Psalm 22:12-13
A camera was unknown in the day when Jesus was nailed to His cross. What happened there, however, is pictured by words which God gave to man to write. There must have been a large crowd and shameful noise!
Our Psalter versification, where David paints a picture of his own experiences as a type of Christ, expresses it thus:
Unnumbered foes would do me wrong,
They press about me fierce and strong,
Like beasts of prey they rage, they vent,
My courage fails, my strength is spent.
David says it in Psalm 22:12, 13 with these words: "Many bulls have compassed me; strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and roaring lion."
What an awful picture! And remember that it is the Son of God hanging there on that tree, one Who never committed one sin, and had done so much good: healing the sick, casting out evil spirits, and preaching the gospel of God's kingdom. It is not putting it too strongly with David to say that beasts, strong bulls, and roaring lions attacked Him.
No man can touch or see God. But when God came into our flesh, man revealed clearly, and painted an awful picture that clearly reveals, what he thinks of God. Yea Calvary shows clearly that if he could, man by nature would kill God and get rid of Him!
What a wonder then that salvation is that gives us hearts that love Him, seek Him, and praise Him. What an amazing grace that the God, Whom our natures wanted to kill, has given us faith to see our devilish natures and to want the salvation which He realized by that cross.
This calls for everlasting thanks and praise. And God has prepared a kingdom where we will unceasingly forever, in an everlasting life, thank and praise Him for what He did for us through the cross of His Son.
The cross is an awful and revealing picture of man's heart. But God in His Son paints for us a beautiful and everlasting picture of His love.
Read: John 19:1-18
Psalter versification: #47:7
Daily Meditations on the Heidelberg Catechism
Song for Meditation: Psalter #49
Why not sing along??
Through the Bible in One Year
Read today:
Deuteronomy 11 ; Deuteronomy 12:1-32
Luke 8:22-39
Psalm 70:1-5
Proverbs 12:4
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Quote for Reflection:
"The home is the primary arena for living out the Christian life. In the home sin, hurt, reconciliation, and healing occur daily. In the home the ignorant are taught, the rebellious disciplined, the repentant restored, the hungry fed, the naked clothed, the sick healed. In the home the relationship of Christ and His bride, the church, is exhibited in the relationship of husband and wife. The home is the place where proper roles and relationships are learned and practiced. The Christian home is a sanctuary, an oasis of holiness, sanity, and beauty in the midst of an evil, insane, and ugly world." — Philip Lancaster, Family Man, Family Leader, p. 131
Additional Info
- Date: 29-March
Heys, John A.
Rev. John A. Heys was born on March 16, 1910 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was ordained and installed into the ministry at Hope, Walker, MI in 1941. He later served at Hull, Iowa beginning in 1955. In 1959 he accepted the call to serve the South Holland, IL Protestant Reformed Church. He received and accepted the call to Holland, Michigan Protestant Reformed Church in 1967. He retired from the active ministry in 1980. He entered into glory on February 16, 1998.