#702 A Very Bright Candle Part 3

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

10 On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and 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 within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it. Psalm 22 ESV

Far from me - If only I know You are there then I can make it through this; I may count this present suffering as not. Remember this dear child, "be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay, close by me forever and love me I pray, bless all the dear children in Thy tender care and take us to heaven to live with Thee there." This to shall pass, only be with me through it, that is all. 

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20

“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!” John 16: 32-33

From the horns of the wild oxen - Both the life of David and the life of Christs saw many enemies rise up against God's anointed. David was pursued by Saul who did not want to give up his crown, and the present rulers of the darkness of this age would not like to see Christ succeed. They tried to stone him in their time, but it was not God's time, it was not the Passover yet, for He was that substitution, the Passover lamb. Surely this should give all those who love the Lord a second wind, that He has delivered us before, he has shown us the end of a life dedicated to sin and what would be required to atone for it. I have lived this long against my own incompetence, my own destructive nature. What has been spoken ill of me, God has turned to my good. You have brought me all this way.

I will declare Thy name unto My brethren - The tide has changed, the tape across the line is in view, triumph is assured, and already His mind has gone back to those He has been promised. He wants to tell of the riches of God, to declare His name to those He has called friends, and even more dearly, brethren. This is the testimony.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.…Romans 8: 28-30

That fear the Lord - The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but as a person grows in Christ, the fear of God's wrath becomes more and more replaced with the fear of His disappointment. The thing our Lord seemed to fear most is the loss of His Father's presence. There is no part in this that I have read, which finds men contributing anything but their sin to this most gracious gospel, so all that men have left to do is praise Him. If you have come to look upon the ocean that is your transgressions, the sea you cannot see across, but are now aware of that narrow bridge, then run forth upon it, singing the praises of the One Who built it. 

A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Thecrowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”10 When Jesus had entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”…Matthew 21: 8-10

All the ends of the earth shall remember - Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. 18 And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed,because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 Abraham went back to his servants, and they got up and set out together for Beersheba. And Abraham settled in Beersheba.…Genesis 22: 17-19

It was always a unilateral covenant, always in view of Christ work, not our own, even in the times of Abraham. Those that bring the good news, that point and direct people of every nation and creed away from themselves and to the cross, they are the ones who truly fear and love the Lord. 

That He has done it - Oh hallelujah! It is finished.

Read More

#701 A Very Bright Candle Part 2

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

10 On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and 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 within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it. Psalm 22 ESV

Out of the womb - Like the baby Moses hidden in his little cradle of an ark, so God stayed the hand of Herod away from His Son. He, who was miraculously placed inside the virgin womb, was protected by God from jealous rulers, had a relationship with God from early on. He did not suffer the same infirmity of being spiritually dead as the first Adam became and every human born of Eve was. This is that which consoles Him, that God was with Him from the first, that He caused Christ to trust Him from a babe. This is what Satan must attack, where he tells his minions to chip and tear away, but the Perseverance of the saints is marked and secured well before the devil's time. Make those who trust in God doubt, and those who trust in all else, let them believe without question, let the whole world console them, agree with them, reassure them, but the man who refuses to bow to the system or idols of the day, then let him be given to the lions. 

Be not far from me - Stripped of recognizable features, having your humanity torn from you, lonely as the soul could ever know, and though He must endure this for a little while, it is all infinitely greater than I can put forth in words. This separation from the sense of God's presence is the hell reserved for sin, and for those who cling to sin here, to life now only, with no respect unto eternity, then the worst day here will be like heaven in their thoughts then. He has been abandoned by all his friends, and though God has turned His back in justice, it is only God Who can deliver, no one else can save, and let this be to you an example, no man, no priest can give you assurance, no one can deliver but God. 

Strong bulls of Bashan - Those who should have known him, who should have rejoiced with the Magi, those most learned of Israel, the Pharisees, elders and priests, they would snort from the nostrils, and with wide, open mouths, they would declare Jesus a heretic. The place where all men would need to look for salvation, acknowledging the necessity of this payment for their sin, that this was eternity's Kinsman Redeemer, would be a place despised by the Jewish elite, for "cursed is everyone who hangs from a tree." They saw no victory for God's people here, they wanted His name to be a byword, a curse and struck from the pages of history. He was not a respecter of persons, he did not pay homage to their positions, and though the Scriptures spoke of Him, called for Him, they could not accept Him when He appeared. 

Then Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, “You know Me, and you know where I am from. I have not come on My own accord, but He who sent Me is true. You do not know Him, 29 but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.” 30 So they tried to seize Him, but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.…John 7: 28-30

I am poured out like water - Completely spent, I am giving down to my last. This is the way of obedience unmatched, every ounce of His life, but He still prays. The Psalmist may have related to this as humans do, on some blurred level of what is anxiety, what is pain, but Christ willingly came to this place, wanting to give all to the glory of God. 

Out of joint - David never felt the pain of being nailed to a cross, nor the jarring agony of being lifted into it's base. How unnatural a position to place one's weight upon a nail through your feet. Now to breathe you must feel every pull upon the hands, and every cramp that begs the legs to straighten out must cause the head to spin. I would think this is more than I could do to my worst enemy, yet I know men become so hard of heart. There is nothing that surprises me about men here, only that God would agree to this, that is the puzzle and the beauty of this. My pride could not handle their taunting, my ego would not have lasted through their kangaroo court. Every movement, involuntary or intentional would be horrendous, and topped with undeserved rebuke.  

My heart is like wax - How close He must be, and the two thieves that suffered beside Him, they felt all the physical pain, but knew nothing of His loss. They knew yet nothing of the wrath of God that fell upon Him, or that all consuming fire from heaven that melted Him to the core. 

My tongue sticks to my jaws - He is spent, thirsty, and earlier they had offered Him wine, but He had spit it out. His body is locking up on Him, the dust is beckoning Him, though He did not come from it. Like an old, baked, broken piece of pottery, He is without moisture.

For dogs encompass me - There were the religious leaders, the bulls, but now as the deer panteth for the water, it is surrounded by the pack. There are those who call themselves members of the body that are quick to tear down. He is surrounded by a howling mass, eager for His blood, not comprehending the significance of what is happening before them. Salvation is near, but they can only mock it. The soldiers now cast lots for His garments. He is only worth that much to them.

they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified Him,they divided up His garments by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.…Matthew 27: 34-36

When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified Him there, along with the criminals, one on His right and the other on His left. 34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots. 35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”…Luke 23: 33-35

Read More

#700 A Very Bright Candle Part 1

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried and were rescued;

in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;

they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.

10 On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Be not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is none to help.

12 Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and 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 within my breast;

15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

17 I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28 For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30 Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it. Psalm 22 ESV

A Psalm of David, and if we were uncertain before it will become evident now that David is often writing and singing prophetically. These are the words echoed by Christ upon the cross, by a king who did not know such means of torture nor lived in Roman times. There are things described here that offer another candle of light, a way to examine redemptive history, looking forward to the coming of Messiah. As far forward as Christians may claim it looks, and as old as these poems may be, the idea is yet older still. 

So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and every beast of the field! On your belly will you go, and dust you will eat, all the days of your life. 15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3: 14-15

1Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. 2“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.”…Genesis 22: 1-2

Just then, the Angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the Angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.” 13Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.…Genesis 22: 11-13

Substitution

In truth there was no reason to write any of the Old Testament if there was no mediator, no promised substitution, it all points to a just and loving God, a Holy God and a perfect sacrifice. To write of God's holiness, the fall of mankind, sin, the law and death without the promise of an acceptable sacrifice would be vain, and that God cannot be. 

45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” 47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He is calling Elijah.”…Matthew 27: 45-47

My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me - To those who are born spiritually dead this is incomprehensible, and to those who are made alive it is only through a glass and by faith that we come to see such a hell. You have been nailed to a cross, dearest Savior, You have been whipped and mocked beyond my egos ability to comprehend, yet for You this is the worst portion, that You have taken on my sin, and God has unleashed His wrath and turned His back upon You. God hates sin and You became sin for me, to justify me, to redeem me. The feeling of separation from the Father, Who You have never been apart from, that You have existed with before time, that to You is the most crippling thing, to be forsaken. It seems a light thing to some of us, to be eternally separated from the Creator, Who we could not come into being without. Light, life, truth and love, infinitely so, or justice, wrath and separation to infinity, and we think somehow we can decide that it doesn't matter.

But You do not answer - I cry, and this would be strange for someone Who was always in constant fellowship with the Father. David experienced this as a type in the shadow lands of the coming reality. I have felt a measure of brokenness before, where I asked God, pleaded with Him, but felt as if my prayers did not have the fuel it would take to break free of earth's gravity. There were many times in David's life that he was distressed for his life, by his enemies, even his family, but the puzzlement here is a life lived perfectly. David, myself, every human being that I have ever met, could not make here a more just argument then He Who knew no sin, why? Why have You turned Your back to Me? He tells Peter he will deny Him three times, He knew they would all run like sheep, that Judas would betray Him, that He would have to explain all this to them yet again after His resurrection, but their denial of Him was nothing compared to the quietness of God, the abrupt stop in communion. 

Yet You are holy - Why is this happening? Because God is holy, and sin cannot stand before holiness. God has decided to love us while we are yet in our sin, but since He is infinitely holy there has to be a substitution, someone infinitely pure. So unless Jesus is God incarnate, infinitely good and pleasing to God, it can't happen. The finite does not fix the eternal, and God is not the One Who needs to change. He does not need us, He is holy and we are not, yet He goes out of His way to bring us to Himself, to reconcile us through His Son. 

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.…John 1: 1-2

But I am a worm and not a man - His trial was illegal, His sentencing abrupt and cruel, for what did they punish Him? There is not even a hint of human decency here, those who were the law reverted from justice to politics. He was not received by His own, not treated as a citizen, yet He is God and here not laying claim to that most appropriate of stations. I like how Spurgeon puts it:  

“This verse is a miracle in language. How could the Lord of glory be brought to such abasement as to be not only lower than the angels, but even lower than men. What a contrast between ‘I am’ and ‘I am a worm‘!” (Spurgeon)

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who,existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.…Philippians 2: 5-7

All who see Me mock Me - You claimed God as Your Father, some thought You were a prophet, You healed many, raised some from the dead and cast out demons, but look at yourself. If You truly belonged to God, would He let His own Son suffer in such a way? "King of the Jews," and yet they will have nothing to do with You. He had already confronted them about this before, "Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem who kills the prophets", they did the same thing their forefathers did to men who were only His shadow. He told His disciples that if the world hated Him they would hate you also, and blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake, rejoice and be exceeding glad. Sinful man has not changed, this is how they treated the prophets of old. 

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Matthew 27: 32-44

The soldiers first take a swat at him before this, dressing him up in a fine robe after he was beaten. They make themselves drunk as men do, finding themselves clever, not realizing it is at the expense of God, but also their own humanity. What do you punish Him for? For healing people, for claiming to be God, for not kissing your hand, what part of this have you proven without doubt? They punch Him and then ask that He prophesy, "who hit You?" 

He trust in the Lord, let Him deliver Him - Here we go, men are going to decide whether this is Christ, whether or not He is Who He claims to be. Never mind what scripture says of Him, never mind every lamb, bull or other shadow of this Substitution, "if You are God, then call down angels." This is the worse temptation for the One Who has never been apart from the Father, the One Who has enjoyed a perfect sense of love and community as the eternally begotten Son. They question His relationship to God, that He delighted in Him, so if this is the case then let Him save You. Fools we are, for if God moves a hand against this here, then we are all doomed. Read Psalm 22 again, this was known to God, the mockery, the ridicule, the slander, the ungrateful nature of the objects of love. 

No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.…John 3: 13-15

In Moses Time

Read More