Psalms 38:21
Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
BSB
ASV
Forsake me not, O Jehovah: O my God, be not far from me.
KJV
Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me.
(Verse 21.) And yet, although he follows righteousness, he does not consider it to be of his own virtue, but of heavenly grace, if he is not forsaken by Christ; and for this reason he prays more earnestly, saying: Do not forsake me, O Lord my God; do not depart from me; that is, men have forsaken me, my friends have attacked the one who is dear to them: they have not drawn near.
Forsake me not, O Lord,.... Or continue not to forsake; for he seems to have been under divine desertion, and might be under apprehensions that God had utterly forsaken him; which he entreats he would not, though his friends had forsook him, and his own strength had failed and left him, Psa 38:10; O my God, be not far from me; as to his gracious presence, and with respect to help and deliverance, otherwise God is not far from any of his creatures, being omnipresent.
He pleads, "Thou art my God, whom I serve, and on whom I depend to bear me out; and my salvation, who alone art able to save me, who hast engaged thyself by promise to save me, and from whom alone I expect salvation." Is any afflicted? let him thus pray, let him thus plead, let him thus hope, in singing this psalm.
Forsake me not, O Lord. Now is the time I need thee most. When sickness, slander, and sin, all beset a saint, he requires the especial aid of heaven, and he shall have it too. He is afraid of nothing while God is with him, and God is with him evermore. Be not far from me. Withhold not the light of thy near and dear love. Reveal thyself to me. Stand at my side. Let me feel that though friendless besides, I have a most gracious and all sufficient friend in thee.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
Psalms 22:24For 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.
leads to
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His…
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I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.
In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered and set me free.
Through
Psalms 22:1My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
leads to
At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.
Through
Psalms 22:11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
leads to
Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?
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