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6.27.2008

Psalm Friday

He makes Everything Beautiful
Psalm Friday
Psalm 22, continued

We will continue on in our journey today through Psalm 22, the Psalm of the Cross. We have heard the mobs of angry people screaming insults at our Lord. Our hearts have ached with unspeakable pain knowing that we were the ones for whom He died to save. Today, my friend won’t be any different. Today our eyes will once again behold a picture we will not care to see and our ears will hear words we’ll wish were never uttered. As hard as it might be, I believe this is a journey you and I must continue on with; because it is on this journey that we see the beautiful love our God has for us.

“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. All
who see Me mock Me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ‘He trusts in the
LORD; let the LORD rescue Him. Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.’”
Psalm 22:6-8, NIV
My mind cannot even begin to grasp the emotions Christ would have felt as He hung upon Calvary’s cross. Oh, how His heart must have ached as He looked into the eyes of men and women as they hurled insults at Him. To them He was nothing; not even a man, but only a worm. He was despised by those He loved so dearly. He was ridiculed and mocked.

“And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You
who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the
Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking
with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If
He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will
believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for
He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Even the robbers who were crucified with Him
reviled Him with the same thing.”
Matthew 27:39-44, NKJV

“If You are the Son of God, then why don’t You save Yourself? Come on Jesus, show us what You’re made of. Call down ten thousand angels to rescue You. Where’s Your God now?” Over and over and over these insults rang in His ears. One by one by one they passed Him by shaking their heads in disgust. As each hate-filled word was uttered and as each one passed Him by, the heart of Christ was filled with more anguish and pain. I dare say it wasn’t the physical pain that caused Him the most grief, but rather it was the pain of rejection He felt as each one turned their backs on Him and chose to walk the other way.

Very few looked beyond the bloody, beaten body of the Savior that day; very few understood why He didn’t come down off the cross. Praise His name, Christ looked past the anger and the hatred. He heard more than raging insults and saw beyond the heads shaking in disgust. Christ saw deep into the hearts of all those that surrounded Him that day and saw hurt; He beheld a people who need a Savior, a people who needed love, a people who needed to made beautiful. And that’s exactly what He did; He made us beautiful through His beaten, battered body.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the
hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV

4 Lovely Thoughts Shared:

Cheri said...

Ecc. 3:11 is one of my favorite verses of all.

We truly cannot fathom and I think that's what makes trusting so difficult for so many...including myself.

Our minds cannot conceive such a great love as this!

Krista said...

Yes! Praise His Name that he stayed on the cross and loved us more than defended himself to hateful onlookers. This Psalm is one of my favorite Psalms because it was written hundreds of years before the Cross. Amazing!

Serving the risen King,
Krista

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

Thank you Jennifer. We do need to think about the cross and all that our Savior endured. It is unfathomable. I know I don't dwell on it enough.
I added you new button to my sidebar. It is so pretty. Have a great weekend.

Peggy said...

WOW Jenifer...this is my 3rd read not of the Psalm but your own words! Yes, I realize that my focus should be God's Word!
Psalm 22...you have an awesome way of connecting the dots from the NT to the OT!!! I truly am aMazed!
How Our Savior took ALL of this upon Himself leaves me speechless!
I cannot fathom waht God has done from beginning to end! Again, excellent DIG into His Word! Blessed are the gifted writings of your hand! Thank you for the rich blessing! I'd like to share one more aMazing coincidence: I have 100 songs on my playlist and as I finally come to comment on your
Psalm Friday & almost finish my
playlist begins playing "The Hammer" by Ray Boltz...do you know it? It randomly came up...how aMazing is that!!! Thank You, Jesus for showing me through Jenifer how GREAT Your ultimate sacrifice has been from the beginning to the end...Your Word is complete! Across the Great Divide...(is now playing...by Point of Grace)and truly Lord Jesus You alone have spanned
this "pit" that separates us
from the Heavenly Father and words of THANKS can never be enough!!!
Glorious in Holiness! May our simple words of continuous praise
just nullify these horrendous insults, mockings, scorn...that You bore! You are Our beautiful Majestic Savior!!! May He continue to reign and bless you & your family with favor! Have a great weekend!