The Lodestar

Christ uttered the first verse of this psalm on the cross (Matt 27:46), but worshippers before Christ considered it as the answered prayer of an afflicted person. This person went through immense pain, opposition, and hatred, making him think that God had deserted him. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (Psa 22:1—2).

While praying for deliverance from suffering, this psalm also expresses trust and faith in the Lord. The psalmist affirms that throughout history, the Lord has never turned down the pleas of those who turn to him for help. “Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame” (Psa 22:3—5).

Besides trust and hope, the psalmist's humility before the Lord is remarkable. He admits that compared to the holy God whom Israel praises, he is nothing more than a worm (22:6). He depends on the Holy God from conception in his mother’s womb to this stage of his life. “Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God” (Psa 22:9—10).

His prayers were answered. God did not forsake him as he had thought. Jubilant at the deliverance, he resolves to testify to the goodness of the Lord to others: “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you” (Psa 22:22).

Though the Lord answers our prayers, many forget to declare what he has done for others. Testifying is being thankful and glorifying the Lord; what the Lord has done for us, he could do for others. They will not know what God could do for them unless we tell them what he has done for us. So, find someone to tell your story.

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