For the abandoned of the earth
Abandonment takes many different forms. Hunted by his nemesis Saul, David lived as a homeless refugee. Here he cries out to the God who cares for the abandoned and restores them to joy.
A David psalm.
1 My God, my God
why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far from saving me
and from the words I’m roaring?
2 My God, I cry by day
but you don’t answer.
By night
but I get no relief.
3 Yet you’re the Holy One
enthroned on Israel’s praises.
4 Our ancestors trusted in you—
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were rescued—
they trusted you and weren’t humiliated.
6 But I’m a worm, subhuman
scorned by humankind
despised by people!
7 All who see me mock me
they grimace and shake their heads:
8 “He trusts in YHWH!
Let YHWH save him—
let him rescue him
since he delights in him!”
9 It was you
who brought me out of my mother’s womb
and made me trust on my mother’s breasts.
10 I was thrown onto you at birth—
you’ve been my God from my mother’s womb..
11 Don’t stay far from me
because trouble is near
and there’s no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me
monstrous bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 They open their mouths wide at me—
lions, ripping and roaring.
14 I’m poured out like water
all my bones out of joint
my heart melted like wax inside me
15 my strength dried up like a potsherd
my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
And in the dust of death
you’ve laid me out.
16 Wild dogs have surrounded me
a gang of thugs closed in.
They’ve pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I count all my bones.
People stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among them
and for my clothes they cast lots.
19 But you, YHWH
don’t distance yourself from me!
My Strength, hurry and help me!
20 Save my life from the sword
my one and only from these dogs!
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth
rescue me from the wild bulls’ horns!
22 I’ll proclaim your name
to my brothers and sisters.
I’ll praise you in the congregation.
23 You who fear YHWH, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 Because he didn’t despise or deride
the affliction of the afflicted.
He didn’t hide his face from him.
But when he cried out to him
he heard.
25 I will offer you my praise
in the great assembly.
I’ll keep my vows in front of all who revere him.
26 Those who are afflicted will eat and be satisfied
and all who seek YHWH will praise him.
“May your hearts beat strong forever!”
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to YHWH.
All the families of the nations
will bow low before him.
28 Because dominion belongs to YHWH:
he reigns over the nations!
29 All of earth’s prosperous will feast and worship.
All who go down to dust will kneel before him
even the one unable to save their life.
30 Succeeding generations will serve him
the next generation will be told about the Lord.
31 They will come and proclaim his saving act
to those yet unborn:
he has accomplished it!
Despite its anguished opening, this psalm powerfully expresses David’s faith. David takes us all the way from dark despair to certainty and celebration, simply by faith in God’s faithfulness. Made famous by Jesus’s gut-wrenching cry on the cross, the psalm’s opening lines voice David’s lived reality. Though his words may seem raw and rude, in Isaiah 54:7, God candidly admits: “I abandoned you for a little while, but with great compassion I will bring you back.” David asks for post-abandonment compassion here.
Instead of railing, David desperately begs the God who has repeatedly rescued Israel. He reasons that, since he’s never had any other God, who else should he be asking to help him? He describes his own helplessness and humiliation and his enemies’ inhumanity and indifference. Not only are they near and God far away. God has stretched him out in the dust to die.
Then suddenly in verse 22, David pivots from despair to hope. Nothing in his situation has changed. Just his focus, remembering what God is like. Unlike the pagan gods, who shun the destitute, YHWH hears, and his compassion is fully equalled by his authority and power: he’s in complete command. So, David foresees his deliverance and himself fulfilling his vows, as he praises God before everyone with feasting and joy. He sees his deliverance leading ultimately to the universal acknowledgement of God’s greatness and a faith that cascades down through future generations.
Though many Christians think David wrote the psalm specifically about Jesus, he writes of his own plight. But David also speaks of Jesus, the supreme example of God-forsakenness: inspired poetry always speaks to far more than it knows. And while he ends with the assurance that God will make things right for him, his words also describe the far greater deliverance God would accomplish through his Messiah, whose “It is finished” alluded to David’s final words here.
Prayer:
Thank you, Jesus, that as with David, you help me make sense of my story, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in you. Help me believe that, even when I feel abandoned, your compassion and sovereignty redefine my situation. Help me call out to you till my joy overflows in praise. Amen.
During your free moments today, meditate on these words:
He didn’t despise or deride
the affliction of the afflicted.
He didn’t hide his face from him.
But when he cried out to him
he heard.
