Scripture Notes: A Lenten Psalm (Psalm 22)

As we enter into Lent this coming week, we may wish to select a passage from Scripture to hold before our eyes throughout this penitential season, to reflect on, to sink deep into. We should allow God to speak to us through His Word, opening our hearts to listen to Him and responding with prayer and love. One good possibility for Lenten meditation may be Psalm 22, the very psalm that Jesus begins to recite as He hangs on the cross.

“My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” the psalm begins, and the psalmist continues to pour out his heart and express his pain. Yet at the same time, he trusts in God. He looks to the past, knowing that God has never failed His people. He casts himself upon God even when everything is at its worst. He knows that God is his help and will not actually abandon him no matter what his situation looks like. And he believes with all his heart that God will deliver him and the people.

God “has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;” the psalmist declares, “and He has not hid His face from him, but has heard, when he cried to Him.” Indeed, God remains with us, hearing us and loving us. But we must remain with God, listening to Him and loving Him. Perhaps this should be our Lenten vow.