Psalm 22: From Forsaken Cry to Praise and Victory

Psalm 22 shows David crying out as the forsaken one, but God is doing more than recording David’s personal trouble. The Holy Spirit is placing words in David’s mouth that reach twelve hundred years forward to Jesus Christ on the cross. The text begins with lament and mourning, then moves into praise, and that movement matters because the suffering one does not stay in silence forever.

David says, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” and Jesus takes those very words upon his own lips at Calvary. Christ is not merely feeling lonely there. Christ is experiencing the full judicial wrath of God against sin. The word propitiation carries that weight: the full payment, the full wrath satisfied, the sin debt dealt with in the body of the substitute.

The cry still says, “My God.” Even under darkness, judgment, and agony, the relationship is not erased. David rehearses God’s holiness and past faithfulness because suffering must not be allowed to become the lens through which God is judged. God’s character must become the lens through which suffering is endured.

Psalm 22 then shows humiliation and mockery with startling detail. The enemies laugh, shake their heads, and say almost the same words later spoken around the cross: “He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him.” The pierced hands and feet, the thirst, the bones out of joint, the staring crowd, and the gambling for garments all point straight to the crucifixion. The Bible can be trusted because God knew exactly what would be said and done.

The forsaken one then turns from complaint to confident petition: “Thou hast heard me.” Faith often struggles not with the big things, but with the basics, like believing that God actually hears prayer. Psalm 22 does not end with defeat. The sufferer is delivered, praise rises in the congregation, and Hebrews shows Christ declaring God’s name among his brethren.

Jesus is not ashamed to call sanctified people brethren. God’s plan was always to bring many sons to glory. The final movement widens to the nations: all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord. The kingdom is the Lord’s, every knee will bow, and Jesus does not leave things half done.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faithfulness plants, God gives increase The Lord calls his people to plant and water, not to carry the burden of producing life. Discouragement grows when results become the measure of obedience, but the increase belongs to God alone. Adoniram Judson’s long labor in Burma shows that unseen faithfulness may bear fruit far beyond what any servant lives to see. [24:05]
• 2. Forsakenness still says, My God The cry from the cross is not sanitized pain, but real agony under divine judgment. Yet even there, Christ says, “My God,” and the relationship stands in the very place where wrath is poured out. The darkness of Calvary shows not a failure of love, but the cost of propitiation. [31:34]
• 3. God’s character steadies suffering souls Psalm 22 turns from the feeling of abandonment to the truth that God is holy. Trouble becomes dangerous when it becomes the main lens for interpreting God. Faith learns to rehearse what is unchanging, because problems, failures, and fears cannot rescue the soul from themselves. [33:32]
• 4. The cross was written beforehand David’s words describe pierced hands and feet, public shame, thirst, and garments divided by lot. These details are not lucky guesses, but the beauty of the word of God showing history before it happens. The Bible is not fragile; it is pure, perfect, and worthy to be trusted with life and family. [41:18]
• 5. Jesus finishes what He authors The end of Psalm 22 moves toward worship, the nations, and the kingdom of the Lord. The devil may seem to have an advantage for a time, but the final word belongs to Christ. Jesus is not only the author of faith, but the finisher, and he does not leave his work half done. [49:14]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [22:35] - Learning Dependence on the Lord
• [23:36] - Planting, Watering, and Evangelism
• [25:02] - Turning to Psalm 22
• [26:37] - Lament Moving Into Praise
• [30:41] - The Cry of the Forsaken One
• [33:32] - God’s Character in Trials
• [35:12] - Humiliation and Mockery Foretold
• [39:48] - Crucifixion Suffering in Detail
• [43:03] - A Final Cry for Deliverance
• [44:33] - The Song of Praise and Victory
• [45:57] - Christ Calls Believers Brethren
• [48:24] - Universal Worship and God’s Kingdom
• [50:44] - The Weight of Separation
• [52:11] - Closing Prayer

Bible Reading

Psalm 22 [25:02]
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help. Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. 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. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”

Observation questions

1. In the opening part of Psalm 22, what words show both deep pain and continued relationship with God at the same time? [30:41]
2. What details in Psalm 22 describe public shame and physical suffering in a way that closely matches the crucifixion? [39:48]
3. How does the psalm move from lament and pleading in verses 1–21 to praise and confidence in verses 22–31? [44:33]
4. What phrases in the last section of Psalm 22 widen the focus from one sufferer to the congregation, the nations, and the kingdom of the Lord? [48:24]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus takes the words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” upon his own lips. Why does that cry point to more than emotional pain or loneliness? What does it show about sin, judgment, and the cost of atonement? [31:34]
2. Psalm 22 says, “But thou art holy,” right in the middle of anguish. Why is that turn so important? How does it help a suffering person avoid judging God by present pain? [33:32]
3. Psalm 22 gives details about mockery, pierced hands and feet, thirst, and divided garments long before the cross. What does that suggest about the trustworthiness of Scripture and the sovereignty of God over history? [36:45]
4. The psalm says, “Thou hast heard me,” before the song of praise rises. What does that reveal about the nature of faith in prayer, especially when circumstances have not yet fully changed? [43:23]

Application questions

1. “He gives the increase.” Where is there a place in life right now where the burden of results has started to replace simple faithfulness? What would it look like to plant and water without carrying what belongs to God alone? [24:05]
2. The cry of forsakenness still says, “My God.” When pain, confusion, or discipline has felt heavy, has the heart drawn nearer to God or pulled away from him? What would it look like to keep speaking to God as “my God” in that place? [32:38]
3. Trouble becomes dangerous when it becomes the main lens for interpreting God. What problem, fear, or failure is most likely to fill the field of vision these days? Which truths about God’s character need to be rehearsed again and again there? [33:58]
4. Faith often struggles with the basics, including believing that God really hears prayer. Is prayer happening more like a duty, a last resort, or a real conversation with confidence that God hears? What tends to weaken that confidence? [44:19]
5. Psalm 22 shows that the cross was written beforehand. When doubts about God’s Word creep in, what helps the heart come back to trust? Are there particular promises or passages that have become anchors? [36:55]
6. Jesus is not ashamed to call sanctified people brethren. Is that truth easy or hard to receive personally? What makes it difficult at times to believe that Christ gladly identifies with his people? [45:57]
7. Jesus does not leave things half done. Where is there a temptation to discouragement because evil seems loud, progress seems slow, or growth seems unfinished? How does the certainty of Christ’s finished and finishing work strengthen perseverance? [49:35]