My God, why have You forsaken
Left Your Son afflicted in such deep despair
And yet You hid not Your face nor looked away
Lord, hear His cry for help, for on us mercy
He suffered greatly because He bore our sins
I cannot endure the thought He lost all hope
In Christ’s sacrifice I find hope
No matter that all others have forsaken
No matter that my old life boasts many sins
For so long I wallowed in brutal despair
Forgetting I had at once known Your mercy
My Savior died to take all my sins away
If in His pain You looked away
Left Him alone, where would be my source of hope
How could I ever truly know sweet mercy
Escape the thought, my God, You had forsaken
Elude the pursuing hell-hounds of despair
Who seek to destroy me with my many sins
On the cross Jesus bore my sins
His loving sacrifice took my guilt away
Your promise means I no longer will despair
You scorned not His suffering so I have hope
Rebuke the lie that all has been forsaken
‘Cause He was not despised, His love brought mercy
Oh, so sweet a thing is mercy
Promised freedom from the penalty of sins
Holiness grows when one is not forsaken
All desire for sinfulness does fade away
Because You listened to His cry we have hope
Though like sheep we’ve gone astray we don’t despair
Though we were lost we don’t despair
In keeping with Your compassion and mercy
It is finished, all is done, so I have hope
The debt has been fully paid for all our sins
From my pain I trust You’ll never look away
My God, I know I’ve never been forsaken
He bore our sins and felt despair
You looked not away but favored mercy
I’ll not be forsaken or lose all hope
___________________
This sestina was inspired by Psalm 22, which prophecies the crucifixion of Jesus. But more specifically it was inspired by Psalm 22:24, which says: “For he has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
3/3/16 update: Decided to share this for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night.