Psalm 22:1 (0) For the leader. Set to “Sunrise.” A psalm of David:
2 (1) My God! My God!
Why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from helping me,
so far from my anguished cries?
3 (2) My God, by day I call to you,
but you don’t answer;
likewise at night,
but I get no relief.
4 (3) Nevertheless, you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Isra’el.
5 (4) In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted, and you rescued them.
6 (5) They cried to you and escaped;
they trusted in you and were not disappointed.
7 (6) But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
8 (7) All who see me jeer at me;
they sneer and shake their heads:
9 (8) “He committed himself to Adonai,
so let him rescue him!
Let him set him free
if he takes such delight in him!”
10 (9) But you are the one who took me from the womb,
you made me trust when I was on my mother’s breasts.
11 (10) Since my birth I’ve been thrown on you;
you are my God from my mother’s womb.
12 (11) Don’t stay far from me, for trouble is near;
and there is no one to help.
13 (12) Many bulls surround me,
wild bulls of Bashan close in on me.
14 (13) They open their mouths wide against me,
like ravening, roaring lions.
15 (14) I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint;
my heart has become like wax —
it melts inside me;
16 (15) my mouth is as dry as a fragment of a pot,
my tongue sticks to my palate;
you lay me down in the dust of death.
17 (16) Dogs are all around me,
a pack of villains closes in on me
like a lion [at] my hands and feet.[Psalm 22:17 Or: “They pierced my hands and feet.” See Introduction, Section VIII, paragraph 6, and Section XIV, footnote 70.]
18 (17) I can count every one of my bones,
while they gaze at me and gloat.
19 (18) They divide my garments among themselves;
for my clothing they throw dice.
20 (19) But you, Adonai, don’t stay far away!
My strength, come quickly to help me!
21 (20) Rescue me from the sword,
my life from the power of the dogs.
22 (21) Save me from the lion’s mouth!
You have answered me from the wild bulls’ horns.
23 (22) I will proclaim your name to my kinsmen;
right there in the assembly I will praise you:
24 (23) “You who fear Adonai, praise him!
All descendants of Ya‘akov, glorify him!
All descendants of Isra’el, stand in awe of him!
25 (24) For he has not despised or abhorred
the poverty of the poor;
he did not hide his face from him
but listened to his cry.”
26 (25) Because of you
I give praise in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my vows
in the sight of those who fear him.
27 (26) The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek Adonai will praise him;
Your hearts will enjoy life forever.
28 (27) All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to Adonai;
all the clans of the nations
will worship in your presence.
29 (28) For the kingdom belongs to Adonai,
and he rules the nations.
30 (29) All who prosper on the earth
will eat and worship;
all who go down to the dust
will kneel before him,
including him who can’t keep himself alive,
31 (30) A descendant will serve him;
the next generation will be told of Adonai.
32 (31) They will come and proclaim
his righteousness
to a people yet unborn,
that he is the one who did it.
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Two young Vietnamese people escaped from Vietnam in 1975 while a terrible war was happening there. The girl was just 10 years old when her whole family left Vietnam. In the middle of the night her family escaped in a boat and went to America. About the same time, two other young people also escaped from Vietnam. The parents of these young people trusted God to help their children escape and survive.
These families were very brave. They trusted in God and He rescued them from violence and death. Bad things were happening to the writer of Psalm 22, too. He felt that God was far away from him. So he cried out to God in Psalm 22:19. "Lord, don't leave me! You are my strength - hurry and help me!"
When we are in trouble and cry out to God, He will not disappoint us. God will pay attention when we ask for help. However, He may not always answer us the way we want. But we can know for sure that God will do what is best for us.
If you have a problem today, you can ask God for help. He loves you and knows everything about you. You can always depend on Him to do what is best for you.---
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