Psalms 22
The psalmist cries out to God, feeling forsaken and in distress, despite having trusted in Him from birth. The psalmist describes being mocked and surrounded by enemies, and even feels as though God has abandoned him, but still expresses trust in God's deliverance. The psalmist vows to praise God and declare His name to others, and expresses confidence that God will hear the pleas of the poor and have dominion over the Gentiles. The psalm concludes with the psalmist's hope for a future generation that will serve God and announce His justice.
Unto the end. For the tasks of early morning. A Psalm of David. O God, my God, look upon me. Why have you forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my offensesMy God, I will cry out by day, and you will not heed, and by night, and it will not be foolishness for meBut you dwell in holiness, O Praise of IsraelIn you, our fathers have hoped. They hoped, and you freed themThey cried out to you, and they were saved. In you, they hoped and were not confoundedBut I am a worm and not a man: a disgrace among men, and an outcast of the peopleAll those who saw me have derided me. They have spoken with the lips and shook the headHe has hoped in the Lord, let him rescue him. Let him save him because he chooses himFor you are the one who has drawn me out of the womb, my hope from the breasts of my motherI have been thrown upon you from the womb; from the womb of my mother, you are my GodDo not depart from me. For tribulation is near, since there is no one who may help meMany calves have surrounded me; fat bulls have besieged meThey have opened their mouths over me, just like a lion seizing and roaringAnd so, I have been poured out like water, and all my bones have been scattered. My heart has become like wax, melting in the midst of my chestMy strength has dried up like clay, and my tongue has adhered to my jaws. And you have pulled me down, into the dust of deathFor many dogs have surrounded me. The council of the malicious has besieged me. They have pierced my hands and feetThey have numbered all my bones. And they have examined me and stared at meThey divided my garments among them, and over my vestment, they cast lotsBut you, O Lord, do not take your help far from me; be attentive to my defenseO God, rescue my soul from the spear, and my only one from the hand of the dogSave me from the mouth of the lion, and my humility from the horns of the single-horned beastI will declare your name to my brothers. In the midst of the Church, I will praise youYou who fear the Lord, praise him. All the offspring of Jacob, glorify himMay all the offspring of Israel fear him. For he has neither spurned nor despised the pleas of the poor. Neither has he turned his face away from me. And when I cried out to him, he heeded meMy praise is with you, within a great church. I will pay my vows in the sight of those who fear himThe poor will eat and be satisfied, and those who yearn for the Lord will praise him. Their hearts will live forever and everAll the ends of the earth will remember, and they will be converted to the Lord. And all the families of the Gentiles will adore in his sightFor the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he will have dominion over the GentilesAll the fat of the earth have gnashed their teeth, and they have adored. In his sight, they will fall down, all those who descend to the groundAnd my soul will live for him, and my offspring will serve himThere will be announced for the Lord a future generation, and the heavens will announce his justice to a people who will be born, whom the Lord has made
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