Most of you know I write on two blogs (parkingspace23.com). Maintaining two blogs is not easy with an already busy schedule and my first devotion to Cornerstone Las Vegas church. But I like to write and need to every day. This will not happen, but it is a small goal. Recently I decided to post observations on here. Not all of them will be posted but one that stands out.

Psalm 22-24:

People need to read the Psalms together, not just one a day. Dr. Barrick taught me to consider each psalm as it relates those that precede and follow it. Reading them this way certainly seems to communicate more of a story.

Consider Psalm 22. This psalm is from Jesus perspective about the cross and the Father’s care for Him. David certainly knew the Christ was coming and would die for his people (2 Sam 7:14; see vs 8-17). Most people are familiar with verse 1, “Why have you forsaken me?” But there are other great passages exemplifying Christ’s love for the father and Trinitarian love. The Son needs the Father and cries out for strength.

“Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust upon my mothers’ breasts. Upon you I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb. Be not far from me, for trouble is near” (9-11).

Christ describes his suffering yet knows the Father is near, “For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Nor has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard” (24).

What kind of help and aid does the Father provide His family? Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Why? Because, “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

The Son, who needs care, finds it because that is who the Father is all the time, especially towards His family. But when we leave with the Son in Psalm 22, He is on the cross. We know the Father cares for Him, but then Psalm 24 really brings the crescendo. It asserts the sovereignty of God from the start, “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it. David calls us to rejoice and celebrate the coming king. He calls the city to rejoice! “And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in! Who is the king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty . . . That the King of glory may come in!” (7-10). The King, Jesus the Christ, is coming and we await it and rejoice. Psalm 22 – 24 is the bruising of His heel to crush the serpents head, the tender care for His Son, then the ascension of King Jesus. Glory!

Jonathan Edwards:

Currently I’m reading Jonathan Edwards. Consider this quote.

“A man is never hearty in the honour he seems to render to another whom he does not love; so that all the seeming honour or worship that is ever paid without love, is but hypocritical. And so reason teaches, that there is no sincerity in the obedience that is performed without love; for if there be no love, nothing that is done can be spontaneous and free, but all must be forced. So without love, there can be no real and cordial trust and confidence in him. He that does not love God will not trust him, he never will, with true acquiescence of soul, cast himself into the hands of God, or into the arms of his mercy. (Charity and Its Fruits, Banner of Truth, page 10).