But I am a worm and not a man,
a reproach to humanity (lit. Adam) and despised by people.
...
Do not be far from me for trouble is near
and there is no help.
Many bulls encircle me;
strong Bashan bulls surround me.
Like a roaring lion ready to tear limb from limb,
they bare their teeth.
...
Dogs encircle me,
the wicked gathering surrounds;
piercing my hands and feet.
(Psalm 22:6, 11-13, 16)
Lord Jesus:
Prophet King David inscribes the scene
six hundred years before any one dies
nailed to a tree by hands and by feet,
one whole millenium before Jesus is killed.
Was David sick? Was this his grieving
over the death of his rebellious son,
Absalom's snagged by his hair in a tree,
left there to hang for all to see?
It matters not this side of Easter.
Psalms is the time capsule hid in plain view,
meant for Messiah, God's Word for his flesh:
Mementos of pre-incarnate delight.
Oh the vast Providence on Golgotha's hill,
None there to help but God in His Word.
Satan believed You would curse God and die,
damned and alone with the world now all death.
You saw it play out in front of your eyes,
bleary with pain, but conscious of all,
each with a part David foretold.
Did his menangerie cause you to smile?
Circles in circles of circling men;,
Dogs are the Romans, the Gentile quaternion,
walking their beat around the three crosses,
gambling for the dying men's clothes.
Thick-necked soldiers, strong and sinister,
holding spear and the fleshing-eating whip,
snaps without warning on each prisoner's thighs,
leaves a wound like a lion's claw. (Psalm 57:4)
Bulls are the elders, dressed in their finery,
circling at a somewhat safe distance,
pacing and waiting for this to conclude.
Bashan bulls are the most dangerous.
Exodus law required a fine
if bulls gored a person. The penalty?
Thirty peices of silver, (Exodus 21:32)
Paid for a Gentile cemetery in Jerusalem. (Mt.27:5,7)
And you, Lord, the worm! The cochineal, (see picture above)
an insect that attaches to a tree,
lays its eggs and dies, secreting a blood-like gel
upon which the hatchlings feed and live.
Prized the cochineal red,
colors priestly vestal garments,
used to make the scarlet robe
in which the mocking soldiers dressed you.
Dress me in your blood-dyed garment,
clothe me with Your righteousness.
Let me find your Word such comfort
in the time of my suffering.
Jesus, You are no longer hanging
on the cross of our neglect.
Risen are you, forever blessed,
Feeding us yourself in wine and bread.
Amen.
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