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Psalms 22
1My 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 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 to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.
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Questions this passage answers
Who is God?
God is the one living Creator who made everything and depends on nothing, and Scripture answers this question mainly by telling us his character rather than by defining his substance. When God described himself to Moses he said he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness and truth, and yet will by no means clear the guilty. The New Testament adds that this God is finally known in Jesus Christ, who has made him known.
Who wrote the Bible?
The Bible was written by many human authors over a long period, and Scripture presents itself as God-breathed rather than as human opinion. Some books name their writer, some do not, and honest study says which is which. Paul calls every Scripture God-breathed, and Peter says no prophecy came by the will of man but that people spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, which is the Bible's own account of how both authors are involved at once.
Can the Bible be trusted?
Scripture claims to be true and invites examination rather than avoiding it. It says God's word is truth and that it stands when everything else fades, and the New Testament writers appeal to eyewitnesses, named places and public events rather than to private experience. Trust in Scripture is finally trust in the God who speaks in it, and the clearest reason a Christian gives for that trust is that Jesus treated these writings as God's own word.
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.