Psalm 22 (a): Remix

Then Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?"
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But Moses implored the LORD his God and said, "O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, 'I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring and they shall inherit it forever'."
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But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the LORD and said, "O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster."
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My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?...
All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads, [saying,]
"He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"...
Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
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And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
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These who petitioned the Father knew God's character: just/righteous, slow to anger and abounding in love, faithful to the promises made to his people. And they weren't afraid to call God out on it. That takes some guts! Jonah knew so well about God's slowness to anger and quickness to show mercy that he didn't want to give God that chance. And with a hat tip to one of my seminary profs, Joe Dongell, what the centurion saw in the manner of Jesus' death was not the wrath of the Father upon his Son, but the siding of the Father with his suffering Son. The darkness conveyed Divine sorrow for the suffering of the innocent. The tearing of the veil in two from top to bottom was the Father expressing grief by rending his cloak in like manner of Elisha at the departure of Elijah (see 2 Kings 2.12). It was just that the Son had to taste death in order to kill it. That didn't make it any easier nor take away the sensation for Jesus that God had seemingly deserted him; rather, that God had not come through for him. That's what I think Jesus meant by crying what he did from the cross. The deliverance would come, but not before he breathed his last. To that we'll turn next as we look at the 2nd part of the Psalm.