Psalms 22:19
Psalms 22:19, But be
not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my
soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the
lions mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. In
Psalms chapter 22 details concerning the suffering of Christ are given. This is
Bible prophecy because at the time these things were written they had not
happened. From the time of King David unto the time of Christ we know from the
book of Matthew is 28 generations. A generation in the Bible is about 30 years.
Whenever the Bible gives a prophecy the details are very specific. The reason
for this is because it is not the false prophecy of man but it is the Words of
God. When men give false prophecies, they tend to give very general statements
about the future because they do not really know what is going to happen in the
future. However, the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Christ, such as
the details concerning the suffering of Christ given here in Psalms 22 are such
very specific details that there can be no doubt that Jesus is the Christ the
Savior of the world.
The Bible says in James 4:8, Draw night to God and he will draw nigh to you. Remember that Psalms 22 began by saying My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The
Son of God was separated from God the Father when He hung on the cross and
became sin for us. This was done so that
when we cry to God, Be not thou far from me, O
LORD, we can know with a full assurance of faith by grace through faith
and not of works. Just as Jesus said, I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5)
Haste thee to help me.
God is not a time waster. Every human being has a limited amount of time on
this earth, a limited amount of opportunity. God always uses time wisely.
Therefore, we know that God always does things in His timing, and His timing is
perfect. That is why the believer is in the patient waiting for Christ.
When Christ died on the cross, he was delivered
unto the powers that be and into the hands of sinners who wanted nothing more
than to kill him. Sometimes this is also the will of God for his children. The
servant is not greater than the master. Be not
thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me. Deliver my soul
from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog. Save me from the lions
mouth. If
it is Gods will for you to be delivered into the hands of the powers of this
world and into the hands of evil men, then this is what you should pray. Be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste
thee to help me. God may deliver you from
your circumstances, or then again it may be His desire for you as a Christian
to die for the name of Jesus. Either way God will deliver you because greater
is He that is in you than he that is in the world. We know that the spiritual
victory is already won. But the physical victory is not going to come until the
end of this Age when Christ returns and with the sword of His mouth destroys
all those who oppose righteousness.
Revelation 12:7-17 says, And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and
the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place
found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out
into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice
saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil is come down unto
you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And
when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman
which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a
great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she
is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the
serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the
woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth
helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood
which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the
woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments
of god, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
First Corinthians 7:29, But
this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have
wives be as though they had none. The time is short, and the devil
knows his time is short. Already in many countries in the world there are many
believers in Jesus who suffer greatly because of their faith. But there are
some countries in the world were persecution unto death has not yet been seen.
Those days may be closer than we think.
Revelation 13:7, And
it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Even
though we should pray that God will deliver us from temptation and from evil;
there may be times we are delivered unto the sword and the mouth of the lion.
If this happens, we should consider the suffering of Christ and that no matter
how we suffer, it will never be as much as Christ suffered. And we should also
remember the promises of God that are based on His grace and not on our works.
Second Timothy 2:13 says, If we believe not, yet
he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Psalms 22:22-26, I
will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I
praise thee. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob,
glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised
nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from
him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the
great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek
shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your
heart shall live forever.
Just as all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose; all good
things come from God. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.
Praise is a good thing. There are many reasons to praise God and to give thanks
unto him. Of course, the greatest praise that we have to give is for Jesus
suffering and dying on the cross for our sins. God is not some far-off distant
being who just set the world spinning, but He is intimately involved in His
creation. He hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted. It
says of Jesus in Hebrews 4:15, For we have not an
high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but
was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
It is good to praise God and to give thanks in the
name of Jesus Christ because if anything this strengthens our faith and allows
the lost people of the world to see Gods great power and grace. What does it
mean to praise God? These verses in Psalms 22:22-26 explain this by saying,
glorify him; and fear him. Glory is a manifestation of the Holiness of God.
Psalms 21:5 says, His glory is great in thy
salvation. One of the greatest ways for us to see the glory of God is
at the cross of Calvary. Here Jesus died for the sins of the world. Here Jesus
defeated death and was transfigured so that many saw his glorified body. The
same glory will be given unto us at the rapture because we are joint heirs with
Christ.
Holiness and praise go together. It is impossible
to be holy as He is holy without a proper fear of God. Fear is a reverential
awe for the greatness of God, but it is also the same fear that leads a man to
repent of His sins and turn to Jesus because of the judgment of God that awaits
in hell. The more you fear God, the more carefully you will try to do what is
right. A lack of fear of the Lord is a sign of too much pride. Proverbs says, The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom:.
(Proverbs 9:10) Ought we not to fear God rather than man? There is a song that
goes, count your blessings one by one. It is good to spend time thinking
about as many things as you can that God has done, and give Him praise for
them. Praising God will both glorify the name of Jesus Christ and keep your
hope in the promises of the Bible renewed.
Psalms 22:27-31, All
the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the
kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the
LORDs: and he is the governor among the nations. 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. A seed shall serve him; it shall be
accounted to the LORD for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his
righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
If we counted every human soul that has come into
this world, then there would be many more who have rejected Christ than who
have turned to Him for forgiveness of sins. One of the reasons there are so few
who truly believe in Jesus Christ is because to believe one needs to hear the
truth and to hear the truth someone must be sent to preach it. Romans 10:14-15
says, How then shall they call on him in whom they
have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not
heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
We live in the last days in which there is a
falling away. But even the last days are only a preparation by God for a time
when, All the ends of the world shall remember and
turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before
thee. Some countries in this world have already had their opportunity
to hear the truth about Jesus Christ of Nazareth over and over and over.
America is one such example. There is only one Christ, but there are many
anti-christs. Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary some 2000 years ago, died
on the cross for the sins of the world, and rose again the third day, and is
the true and living God. Anyone else claiming to be Christ is a liar and an
anti-Christ.
Gods plan for the redemption of this world has
centered around the person of Jesus Christ suffering and dying on the cross for
the sins of the world. But His plan also includes the fulfilling of His
promises to Israel. During this time of the age of grace, Israel has been set
aside. But the opportunity for the gentiles is coming to an end. The next great
event God has planned for this world is the rapture of his children and then at
the end of the 7 year tribulation all the ends of the world shall (Philippians
2:10), at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
We live in the last days, also called the age of
grace. Because it is the age of grace, there is a tremendous opportunity in the
world for men to receive the truth. This opportunity will be more so during the
7 years of the tribulation than any other time. Because this is the purpose of
the 7 year tribulation: to judge the nations and to get men to repent of their
sins.
Revelation 14:6, And
I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him;
for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and
earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. The opposition to the
Will of God and to the truth of the Bible is going to come to an end. Other
than the day that Christ paid the penalty for the sins of the world, this day
will be the greatest day in human history. It is the will of God that nothing
can stop because God is almighty and God is Holy. This is something we should
look forward to and give God praise for. If you have not repented of your sins
and turned to Jesus for forgiveness, you can do so today. Today is the day of
salvation. Psalms 22:27, All the ends of the world
shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations
shall worship before thee.
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Copyright; 2012 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved