October 9, 2014

Psalm 22:17-31



Rachel Workman: 17 I can count all my bones.
    My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
    and throw dice for my clothing.

19 O Lord, do not stay far away!
    You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword;
    spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
    and from the horns of these wild oxen.
Snatch me from the lion's jaws and from the horns of these wild oxen. I know exactly how David feels here, defeated. But David was the better person. He knew exactly who to take his prayers to and he knew they would be answered. I find that I'm usually a little late in my prayers and God doesn't always rescue me from the enemy.

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
    I will praise you among your assembled people.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!
    Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
    Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
    He has not turned his back on them,
    but has listened to their cries for help.

25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
    I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
    All who seek the Lord will praise him.
    Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
    All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the Lord.
    He rules all the nations.

I love these verses. I think no matter where you may be with God your soul longs to worship him. He alone is worthy of our worship.

29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
    Bow before him, all who are mortal,
    all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
    Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
    They will hear about everything he has done.

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John Burnett:  17 I can count all my bones.
They look, they stare at me;
18 They divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, be not far off;
O You my help, hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my [a]soul from the sword,
My only life from the [b]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
22 I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [c]descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you [d]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.  What a different world this would be if Israel would have lived by these verses.  God knew they wouldn’t and also knew that He would have to come and save them again.
25 From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [e]afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the Lord.
Let your heart live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will worship before [f]You.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.
29 All the [g]prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who [h]cannot keep his soul alive.
30 [i]Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness
To a people who will be born, that He has performed itGod called David a man after His own heart.  Theses verses show a humble man that understands how big God is and what He deserves.  He alone is worthy of praise and worship.

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Allen Michaels:  17 I can count all my bones.
    My enemies stare at me and gloat.
18 They divide my garments among themselves
    and throw dice for my clothing.
It is a great insult to human dignity to rob a person of everything, even his clothing, leaving him naked and destitute. Jesus the Christ would suffer this humiliating experience on the cross (Matthew 27:35). Most of us will never know the shame and suffering of being penniless and virtually naked in a public place, as many of the Jews experienced during the Nazi holocaust or even the homeless on the streets of our cities today. However, most of us would feel equally exposed and naked when some sin, secret or not-so-secret, would be uncovered about us. At that time, we will need to cry out as David did in verse 19, “You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!”
19 O Lord, do not stay far away!
    You are my strength; come quickly to my aid!
20 Save me from the sword;
    spare my precious life from these dogs.
21 Snatch me from the lion’s jaws
    and from the horns of these wild oxen.
In these verses we have Christ suffering, and Christ praying; by which we are directed to look for crosses, and to look up to God under them. The very manner of Christ's death is described, though not in use among the Jews. They pierced his hands and his feet, which were nailed to the accursed tree, and his whole body was left so to hang as to suffer the most severe pain and torture. His natural force failed, being wasted by the fire of Divine wrath preying upon his spirits. Who then can stand before God's anger? Or who knows the power of it? The life of the sinner was forfeited, and the life of the Sacrifice must be the ransom for it. Our Lord Jesus was stripped, when he was crucified, that he might clothe us with the robe of his righteousness. Thus it was written, therefore thus it behooved Christ to suffer. Let all this confirm our faith in him as the true Messiah, and excite our love to him as the best of friends, who loved us, and suffered all this for us. Christ in his agony prayed, prayed earnestly, prayed that the cup might pass from him.

22 I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters.
    I will praise you among your assembled people.
God wonderfully delivers us in the quiet moments when we are hurting, and we must be prepared to offer public praises for His care.
23 Praise the Lord, all you who fear him!
    Honor him, all you descendants of Jacob!
    Show him reverence, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not ignored or belittled the suffering of the needy.
    He has not turned his back on them,
    but has listened to their cries for help.

25 I will praise you in the great assembly.
    I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who worship you.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied.
    All who seek the Lord will praise him.
    Their hearts will rejoice with everlasting joy.
27 The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to him.
    All the families of the nations will bow down before him.
28 For royal power belongs to the Lord.
    He rules all the nations.

29 Let the rich of the earth feast and worship.
    Bow before him, all who are mortal,
    all whose lives will end as dust.
30 Our children will also serve him.
    Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord.
31 His righteous acts will be told to those not yet born.
    They will hear about everything he has done.
As we teach our children about the Lord, so they will teach their children and their children’s children. If we fail to tell our children about the Lord, we may well be breaking the chain of God’s influence in generations to come.

If we want our children to serve the Lord, they must hear about Him from us. It is not enough to rely on the church or those with more knowledge to provide all their Christian education. We must reinforce the lessons of the Bible in our homes.

The connection between Psalm 22 and the story of Jesus' suffering and death is natural given the extensive description of suffering the psalm contains. Perhaps the most obvious connection between the passion story and Psalm 22 is Jesus' cry of God-forsakenness: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46). Other portions of the psalm provide an outline of the experience of Jesus on the cross.

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