13 I give thee charge in the sight
of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius
Pilate witnessed a good confession; 14 That thou keep this commandment
without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15 Which in his times he shall
shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of
lords. (1
Tim 6:13-15)
Having suffered on the Cross, died there, and buried in a borrowed Garden Tomb,
the Lord now declares an Unconditional and Complete Victory over sin, death,
and Hell at His Resurrection from the Grave. 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.
Do you remember the name of the
High Priest at the time of the crucifixion of Jesus? It was Caiaphas! But how
many Christians remember THAT name? What was the name of the Centurion in
charge of the Roman cohort that crucified Jesus? No one remembers! But the Name
of Jesus Christ is burned into the memory of all – even those who falsely claim
to be unbelievers. I do not believe in the little gods of the Hindus, but
neither do I remember their names. There are so many of them that most Hindus
do not recall them all. But every so-called atheist remembers the Name of Jesus
that he denies! Amazing, is it is not?
Read the words of Napoleon Bonaparte on St. Helene in 1820 –
The nature of Christ’s existence is mysterious, I admit; but
this mystery meets the wants of man. Reject it and the world is an explicable
riddle; believe it, and the history of our race is satisfactorily explained.
I know men, and I tell you that Jesus is not a man.
Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires,
and the gods of other religions, that resemblance does not exist. There is
between Christianity and other religions, the distance of infinity.
I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man.
Between Him and every person in the world there is no possible term of
comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on
what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded
His empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for him.
Amazingly, the Name of Jesus is written in more distinct
relief today than ever before; and it shall be written in burning flames on the
trailing Ensign of His Vestige at His return leading the Armies of Heaven. And
it is very true that all nations and peoples shall worship Him. “For it is
written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:11 & Isa 45:23) Presumably,
many so-proclaimed atheists will be included in that number out of fear and
trembling.
28 For the kingdom is the
LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations.” It is true that
the kingdoms of this world are handed over to the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords: And the seventh angel
sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall
reign for ever and ever. (Rev 11:15) But they will not remain ‘kingdoms’
for His Kingdom is One Kingdom. We need to become naturalized citizens of His
Kingdom through the process of adoption of sons and daughters. There is only
One Begotten Son, and that is Jesus!
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. They shall eat of that Bread of Heaven, and worship at the
very Throne of God. The wicked who have rejected and denied Him shall, at last,
make open confession that He is Lord on bended knee. There is no salvation for
them at the point of His return. What a great truth – None can keep alive
his own soul. It has never happened before in history, and it shall never
happen except the Lord preserve us. If our souls are secure in that Ark of
Christ when the devastation and peril comes upon the earth, then we shall, as
the Ark of Noah, rise higher and higher above the confusion and ruin of the old
world.
30 A seed shall serve him;
it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. I love the singular
reference to a seed that shall serve Him! What seed is this? It is the Seed of
Abraham which is, in great form, the Lord Jesus Christ; and in lesser form,
those who are secure in Jesus Christ! They have accepted the Promise of the
Seed made to Father Abraham, and they are, by faith, accounted the true seed of
Israel – not by accident of birth, but by a living faith! I bring to the bar,
the testimony of St. Paul: 13 For the promise, that he
should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through
the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if they which are of the law
be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15 Because the law worketh wrath:
for where no law is, there is no transgression. 16 Therefore it is of faith, that
it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not
to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of
Abraham; who is the father of us all. (Romans 4:13-16) and, 16 Now to Abraham and his
seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of
one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the
covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four
hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the
promise of none effect. 18 For if the inheritance be of the
law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (Gal
3:16-18) I hope the
reader observed that the remnant are the seed of Abraham and not the seeds. Why
is this important. Because we are all One in Jesus Christ – the true Seed of
Promise!
31 They shall come, and shall
declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done
this. (Psalms
22:31) Thanks be to
God, this has happened, and IS happening! We were the “people that shall be
born” and countless future generations of believers, as well.
Here ends the writing of the 22nd Psalm, but not the significance of
its meaning; for its meaning is to us and our children. It is no accident that
the 23rd Psalm follows the 22nd. He has become our Lord,
our Shepherd, our Guide, and our Great Redeemer! “Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the House
of the Lord forever!”
Postlude:
Like Nicodemus, our faith is a growing faith – growing in knowledge, in
courage, and in service. Nicodemus was the member of the Sanhedrin who came to
Jesus first under the cover of darkness, but later boldly to Pilate to claim
the body of the crucified Christ! Mary Magdalene came early, while yet dark, to
anoint a dead body of her Lord. Mary came with a lot of love, and perhaps a
smaller measure of faith, but she came! The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early,
when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from
the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to
Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them,
They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they
have laid him. (John 20:1-2)
Mary was the first person to share the fullness of the
Gospel – the Risen Savior! But Mary’s heart was heavy because there was no dead
body to anoint! Her tears were as profuse as the sea! Little did Mary know that
there was a Risen Lord to behold! The Risen Lord did not remove her tears, but
turned them from tears of deep morning to tears of exultant joy! Mary stood without at the sepulchre
weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And
seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the
feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why
weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I
know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned
herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus
saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom
seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him,
Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will
take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary.
She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. (John
20:11-16) Blinded
by tears of unknowing, her heart was made joyous at the call of her name by
Jesus. No other could call Mary’s name with such compassion and tender regard –
and by that, she KNEW Him!
He has called your name too in the midst of sorrow.
Do you KNOW His voice?
PSALM 22
To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A
Psalm of David.
1
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why
art thou so far from helping me, and
from the words of my roaring?
2
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season,
and am not silent.
3
But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of
Israel.
4
Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5
They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not
confounded.
6
But I am a worm, and no man; a
reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7
All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the
head, saying,
8
He trusted on the LORD that he would
deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9
But thou art he that took me out of
the womb: thou didst make me hope when I
was upon my mother's breasts.
10
I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art
my God from my mother's belly.
11
Be not far from me; for trouble is
near; for there is none to help.
12
Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls
of Bashan have beset me round.
13
They gaped upon me with their mouths,
as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like
wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and
thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they
pierced my hands and my feet.
17
I may tell all my bones: they look and
stare upon me.
18
They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19
But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20
Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21
Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the
unicorns.
22
I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will
I praise thee.
23
Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and
fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24
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.
25
My praise shall be of thee in the great
congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26
The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him:
your heart shall live for ever.
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.
28
For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he
is the governor among the nations.
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.
