Deus, Deus Meus

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
And are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;
By night as well, but I find no rest.
Yet you are the Holy One,
Enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Our forefathers put their trust in you;
They trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried out to you and were delivered;
They trusted in you and were not put to shame.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

But as for me, I am a worm and no man.
Scorned by all and despised by the people.
All who see me laugh me to scorn;
They curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
“He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him;
Let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”
Yet you are he who took me out of the womb,
And kept me safe upon my mother’s breast.
I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;
You were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near,
And there is none to help.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?


While recognizing Good Friday last night at St. James Episcopal in South Pasadena, we went through this recitation of Ps 22:1-11. There are several interesting aspects to this passage, but I won’t have time to thoroughly expound upon them. But I do find it interesting that in the Good Friday tradition from the gospels and the early church (and likely well prior to that in Judea) this Psalm was seen as a messianic Psalm; the messiah’s cry in his suffering and utter rejection, in his abandonment and loneliness. We see as well David crying out in his trouble. Where is the Lord? And an appeal to the Exodus. An appeal to the God who has proven that he will save people from bondage and despair. On Good Friday, our eternal king has embodied the suffering of the world that we have seen throughout history. And he cries the cry of David, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus has joined the suffering of the Exodus, he is the king of those suffering. Not because he wanted to suffer, but because a wayward world exploits, manipulates, and destroys.

But the Psalmist appeals to the hope of the past. We know God is good because he has acted on behalf of his people. So today my prayer is a dirge and a lament. Lift up your prayers to God and grieve the sorrow that you have. Ask where God is in your loneliness and suffering? Where is he when you need him most and seems the farthest? Appeal to his promises. Do not let them go unaccounted for. We wait for God to fulfill his promises for you, those in your community, and all those in distress.

I put my own music to this rendition of the Psalm. It is more a meditative exercise that I tossed together this morning meant as a way to reflect upon the Psalm. It was more for my own contemplation but maybe you will enjoy it.

Deus, Deus Meus:


Download it: Here

Much Peace,
Tim