PSALM 21 (22)
O God, my God, why have you
abandoned me,
far from my saving,
and from the words of my cries?
My God, I shall cry out
by day,
and you will not listen,
and by night,
I have no peace.
But you in your holy place
live in the praise of Israel.
Our forefathers have
trusted in you,
they trusted,
and you saved them.
They cried out to you,
and they were saved.
They trusted in you,
and were not mistaken.
But I am a worm
and not a man,
scorned by others
and despised by the people.
All who see me
deride me, muttering
and shaking their heads.
"Let the Lord save him who
took refuge in him,
let him free him
if he loves him."
But it is you who brought me
from the womb,
safe at the breasts of my mother.
From my mother's womb
you have been my God.
Do not be far away,
because trouble is near,
and there is no one
to help.
Young bulls have surrounded me,
fat bulls encircled me,
they opened their mouths over me,
like a ravenous, roaring lion.
Like water I was poured out,
and all my bones were out of joint,
my heart was like melted wax
in my stomach.
My strength has dried up
like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to
the roof of my mouth,
and you have pulled me down
into the dust of death.
Hunters have surrounded me,
a council of evil has
walled me in,
they have bound my hands
and my feet,
I can count all my bones,
which they, looking on,
have seen in me.
They divided my clothing
among them,
and threw dice
for my garment..
But you, O Lord, do not
be far.
O my strength,
hurry to my aid,
save my soul
from the sword,
my life from
the hands of the dog,
save me from the
mouth of the lion,
and from the horns
of unicorns--
hear me!
I shall tell of your name
to my brothers,
in the middle of the congregation
I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord,
praise him!
Glorify him,
all you seed of Jacob!
Fear him, all you
seed of Israel,
for he has not looked down on
nor had contempt for
the lowliness of the poor,
and has not hid his face
from them,
and when they cried out,
he heard them.
My praise is with you
in the great congregation,
I shall pay my vows
in the sight of those
who fear you.
The poor shall eat
and be filled,
they who seek the Lord
shall praise him.
May their hearts
live forever.
All the ends of the earth
shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all nations
shall worship before him,
for the kingdom
is the Lord's
and he shall rule over
the peoples.
All the proud of the earth
shall have eaten and worshiped,
and all those who fall to dust
shall bend the knee
before his face.
My soul lives for him,
and my seed shall serve him.
A generation to come
will be told of the Lord,
and to them will be announced
the just works
that he has done.
