My God, my God, I know why you have forsaken me. And why You are far from saving me, and don’t hear the cries of my anguish.
My God, I have barely the strength to cry out to You, and You do not answer. By night, I find nothing.
Yet, it is said You are enthroned as the Holy One. You are the one Israel praises.
Others put their trust in You, they trusted You and were not delivered. To You they cried and were not saved.
But I am a worm and not a man, having failed You and me and all over many years. All who see me think I’m fine. If they knew my inner state, they would shake their heads in disbelief.
My trust in the Lord is weak, and that it has been long since I have delighted in Him.
Did you bring me out of the womb? At one point, I may have trusted in You.
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one who can help.
I am empty like a pot in the desert, and my body is unsound. My heart is dead. My mouth has no words. I am in the inner dust of death.
All my deadness is on display. I am as nothing – a hollowed out version of a self.
But Lord, if you were not far from me, how happy would I be? If You were my strength, You’d be a help to me.
If you were to light up my darkness, I would declare Your name, and praise you in the assembly.
He has hidden His face from me, and ignored my cry for help. If He didn’t rescue the descendants of Israel from the Holocaust, what am I that He would answer me?
The poor in spirit eat the dust of the ground and starve. Those who seek the Lord and find Him, may your hearts live forever.
Last Things 