Psalm 22:1 – My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
2 Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you,
and you rescued them.
5 They cried out to you and were saved.
They trusted in you and were never disgraced.
6 But I am a worm and not a man.
I am scorned and despised by all!
7 Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying,
8 “Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
let the Lord rescue him!”
25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
All who seek the Lord will praise him.
Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the Lord.
He rules all the nations.
29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
Bow before him, all who are mortal,
all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
They will hear about everything he has done. (NLT)
Psalm 22 may have been the last prayer that Jesus prayed before his death. Mark 15:34 records Jesus as uttering the first verse of this psalm just before he died. I like to think that Jesus had this entire psalm in mind. While I did not include the entire psalm in this post, it certainly fits the events of the last week of Jesus – including the Resurrection.
Yes, Psalm 22 has it all, from defeat in the presence of one’s enemies, to victory in the presence of God.
This psalm is divided into two major sections. Verses 1-21 are a cry of agony towards God. Verses 22-31 are a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Not only is this the story of the death and resurrection of Jesus, but it can also be our story, as well. Left on our own, sin has us defeated. We stand powerless against sin, our enemy. With Jesus, however, we can move from being defeated by sin to praising God in the presence of the great assembly (verse 25).
Our praise of God for granting us victory is not something we keep to ourselves. The Psalmist looked forward to a time when the whole earth would acknowledge God and bow down to God (verse 27). If there was ever a generation that has had the resources and technology to get the message of God to the whole earth, it is ours! Our churches should be doing everything they can to get the message out to our communities, and to the world! We should do everything we can do to ensure that our children, and children not yet born, will know of the victory that has been won for us (verses 30-31).
Today, let us celebrate that we have come from defeat to victory! Let us be eager and willing to tell the world!
Posted by Ramón Torres