Because of the great contrast in mood between vv. 1-21 and vv. 22-31, Psalm 22 has sometimes been thought to be two psalms combined. This is not a necessary position for psalms of lament, in particular, often feature abrupt and profound ‘about turns’ in their content. An urgent petition offered from deep suffering quickly turns to a hymn or vow of praise and confidence in the God who delivers from despair. The only exception to this among the lament psalms is Psalm 88.

In vv. 21b-24, the psalmist acknowledges that he has been delivered from what looks like terrible physical affliction (vv. 14ff), ridicule (v. 6), and the active hostility of his enemies (v. 12ff and 16-18). There are many similarities between these verses and the afflictions of the ‘suffering servant’ of Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12. The psalmist then goes on to say that he will tell his people about the God who delivers (Ps. 22:22).  He exhorts them to praise God because of his own deliverance (v. 3).

Psalm 22 is sometimes thought to be the lament of a king or even collectively that of a king’s community. It certainly sounds like the lament of an individual lament arising out of an experience of deliverance. One of the striking differences between Psalm 22 and a number of other psalms of lament is that there is no profession of the psalmist’s innocence, and no petitions that God destroy his opponents.

Verse 25 begins the hymn of praise proper. The psalmist is obviously a leader of the community, who will offer sacrifices in the Temple, in full view of the people. He will make his belief in the God of deliverance known to all. As leader of the community, his own deliverance will result in the deliverance of all the people.   There is a messianic tone vv. 26-27 as the poor have their needs met and all of earth’s peoples acknowledge and worship the God of Israel. The psalm goes even further than that. The writer proclaims that even the dead shall worship God: “To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down” (v. 29). It is difficult to imagine a wider expanse of God’s dominion than all of the past, present and future generations (vv. 27-31).

According to the gospel writers Mark (Mark 15:34) and Matthew (Matt. 27:46) Jesus quoted the first verse of Psalm 22. The synoptic gospel writers used other imagery from this same psalm to describe aspects of the passion and death of Jesus, for example, the dividing of the afflicted one’s clothes (cf. Ps. 22:8 with Luke 23:34b; Mark 15:24; and Matt. 27:35). Given that, it is not surprising that many Christians see Psalm 22 as a prediction of the suffering of the Messiah Jesus on the cross. That is not a necessary way of viewing the psalm. When the gospel writers noted that Jesus made this psalm his own, it was not included as historical proof of Jesus’ messiah-ship. Rather, it was more than likely their own proclamation of the delivering God. It was made from the viewpoint of the later Christ community. It pictured Jesus as sharing human suffering and humiliation. But even in the midst of this suffering and desolation, Jesus’ words bring hope as his quotation of the first verse can point to the whole of the psalm. Thus, out of his experience of utter desolation of the soul, Jesus bore witness to the continuing presence of the divine deliverer. Both the psalm and the gospels proclaim this!

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