Most of us are familiar with Psalm 22 even though we may be less familiar with this portion of the psalm. This is the psalm that Jesus quoted while hanging on the cross. It contains phrases that describe various elements of the crucifixion.
However, this psalm is important in the parts that were not quoted because in Jewish tradition, quoting any portion of a psalm is praying the entire psalm. While Jesus is in agony and feels abandoned by everyone including God, he is also aware of God's presence and help in the past and is confident that God is with him throughout his sufferings this time.
This portion of the psalm is quite prophetic. Jesus has come to redeem all those on earth, those who have gone "down to the dust" and those yet unborn.
What has he done? He has fulfilled the promise of a Messiah; he has opened the gates of heaven to those who have died and those who haven't yet been born. All nations will praise him for his saving actions.
We are the beneficiaries of Jesus' death and resurrection. We are part of those generations who will be told about him, and we are also part of those generations who will tell others of him. We are witnesses of his saving acts.
This psalm attests to the fact that Jesus didn't come just to save the Jewish people, but all people, and we are called to serve him. We serve him by serving others. This too is our calling and our mission.
This psalm should be our prayer when life hands us times when we have no idea how we will survive what is happening in our lives; when loved ones die, when we are facing terminal illnesses, when it seems as though we have been abandoned and we can't go another day.
This is when we remember that God has been with us in the past and is still with us to get us through, just as he did Jesus.
