews places the declaration of praise among brothers on Jesus’ lips, connecting the rescued sufferer’s public praise with his identification with his people.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

Which words in the sufferer’s prayer come closest to a prayer you find hard to speak?

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What changes as the psalm moves from one person’s distress to worship among the nations?

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Questions people ask about Psalm 22

Is Psalm 22 about Jesus?

The heading identifies it as a psalm by David, and its first setting is an unnamed sufferer’s distress and rescue. Matthew and Mark record Jesus using its opening cry on the cross. John connects its words about clothing with his crucifixion, and Hebrews applies its declaration of praise to Jesus.

Why does Psalm 22 change from suffering to praise?

Verse 21 marks the change: the plea for rescue becomes an acknowledgment that God has rescued the speaker. Verse 24 explains the praise by declaring that God heard the afflicted person’s cry. The psalm does not describe how the rescue happened or how much time passed before the praise.

Read it. Now write it.

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Psalms · 150 chapters
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What the Bible says about doubt →What the Bible says about grief →What the Bible says about worship →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).