Day 8: Psalms 22-24

Psalm 22

1	My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? *     and are so far from my cry     and from the words of my distress?
2	O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; *     by night as well, but I find no rest.
3	Yet you are the Holy One, *     enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4	Our forefathers put their trust in you; *     they trusted, and you delivered them.
5	They cried out to you and were delivered; *     they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
6	But as for me, I am a worm and no man, *     scorned by all and despised by the people.
7	All who see me laugh me to scorn; *     they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
8	"He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him; *     let him rescue him, if he delights in him."
9	Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, *     and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
10	I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; *     you were my God when I was still in my                               mother's womb.
11	Be not far from me, for trouble is near, *     and there is none to help.

12	Many young bulls encircle me; *     strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
13	They open wide their jaws at me, *     like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14	I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; *     my heart within my breast is melting wax.
15	My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; *     and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
16	Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; *     they pierce my hands and my feet;     I can count all my bones.
17	They stare and gloat over me; *     they divide my garments among them;     they cast lots for my clothing.
18	Be not far away, O LORD; *     you are my strength; hasten to help me.
19	Save me from the sword, *     my life from the power of the dog.
20	Save me from the lion's mouth, *     my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
21	I will declare your Name to my brethren; *     in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
22	Praise the LORD, you that fear him; *     stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel;     all you of Jacob's line, give glory.

23	For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; *     but when they cry to him he hears them.
24	My praise is of him in the great assembly; *     I will perform my vows in the presence of those who                                worship him.
25	The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: *     "May your heart live for ever!"
26	All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to                                 the LORD, *     and all the families of the nations bow before him.
27	For kingship belongs to the LORD; *     he rules over the nations.
28	To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down                                 in worship; *     all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29	My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; *     they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
30	They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn *     the saving deeds that he has done.
	The first verse contains, of course, Jesus' words on the cross.  This psalm seems to make a pact with God.    Take care of me, vanquish my enemies.  I will in turn praise you forever.  And my descendants too.  Prayers like that are as old as time. This psalm reminds me of Mother Teresa.  She famously heard God speak to her and tell her to help the poor of India.  She spent the next decades praying for God to speak to her again (maybe to tell her to get the hell out of India!), but was met with silence.   Her faith, however, was unwavering. Psalm 23 1 The LORD is my shepherd; *     I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures *and leads me beside still waters. 3 He revives my soul *     and guides me along right pathways for his Name's sake. 4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; *     for you are with me;     your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those                              who trouble me; *     you have anointed my head with oil,     and my cup is running over. 6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days                              of my life, *     and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. The most famous psalm of them all.  I grew up singing this version, which I love--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3rRqA9VfIE.  This psalm has been read at countless funerals.  It has been recited in battle trenches, in airplanes with turbulence and before exams.  An all-occasion psalm! No whining, no pleading, just a statements of fact.  Beautiful.  Psalm 24 1 The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it, *     the world and all who dwell therein. 2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *     and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep. 3 "Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? *     and who can stand in his holy place?" 4 "Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *     who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,     nor sworn by what is a fraud. 5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD *     and a just reward from the God of their salvation." 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *     of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high, O everlasting doors; *     and the King of glory shall come in. 8 "Who is this King of glory?" *     "The LORD, strong and mighty,     the LORD, mighty in battle." 9 Lift up your heads, O gates; lift them high, O everlasting doors; *     and the King of glory shall come in. 10 "Who is he, this King of glory?" *     "The LORD of hosts,     he is the King of glory." This psalm asks "Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? and who can stand in his holy place?"   I disagree with the answer.  Clean hands and a pure heart?  Nowhere does that person exist.