Psalm 8:1, the Doxology, and Psalm 31:1-4

My Shepherd loves me, and I love Him. He knows His own, and I know His voice. He speaks, and I follow Him. Today, He stirred Luke 22:39-46 in my mind, and the Mind of His Spirit engaged the spirit of my mind in verse 42, the famous surrender: “Not my will, but thine be done”:

Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Jesus knew what was before Him. He understood what was in the “cup” His Father gave Him, and that He took up.

Matthew 20:22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

Matthew 20:23 And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.

This cup was full of the fury of GOD against sin: “For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them” (Psalm 75:8). When James and John later drank “the cup of the LORD” (1 Corinthians 10:21; 11:27), the “dregs” had been filtered out, leaving only cleansing blood (Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:27-28). But the cup that the Lord carried included the dregs. He drank them for us. Yet the wicked will collect the bitterness of the Cross, and with scorn, “wring them out, and drink them” (Psalm 75:8).

Jesus knew what lay before Him: “Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again” (Luke 24:7). He knew the suffering He would endure (Psalm 22:1-21).*

Nevertheless, when it came time to “drink the cup,” Jesus hesitated.

Matthew 26:39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Mark 14:36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.

Matthew 26:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

A short while after, He said to Peter: “Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? (John 18:11).

After Jesus returned to the waiting disciples, when Judas came to betray Him to the hands of inners, Jesus said something else to Peter, something that is startling: “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). The Father agreed to deliver Jesus from the hands of sinful men, but would not remove the cup.

Along the still waters, I thought about Jesus facing physical pain and suffering, knowing precisely what agony was before Him, and that He prayed for relief, and that His prayer was answered. Nevertheless, He knew what was His Father’s will, and would not call in the Father’s promise to send His angels to rescue Him from the crucible of Calvary.

It is not without suffering that we pass through this world. When faced with physical suffering, it is reasonable that we should pray for relief. Sometimes, however, our Father puts suffering in our cup, and in service to some great and good purpose of His own, bids us drink it. We might plead with Him to remove the suffering, and He might condescend to our weakness, but I forewarn you. You might not. understand what GOD has in His mind to accomplish through our suffering. You would not want to enter eternity carrying an undrained cup—an unfinished course (2 Timothy 4:7).

In the valley, Jesus spoke: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

I can tell you as an elder saint that the Cross is much easier to bear if you will first deny self, if you will pause and “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5-11). Easier, but not easy. Consider applying Paul’s lesson to Christ’s example: God’s strength made perfect in weakness, and what glorious power was unleashed against the power of darkness when Jesus gloried in the infirmities He embraced for our sakes (2 Corinthians 8:9). Shall we not therefore “which live [be] alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11)?

At the table, once again, I noted the wounds in the hand that held the oil with which He anointed my head, and the other hand that took my cup and filled it with grace sufficient for the day! Goodness and mercy appeared, and we walked into the harvest.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap.

https://rumble.com/v79hie4-shepherds-pasture.html

[* Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me”(Matthew 26:46). Psalm 22:2: The “daytime,” and the “night season” (Matthew 27:45). Psalm 22:7-8: “Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Mark 15:31). Psalm 22:9-10: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise” (Matthew 1:18). Psalm 22:14-15: the excruciating effects of crucifixion: “Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst” (John 9:28). Psalm 22:16: crucifixion involved nailing the “criminal” to a cross, John spoke of the “print of the nails” in His resurrected body (John 20:25, 27; see Zechariah 13:6). Psalm 22:17: “And sitting down they watched him there” (Matthew 26:36). Psalm 22:18: “And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots” (Matthew 27:35). Psalm 22:22: “When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you” (John 20:19-23).]