In this article
I would like first to link Psalms 22, 23, and 24 together and show the
connection that they have with each other, and then present some more detailed
thoughts on the first and last of these Psalms.

In the New
Testament, the Lord Jesus Christ is spoken of as “the Good Shepherd” (John
10:11), “the Great Shepherd” (Heb. 13:20), and “the Chief Shepherd” (1 Pet.
5:4). Also, in Hebrews 9, three lines of truth—past, present, and future—
relating to Him in these aspects are unfolded. In verse 26, we read:“Once in
the end of the [age] has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself”; this corresponds to Psalm 22, the past work of Christ “the Good
Shepherd” who gave His life for the sheep. In verse 24, Christ is presented as
having “entered … into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of
God for us”; this is the truth of Psalm 23, the present work of Christ
“the Great Shepherd of the sheep.” In verse 28, we read:“Unto those who
look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto
salvation”; this is Psalm 24, the future work of Christ “the Chief
Shepherd” who will yet come in glory.

We also may see
in these three Psalms The Cross, The Crook, and The Crown,
setting forth the symbols of the past, present, and future work
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd of the sheep and lambs of His flock. The
Cross shows His love unfolded in His sufferings to make propitiation for
our sins (Psalm 22). The Crook suggests His grace that flows out in the
loving, faithful care and ministry He carries on now (Psalm 23). The Crown
symbolizes the glory that He will yet reveal in His kingdom on earth (Psalm
24).

       Psalm 22, The Cross

This Psalm is
divided into two sections. The first, verses 1-21, depicts the sufferings unto
death that Christ endured as the Sin-bearer. He suffered alone in an
agony of soul that the human mind can never fathom. The second section, verses
22-31, tells of His associating others with Him in His resurrection in the
victory He won by His death.

The most casual
reader will immediately identify this Psalm as being one of the several
referred to as Messianic; that is, it projects the Messiah of Israel in His
sufferings and coming glory. The very first words, “My God, My God, why hast
Thou forsaken Me?” were uttered by our Lord Jesus on the cross 1,000 years
after they were written by the Spirit of God through David. How marvelous to
see prophecy so accurately fulfilled as “holy men of God spoke as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21)!

     Section I (Verses 1-21)

The Holy
Sufferer cries out, “Why?” as His God turns His back upon Him. In the daytime
and in the night seasons the words of His roaring are constantly uttered, but
there is no response—no help coming to Him (verses 1,2). He then answers His
own question as to why this is. He says, “But Thou art holy, O Thou who
inhabits the praises of Israel” (verse 3). The holiness of His God would not
permit Him to look upon sin, even upon His beloved Son who on the cross was
made sin, or a sin offering, to be consumed by the righteous judgment of God.
The answer to the Sufferer’s “Why?” in respect to ourselves is simply, “He was
forsaken that we might be accepted.” What grace is thus displayed to sinners in
perfect accord with divine righteousness in the work of this unique Sufferer!

He continues in
verses 4 and 5 to speak of the fact that the fathers in Israel in times past
cried unto God and were delivered; they trusted and were not confounded.
However, as for Himself, He says, “I am a worm and no man; a reproach of men
and despised of the people” (verse 6). The depth of humiliation into which He
entered is indicated here. The worm referred to is the cochineal, that insect
which was used to make the scarlet dye for the garments of the high priest and
for the curtains of the tabernacle. How graphically it depicts the sufferings
of Christ! As the worm was crushed and the dye extracted, so Christ was crushed
beneath the rod of God’s judgment against sin, and the blood which He shed is
that which has provided the beautiful garment of salvation to make the sinner
fit for God’s presence.

Another
prophecy concerning Calvary is seen in verse 8:“He trusted on the LORD that He
would deliver Him; let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him.” The elders
and scribes reviled Him in this way on the cross, saying, “He trusted in God;
let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said, I am the Son of God”
(Matt. 27:43). However, the Holy Sufferer seeks refuge in the fact that from
the time of His birth He was the object of His Father’s care, and God was His
hope when He was upon His mother’s breasts. “Thou art My God from My mother’s
belly,” He says. “Be not far from Me; for trouble is near; for there is none to
help,” He pleads (verses 10,11). Surely such trust would not be unrewarded, but
before He is answered, His work of suffering for sin must be completed.

He then turns
to speak of those who beset Him round and gaped upon Him with their mouths open
like a roaring lion (verses 12,13). This no doubt symbolized the same high
priest, scribes, and elders who gloated over their innocent Victim and
repeatedly, hatefully cried out for Pilate to “crucify Him!”

Then, too, the
physical sufferings of the cross are further indicated in verses 13-17. Hanging
upon the cross, His bones were out of joint, His heart was melted, His strength
was dried up, His tongue stuck to His jaws for lack of water. All His bones could
be counted as they were gruesomely projected (a similar prophetic picture is
found in Isa. 52:14).

His suffering
at the hands of the “dogs”—the term used for the Gentiles—is spoken of in verse
16. It is said of them, “They pierced My hands and My feet.” This is a
remarkable prophecy concerning the manner of His death. Totally unknown to the
Jews, who punished by stoning to death, was death by crucifixion, practiced by
the Romans, and here prophesied by the Psalmist. But the Romans at the time of
this writing were not even thought of at all as an existing people, much less
as a powerful empire. What a testimony this is to the inspiration and
infallibility of the Old Testament Scriptures!

Verse 15 shows
that it was God who brought the Holy Victim “into the dust of death.”
According to God’s eternal counsel His beloved Son should suffer for sins. He
was truly the “Lamb without blemish and without spot … foreordained before
the foundation of the world” for this purpose (1 Pet. 1:19,20).

Another
Scripture fulfilled at Calvary is verse 18:“They part My garments among them,
and cast lots upon My vesture.” John, in referring to this, tells us, “These
things therefore the solders did” (John 19:24).

In verses 19-21
the Holy Sufferer appeals to the power of Jehovah to be delivered from the
power of the dog, the Gentile power, that had Him bound, scourged, and nailed
to the Cross. He also cries for deliverance from the lion’s mouth—from Satan’s
vicious devouring. And then, being confident that He was heard “because of His
piety” (Heb. 5:7 JND), He says, “Thou has heard Me from the horns of the
unicorn.” The unicorn was actually the aurochs, a wild horned beast upon whose
horns the criminal was often impaled to be carried about until death claimed
the victim. Thus He thought of His plight. But He was heard from the
horns of the aurochs! Though death was to be His portion, yet He was saved out
of it, and the next section of the Psalm reveals the results of His atoning
death. He was raised from among the dead and is no longer alone. The time of
His suffering is forever past, and He now identifies others with Him in His
triumph.

    Section II (Verses 22-31)

The Holy
Sufferer is now the Triumphant Redeemer. In resurrection He declares the Name of
His God to His brethren. To Mary, in John 20:17, He says, “I ascend unto My
Father and your Father; and to My God and your God.” Taking His place in the
midst of the congregation, He Himself begins the praise—He leads the singing!
Verse 22 is cited in Hebrews 2 where the perfection of the Captain of Salvation
through suffering is declared. He was made a little lower than the angels in
order to suffer and taste death for every man. It was just like Him and His
love to do so. But now we see Him crowned with glory and honor, the Head of a
new creation, bringing many sons to glory to be eternally identified with Him!
What marvelous truth is unfolded in Heb. 2:9-12 and prophesied here in Psalm
22!

The Psalmist,
by the Holy Spirit, now turns to Israel:“You who fear the LORD, praise him;
all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all you the seed of
Israel. For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted
[One]; neither has He hid His face from Him; but when He cried unto him, He
heard” (verses 23,24). This tells of the acceptance of the death of the
afflicted One, and of the raising of Him from among the dead in triumph. This
is the foundation upon which Israel in a future day will be brought to
repentance and faith, to praise Him as their Messiah King.

This all points
to the time when not only Israel will be converted, but “all the ends of the
world shall remember and turn unto the LORD; and all the kindreds of the
nations shall worship before Thee. For the kingdom is the LORD’s:and He
is the Governor among the nations” (verses 27,28). Thus the 22nd Psalm
is linked with the 24th, which is a projection of the future Crown of Glory.
Meanwhile, however, “a seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord
for a generation” (verse 30). This seed shall come and bear witness of His
righteousness to a future generation—“unto a people that shall be born, that He
has done this” (verse 31). Actually, the message that shall be declared to Jew
and Gentile alike will proclaim, “He has finished the work!” How fitting that
this appears at the end of this Psalm, thus reminding us of His loud voice of
triumph on Calvary, after He had suffered for sins at the hand of a Holy
God—“It is finished.” The glory of the coming kingdom is truly based upon this
finished work, and will be the theme of praise of both the heavenly and earthly
saints. The earthly remnant of Israel and the multitude of Gentile nations
saved through the tribulation will enter His glorious kingdom praising the Lamb
whose blood had made their robes white for their eternal acceptance and
blessing.

       Psalm 24, The Crown

Recalling that
Psalm 23 presents Christ as “the Great Shepherd” of the sheep in His
present work symbolized by The Crook, we pass on to consider Psalm 24.
Here He is seen as “the Chief Shepherd” wearing The Crown of
glory in the day of His kingdom.

His power and
glory as Creator are first declared:“The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness
thereof; the world, and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the
seas, and established it upon the floods” (verses 1,2). And who is it that
shall dwell with Him? “He who has clean hands and a pure heart” (verse 4). They
are those who have been cleansed from their sins and manifest their standing by
a practical state of purity and righteousness. These shall receive the blessing
from the LORD” as His gifts of grace, receiving a righteousness from God that
will enable them to live and stand with the King during His millennial reign.

Both the
remnant of Israel and the various tribes of the Gentiles are included in verse
6. Israel will turn and seek Him and He will be found of them as their
long-awaited Messiah. The Gentiles also will find Him through the testimony of
Israel. “O Jacob,” suggests the grace to Jacob which now makes him “Israel”—a
prince with God.” The Gentiles will realize that their blessings have come to
them through “Jacob” now restored and blessed by Jehovah. The grace that met
unfaithful, deceitful Jacob will meet the need of the Gentiles who turn in
repentance to Him. Revelation 7 gives both the 144,000 of the 12 tribes of
Israel and the multitude of the Gentile nations saved through the tribulation,
converted and brought to Christ to form His kingdom when “the King of Glory
shall come in!”

“Who is this
King of Glory?” He is “the LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle”
(verse 8). He is the same One the Apostle John writes of in Rev. 19:11, the
“Faithful and True,” the One who “in righteousness … does judge and make
war.” The Chief Shepherd, coming in glory, will bear the rod of judgment. He
will be victorious over the nations that have opposed Him. The writer of the
2nd Psalm graphically depicts it thus as the presumptuous kings of the earth
set themselves against Him:“He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the LORD
shall have them in derision…. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou
shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” When He comes, He will
destroy the western powers and cast the political ruler—the “beast”—and the
antichrist alive into the lake of fire. He will also break the king of the
north and his armies—Israel’s inveterate enemy, the dragon, whom God will use
as His rod against Jerusalem and apostate Israel (see Isa. 10:5-12, 14:24,25;
30:31-33). Finally, He will destroy Russia who will come against Israel when
she is established in her land in peace (Ezek. 38,39). In all this Jehovah will
be acclaimed as the Mighty Deliverer of His people. He truly is “The LORD of
hosts.” This is “the King of Glory”!

Hence, as the
three Psalms bring Him before us, He was the Holy Sufferer, the Good
Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep on The Cross (Psalm 22); He is
the Great Shepherd of the sheep now caring for us with His Crook (Psalm
23); and He will be the Chief Shepherd wearing The Crown when He
comes to judge His enemies and set up His kingdom of power and glory (Psalm
24).

(From Words
of Truth, Vol. 24.)

“Abide in Me,
and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the
vine, no more can you, except you abide in Me. I am the Vine, you are the
branches; He who abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit,
for without Me you can do nothing…. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in
you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:4-7).

The beloved
apostle John, who heard these farewell words from the lips of the Lord, also
spoke of them in his Epistle:“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also
so to walk, even as He walked…. Little children, abide in Him, that, when He
shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His
coming…. Whosoever abides in Him sins not” (1 John 2:6,28; 3:6).

What are we to
understand by the Lord’s words, “Abide in Me”? (1) They imply a walk in such
nearness to Christ that the soul delights in all His loveliness and moral
excellencies, and thus finds in Him its object and perfect pattern. (2) They
suppose a heart in communion with Christ, that delights to confide in Him and
learn of Him. (3) Above all, they imply a life lived under the influence of His
presence and realized by faith.

If a Christlike
man of God visited our home, would not his presence have a restraining
influence upon everyone in the home? We should probably be a little more
careful than usual of our words and ways. If this would be the effect of the
presence of a man of like passions with ourselves, what would be the effect of
the realized presence of Christ Himself? To walk in the consciousness that He
listens to our words, sees our every act, and reads our thoughts, is to walk
under the blessed influence of His presence and thus abide in Him.

The Scriptures
that exhort us to abide in Christ tell us also of the blessedness we shall
enjoy if we do abide in Him.

     By Abiding in Christ We

     Shall Bring Forth Fruit

The fruit in
this passage is not service or the exercise of gift, however important these
may be in their place. Rather, it is the expression of something of the
loveliness of Christ—the reproduction of His own character— in our lives (see
Gal. 5:22,23, “the fruit of the Spirit”). Any little setting forth of the
graces of Christ goes up as fruit to the Father, and goes out as testimony to
the world. We shall never exhibit the character of Christ by simply trying to
be like Christ. If, however, we seek His company and come under His influence
by abiding in Him, we shall be changed into His image from glory to glory (2
Cor. 3:18).

    By Abiding in Christ Our

    Prayers Will Be Answered

If we are under
the blessed influence of His presence, with His words abiding in our hearts,
our thoughts will be formed by His thoughts and our prayers will be in accord
with His mind. Thus praying, we will have answers to our prayers.

     By Abiding in Christ We

     Will Walk As He Walked

How did Christ
walk? Of Him we read, “Christ pleased not Himself” (Rom. 15:3). And the Lord
could say, “I do always those things that please Him [that is, the Father]”
(John 8:29). This is the perfect pattern for the believer’s walk, just as the
apostle Paul exhorts believers to “walk in love, as Christ also has loved us”
(Eph. 5:2). The outstanding marks of the Lord’s path were the entire absence of
self-will in doing the Father’s will, and the serving of others in love. For
us, it is possible to tread such a path only as we abide in Christ.

We may know the
doctrines of Christianity; we may rightly hold the great essential truths of
our faith. But, as another has said, “No amount of knowledge, however correct,
no amount of intelligence, however exact, will ever put upon your soul the
impress of the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ.” If we are to wear the impress of
Christ, we must be in His company and walk with Him. Every man is formed by the
company that he keeps:the character of the one in whose company we walk is the
character we shall reflect. We must abide in Christ and thus walk with
Christ if we are to be like Christ and walk as He walked.

     By Abiding in Christ We

      Shall Not Be Ashamed

Often our walk,
ways, speech, and manners may be acceptable according to human standards. But
if we were to judge ourselves, our words, and our ways in the light of the
coming glory of the appearing of Christ, would we not find much that we would
have to condemn, and confess with shame as far short of the standard of glory?
Only as we abide in Christ, walking in self-judgment, will we be preserved from
all that would cause shame in the day of glory.

      By Abiding in Christ

          We Do Not Sin

“Sin is
lawlessness” (1 John 3:4 JND), that is, the essence of sin is doing one’s own
will without reference to God or man. The world around is increasingly marked
by lawlessness—everyone doing what is right in his own eyes. How are we to
escape the evil principle of lawlessness and self-will? Only by abiding in
Christ, for “whosoever abides in Him sins not” (1 John 3:6). Only as we are
held under the influence of the One who could say, “I came … not to do Mine
own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38) shall we escape the
self-will that is the very essence of sin.

These, then,
are the blessed results of abiding in Christ.

“You have
forgotten the exhortation that speaks unto you as unto children, My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of
him:for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He
receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons….
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them
reverence:shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own
pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness.
Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous:
nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them
which are exercised thereby” (Heb. 12:5-11).

In view of the
tendencies of our nature, how needful it is to keep it in check. Thus we are
told in this passage in Hebrews that if you are a child you must expect
chastening. “He who spares his rod hates his son; but he who loves him chastens
him betimes [or promptly]” (Prov. 13:24). In love God is pledged to chasten us.
His rod we are to receive as a part of the proof of that love which gave His
own precious Son for us.

It is interesting
to notice the character of these chastisements. They are persecution, scorn,
hatred, the reproach of man. You say, if God would only lay me on a bed of
sickness, I could stand it. If it were God who had done these things I could
tolerate it; but it is just the wretched malice of man. I cannot see Him in it.
Well, faith sees God in it. Whom did the Lord Jesus see in all that He
passed through—which was not, I need hardly say, for His discipline, for He
needed neither correction nor prevention? If He could say of the bitterest part
of the cup, “The cup which My Father has given Me to drink, shall I not drink
it?” He could say it of everything else. These things which we bear, no matter
how much they seem to come from malignity, envy, or hatred, we know they also
come from a Father’s heart who permits them for our blessing.

Look at Job,
for instance:Satan was let loose upon him. He took away his property and his
family. He afflicted him with grievous sickness. And then the wife of his bosom
unconsciously lends herself as an emissary of Satan. She says, “Curse God and
die.” See his noble answer:“Shall we receive good at the hands of God, and
shall we not receive evil?” He does not attribute his trial to Satan. In fact,
we do not even read that Job knew it was Satan who was acting in it all.
Whatever the chastening might be, it was the chastening of God. Oh for faith to
look past the poor tools that Satan may use—whether it be the world or the
flesh in fellow Christians—to look past all second causes into the Father’s
loving heart.

Now that is not
an easy thing to do, for, as he says further, “No chastening for the present
seems to be joyous, but grievous.” Do you know what we all have a desire for?
It is a kind of chastening that does not hurt—that might be a pleasure to go
through. But that would be no chastening. It must be grievous in order to be a
chastening.

Then he reminds
us of the effect of this. We have had earthly parents who corrected us
according to their pleasure. A father smote us with the rod, rebuked us with
his lips, cut off some pleasure, or did something that showed his desire to
deliver us from evil; and the effect of it was that we gave him respect and
reverence. But now he says, Shall we not much rather, if our Father sends
affliction, bow to Him? It is not for a few days with Him, but forever. Earthly
parents have done the best they could for our temporal profit, but He has done
so that we might be partakers of His holiness.

Notice that
expression, “partakers of His holiness.” There are given unto us “exceeding
great and precious promises,” whereby we might be “partakers of the divine
nature” (2 Pet. 1:4)—brought to the place where we can drink from the
fountain-source of holiness, the divine nature itself. God chastens us in order
that we may partake of His nature, that we may drink that in, as it were, and
have the fruits of holiness in our outward life as the result. After the
chastening come the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised
thereby.

You will notice
here that there are three ways in which we can be affected by chastening. We
can despise the chastening of the Lord—we may think it a trifle and throw it
off. We have been speaking about reproach and scorn. A man may say, “I don’t
care for people’s opinion—that is nothing to me”; he may brave it out in his
own strength. He is despising the chastening of the Lord. It cannot be a severe
chastening that does not bring us to God.

Then, on the
other hand, there are those who “faint” when they are rebuked of Him. They are
overwhelmed and the hands hang down; they are discouraged.

These are the
two extremes—neither of which is faith. But now we have, “To those who are
exercised thereby.” We are to be exercised by what we pass through, not to
despise it, not to faint under it. We are to learn the lessons that God would
teach us, to go to Him for comfort, help, and guidance, to lay hold upon His
grace and mercy.

(From Lectures
on Hebrews.)