Analysis of Psalm 22 and its Connection to Christ

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So we left off at Psalm 22:10. Part I and II are some of the best teachings on Christ I have ever done so let’s continue now.
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Imagery of Suffering

Psalm 22 Part II
February 23rd 2024

At verses 11-22 we have passages that distinctly seem to speak of Christ on the cross and again could reference something David was also feeling or experiencing. Imagine if you will that some of these lines were in the mind of Yeshua as He was taken away from the garden after His disciples had all abandoned him.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

And/or when he was stripped and scourged after standing before His own who rejected Him and called for His deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God..

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.

Bashan was a vicinity nearby ancient Israel that was known for having lush valley’s where cattle were raised on the best foods and were bigger and stronger than others. David uses them as an image for the power and strength of those around him in Absalom’s rebellion against him as his own father which was a type for Christ and the hateful religious leaders surrounding Him and hating Him in His day.

Parallel of Physical and Emotional Anguish

Now go to the cross in your mind as David adds,

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.

We remember that when the Roman soldier stuck a sword in His side after His death that water and blood poured forth, something medical professionals say is normative in the case of extreme duress when water surrounds the heart sort of in a way body fluids rush to a broken bone and swelling around the area to act as a cushion or natural cast to sustain it. We add verse 15

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.

We recall reading in John 19:25-28 where it says,

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Such amazing imagery as the very living water introduced to the woman at the well, Himself thirsted.

Of course, the last line, “thou has brought me to the dust of death” was poetic and not literal in the case of Christ as His body never saw corruption – but David’s certainly did as mentioned by Peter at Pentecost. The poetic nature of it cannot be overlooked though can it as Adam was formed from the dusty clay dirt, and God Himself said to Him in the face of His willfulness,

Genesis 3:17-19 Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Verse 16 of Psalm 22 as David pens

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

Dogs as Symbols of Insult

References to “the dog” and “dogs,” both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament usually imply an insult. Culturally in ancient Israel, a dog, and especially a dead dog, was a figure of great insignificance as we read in the story of Goliath saying to David when he saw that he was the one who came forth to face him on Israel’s behalf,

"Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves?" 1st Samuel 17:43

We also know David said to Saul:

Biblical Symbolism of Dogs

24:14 "After whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea."

Mephibosheth, the disabled relation humbly says to David in 2nd Samuel 9:8, "What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" And to a Semite in that day, no death was worse or more terrible than when the body of a person consumed by dogs (as 1st Kings 14:11; 16:4, and 21:19 prove). 

Then in the apostolic record, Philippians 3:2 and Revelation 22:15, dogs are representative of evil-workers, sorcerers. Then finally, we remember when Christ Himself says in Matthew 7:6, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine." 

(By the way, for you biblical literalists, why would any Christian who takes the Bible seriously today own or love dogs??) Just saying!

David's Prophecy in Psalm 22

Anyway, thinking of David's description here in Psalm 22 where he says:

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. Think about Christ in Matthew where he wrote,

Matthew 27:26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. 28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. 29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30 And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. 31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. 32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. 33 And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, 34 They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. 35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

All of this David prophesied of here in Psalm 22 where he now adds in our last verses for today,

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.

Fulfillment in Christ's Crucifixion

Neither of these passages seem to have any bearing on David but they certainly did with Our Lord. Where David wrote, “I may tell all my bones, they look and stare upon me,” it may speak to the weight of His body being held together by His Frame that was hanging on the cross with the Hebrew imagery being described by the words, the suggest this caused His bones to stare at him with wonder and horror – very vivid language.

And of course verse 18 where David writes: They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. Is another fulfillment related directly to Christ at His crucifixion where soldiers divided his upper garment into four parts, each soldier taking a part; but his tunic or outward vestment, being without seam because it was woven in one entire piece, they agreed not to divide, but to cast lots to determine whose the whole garment would be.

Of this scripture the Roman soldiers knew nothing; but they fulfilled it to the letter and it was foreseen by the Spirit of God which provided this direct revelation concerning Him and this event. Believe it, receive it . . . or not. The choice is always yours.

At verse 19 we read more of Him and or David where it says,

19 But be not thou far from me, YAHAVAH: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

Now, in the face of last week's teaching, and Christ asking why God had forsaken Him, we have a modern “theological impasse” to dissect because the standard scholarly view says something like the following which I agree with but with one slight deviation.

A Reflection on Psalm 22 and its Prophetic Nature

So let’s read from one Commentary directly of repute and this one is from Adam Clarke where he writes) “In the first verse he asks, Why hast thou forsaken me? Or, as if astonished at their

Exploring the Humanity and Divinity of Jesus

Wickedness, Into what hands hast thou permitted me to fall? Now he prays, “Be not far from me.”

St. Jerome observes here, that it is the humanity of our blessed Lord which speaks to his divinity. Jerome either this means that He is speaking to His Father OR that he is talking to Himself! We cannot tell his intention. Then he adds, Jesus was perfect man; and as man he suffered and died. (TRUE) But this perfect and sinless man could not have sustained those sufferings so as to make them expiatory had he not been supported by the Divine nature. (I would say TRUE up until this three-hour window of time where He was left alone – a position that would be denied by the forefathers and by believers today.)

The Three-Hour Exception

And Adam Clarke, citing Jerome adds, “All the expressions in this Psalm that indicate any weakness, as far as it relates to Christ, (and indeed it relates principally to him,) are to be understood of the human nature; (TRUE) for, that in him God and man were united, but not confounded, the whole New Testament to me bears evidence, (TRUE AGAIN, but not during this three-hour window) the manhood being a perfect man, the Godhead dwelling bodily in that manhood. Contrary to this view stands the events of the three-hour window. It is the exception alone. And Clarke continues and says, Jesus, as MAN, was conceived, born, grew up, increased in wisdom, stature, and favour with God and man; hungered, thirsted, suffered, and died.

Jesus, as GOD, knew all things (this is Not True) was from the beginning with God, (Not True as Jesus was given the name as a man and did not exist as a man with that name prior) healed the diseased, cleansed the lepers, and raised the dead; calmed the raging of the sea, and laid the tempest by a word; quickened the human nature, raised it from the dead, took it up into heaven, where as the Lamb newly slain, it ever appears in the presence of God for us. (True, in that age). These are all Scripture facts. The man Christ Jesus could not work those miracles; the God in that man could not have suffered those sufferings. Yet one person appears to do and suffer all; here then is GOD manifested in the FLESH.

Now, it all sounds really logical and convincing an explanation but it has to be interpreted this way as a means to sustain a number of other conclusions men made including their creation of the Trinity. I would strongly suggest that we have a problem in the face of the Trinity as to who and what died on the cross. And this is why these seemingly satisfying explanations need revision.

The Trinity and the Crucifixion

God is eternal and God cannot die as such. With me? The Trinity maintains that the One God is made of three co-equal, co-eternal persons and if we remove any of the three, God ceases to be because the ONE God is composed of three co-equal co eternal persons. If this is true, then did the God person (known as God the Son) called Yeshua die on the cross? And are we to believe that Yeshua the man who asks why He was forsaken was to asking this of Himself?

And if the fullness of God is inextricably within the Man Christ, and Christ was forsaken and died, what and who exactly forsook Him and what and who died? Perhaps it's time to see them in a different way – in the way, say, that Paul describes God and Yeshua repeatedly, by addressing them (and them alone, because the Holy Spirit is always excluded from his invocative and benedictive words) but Paul always refers to God as The Father and Always describes Yeshua as Lord.

To see the Living God (without including the man-made three distinct co-equal persons) allows for us to understand who and what died on that cross and to whom Yeshua was speaking to – which was God His Father, of perfect masculinity and perfect femininity from all eternity. And what was forsaken on that Cross was His only begotten Son who prior to the darkness, was imperceptibly one with Him as His only fleshly child.

To embrace the Trinity is to suggest that either Christ was speaking to Himself, as an incarnate man, and leaves us with the question of, “We’ll did the Trinity being called God the Son sit there watching Himself die?”

The Ultimate Choice: God's Son and the Path of Obedience

The scripture is plain and what men have done with it will always show itself wanting if continually questioned and examined. In His mortal life, Yeshua of Nazareth was God with us. God with us and God being in flesh was known and seen as the Son of God, the only begotten. All His life He, the Man, chose to honor and follow His Father who was in Him. He submitted Himself to the will of His Father in all things. Who did? The Man Yeshua.

At His death for the sins of the world, He was forsaken (at least in His mind, will, and emotion) and hanging there had nothing left which had to make a choice. I mean, even His very flesh was pulverized and stripped off much of Him so His very soul was called forth to testify His love and obedience. And He was presented with a choice in his last vestige of being human without the presence of His Father – to suffer in submission or to in his heart and soul respond with anger, rebellion, and walk away internally.

The Power of Choice for Humanity

Here is the thing – by making us in His image, we all have choice in everything we experience, feel, and undergo. And even though Yeshua chose His whole life to honor and follow His father perfectly and rightly, this was the final ultimate, “nothing-ever-like-it before or after where the Man, in His flesh and mind, from the heart, was forced to choose – one last time, alone and freely, whether to personally and from His own soul, authentically to honor and love God . . . or not. Every believer in throws of injustice, pain, cancer, death of a loved one, death of self, disappointment, financial ruin, divorce from a spouse, rejection by others, is in the very same position to choose. Bar none.

After choosing correctly, without any support at all, the Light returned, and Christ, literally and actually overcoming everything on behalf of humankind, died. God did not die. His only begotten Son died – along with all the sinful acts, sinful natures, weak moments, and failures in our allegiance to Him unconditionally. And when He rose from the dead, it was as significant of an act for this world as God saying over the dark ruinous void, “let there be light” for it was Himself, through Man, breaking forth and heralding a brand new age that would steadily roll forth into the eternities through His New Heaven, His New Earth, and governed by a New Jerusalem where every new creation is now in a place to also . . . choose.

When we fail. It's okay. His Son didn’t.

The Deliverance of the Soul

Back to Psalm 22 and perhaps to His Life and or the cross, David writes at verse 20,

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

This is an odd phrase but beautiful if read the way I think it was intended which is Christ speaking and saying to God, deliver my souls from the sword (Interestingly, the sword was only used on His body after He was dead) and then He refers to His soul as “my darling,” and to deliver it from the “power of the dog.” In other words, Christ is speaking of His own soul here as “my darling,” and I suggest He was able to do this because He was involved in creating Himself in the beginning. If that conjecture makes any sense. In this case, with David writing from inspiration about what would happen, he was able to put these words in Yeshua’s mouth amidst his sufferings!

The Only Begotten Son of God

Profound to say the least. See, Yeshua from the foundation of the world was, in fact, the only one of God. That is what, “my darling” or His darling represents. Adam was a product of the earth. We might have the liberty to say that his mother was “this earth” and Eve was a more refined by-product from him. Christ the second Adam was produced in the womb of the virgin; who was his mother. But what was conceived in her was by the power of the Holy Spirit; hence the man Christ Yeshua is the ONLY Son of God and only God is his Father, and because of this he calls Himself His darling. When David adds that he seeks my darling to be delivered from “the power of the dog,” we again, see that dog-power, in that

Exploring Biblical Imagery in Psalm 22

Day was not well loved by the people in the Nation, and so this is David admitting that those who surrounded Yeshua in His life (the phony religious leaders) were seen by Yeshua as dogs. Then another animal is referred to at verse 21 where we read,

21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

It appears that the lion here is referring to the Nation of Israel, as it is also likened to a lion in places in scripture, and that the “unicorn,” which probably refers to a rhinoceros or narwhal, might possibly be speaking of the Roman army, but that is total conjecture. This section of chapter 22 concludes with something Christ would do in His life and passion as it says,

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

We remember how God revealed to Moses His name and told Him to make it known. It is in Genesis 3:16

“Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

The Importance of God's Name

And then in Exodus 9, before sojourning in the wilderness YAHAVAH said,

16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

And then in the last book of the Old Testament, we read at Malachi 1:11

“For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.

Has that happened? Not yet, in my estimation. But we are trying to help make sure it will.

Of course, we also remember that John reports Yeshua saying the following in his Gospel,

John 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

How important is His name being known? According to scripture, very, so if the spirit leads, allow yourselves to share it without hesitation, openly and without shame. But back to Yeshua, He certainly proclaimed His Father's name to His brethren in every way possible.

Messianic Verses in Psalm 22

And this concludes the most poignant Messianic verses in Psalm 22. From this point to the end of the chapter David writes some terrific things, but we can cover them at a faster clip starting with verse 23 where he seems to address the reader, in the face of all he has presented and says,

23 Ye that fear YAHAVAH, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

Of course, this first spoke of Israel materially, but also describes those adopted in whom Paul calls, true Israel.
Verse 24

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.

The writer of Hebrews, in my estimation, assigns Christ to this passage as he wrote, speaking of Him:

Hebrews 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Then back to Psalm 22 we read

25 My praise shall be of

The Great Congregation

Thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. But we just read verse 22, where David wrote:

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

I maintain that this speaks directly to His brethren, the Jews, before whom He praised His father in their congregation. But here we read of His praise for YAHAVAH being in the midst of the GREAT CONGREGATION; it is speaking of the gentiles or the whole world. And is this not true today how the witness of His life is seen throughout the world? Does not His praise for His Father not echo out into the world today through all Christ affirming people directly, wherever His name is mentioned, and whenever His life is retold and shared?

David adds,

26 The meek (which means the poor) shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise YAHAVAH that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

Worship and Provision

My friends, it is only in and through true worship of Him where true provision at every level will be given – material, spiritual, to the mind, soul, and heart. He is the true Healer, the true provider, and to look on Him alone in spirit and truth allows His true provisions to manifest. Those who truly eat of His flesh and drink of His blood will never suffer loss in the eternal scheme of things. And just how far will His victorious effects go, my friends?

Only to the few, the proud, the Marines, only to the elect? Listen closely now as David writes!

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto YAHAVAH: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

Universalism? Yes, but not the way it is defined by men today in most cases. But it is certainly a special blend of Christian Universalism because all knees will bow and every tongue will confess Him – all, someday – and this is not only absolute, it is how powerful His life, death, and resurrection are. Completely victorious. In the Spirit, by and through Him alone? How radical are you willing to go with me, here? How far are you willing to allow His victory to reign in your life and in both the spiritual realm (listen – ready) and in the material world around you?

The Seed and Future Prophecy

Listen to the last four verses of Psalm 22:

28 For the kingdom is YAHAVAH'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 YAHAVAH for a generation. 31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

I suggest that “This seed,” David mentions, “that shall come and shall declare His Righteousness unto a people that shall be born” speaks specifically of any and all people or generations of people that come forth into the world, which by the way, will never end, and will, at times when the message is right and true from the heart, declare Him and His righteousness in the right way and from the right spirit unto the world. I maintain that this prophecy is repeatedly fulfilled over and over again since He took His bride from the earth, and that it has had (here we go now – it's gonna get deep and hard for some to hear)

“Different iterations” relative to the truth of Him, even evolving iterations of Him and His truth, that have and will continue to unfold out into the world, until He and His life, teachings and truths are perfectly known and practiced. I am yes, suggesting that just as God Himself has changed over the course of human history in how He has revealed Himself, and how He has approached humankind – that likewise the understanding of Him and His Son and their victorious work that they have had on our behalf will unfold unto a brighter and perfect day – spiritually AND YES, materially. I am not suggesting that any truth is lost or replaced, only understood with more clarity and comprehension.

I would also suggest that spiritual understanding and clarity is evolving on earth and that as it evolves and human beings are more and more willing to embrace the new understanding.

Spiritual Growth and Material Evolution

While standing on the shoulders of the good that was before, it is only then that the material world will also improve and that it can and will ONLY improve when His Spirit is rightly interpreted. Until that time, which may be thousands of years from today, the natural mind of man will fight and resist change, and the material world that exists around us will continue to struggle in the depths of immeasurable sorrow but rejoice in the heights of deeper spiritual growth. But again, when the truth of Him and all that He did, and how to live in His light, and love and liberty through right learning or education breaks forth in enough people, it will lead to even greater material evolution for all.

There will always be a balance in this as advances tend to lead to pride which lends to our individually and collectively turning from God altogether, but this is why the ONLY solution lies in individuals freely choosing to grow, change, adapt and to embrace more and more of what He introduced to the world. Standing on the shoulders of all Christ-affirming souls that have ever lived, whether knowing it was Him and His spirit or not, but have advanced His love and spirit into the world, I without shame or hesitation suggest that Victorious EschatologyThe belief that Jesus already fulfilled end-times prophecy, bringing spiritual victory—not future destruction., and Fulfilled SoteriologyThe belief that salvation is already complete through Christ, and now received through faith and love—not earned through religion., and all that it represents today, is the next phase.

The Path Forward

It is not authored by me or Grady or any one of us here or watching now or in the future. It was always there, always ready to be seen and found and will take whatever course both God AND man allow to occur. But in the end, and again, standing on the shoulders of all Christ-Affirming souls before us, it can be, perhaps will be, the approach to Him that changes not only individuals, not only couples and families, not only churches, but entire societies of people, meaning the world. Like you, I am just a seeker. Like you, I am just a believer. And like you, I will do and say ANYTHING that reflects the Truth. But you must go as you are led.

Community Support and Prayers

Questions/Comments

Prayer

Grady and Cheryl’s daughter who is in labor and struggling for quite some time.

Margo who is under the weather.

My grandchildren, Lazer, Samson and Marybird, my daughters and their spouses and Mary, the bride of my youth.

And any others in need, who are seeking or feel alone.