He's not that deaf. Well, good
evening. Let's open tonight's service
with hymn number 22 from the Spiral Hymn Book, number 22,
For the Glory of His Grace, and let's stand together. We were ruined by the fall, Adam's
sin defiles us all. By our deed, as by our birth,
we deserved the law's great curse. Helpless, hopeless sinners we,
never can our souls retrieve. But the blessed Son of God Came
as man in flesh and blood He fulfilled the law's demands And
in death stretched out his hands On the cross of Calvary Christ
redeemed and set us free In the time which God had set, the Spirit
came for His elect to regenerate and call from the ruin of the
fall. By His power and by His grace,
we were born for God's own praise. ? Now your purpose we fulfill
? ? Saved according to your will ? ? Sing this song of joyful
praise ? ? For the glory of your grace ? ? Blessed Holy Triune
God ? ? Hear our praise through Christ our Lord ? Please be seated. Good evening. Let's open our
Bibles together to Psalm 111. Psalm 111. These are very, very strange
times. I know it's strange for those that are having to stay
home and watch the service. Strange for the few of us that
are here and how we long for the day when
the Lord will bring this to an end and have us all back together. Might the Lord make our hearts
grow fonder in absence of one another. Psalm 111, praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my
whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great,
sought out of all them that have pleasure therein. Now Paul speaks
of having pleasure in unrighteousness, which is what men take pleasure
in. They take pleasure in their works. God's people take pleasure
in the work of Christ. That's what he's saying here.
These works of the Lord are great, and they are sought out of all
them that have pleasure in them. His work is honorable and glorious,
and his righteousness endureth forever. He hath made his wonderful
works to be remembered. The Lord is gracious and full
of compassion. He delights in showing mercy.
We have a God who is compassionate toward his children. He hath
given meat unto them that fear him. He will ever be mindful
of his covenant. He'll never forget his covenant
promise. He hath showed his people the
power of his works that he may give them the heritage of the
heathen. The power of his works is seen in his resurrection.
And the Lord has shown us that he has conquered death. The works
of his hands are verity and judgment. All his commandments are sure. We have the sure mercies of David
because the commandments of the God were surely kept by the Lord
Jesus Christ. They stand fast forever and ever.
and are done in truth and uprightness. He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that do. And notice
the next two words are in italics. A good understanding have all
they that do fear the Lord is what's being said there. The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and a good understanding.
That's just a repetition of what's said in the first part of that
verse. A good understanding have all they that do fear him. His
praise endureth forever. Let's pray together. Our merciful
heavenly father. We come into thy holy presence
thanking you for acceptance, thanking you, Lord, for the promises
of your word and for the faithfulness of Christ and for the accomplishments
of his work. Lord, we Thank you for the promise
of your presence where two or three are gathered together.
Lord, literally, we have two and three gathered together in
homes. And we ask, Lord, that you would
that you would bless their gatherings and that. That you would speak
to our hearts and that you would encourage us and comfort us in
Christ and that you would soon, Lord, bring us back together
as a congregation. We ask it in Christ's name, amen. Number 262 from your hardback
terminal, 262. You can just remain seated for
this, 262. you ? Simply trusting every day ? Trusting
through a stormy way ? Even when my faith is small ? Trusting
Jesus that is all ? Trusting as the moments fly ? Trusting
as the days go by Trusting Him, what e'er befall, Trusting Jesus,
that is all. Brightly doth his spirit shine
into this poor heart of mine. While he leads, I cannot fall,
trusting Jesus, that is all. Trusting as the moments fly,
Trusting as the days go by, trusting Him, whate'er befall, trusting
Jesus, that is all. Singing if my way is clear, Praying
if the path be drear, If in danger for him call, Trusting Jesus
that is all, Trusting as the moments fly, Trusting as the
days go by, Trusting Him, what e'er befall, Trusting Jesus,
that is all. ? Trusting Him while life shall
last ? ? Trusting Him till earth be past ? ? Till within the Jasper
wall ? ? Trusting Jesus that is all ? ? Trusting as the moments
fly ? ? Trusting as the days go by ? Trusting Him, whate'er
befall, trusting Jesus, that is all. Would you open your Bibles with
me to Psalm 109, Psalm 109. I've titled this message Cursed
by God. Cursed by God. Psalm 109 is clearly
the Lord Jesus Christ declaring a curse first on Judas. We have in Acts chapter one,
we've been studying in the book of Acts and you remember Paul,
Peter stood up between the ascension of Christ and the day of Pentecost
and And he had discovered in the scriptures that Judas's place
had to be replaced. And he found this passage in
Psalm 109. And we have in Psalm 109, the
curse of God toward Judas in particular. But I want us to
consider the whole subject of God cursing. God cursing. I wouldn't concern myself too
much with a man cursing me. People curse each other all the
time. Generally they have no ability to fulfill those curses. You remember when David was fleeing
Jerusalem from Absalom and Shimei was cursing David and David's commander asked David,
do you want me to go and cut his head off for, you know, who
is this, who is this man who's cursing my lord, the king? And
David said, no, he said, he said, God, God made him to curse me,
leave him alone. And you remember, David comes
back and is received back into Jerusalem and receives his position
of honor and Shimei comes begging for mercy. And, uh, David, even
though Shimei had cursed him, David forgave him. Or David said,
I'm not going to exercise justice against you. But then he told,
uh, David, uh, told Solomon, his son, he said, uh, on his
deathbed, David told Solomon on his deathbed. He said, he
said, when I, when I'm gone. You exercise judgment, justice
against Shimei. And the first thing Solomon did
was he had Shimei put to death. David was cursed by Shimei. Shimei
is the one that ended up being cursed, not David. Men curse
one another all the time. And those curses generally don't
mean much. But when God curses a man, when
God curses a man, Well, there's no reversal of that curse. You
can be sure that when God curses a man, that's going to be fulfilled.
And there are curses in the scriptures
that are exercised against man by God that are, well, let's
look at them. If there is no eternal judgment
and there's no curse from God for the unbeliever, then the
life and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is meaningless. So God cursed, Galatians chapter
three, God cursed the Lord Jesus Christ. Cursed is every man that
hangeth upon a tree. The Lord Jesus Christ experienced
the full wrath of God's justice and was forsaken of his father
because he was cursed as our sin bearer on Calvary's cross. Now, here's our hope, brethren.
Here's our hope. We need not fear the eternal
wrath of God's justice and God's curse if we're found in Christ. Looking in faith to the Lord
Jesus Christ And for the exercise of God's curse upon the Lord
Jesus Christ delivers us from any fear of the wrath of God
in hell. Because that's, that's what Psalm
109 is about. Psalm 109 is the Lord Jesus Christ
declaring a curse against Judas and against all unbelievers. Now that's a curse I don't want
to know anything about. But I do want to be found in Christ, knowing
that when God cursed him, that the law was silenced. Justice was, was fulfilled. God was satisfied. And now I need not fear. I need not fear the curse of
God. When God curses, it's not, it's
not a matter of revenge or getting evil, getting even like it might
be when man curses, what God does is holy. God's hatred is
holy. God's justice is holy. So what we're about to read in
Psalm 109 is, is a reminder of the fact that our God is a consuming
fire. That vengeance belongs to him. And, uh, that for those who have
no fear of God, that, that they're going to experience the full
wrath of, of, of God's curse. And, um, for the child of God. Oh, we need not, we need not
fear that. Psalm 139, David said this, and
he's speaking prophetically for the Lord Jesus Christ, when he
said, do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee. Now, how do we reconcile that
with the command to bless those who curse us? or to do good unto
all men or to love our enemies. Are, are we, are we more virtuous
than God? I should even speak such a thing.
No, no. When God, when God curses and
when God hates and when God exercises his judgment, um, he does it
by his holy nature. It's not the, it's not the, these
things are necessary for us to understand before we get into
this Psalm because Because these words of God cursing his enemies
are very stern. They're very fearful. David went on to say in Psalm
139, he said, I hate them with a perfect hatred. God hates his enemies with a holy hatred,
a perfect hatred. We don't know anything about
that. He goes on to say, I count them my enemies. Now, before we get into Psalm
109, turn with me to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter
three. We're talking about the curse
of God. We're talking about being cursed by God. We're talking
about a holy God with wrath, cursing his enemies, And what
hope do we have? What hope do we have that we
would escape the curse of God? Well, here it is. Look at Galatians
chapter three, and we'll begin reading at verse 10. For as many
as are of the works of the law are under the curse. If we're trying to be saved by
our works, we're under the curse. The law curses us, the law condemns
us. For it is written, cursed is
everyone that continueth not in all things that are written
in the book of the law to do them. So if we're going to be
seeking favor with God by anything that we do, then we're going
to have to live perfect. According to the law of God,
not just in action, but well, We've got to be sinless. We've
got to be sinless in heart, in attitude, in action. We've got
to be born sinless. That's what the Lord's saying.
If we're seeking the favor of God by the works of the law,
all we can expect is the curse of God. So this Psalm 109, when
God himself is cursing his enemies, It is for all those who are under
the law for curses. Everyone that do that doesn't
do everything that's written in the book of the law. Verse
11, but that no man is justified by the law on the side of God.
It is evident for the Josh shall live by faith. Those who are
justified before God. What is it to be justified? It's
for the law to be fulfilled. It's for the law to be silenced.
And we can't be justified before God by our keeping the law because
we can't keep it. And so the law is not silenced.
The law is condemning. The law is cursing. The law is
saying guilty, guilty, cut off. Cursed is everyone who is under
the law. And the law is not a faith. But
the man that do with them shall live in them. There's two, you
either in faith or you're under the law. And if you're under
the law, you're cursed. And faith doesn't have anything
to do with the law. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written,
cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. So the Lord Jesus
Christ, by his sacrificial death on Calvary's cross, he didn't
just satisfy the law by his life of perfect obedience, he satisfied
the law by his substitutionary death on the cross. He was obedient
even unto death. You see, the law required not
just a sinless sacrifice, but the law required justice. The
law required that sin be paid for. So his death on the cross
was part of his righteousness to fulfill the law. His fulfilling
of the law was not just his perfect life, it was his perfect death. And the scripture is making it
clear that Christ was cursed by the law as he hung on Calvary's
tree, bearing the sins of his people in his body upon that
tree. And the law, the law could only
be satisfied by pouring out the full fury of God's wrath. Christ
experienced being cut off by the father. You and I've never
been cut off by God. We're never being cut off. Hell is being cut off by God,
but in this world, no one knows what it is to be cut off. Verse 14, that the blessings
of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ,
that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith,
through faith. Now, justice is the administering
of deserved punishment or reward according to the law. Justice
has to do with the law's requirements and the law being upheld and
the law being honored. And the scripture says, the law
is honored and upheld and fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Lord is well pleased with him. The father is well pleased with
the son for his righteousness sake, for he will magnify the
law and make it honorable. So justice, God requires justice. And if there's no justice, there's
a curse. And in order for us to escape
the curse of the law, justice had to be fulfilled. Christ Jesus the Lord is the
end of the law for righteousness. His perfect life and his obedience
unto death fulfilled the requirements for justice. No man is justified
by the works of the law on the side of God. It is evident for
the just, we just read, shall live by faith. Now, there's only
twice only two times where justice is served. Once was when the
holy one of Israel presented himself before his father as
the perfect righteousness of his people and suffered the full
wrath of God's justice. God made him sin who knew no
sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Justice was fulfilled. The sky
was blackened. The Lord Jesus Christ cried in
agony, my God, my God, whilst thou forsaken me. He was cast
into, you see, hell is separation from God. It's separation from
God. And that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ suffered in order to satisfy justice. Cursed by God is everyone
that hangeth upon a tree. If we're going to be, if we're
going to think that we're going to present ourselves into the
presence of God by our works of the law, then we have nothing
but the curse of God to look forward to. Now the second time that justice
will be served will be in the eternal flames of hell. If we, through faith in Christ,
have hope that God has been satisfied, that justice has been served,
that the law has been silenced, then we, my brethren, have no
reason to fear the curse of God. We have no reason to fear. The
curse has already been executed. Divine justice has already been
satisfied. Scripture says you are washed,
you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God. We're justified. We don't have to worry about
the curse of God. The Lord Jesus Christ was cursed
for us. Now, Psalm 109 is God cursing
his enemies. And there's some harsh language
in this Psalm, but I wanted to say all those things in order
to remind us that this is the holy wrath of a holy God who
hates with a holy hatred, and this is the curse of God that
men should fear. The fear of God is the beginning
of wisdom. We don't fear his wrath. Men ought to know that
this curse that the Lord Jesus Christ is expressing particularly
towards Judas and towards all of his enemies is a curse that Christ received
on Calvary's cross. Psalm 109 verse 1, hold not thy
peace. Oh God of my praise. The Lord Jesus Christ is calling
on his father to hold not his peace. Lord, he's crying out
to him, Lord, pour out your wrath. Pour out your wrath. That's what
he's saying. For you are the God of my praise. For the mouth
of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against
me. They have spoken against me with a lying tongue. They
can pass me about also with words of hatred and fought against
me without a cause. For my love, they are my adversaries,
but I give myself unto prayer. You know, that's not just a descriptive
of what Judas did, but it's descriptive of the whole world. The whole,
you know, the, the, the mercy of God and the kindness of God
is enjoyed by all the people of this world. And yet they have
no regard for him and no regard for him. And the Lord Jesus Christ
said yet, though I'm treated this way yet, I will come into
thy presence with prayer. They have rewarded me evil for
good and hatred for my love. Set thou a wicked man over him
and let Satan stand at his right hand. When he shall be judged,
let him be condemned and let his prayer become sin. Let his
days be few and let another take his office. Now this is the passage
that Peter quotes in Acts chapter one, realizing that this was
prophesied. And when the Lord Jesus Christ
prays in John chapter 17 and he prays, he said, father, I
pray not for the world. I pray for them, which thou has
given me out of the world, for I have kept all that thou has
given me except for the son of perdition. that the Scriptures
might be fulfilled. What was the Lord referring to?
This is the Scriptures. This was the Scripture that had
to be fulfilled in Judas' betrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
the Lord is cursing Judas. And not only Judas. Not only
Judas. He's declaring his curse against
this whole world. And child of God, here's our
hope. Here's our hope. The fury of his wrath has been
silenced. Why? Because Christ was cursed
for us. Cursed is everyone that hangeth
upon a tree. Now, if there's no judgment,
the scripture's full of these words of judgment. These aren't
warnings to the world to turn or burn. This is for God's people. The scriptures are for us. The
Lord speaks only to his people. And what he's saying to us is,
this is what they're going to suffer. The vessels fitted for,
the vessels of wrath, Romans chapter nine, fitted for destruction,
that the vessels of my mercy might understand what I've done
for them. You know, that's what the Lord's saying here. He's
not threatening us with this curse. He's saying to us, if
the whole unbelieving world is not going to be cursed, then
what you're hoping in is meaningless. What reason did Christ have to
be cursed if there is no curse for them? If there is no wrath
poured out for them? What are you worried about? What are you believing in? So
the Lord's giving us these curses to encourage us to look to Christ
who was cursed on our behalf that we not have to fear these
things. This is not, it's not the world trying to get, it's
not the Lord trying to get the world to, to, to bow to his threats. By the way, I've heard. Men say that this Corona virus
is the judgment or curse of God on the sinful world. There's
three things I want to say about that. The curse of God and the judgment
of God is the removal of God's mercy and of God's grace completely. It's being forsaken by God. That's
what a curse is. The flood was God's judgment. Okay. There's only a few that
were saved. And the scripture says, as it
was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the comes of the days
of the son of man. Uh, they were eating and drinking
and marrying and giving in marriage. That one doesn't mean that they
were living some sort of debauch life. It means that they were
just going about their lives in this world. And all of a sudden,
sudden destruction came. Sodom and Gomorrah was God's
judgment. And in both of those cases, in
both of those cases, God's elect had to be taken out of the way
before the wrath of God could fall, didn't it? Noah and his
family had to find the safety of the ark. A lot had to be taken
out by the hand before the fire of God's wrath could fall on
Sodom. What are those pictures? Those
are pictures of judgment. That's the full fury of God.
This coronavirus is not a judgment of God towards the world. The judgment, what are those
two things a picture of? Hell. Hell. That's when men are going to
be cursed. God doesn't send these inconveniences
in order to just make life hard on people because of their sinful
behavior. Hell will be God's judgment.
Someone says, well, what about the plagues of Egypt? Weren't
those God's judgment against Egypt? No. The Israelites had
lived in Egypt 430 years. They didn't know anything about
Jehovah. God hadn't even given him his name until he gave it
to Moses at the burning bush. All they knew about were the
gods of Egypt. So when the Lord sends Moses as a deliverer to
bring the children of Israel, what is the Lord sending those
plagues for? He wasn't sending them to punish
the Egyptians. He was sending them to show his
people his power over the gods of Egypt. All those plagues,
all 10 of them, had something to do with a different god in
Egypt. And the Lord, that's the only
gods they knew anything about. And so the plagues of Egypt weren't
against the Egyptians because of their sinful behavior. They
were sent for the people of God to show them who the Lord was. And if the Lord's pleased to
correct his children through some of these things, then that'd
be good for us. That'd be good for us. Chastisements
and trials are for God's people. They're not for the world. The
world will get its judgment. Turn to me to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3. This is so important to understand. The curse of God, the judgment
of God, the justice of God. God's not gonna pour out some
little inconvenient virus. I know people are dying from
it. We, we, we should be why, but you understand what I'm saying?
This is an inconvenience compared to what judgment's really going
to be. I was telling somebody today,
matter of fact, I was talking to Hugo and I told you, I said,
uh, I said, I heard some preachers say that, that this virus was
God's judgment against the world because of their sin. And the
first words out of Hugo's mouth was they wish. And I thought,
boy, that's a good answer. They wish. I wish this was God's
judgment. This isn't God's judgment against
the sinful world. Second Peter chapter three, look
at verse, look at verse seven, but the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word are kept in store reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. There it is, brother. The world,
as it is right now, eating and drinking, giving in marriage,
no regard for the things of God, no understanding that they're
under the curse of the law, not looking to Christ as the curse
for them, are being reserved for eternal judgment. The fiery
wrath, and he's not just talking about the destruction of the
world in fire, he's talking about hell. Now there's the judgment
of God. It's not a, it's not a plague
or a virus. The judgment of God is hell. Judgment of God is what the Lord
Jesus Christ experienced on Calvary's cross. He experienced hell. He
experienced hell on Calvary's cross. So again, we see judgment
and justice only exercise twice once at the cross. and once in
eternal separation from God. Second thing about calling this
virus, the judgment of God against the sinful world is that it's,
it suggests very strongly. It doesn't just suggest it says
that the sins of the world are worse than ours. Now. I hope the Lord will restrain
us from doing some of the things that the people of the world
do. But the truth is there's a whole lot of people in this
world that aren't living any worse lives than you are. A lot
of people, a lot of outwardly moral people in this world. And
the thing about whatever they're doing, it's just natural to them. When we sin, we sin against light. We sin against love. And to whom
much is given, much is required. That's why Paul said, I am the
chief of all sinners. And so to say that God has sent
this judgment against the world in order to punish the world
because of their sin, what does that do? It fosters self-righteousness
among those who think, well, that's for them, not for me. So number one, the judgment of
God is the cross and hell. Number two, to call this virus,
the judgment of God against a sinful world because of all the horrible
things that they're doing is just self-righteousness. That's
all it is, is self-righteousness. And number three, we all enjoy peace and prosperity. But the truth is that the argument
can be made that in times of peace and prosperity
are when men have the least need for God and are the least interested
in the things of God. You see, we get the idea that
hard is bad and easy is good. Isn't that what the world, we
think hard is bad, easy is good. No, it's just the opposite, isn't
it? So if the Lord sends some hard times in order to chastise
his children, in order to maybe to humble some men in the world,
that's a good thing. It's not the judgment of God. Go back with me to Psalm 109. Here's the Lord. He's declaring his curse against
the unbelieving world. A curse that he received for
his people on Calvary's cross, that they not have to fear the
fiery wrath of God's judgment, but they know. They know they
can look at every unbeliever in this world and they can say,
but for the grace of God, there go. I not look at some person
who's living a horrible life and say, but for the grace of
their go, I, because my sin is worse than theirs. But to see
an unbeliever who's on their way to hell, who is going to
experience the full eternal fury of God's curse and God's wrath,
they can say, but for the grace of God, there go I. Vessels of
wrath fitted for destruction. Turn to me to that passage, Romans
chapter nine, Romans chapter nine. Verse 22, this puts it all in
perspective. And this explains Psalm 109 and
the curses that the Lord is speaking against his enemies in Psalm
109. Look, look at verse 22. What if God willing to show his
wrath and to make his power known endured with much long suffering
the vessels of wrath fitted for destruction? And that's what
God's doing right now. He's enduring. These vessels of wrath, and this
is what's symbolized by Judas. Judas is called the son of perdition,
that the scriptures might be fulfilled. He was ordained to
that destruction, wasn't he? And that he might, here's the
message, brethren. Here it is, right here. And that
he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of
mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath
called, not of the Jews only, but even us dog Gentiles. There
it is. That's what the curse of God's
all about. God cursed his son. The law cursed his son. Cursed
is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. And these curses that
God's declaring against the world ought to make the vessels of
his mercy say, oh Lord, thank you. Thank you. These curses
are not for me. And it also ought to make our
hearts burdened for those who are on the road to destruction
that don't know it. They don't know it. We can't
stand in judgment of the world. Our hearts ought to weep for
them. We ought to be like Jeremiah. We see these people on the road
to destruction. They don't know where they're
going. They don't know what the curse of God is. Go back with me to Psalm 109. Verse 9, let his children be
fatherless and his wife a widow. Let his children be continually
vagabonds and beg, and let them seek their bread also out of
their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all
that he hath. and let the stranger spoil his
labor. Let there be none to extend mercy
unto him, neither let there be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be cut off,
and in the generation following, let their names be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with the Lord,
and let not the sin of his mothers be blotted out. Let them be before
the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them
from the earth, because that he remembereth not to show mercy,
but persecuted the poor and the needy man. You know who that
is. The poor and the needy man. The
whole world scoffs at the Lord Jesus Christ, who was cursed
for the sins of his people, thinking that somehow they're going to
be able to stand in the presence of God without without that curse
and not have to worry about being cursed. Because he remembered not to
show mercy, but persecuted the poor and needy man that he might
even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it
come unto him. As he delighted not in blessing,
so let it be far from him. As he clothed himself with a
cursing like as to a garment, so let it come unto his bowels
like water and like oil unto his bones. Let it be unto him
as the garment which covereth him and for a girdle wherewith
he is girded continually. Let this be the reward of my
adversaries from the Lord and of them that speak evil against
my soul. And it will be. Let me ask you
a question. Is it possible for the Lord Jesus
Christ to pray a prayer and not be fulfilled, not be answered?
No. Christ is praying to the father
to pour out the full fury of his curse in eternal judgment
against his enemies. But do thou for me, O God, the
Lord, for thy name's sake, because thy mercy is good, deliver thou
me." Deliver me, Lord. Now, how can somebody read this
and say Christ loves everybody and Christ died for everybody
and Christ wants everybody to be saved and all the foolish
things they say about God? Our God loves his people. He
loves them with an everlasting love. And he showed his love
when he received the full fury of the curse of God for the sins
of his people. That they need not be cursed.
They need not worry about being forsaken. They need not worry
about the fire wrath of God's judgment, not if they're looking
in faith. To Christ as their curse. He
was cursed for me. Verse 22, for I am poor and needy
and my heart is wounded within me. I am gone like the shadow
when it declineth. I am tossed up and down as the
locust. My knees are weak through fasting
and my flesh faileth of fatness. I become also reproach unto them.
When they looked upon me, they shake their heads. Help me, oh
Lord, my God. Oh, save me according to thy
mercy. Now, if the Lord Jesus Christ
was cursed for us and we were in him as he was crucified, Paul
said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the son
of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So, As Christ
is praying for himself, he's praying for all those who are
in him. Here's our hope. We're not saved
by our prayer of faith. We're saved by his faith and
by his faithfulness and by his intercession. He's saying to
the Father through all this psalm, he's saying, Father, you pour
out your fury and your wrath on them. And the judgment that you poured
out on me, Lord, you deliver me, you save me. And you save
all those that are in me. Help me, verse 26, O Lord my
God, O save me according to thy mercy, that they may know that
this is thy hand. that thou, Lord, hast done it. And we do, don't we? We know
it's the hand of God. We know it was God that raised
him from the dead. We know that God saw the travail
of his soul and that God is satisfied with the fury of his justice
poured out on Christ. The curse of God has been, the
law has been silenced. Justice has been satisfied. God
is pleased. And we know it. We know it. If
it's not true, if Christ didn't quench the fire of God's wrath,
If what he experienced on Calvary's cross was not sufficient in and
of itself, then we have nothing to look forward to but the fiery
wrath of God's curse. We're either going to be cursed
one place or the other, aren't we? And this is all men. Look at verse 28. Let them curse, but bless thou. When they rise, let them be ashamed. But let thy servant rejoice.
What's the Lord doing? He's drawing a contrast between
the unbeliever and the believer. He said, Lord, they curse. You judge them. But I'm crying
out for mercy. I'm the poor and needy one. You
show me. You show me your mercy. You show
me your salvation. Let mine adversaries be clothed
with shame. And let them cover themselves
with their own confusion as with a mantle. And how confusing. The, the, the religions of this
world are they're babbling on, aren't they? They really are.
I mean, it's just the same old, same old, you can't make sense
of it. They're confusion, but we have
the simplicity of the gospel. Christ has become a curse for
us. I will greatly praise the Lord
with my mouth. Yea, I will praise him among
the multitude, for he shall stand at the right hand of the poor
to save him from those that condemn his soul." The Lord Jesus Christ was confident
to his dying breath when he said, Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit. He was confident that the father
was satisfied with what he had accomplished in fulfilling all
righteousness on Calvary's cross. And he was confident that everything
necessary for the salvation of his people was fulfilled. And
the Lord saying, Lord, judge them. You saved me and my people. Brethren, we need not fear the
curse of God's wrath and eternal separation. For cursed is he
that hangeth upon a tree for us. Let's pray. Our heavenly father. Thank you for these words of
encouragement and Lord, we pray that you would increase our faith
and enable us to rest all our hope in Christ. For it's in his
name we pray. Amen. So number 27 in the spiral
hymnal. Let's stand. Yeah. ? Free from the law's great curse
? In Jesus we are free ? For Christ became a curse for us
? And died upon the tree ? The rituals of the law ? And all
the law's commands have been fulfilled in Christ the Lord,
established by His hands. No covenant with the law can
now with us exist. Complete in Christ we stand by
grace, both free and ever blessed. No more the dread of wrath. No more constrained by fear,
we worship and we serve our God with gratitude and cheer. In Jesus we are free. In Jesus we are free. Free from all sin and from all
guilt. We live in liberty. We'll join the happy song. With all the blood bought throng,
And sing the praises of the Lamb, Whose grace makes us His own.