“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?”
The agony behind this statement is one of the most painful feelings that a God-fearing person can have. David honestly felt this way. He knew there was only one source of help — God. He was a life-long believer. He was desperate and prayed earnestly, but God was refusing to change anything. He felt much like Jesus did when he chose these very words to cry out in anguish to his Father (Matthew 27:46). Sometimes we too may experience that kind of pain.
Yesterday, our lesson found David rejoicing in God-given victory. Today, we find him deep in despair urgently pleading with God for relief. But David did not surrender to his problems or the feelings that they prompted. He reminded God that past generations trusted the Lord and had been saved. It seems as if he is saying, “Lord, you saved them, why not me? I too believe.”
David prayed with strong hope. He expected God’s help would come. He didn’t know why his response was so slow, but he fully anticipated God would intervene. His thoughts went beyond his own deliverance. Already, he was speaking about the day when God will make everything right for the whole world. He envisioned a great feast of praise at which all God’s people, both rich and poor, will eat and be satisfied. David knew his current frustration was temporary.
David closed this psalm with a promise that a day would come in which people “will be told about the Lord” and his righteousness “for he has done it.” After Jesus endured the agony of the cross for a time, he said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Because Jesus did it, we who believe, accepting him as Savior and Lord, will have a place with him in that service of praise and worship that will celebrate the grand opening of God’s eternal kingdom.
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:16).
Donald E. Wrigley
Extended Scripture: Psalms 22-24
