Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days

The background to Ps 24 is the ascension of the Ark of the Covenant (God’s earthly throne) to its rightful place in Jerusalem in a great procession, with much rejoicing (2Sam 6, 1Chron 13,15). It signified God arising to be enthroned in Jerusalem, His chosen dwelling place (Ps 132). The event’s importance is reflected in the pomp & pageantry of Ps 24. This is a type of Christ’s Ascension to sit on God's throne in the New Jerusalem & future ascension to sit on His earthly throne in Jerusalem. What gave significance to this event is the holiness of the Hill of the Lord (His dwelling place) and the King of Glory enthroned on the Ark. The question & answers in Ps 24 were part of the dramatic ceremony, enacted before the city gates. The answers affirm only the King of Glory is worthy to enter thru the Gates and ascend to His place on the holy Hill. Likewise, Christ alone (the King of Glory) is worthy to ascend into Heaven, but He did it for us, so that in Christ, we also can ascend into God's holy Presence in Heaven. Ps 24 is in 3 parts: *(1) The Sovereign Creator, who owns all things (v1-2). *(2) The Heavenly Temple – the requirements for Ascension (v3-6), how can a man know such a high God, stand before Him & receive His blessing? Perfection is required, which is a problem for us. *(3) The true Redeemer – the King of Glory (v7-10). God became a man, and made a way to bring men to God.

*PART 1. The Truth about God (v1-2): "The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness (expanded in next line), the world and those who dwell therein (its produce and people)" (v1). This is quoted x2 in 1Cor 10:25-28 (see Ps 50:10-11). WHY does it all belong to Him? He is its Maker & Manager: "For He has (1) founded it on the seas (Maker, Gen 1:2,9,10, 2Pet 3:5), and (2) established it on the waters (rivers, symbolic of His Providence)" (v2). ‘Established’ (imperfect tense) speaks of His ongoing management of the earth. He’s the rightful Owner of all things. We are just tenant possessors of the earth & stewards of God’s resources, for which we’ll give account. Our life is not for us to do with as we please. God’s authority is absolute over all, He has the right to do whatever He wants with us & the world. When we see this, it humbles us. The big question we must ask is: "How can I be right with God?" This seems impossible due to the infinite gap between us as sinful creatures & the holy God. Holiness is represented by height, so God is high above us (Is 57:15, 55:8). For man to be right with God & commune with Him requires us to ascend, but how is this possible?

This is what David asks in PART 2: God’s requirements for Ascension (v3-6): "Who may ASCEND the Hill of the Lord? (Heavenly Jerusalem) or STAND in His Holy Place?" (v3). The answer, the moral requirements for ascension, is given in v4: "(1) He who has clean hands & (2) a pure heart" (v4a). Here Hebrew parallelism works like stereo vision to give a full 3D picture, emphasising both his (1) outward actions & (2) inward attitudes & motives must be pure & perfect. This is followed by another parallelism emphasising (1) perfect holiness & (2) perfect righteousness: "(1) who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor (2) sworn deceitfully" (v4b). These represent the (1) God-ward requirement of true worship, free from idolatry, and (2) man-ward requirement of integrity, being a person of our word (no lies, deception or bearing false witness). 'Idol' also means vanity (that which is hollow). Rather than finding meaning, comfort & identity in the Creator, man seeks it in the creation, superficial things, even things with no reality, that don’t ring true & against nature (like gender ideology). Thus, God requires perfection (Matt 5:48), but all sin (only Jesus fulfils these requirements), so what hope have we? But v5 says God provides a way for men to be saved and be made righteous by grace: "He shall receive blessing from the Lord (as a free-gift), and righteousness from the God of his salvation (enabling him to ascend)" (v5). These ones who ascend to God, not by their own righteousness, but by His grace, are described as God-seekers: "This is Jacob, the generation (the group of people) of those who SEEK Him, who SEEK Your face. Selah" (v6). They want to know Him & be right with Him. He promises they will find Him (Deut 4:29, Jer 29:13, Matt 7:7-8). David uses Jacob to represent those who are imperfect, but seek God (Gen 32:9-12), whom He brings to Himself by a process of coming to saving faith, when they come to an end of themselves & their own strength, knowing they can’t stand before God on their own, and so cling to Him for blessing (Gen 32:24-29). So, to ascend to God requires a perfect righteousness, which God graciously gives to those who seek Him. How He made salvation possible, solving our sin-problem is revealed in PART 3: The King of Glory (v7-10), which describes the Ascension of Christ, the righteous Man, the King of glory - the subject of the next study.

Knowing the faithfulness of God is foundational to your faith in God. Peter builds your faith by revealing what God's word reveals about His absolute faithfulness to keep all His promises to us.

Pastor Derek and Howard Condor discuss the identity of Tarshish in the Bible, and conclude that the evidence points clearly to Great Britain. They also look at 3 end-time Prophecies about Tarshish, and what they mean for this nation.

We study Ps 23 thru the eyes of our personal covenant relationship with the LORD = YEHOVAH, God's covenant Name. 8 compound Covenant Names cover all blessings of the New Covenant. The 1st is: “The LORD is my SHEPHERD” (v1), Yehovah Rohi. Jesus said: “I AM the good SHEPHERD” of Ps 23 (Jn 10:11,14), speaking of His loving care for us. I AM = YEHOVAH, so His I AM claims correspond to the YEHOVAH Names. As our risen Shepherd, as Ps 23 says, He leads us into our full inheritance, described by these Names. True shepherding means a devoted personal relationship between shepherd & sheep. He lives in personal relationship with his sheep & knows them all by name; they know his voice & follow him. This is seen in the word MY: ‘The Lord is MY Shepherd.' He cares for me, watches over, leads, feeds & preserves me. His constant presence protects them from danger. David, an experienced shepherd, knew of what he talked, a man (who sought) after God’s own heart to know Him (1Sam 13:14, Acts 13:22) and God revealed His heart of love to Him, the heart of a shepherd, that just as he cared for his sheep, protecting, providing, leading & rescuing them, so that’s how God is toward His people. As he was devoted to his sheep, so God is fully committed to us, laying down His life for us. He found comfort & security in the covenant-keeping God caring for him, as a devoted shepherd for his sheep.

v1b: “I shall not want” = Yehovah Yireh, the LORD my PROVIDER (seeing ahead & providing for us by His Sacrifice, Gen 22;14). He said: “I AM the BREAD of LIFE” (Jn 6:35). By the provision of Himself, in His death & resurrection He meets all our needs (Ro 8:32, 5000). “I’ll not want” confesses covenant confidence in Him. v2: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters” = Yehovah Shalom, the Lord my Peace (Jud 6:24). He said: “I AM the VINE” (Jn 15:1, Eph 2:14). v3: “He restores my soul” = Yehovah Rophe, the Lord my Healer (Ex 15:26). He said: “I AM the Resurrection & Life” (Jn 11:26). v3b: “He leads me in the paths of RIGHTEOUSNESS for His Name’s sake” = Yehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord my Righteousness (Jer 23:6, 33:16). He said: “I AM the DOOR” into God's Presence & Kingdom (Jn 10:7,9). v4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for YOU are WITH ME Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” = Yehovah Shammah, the LORD is PRESENT (Ezek 48:35). He said: “I AM the LIGHT” (Jn 8:12, 9:5). As sheep on their own are helpless, lost & defenceless, so without our Shepherd we’d be destroyed. Ps 23 is most beloved for believers, for it tells us we’re never alone, without help or hope. Now the scene changes. The Shepherd is now a King giving a bountiful Banquet. v5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” = Yehovah Nissi, the Lord my Banner of Victory (Ex 17:15). The risen Christ claims this (Rev 1:18). A good host gave protection & provision for his guests. To prepare (set in order) suggests foresight & care, 'before me' means personal provision. He knows all our needs & prepared His perfect provision for us of every blessing, in this life (with our enemies present) & eternity. To dine together signified abiding friendship. In context, to sit at table with the Lord & partake of the meal He’s prepared is the manifestation of our covenant relationship & close fellowship (Rev 3:20). He shows His love, by preparing an everlasting feast for us in His Presence, under His Banner of Protection, for He won the Victory for us (Song 2:4). A fulfilment of this is Holy Communion. He invites us to come & partake of Himself. Every blessing revealed by Ps 23 & 8 Covenant Names is ours in Christ. He wants us to draw near & receive of His abundance. v5b: “You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over” = Yehovah M’kaddesh, the LORD my Sanctifier (Lev 20:8). He said: “I AM the WAY, TRUTH & LIFE” (Jn 14:6). A host anoints his guest with oil (Lk 7:44-46), representing sanctification & empowerment with His Spirit. ‘My cup runs over’ speaks of a generous host, ever filling our cup to overflowing (Eph 5:18), giving us life & joy in His Spirit (Jn 10:10). His abundant provision shows His great love for us, but the main blessing of the Banquet is to be with Him. Ps 23 concludes with a summary of the results of the Shepherd’s Ministry to us in this life & eternity, v6: “Surely goodness (grace) & mercy (chesed) shall follow (pursue) me (with vigor) all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the House of the Lord (Heaven) forever.” He’s sure of enjoying His Presence all his life, & that He’ll lead him thru the valley of death to Heaven, where he’ll dwell with Him forever - a key verse to comfort those facing death. Don’t follow (covet) blessings, but follow our Shepherd & the blessings will follow. His Ministry as our personal Shepherd continues forever (Rev 7:15-17). Grace & mercy covers all. In grace He gives what we don’t deserve & in mercy He doesn’t give what we deserve.

Psalm 23:1: “The Lord is my Shepherd” - a confession of personal faith & submission. He’s my Shepherd, Owner, Lord, Leader (sheep belong to their shepherd; they submit, follow & trust him). Only believers humble themselves to be His sheep and admit they need, belong to & follow their Shepherd, trusting Him to provide. Since the Lord is my Shepherd: “I shall not want” (v1b), a summary of His provision of every blessing, unfolded in detail in the rest of Ps 23: "I’ll not want for peace, protection, guidance, blessing etc. Also, a statement of contentment: “He’s all I want.” “He makes me to lie down (settles me down) in green pastures” (v2a) - satisfied peace & rest. Shepherds rested their flocks at noon (Song 1:7). Sheep only lie down having had plenty to eat & drink, not threatened by wild animals or troubled by parasites or flies and if there’s no friction among the sheep. Rest comes, for the shepherd has dealt with fear, friction, flies & famine. Christ brings us into soul-rest: “He leads (not drives) me beside the still (gentle) waters” (v2b). He plans my life, knows the best way & leads me in it – oriental shepherds go ahead & lead their sheep. They know his voice & follow him. Jesus the Prince of Peace can’t give us peace apart from Himself, as He is Peace. So, if you go away from Him, you lose peace. Sheep can’t drink from swift waters. He supplies us with grass to chew (His WORD) and gentle waters to drink (His SPIRIT).

“He restores (lit: 'brings back') my soul” (v3a). Translations emphasise the reviving of the soul. The literal meaning includes something more important, the restoration of a soul by repentance (Gal 6:1). He brings my soul back to God, resulting in the restoring of life & peace. Thus, it speaks of the rescue of a lost sheep, who has gone astray, a vital part of a shepherd's work (Ezek 34:4-6,11-12), a picture of salvation (Isa 53:6). Lost souls are sheep without a shepherd, and Jesus came in compassion to gather His flock (Matt 9:36). This aspect of the Good Shepherd’s ministry is emphasised in the NT (1Pet 2:25). The Parable of the Good Shepherd (Matt 18:11-13) reveals Christ, the Son of Man, is the Good Shepherd, with sacrificial love for each of His sheep. He claimed to be the Good Shepherd of Ps 23, who came from Heaven to seek & save His lost sheep, by bringing us back to Himself. Luke 15:4-7 adds detail: “When he has found it (the lost sheep), he lays it on his shoulders (salvation by grace) rejoicing" (v5). "Likewise, there will be more joy in Heaven over one SINNER who REPENTS” (v7). This proves it’s a picture of salvation by Christ thru repentant faith. When a sheep knows it is lost, it’s paralysed by fear & lies down, or gets caught in a bush or ditch. It’s helpless to save itself. But the Shepherd loves him & seeks Him, calling out to him. When he hears His voice, he bleats (we call on His Name to save us), He lifts him up & carries him home. We repent from going our own way, call on the Shepherd and trust Him to save us, rather than running away. His rejoicing over 1 saved sheep reveals God’s personal love for us. To save the sheep He had to go to where he was. So, to save us, God had to come to earth as a man. So, Ps 23 can only be fulfilled by God becoming a man in the person of Jesus to save us. Having restored me to Himself: “He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake (for His glory & reputation, displaying the glory of His grace)” (v3b). The Good Shepherd is our Leader & Guide. He plans the best route for the day. The sheep didn’t need to know where to go; just to know where the Shepherd was and follow Him. The Lord leads us into abundance of life & provision. He leads us on the right path for our life. Trust Him, for He’ll lead you well, in accordance with His good Name.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for YOU are with me" (v4a). At times it was necessary to go thru deep gorges in the shadows, vulnerable to robbers & predators, representing times of danger, when death casts a shadow over us, but if we’re with Jesus, our Shepherd, we need not even fear death, for He defeated death for us. He’ll be with us even thru death. v4 speaks of His Protection through His Presence with us both now & forever, for He’ll never leave us. Note the change from HE to YOU. The sheep draws closer to Him in danger. He’s now alongside us, rather than ahead. His Presence protects us from evil, removing our fear. Sheep don’t last long on their own, our safety is in staying close to the Shepherd. “Your ROD and Your STAFF, they comfort me” (v4b). The Shepherd manifests His Presence and so comforts the sheep (1) by His ROD (a club with iron nails in its head, like a mace, used to strike His enemies, 1Sam 17:34-35), corresponding to His WORD. The STAFF was used on the sheep if it started to go the wrong way, to pull it to safety if it needed rescuing, and to count the sheep (Mic 7:14) – a symbol of His SPIRIT.

We introduce Psalm 23, the most popular of Psalms, which despite being short, speaks in poetic beauty to all our needs in life, as well as in facing death, imparting comfort & faith to our souls. It is a declaration of trust in God’s goodness, with no complaints or requests – a confident confession of faith. A great thing to do is to declare it boldly over your life. It has a close relationship with Ps 22, which describes the Good Shepherd, who dies for the sheep & rises again, and provides abundant life for His people (John 10). Then Ps 23 develops this theme in detail, describing this risen Shepherd, leading His sheep, who hear His voice and follow Him, into abundant & eternal life, purchased through His death. Through knowing & following Him, our Shepherd leads us into every blessing of the new covenant (Heb 13:20). We can only claim Ps 23 if we have come to Christ through faith in His death & resurrection (Ps 22). We must meet Christ in Ps 22, before we experience Him in Ps 23.

It starts with an outstanding claim that "the Lord is my Shepherd" (v1). This describes His personal care for us, His commitment to us, to provide for us, protect us and lead us as our Shepherd. This is the translation of Jehovah Rohi - one of the 8 Covenant Names of God. God as the Shepherd of His people (sheep) is major theme of Scripture. We look at how Ps 23 fits into the wider biblical revelation of God as our Shepherd, and note the special place it has within this revelation. God is the Shepherd of Israel (Gen 49:24, Ps 77:20, 78:52, 79:13, 80:1, 95:7, 100:3). Ps 23 is special because it emphases God is our personal Shepherd, as well as being the Shepherd of His people as a whole. The human leaders of Israel, including David, are also described as shepherds - His under-shepherds (Ps 78:70-71, Isa 63:11). These 2 concepts of divine & human shepherds come together in the God-man Messiah, who would be the good Shepherd of His people. The sinful leaders of Israel had failed to shepherd & feed His people as they should, and so the sheep were scattered (Jer 23:1-3, Ezek 34:1-10). In response, God declared He Himself would be their Shepherd, by personally coming to the earth a Man (the Messiah) to shepherd His people, saving, restoring, protecting and feeding them, leading them into peace, good pasture & abundant life (Jer 23:4-6, Ezek 34:11-16, 23-31). Other prophecies of the God-man Messianic Shepherd are Micah 5:2,4, Isa 40:3,9-11, Zech 13:7. This was fulfilled by Jesus (Matt 2:6, 26:31, Luke 19:10, John 10). Jesus said He was the fulfilment of these prophecies in John 10, where He claimed He was the true Shepherd, who alone entered through the door of the virgin birth (v1-3). He comes to call His people to Himself: "and when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice" (v4). He comes to save us and bring us into abundant and eternal life (v7-10). By claiming He is 'THE Door' into God's Kingdom (v7) and 'THE Good Shepherd' of Ps 23 (v11), He was claiming to be the true Shepherd prophesied in the Old Testament, the Messiah-King, even God manifested in flesh. This was a Divine claim: 'I AM the Good Shepherd' = Jehovah Rohi (Ps 23:1). Good (kalos) does not just mean moral excellence, but that He is excellent in His shepherding, in fulfilment of Ps 23. He repeats this claim in v14 adding: "I know My sheep, and am known by My own", the very feature unique to Ps 23. He demonstrated His selfless love for the sheep by giving His life for them (v11,15, 17-18), adding that He will also take up His life again in resurrection, another claim to Deity (v17,18). Thus, He will save His sheep through His death & resurrection. Now we can see why Ps 23 could only find its full fulfilment in Christ. For example: "Yea, though I walk through the VALLEY of the shadow of DEATH, I will fear no evil; for You are WITH ME” (v4). This only became fully true, when God became one of us, to identify with us (Immanuel: “God with us”) and personally lead us through the valley of death into Heaven's glory, so that we: "will dwell in the House of the Lord forever" (v6). This would not have been possible if God had not become a man to shepherd us to glory. Through taking on Himself a human nature, He went through death & resurrection for us, so that if we trust in Him, through our union with His humanity, we enter through the Door (Himself) into eternal life. Only true believers in Christ are His sheep, who receive the blessings of Ps 23 (v26). He calls them to Himself through the Gospel, and they enter into a personal relationship with Him, and they show their faith by following Him (submitting to His leadership) - v27, and He gives them eternal life & security in His & His Father's hands, in fulfilment of Ps 23:6 (v28-30). He gathers all these sheep into one Flock (the true Church), of both Jews and Gentiles (v16).

Psalm 37:4-5: “Seek your HAPPINESS in the LORD, and He will give you your heart's desire. Give yourself to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will help you.” The love that God has for YOU is unconditional, He will never stop loving YOU. You are of infinite worth and value to Him, because He loves you. Just think about it - the greatest, the most powerful, the most important Person ADORES YOU. He prizes YOU as His most valuable treasure. You hold such value in His sight that He sent His most precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to the earth to die in your place, to pay for your sins, all for the purpose of bringing you back to Him, so He could manifest His love to you, as He longs to do. Our wonderful Heavenly Father desires a very CLOSE relationship with all His children. He is calling and leading each one of us into a closer love relationship with Him, and He wants us to seek our happiness in Him, rather than in things. Psalm 27:8: “When You said: “SEEK My FACE (Presence)”: My heart said to You: “Your FACE (Presence) Lord, I will SEEK.” “My heart has heard You say: “Come and talk with Me.” And my heart responds: “Lord, I am coming” (NLT). To SEEK is to crave and search earnestly, until the object of your desire has been found. None of us is perfect, or ever will be in this life. But even though you may be struggling with some things in your flesh, or soulish realm, do not cut your self off from worshiping God. Do not deprive God of the very thing Jesus suffered & died to give Him - your love, worship and your intimate fellowship with Him (John 4:21,23-24).

God is prodigal in His love for us. Prodigal means excessive, plenty too much, over the top. The Parable of the Prodigal Son, is not so much about the son, who was prodigal in his sinning, but it is mostly about the father, who was prodigal in his great love for his sinning son. This is a picture of God’s love for us. Luke 15:20: “He arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” God longs to fellowship with us. When David cried out to the Lord (Ps 27:7), the Lord replied by saying: “SEEK My FACE” (v8). Ps 27:8: “When You (Lord) said: “Seek My Face (in prayer, require My Presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You: “Your Face (Presence), O Lord, I will seek.” God is the all-sufficient One, so He can never be lonely. From eternity, there has been perfect love, unity & fellowship between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – the Triune Godhead. God has NO NEEDS, but He has VERY STRONG DESIRES, such as His desire for our love. He loved us so much, that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us, and redeem us from our sins, and purchase us for Himself, so we might belong to God forever as His children (John 3:16). Ephesians 2:4-7: “God, who is rich in mercy, for His GREAT LOVE wherewith He LOVED US, even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ (by grace are you saved), and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So that, in the Ages to come (for all eternity) He might show (demonstrate) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” God is a Giver, not a Withholder! Seeing how much He loves us should make us want to worship Him. Isn’t it breath-taking that we have the ability to bless such a loving Creator, the All-Sufficient One. How amazing that our love and worship can minister to God and give Him great pleasure! God has given us free will, so LOVING God is our CHOICE. He will never force us to love Him. WORSHIPING GOD is a CHOICE. God has placed within each one of us the ability to love, bless & minister to Him in return. But He will never force you to love Him. By giving us free-will, He has made Himself vulnerable to us. We can choose to love Him in return, or turn our back on Him, and break His heart. Hosea 11:3,8: “It was I who taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he does not know or even care that it was I who took care of him... Oh, how can I give you up Israel? How can I let you go? My heart is torn within Me, and my compassion overflows.” Will you break His heart by withholding your love from Him? Our loving worship BLESSES God immensely. It brings Him tremendous pleasure. He DELIGHTS in our worship. It brings Him JOY. If you knew what God really wanted from you, would you do it? Will you give Him your love? God LONGS for intimacy with us, more than we will ever understand in this life. He DESIRES sweet communion with us, more than we desire intimacy with Him. It is so amazing that Almighty God makes Himself available to us every moment of every day! We must EXPECT that He is giving us His undivided attention, when we come to worship Him. Hebrews 13:5: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Pastor Derek puts together clues from the Bible, ancient history and modern science to prove Tarshish is Great Britain. This matters, because 3 end-time Prophecies about Tarshish give us hope for this nation.

With the victorious cry: "You have answered Me!" (v21), Ps 22 transitions from lament to thanksgiving, travail to triumph, from prayer of suffering, alone & forsaken in the dark, to praise for salvation in the light of God's Presence, declaring the universal & eternal consequences of His sacrificial death on our behalf, from a prophecy of the Cross to His resurrection, ushering in a new age of grace (v22-31), including the forming of a worshipping community, expanding from Israel (v23) to the world (v25-29), as the Gospel is proclaimed (v30-31). It predicts the universal & eternal significance of His death & resurrection. 1st He announces the formation of His new spiritual family, the Church, reborn by His resurrection as the firstborn of many brethren (v22, Rom 8:29). His desire is for God to be glorified by His people, especially as they gather together, for praise is the repeating theme of all these verses. God’s glory is the ultimate fruit of His work. v23-24: “You who fear the Lord, praise Him!” (true believers fear God; true praise is from submitted hearts). “All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and fear Him, all you offspring of Israel! For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction (v1-21) of the afflicted (Messiah); nor has He hidden His face from Him; but when He cried to Him, He heard (by raising Him from death).” This predicts the Gospel will go 1st to Israel, that God has fully accepted the value of His sacrificial death (v1-21) as the sufficient basis (payment) for our salvation and has declared this by His resurrection. The risen Christ calls all Israel to respond & glorify God by believing in Him & His finished work, submitting to & praising Him, for what He’s accomplished. Then v25 predicts the formation of a great Assembly of believers, united to Christ, praising God together, growing & expanding across the world (also v27): “My praise shall be of You in the great Assembly” (v25a). A reason why they praise is they share in His great sacrificial feast: "I will pay My vows before those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be satisfied" (v25b-26a). A man in trouble prays for God’s help (v1-21) & makes vows to fulfil after his deliverance, including a peace offering for thanksgiving in the Temple, then sharing the benefits of the sacrifice with family, friends & poor in a communal meal before God, joyfully partaking of the sacrifice (Lev 7:15-16, Deut 12;17-19). Likewise, Christ purchased every blessing for us. He vowed to God to offer His sacrificial Blood in the heavenly Temple on our behalf & share His purchased blessings with us in an everlasting sacrificial Feast. He fulfils His vow, inviting us to come to God to partake. As the Sacrifice, He shares Himself with us. Only believers (poor in spirit) respond, eat & are satisfied. His provision is abundant & sufficient for all our needs. "Those who seek Him will (find Him and) praise the Lord" (v26b). Seekers become singers. The blessings are for this life & eternal life & glory with God: "Let your heart live forever!" (v26c).

Next, we see the conversion of the Gentiles in the Church Age & Millennium as a result of His Sacrifice: "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You." A picture of true conversion (prodigal son): (1) REMEMBER - come to a right mind about God, (2) REPENT - turn from sin to God. (3) REVERENCE - the fruit of this repentance is a lifestyle of worship. This Gentile salvation is only accomplished by Christ (Isa 42,49,53, Gen 12:1-3). Thus, the success of the Gospel proves Jesus is the Christ. It's clear these verses are not about David. This victory is the basis for God’s Kingdom on earth: "For the Kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations" (v28). Christ will be made Lord of all people in every realm (v29) - fulfilled (Phil 2:9-11, Ro 14:10-11). The last verses predict the propagation of salvation by the Gospel from one generation to the next: "A posterity (seed - future generations, or 'His seed', born again spiritual offspring, Isa 53:10) shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation" (v30). One way they serve Him is by the Gospel. "They will come (to God, to Christ, & come forth to new life), and declare His righteousness (all He did in His perfect life & death, and in giving His perfect righteousness to us) to a people, who will be born (again) that He has DONE this.” This is the message, that "He has FINISHED it" (in 2Chr 4:11 this word describes the finishing of the Temple. Likewise, Jesus finished the work to make us His Temple). Thus, the burden of the Gospel is His finished work. Jesus quoted this verse on the Cross, just before He died in John 19:30: “Jesus said: “It is finished!” May we see our salvation fully accomplished by Him. He paid in full for our forgiveness & abundant & eternal life. Jesus quoted the 1st & last verse on the Cross, showing all Ps 22 is messianic.

The 1st Part of Psalm 22 (v1-21) is a Prophecy of Christ’s suffering & prayers on the Cross. Its 3rd Lamentation (v12-18), describes His physical sufferings inflicted by the Romans, described as DOGS (v16), and oppression by demonic powers (BULLS, v12) & Satan (LION, v13, 1Pet 5:8). Then He turns to God asking Him to draw near to Him, release His mighty power on His behalf (‘O My strength’), deliver, help & save Him (v19-21a). In this prayer He asks for deliverance from the same 3 animals, causing His suffering: DOG (v20), LION (v21), WILD OXEN (Reem, an extinct massive wild BULL, v21). We note the Chiastic Structure of these animal verses (His prayer names them in reverse order to His lament), so we have in His lament: (1) BULLS (v12), (2) LION (v13), (3) DOGS (v16), and in His prayer: (3) DOG (v20), (2) LION (v21) and (1) BULLS (v21). This means we have 3 sets of parallel verses to be compared. In particular, v16, where DOGS PIERCE His hand & feet (the key act in crucifixion), and v20, where the DOG’s power is in the SWORD (of capital punishment) are parallel, confirming ‘they pierced my hands & feet’ is the correct translation, rather than ‘like a lion’ which destroys the symmetry.

His prayer concludes with a triumphant declaration: “You have answered Me” (v21b). This dramatic change of tone marks the transition to Part 2 (v22-31), a Prophecy of His resurrection, declared in faith on the Cross, knowing God will answer His Prayer for deliverance from death & enemies (v1-21), by raising Him from death, resulting in God’s salvation going to the whole world (v22-31). At this point, it dramatically transitions from a lament-prayer of suffering in the DARK to thanksgiving for salvation in the LIGHT. Dawn is when light overcomes darkness, and this is His announcement of the dawning of a new day, not just for Himself, but for all His people, the dawning of a new day of history, brought about by His resurrection at dawn on Sunday, April 3rd AD 33. The Light (Christ) has overcome the darkness by His death & resurrection! At this point, Psalm 22 moves from travail to triumph, from suffering to the glory that would follow. It’s significant that the title is the ‘Hind of the Morning’ or ‘Deer of the Dawn.’ Christ is the deer, hunted by the lion, dogs & wild bulls, springing up in new life to victory in resurrection power, bringing in the dawning of a new day. This is a Prophecy that this sinless man, who is executed, will be resurrected. It reveals His dramatic reversal of fortunes, from depths of despair to exuberant praise. for God has heard His prayer.

v22: “I will declare Your Name to MY BRETHREN; in the midst of the Assembly (Church) I will praise You.” Before He was alone and surrounded by enemies. He’s no longer alone, but in the midst of a great congregation of His friends. The 1st thing He wants to do is to praise God in the Assembly. This shows the importance of public praise, and that Jesus is in the midst when we gather together in His Name (Matt 18:20), revealing God to us, and glorifying God through us, empowering our praises & preaching (John 17:26). This verse also announces the 1st accomplishment of His death & resurrection - the creation and formation of a new spiritual family in Christ, the Birth of His Church. This is signified by Him calling us His BRETHREN. Thru His resurrection, as the Head of the New Creation of humanity, He’s now the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29, Col 1:18, Heb 12:23). Believers sharing in His resurrection life are now BORN AGAIN, sons of God, by His resurrection (1Pet 1:3), and so are members of God’s family. His life is our life, and our lives belong to Him. The New Birth is a New Covenant reality, not available before. ‘Brethren’ also speaks of His ongoing humanity, and reveals His purpose in becoming a man was to bring men to God, so we would be born again into His forever family, and might all know and praise Him. Immediately after He rose, He said to Mary: “Go to MY BRETHREN and say to them: ‘I am ascending to My Father & your Father, and to My God & your God” (John 20:17). He was declaring to her that Ps 22:22 was now being fulfilled, that we are now in the 2nd Part of Ps 22, just as He’d declared v1 on the Cross to tell us He was fulfilling Part 1. He was telling them that to understand the new reality, study the 2nd half of Ps 22. (He’d not used this description ‘MY BRETHREN’ before, as it reflects the new reality, which Ps 22 predicted with the same term). He reinforced this by saying that His Father was also now their Father, so they were in the same covenant relationship with God as He was. This vital verse is quoted in Hebrews 2:11-12. This is another proof that the whole Psalm is Messianic, fulfilled by Jesus. It confirms that the fruit of His work is that we would be reborn from the same womb as Christ, through His death & resurrection, so that in His humanity, He is now our brother, the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29).