1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD;
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 upon 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 tearing 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 away within me.
15 My strength 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 have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver my life 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 brothers;
in the congregation 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 disdained
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 will I fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they 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
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.
From verses 1 to 18, we can tell that the psalmist, David was probably at his wit's end. He even felt that God has abandoned him.
Actually, the situation was very similiar when Jesus was hung on the cross. He said the same thing just before He died, as written in Matthew 27:45 "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?".
But as Psalm 22 continues, it is simply amazing. David declared that God's deliverance for him will surely come. And not just that. Everyone will bow down in worship before Him, and He will rule over the nations (verse 27).
Today, I just came back from a short cell retreat with my cell leader, Wai Mun and my cell brothers. One of the things that Wai Mun shared was that as we do the things that pleases God, He will not shortchange us. One of the things that always bothers me is my family salvation. I sometimes wonder if I should spend less time in ministry and more time at home.
God's answer to me was clearly no. I just need to trust Him and continue serving Him faithfully. Psalm 22:27 will happen. My family will be one of those that will worship God. They will be saved.
Things to ponder
1. Do you have any family members who are pre-believers? List them down here. If you don't have, you can list down the names of 3 pre-believer friends.
2. What is one thing you can do differently this year so that the people you have listed down will come to know Jesus?
3. Pray a prayer to claim the promise of Psalm 22:27 for them. That they too will be saved.
Click here for Pastor YC's reflection on Psalm 22
2 comments:
1. Do you have any family members who are pre-believers? List them down here. If you don't have, you can list down the names of 3 pre-believer friends.
Yes,my maternal grandmother, my aunt and my uncle.
2. What is one thing you can do differently this year so that the people you have listed down will come to know Jesus?
I will talk to them about God and pray for them everyday, for their salvation.
3. Pray a prayer to claim the promise of Psalm 22:27 for them. That they too will be saved.
Heavenly father, i pray for the salvation of this three family members of mine.I pray that they will receive the gospel and will also be able to feel your warm embrace.Psalms 22:27 says "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,"and when the lord comes from heaven to this horrible earth,all of us including the saved lives,my uncle,aunt and my grandma, will rise to heaven to be with God forever.
1. Do you have any family members who are pre-believers? List them down here. If you don't have, you can list down the names of 3 pre-believer friends.
Answer: My mother and father have both been close to God at certain points in their lives. However, as they progressed further into life, they drew further and further away from Him, deviating to the worship of pagan idols. I've always prayed that they would accept Christ into their life again, and want to draw nearer to the God they have blocked out from their lives.
Also, I have two friends who have shown interest in accepting Christ (oh dear, I'm exceeding the 3-people limit! *panics*); Ze Xian and Kai Qin. I pray that God will give them guidance and show them the correct way.
2. What is one thing you can do differently this year so that the people you have listed down will come to know Jesus?
Answer: I will do my best to show them God's power in me. I will do my best to not fall into temptation, and stand tall as an ambassador of Christ in my school and among my friends that I may show them God's grace, which has transformed me into a much better person than I once was. I will share meaningful Bible verses with these people, and pray that these nuggets of wisdom will find their places in their hearts and help to bring them closer to God.
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