Psalms - Day 3 - The Cry of the Righteous Sufferer (July 4)
Day 3 Narrative Walkthrough / Psalm 22:1–18 (NKJV)
Scripture: 🙏 Psalm 22:1–18 (NKJV)
Narrative Walkthrough
Psalm 22 opens with one of the most piercing cries in all of Scripture: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The psalm begins not with calm reflection, but with anguish. The sufferer is not speaking as one who has forgotten God. He cries, “My God.” Faith is still present, but it is faith under deep distress. He feels abandoned, unheard, and far from deliverance. His groaning rises day and night, yet relief does not seem to come. The opening movement of the psalm teaches us that the righteous can suffer deeply while still crying out to God.
Yet the sufferer does not remain only with his pain. He remembers who God has been to His people. God is holy. God is enthroned in the praises of Israel. The fathers trusted in Him, cried to Him, and were delivered. Their hope was not wasted. Their prayers were not ignored. This memory does not erase the present agony, but it places the agony in the presence of God’s proven faithfulness. The sufferer is wrestling honestly: God has delivered before, so why does deliverance feel so far away now?
The psalm then descends again into humiliation. The sufferer says he is treated as less than a man, despised by people and mocked by those around him. His enemies ridicule his trust in the Lord. They twist his faith into a weapon against him, saying in effect, “If God delights in him, let God rescue him.” This is not only physical suffering; it is spiritual mockery. The sufferer’s relationship with God becomes the very thing his enemies use to shame him.
Still, the sufferer remembers that his life has belonged to God from the beginning. He speaks of God’s care from the womb and infancy. His trust did not begin in this crisis. The Lord has been near from his earliest days. Yet now, in the hour of trouble, he pleads, “Be not far from Me.” The memory of God’s lifelong care becomes the basis for his present plea. He is surrounded, vulnerable, and without human help. The only refuge left is God Himself.
The imagery then becomes intense and overwhelming. Enemies are described like strong bulls, roaring lions, and ravenous beasts. The sufferer feels poured out like water. His bones are out of joint. His heart is like wax melting within him. His strength is dried up. His tongue clings to his jaws. He is brought near to the dust of death. The language is poetic, but it is not detached. It communicates complete weakness, bodily distress, emotional collapse, and the nearness of death.
The final movement of this passage deepens the humiliation. The sufferer is surrounded by evildoers. His hands and feet are pierced or encircled with violence. He can count his bones. His enemies stare and gloat over him. They divide his garments and cast lots for his clothing. The suffering is not private. It is exposed. He is watched, mocked, stripped, and humiliated before others. Psalm 22:1-18 therefore brings us into the escalating burden of the righteous sufferer: abandoned in feeling, mocked by enemies, physically afflicted, publicly humiliated, and utterly dependent on God.
Key Observations
Psalm 22 does not present suffering as simple or shallow. The sufferer is righteous yet deeply afflicted. He belongs to God yet feels forsaken. He prays, yet deliverance seems delayed. This teaches us that genuine faith does not always feel strong, peaceful, or triumphant. Sometimes faith sounds like a cry from the depths.
The psalm also shows that lament is not unbelief. The sufferer brings his anguish to God, not away from Him. Even the question, “Why?” is spoken to “My God.” This matters because the Psalms teach God’s people how to pray honestly without surrendering faith.
The memory of God’s past faithfulness is central to the psalm. The sufferer looks back to how God delivered His people before. He does not understand his present pain, but he does know God’s covenant character. Remembering God’s faithfulness becomes a way of holding on when present circumstances feel unbearable.
The mockery of the enemies is especially important. They do not merely attack the sufferer; they mock his trust in God. This reveals a deeper spiritual conflict. The righteous sufferer is humiliated because he belongs to the Lord and waits for Him.
The physical language of the psalm is vivid and severe. The sufferer’s whole person is affected. Body, heart, strength, speech, dignity, and hope. Psalm 22 does not sanitize suffering. It gives words to anguish in a way that remains reverent, honest, and God-directed.
Why This Matters
This passage matters because it teaches us that the Bible gives room for the deepest cries of the suffering faithful. God does not require His people to pretend that pain is light when it is heavy. He gives them words to bring sorrow, confusion, fear, and helplessness before Him.
It also matters because Psalm 22 prepares the reader to understand righteous suffering in a deeper, redemptive way. The psalm begins in anguish, moves through mockery and humiliation, and brings us near to death. Yet it remains a prayer. The sufferer is not godless. He is not faithless. He is a righteous sufferer crying out to the covenant God.
For the Christian reader, Psalm 22 becomes especially weighty because the New Testament shows its language fulfilled in the suffering of Jesus Christ. Without forcing every line beyond the text, we can already see why this psalm becomes so important in the story of redemption. It gives inspired language for the suffering of the righteous one and prepares us to see Christ as the One who enters into suffering, mockery, abandonment, and humiliation for the salvation of His people.
Psalm 22:1-18, therefore, teaches us both how to pray in suffering and how to look ahead to the greater Sufferer. It tells the suffering believer, “You may cry out honestly to God.” And it tells the worshiping believer, “Look to Christ, who took the deepest anguish upon Himself and remained faithful to the Father.”
A Prayer
Father, thank You for giving us words for the deepest places of sorrow and suffering. Thank You that You are not distant from the cries of Your people, even when deliverance feels delayed. Teach us to bring our anguish to You honestly and reverently. Help us remember Your faithfulness when our hearts feel weak. And as we read Psalm 22, it leads us to see more clearly the suffering of Christ, the righteous One who was mocked, afflicted, and humiliated for our salvation. Strengthen our trust in Him and keep us near to You in every trial. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Preparing for Tomorrow
Tomorrow we will move from walking through the suffering of Psalm 22 to considering its deeper theological meaning. We will ask what this passage teaches us about God, suffering, faith, lament, human weakness, enemy opposition, and the mystery of righteous suffering within the covenant life of God’s people. Psalm 22 does not give us a shallow view of pain, but it teaches us that suffering can still be brought before the Lord in faith.
🙏 If this study encouraged you, please ❤️ Like, 🔁 Restack, 💬 Share, and ➕ Subscribe to help others grow deeper in God’s Word. Thank you for being part of the FaithBindsUs community!