Psalms
Chapter 22
My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from me, from the sound of my groaning?
My God, I call by day, but you never answer; by night, and I find no rest.
Yet, you are enthroned, the Holy One, the praise of Israel.
In you, our fathers trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried to you and they were saved; they trusted in you and were not overcome.
But I am a worm and not human, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me make a jest of me; they sneer and shake their heads.
“He put his trust in the Lord, let the Lord rescue him! If the Lord is his friend, let him help him!”
Yet, it is you who drew me from the womb and kept me safe at my mother’s breasts.
I have been yours from birth; from my mother’s womb, you have been my God.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help me.
A herd of bulls surrounds me—strong bulls of Bashan closing in on me,
their mouths open, like lions roaring for their prey.
I am like water draining away; all my bones are out of joint; my heart melts away like wax.
My throat is dried up, like a potsherd; my tongue clings to my palate. You have laid me down in the dust of death.
Round about me are vicious dogs, villainous rogues encircling me. They have tied up my hands and feet.
They can count all my bones, for they are looking, and watching me,
dividing my garments among them, and casting lots for my raiment.
O Lord, be not far from me! O my strength, come quickly to my help.
Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the powerful grip of the dog.
Rescue me from the jaws of the lion, my soul from the horns of the wild bull.
I will proclaim your name to my brothers, I will praise you in the assembly,
“All you who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him! All you sons of Israel, revere him!
For he has not scorned or loathed the afflicted in his misery. He has not hidden his face from me, but has listened when I cried to him.”
I will praise you in the great assembly, fulfill my vows before all who revere you.
The lowly will eat and be satisfied. Those who seek the Lord will praise him. May your hearts live forever!
The whole earth will acknowledge and turn to the Lord; the families of nations will worship him.
For dominion belongs to the Lord and he reigns over the nations.
Before him, all those who rest in the earth will bow down, all who go down to the dust.My soul will live for him.
My descendants will serve him and proclaim the Lord to coming generations;
they will announce his salvation to a people yet unborn: “These are the things that he has done.”
Commentaries
22
When a dying person has the strength to whisper, ‘Our Father,’ we may assume that his thoughts continue with the prayer his lips cannot finish. When the crucified Christ shouted the first dreadful line of this psalm, his mind must have turned toward its triumphant conclusion, thanking his Father that this dark path of abandonment led to the light beyond it. But Christ does not suffer alone, nor is he glorified alone. For better or worse, we are ‘in Christ’ in both suffering and joy. The feeling of abandonment and the uncertainty that accompany physical pain and ongoing weakness must be endured in faith, which offers no light but only the strength to do what we must.
If we experience physical, emotional, and mental suffering, we must remember that Christ also endured similar hardships. Because his suffering and death brought resurrection and hope to the world, we too have this hope for our salvation. Like the descendants of the psalmist who have continued to praise and serve God, we can also uphold this tradition and fulfill Jesus’ call in Matthew 28:19 to spread the Good News to all nations and generations.
After our confession, which is full of light, we will sing the radiant praise of the eternal “Alleluia.”