Matthew connects Psalm 22's garments, mockery, and opening cry with the crucifixion of Jesus.
Psalms 22
The Forsaken Sufferer and the Worldwide Praise of the LORD
A cry of forsakenness moves through remembered trust, public humiliation, urgent petition, answered praise, and finally worldwide testimony to the LORD's righteous saving work.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) , Public Domain · Translation notes · Reference sources
- A Faithful Cry from the Depths 22:1-2
The sufferer speaks honestly to God about felt abandonment and unanswered prayer.
- Remembering the Holy God Who Delivered Before 22:3-5
The sufferer confesses God's holiness and remembers the trust and deliverance of the fathers.
- Despised, Mocked, and Still Dependent 22:6-11
Public shame and mocking taunts are answered by appeal to God's lifelong care.
- Surrounded by Deathlike Hostility 22:12-18
The sufferer describes fierce enemies, bodily weakness, exposure, and the dividing of garments.
- Nearness Sought at the Edge of Death 22:19-21
The sufferer urgently asks the LORD to come near, help, and rescue.
- The Afflicted One Heard and the Assembly Summoned 22:22-24
Deliverance turns into praise, testimony, and a summons for the LORD-fearing congregation.
- From the Poor to the Nations to the Unborn 22:25-31
The psalm ends with satisfied poor, worshiping nations, future generations, and proclamation that the LORD has acted.
Biblical Theology
How This Chapter Fits
Theological Argument
Psalm 22 argues that the deepest experience of righteous suffering, even the felt absence of God, can be brought before the holy LORD in covenant faith. Because the LORD hears the afflicted one, suffering does not have the last word; divine deliverance becomes congregational praise, food for the poor, worldwide worship, and a proclamation of righteousness to generations not yet born.
Forsakenness is voiced, faith is remembered, shame and danger are named, rescue is pleaded, praise is vowed, the afflicted are strengthened, the nations are summoned, and future generations are told that the LORD has acted.
- The sufferer feels forsaken but continues addressing God personally.
- God's holiness and former deliverances remain true even when present prayer seems unanswered.
- Public shame and hostile mockery intensify righteous suffering by challenging the sufferer's trust in God.
- Lifelong dependence on God grounds the plea for present nearness.
- The sufferer's extremity is real, embodied, public, and deathlike.
- The turning point comes through petition for the LORD's nearness and deliverance.
Christological Focus
Psalm 22 is one of the Psalter's clearest canonical witnesses to the suffering Messiah. Its opening cry, mockery, public shame, bodily distress, and divided garments are taken up in the crucifixion narratives, while its movement into praise, assembly proclamation, and worldwide testimony coheres with Christ's resurrection, exaltation, and the gospel's spread to the nations.
Psalm 22 argues that the deepest experience of righteous suffering, even the felt absence of God, can be brought before the holy LORD in covenant faith. Because the LORD hears the afflicted one, suffering does not have the last word; divine deliverance becomes congregational praise, food for the poor, worldwide worship, and a proclamation of righteousness to generations not yet born.
Covenant Significance
Psalm 22 is covenant prayer from within the Davidic worship tradition. The sufferer appeals to the LORD's holiness, remembered deliverance, lifelong covenant claim, and mercy toward the afflicted; the answer expands beyond the individual to Israel's assembly, the nations, and future generations who will hear of the LORD's righteous saving act.
- Covenant address under anguish - The repeated address to 'my God' shows that lament arises from relationship with the LORD, not from distance from covenant faith.
- Davidic righteous-sufferer pattern - The psalm places Davidic suffering within a pattern that the canon later recognizes as fulfilled in the Messiah's humiliation and vindication.
- Assembly and nations - The LORD's answer to the afflicted one produces praise in Israel's assembly and worship among all families of the nations.
- Generational covenant testimony - The closing verses emphasize that God's righteousness is to be proclaimed to future generations and to a people not yet born.
Formation
Theological Burden Psalm 22 forms the heart to keep praying when God feels far, to remember God's holiness when circumstances accuse Him, to endure mockery without surrendering trust, to receive Christ as the righteous sufferer who entered our forsakenness, and to turn God's saving work into praise and proclamation.
Canonical Connections
Mark presents Jesus' crucifixion through Psalm 22 language, including divided garments and the cry of abandonment.
John explicitly connects the soldiers' division of Jesus' garments with the Scripture pattern reflected in Psalm 22.
Hebrews quotes Psalm 22:22 to present the sanctifying Son declaring God's name among His brothers.
Psalm 69 provides another righteous-sufferer lament that later Scripture connects with the suffering of Christ.
For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.
A Faithful Cry from the Depths
The sufferer speaks honestly to God about felt abandonment and unanswered prayer.
Psalms 22:1–5
David cries out from a place of deep abandonment, yet he anchors his hope in God’s holiness and the record of His faithfulness to previous generations.
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
2 I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
Remembering the Holy God Who Delivered Before
The sufferer confesses God's holiness and remembers the trust and deliverance of the fathers.
3 Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.
5 They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
Despised, Mocked, and Still Dependent
Public shame and mocking taunts are answered by appeal to God's lifelong care.
Psalms 22:6–11
Though reduced to a worm in the eyes of men and mocked for his faith, the psalmist pleads for God's help based on their lifelong bond from the womb.
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
8 “He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”
9 Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Surrounded by Deathlike Hostility
The sufferer describes fierce enemies, bodily weakness, exposure, and the dividing of garments.
Psalms 22:12–18
The psalmist is physically broken and socially stripped, surrounded by bestial enemies who pierce his body and gamble for his very clothes.
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
15 My strength 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 For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
17 I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
Nearness Sought at the Edge of Death
The sufferer urgently asks the LORD to come near, help, and rescue.
Psalms 22:19–21
David cries for the Lord to come quickly and rescue his soul from the sword, the dogs, the lions, and the oxen.
19 But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
The Afflicted One Heard and the Assembly Summoned
Deliverance turns into praise, testimony, and a summons for the LORD-fearing congregation.
Psalms 22:22–26
The psalmist vows to declare God's name in the great assembly, celebrating that God has heard the cry of the afflicted and will satisfy the hearts of the humble forever.
22 I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him!
24 For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
From the Poor to the Nations to the Unborn
The psalm ends with satisfied poor, worshiping nations, future generations, and proclamation that the LORD has acted.
25 My praise for You resounds in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
Psalms 22:27–31
All nations will turn to the LORD and all generations will hear the story of His righteousness, for He has finished the work.
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. 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—even those unable to preserve their lives.
30 Posterity will serve Him; they will declare the Lord to a new generation.
31 They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn—all that He has done.