Psalm 22: Arenal Volcano National Park, Costa Rica
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises. z
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce g my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 22:1–31.
Theme: Jesus's sufferings and victory / glory
Best Verse: 1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?
Command to Obey: --
Sin to Avoid: --
Promise to Claim: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. He spoke this psalm at the crucifixion (Matthew 27:46) to illustrate this to those who were listening. Before the resurrection (this Easter Sunday) comes "Good Friday" or Jesus's crucifixion. Jesus had to die before he could rise, and the first half the psalm is the suffering of his crucifixion while the second is the glory of his resurrection.
Application to Make: Have faith in Jesus! Believe that God raised him from the dead and declare that he is Lord! Expect to share in Christ's sufferings if you want to share in his glory (Rom 8:17-18).
Something New About God: God is with us in suffering and Jesus has overcome death and suffering. God wins. We will win with God if we hold on to him through our trails.
Reflection: Matt 27:34–35, 43, 46; Mark 15:24, 29, 34; Luke 23:34; John 15:24; 19:28; Heb 2:12 all echo Psalm 22 and show that it is Messianic. David both expressed something he experienced and expressed it as prophesy about the coming Messiah, a descendant of David. Jesus fulfilled the prophetic elements of Psalm 22 during the crucifixion. Since he did, we can believe and have faith in the final prophetic elements that have not yet come to pass: all the earth will turn to the Lord. Jesus's pain and crucifixion is temporary, his victory is eternal.
Arenal Volcano National Park: Our Costa Rica adventure was a birding themed vacation. We arrived at San Jose International Airport around 1PM and then drove (we hired a van, driving there is crazy) to La Paz Waterfall Gardens Nature Park. It is a zoo with five amazing waterfalls. We were pressed for time, so we only had two hours, but could easily have spent four hours there. The waterfalls were amazing and the animals were spectacular. We particularly enjoyed the humming bird garden, which is not enclosed, its just a well designed bird-feeder area that attracts many humming birds. After our visit we drove to Hotel Arenal Springs Resort and Spa with a stop at a roadside restaurant along the way. The food was fabulous and we arrived at the hotel after dark.
In the morning we were overwhelmed by all the birds! They were very active first thing, very noisy and flew all over the place. It took us a bit to get our birder legs under us and start identifying them, but boy were they beautiful! We just relaxed at the hotel that day, enjoying the hot spring pool. We also saw quite a few lizards at the pool, which trilled Luke!
