Psalm 22 (part 2)
19But you, O Lord, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.
25From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will pay before those who fear him.
26The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
May your hearts live for ever!
27All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord;
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before him.
28For dominion belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
30Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
We move from the desperation of the first part of the psalm to redemption. That sounds a lot like our stories. One moment we may find ourselves on the side of abandonment. The next day could bring untold blessings. There is something within the heart of the psalmist, the worshiper, the follower, the author, the reader, that recognizes the humanity in the psalms.
What can we do in our lives to have that same heart? The same heart that at one minute feels far from God, and the next giving praises and thanks? In our world we like continuity. We like a linear time-line. We are adverse to change. However, the psalms are like mini-wavelengths of life. Sometimes we are up, sometimes we are down. To have a worshipful and grateful heart is to know that in the peaks, the troughs, and the valleys--God is present. "For dominion belongs to the Lord." Thanks be to God.
Pray Psalm 22 (click here for the full psalm).
