1. Frustration and faith 22:1-10

David felt forsaken by God and ridiculed by his enemies, yet his confidence was in the Lord's continuing care.

 David's frustration and God's faithfulness to his forefathers 22:1-5

22:1-2 Again David felt frustrated by God's lack of response to his cries (cf. 13:1-4). God would not answer David regardless of when he prayed. The Lord Jesus quoted David's words as He hung on the cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34).

22:3 In spite of God's silence David's confidence in Him was strong because he knew God is holy, set apart from all the idols as the only true and living God. Furthermore God was still Israel's real King enthroned in heaven and praised by His people for who He was.

22:4-5 Furthermore David found encouragement as he remembered God's answers to the prayers of the Israelites' forefathers when they prayed in distress and experienced deliverance. Since God rewarded their trust David believed He would honor his too.

 David's humiliation and God's faithfulness to him 22:6-10

The pattern of David's thoughts in this section is very similar to that expressed in verses 1-5. It is a second cycle of the same lament and confidence expressed there.

22:6-8 By comparing himself to a worm David was expressing his feelings of worthlessness, vulnerability, and contempt in the eyes of his enemies. These foes were insulting him, despising him, and mocking his faith in God because the Lord was not rescuing him (cf. Matt. 27:39, 44). The Lord Jesus' enemies spoke these very words as He hung on the cross (Matt. 27:42-43).

22:9-10 Nevertheless David drew strength from his remembering that God had sustained him all his life, even from his birth. When David was only a small boy he had learned to trust in the Lord who had sustained him to the present day.