PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise
for the choir director; upon Aijeleth Hash shahar.
A Psalm of David.
1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
Why are You so far from helping Me,
And from the words of My groaning?
2 O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear;
And in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in You;
They trusted, and You delivered them.
5 They cried to You, and were delivered;
They trusted in You, and were not ashamed.
6 But I am a worm, and no man;
A reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”
9 But You are He who took Me out of the womb;
You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You from birth.
From My mother’s womb
You have been My God.
11 Be not far from Me,
For trouble is near;
For there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have surrounded Me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
13 They gape at Me with their mouths,
Like a raging and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
20 Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
21 Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!
You have answered Me.
22 I will declare Your name to My brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
25 My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.
26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s,
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth
Shall eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust
Shall bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep himself alive.
30 A posterity shall serve Him.
It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation,
31 They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born,
That He has done this. (Psalm 22, NKJV)
Often when reading scripture, I find it has deeper meaning when I try to understand to whom, when, where, or why it was written. Maybe that’s the former reporter coming out in me. It’s hard to know if David, the ascribed writer of Psalm 22, was being chased by Saul while on his death hunt for David… or… was David on his way to face Goliath… or… had David just coaxed Bathsheba into sin and had her husband murdered on the battle field to cover it up… or… had his daughter Tamar just been raped? We don’t know. What we do know is: David was hurting in a big way. David felt alone, unheard and unanswered by God.
Ever had that experience? That feeling of deep, bone gnawing anguish. Just want to rip off every piece of the world around you and just hear and feel the presence of the Lord only, but it seems the Lord is nowhere to be found? When nothing is left? You feel forgotten—Forsaken? If you continue reading the rest of Psalm 22 you’ll get the full picture of David’s anguish and I believe the anguish where some, including myself, have been.
Even though dire emotions are experienced, David still proclaims the holiness of the Lord. He knows what is true even in the face of torment and distress. David reminds himself and us that God is the God, our God and the God of our ancestors. Those that have come before us cried out to God and the Lord delivered them. They trusted what was true and they were not ashamed. They worshipped even in their time of anguish to the one true God, leaving worldly affect behind.
The Psalm was written to the choir director or the leader of music upon “Aijeleth Hash shaher” which is translated “Hind of the dawn” or “Doe of the morning.” Many scholars believe that this is a melody for the Psalm to be played or sung. Have you ever sung the scriptures, particularly a Psalm? No?
POINT OF ACTION:
It may be time to find a sound proof room, get uncomfortable and hum or sing your way through this scripture. As a servant of God, our worship to the Lord is overwhelming when the noise of our soul flows out in praise. Not only is it pleasing to God when we praise and worship Him, we get a by-product like no other.
Proclaim your praise!
There is a song we used in the Maundy Thursday healing service this year called “All the Poor and Powerless” by all Sons and Daughters. I believe the song encompasses the spirit of Psalm 22 as David proclaims in verse 22 “I will tell of Thy name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee.”
…
PRAYER:
I long to be in praise of You everyday, God. You are the Hallelujah! Lord, I ask for Your forgiveness when I doubt Your presence, when I look and I don’t find You. I confess that is when I get in the way of Your presence in my life. I want to proclaim Your holiness, worship You the one true God even in times of anguish, and leave the worldly affect behind. Thank You, God, for Your power over sin and for making Your face to shine upon us.
WHO AM I?
After looking up the meaning of Aijeleth Hash shahar and read “Doe of the morning,” I was reminded of one spring day a couple of years ago. It was right after sunrise and David and I were headed out to the cars parked on the driveway. When David went between the two cars he discovered a tiny little fawn under one of the cars. It makes me think of the momma doe. She knew where her fawn was; it was not abandoned, forgotten or lost. Her child was safely tucked away, but she needed to gather nourishment and keep the baby out of harm’s way—cars, the coyotes in the woods. It may be a stretch, but in a complete and holy way the Lord provides our nourishment; provides a safe dwelling place for us in Him; and when we listen, keeps us from harm’s way. Thank you Lord. <3 Gayle Norris
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