Psalm 22

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Psalm 22:29-31

second-coming2Because the RSV really goofed the translation we are going to switch here to the KJV.

29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: 

all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: 

and none can keep alive his own soul. 

30 A seed shall serve him; 

it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. 

31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, 

that he hath done this. 

Being fat has for most of the earth’s history been a sign of prosperity, as food was not alway easy to come by before the industrialization of farming. Here the point is that death is the great equalizer, one cannot secure ones position in the afterlife with wealth or poverty in this life. In the end no one will escape from having to worship the Lord. All will bow either willingly or grudgingly.

. . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Phil. 2:10

A seed shall serve him, this is meant that only a few shall serve the Lord. It is not “their seed” for service to God, for it is not secured by birth but rather by obedience. It is not “The Seed” for that would reverence Messiah, and the first part of this Psalm was about His work, this is about our response. It is not “many seeds” for true believers are never many.

. . . knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ. Col. 3:24

Those that serve the Lord are His generation.

Then we thy people, the flock of thy pasture, will give thanks to thee for ever; from generation to generation we will recount thy praise. Psa. 79:13

And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness from generation to generation for ever. Psa. 106:31

His great work on the cross that brought salvation to the who-so-ever wills and not just to the physical descendants of Abraham must be proclaimed to the people who are not yet born. Every generation must repeat the tale, we must tell the story of Messiah, from generation to generation.

For the work He promised, is done, it is finished, He kept the promise, there is no more that can be done. We must simple trust.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. John 19:30

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Psalm 22:26-28

second-coming226 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; 

those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live for ever! 

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; 

and all the families of the nations shall worship before him. 

28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, 

and he rules over the nations. 

What a marvelous promise for those of faith. We forget in this land of abundance that for most of the world’s history, people have struggled to get enough to eat. Our Lord promises satisfaction for those that seek Him. There are those who make these blessing passages about physical wealth and health in the here and now. However in the here and now, it is meant as spiritual sustenance.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matt. 5:6

The satisfaction is for the heart not the body. As we study and become closer to understand God’s plans and purposes, there is a satisfaction and peace that is hard to put in human words.

There will come a time when all will be brought into submission, and righteousness will be enforced with a rod of iron. Then everyone on the earth will remember. In order to remember something if must first be something that was forgotten or at least not brought to mind. The whole world has forgotten their creator. As a whole we have forgotten our willful sin of disobedience and the consequences of being out of fellowship or right relationship with our Creator. Because we do not remember our fall we forgot what it would take to make the relationship right.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Gen. 3:15

There is usually a small twisted memory of this in almost all peoples and cultures.  But it is so twisted that the truth was lost. But a time will come when they will remember that the Lord God who made heaven and earth would need to come and suffered for us. It is He and He alone who would restore the relationship between men and their God, as the beginning of this Psalm explained. He had to come and suffer, that was the only way.

All the nations belong to the Lord, even the ones that don’t know it. It is time to remember the forgotten truths of old.

. . . but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Gen. 2:17

We ate a piece of fruit, or perhaps the fruits is the only way we can understand what our infinite forbearers did, since we are now finite. The essence of the tail is that they were told not to do something and they then did that forbidden thing, bringing death to everything and everyone, somehow their actions caused the second law of thermodynamics to come into play. (The Second Law of Thermodynamics, where everything runs down, waist aways, or ceases to be).

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; Rom. 8:22

We sit here groaning for things we do not completely remember. But dominion belongs to the Lord, and what was will be again. For our souls know redemption, but our bodies still wait for the fulness of the promise.

18   I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;  20 for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope;  21 because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.  22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now;  23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?  25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Rom. 8:18+25

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Psalm 22:24-25

second-coming224 For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; 

and he has not hid his face from him, but has heard, 

when he cried to him. 

25 From thee comes my praise in the great congregation; 

my vows I will pay before those who fear him. 

When the afflicted cry to Him, He heres their cry. We forget this because in general we no longer experience great affliction. True, loved ones die, jobs are lost, houses go into default, however we no longer face the fire, dungeons, and swords that the father’s of our faith were often exposed to. Our poverty is spiritual and not economic. Our afflictions are self inflicted.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 2Cor. 1:8 

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 2Cor. 4:17

. . . for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of liberality on their part. 2Cor. 8:2

. . . sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. Heb. 10:33

We to are told to follow our Lord’s example and care for the afflicted. We can only meet physical needs He can meet spiritual , emotional and physical needs.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27 

From thee comes my praise, Our praises come from him because we are responding to His great work of removing our afflictions. This praise is to be made in the great congregation. In the New Testament the congregation or ekklesia was translated into church erroneously. We are not a building or a place, we are a congregation, free to move about and make disciples where ever we go. (See Also: Ekklesia)

Vows must be payed. We often forget that a true vow is made publicly before witnesses and paper work is signed. The only such vow many of us ever make is a marriage vow. Although there are preachers out there that encourage people to do such foolish things as make a vow to read the Bible everyday, unless there is signed papers with witnesses it is not considered a vow.

FYI: The only vow in the Bible that does not have such witnesses is the Vadar covenant in. [Gen 15 c.f. Jer. 34:18-19; Song 2:17] The blood of the animals was the witness. (See Also: The Vadar Covenant)

Those who fear him. Many today have lost their fear of God. The Spiritual Leaders  of the post modern church have made God into some kind of buddy or myth. There is no fear so there is no wisdom.

Teach me thy way, O LORD, that I may walk in thy truth; unite my heart to fear thy name. Psa. 86:11 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures for ever! Psa. 111:10

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Psalm 22:22-23

22 I will tell of thy name to my brethren; second-coming2

in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee: 

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! 

all you sons of Jacob, glorify him, 

and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel! 

After the humiliation and rejection of the crucifixion, we join the triumphant praise and exaltation section of this Psalm. It starts with a line that is repeated in the book of Hebrews. Where it states that He is not ashamed of us, even though in our weakness we are often ashamed of Him.

10  For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren,  saying, “I will proclaim thy name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.” Heb. 2:10-12 

His name is to be proclaimed. Not by ministers or priests but rather by “I” and the proclaiming is in the piel infinitive tense, which means “I” is caused to proclaim, recount, relate this information forever. We cannot stop, we must speak out. The only people who are mad at us for speaking the truth are those people who are living a lie. Keep speaking the truth.

I will praise Him in the congregation. It is only in the congregation that our admiration and reverence for His great act of love is even understood. (See Also: The Ekklesia)

The Psalm sounds as though it is restricted to just the children of Israel, however the writer of Hebrews is clear that all are children of God.

16 Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. 18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion. Is. 8:16-18

This was the declaration given to the shepherds. The joy would not longer be extended only to the children of Israel but it would be for ALL people.

And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; Luke 2:10

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:14

Instead of our faith bing inherited through the blood line of Abraham our faith is now based on pleasing Him. To have peace with our maker is an act of obedience. The door is open too all.

I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

Fear the Lord

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him! 

all you sons of Jacob, glorify him, 

and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!

The post modern inherited churches have forgotten to stand in awe of God. The churches sing of an awesome God as if this word means some kind of casual greatness, or beauty. However to be in awe of something or someone is to be terrified or in dread. This new culturally sensitive theology has God as either their best buddy or a myth, either way there is no need to fear Him.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who practice it. His praise endures for ever! Psa. 111:10

When we are young we often think that the older people in the congregation are old and stogy. We make light of all things holy. We laugh and play with our grace, almost to the point of being sacrilegious. But as one gets older we often examine that tear in the vale of grace, and are terrified by what we perceive is there. Yes, indeed, God is awesome, and our souls are spared only because of that curtain of grace. Our suffering Redeemer earned our awe. When we step back and consider this curtain, we see that it is made of our Redeemer’s own blood.

We stand in holy awe, and fear for the ignorant young people.

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Psalm 22:20-21

crosstwilight20 Deliver my soul from the sword, 

my life from the power of the dog! 

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion, 

my afflicted soul from the horns of the wild oxen! 

Deliver my soul from the sword, cannot mean just any sword. Swords take lives not souls. This must be referring to the sword of God, that flaming sword of His divine wrath, which is the word of God. [Gen. 3:24; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 19:15] As our Lord hung there dying His personal human fear was that all the sin of the world that was being laid upon Him might not be forgotten.

Save me from the mouth of the lion, is a reference to our oldest enemies Satan, who prowls like a roaring lion. [1Pet. 5:8] Here it is, in the fullness of time, or the mo’ad that the original promise is fulfilled, as Messiah’s own death destroys Satan’s kingdom and his claim to it.

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Gen. 3:15

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; John 14:30

FYI: If you are reading the King James Version it is a unicorn that afflicts His soul. [See Also: Unicorns in the Bible]

It is the children of Israel that are the horns of the wild oxen.

God brings them out of Egypt; they have as it were the horns of the wild ox. Num. 23:22

Their rejection of Messiah truly afflicted His soul as just before His arrest He had stated.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Matt. 23:37 

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Psalm 22:18-19

crosstwilight18 they divide my garments among them, 

and for my raiment they cast lots. 

19 But thou, O LORD, be not far off! 

O thou my help, hasten to my aid! 

For those who do not believe that Yeshua/Jesus was not who He said He was and that He arranged to fulfill all these odd prophecies, How did He arrange this one? How did he get Roman soldiers to preform this act?

23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom;  24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfil the scripture, “They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” John 19:23-24

This prophecy was written one thousand years before the events described. There is just no way to have faked or arranged this. It stands as one of the great proofs that He was who He said He was. The other is Daniel 9.

As our Lord was dying they were casting lots for his clothes. So His call for help is one of promise. The deed was done. His humanity now reminds God of the three day deal. Be not far off, hasten to my aid. There is just that shadow of not quite doubt, just a need for reassurance. His deity knew He had the victory His humanity was suffering. We all need to be told that it will be ok.

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Psalm 22:16-17

crosstwilight16 Yea, dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet — 

17 I can count all my bones — they stare and gloat over me;

This song was to be sung according to the tune, “The Hind of the Dawn”. And our Lord is our Hind who comes leaping across the mountains of vatar. [S of S. 2:17] This was the terrible day of that leap. For all who watched it seemed as though He failed to make the jump. However it is a long leap that took three days to clear, and clear it He did.

As our Lord reaches His end He feels like a hind surrounded by dogs. Now a dog will never chase down a Cervidae, all these animals can easily out run dogs. However if a pack of dogs incircle the poor thing, it will not get away. Two dogs will keep the head busy while a third will hamstring the hind legs. Once the deer cannot run it is doomed. Our Lord is now surrounded by evil men, They had wearied Him with their content attacks, and in the  end He never even sought to runaway. The Sanhedrin, Herod, Pilate, they all agreed to set aside their differences and surround Him. In the end they actually pierced His hands and feet just as dogs would hamstring a deer, and this thousand year old prophecy perfectly predicted this horrible death. (For which the Rabbis have no answer.)

He had been called a wine-bibber and glutton yet here He is in death, all His bone are exposed, He hung there naked and exposed. They gloated at His suffering.

“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. Matt. 27:42

He died naked and alone that He might clothe a great multitude in robes of righteousness. That none of us should go exposed.

(“Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments that he may not go naked and be seen exposed!”) Rev. 16:15

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Psalm 22:14-15

crosstwilight14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; 

my heart is like wax, it is melted within my breast; 

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws;

thou dost lay me in the dust of death. 

Now we come to the death throes of Messiah.

He was literally poured out like water.

 

34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.  John 19:34

He did feel dried up, as all the Divine wrath that is due to us, was poured onto Him.

28 After this Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A bowl full of vinegar stood there; so they put a sponge full of the vinegar on hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, “It is finished”; and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30

They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Psa. 69:21

The life of all sinners is forfeit, the only way out is to ransom the soul with the only sacrifice perfect enough to complete the transaction.

Crucifixion is a slow death by asphyxiation. In the end one must push up with the legs in order to take a breath.  This is why the leg were broken, without the ability push up they could not breath, in this way they hastened the victims death.

The entire weight of the victims hung on the arms, stretching the body and dislocating the joints. As Matthew Henry puts it, “His bones were put out of joint that He might put the whole creation into joint again,”.

Upon His death He was laid in the dust, for He was fully human and had a fully human body, and from dust we were made.

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Gen. 3:19

However few notice that it is the Serpent that eats dust.

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. Gen. 3:14 

Though he seeks to devour us.

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. 1 Pet. 5:8 

Those who claim Messiah as their Lord, need not be devoured. For he has been given more than even he could ever swallow. The life of the perfect sacrifice.

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Psalm 22:11-13

second-coming2Be not far from me, 

for trouble is near and there is none to help. 

12 Many bulls encompass me, 

strong bulls of Bashan surround me; 

13 they open wide their mouths at me, 

like a ravening and roaring lion. 

Trouble was not far from Messiah, and there was none to help Him

Even those of you who are “city people” probably understand that being surrounded by bulls is a bad situation. Bulls are unpredictable at the best of times, but when there is a herd of just the bulls, things are fairly uncontrollable. This is why cattlemen routinely castrate them, then they are steers, which is a much easier animal to control.

140915112354-cnnx-golan-heights-map-story-topNowadays, Bashan is called the Golan Heights, a large plateau on top of a steep cliff overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The area  belonged to the Amorites before the territory was possessed by the tribes of Dan and Manasseh. [Deut. 33:22; Josh. 20:8; 1Kings 4:13 ] On this plateau, the town of Golan became a city of refuge. [Josh. 21:27]

The tribe of Manasseh had large herds and asked Moses for land that was good for their herds. So we can speculate that at the time the Psalm was written, this area was known for its large herds of cattle.[Num. 32:33]

David compares the enemies of Messiah to these bulls. The enemies were the religious leaders of the temple, They were powerful and dangerous men to confront. Yet, Messiah boldly confronted them, over and over. We know that they plotted against Him at every opportunity. They knew He was teaching the people that they would no longer need them or their temple.

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. John 4:23 

The religious leaders of that day were sure that the Messiah they envisioned and manufactured out of the Old Testament prophecies, would never have done away with the sacrificial system. Yet, here was this Man telling everyone that everything was going to change. He  taught that the kingdom had come and it wasn’t Jewish. So they roared at Him, with a roar not entirely of their own making.

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking some one to devour. 1 Pet. 5:8

One wonders what His return will really look like. When He comes with no rapture, seven year tribulation, or political antichrist, will today’s religious leaders know Him?

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Psalm 22: 9-10

second-coming29 Yet thou art he who took me from the womb; 

thou didst keep me safe upon my mother’s breasts. 

10 Upon thee was I cast from my birth, 

and since my mother bore me thou hast been my God. 

Messiah acknowledges that God was with Him from His birth. It was God who was the midwife or doctor.

He was provided a safe childhood. As a breast is the safest place a small child can be, this represents all the love a mother has for her children. The Hebrew word for breast is shad which is the root to the title El Shaddai.

He was cast upon God, like all the children of Israel. From Abraham to Messiah there had been an uninterrupted series of continual, sustaining, wonders and phenomena that had kept the line that was cast upon God, safe. On His eighth day, this covenant relationship was sealed with circumcision. His parents agreed that this one was under the covenant their father accepted 2500 years before. [Gen 17] For it was this covenant whose mark scared the very organ that normally delivers seed. This ancient ritual pointed to the fact that the promised child would not come by the normal sexual way.

Messiah reminds God that His dependance on God had been so from the beginning. His devotion was real.

“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Jer. 2:2 

Yet for all this He was now abandoned.