As the bank returns a hot check stamped “Insufficient Funds,” so one day God will turn away our self-serving standards of morality as insufficient.  Have you heard or used one of these phrases to justify something lately?

I want (Acts 8:18-24)
I think (2 Kings 5:1-15)
I like (Jeremiah 10:23)
I feel (Galatians 5:16-21)
They do it (1 Samuel 8:4-8)
I am sincere (2 Samuel 6:6,7)
It seems right (Proverbs 14:12)
I don’t see why not (Acts 5:1-11)
It is for a good cause (Romans 3:8)
No one will see me (Proverbs 15:3)
It isn’t against the law (Acts 5:26-29)
I am always right (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Others do worse things (Matthew 7:5)
God didn’t say not to (Leviticus 10:1,2)
The preacher said so (Galatians 1:6-9)
God doesn’t mind (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)
It hurts no one but me (1 Corinthians 8:12,13)
Most people think it is okay (Matthew 7:13,14)
It doesn’t bother my conscience (Proverbs 30:20)
We have done it this way for years (Joshua 5:2-9)
My parents and grandparents did it (Galatians 6:5)
It’s all right if we do it in God’s name (Matthew 7:21-23)
God doesn’t expect us to be so technical (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

         — Kippy Myers

Psalm 22:  Jesus Knew Ahead of Time How and Why
He Would Suffer —-For My Sins
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
 
Jesus, according to liberal “Christianity,” probably did not think of Himself as the Messiah, and really did not think of being a sacrifice for sin—these were just notions that evolved in the minds and writings of His followers.
The truth is quite the opposite.  He did know who He was, and He did come to be a sacrifice for sinners (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Psalm 22 is one of the many Old Testament scriptures which show that Jesus knew of this long before He came.  The prophecies in this chapter that were fulfilled in the passion of Christ (Luke 24:44; Acts 1:1-3), were fulfilled by Him—but not through manipulation and duplicity on His part, His followers, or Bible writers.  There are numerous connections between this psalm and the last hours of His life.
Let us study this psalm under three headings:
I.  God and the Spirit of the Messiah 
(vv. 1-6).
II.  The Enemies and the Suffering Messiah 
(vv. 7-21).
III.  Victories and the victory of the Messiah 
(vv. 22-31).    
 
The first sentence in this psalm is probably the most heart-wrenching statement that ever came out of the heart of any human being—
“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
It remains heart wrenching even today, because people by the millions are still missing the point of Calvary.
A study of the emotional, soul-revealing agony in verses 1-6 ought to help all of us.  We need to understand, as well as we can, what was taking place between God and the spirit of the Messiah while the story of Calvary unfolded.  In Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, the New Testament teaches that Jesus spoke these words while He was on the cross.  It was about 3:00 P.M., shortly before He died.  In the remaining words of Psalm 22:1-6, David writes of the extent of emotional suffering that the Sufferer would endure:
He needed help.
He was groaning.
He cried out extensively.
He knew that Israel had received help in the past.
He was only “a worm,” a reproach, and despised (see Isaiah 53).

The second section of this psalm shifts our attention from the Messiah and God to the Messiah and His enemies.  His suffering was noticed, ridiculed, and compounded by the people who were witnesses to it.
The first things that are to be noted here are the words and blasphemous accusations of those who were scorning Jesus (see vv. 7,8; Matthew 27:39; Mark 15:29).  A brief defense follows as the Messiah “speaks” to God about the beginning of His life in the care of God and His mother (vv. 9-11).  The next part of this section (vv. 12-18) is a description of the intensity of the agony of the cross.
Surrounded by “bulls.”
Gaping at Him as a ravenous, roaring lion would.
The emptiness of being “poured out”:  affecting bones, heart, and innermost parts.
Loss of strength, sufferings of intense thirst, and impending death.
The dog-like crowd surrounding Him and His pierced feet and hands (see Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; John 19:23; 20:25).
His bones were visible to the crowd and to Him.
They even took His clothing (see Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:34; John 19:24).
This section concludes with a plea from this Suffering One for nearness, strength, deliverance, life, and rescue (vv. 19-21).

The third section of this psalm reveals the victory that He anticipated and received.  The first point (v. 22) is quoted in Hebrews 2:12, which is in the middle of a great lesson on the things that Jesus accomplished by living in the flesh (Hebrews 2:4-18).
He humbled Himself (vv. 5-9).
He was made perfect through sufferings (v. 10).
He became our “brother” (vv. 11-13).
He guaranteed the destruction of the devil (v. 14).
He delivered us from bondage to death (vv. 15,16).
He became a merciful and faithful high priest (vv. 17,18).
The Messiah then calls upon others to exalt God because of His victory (which was sealed by the resurrection; vv. 23,24).  God was not rejecting Jesus on Calvary—HE WAS CONQUERING SIN!!!!
Let us be meek, let us praise Him, let us live forever, let us tell this unto the ends of the earth—Jehovah reigns—and He deserves to be served (vv. 25-31).
Let me encourage you to mark all of the New Testament connections with Psalm 22 so that you can learn how wonderfully this psalm supports the confirmed story of the passion and victory of the Messiah.
Let us decide to be moved by this story to obey Him, just as about 3000 were moved to obedience the first time it was told (Acts 2).    — Skip Andrews

Next:  Psalm 23:  The Lord Is My Shepherd
    

 

Verse of the Week:  
“Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as
thou usest to do unto those that love thy name” 
(Psalm 119:132).
 

VOLUME 1:23             JULY 25, 1999