Psalms 22

David begins in anguish, feeling abandoned by God while enemies mock and torment him. Then the psalm turns, and the sufferer ends in praise, seeing the whole world turning to the LORD. Jesus took the opening cry on the cross, and the New Testament sees His suffering and victory reflected in this psalm.

Psalms 22:1

The psalm opens with a raw cry. The sufferer still says “my God,” yet feels deserted and unheard. Jesus quoted these words from the cross. The verse shows that honest, even agonized prayer is faith, not its absence.

BSA: forsaken (“abandoned, deserted”): The sense is being left behind with no help, which is how the sufferer feels. groaning (“roaring, deep sorrow”): The word pictures a deep, lion-like cry of pain, too heavy for ordinary speech.

See also: Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34.

Psalms 22:2

Day and night he prays, and heaven seems silent. He does not stop praying. Long seasons of unanswered prayer are part of the believer’s road, and Scripture does not hide that.

BSA: answer (“or hear my plea”): He is not only waiting for a reply but longing to know he has been heard.

Psalms 22:3

He turns from his feelings to who God is. God is holy, set apart and perfect, and He rules from the midst of His people’s praise. The sufferer clings to God’s character even while his circumstances say otherwise.

BSA: holy (“set apart, uniquely”): God is unlike anyone else, so His faithfulness can be counted on even when it is not felt.

Hebrew: קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, H6918) — “holy, set apart.” The Hebrew word speaks of God being in a class by Himself, completely pure and different from all else.

Psalms 22:4-5

He remembers how God rescued earlier generations. Three times he says they trusted. Each time they cried out, God freed them. Past faithfulness becomes the ground for hope when the present is dark.

BSA: disappointed (“put to shame, confounded, defeated”): Those who trusted God were never left humiliated or let down.

See also: Exodus 14:30.

Psalms 22:6

Now the contrast: others were rescued, but he feels like a crushed worm. He is stripped of dignity and treated as less than human. Christians have long seen in this the humiliation of Jesus, who was despised and rejected.

BSA: worm (“a lowly, insignificant”): A worm is helpless and easily trodden on, a picture of utter lowness.

See also: Isaiah 53:3.

Psalms 22:7-8

The crowd jeers and wags their heads, turning his faith into a joke. They say that if God truly delighted in him, God would rescue him. At Jesus’ crucifixion, onlookers used almost these very words.

BSA: sneer (“shoot out the lip, show contempt”): It describes a curled, pushed-out lip, an open gesture of scorn.

See also: Matthew 27:39-43.

Psalms 22:9-10

He recalls that God has cared for him since before he could think. From the womb God was his God. Trust learned in infancy gives him something to hold when the mockers speak. God’s care reaches back to our very beginning.

BSA: cast (“entrusted, thrown”): He was laid wholly upon God’s care, as a newborn is placed in helping hands.

Psalms 22:11

Here is the heart of his prayer: do not be far away. Trouble is close, and no human helper is in sight. When no one else stands near, he asks for God’s nearness above all.

BSA: far (“distant, absent”): His great fear is not the trouble itself but God’s absence in it.

Psalms 22:12-13

His enemies appear as wild animals. The bulls of Bashan, a region east of the Jordan known for its rich pasture and strong cattle, are powerful and fierce. Then come roaring lions with open mouths. He is surrounded and outmatched.

BSA: bulls (“like a herd, enemies”): The bulls stand for a mob of strong enemies closing in together.

See also: Amos 4:1.

Psalms 22:14

He describes physical collapse with vivid pictures. He is spilled out like water, his bones are out of joint, and his courage melts like wax. This is total weakness. Many Christians see here the exhaustion of Christ on the cross.

BSA: disjointed (“out of joint, loose, separated”): His frame seems to be coming apart under the strain. wax (“soft and melted”): His heart has lost all firmness and courage.

Psalms 22:15

His strength is gone like a dry, broken piece of pottery. His mouth is parched, and he feels himself placed in the dust of death. Jesus said “I thirst” on the cross. Notice that he says God lays him there, so even this is under God’s hand.

BSA: potsherd (“a broken piece of clay, earthen vessel”): A shard of baked clay is hard, dry and useless, a picture of a life drained of moisture and strength.

See also: John 19:28.

Psalms 22:16

Enemies like wild dogs close in, a gang of evildoers. Then comes the startling line: they have pierced his hands and feet. David may describe his own suffering, but Christians have seen this fulfilled in the nails of crucifixion.

BSA: pierced (“penetrated, wounded”): The wounds are deep and cruel, not mere scratches.

See also: John 20:25.

Psalms 22:17

He is so wasted that he can count his bones, while his enemies stand and stare at him. Suffering is made worse by being watched without pity. Yet God also sees, and nothing in this scene is hidden from Him.

BSA: gloat (“look upon with contempt”): Their gaze is not concern but satisfaction at his ruin.

Psalms 22:18

They share out his clothes and throw lots for them, treating him as already dead. All four Gospels record soldiers doing exactly this at the foot of the cross. It shows how God’s purposes were at work even in the cruelest details.

BSA: lots (“by chance, with dice”): They settle the matter by chance, with no thought for the man himself.

See also: John 19:23-24.

Psalms 22:19

He prays again, the second time asking God not to be far off. Now he calls God his Strength, the One who is his help when he has none. He asks for speed because the need is urgent.

BSA: Strength (“my Succor, my Power”): God is his source of help and might, not only a distant onlooker.

Psalms 22:20-21

Again the enemies appear as sword, dogs, lion and wild oxen. He asks for rescue of his life, which he calls precious. Then comes a sudden shift: “You have answered me!” Deliverance arrives, and the mood of the psalm turns.

BSA: answered (“heard, responded to”): The silence of verse 2 is broken; God has heard and acted. precious (“darling, only one”): His life is his one and only, and he gives it into God’s care.

See also: Hebrews 5:7.

Psalms 22:22

Now praise begins. He will tell of God’s name and character to his brothers and sing in the assembly. Hebrews says Jesus speaks these words, calling believers His brothers. The rescued one shares God’s goodness with others.

BSA: name (“Your character, reputation”): To proclaim God’s name is to tell who He truly is and what He is like.

See also: Hebrews 2:11-12.

Psalms 22:23

He calls the whole people to join his praise. Those who fear the LORD, meaning those who hold Him in reverent awe, should glorify Him. His own rescue becomes a reason for everyone to worship.

BSA: fear (“reverently worship, have an awesome respect for”): This is not terror but a deep respect that leads to worship.

Psalms 22:24

Here is the answer to the opening cry. God did not despise the sufferer’s pain or turn away His face. He listened. What felt like abandonment was not the final word. God hears the afflicted.

BSA: hidden (“turned away, concealed”): God did not look away from the sufferer in his distress. afflicted (“those who are troubled, oppressed”): God specially notices the weak and burdened.

See also: Psalm 34:6.

Psalms 22:25

He promises to praise God in the great gathering and to keep the vows he made in his distress. A prayer answered should be followed by thanks, openly given before God’s people.

BSA: vows (“promises, commitments”): In trouble he had promised to thank God, and now he will keep his word.

See also: Psalm 116:14.

Psalms 22:26

God’s deliverance becomes a feast. The poor and humble eat and are satisfied, and those who seek Him praise Him. The blessing is shared with all in need, and the closing wish is for lasting life.

BSA: poor (“meek, humble”): These are people who depend on God because they have nothing of their own. live (“have life, be nourished”): The wish is for the heart to be truly fed and alive.

Psalms 22:27-28

The vision widens. The farthest nations will remember the LORD, turn to Him and worship. It is fitting, for He is King over all. One man’s rescue becomes good news for the whole world.

BSA: turn (“repent, return”): The nations will come back to God, not just admire Him. dominion (“kingly power, sovereign rule”): The kingdom is truly the LORD’s, whoever seems to rule now.

See also: Revelation 7:9; Psalm 67:3-4.

Psalms 22:29

Rich and poor alike will bow before Him: the well-fed who feast, and the dying who go down to the dust. Even those who cannot keep themselves alive will kneel. No one stands outside His reach.

BSA: dust (“the grave”): Even those at the edge of death or beyond will honor Him.

See also: Philippians 2:10-11.

Psalms 22:30-31

The psalm ends by looking forward. Future generations will serve the LORD and tell their children what He has done. The last words, “He has done it,” in the Hebrew, close the psalm with God’s finished work of righteousness.

BSA: righteousness (“justice, faithfulness, integrity”): The story told to children is of God’s faithful and right dealings. unborn (“to be born, in the future”): The testimony reaches people who do not yet exist.

See also: Psalm 78:4-6.