“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.” -Psalm 22:1–2
The horror this passage invokes in our spirit who contemplate its gravity is difficult to shake. David apparently felt forsaken in his distress, like an utterly helpless man whose desperate cries for relief go unheard or unheeded. The psalm doesn’t seem to characterize one who is distressed by illness or our regular daily burdens, but by the tremendous suffering that accompanies death itself.
The church has understood this and the next two psalms to be a typological trinity of Christ’s passion, specifically detailing Christ’s wounds and sufferings during the crucifixion. Whether or not David was conscious of this prophecy, Christ indeed actually embodied the suffering David metaphorically describes.
One remarkable aspect of these first two verses is the paradox of one who has seemingly lost his faith in God while simultaneously confessing his faith. He doesn’t just say “God, why have you forsaken me and why are you so far from saving me?” He says, “My God, My God…” God is still personal to him.
As one perplexed by his suffering and sense of abandonment, he knows no other place to turn but to his God. And obviously, his God heard his prayer, else he would not have recovered to record the experience for us.