Psalm 22:31

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:31

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

31 They shall come, [bow'] and shall declare [nagad] his righteousness [tsadaqah] unto a people [`am] that shall be born, [yalad] that he hath done [`asah] this.  KJV-Interlinear

31 They will come and will declare His righteousness To a people who will be born, that He has performed it. NASB

The scene of this psalm is the cross and the thoughts that went through the mind of Jesus while He was being crucified.

His sorrow at the idea of being abandoned by God, demonstrating the requirements of Gods plan.

His confidence in God that the divine plan will be accomplished.

His remembrance of His early hopes.

His perception at the taunts and reviling's of His enemies.

His consciousness of diminishing strength.

His reciting the details of activity as the soldiers pierced His hands and feet, and as they divided His clothing.

His prayer that His enemies might not accomplish their design, or to defeat the work of redemption.

His purpose to make God known to men.

His assurance that the effect of His sufferings would be to bring the dwellers on the earth to serve God, and to make His name and His righteousness known to far distant times.

That the end result of history is that none other than God will rule.

The certainty that the overall effect of His work will result in a common seed of believers, planted by God throughout history, and of whom will survive to the end of history in resurrection, to recognize and worship Him.

And here is an important principle, from the last verse, the seed that is planted, is planted by God.  God plants people into history, and throughout history.  Man does not perpetuate human life, only God creates human life as it is deemed pertinent to His plan, and in the time and place that God decides.

And finally in our current verse, there will be a generation, that will declare Christ, in contrast to the generation that rejected Christ.  And that generation will be the final generation of our dispensation, the Church Age, who will oddly enough, enter into the Tribulation as unbelievers, but will turn to Christ.  Some of whom will survive that terrible time to witness the Second Advent, and thus when the Kingdom of God is established, will declare Christ as Lord and God.  And their declaration will be to people who will be born in the millennium.

These statements all apply to the Messiah while He is in the midst of His sacrifice for salvation.

No one generation declared His righteousness subsequent to the eviction of Adam from the Garden.

No one generation declared His righteousness subsequent to the Flood.

No one generation declared His righteousness subsequent to the exodus.

No one generation declared His righteousness subsequent to the Cross.

This declaration will come from one single generation of believers and that will be that generation of surviving believers at the end of the Tribulation, who will enter into the millennial reign of Christ.

At the end of the Millennium, history will end and there will be no more new generations born to man for all of eternity.

As a result of Christ’s work on the Cross as projected by David, and as looked back on from our perspective, the next psalm is made possible.

Psalm 22:30

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:30

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30 A seed [zera`] shall serve [`abad] him; it shall be accounted [caphar] to the Lord ['Adonay] for a generation. [dowr] KJV-Interlinear

30 Posterity will serve Him; It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation. NASB

Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior, the promised Messiah of whom most of his generation rejected, resulting in his execution on the cross.

Jesus, as God, took this opportunity to take upon himself the sins of humanity and paid the price demanded for sin, which is death, and obtained the basis for salvation, thus providing redemption for humanity.

Those who believe in Him, which is to say also that those who believe that it was His work, that He is God and man, the unique person of the universe, shall receive the gift of salvation, which is their deliverance from eternal condemnation in the Lake of Fire.

Those who reject Jesus, do not receive this salvation, because by rejecting Jesus, they also reject His work and accomplishment and provision. They do not receive salvation because they reject it.  God offers it freely to all, and withholds nothing from anyone except those who do not want it.

And so, Jesus hung on the cross providing for all for humanity, being rejected, humiliated, stripped naked after having been beaten and nailed to the cross, and ridiculed by nearly all who were present, gawking at Him.

But there will be a day, when those who look upon Him will look in worship, in awe, in humble appreciation for all that He has done.

A seed, ‘zera,’ figuratively a planting, a sowing, a fruit, a singular seed, which here refers to all believers in Christ. Those who reject Christ which are generally referred to as unbelievers, will not serve Christ, for obvious reasons.

These then, believers, will be the ones who will serve Christ forever in heaven.

This seed extends from Adam to the last believer in the Millennium.  Potentially trillions of people from all of human history.  For throughout history there will be billions of people what will be born alive and live for some time within their respective generation, but too, there have been and will continue to be people who will be born alive but will die in infancy or at some other time while not achieving an age of responsibility, and they are saved automatically.  Recall the story of Davids first born son from Bathsheba, who died, but will be seen again by David in heaven.

And while there are no historical human statistics for infant mortality, since Adam, the numbers have to have been huge over the many centuries and millennia since then.  A stable world population of only about three or four-hundred million for the thousand years B.C and the thousand years A.D. attests to the high mortality rate.

The world did not reach its first living population of one billion people until 1802, which was only over a period of 800 years since the end of the first millennium, and then the second billion mark came in 1927, only 125 years later, then the third billion mark in 1961 which saw it accelerate after only 34 years and so forth.

See the world population chart in the online library of charts.

For the first five-thousand years of human history, and despite very long lifespans in those first generations from Adam to Noah, the world population did not leap forward as one might expect.  Only in this last century has it exploded, which by the way is one of the trends mentioned by Jesus, as defining the nearing the end of the end times.

Our dispensation, from about 30 A.D. or at the Feast of Pentecost, until the rapture is collectively called the ‘end times.’

The seven year period called the Tribulation is called the ‘last days.’  This period begins with the Rapture and ends with the Second Advent of Christ.

All believers were seen by God in eternity past when the divine plan was conceived in the mind of God. This single conception is then the single seed category of believers as opposed to unbelievers, and is the single generation, upon its conception, even though all believers are born throughout history over many human generations.

And there is yet another use of the single generation that may be applied from this verse.

The Jewish race, will generally reject Christ throughout their history, thus bringing upon themselves, hardship and atrocity after atrocity, even until the last and final generation of our Church Age.

But then in that last generation, which will be all unbelievers when the Rapture occurs, will go into the Tribulation as unbelievers, but will see the extreme hardships and atrocities across the entire planet, and that generation will turn to Christ in huge numbers, unlike any other of the generations before them.

So in contrast to the generation of the Cross, this final generation will not mock or ridicule or reject God or Christ, but will turn to Him. And as a result most likely millions upon millions will be saved, even as they are martyred in the largest historical numbers ever.

And out of this generation, will come Jewish believers in Christ who will survive the Tribulation and enter into the Millennium as Christian/Hebrew believers, and the seed population for the remainder of the millennial reign of Christ.

Psalm 22:29

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:29

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29 All they that be fat [dashen] upon earth ['erets] shall eat ['akal] and worship: [shachah] all they that go down [yarad] to the dust [`aphar] shall bow [kara`] before [paniym] him: and none can keep alive [chayah] his own soul. [nephesh] KJV-Interlinear

29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, Even he who cannot keep his soul alive. NASB

Jesus Christ is hanging on the cross when these words are spoken or thought by Him. Nearly everyone is making fun of Him.  All are challenging Him to bring Himself down, to save Himself, to jump off and destroy their enemies, the Romans as they see it.

Mocking, spitting, trying to intimidate, trying to get Jesus to commit a sin by being resentful, by getting angry over their comments and attitudes and such.

And yet Jesus did not commit a sin but instead took their sins upon Himself and paid the price, so that all people, even those who were making fun of him, could have the opportunity of being saved from the Lake of Fire for all of eternity.

While now all were looking at Jesus with disgust and repugnance and revulsion, there will come a time when all people, without exception, will look to Christ in awe and worship Him with increasing gratitude and humility.

All that are fat, is the expression of prosperity, or wealth, or people that have had success throughout or during their life.

All that go down to the dust, is the expression of those who have had a more difficult life, those who are in poverty, those who are taken advantage of, those who have been the target of prejudice, those who work and work and never get ahead.

These two categories of people, account for everyone who has or ever will live.

And finally, those who cannot keep alive their own soul.  This expression has a dual purpose.  There are those in the world who are old or injured or sick, and death is their next event of which they cannot avoid.  But also, this applies to every human being throughout history. 

No one can avoid death.  No one has the power to turn life on or to turn life off.  Power over the soul is not something that man has or ever will have.  God alone gives life.  God alone takes life away.

Even at the moment of birth, the life of the fetus hangs in the balance of being born alive or of being still born never having known life.  God alone breathes in the spark of life, ‘neshamah.’  God exhales life and man inhales life.

God decides life, not man.

Man who mocks Jesus, man who disregards Jesus, man who is indifferent toward his greater aspect of life, his spiritual life, has phenomenal arrogance in his attitude.  Man cannot control his own life and yet he ridicules God who gives man everything that he has or ever will have.

All people have things. Some have more, most have less.  All receive their possessions and life from God.  No one is self-made.  All are what they are because of Gods grace.

To presume that you are elite or somehow more than you are, is pure arrogance.

To complain because you do not have more, or that you should deserve more, is pure arrogance.

God deals with you in accordance with exactly what you need in life.  God will not change.  You must change.

Psalm 22:28

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:28

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28 For the kingdom [maluwkah] is the LORD'S: [Yahovah] and he is the governor [mashal] among the nations. [gowy] KJV-Interlinear

28 For the kingdom is the Lord's, And He rules over the nations. NASB

For even though Jesus was hanging on the cross at that time, these words stood from eternity past, to the time of Davids writing, to the time of the actual event of the cross.

The very one who was being punished, who was being mocked, who was being treated as though he were scum, was in fact the ruler of all that is.

God rules the nations.  Jesus Christ controls history. Jesus Christ is God and the sovereign ruler over all that exists and beyond.

As God, He is not confined by time or space.  He transcends all that is and probably beyond even that.  Something that we will likely never be able to comprehend.

Throughout history, God has overridden all others.  Satan has tried to establish his own kingdom on many occasions, but all human empires have failed.  All angelic kingdoms, if there were any, have failed as well.

God will establish a Kingdom on this earth while man still has some semblance of history, but eventually even that will receive a rebellion of sorts as man will still reject Christ, even when He is on His throne here on the earth.  That will be the Millennium.

And herein is stated that God has the inherent right and the right from eternity past, to rule all nations.

This right has existed since eternity past, when God was the only person in existence.  He created all life, and all that is, including the universe as we have it now, and He has handed rulership down to man, who lost it to Satan, who has literally destroyed any semblance of rightful authority.

And Christ will one day, take back what all others have ruined, and will set it again in truth, righteousness and justice.

Psalm 22:27

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:27

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27 All the ends ['ephec] of the world ['erets] shall remember [zakar] and turn [shuwb] unto the LORD: [Yahovah] and all the kindreds [mishpachah] of the nations [gowy] shall worship [shachah] before [paniym] thee. KJV-Interlinear

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations will worship before Thee. NASB

When Jesus went to the cross, that was the lowest point of human history and the low point of human spirituality.

Daniel prophesied the year of Christ’s birth and death.  The Magi recognized the prophecy and its date and traveled a very long way just to meet and see the baby, when people who lived nearby did not even think of it.  The birth was further prophesied when the nation of Judea would lose its national identity, losing its scepter of autonomy, which occurred when Rome was the first empire to institute a census and tax.  This could have happened with any of the prior occupying forces in the previous centuries, but did not.

Even the line of David which was to be the source of the Messiah, and yet no one bothered to monitor that lineage.  All emphasis and focus had been shifted to the priesthood and not the royal dynasty.

When Jesus hung on the cross, even after three and a half years of the most remarkable series of miracles, none of which could be matched or duplicated by anyone, all the people and especially the Pharisees who were the supposed experts of scripture, mocked and despised the very person they had been waiting for, for centuries and had now arrived. 

Virtually no one recognized the signs, and virtually no one bothered to check on or verify the signs by comparing the actual events with scripture.  That is the quintessence of indifference toward truth when people ignore the facts around them, and look only to their short sighed ego’s or lusts or complaints or poor-me attitudes.

And so, the one and only unique person of the universe was not recognized, and was ridiculed and executed without a fair trial, and without legitimate charges.

But God, in His infinite wisdom, took mans actions, and turned evil into good, into mans salvation through Christ’s own work on the cross.

And in the end of it all, when humanity the world over and throughout history, ignores and rejects God and His phenomenal plan for each individual person in their own individual life, will one day turn all their arrogant opinions and attitudes into praise.

Psalm 22:26

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:26

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

26 The meek [`anav] shall eat ['akal] and be satisfied: [saba`] they shall praise [halal] the LORD [Yahovah] that seek [darash] him: your heart [lebab] shall live [chayah] for ever. [`ad] KJV-Interlinear

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; Those who seek Him will praise the Lord. Let your heart live forever! NASB

This is the devils world.  As such all who live in it are the afflicted, the poor, the destitute, simply because of his opposition to all of creation and his agenda of defeating God in whatever fashion he can.

However, among those who have or will live in this world, not all will be blessed.  Many will reject Gods plan and will choose the Lake of Fire instead of heaven.

But, there will be those who will choose for Gods plan, who will believe in Christ, and who will have a good destiny in heaven.

The meek refers to believers only.  For it is the meek, which refers to the afflicted, the poor, the destitute.  And this is not a strict economic or personal description, but a universal description of all believers, as they are all enemies of Satan, and their (our) situation is such that Satan has invented a world of sorrow, of burdens, or anti-truth philosophies.  Our most obvious burden is a temporary physical life.  We will all die one day and from that there is no escape.  Physical death is the ultimate affliction, rendering all things of this physical life, destitute.

Just in this past week, the events that have been unfolding in Boston should make it very clear that evil can come from anywhere, and suffering can come upon anyone at anytime.  As I write this study for tomorrow (each study is written the evening prior to the day of study), the second suspect was taken into custody, thus ending that aspect of the crime that unfolded in Boston.

And as we will likely hear this news for several days as more and more information comes to light, we can certainly look to our daily study which describes the suffering of Christ, which was done in our behalf so that one day, no more of these burdens, or burdens of any kind, will be a part of our life.

And here, the meek, all believers, shall be satisfied, ‘saba,’ which means to be the recipient of an abundance of blessing, to be filled, to be satisfied.  And this is used in conjunction with eternity, and therefore means an abundance of blessing which is beyond calculation.

The heart, is typically used as the thinking portion of the soul.  The aspect that pumps or circulates thought throughout your soul. 

Praise of the Lord is stated here in complete contrast to the mocking and insults that He received while on the cross.

Forever, is a reference to eternity.  And in order to be satisfied for all of eternity, you have to have life.  And to have life for all of eternity you must have eternal life.  And since all people die, and since this is a reference to believers past, present and future, then resurrection is a must for everyone, sooner or later.

So, from the insults of the cross, there will eventually be the vindication of eternity.  From the affliction sought after by some, there will be abundant blessing.

Psalm 22:25

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:25

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

25 My praise [tahillah] shall be of thee in the great [rab] congregation: [qahal] I will pay [shalam] my vows [neder] before them that fear [yare'] him. KJV-Interlinear

25 From Thee comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him. NASB

The Lords praise, ‘tahillah,’ means clear in sound or color, to shine, to celebrate, to be worthy of, to praise.

The great congregation refers to only one assembly which will occur at the end of human history.

But prior to that last and final assembly of history there will be four other assemblies, occurring with each respective resurrection.

In the first resurrection, Jesus alone was resurrected, ascended into heaven and was glorified and seated at the right hand of the Father. The assembly was in the presence of all the occupants of heave at that time.

To pay the vows, ‘shalam,’ means to be safe in mind, body and estate, to be completed, to finish, to recompense, to reward.

And here Jesus was rewarded with elevation to the most-high position at the right hand of the Father.

The second resurrection will occur at the Rapture, when all believer of our current dispensation are resurrected. We will then stand before the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ and receive our evaluation and reward (if any).

The third assembly, or resurrection, will occur at the second advent, at the end of the Tribulation, when all Old Testament believers will be resurrected, including all of the tribulation martyrs, and they too will receive their evaluation before Christ and their reward.

All believers living at the end of the Tribulation, at the second advent, will remain on the earth and enter into the Kingdom of God on earth for that 1000 year reign.

The fourth assembly or resurrection will occur at the end of the Millennium when history is concluded.  All believers both dead and alive from the Millennium will be resurrected and they will receive their evaluation and reward.

Unbelievers will be resurrected and then condemned to the Lake of Fire and forever forgotten and lost.  That is called the Great White Throne wherein they will stand before Christ for their final judgment.

History will end and then there will be the final ‘great’ assembly before Christ and praise as has never occurred before in history.  This is the great assembly promised to and for all believers.

The universe will be destroyed, and new universe, combined with heaven, will be created and eternity will begin.

As a result of the cross, all of this will happen as promised.  As a result of the cross all of this will happen because of the cross.  Without Gods work on the cross, no life, no future, no destiny would be possible.  And as Christ hung there on the cross, the objective of Gods plan was in view and certain.

Psalm 22:24

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:24

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

24 For he hath not despised [bazah] nor abhorred [shaqats] the affliction [`enuwth] of the afflicted; [`aniy] neither hath he hid [cathar] his face [paniym] from him; but when he cried [shava`] unto him, he heard. [shama`] KJV-Interlinear

24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard. NASB

As Jesus was hanging on the cross, the crowd hurled cat calls, mocking comments, yelled challenges for Jesus to call on God to rescue Him, for God to make all of this go away, for God to save Him.  They teased that God had abandoned Him.

But such was not the case.

God has a plan, a divine plan.  That plan called for one to mediate between God and man, and that the mediator must be equal with both God and man. Jesus was that mediator.

The whole purpose of the first advent, was for Jesus to purchase mans freedom from sin and assume mans place in judgment for all sin.  That mechanism was the cross, on which Jesus suffered the spiritual judgment for sin.  The physical suffering which He endured was what we could see which symbolized the real punishment for mans spiritual failure in sin.

For three hours from noon until three in the afternoon, a supernatural darkness covered the world and judgment for sin was executed on Jesus during that three hour time.  He screamed and screamed out of the darkness, and then it was over.  Daylight returned, He declared the work finished and then exhaled his final physical breath.

Earthquake and storm celebrated the success and finality of Gods work, and ripped the veil in the tabernacle between the Holy room and the Holy of Holies room which opened up the way for mans relationship directly with God.

That was the plan.  That was what must be.

God did not abandon Jesus, but most certainly held Him close through the entire ordeal following the divine plan to the letter, thus accomplishing salvation for humanity.

Jesus was made sin.  Sin was applied to Jesus so that judgment for sin could be executed against Jesus.

God did not abhor Jesus for His receipt of sin.  God did not abhor Jesus for the punishment that was thrust on Him.

God did not turn away, but stuck with the plan of which all three members of the Trinity agreed to, in eternity past.

God heard every word of prayer.  God heard every thought, which we have here in writing.  God was always there and never left.

God saw the plan through to its completion.

God treats you exactly the same.  Though none of us know the divine plan particular to us from one day to the next, and certainly we cannot know what is ahead for us in the far future.  But God is always there, seeing our plan through to its completion.

The only real question is, will we see it through too, even if and especially if, life falls apart for us in some fashion.

Do we trust or do we complain and blame.

Psalm 22:23

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:23

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

23 Ye that fear [yare'] the LORD, [Yahovah] praise [halal] him; all ye the seed [zera`] of Jacob, [Ya`aqob] glorify [kabad] him; and fear [guwr] him, all ye the seed [zera`] of Israel. [Yisra'el] KJV-Interlinear

23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. NASB

Fear, ‘yare,’ means revere, respect, afraid, be in awe, tremble.

Praise, ‘halal,’ to be clear or sound, to be clear of color, to boast, to praise, rage, renown, shine, to celebrate, to commend.

Jacob is the son of Isaac.  Isaac is the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the one who crossed over the river, away for the land of godlessness, and as such entered into the promise of God and was called, Hebrew, or he who crossed over.

At that point in history, God created a new spiritual species.  Whereas before there were the descendants of Noah, now there are those who will descend from he who crossed over.  And that crossing is from sin or spiritual non-existence, to the spiritual creature that God intended for us all.

Jacob is yet another junction in history, where he is the Hebrew descendant, and then his name was changed to Israel, marking the beginning of a nation of spiritual peoples.

The new nation is started symbolically from Jacob, but is made up of those who believe in the Savior, the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

From Jacob descended the Hebrew race, which turned to the Jewish race, or those who turned away.  The term Jew came from the region known as Judah or Judea, which was many, many centuries after Jacob, but still retained the culture and ancestral lines of the Hebrew peoples.

So, this reference to is to all Jewish peoples of genetic descendants.

However, the new species created by God comes not from the genetic descendants, but from faith, and may apply to anyone who believes in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the world there are many families and relationships, but in Christ there is but one spiritual relationship and family.

Israel is the symbolic term used for all believers.  Jacob is typically used to symbolize the Jewish race.

Glorify, ‘kabad,’ means to be heavy, burdensome, numerous, rich, honorable, to make weighty, to abound with, to boast, to be chargeable, to glorify, to make self many, to prevail, to honor.

Fear, ‘guwr,’ to turn aside from the road or path, to lodge in, to sojourn, to reside, to gather for hostility, to assemble, to dwell.

And so both genetic descendants of Jacob as well as spiritual descendants by faith, as written in this time of David, all are to fear, respect, tremble at the prospects of the Lord.  All are to live in the sound, comprehensive and vastness of truth.

A special appeal is made to the Hebrew race, to take on the burden of Gods vast riches in blessing, even in the face of tremendous odds for this world.  The Hebrew people have a special prophecy promise from God, to be the seed peoples that will enter into the Kingdom of God, when it is established.  That will occur at the Second Advent, at the end of the Tribulation.  Therefore they need a special appeal and resource to survive as a race until that future time.  That resource is of course Jesus Christ.

And to all who believe, all believers everywhere, whether Jew or gentile, to grow in fear, in faith, to turn aside for the prior road of spiritual indifference and ignorance, and turn to the road of truth and growth and prosperity, and live there.

For the Jewish people, their culture and heritage can be a trap, disengaging them from truth and sending them into a life of hostility in a hostile world.

For all believers, residence in truth, means incorporating doctrine into your mind.  And to do that you have to learn doctrine, study doctrine, pursue doctrine as though there was nothing else in life.

Doctrine is treasure, and most folks who recognize treasure, pursue it.

Prospectors of old, pursued treasure knowing it was there, but never found it.

Spiritual prospectors, have treasure, doctrine, given to them, and so it is just a matter of taking it.  Their greatest fear is that they should live their entire life and never attain Gods treasure which is so freely given.  And this simply because they do not respect God, do not fear God, do not praise God, do not pursue God in the manner that God defines and has designed for us.

Psalm 22:22

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:22

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

22 I will declare [caphar] thy name [shem] unto my brethren: ['ach] in the midst [tavek] of the congregation [qahal] will I praise [halal] thee. KJV-Interlinear

22 I will tell of Thy name to my brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee. NASB

As this statement applies to the redeemer, Jesus Christ, then He will make the name of God known through Himself.  Thus the proper and correct link and access to God, through the savior, who is, and has performed His work of salvation and the bringing together of the divine plan on the cross, through Himself.

The brethren, refers to all who are family.  These are the children of God, all believers in the Savior and Messiah, and Son of God, Jesus Christ.

And throughout the generations since Adam, the assembly refers to all who assemble in the common worship and study of His Word, whether it is accomplished by oneself, with others, and or at the end of human history when the final and total and greatest assembly of all believers will be gathered together in His presence.

By the time of the cross, the world had pretty much discarded all study and worship of truth.

The only things that existed in the world were the numerous false deities of Rome, Greece, Egypt, Persia, the Far East and the many lesser unknown gods around the rest of the world.

The scriptures though they existed, had been bastardized into volumes of burdensome systems of works and daily life rules.  The prophets and the words of Moses had become so lost that even those who were closest to Jesus, were not able to connect the dots of the prophecies until after the cross.  And the apostles lived with Jesus for over three years.  One would think that they would be asking the big questions and wondering what was happening.

They had, of all people, the greatest most unique opportunity to learn and know the greatest knowledge ever, and they had Jesus right there with them for a very long time.  Even the prophets and great men of old did not have any revelation or angel or manifestation of God for more than a short conversation. 

The apostles had Jesus for literally years and lived with Him daily for that very long time.  Even his immediate family was with him for thirty years.

And still the light bulbs did not fully light up.

So, Christianity began with virtually no existence, except that of Christ, who put it all together not only for the apostles and for Paul, but for all of humanity.

Other religions began out of sin, out of ignorance, out of lust, out of superstition.  And the world supports these views.

Christianity began out of truth, and that is something that the entire world opposes.

In the worldly sense, Christianity should never have gotten off the ground.  Its founder was killed and then ascended.  Its initial followers were scattered and afraid.  Early followers were persecuted and even executed.

And yet, throughout history, Christianity has and will become the greatest faith ever, with the greatest following than every other belief system combined.

In the end, there will be an assembly, and then we will all see just how vast a no chance belief, succeeded when all was against it.

Psalm 22:21

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:21

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

21 Save [yasha`] me from the lion's ['ariy] mouth: [peh] for thou hast heard [`anah] me from the horns [qeren] of the unicorns. [ra'em]  KJV-Interlinear

21 Save me from the lion's mouth; And from the horns of the wild oxen Thou dost answer me. NASB

Unicorn, ‘raem,’ is a reference to wild bulls or oxen with horns that are used to tease and prod and poke and rip apart and torment their victim.

The lions mouth is the description of a hungry ravenous lion or beast that is never satisfied, wanting only to eat away or rip apart its prey, caring nothing for who or what the prey might be.  Certainly the interests of the prey are of no concern for the lion.

The hunger is selfish and self-centered only.  The prey is totally defenseless and of no value but for the satisfaction of ones own hate and use.

But in this verse there is a change of attitude, ‘have heard.’

Whereas the meaning that has been conveyed from the previous verses, has been one of terror and fear that nothing or no one would come to help. And that is from the perspective of the world in which there is no rescue from the agenda of evil.  But now, there is God, who is always there to help and to rescue even in the face of harsh and violent adversaries in the heat of their onslaught.

There is now confidence and comfort, even in the face of death or disaster, that God will be there and rescue is certain.

And you certainly have to understand that this is the devils world.  Some things must occur. Jesus could not have said that this is too much, too much pain and suffering, so I’ll pass for now.  Because he came on a mission for this very purpose, to pay the price for sin and pave the way to save humanity.

Likewise, you have to face life with all that it is.

The Israelites were in slavery in Egypt, which is a picture of spiritual death as unbelievers.

The parting of the sea is a picture of faith and salvation.  To cross over between the walls of water took faith.

The wandering in the desert, is a picture that people have to struggle with learning and growing up in their spiritual life. They have frustrating times. They rebel.  They complain. They come up with their own ideas like the golden calf.  But sooner or later, after a sufficient time of learning and growth, they learn and are ready for spiritual maturity.  For some this takes a bit longer than for others.

Then the crossing of the Jordan river, with one wall of water on one side only signifies the passage to spiritual maturity. But the blessings of milk and honey still require strengthening of ones faith and so there are difficulties even in the promised land.  This is still the devils world and genies do not come in six-packs.

Even spiritual maturity has its struggles but they are designed for accelerated growth and accelerated faith.  And then the ultimate goal remains in heaven, not from his earth.  This earth will pass away, and eternity will present the ultimate objective for our life, and that is the final goal.

But this life is the preparation, in its many phases. You just need to recognize them, and pursue them.  And try, try, try to stay on task.  And why?

Because God is always there.  The objective is always there.  This world, no matter what it throws at you, cannot derail Gods plan and that is probably the biggest hurdle for a person to get over, which is focusing on Gods big plan and not on the little problems of the moment.

Psalm 22:20

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:20

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

20 Deliver [natsal] my soul [nephesh] from the sword; [chereb] my darling [yachiyd] from the power [yad] of the dog. [keleb] KJV-Interlinear

20 Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog. NASB

Deliver, ‘natsal,’ means to snatch away, to deliver, to defend, to recover, to rescue, to prevent.

My soul is a reference to ones personal life or essence, the very basis of ones existence.

From the sword, is a phrase indicating death or removal from all that is meaningful and purposeful for ones life.

My darling, ‘yachiyd,’ means sole, oneness, one, beloved, lonely as in alone or unique, only as in only child or son.

Power of the dog, is a phrase that refers to enemies as nothing more than dirty, disgusting, violent animals that lack empathy, concern, or any remorse for their actions, let alone you.

And so, Jesus prays that this event on the cross will not result in His total and complete demise, thus separating Him from God forever in eternal death.  And of course it will not.

The punishment, the suffering, the judgment, even those who are enemies of all that is true and right and just, will fail in their efforts at trying to destroy the one and only unique Son of God.  The most valuable of all valuable persons.  The most precious of all precious persons.  The most loved as ones only child who is facing the greatest pressure of their life and of all of history.

Psalm 22:19

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:19

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19 But be not thou far [rachaq] from me, O LORD: [Yahovah] O my strength, ['eyaluwth] haste [chuwsh] thee to help [`ezrah] me.  KJV-Interlinear

19 But Thou, O Lord, be not far off; O Thou my help, hasten to my assistance. NASB

The word of God is the mind of Christ. These are His thoughts.

Reading and studying the Bible, and doing so while in fellowship, places His thoughts, knowledge, understanding, wisdom, in you.

When on the cross, there was no one standing in His corner. He had been abandoned by everyone, opposed by everyone, retained loyalties from no one.

Only God, stood with Him.  Only God stands with you.

Regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in, due to history, due to circumstances, due to your own decisions, due to whatever, God and God alone, is with you always.

God had a plan for Jesus’ life.  He was to go to the cross for you and me. That plan was not going to change.  Jesus was to endure it regardless of how it progressed.

God has a plan for your life. Often times we might wonder why certain things happen, but more often than not, they happen for our own good.  Whether for our learning, whether for someone else's observation, one cannot say, But God knows what He is doing, and God is never wrong in anything.

God is never far from you. All three members of the Trinity indwell each and every believer in Christ.  That includes you.

God sustains your life.  He is the source of your strength and all that you are, regardless of what you might think of that.

And as you add doctrine to your soul, within the framework of Gods spiritual process, then your strength and inner resources grow exponentially.

God is always there to help, but in accordance with His wishes and plan and timetable, not yours.

Psalm 22:18

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:18

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

18 They part [chalaq] my garments [beged] among them, and cast [naphal] lots [gowral] upon my vesture. [labuwsh] KJV-Interlinear

18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots. NASB

When armies went to battle, is was common practice after the battle, that the property and weapons of the losers were collected by the winners.  The spoils of war as it were.

Captured prisoners were enslaved or executed and their things were divided up amongst the winning soldiers.

Some things were divided up and other things of value were distributed by the casting of lots. Today we would call that the flip of a coin, heads or tails, the roll of dice, or some such game of chance where there was but one winner.

By the time of Jesus, once on the cross, his clothes were stripped from him and divided up among the soldiers, and then the tunic which was the more valuable article of clothing, was distributed by the casting of lots, rather than by being cut up into equal parts, Matt 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24.  The John 19 passage gives the best description of this process.

This event was of course 1000 years after this prophecy.  David lived shortly prior to 1000 B.C.

Crucifixion was not a common practice until the time of the Persian Empire in the early 500’s B.C. when Darius I crucified many thousands.  The Greeks picked up on the torture practice and then the Romans began using it as the official form of execution in the first century A.D.

And as these things apply to one person, this chapter gives many references to practices that did not occur at the time of its writing, thus directing it to but one person, namely Jesus Christ, the Messiah, of whom David was writing.

No imposter could possible accomplish this on themselves, as these things depend on the actions of others (courts, judges, soldiers, crowds of people, etc.).

Psalm 22:17

Copyright Ó 2013 J. Neely

Psalm 22:17

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

17 I may tell [caphar] all my bones: [`etsem] they look [nabat] and stare [ra'ah] upon me. KJV-Interlinear

17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; NASB

Much of the detailed suffering description of Jesus, comes not from the New Testament, but from Old Testament passages such as these.

Isa 52:14,

"Many were astonished at thee;"

Isa 53:2-3,

"He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him;"

The magnitude of the punishment inflicted on Jesus was so great that people, even while mocking Him, stood and stared in astonishment.

They probably have seen others crucified and heard their screams and tantrums of agony as they died.

But Jesus was not one of those, displaying no such emotion, no such reaction, but sustained all with dignity and poise, despite the increased level of punishment inflicted upon Him.

Here is described an emaciated body.  A body that testified to all who looked upon Him, that His punishment was far and above greater than He deserved, and certainly more than anyone else had ever received.  And this resulting from the severe pressures imposed upon Him combined with the severe beatings and floggings that He was made to suffer.

People actually stared, viewed, looked, gazed at Jesus.  This is not a story or symbolism, but an actual event that was witnessed by people who lived in that time.

His emaciation was so rapid and severe, that His bones could be easily counted. 

Whereas on the previous day, He was eating dinner with the apostles and was not then emaciated.  But from the point of the arrest during the night, up to and including the cross on the following day, He was beaten and punished so severely that people had to stare, gawk, look at Him with astonishment, amazement, bewilderment, as they simultaneously belittled and mocked and ridiculed Him.

How could one not too many days earlier, raise the dead back to life, who could perform so many miracles, who had such a reputation of a good person, now be brutally beaten with extreme trauma, and still maintain His poise?