In time past, periodically, I'd
have someone that was getting ready to follow me or preach. After I preached, would come
up and say, that's what I was gonna preach on. Brother Neil's done that to me
a couple of times. And last Sunday morning, he read
out of Psalm 69. And I want to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 69. Psalm 69, I'd like
to look at the first four verses. Psalm 69. This blessed Psalm. The words that a believer would
truly long to heartily pray. Words that our Lord in this passage
actually prayed. As our intercessor, he prayed
for us being made what we are. as our divine, glorious substitute. He prayed this prayer as our
mediator, as our Lord, our God, and our Savior. And as we read
these four verses, I'm gonna look at verse four. And I want
to ask the Lord to truly bless these words to our heart, Bless
these words that we might hear them. Our Lord prayed these. Our Lord prayed this. I wanna
hear what he has to say. Psalm 69, one to four, save me. Oh God, for the waters are come
in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there
is no standing. I am come into deep waters where
the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying. My throat is dried. Mine eyes
fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy
me being mine enemies wrongfully or mighty, then I restored that
which I took not away. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed
in John chapter 12, verse 23. I'll read this to you. The Lord
told his disciples, the hour is come that the Son of Man should
be glorified. He was getting ready to go to
the cross and be glorified as the Savior. As God's Lamb. That's what the
Lord prayed to His Father. Glorify me. Glorify me with the
glory that I had with you before the world was. Show me to be
what I have always been, the savior, the substitute, God's
lamb. And he said in verse 27, now
is my soul troubled, and what shall I say? Father saved me
from this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour. So from this passage of scripture,
we know that our Lord never asked to be delivered from the suffering that he eternally
had given himself unto, the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He did pray to his father. He said, if it'd be possible,
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt. I've always, I've read that passage,
if it'd be possible. And I, and right now, if you
can grasp hold of the depth of that, he's, he's getting ready
to go to the cross. He has, he's, he's entered in to that eternal
covenant of grace. But you think of the depth of
what he's saying. He's speaking, he's speaking
as a submissive, Savior, a man, the man, Christ Jesus, if it
be possible. I said, well, that's easy to
understand. Well, I'm glad, I'm glad you got it. But to hear
him say it, if it be possible, couldn't be possible, nevertheless. Not my will, but thine be done.
There he was, praying, praying for deliverance. praying for
deliverance according to God's will, but if it's not possible,
nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will, Lord, as you,
Father, prayin'. You're gonna be made sin. There's
another one that we've talked about so many times over the
years. He had made him sin. I don't, I don't get the depth
of it. I know what it's saying. I know he's, he was made the
guiltiest. He was made what we are by nature. I know that, but I'm telling
you this prayer right here. If Lord would just be pleased
just to give us just a moment, just Lord, if you just show me
for a moment, you ever have a, uh, Just sometimes something
just came to you and it was just it was just for a moment and
you just almost like you got it. But then you thought, I don't
know if I did or not. Well, this is one of those for
me. The Lord himself, he who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, made higher than
the heavens. Must be made a curse. curse for his people to redeem
them from the curse of the law. He had to be made the curse itself. He who alone knew the sinfulness
of sin. There's another one. Tell me
what sin is. I've told you before. I give
you the definition from scripture. Transgression of the law. Don,
I still don't know the depth of it. I don't get it. I can't
perceive the depth. I don't know what the Lord, just
a few minutes, we're just gonna look at these four verses and
just hear what he had to say concerning his sufferings. And
I read them and I think, Lord, as you say it is, it is. But
Lord, what you bore in the stead of your people, he was made sin. the very opposite of what and
who he is, sin. You and I have been born in sin. We come, we drink iniquity, the
scripture says, like a man would drink water. We just drink it
down. But as he faced that time, that
time of laying down his life. I lay down my life. He gave himself. And here he was, getting ready
to go to the cross. And Mark 14.33 says this, he
described his state, Mark 14.33, being sore amazed I looked it up, thrown into terror. He was sore amazed. He who is omniscient, he who
knows all, he knows all. And he said, I, at that moment,
I was thrown into terror, sore amazed, and very heavy, troubled,
anguished, depressed. Ever known a little bit about
depression? It's just, it's just such a uncomfortable thing, depression. And here that, that's what that
means right there. He was troubled, anguished, depressed. He was
very heavy, very heavy. These words set forth the trembling,
the horror of the Lord Jesus Christ at the point that that
Angel came to him, scripture says, strengthened him. That's
what it says, Luke 22, 43. And there appeared an angel unto
him from heaven, strengthening him and being in agony. Struggle for victory. That's
what it means, struggling for victory. You see, you're talking
about the Lord. This is what those words mean.
Here he was, being in agony, struggle for victory. He prayed
more earnestly. He prayed more intently. His
sweat was as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the
ground. We just read what was going on, what was going on in
himself. Here he was, his High Redeemer. what He suffered, what He bore. Now, with those marvelous revelations
concerning the state of our glorious Savior in the contemplation of
being made sin, the precious blessed substitute of His people. Let's consider this glorious
prayer. Psalm 69. Save me, O God. Save me, O God, for the waters
are come in unto my soul. I sink, I sink in deep mire. I sink in the dregs, is what
that means. I sink in the dregs. I just,
Lord, you're there in the filth of it, the filth of it. I sink in deep mire where there
is no standing, where there's no foothold, where you can't,
there's no gripping, there's no, it's dregs, it's mire. There's no standing. I'm coming
to deep waters where the floods overflow me. I'm weary of my
crying. My throat's dried. My eyes fail
while I wait for my God. This is our Savior. This is what
He's bearing for us. He was made this. He bore this. You and I, we read it. We know nothing of it. We couldn't
enter into this. in this life for sure. If our
life depended on, somebody said, tell me the depth of that. I'm
sorry, I can't. I can just tell you my Savior
bore it. He bore the depth of it, the
brunt of it, the fullness of it. I'll look at latter part of verse
four. I'll look at the first part of
verse four in a moment, but it says in the latter part, when
he was there with all of this, pleading, save me, oh God. I'm
standing in this, in the dregs in this, and it says in latter
part of verse four, then I restored that which I took not away. And I restored that which I took
not away. Here he is. I want you to hold
your place there, but turn over to Hebrews 5. Hebrews chapter
5, verse 7 and 8. gives us some insight into what
he was bearing. Hebrews 5, 7 and 8, who in the
days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save
him from death and was heard in that he feared, though he
were a son, Learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. The things he suffered. He learned,
he experienced obedience. See what I'm saying? We talk
about knowing the Lord. I just speak
for myself. I won't even bring you in on
this. But I'm telling you, I think to myself how little I know.
how little I can enter into. I read it, and it's as the scripture
says, I just see through a glass darkly. I just get like a glimpse,
like a glimmer, like a shadow. And here he is. These words are
being set forth. And you and I hear them, we hear
them. Lord, give me a heart. Lord, would you give me something
here? caused me to enter into this somewhat. His crying shows
in Him who humbled Himself, why He was made flesh, made what
we are. We see something of the weight
of sin. I think about when the Scripture
says, talking about those Jews that was railing on him one time,
and here he was. He was about 33 and a half years
old when he was crucified, I believe. And they were telling him, they
said, well, here you are, you said, before Abraham was, he
said, you're not even 50 years old. No. No, he wasn't. But the weight, the weight, the
stress, the heaviness, what he bore in our stead, this is what
he's saying. This is what Scripture's setting
forth. So when he prays, back in Psalm 69, 1, when he prays,
save me, for the waters are come in unto my soul. This is the
heart of the Savior, praying for the Father's sustaining hand
to keep him in the midst of that hour of suffering, but especially
here he was interceding for his people. As I said a while ago,
praying what you and I would truly desire to pray. But I need an absolute substitute.
I need an intercessor. I need an intercessor. I need
a great high priest. I need one to ask God that God
accepts. You go, that's what Moses told
the Lord. I don't want to meet God. That's
what the children of Israel told. I'm sorry, that's what the children
of Israel told Moses. You go. We don't want to go there. We
don't want to go on the mountain. You go. You go for us. This is what
a believer says concerning the Lord. Lord, you pray for me.
Lord, if you ask him. You remember that one growing
up, you know, as a kid, sometimes, you know, if you thought maybe
one of the kids, you know, was more of a favorite than I was.
No, you go ask dad. You go ask him. I need somebody
to ask that God accepts. I need for the Lord to speak
on my behalf. He says, save me. Save me. Save me. But the me of who He's lovingly
and guardingly speaking of, you know who it is? It's His body. It's His body. The church. the bride, the elect, the glorious
people of God, those that He's everlastingly loved in Christ,
those that He came into this world to save. Save me! We are His body. One with Him. These glorious truths that here
again, we came in there into. We do believe them. Save me. Oh, he was railed on by those
around him at the cross. Here's what they said, Matthew
chapter 27, verse 42. He saved others. Himself he cannot save. That's
true. Couldn't save himself and save
us. If he's gonna live, we're gonna die. Only way we're gonna
live is for him to lay down his life For us, He's going to have
to be what we are, and be made what we are, made sin, and lay
down His life. But those words, that's perfect
submission. Perfect submission unto the Lord.
Save me. The waters, that latter part
of verse 1, the waters are coming, the waters of God's judgment,
God's wrath, but come in unto my soul. And he bore, surely,
that's what Isaiah 53 verse says, surely he had borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Have you ever just stopped to
think, just stop to think what we just read. Surely he had borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows. We don't even know what they
are. And he bore them all. He carried them all. And we did esteem Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. The Scripture says in Song of
Solomon 8, 7, many waters, the waters of God's judgment that
came into His soul, many waters cannot drench love. God so loved, He so loved the
world. people, the world of his people. You know he didn't love everybody.
You know that. But all that the Father had given him, the waters
of God's judgment that was due us, couldn't quench. Love, neither can the floods
drown it. Oh, the love of Christ, the love
of the Lord Jesus Christ, which passeth knowledge. He willingly
You know, he said to the dregs, I sink in the dregs of filth. He willingly sunk himself into that which we are. He who knew no sin, admiring
filth, where there's no standing, where there's no stability, where
there's no substance. sunk himself into the judgment
of Almighty God and paid the just due of all of our sin and
rebellion and what was due unto us is what he paid. One day, by God's grace, Bear,
we might know this. We might. I don't know. I don't
know. But right now, just to be able
to get a glimpse of it. Found in that state He said,
I'm coming to deep waters where the floods overflow me. Oh, the
justice and judgment of the law. And then he cried unto the Father
for sustaining power, praying unto the Father with the perfect
degree of our need from the cross. He cried, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? Why has he forsaken me? That
he might not forsake us. Sin's gonna be paid. The penalty
of sin is death. Death is gonna have its due. If he does not bear our sin,
put it away, we will die. The soul of the sinner's gonna
die. Then he said, verse four, They
that hate me without a cause, no cause in him was found, are
more than the hairs of mine head. They that would destroy me, be
in mine enemies wrongfully or mighty, then I restored that
which I took not away. They that hate me. Who is that? Everyone that doesn't
know Him. Everyone that does not know Him
in saving grace hates Him. Hates Him. You say, well, I don't
hate the Lord. Well, either the Lord's lying
or you're lying or I'm lying. And He's not. They that hate
me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head. They
would destroy me. Oh, well, I don't think I would
destroy the Lord. Well, again, the Lord said we
would. When he was on that cross, those
that hated him, despised him, rejected him, railed on him,
was doing just exactly what they wanted to do. And but for the
grace of God, that's exactly what you and I would do. They
that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my
head, being my enemies, wrongfully. And it says they're mighty, verse
four. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs
of my hand. They that would destroy me being my enemies wrongfully
are mighty. It means vast, numerous. Numerous, how many? All that
don't know him. In saving grace, how many are
there? There are many. They're vast. Here's the Lord
of glory, who never blasphemed God, never injured a man, but
from his birth to his death, he was despised and rejected
of men without a cause. Only man. that ever pleased God,
only man that obeyed God himself, personally, himself. Everybody
hated him, hated him for it. They hated him. And kill him,
that's what they wanted to do. They hated him in their heart
and wanted to kill him. But in the midst of carnal man's opposition,
our precious Savior came to this world to save his people. from their sins and save them,
he did. He said, then, then I restored that which I
took not away. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, God-man mediator, gave back to
those that hated him. Those that despised him, those
that rejected him, only the Lord gave back what he did not take
away. What did we take away? I gave
back what I didn't take away. It was man in rebellion that
took something from God and the Lord Jesus Christ restored it.
What was it, first of all? It was God's glory. God's glory in the eyes of His
people. Scripture sets forth that the
hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both
of them. He said, I gave back what I did not take away. We
lost our ability. to see with spiritual eyes, to
hear with spiritual ears, to believe Him. We lost that. And he said, I restored that.
I restored that. How did God restore that seeing
eye and hearing ear? Well, the best way I could describe
it, turn over to Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 36. He restored it by making a brand new man. Sin
stripped man of his ability to see God, know God, hear God.
What's going to have to happen? God's going to have to give him
a new ear, new eyes, and he's going to make a new man. He's
going to make a new man. This is not a repair job. A new
creation is not a A fixed-up, a fixer-upper, like an old car,
just, you know, with new paint jobs. No, no, no, no. Look at
verse 24, Ezekiel 36. For I will take you from among
the heathen and gather you out of all countries, bring you into
your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water
upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, from
all your idols. I will cleanse you. A new heart
also will I give you. A new spirit will I put within
you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh.
I'll give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you.
I think, boy, you're talking about, I mean, just stop right
there. Just stop. I will put my spirit
in you. I'll put my spirit within you
and cause you to walk in my statutes. And you shall keep my judgments
and do them. And you shall dwell in the land
that I gave fathers, shall be my people. I'll be your God. Gave back. To the recipients of his mercy
and grace, he gave back, restored back the glory of God. before
Almighty God called any of us out of darkness. We didn't know
anything about God's glory, God's honor, God's person, God's will. We didn't know any of that. And
He gave it back to us. Made a brand new man. I'll tell
you the second thing He gave. Gave life, spiritual life. Some of you say, well, that's
kind of the same thing. Well, they all go together. So
just get ready. I got two more after this before
I'm done. But they're all in one person. Eve, life. The Lord told Adam,
in the day that you eat, the day that thou eatest, thou shalt
surely die. And then Adam, All men died,
spiritually died. But redeemed by the blood of
Christ, God gives them life. Like that little child, the navel
wasn't cut. He said, I walked by, I saw you.
When I walked by you and I said, when I saw you in your blood,
live, live. That word right there, that word,
from the Lord, live. And there's life. There's life. There's life there. Thirdly,
man because of sin lost fellowship with God. God, by his good pleasure, restored
that fellowship. Think of the fellowship that
we enjoy. right here with each other. There's something about
being around a believer. It just, your heart is knit together. You know, I, well all of us have,
we have associates, friends, family, we go whatever, whatever,
and we know them and love them, but if they know not the Lord,
that spiritual camaraderie, that oneness, togetherness in heart
just ain't there, Mitch. It's just not there. But he restored
back our fellowship and you, which were sometime alienated
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and
unblameable and unapprovable in his sight. Adam and Eve, sinned against
God, driven from the garden, But now, we're accepted in the
beloved. And then fourthly, man from the
fall lost his joy in the Lord, his joy. David said, Psalm 122.1, I was
glad, I was glad. You ever just think about coming
to the services and you're just glad you can go, just glad I
was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the
Lord. David prayed. He said, restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation. This is not ritual. This is not
just, you know, day in, day out. We're doing something here that
God's given us a heart for. We want to be together. We want
to be with each other. We want to be where he is. We
want to be where he blesses his word, where his word is honored.
We know what we deserve, but we're thankful that the Lord
has restored us according to his everlasting covenant of grace,
received us to himself. The scripture says in closing,
after the day of Pentecost, those regenerated by grace were said
to be continuing daily with one accord in the temple, breaking
bread from house to house, and did eat their meat with gladness,
singleness of heart, praising God, and having favor with all
the people. And the Lord added to the church
daily such as should be saved." Praise the Lord. According to
His good pleasure, He's kept us together. Just think about
the miracle of God's grace that we're all here right now, you
know, that we're all here together and that we can talk to each
other and love each other, pray for each other. New ears to hear,
new eyes to see, a new heart to believe, righteousness imputed. Lord, thank you for your mercy. Save me, O God, for the waters
are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire where there
is no standing. I'm come into the deep waters
where the floods overflow me. I'm weary of my crying. My throat's
dried. Mine eyes fail while I wait for
my God. They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of my head. They will destroy me, being
mine enemies wrongfully, their mightier Then I restored, I'm
sorry, they are mighty. Then I restored that which I
took not away. What he bore that we might enjoy
him, know him, be saved by him. Lord, I say this again for myself. Lord, save me, save me for your
glory and my eternal good.