Do Not Be Far from Me

Psalm 22 opens with one of the most shattering cries in Scripture: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me." David is at his lowest — broken by anguish, surrounded by enemies, mocked before all. Yet he does not stop calling. Twelve verses hold a tension only honest prayer can sustain: the raw feeling of abandonment alongside the memory of every rescue God gave to every generation before. Not despair — the prayer of a man who brings his pain to God and refuses to go anywhere else.

The central verse, chosen as the title of this song, is:

"Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help."

After every cry and every wave of shame — the first section closes here. A single plea: trouble is here, there is no one else. Only You.

This song is part of the larger journey of the project: with God's help, to compose and sing the entire Book of Psalms in a diverse, emotional, Jewish, and uplifting musical language.