of the scripture that I'll bring
to your attention this evening is found in Psalm 22 and verse
16, part of that verse. Indeed, the last part of the
verse, they pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 16 verse 22,
they pierced my hands and my feet. Thomas Adams, The Calvinistic
clergyman of the 17th century once preached a sermon on the
sufferings of Christ, and it was entitled A Crucifix. Well, I too would set before
you this evening a crucifix, not, as Thomas Adams says, to
amaze our corporal likes with a piece of wood, brass, or stone
curiously engraven to the increase of a carnal devotion. but to
present to the eye of the conscience the grievous passion and gracious
compassion of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. That crucifix, which
is curiously engraven, made of wood, brass or stone, is absolutely
forbidden in the Word of God. It is absolutely forbidden by
the law of God in the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, and it
is absolutely forbidden under the Gospel. The law says, Thou
shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness
of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy
God, am a jealous God. And so on. The Gospel says, Wherefore,
my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. Now again, little children,
keep yourselves from idols. Amen. The psalmist says, confound
it be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves
of idols, worship him all ye gods. An idol is described as an abomination
to the Lord, in Deuteronomy. Cursed be the man that maketh
any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the
work of the hands of the craftsmen, You see, crucifixes and such
like, graven by art and man's device, are clearly an abomination
to the Lord. The sin of idolatry is as the
sin of sodomy. But what of a crucifix forged
out of the Word of God? Such a crucifix the apostles
were wont to use. But we preach Christ crucified,"
said Paul. This is the crucifix, and this
is the only crucifix which the apostles used. But we preach
Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the
Greeks foolishness. This was the crucifix set before
the Galatians. O foolish Galatians, who have
bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose
eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth crucified among you?"
How was Jesus Christ evidently set forth crucified among them? It was by the preaching of Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. What were those eyes before which
Christ had been evidently set forth? It was the eye of the
conscience. This then is what we would seek
to do this evening. We would seek to follow the example
of such godly men of the 17th century as Thomas Adams, who
followed the godly example of the apostles, to present to the
eye of the conscience the grievous passion and gracious compassion
of our Saviour Jesus Christ. This is our crucifix. But we preach Christ crucified. Paul says that faith cometh not
by seeing, but by hearing. And hearing by the Word of God. This psalm, Psalm 22, is often
referred to as the crucifixion psalm. It begins with the words,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The very same words
which Christ cried aloud as he hung upon the cross. Now from
the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth
hour, and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice
saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? The psalm opens with these words,
and in many particulars we see this psalm fulfilled in the crucifixion
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. See verses 7 and 8, for
example. All they that see me laugh me
to scorn, they shoot out the lip, they shake their head, saying
he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let him deliver
him, seeing he delighted in him. Now see the fulfilment of these
words. in Matthew's gospel in Matthew
27 verse 39 and they that passed by reviled
him wagging their heads and saying thou that destroyest the temple
and buildest it in three days save thyself if thou be the son
of god come down from the cross likewise also the chief priests
mocking him with the scribes and elders said he saved others
himself he cannot save if he be the king of israel let him
now come down from the cross and we will believe him he trusted
in god let him deliver him now if he will have him for he said
i am the son of god verse 18 of the psalm they parted
my garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. I'll see this fulfilled in John
19 verse 23. Then the soldiers, when they
had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts,
to every soldier a part, and also his coat. Now the coat was
without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore
among themselves, let us not rend it, but cast lots for it,
whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith,
they parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they
did cast lots. These things, therefore, the
soldiers did. And the words of our text, of
course, describe the manner by which Christ was slain. They
pierced my hands and my feet, fulfilled in such words as we
have in Matthew 27, verse 35, and they crucified him. And they
crucified him. What words could be more expressive
of death by crucifixion? They pierced my hands and my
feet. The prophet Zechariah speaks
of the crucifixion of Christ and the piercing of the Son of
God. And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced. After the Lord Jesus Christ had
risen from the dead, he showed himself alive to the apostles.
And he showed them the print of the nails. and said to them,
behold, my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Yes, they
pierced my hands and my feet. Well, as we come to the words
of our text this evening, I would consider these four things briefly
with you. Firstly, the person pierced. Secondly, the piercers
of this person. Then thirdly, the parts pierced. Then, fourthly, the purpose of
the piercing. Firstly, then, the person pierced. The person pierced is none other
than the Son of God, who being in the form of God, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. This is the true Messiah, who
is very God and very man. and how Satan has continually
opposed this blessed person, the person of Christ. There was
that open opposition by persecution and temptation. You remember,
Howard, his incarnation. Herod slew all the children that
were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof from two years
old and under. A satanic attempt to destroy
Christ. And remember how the Lord was
there in the wilderness, 40 days, tempted of Satan, as Mark tells
us. And many times throughout the
four Gospels, we read of how the Jewish leaders, surely led
by their father, the devil, sought to destroy Jesus. For example,
when the Lord healed the man with the withered hand on the
Sabbath. In Matthew's Gospel we read, then the Pharisees went
out and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. And in Luke, when the Lord came
to his temple, we read, and he taught daily in the temple, but
the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought
to destroy him. And it was Satan, of course,
who put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray him. Now the feast of unleavened bread
drew nigh, which is called the Passover, and the chief priests
and scribes sought how they might kill him for they feared the
people. Then entered Satan into Judas,
surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve, and he
went his way and communed with the chief priests and captains
how he might betray him unto them. There was that open opposition
to Christ by persecution and temptations. And there still
is, in his mystical members which are still here upon this earth.
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? Paul, before his conversion,
was busy persecuting the saints. But the Lord Jesus met him and
he turned him about And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Christ is still persecuted in
his present evil world. Whatever is done to the Lord's
people in this world, the Lord takes it as done to himself. For he that toucheth you toucheth
the apple of his eye, says the prophet Zechariah. But there
is not only that open opposition to Christ in the form of persecutions
and so on, there is also a more subtle opposition from the father
of lies. There has been the introduction
into the world and into the professing church of wicked errors and dangerous
heresies concerning the person of the Savior, our Lord Jesus. Peter warns the church in his
second epistle, But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who
privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Now, these deniers of God are
not the purchase of Christ's blood, which they profess themselves
to be, the word Lord there in 2 Peter chapter 2 verse 1 is
despotis from which we get our word despot it's sometimes translated
as master and really speaks of a slave owner the usual word
for Lord is kurios and that's the word that's associated with
the Lord Jesus Christ and speaks of his relationship to his people. It also speaks of the relationship
between a husband and wife, as in 1 Peter 3 verse 6, even as
Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, kurios. That's not the word used in 2
Peter 2 verse 1. The word there is despotis. You see, these deniers of God
bear no relation, they have no relationship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. They are not the purchase of his blood, though they might
profess themselves to be such. So how do they deny the Lord?
Well, they may deny the doctrine of the Trinity, so much so that
they've removed it from their Bibles. For there are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one. If that verse is not in your
Bible, then you don't have a Bible. You have a counterfeit. a satanic
count of it, I would say as well. They may deny the deity of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, he's a man, a good man, yes,
a perfect man, a sinless man, he's a prophet, they would say. But they deny that he is Immanuel,
which being interpreted is God with us. Or they might deny his
sacred and blessed humanity. The doctrine of the manhood,
the human nature of Christ, is assorted and it's assorted on
two fronts, his human body and his human soul. There are those
who have asserted and there are those who still assert that Christ
did not or does not have a real human body. Docetism was a heresy
which arose in the first century, even in the time of the Apostle
John. which asserted that Christ only
appeared to come as a man. He was not truly man. He merely
revealed himself as a man in appearance only. It was a phantasm,
a phantom. And John writes against this
heresy in his first two epistles. In 1 John 4 verse 2, he says,
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God and every
spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God and this is that spirit of Antichrist whereof
ye have heard that it should come and even now already is
it in the world and in 2 John verse 7 for many deceivers are entered
into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. And Rome, which is the full manifestation
of that spirit of antichrist, denies the reality of Christ's
human body in its masses and in its doctrine of transubstantiation. You see, if the Lord Jesus has
ascended up to the right hand of the Father, which indeed he
has, then he cannot at the same time be on the Romish altar,
unless he doesn't have a real human body such as you or I have.
And he cannot have been chewed and eaten by so many mouths over
the centuries, and yet remain intact, unless he has not a real
human body. such as you or I have. This is
that spirit of Antichrist. And there are those who have
denied and who still do deny the fact that Christ has a real,
reasonable human soul or spirit. They would teach that the Lord's
human body was actuated, activated, animated by his divinity. This is the heresy of Apollinarianism,
and it has even raised its ugly head in recent times amongst
the strict Baptists. Look to yourselves that we lose
not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive
a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. he that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. John Owen says, For no stone
did Satan leave unturned in the pursuit of his great design,
and that which in all these things he aimed at was the substitution
of a false Christ in the room of him who in one person was
both the Son of Man and the Son of the living God. Well this
then is the person whose hands and feet they pierced. Him who
in one person was both the son of man and the son of the living
God. Let us go on to consider in the
second place the pierces of this person that is described here
in this 16th verse of the psalm. For dogs have compassed me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet. Those who pierced Christ are
described here as dogs and the assembly or congregation of the
wicked. So, who are these dogs? What
is this congregation of the wicked? Well, hear the prayer of the
Church in the early days of the Gospel in Acts chapter 4. And when they heard that, they
lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord,
thou art God, which hast made heaven and earth and the sea,
all that in them is, who by the mouth of thy servant David hath
said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against his Christ. For of a
truth against thy holy child Jesus whom thou hast anointed,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people
of Israel, were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel determined to be done. These are the dogs and
the assembly of the wicked who pierced this blessed person,
the Gentiles and the people of Israel." Dogs, were unclean animals under
the law. It was also how the Jews would
derogatorily refer to the Gentiles. Remember how the Lord answered
the Syrophoenician woman who besought him that he would cast
forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, let
the children first be filled, for it is not meet to take the
children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered
and said unto him, Yes, Lord, yet the dogs under the table
eat of the children's crumbs. And the Lord, of course, healed
her daughter. They were dogs, Gentile dogs,
who surrounded the Lord like a pack of baying hounds. And
now we understand the meaning of the title of the psalm, I
Jaleth Sheha, the Hind of the Morning. The Holy One of Israel
was surrounded and slain by the unclean, the Gentiles, for dogs
have compassed me. And the Jews are here described
as the assembly of the wicked. The word here translated assembly
is more often translated congregation and is used in connection with
the children of Israel. No doubt Those Jews who were
involved in the crucifying of Jesus thought themselves as the
congregation of the Lord and they were doing God's service. But the Word of God here describes
them as a wicked congregation, the assembly of the wicked. Spurgeon
says in his Treasury of David, this is not the only occasion
when professed churches of God have become synagogues of Satan
and have persecuted the Holy One and the just. Yes, how true
is that proverb? There is a generation that are
pure in their own eyes and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
So it was with the Jews, the assembly of the wicked, These
then are the persecutors and the piercers of this person,
Gentiles and Jews together, for dogs have compassed me, the assembly
of the wicked have enclosed me, they pierced my hands and my
feet. Now of course they were merely
the instruments. The real cause of the piercing of this person
was the transgression of his people. All the sins of all his
elect, they pierced my hands and my feet. We shall see when
we come to consider the purpose of the piercing. But before we
consider the purpose of the piercing, let us just examine for a few
moments, in the third place, the parts pierced. They pierced
my hands and my feet. Let us examine his hands. We read of those hands in Mark's
Gospel. when they brought young children
to him. We read that he took them up in his arms, put his
hands upon them and blessed them. Those hands that blessed are
now made a curse, for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth
on a tree. we read about those hands in
Luke chapter 4 verse 40 now when the sun was setting all they
that had any sick with diverse diseases brought them unto him
and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them why
those hands which healed are now dug through with nails and
that's the literal meaning of the word there translated pierced
to dig to dig through they dug through my hands and my feet we read of those hands in Luke
chapter 13 verse 11 and behold there was a woman
which had a spirit of infirmity 18 years and was bound together
and could in no wise lift herself up And when Jesus saw her, he
called her to him and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from
thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her,
and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. The Lord Jesus said of this woman
and of his healing of her and ought not this woman being a
daughter of Abraham whom Satan hath bound lo these eighteen
years be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day those hands
which set the captives free are now nailed to a piece of wood
he saved others himself he cannot save all those good hands those
good hands of Jesus, they were crucified by wicked hands. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. When we read of the hand of God
or the hands of God in the scriptures, it denotes the great and almighty
power of God. As in Isaiah 45 verse 12, I have
made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have
stretched out the heavens and all their host have I commanded.
We see then the weakness that Christ was brought to in his
human nature, for he was crucified through weakness. He who was
and is the creator of all things, whose hand stretched out the
starry host, now has his hands nailed to a tree. They pierced my hands and my
feet. Let us examine his feet. We know that Joseph was a type
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read of him in Psalm 105,
even Joseph, who was sold for a servant, whose feet they hurt
with fetters. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the servant
of Jehovah, had his feet hurt, but not merely with fetters.
they pierced, they dug through his feet with nails. The Lord Jesus Christ could truly
say in the words of Psalm 119 verse 101, I have refrained my
feet from every evil way that I might keep thy word. Yes, he
went about doing good. Of his enemies, however, his
persecutors, it might truly be said of them, in the words of
the Prophet Isaiah, their works are works of iniquity. And the
act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil. And they make haste to shed innocent
blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of
iniquity. Wasting and destruction are in their path. Isaiah describes the feet of
Jesus. Isaiah 52 verse 7. How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation,
that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. Oh, how many there are, multitudes
who have found mercy at those beautiful feet of Jesus. And
great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were
lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down
at Jesus' feet, and he healed them. The Syrophoenician woman, which
we mentioned earlier, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit,
we read of her, that she came and fell at his feet. And she obtained mercy and a
gracious deliverance for her daughter. Remember Jairus, whose
daughter died. He fell at his feet, Mark tells
us, and the Lord restored his daughter to life. Oh, there is
life, there is life as well as mercy and deliverances to be
had at the feet of Jesus. Forgiveness of sins is to be
found at the feet of Jesus. Luke tells us of a woman in the
city which was a sinner. She stood at his feet behind
him weeping and began to wash his feet with tears and did wipe
them with the hairs of her head and kissed his feet and anointed
them with the ointment. Now this woman was a notorious
sinner, in all probability a harlot. The Pharisee knew what she was,
and was offended when she touched the Lord's feet. He spake within
himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have
known who and what manner of woman this is which touches him,
for she is a sinner. Now hear what the Lord Jesus
says to him and to her. Luke 7 verse 47. Wherefore I
say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she
loved much. But to whom little is forgiven,
the same love with little. And he said unto her, thy sins
are forgiven. Yes, there is forgiveness. There
is forgiveness at the feet of Jesus for every repenting sinner,
even for the vilest of sinners. These then were the parts that
were pierced, his blessed hands and his beautiful feet. They
pierced my hands and my feet. And so we come forthly to the
purpose of the piercing. Lord Himself declares the purpose
of His piercing, of His being pierced in John 12 verse 32. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said signifying
what death He should die. He was to be lifted up from the
earth to be hung between heaven and earth as the mediator between
God and men, to reconcile men to God. He is, as it were, displayed
to the world. As we read in Psalm 98, the Lord hath made known his
salvation. his righteousness hath he openly
showed in the sight of the heathen he hath remembered his mercy
and his truth toward the house of Israel all the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation of our God and he is lifted up from the
earth for all to see as it were And
as he is lifted up from the earth, so the message of Christ crucified
is preached throughout all the world, even to the ends of the
earth. And so all the elect of every
nation are drawn to him. This is how we are to understand
the word ALL here in John 12, 32. And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me. You note that the
word men is in italics in our authorised version. This is one
of the benefits of the authorised version. We are told when the
translators have introduced a word, it's in italics. It's not there
in the original. So literally, the verse reads,
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto
me who are the all who are to be drawn to Christ well they
are the all spoken of in John 6 verse 37 all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out they are the ones spoken of in this psalm
verse 27 all the ends of the earth shall
remember and turn unto the Lord and all the kindreds of the nations
shall worship before thee we read there in verse 27 and verse
30 we read a seed shall serve him it shall be accounted 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 They are the elect of every nation, Jew and Gentile. And how do they come? Or rather,
what do they see when they come? What do they see as they come? Well, they see two things. Firstly,
they see themselves. They see themselves as sinners,
being convinced under the law of their guilt before a holy
God. The law has been applied to their
hearts and to their consciences, and they feel something of their
condemnation under the law. They are brought in guilty before
God. This is the purpose of the law.
As Paul says in Romans, Now we know that what things soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. That's the purpose of the law.
Now have you been brought to feel that guilt, that condemnation
of the law? Where can we get relief? Where
can we go to get rid of this burden of sin to the law? No, the Lord condemns all our
unrighteousness and all our righteousnesses too. Those works which we once
looked upon as so good and acceptable to God, we now see to be but
filthy rags. Seeing their lost and ruined
condition, they are made to mourn, they are made to hunger and to
thirst after righteousness. And it is the Lord who has brought
them to this. It is not that they bring themselves to this,
it is not that it is their duty to be brought to this, but rather
it is the Lord who brings them to this, it is the Father who
draws. No man can come to me, Jesus
said, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. It is the Son who draws, and
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
me. And how is it that the Father
and the Son draw? Well, it is by the Holy Spirit who eternally
proceeds from the Father and the Son. There is the secret,
inward operation of the Spirit of God in and upon the heart
of every one of the elect. It is the Holy Spirit who convinces
them of their sin and of their need of salvation and it is the
Holy Spirit who reveals Christ to them and in them. And so secondly,
they see Jesus. And seeing Jesus, again the first sight of Christ
in him crucified, why? They see the enormity of their
sin in his nail-pierced hands and feet. Ah, but then they see in his
nail-pierced hands and feet satisfaction made to divine justice. the law which condemned them
is now taken out of the way and nailed to his cross. That's what Paul says in Colossians,
isn't it? In Colossians chapter 2 verse
13. And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh have he quickened together
with him. having forgiven you all trespasses
blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us now that is the law the handwriting is God's handwriting written
on two tablets of stone blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us which was contrary to us and to get out
of the way nailing it to his cross we not only see the law nailed
to the tree. We see our sins nailed to the
tree. Peter speaks of the Lord Jesus
Christ who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the
tree. Now the margin says who his own
self bear our sins in his own body to the tree. The sinless Saviour dies the
sinner's death Death is the punishment due to sin. That was the sentence
passed upon Adam and upon all his posterity. For dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return. But here we see the sinless
Son, the Christ of God, dying. As he says in verse 15 of this
psalm, And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. Here then the elect sinner, born
of God, sees the wrath of God, which was due to his sin, poured
out upon Christ. In my place condemned he stood,
sealed my part with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Well, this then was the purpose
of the piercing, and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. In conclusion, here in this crucifix is peace
for all the troubled disciples of Immanuel. Remember how the
disciples were gathered together in Jerusalem after the crucifying
and the burial and the resurrection of their Lord and Master. We
read that Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and saith
unto him, Peace be unto you. He asks them, Why are ye troubled? And why do thoughts arise in
your hearts? Then he says to them, Behold my hands and my
feet. that it is I myself. Handle me
and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me
have. And when he had thus spoken,
he showed them his hands and his feet. He showed them his
nail-pierced hands and feet. Here is the antidote against
all our fears, Behold his hands and his feet. Here is an antidote
against the fear of death. Here is an antidote against the
fear of judgment. Here is an antidote against the
fear of hell. They pierced my hands and my
feet.