July 28

Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All 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.”

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My 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.

16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For 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.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.

29 All 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.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

Of course, we only have the first 18 verses of this psalm. But how familiar are these words to me! Many of these phrases figure into the last words of Jesus or parts of the crucifixion story. Horrible visions are laid out here in poetic form of the sacrifice that Jesus made for each of us.
My Bible dictionary says that this is a psalm of David and that it was meant to be sung. I imagine that the tune must have been mournful and slow until you get to the second half of the psalm which begins at verse 19. Then, the chords must have swelled and grown loud as the psalm turned from the degradation of David into the praise for the living God who had rescued him once again.

That is one great thing about the psalms in the Bible. They may start out with a depressed note but only rarely do they stay there. At some point, the mood changes and the author begins to praise God.
When we are in the midst of despair, is it possible for us to change the mood? Can we praise God for rescuing us? Does he rescue us?

I think He definitely does. Let's try an experiment. I know in the next 24 hours that I will be immersed in some yuck. You probably will be too. When I recognize the pitfall that I have fallen in, I am going to stop. Take a deep cleansing breath and praise God. I might even write down a few praises. Then tomorrow at this time, let's think back and analyze the pit. Did we climb out on our own? Someone give us a hand? Think God was involved? Let's see. A challenge to you.

Much love to each of you as you walk the path set before you.