This evening we're going to take
a look at Psalm 69, and I'm entitling the message, Psalm 69, the Psalm
of the Cross. The Psalm of the Cross. And that's
what it is. It's all about the Lord Jesus
Christ, His suffering and His exaltation. Remember, the Scripture
says in 1 Corinthians 15 that He died for our sins according
to the Scripture. How did He die? How did He was
buried? And how was He raised again the
third day? The Apostle Paul makes mention
of the fact that he said, I'm determined to know nothing among
you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The whole book of
God is all about His person and His priestly work. And the Lord
Jesus Christ coming in laying his life down for us. Psalm 69,
along with Psalm 22 that we looked at last week, both declare unto
us the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ that he endured
for us as our substitute, as a substitute for our sin. The
reason of his suffering is because of our sin. The reason of his
suffering is because God is holy. And when sin was found upon the
Lord Jesus Christ, he suffered like no one else suffered. His
sufferings were real. His sufferings were horrible
beyond language that can adequately describe his suffering, describe
his pain. The Lord Jesus Christ had the
holy wrath of God spent upon him without one ounce of mercy. The pure, undiluted wrath of
God fell upon the Lord Jesus Christ there on Calvary Tree. And that's what's happening there.
A lot of times, people focus on the physical things that men
did to Him, about the beatings, the crown, the nails, the mocking,
those different things. But it's not what men did that's
our hope. That's not our hope, what men
did. It's what God was doing there. It pleased the Lord, Jehovah,
Almighty God, to appoint the Lord Jesus Christ as our sacrifice
for sin. There's no other way that we
can have our sin put away but by the sacrifice of Christ. He
appeared once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself. God's holiness, God's anger against
the Lord Jesus Christ is His holiness stirred into activity
against sin. God's holy wrathful anger against
sin. I love that scripture in the
book of Lamentations that we often quote where the Lord says,
Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by, to hold and see
if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto
me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger? Psalm 22 and Psalm 69 are quoted
more often in the New Testament than any other Old Testament
scripture. Just those two psalms. I think
I counted here in Psalm 69 at least seven, eight, or nine references
that are made to this psalm in the New Testament. And the Holy
Spirit, when those men wrote the New Testament out, the Holy
Spirit always made reference to the Old Testament scripture,
reference to Christ and Him crucified. Christ and Him crucified. This
psalm begins with His suffering for sin, the sin of His people. and ends with his glorious exaltation
over all sin. He said, I'm he that liveth and
was dead, behold, I'm alive forevermore. I have the keys of hell and death. I was reading someone's bulletin
the other day. I get bulletins from preachers
around the country, probably 30 different pastors, But I was
reading his bulletin on Monday, I think it was, and there was
that article from an old preacher that lived back in the 1800s,
Octavius Winslow. And he said this, Christ took
your cup of grief, your cup of curse, and pressed it to his
lips, and drank it to the end, and then filled the cup with
sweet pardoning, sympathizing love, and gave it back to us
to drink, and to drink forever. He took the cup of that wrath,
drank it dry, and then He filled that cup up with His sweet love,
mercy, and grace, and said, here, drink it. And we drank upon it
forever, and ever, and ever. The prophets wrote about Peter
quoting the old prophets, wrote about the sufferings of Christ
and the glory that should follow. He suffered like no other. He's
not suffering anymore, though, is he? He's highly exalted, seated
at the right hand of God. Now, let's look at verse 1, 2,
and 3 together, and we'll kind of group some of these verses
together. And just think now in your mind
if you can Put yourself in the state of mind of seeing the Lord
Jesus Christ there on Calvary's tree, crucified, suffering because
of our sin, and His groanings and crying unto the Father as
our substitute. Save me, O God, for the waters
of His wrath are come unto my soul. Now, we know He had bodily,
physical suffering. But the essence of his suffering
was his soul suffering. God had made his soul an offering
for sin. We read in Isaiah 53 so many
times. Verse 2, I sink in deep, deep
mire, where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters. These
waters here are the waters of his wrath, where the floods of
God's wrath overflow me. I'm weary of my crying. You remember Psalm 22, He cried,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? I'm weary of my
crying. My throat is dry. My eyes fail
while I wait for my God. So beaten and so bruised. with those crown of thorns pushed
down on his brow. I'm sure that his eyes and his
face just swelled where he could not see. But he's waiting and
trusting God to deliver him. And he did. And he did. The Lord
Jesus Christ is not praying to escape from this appointed hour
of sacrifice for our sin, but He's praying to be sustained
under the deep mire and the deep waters of our sin. Remember, He prayed even in the
garden before Calvary's tree when He said, Father, not My
will, but Thy will be done. Being in agony, he prayed more
earnestly, and his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood. I don't know anything about that
kind of agony, but he did. But our Lord Jesus Christ knew
full well what he was doing and where he was going and what he
would accomplish. In John chapter 12, our Lord
says this, Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour, that for this cause I came unto this
hour." Remember, he prayed in John 17, the hour has come. Many
times before that, when they tried to arrest him or stone
him or different things, he said, my hour has not yet come. But
in John 17, when he prayed that high priestly prayer, just prior
to going to the cross, he said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify
Thyself. Glorify Thou me with Thyself. I finished the work you gave
me to do. We know that Calvary did not sneak up on the Lord
Jesus Christ, did it? He knew exactly why he came,
and he knew exactly what he was going to do. How long had he
known that? Well, as being the eternal son
of God, he's the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
He's known this eternally. This is God's eternal purpose
in Christ. He knew full well why he came,
and why he must die. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain the Lord of glory." We're going
to see this in Matthew 16 in a few weeks in our study of Matthew
16. Remember, the Lord said to those
apostles, He said, From that time forth, Jesus began to show
unto his disciples how that he must go to Jerusalem that he
must suffer many things of the elders and chief priests, and
that he must be killed, and that he must be raised up the third
day." Well, Peter didn't like to hear that. He said, oh, not
so, Lord. And he said, Peter, you get out
of my way. You savoreth not the things that be of God. The cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ, this is God's sacrifice for our sin. So Calvary didn't sneak up on
him. He knew full well why he came
and what would happen to him. The chief agony he endured for
us was his soul agony. Being made sin for us, his soul
agony. He suffered physically, we know
that. But listen to this scripture
in Isaiah 53, where it says, it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He had put him to grief. when thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin." That's what we must see. He made his
soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days in the pleasure of the Lord, shall prosper in
his hand, he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall
be satisfied by his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify
many, for he shall bear their iniquities. It was his soul agony
for us. As our substitute, he could not
save himself from the cross and be our atonement. But rather,
he gave himself willingly for our sins. He said, no man takes
my life from me. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again, this commandment have I received
of my Father. It mentions there several times
about the waters. The waters have come in unto
my soul. Deep, deep waters. I read Robert
Hawker on this chapter today, and he made this statement, the
waters of God's wrath could not quench His love for us. The waters of God's wrath could
not quench His love for us. Remember John 13 where it says,
having loved His own, He loved them to the end. And John writes
about that in 1 John 4, hearing His love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us. And He sent His Son to be the
sacrifice for our sin. Now look at verse 4. They didn't
hate me without a cause. There was really
no cause for anyone to hate Him. He went about doing good. He
healed everybody that came to Him that needed healing. He healed
them. He fed the hungry. He did all
these many mighty miracles, and yet they hated Him so much. They
that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my
head. They that would destroy me being my enemies wrongfully
are mighty, that is, considering among men, the Pharisees and
Pontius Pilate and Herod, the Roman government. They hate me
without a cause, being mine enemies. Wrongfully, they are mighty,
mighty malicious, vicious enemies. Then I restored that which I
took not away." He restored everything that Adam lost, didn't he? They
hated the Lord Jesus Christ without any valid reason. And the reference there to John,
don't turn, let me read it to you, John chapter 15, verse 25,
where it says, if the world hates you,
you know it hated me before it hated you. And then he said,
but this come to pass that the word might be fulfilled that
is written in the law, they hated me without a cause. And the reference
there to Psalm 69, Psalm 69 verse 4. The carnal mind is enmity
against God. Man by nature has no love for
God, has no desire for God. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. Now here's a key statement though,
in the last part of verse 4, He's the Restorer. Then I restored
that which I took not away. He's the Restorer of salvation,
isn't He? He restored all that we lost
in Adam. Adam lost the way, the truth,
the life. The Lord Jesus Christ, He said,
I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. Where sin abounded,
grace did much more abound. By one man's disobedience we
were made sinners, so by the obedience of another shall we
be made righteous in Christ. What did Adam lose in the garden?
He lost everything, didn't he? He lost that paradise that he
had. The Lord Jesus Christ brought
in a better paradise for us that we can never lose. You see, he
restored that which he did not take away. Peter talked about
a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.
John talked about in the Revelation no more death. No more sorrow. No more crying. No more pain. The former things are passed
away. That's paradise. To be with the
Lord Jesus Christ. Have life forevermore. Adam lost
righteousness, didn't he? The Lord Jesus Christ brought
in an everlasting righteousness for us. And freely imputes that
unto us. God made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. Adam lost life, didn't he? Christ
brought in the Lord Jesus Christ, brought in everlasting life for
us. He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life. He that hath the Son hath life.
Adam lost his inheritance, didn't he? God drove him out of the
garden. Adam lost his inheritance. Christ
brought in for us an everlasting inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled,
that does not fade away. Reserved in heaven for you who
are kept by the power of God. We've been made heirs of God
and joined heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Adam lost God's
glory, didn't he? The Lord Jesus Christ brought
in everlasting glory. Everlasting glory. And he prayed
this in John 17. I will that they also whom thou
hast given me be with me where I am that they may behold my
glory which thou hast given me for thou hast loved me before
the foundation of the world. God forbid we should glory saved
in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at verse 5,
O God, O God my God, thou knowest my
foolishness. Now, we know the Lord Jesus Christ
is a wise and eternal God, but he is speaking here as the man,
Christ Jesus. He is speaking here as the substitute
for our sin. Thou knowest my foolishness.
All of our sin of foolishness and ignorance was laid upon the
Lord Jesus Christ. And my sins, and notice that
marginal reference on that word, guiltiness. Guiltiness are not
hid from thee. The Lord Jesus Christ, our sin
was so made to be His that He stood before God guilty. Guilty as charged. Guilty before
God. We know that Christ had no sin,
knew no sin, and did no sin. But as he's made sin for us,
burying our sin in his own body on the tree, he's both guilty
and shameful before God. Shameful before God. He says
in verse 7, Because for thy sake I by born reproach, shame hath
covered my Face. Shame. Shame. Guilty for our
sin. Now hold your place there and
look at Psalm 40. Turn over there. Let's read this
together. Psalm 40, verse 12. Psalm 40, verse 12. Talking about our sin being made
so much His. the just dying for the unjust
that he might bring us unto God. Psalm 40 verse 12. For innumerable
evils have compassed me about, mine iniquities have taken hold
upon me, so that I am not able to look up. There are more than
the hairs of my head, therefore my heart faileth. The Lord Jesus Christ called
our sin His. He owns them. As such, He becomes
guilty before God. He becomes the worm. Don't turn
because we read this last week. Remember in Psalm 22, He said,
I am a worm and no man. of approach of men, despised
of the people, the Lord Jesus Christ became that worm to save
worms just like us. He came to seek and to save the
lost, and He did not fail. He did not fail in any aspect. Let me read this to you. I was
looking at this earlier today in Psalm 41. Talking about worms being saved,
he came to save worms. Isaiah 41, 14, Fear not, thou
worm Jacob, ye men of Israel, I will help thee thus. Saith
the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One, thou worm Jacob. How many
times has he called the God of Jacob? The God of Jacob. He took that worm, Jacob, and
made him a prince, Israel. That's what he does by the sacrifice
of himself. Now, back to Psalm 69, and look
at verse 6 and 7. Thou knowest my sin, thou knowest
my guiltiness. Let not them that wait on thee,
O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed. We sang a moment ago, ashamed
of Jesus, can it be? A mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Ashamed of Him whom angels adore, whose glory never fades away? Ashamed? Be ashamed! Let not them that wait on Thee,
O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake. Let not those that
seek Thee be confounded for my sake. O God of Israel, because
for Thy sake, verse 7, have I borne reproach. Shame covered my face. I thought of that scripture when
I read that shame had covered my face. I couldn't find this
scripture. It took me a while to look it
up. But you remember, don't turn, let me read it to you. Isaiah
50, the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be shamed. Therefore have I hid my face
from But therefore, have I set my face like a flint? I know
that I shall not be ashamed. But here's what I was thinking
about. The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious, neither turned I way back. I gave my
back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting." He hid not
his face. But those that trust the Lord
Jesus Christ because he brought in everlasting salvation for
us by his blood sacrifice, the believer resting in him and being
found in him, we have nothing to be ashamed of before God.
He presents us holy, unblameable, unreprovable on God's side. We
rather glory in Christ and then crucify, don't we? He's not ashamed
to own us, and we're not ashamed to own him. Not at all. In that
reference there is Romans 9.33 where it says, Behold, I lay
in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense. Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed. And then Peter quotes it this
way, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect and precious.
He that believeth on him shall not be confounded. And that goes
back to what he said in Isaiah 28, 16. Behold, I lay in Zion
for a foundation of stone, a tribestone, a precious cornerstone. He that
believeth on Him shall never be forced out. Never be forced
away. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ. He's not ashamed to own us as
brethren. And we're not ashamed to own
Him. Paul said, I'm not ashamed for I know whom I have believed
And I'm persuaded that He's able to keep that which I've committed
unto Him against that day. Let not those that seek Thee
be confounded. Let them not be ashamed, O God
of Israel. Because for Thy sake have I borne
reproach. He took all the shame, all our
sin, and He gives us His righteousness. Now look at verse 8. I am become
a stranger unto my brethren, an alien, an alien unto my mother's
children. His own nation, his own people
rejected him. You remember we read in John
chapter 1, where it said he came unto his own, and his own received
him not. They said away with him, crucify
him. We have no king but Caesar. It
says there in John 7 verse 5, John 7, verse 5, the reference
is there. You see the reference on verse
8. John 1, 11 and John 7, verse 5. His own brethren, that is
the children that Mary and Joseph had after the virgin birth of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to see that in Matthew
chapter 13. Even his own brethren didn't
believe him to be the Messiah. Not at first, they didn't. And
his own nation didn't believe him at first. Even his disciples. Even though Peter said, Lord,
these other fellows, Peter, instead of John and Andrew and these
others, Philip, they're weak. I'll never forsake you. I'll
never... Be ashamed of thee. And yet Peter,
what did he do? He denied the Lord not once,
but three times. And not only that, not only did
Peter deny Him, but it says, the Scripture said that they
all forsook Him. They all fled. I become a stranger to my brethren,
my own disciples. Now look at verse 9. For the
zeal of thy house The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."
And notice the reference there is to John chapter 2 verse 17. And the reproaches of them that
reproach thee are fallen upon me. And he quotes that. That
is quoted in Romans 15 verse 3. Now that reference there to
John chapter 2 verse 17. The Lord Jesus Christ was eaten
up with God's He was jealous of God's glory, wasn't he? He
had the zeal of God upon his heart, jealous of God's glory. When he went into the temple
there in John chapter 2, the reference is there, and he saw
those religious people buying and selling different animals
for sacrifice. And the Lord knew the hypocrisy
and the cheating and stealing that was going on. And He made
him a whip. Remember? He made him a whip
and started whipping those money changers and whipping those people
who were going about misusing things. And He drove them out.
He turned their tables over and He drove them out. He said, you've
made my Father's house a den of thieves. And then the other
reference there is to Romans chapter 5, verse 3, where it
says, For even Christ pleased not Himself, but as it is written,
reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon me. And
Paul quotes that in Romans 15 and applies it to the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ patiently
endured the sinful reproaches and actions of wicked men against
Him. They spoke against Him with such
evil and viciousness that they called Him a wine beaver. They
called Him a gluttonous man. They said when the Lord healed
a man, And when he went about doing good, they said, he's healing
and doing these things in the name of Beelzebub. He has a demon
spirit. They accused the Lord Jesus Christ
of being demon possessed. But the Lord was all about God's
glory, wasn't He? Look at verse 10, 11, and 12.
When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to
my reproach. When he went about doing good,
they still reproached him. I made sackcloth also my garment,
and I become a proverb. He became a joke among those
religious Jews, didn't he? They that sit in the gate, that
is the judges that sit in the gate, they speak against me.
I was the song of the drunk, the drunkards. The street people.
The Lord of Glory taking our humanity into union with His
deity should have been a glorious reason for people to praise the
Lord, but instead they only ridiculed Him and mocked Him all the time,
didn't they? From the religious judges in
the gates to the drunkards on the street. They all spoke evil
against the lovely Son of God. That is us by nature. Enmity
against the holiness of God, the holy character of God. Now,
verse 13 all the way down to verse 18. The Lord is praying
here. But as for me, my prayer is unto
Thee, O Lord, in an acceptable time. Oh God, in the multitude of Thy
mercies, hear me. In the truth of Thy salvation,
the Lord Jesus Christ established salvation by truth. Deliver me
out of the mire, out of the mud pit. Let me not sink. Let me be delivered from them
that hate me. Out of deep water, and He was
delivered. He was raised from the dead.
Let not the water flood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow
me up. Let not the pit shut her mouth
upon me. The Lord Jesus Christ did die
for our sin, but He didn't stay dead, did He? On that third morning,
a glorious resurrection delivered for our offenses and raised again
for our justification. Hear me, O Lord! For thy lovingkindness
is good. Turn unto me according to the
multitude of thy tender mercies. Hide not thy face from my servant,
for I am in trouble." Trouble is near. Draw now unto my soul
and redeem it. Deliver me because of my enemies. We can make that our prayer too,
can't we? Look at verse 19. My reproach, my shame, my dishonor,
and my adversaries are all before me." Our Lord returns to His
suffering for our sin. Three words He mentions there
concerning taking our sin unto Himself. He talks about His reproach,
shame, and dishonor. And that's what's going on there
at Calvary as He's bearing our sin in His own body on the tree. My reproach, my shame, remember
in Psalm 22, they stripped Him naked. He said, I can count all
my bones. My dishonor, they mocked him
in so many ways. They mocked him as a king. They
mocked him as a prophet. Remember, they put a blindfold
around him and hit him up out of the face and said, you're
a prophet. Tell us who hit you up out of the face. They mocked
him in every way, didn't they? But here's the thing. Pilate, Herod, the Jews, and
the Gentiles were gathered together to do for him to do unto Him
with maliciousness and hatred, but they only did what God determined
for it to be done. All purpose of God. He suffers
like no other, putting away our sin. God committed His love toward
us. And while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Now look at verse 20. Reproach hath broken my heart.
The reproach of sin broke his heart. Remember, in Psalm 22,
he said, My heart like wax melted in the midst of my bowels. Reproach
hath broken my heart. I am full of heaviness. I look
for some to take pity. There was none. For comforters,
I found none. When he said, I thirst, verse
21, They gave me also gall for my
meat." Bitterness. In my thirst, they gave me vinegar
to drink. They mocked Him as He died as
our substitute. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ in
verse 22 down through verse 28, We see the severe judgment that
fell upon the Jewish nation, which for the most part is still
in effect today. And that's quoted there in the
book of Romans chapter 11. You see the reference there on
verse 22. Let their table become a snare. The ceremonies under the law
should have been a signpost directing them to the Lord Jesus Christ,
but they stumbled and fell. Christ crucified was a stumbling
block unto them. Let their table become a snare
before them, and that which should have been for their welfare,
let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened that
they see not. and make their loins continually
to shake. Pour out thy ignomination upon
them. Let thy wrathful anger take hold
upon them. Let their habitation or their
office be desolate. Let none dwell in their tent,
for they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and they talk to
the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto
their iniquity. Let not righteousness, let them
not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of this
life and not be written with the righteous." You talk about
a judicial judgment upon that nation for what they did to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Forty years after the Lord Jesus
Christ gave His life on Calvary's tree, you remember what happened
in 70 A.D.? The Roman Empire came and destroyed
that city. Not one stone was left upon another. Judgment, God said, would come
to that nation. It did, and it still is. That
judgment of God is still on that nation today. We see that going
on right now. And it will never end until the
Lord comes back again. I am poor and sorrowful. Let
thy salvation, O God, set me on high. And it did. I will praise
the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
This also shall please the Lord better. The voice of thanksgiving,
worship, the worship of the true and living God is better A sacrifice
of an ox or a bullock? The Lord Jesus Christ brought
in a better sacrifice, didn't He? We've seen that word, better. The Lord obtained for us eternal
redemption with His own blood. His blood is better. His sacrifice
is better. The humble shall see this and
be glad, and your hearts shall live that speak God. We see this
and we are glad, aren't we? For the Lord heareth the poor."
You remember David said, I'm poor and needy if the Lord thinketh
upon me. Those two words there, poor and
prisoner. He came to set the prisoner free.
Let the heaven and earth praise Him. Let everything that breath
praise Him. The seas and everything that
moves, creeps therein. God will save Zion. Did He? Yes, He did. God will
save his people. Zion is his church. And he will
build that new city, Jerusalem, that we may dwell therein, that
we may have possession of that new city, Jerusalem. Verse 36,
the seed also of thy servant shall inherit it. Salvation is
an inheritance. It's not something we merit or
that we buy. The seed also of his servant
shall inherit, talking about the spiritual seed, the elect
of God. And they that love his name,
they'll dwell there. Those who love his name. Those
who love his name will dwell there. The spiritual seed of
Abraham shall have that inheritance forever and ever and ever. They that love his name, we only
love him because he first loved us. We love His name. Look right down the page. Psalm
70. You remember this verse? Verse 4. Psalm 70, verse 4. Let all those that seek Thee
rejoice and be glad in Thee. Let as such as love Thy salvation,
say continually, Let God be magnified. That Psalm ends the same way
Psalm 22 ended. Remember how Psalm 22 ended?
The same way. Exaltation. Exaltation. A seed shall serve him. It shall
be counted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare
his righteousness unto a people that shall be born that he hath
done this. Salvation is all he's doing.
All he's doing. Amen. Love not the Lord Jesus
Christ. Let him be cursed of God. They
that love his name will dwell with him forever. And we only
love him, we know, because he has loved us with an everlasting
love.