My God, My God, Why?
Psalm 22 — The Cry of Agony That Becomes a Song of Praise
Psalm 22King David is in terrible trouble. He is surrounded by enemies who mock him and sneer at him. His bones feel like they are falling apart. His heart melts like wax inside him. He is so weak and thirsty that his tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth. And the hardest part of all — it feels like God is far away.
So David cries out with the most honest prayer anyone has ever prayed: 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?' (Psalm 22:1). He is not giving up on God. He is running straight TO God, even when God feels silent.
David remembers something important. His ancestors trusted God — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob — and God rescued them every time. God made a covenant, a solemn promise, to be the God of His people forever. That promise never breaks, even when everything feels dark.
As David prays, something remarkable happens. His psalm shifts. It moves from crying out in pain to something that sounds like a prophecy — a sneak peek at something much bigger than David's own suffering.
He describes enemies dividing up his garments and casting lots for his clothing (Psalm 22:18). He describes being surrounded, mocked by people who wag their heads and say, 'He trusts in the LORD — let the LORD rescue him!' (Psalm 22:7-8). He describes his hands and feet being pierced (Psalm 22:16). David writes all of this, but these things do not happen to David exactly this way. God is using David's suffering to paint a picture of someone else — someone who will come much later.
Then the psalm turns like sunrise breaking through clouds. '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' (Psalm 22:24). God DOES answer. God DOES save. And the whole world — every nation, every generation still to come — will hear about it and praise Him.
This is what God is doing through the atonement — making a way for guilty, broken people to be brought back to Him through suffering that leads to glory. The cry of agony becomes a song of praise because God is always working His covenant promises out, even through the darkest moments. The story is never over when it feels the darkest. God hears every cry.
Christ in This Story
Jesus quotes the very first words of Psalm 22 from the cross: 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?' (Matthew 27:46), showing that this psalm is not only David's prayer but a direct prophecy of the crucifixion. The soldiers casting lots for Jesus' garments (John 19:24), the mocking crowds, and the pierced hands and feet all fulfill specific details written in this psalm a thousand years before Jesus was born. Jesus bears the full weight of God's judgment against sin — the true atonement — so that the covenant promise of rescue and praise can belong to all who trust in Him. Just as the psalm moves from anguish to worldwide praise, so Jesus moves from the agony of the cross to resurrection glory.
Historical Context
Psalm 22 is attributed to David and likely reflects a period of intense personal persecution, possibly connected to the years Saul hunted him. Ancient Near Eastern lament psalms followed a recognizable pattern: an honest cry of distress, a recalling of God's past faithfulness, renewed petition, and a vow of praise — all of which Psalm 22 follows closely. What makes this psalm stand apart from other ancient laments is the specificity of its prophetic imagery. The description in verse 16 — 'they have pierced my hands and my feet' — is striking because crucifixion was a Roman method of execution not practiced in David's era, making this detail prophetically remarkable. Archaeologists and historians note that the practice of soldiers gambling for a condemned person's garments is consistent with Roman crucifixion customs, further confirming that the New Testament authors were right to see this psalm as messianic prophecy fulfilled in precise historical detail at Golgotha.
Let's Pray
Heavenly Father, thank You that even when life feels dark and scary, You always hear our cries. Thank You for sending Jesus to cry out on the cross so that we could be brought close to You forever. Help us to trust Your covenant promises even when we cannot see what You are doing. Amen.