1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest. b
3Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises. c
4In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
12Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15My mouth d is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce e my hands and my feet.
17All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you f I will fulfill my vows.
26The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
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Thoughts: I want us to concentrate today on this line, "Those who cannot keep themselves alive." Who is that? That is everyone! None of us can keep ourselves alive. Christians often point out this Psalm describes what Jesus was going through on the cross: the feeling of forsakenness, the mocking, the bones out of joint the heart like wax. But in other ways- this is a reminder of our own death. None of us can keep ourselves alive. God rules over all the nations in at least this sense- all nations, all tribes, all families, all individuals will die. This points out that all who go down to death will kneel before him- even the wealthiest, even the most powerful, even the poor, everyone. No one can thwart God's purposes. If we are with God, we will win with God.
But this Psalm also is a praise of God for lifting us up when we are down. Verse 24 says he does not despise the suffering of the afflicted. Our suffering is not ignored by God. He is able and can heal us. He is sometimes our only help. I think about our run in with Covid from 2020-2022. For at least one year, there were no real known meds and no vaccines and lots of guesses of what can hurt or help. Issolation, masks and fear seemed to rule. It hurt the world economy and for the first time since the 1940s things were missing from the common grocery shelf. In such a time, God was and still is our only refuge. In the end, the immune system that God gave us worked well enough- to see us through- triggered in part by the vaccine. But God is our strength.
The Psalmist is also concerned about the missionary work. The concern is that the future generations will be told about the Lord. The concern is that in the future, the next generation will proclaim his goodness/righteousness. That is that, God is right, and He is worthy of worship- and He has done it! What did He do? He accomplished His purposes. He created all things. Nothing that has been done could be done without Him. Not "we have done it" but "He" has done it. He is worthy of our praise- and that praise is worthy of being passed on- not being silenced or muffled out.
Prayer: Lord, you have done it! I face many crosses. But your purposes are achieved. Give me strength, O God, to be faithful to you in the crosses of life, and to proclaim to others your righteousness.
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