The Psalm of the Cross

(Matthew 27:32–56; Mark 15:21–41; Luke 23:26–43; John 19:16–30)

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David.

My God, my God,

why have You forsaken me?^a

Why are You so far from saving me,

so far from my words of groaning?

²I cry out by day, O my God,

but You do not answer,

and by night,

but I have no rest.

³Yet You are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴In You our fathers trusted;

they trusted and You delivered them.

⁵They cried out to You and were set free;

they trusted in You and were not disappointed.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me mock me;

they sneer and shake their heads:

⁸“He trusts in the LORD,

let the LORD deliver him;

let the LORD rescue him,

since He delights in him.”^b

⁹Yet You brought me forth from the womb;

You made me secure at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰From birth I was cast upon You;

from my mother’s womb You have been my God.

¹¹Be not far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

¹²Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³They open their jaws against me

like lions that roar and maul.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are disjointed.

My heart is like wax;

it melts away within me.

¹⁵My strength^c is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

You lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs surround me;

a band of evil men encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet.^d

¹⁷I can count all my bones;

they stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.^e

¹⁹But You, O LORD, be not far off;

O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of wild dogs.

²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion;

at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!

²²I will proclaim Your name to my brothers;

I will praise You in the assembly.^f

²³You who fear the LORD, praise Him!

All descendants of Jacob, honor Him!

All offspring of Israel, revere Him!

²⁴For He has not despised or detested

the torment of the afflicted.

He has not hidden His face from him,

but has attended to his cry for help.

²⁵My praise for You resounds in the great assembly;

I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.

²⁶The poor will eat and be satisfied;

those who seek the LORD will praise Him.

May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to the LORD.

All the families of the nations

will bow down before Him.

²⁸For dominion belongs to the LORD

and He rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—

even those unable to preserve their lives.

³⁰Posterity will serve Him;

they will declare the Lord to a new generation.

³¹They will come and proclaim His righteousness

to a people yet unborn —

all that He has done.