Psalm 22 — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — is the psalm for Passion Sunday (also known as Palm Sunday). It foreshadows the crucifixion of Jesus and thus goes well with the reading of the Passion that happens on this Sunday.
This setting is a fairly quiet one, in contrast to the ones I’ve written before and will upload later. And as this the first psalm I’m publishing here, it is dedicated to my grandmother Yvette LeHenaff, recently deceased and greatly missed.
The text and the music of this setting are both protected by copyright. Distribution and performance of the setting are free for non-commercial worship purposes. See the license for details.
If your browser supports the embedding of PDF documents, the sheet music for the setting is shown below. The full text of the setting is found below as well.
Psalm 22
Refrain:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why have you forsaken me?
Verse 1:
All who see me deride me,
they turn their lips, they toss their heads:
“He trusted int he Lord, let him save him;
Let him release him if this is his friend.”
Verse 2:
Many dogs have surrounded me,
a band of wicked beset me;
they tear holes in my hands and my feet;
I can count every one of my bones.
Verse 3:
They divide my clothing among them;
they cast lots for my robe.
O Lord do not leave me alone;
Lord my strength make haste to help me!
Verse 4:
I will tell of your name to my people;
you who fear the Lord, give him praise!
all the children of Jacob give him glory,
children of Israel revere him!
Copyright 1963, 1986 The Grail, England.
Used by permission of A. P. Watt, Ltd.