Psalm 22:1

The context

Psalm 22 is an individual lament. Its heading associates it with David, and the psalm moves from the opening cry through descriptions of abandonment and physical distress to a turn toward praise and a vision of the nations in its second half. Verse 1 is the address that sets the tone for everything before that turn.

What it establishes

The verse gives voice to suffering inside faith. The speaker does not stop addressing God, and the complaint is itself a prayer; the distance named is felt, not doctrinal. The psalm holds accusation and trust in the same sentence.

What it does not establish

It does not settle what the forsakenness was. Whether the speaker's experience was literal abandonment, a liturgical form of lament, or both is not stated. Its use on the lips of Jesus is the New Testament's reading, not the verse's own claim.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• I prayed, "Dear God, forgive me. I’m sorry. Jesus wasn’t a myth." No bear hugs from God. No ‘truth switch’ turned on. It’s still all nonsense. Why?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.