June 26, 2019 
The word Sabbath means to cease.  So as Dr. Brooks is away on sabbatical, we will be using his original devotionals from 2009 on the book of Psalms.  He will resume The Bible Project devotionals upon his return.  Thank you for reading with us and praying for him as he replenishes his soul for the next seven years of ministry.
Psalm 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.
Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
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.
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.
Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.
But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
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.
From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!
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,
for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.
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.
Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

New International Version (NIV)
Is anybody or anywhere really God-forsaken?  David's descendant knew his words.  Jesus spoke these words from the cross:  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Have you ever spoken that honestly to God?  David's heartcry helps us.  First, God is still our God.  Nothing can change that.  Second, we can ask why.  God is not afraid of our questions or our fears.           

David interrupts himself twice, declaring, "Yet you . . ."  First in 22:3 he recognizes God's sovereignty.  "Yet you are enthroned . . ."  God is on his throne.  Second in 22:9 he admits that God brought him forth and caused him to trust even at the earliest age.    Let's try this.  Write down the one thing you fear the most.  Then answer your own concern with the truth about God in these verses, "Yet you are enthroned; Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you."

"Do not be far from me!"  Does God ever seem to be farther away?  God is where God is.  He is omnipresent.  Both David and Jesus knew what it was like to be surrounded by evil.  David's words here aptly describe the process of crucifixion:  in verse 14 "All my bones are out of joint" and in verse 16 "They have pierced my hands and my feet."  Both David and Jesus knew what it was like to experience God's sustaining presence.  After praying for rescue, David begins to praise God for his help.  Even though we sometimes forsake God, he never forsakes us.  With David we proclaim the righteousness of God to a people yet unborn.  Even on our darkest days we remember God's promise, "Never will I leave you nor forsake you."  Though we have sometimes forsaken God, he will never forsake his children.   

This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan.  Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download 
the app at readscripture.org.  Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully, 
Duane 

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