himself or herself. The suffering is usually hard to identify precisely but easy to identify with. It often involves illness, personal injury, and/or social conflict for the psalmist. The second role belongs to God. Initially in lament psalms, God seems to be distant and powerless. Often the psalmist accuses God of doing nothing and not caring: “Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?” (Ps. 22:1). Yet the psalmist also recognizes past times when God has been faithful and