Let us turn then to God's Word.
A text in Zechariah chapter 3 and verse 8. Zechariah chapter 3 verse 8.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit
before thee, for they are men wandered at. For behold, I will
bring forth my servant the branch Margin there in the middle of
the verse says, concerning Joshua and his fellows, that they are
men of wonder, or men of a sign. Hear now, O Joshua, the high
priest, O, and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they are
men wondered at, that is, men of wonder, men of a sign. for behold I will bring forth
my servant the branch." Zechariah was ministering around
about the year 530 before Christ. It was the time of the restoration
of the Jews and his ministry of course was one in which he
was to seek to encourage those who had returned under Ezra and
so if we want to know the historical context in which this prophet
was ministering we have to be familiar with the content of
that book of Ezra and there in Ezra chapter 3. We read of how
it was Joshua and his associates who were engaged in the reestablishment
of the worship, the building of the altar of the Lord. The opening verse is there in
Ezra 3, when the seventh month was come and the children of
Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one
man to Jerusalem. Then stood up Joshua or Joshua,
the son of Josedab, and his brethren, the priest, and Zerubbabel, the
son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the
God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written
in the law of Moses the man of God. And they set the altar upon
his bases, for fear was upon them because of the people of
those countries. And they offered burnt offerings
thereon, unto the Lord's even burnt offerings morning and evening,
and then we read about they kept the feast of tabernacles. Subsequently, there was also
the work of the temple, the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord. So it is there in Ezra's book
that we meet with this particular individual that's spoken of in
our text, Joshua. But we know also that Joshua
is simply the Hebrew version of the Greek name Jesus. And certainly in the verse that
we read, there is a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus. At the end of verse 8 he says,
Behold, I will bring forth my servant, the branch. My servant, the branch. And then later in chapter 6 and
verse 12, Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts,
saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch, and he shall
grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of
the Lord's. the man whose name is the branch
is the builder of the temple of the Lord there's a double
application it has to do with that work that Joshua and Zerubbabel
and others were engaged in the rebuilding of the literal temple
which had been destroyed by the Babylonians and after they'd
set up the altar as I said they went on to engage in the work
of rebuilding the temple but it is also a reference to the
Lord Jesus Christ that we have there in chapter 6 and verse
12, "...he shall build the temple of the Lord." That temple that
is made up of living stones, as Peter says. That temple which
is identified with the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Clearly,
the man whose name is the Branch is the Lord Jesus. This is how
he's spoken of in Isaiah chapter 11. The stem of Jesse, it says. A branch growing out of his root. Jesse, the father of David. But there the person being spoken
of by Isaiah as a stem of Jesse. And the branch out of his roots
is David's greater son. When we come later into the New
Testament, the very end of the New Testament, in the book of
the Revelation, there in the final chapter, the Lord Jesus
declares, I am the root and the offspring of David. This person then who is called
the branch, is the Lord Jesus and that one who is a branch
out of Jesse's roots is him who is also the root and the offspring
of David and it's an interesting expression that we have there
in Revelation 22 he is the root of David when we think in terms
of his Godhead he is God He is equal to the Father, equal to
the Spirit. The three persons in that one
Godhead. He is David's root but he is
also David's offspring when we think in terms of his human nature
because he comes in the line of David as we see in the genealogies
both in Matthew and also in Luke. And remember we have that portion
in Matthew's Gospel, the end of Matthew chapter 22 in which
the Lord silences the Pharisees who were always seeking to catch
Him out. Now the Lord deals with them
there in the closing part of that 22nd chapter. Verse 41 in Matthew 22, While
the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What
think ye of Christ? Whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of
David. That was true. The Messiah, the
Christ, is of David's line. He is the son of David. But then
the Lord says to them, O then doth David in spirit call him
Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right
hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Quoting from the
110th Psalm. If David then call him Lord,
O is he his son? asks Christ. Or he is both the
root of David, the offspring of David, No man was able to
ask Him a word, neither does any man from that day forth ask
Him any questions. All this person, the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ, what a wonder! What a mystery we see when we
consider Christ in His person, God and man. When the fullness
of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, we are told. made
of a woman. He is the seed of the woman. He is that one who is the great
mystery of godliness. God manifests in the flesh, a
man, a real man. Well, as we come to consider
this 8th verse tonight, I want to speak of the men of wonder,
as we have it in in the margin, really. They are men wondered
at, or they are men of wonder, men of sign. And that is true
both of the Lord Jesus Christ, but it is also true of all those
whom Christ comes to save. It's true of all those who are
in the Lord Jesus. And that's the division that
I want to follow. I want first of all to say something
with regards to the wonder of Christ, And then secondly to
say something with regards to the wonder of the Christian believer. Now primarily, surely, we acknowledge
that it is Christ himself who is the man of wonder. Isn't this
one of his names? For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. His name, his name is called
Wonderful. Why? Well, wonders are associated
with his whole ministry. Think of the miracles that he
performs during the course of his earthly ministry. And we
have it here in the margin. These are men of wonder or men
of sign. A portent is what is being referred
to as a sign there. there was such a remarkable display
of the power of God in all the life and ministry of the Lord
Jesus. Now, we certainly see that with
regards to the ministry of Moses, and Moses and his ministry associated
with the law of God. Remember the manner whereby God
brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. it was by signs
and by wonders. The ten plagues that God visits upon Pharaoh and his people. This was God judging the Egyptians
because of their cruelty to the Hebrews. Time and again we read
about God hardens the heart of the Pharaoh as these various
plagues are repeated. There in Exodus 7-3, I will harden
Pharaoh's heart, says God, and multiply my signs and my wonders
in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not hearken
unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine
armies and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of
Egypt by great judgments." This is God's manner, you see. There
will be a demonstration of His power, signs, and wonders to
be wrought amongst the Egyptians. And all of this associated with
Moses, who is the mediator with regards to the giving of the
law of God. And when we come to that law,
what a mighty display we have of the power of God there in
Exodus chapter 19. We made some reference to it
this morning. And the law is that that tells the sinner to
stand off, to stand back. There's no coming near to God.
when we see Him in all His terrible judgments upon the sons of men. But then also when we come to
the Gospel there is a mighty display of the power of God's
in the life of the Lord Jesus and in the life of those who
were His apostles. And we see how important this
was and the apostles recognized it as they commenced their ministry
there in the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.
We see that there's persecution. Peter and John are brought before
the Jewish authorities and then they're warned and they're let
go but there in Acts chapter 4 we have a record of the prayer
that was made by the church at that time. It's a remarkable
prayer at the end of Acts chapter 4 and amongst other things we
find this Verse 29, Now, Lord, behold their threatenings, and
grant unto thy servants that with all boldness they may speak
the word by stretching forth thine hand to heal, and that
signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child
Jesus. This is the prayer of the Church
in the New Testament. They want God to demonstrate
His great power, and they want signs and wonders to be done
in the name, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Oh, this man, he
is the one that He has spoken of. A man of wonder, a man of
sign, and we see it in the Lord's own ministry, of course. Of course
we see it there. those miracles, those mighty
works. And now John, throughout his
Gospel, is constantly using the Greek word for a sign. When the
Lord begins with that first miracle in Cana of Galilee, this beginning
of miracles, or this beginning of signs, in Jesus in Cana of
Galilee, and manifested forth His glory. He manifested forth
his glory and his disciples believed on him. And so, Peter, when he
preaches there before those Jews and those proselytes, on the
day of Pentecost, the sermon that we have recorded in Acts
chapter 2, Remember how he reminds them of the ministry of the Lord
Jesus of Nazareth? He says, "...a man approved of
God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did
by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves know." or they
had seen these mighty works. They'd witnessed all that the
Lord Jesus did and what the Lord Jesus did. These mighty deeds
would also be done by the apostles. Why? The church is built upon
that foundation. Apostles and prophets. Jesus
Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. And Paul, in Hebrews
chapter 2, Verse 3 says, How shall we escape,
if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him,
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders,
and with diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost according
to His own will? Or the Lord Jesus is that man
of wonder, that man of sign. Such a demonstration of the power
of God, evidenced in the course of his human life. But all of
those miracles with signs are directing us to a particular
truth concerning him. It's the words that he ministers. It's the message that he proclaims.
It's the gospel that he comes to preach that is the all important
thing, is it not? And in that sense the signs,
the importance, the miracles are quite secular. The great
thing is the message. Oh, his name shall be called
Wonderful. And there was such a wonder about
his ministry. It's interesting this name that
he is given, this name wonderful. Why we see it in the experience
of the parents of Samson back in Judges chapter 13, when the
angel comes first to the wife and then to Manoah, the husband,
And Manoah inquires after the angel's name, it's the angel
of the Lord. And the angel says, why askest thou after my name,
seeing it is secret? Why askest thou after my name,
seeing it is secret? The margin says, wonderful. Seeing
it is wonderful. It's the same name that we find
in Isaiah 9.6. His name shall be called wonderful.
It was the Lord Jesus Christ who appeared there to Manoah
and to his wife. We're told how the angel of the
Lord did wondrously. All the wonder of the ministry
of the Lord Jesus is there in the Old Testament. There are
these theophanies, these strange manifestations anticipating the
fullness of the time when God shall send his son in human flesh when he is to be born into this
world made of a woman and made under the law but these things
are anticipated but all the wonder all the wonder that is associated
with that person and the nature of his ministry why there is
that that is wonderful with regards to his birth we're familiar with
these things we know something of a the way in which Christ
came into this world, His conception. Now the angel says to Mary there
in Luke chapter 1, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, the power
of the higher shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy
thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Why? He is conceived in the womb
of a virgin who never knew a man. He is conceived in her womb by
the power of the Holy Ghost. He is to be preserved by that
virgin birth, preserved from every taint of original sin. Though Mary herself was a sinner,
there's no question about that, in the Magnificat we see her
rejoicing in God her Saviour. But the Holy Ghost so overshadows
the womb of a sinful woman. that what is conceived, that
human nature, that body and soul, is preserved from every taste
of original sin. That holy thing is what the angel
says. It's a nature, the human nature,
it's going to be joined to the person of the eternal Son of
God. This is the great mystery, or
the mystery of His birth. And then when we consider his
person. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of God in that it is God, manifest in the flesh. He is but one person. That person
is He whom we know as the Lord Jesus Christ. But in that one
person there are two distinct natures. He is really and truly
God and never anything less than God. And yet at the same time
He is really and truly man. And He knows all the limitations
as a man, all the limitations of our sinless humanity. He's a real man. And yet, though
a real man He is always true almighty God and we cannot divide
the natures two natures but one person and always acting as one
person it's similar really to that first and greatest of all
mysteries which is God who is one God and yet God subsisting
in three persons God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit not three Gods but always one God and never divided and
indivisible and the same is true when we come to consider the
person of the Lord Jesus he is one person and yet in that person
there are two distinct natures he is God and man it is a mystery we cannot fathom
it we believe, or we believe it, because it's revealed to
us here in the Word of God. The mystery of His birth, the miracle of His birth, the
mystery of His person, the God-man. And then when we consider the
manner of His preaching, the ministry that He exercises, isn't
that a wonder unto me? Even those who are opposed to
him, those who do not really accept him, are made to acknowledge
the authority of that ministry. Those who were sent by the Jews
to lay hold of him had to come back and report there in John
chapter 7, never man spake like this man. Why he is the prince
of all preachers. He is that One who is truly the
fulfillment of the prophetic office. God hath in these last
days spoken unto us by His Son, says Paul. He is the Great Prophet
of God. And remember when we come to
the end of His Sermon on the Mount, we're told at the end
of Matthew chapter 7, how He came to pass when He had ended
all these things. The people were astonished at
his doctrine. For he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes. Oh, his ministry was clothed
with such authority. The Father giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. There was such an unction of
the Spirit in all the ministry of that holy man of God. that
great prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And then when we consider the
end of his ministry, the end of his life, the death that he
dies, what a mystery, what a mystery. We're told how from the sixth
hour, the sixth hour would be noon, 12 noon, they begin to
measure the day, from 6 a.m. to the juice, the 6th hour then
is high noon. The sun at its zenith. And from
the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land until the 9th
hour. And about the 9th hour we're
told how Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthano, which being interpreted is my God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? That great cry he feels so derelict
in his soul as he makes the one sacrifice for sins forever. How could there be division?
I said just now that God is one and God is indivisible. Those
three persons, how could there be division? We cannot explain
it, you see. It's all mystery. It's all wonder
to us. Oh, this man, he's a great wonder.
But there he is making that great sacrifice for sins. He's bearing
in his own person that wrath of God, that his people must
have suffered for a never-ending eternity. In those hours upon
the cross, what was visited, upon the soul of the Lord Jesus
Christ. How can we comprehend these things?
All that punishment that was due to the sin of His children. Every one of them. And He bore
it. And He died. And He died just for the unjust
to bring those sinners to God. He made His soul an offering
for sin. He poured out His soul unto death. Oh, the miracle and the wonder
of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. That man who was
holy and harmless and undefiled and separate from sinners. That
man who only ever pleased God. This is my beloved Son, He said,
in whom I am well pleased. and the Father delighted in him,
and yet the Father visits upon him all that seed, and Christ
so willingly, so voluntarily goes that way of the cross. No
man is able to take his life from him. He has power, he has
authority to lay it down, he has power and authority to take
it again. Or how he sets his face as a
flint, he'll go to Jerusalem and there he will accomplish
all that great work of the Father. I say this man is indeed a wonder. A man to be wondered at. But
that's not the end. His death upon the cross is not
the end. Then we have the glorious morn of His resurrection. Why
death cannot hold Him? O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin. The
strength of sin is the law. But thank be to God who giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? He was made
of a woman. He was made under the law. And
He has satisfied all the demands of that law. And the grave cannot
hold Him. He is declared to be the Son
of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the
resurrection from the dead. Here is the man. I will bring
forth my servant the branch. Here is one to be to be wondered
at. But as he is to be wondered at,
so too are those who are in him. And here we read O Joshua the
high priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they
are men wondered at." Aren't, in a sense, God's children also spoken of
as signs? It's interesting to observe in
the ministry of the prophets, how their children are so bound
up with their ministry. We've referred to this previously
in the case of that child that was born to Isaiah, spoken of
in the 8th chapter. He has that rather grand name,
Meher Shalalashbas. And the name that he is told
to give the child is part of the message. Syria is in league with Israel. They're in league against a little
kingdom, that southern kingdom of Judah with its capital at
Jerusalem. And here is a message to Israel, the northern kingdom
in league with Syria. Just turn for a moment to that
particular episode in Isaiah's life and his ministry to remind
ourselves of the significance of what is being said. In the
opening verses of Isaiah 8, Moreover the Lord said unto me, Isaiah
speaking himself, And moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee
a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen, Concerning
Mehershal al-Ashbas. And I took unto me faithful witnesses
to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah. And I went unto the prophetess,
and she conceived and bear a son, and said, The Lord to me call
his name, may her shall alashbas. For before the child shall have
knowledge to cry, My father and my mother, the riches of Damascus,
and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king
of Assyria." These two, you see. Syria, its capital in Damascus.
Israel, its capital in Samaria, in league against Judah, but
they're going to fall before the advancing armies of Sennacherib,
the Assyrians. And the name, We have the margin,
you may have a margin there in your Bible. This strange name,
Meher Shalal Ashbaz, means in making speed to the spoil, he
hasteneth to pray. In making speed to the spoil,
he hasteneth to pray. These two nations are going to
fall a prey to the Assyrians. And so this name given to the
child, his parts, of the message, the ministry of the prophets. And so later, verse 18 in that
8th chapter he says, Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath
given me are for signs and wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts
which dwelleth in Manzila. All his very children are signs
and wonders portents Now you know that word there in Isaiah
8 and verse 18 is taken up in the New Testament and it is applied
to the Lord Jesus Christ by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter 2. Christ is there, the one who
says, Behold I and the children which God hath given to me. Those children that God gave
to the Lord Jesus Christ In the eternal covenant there are signs
and there are wonders. Christian believers, it says
it is spoken of here to Joshua. If we think of Joshua now as
that Hebrew form of the name Jesus. Joshua the high priest, thou
and thy fellows that sit before thee. They are men wondered at. They are men of sign, men of
wonder. What is true of the Lord Jesus?
and all that great mystery that we sought to say a little of
just now, it must be true also of those who are in Christ. Now,
three things let me mention briefly wherein we see that the Christian
is a wonder. First of all, when we think of
the beginning of the believer's life, not his natural life, his
spiritual life, The beginning of that spiritual life, where
does it begin? It begins with a miracle. It
begins with the miracle of the new birth. Now, we know that
the natural birth is wonderful. To see a newborn baby, it's remarkable. And when we look at a newborn
baby we see the utter nonsense and folly of the whole theory
of evolution. And now we have it in the Psalms,
we have it in that Psalm that we read. In Psalm 71, David says,
verse 6, by thee have I been old enough from the womb thou
art he that took me out of my mother's bowels, my praise shall
be continually of thee, I am as a wonder unto men, but thou
art my strong refuge." Every human being is a wonder in that
sense, by natural birth. Again, in particular we think
of David's language in the 139th Psalm. that great psalm in which he
celebrates the omniscience and the omnipresence of God. Verse 14, I will praise thee
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvellous are thy works
and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid
from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought
in the lowest part of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance
yet being unperfect. And in thy book all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet they
were none of them. And it reminds us so solemnly
of the awfulness of abortions, the destruction in the mother's
womb. What a wicked thing it is when
we see that this is God's work. God's work that men seek to destroy. The natural conception, the natural
birth, it's a wonder. Well, if that's the case, how
much more of a wonder is a spiritual birth? When God makes the world
out of nothing, that's wonderful. When he forms and fashions a
child, that's a wonder. But when God does the work on
that, that is altogether evil and sinful and bad, when God
comes and visits the soul of the sinner. How the sinner must
be born again. And how is he born? Born, it
says, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God. Oh, God does such a great work
in the soul of that sinner, that sinner who is dead in trespasses
and sins. He's born from above. He's born
by the Spirit of God. And it is, remember, that same
power that is there when the Lord Jesus Himself is raised
from the dead. It's the exceeding greatness
of His power to us who believe. According to the working of His
mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead. Oh, it's the same power that
was there. Thy dead men shall live, says Christ, together with
my dead body. shall they arise. Why, if a man
be in Christ, he's a new creation. It all begins, you see, with
the wonder, the miracle of the new birth. These are men of wonder,
men to be wondered at. That the sinner should be born
again, that he should receive a new nature, that he should
become a partaker of the divine nature. that we should have within
us that seed that can never see even the very seed of God, that
eternal life that can never be destroyed that life is not destroyed at
death, the body dies but it's absent from the body it's present
with the Lord for those who are in Christ and it's all because
of that miracle of a spiritual birth, a new birth But then think
of the life that the Christian lives here in this present world. God doesn't regenerate and then
immediately take that newborn person to himself. No, the believer
has to live a life, a spiritual life in this world that lies
in the wicked one. There's the whole mystery. therefore
of the believer's experience. Lord what a riddle is my soul!
Alive when wounded, dead when whole, says Joseph Hart. The paradox, we sang of it just
now in our second hymn. The paradox of the Christian's
experience. And Paul, how Paul knew it, how
Paul is the pattern, of course we've said this before, and he
writes there in the epistle to the Corinthians that second epistle
he has to defend himself he has to speak time and again of his
experiences as he seeks to exercise his ministry and what does he
say concerning himself as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor
yet making many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all
things and that's true of every believer that's true of every
child of God We sorrow, we sorrow over sin and yet we're always
rejoicing. Why are we rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ? We're
poor, we have nothing and yet we're the possessors of all things
if we're God's children. It's the mystery, the mystery
of the life of faith. And it's not only Joseph Hart.
Joseph Hart has much to say about the mystery of the believer's
experience, but so also does Ralf Erskine. Do you ever see
that book of his, Gospel Sonnets? He was a fine poet, was Ralf
Erskine. And his book, Gospel Sonnets,
is well worth having and reading. And amongst other things, he
deals there with the riddle of the believer's life. And he says
this, my life's a maze of seeming traps, a scene of mercies and
mishaps. I'm in mine own and others' eyes
a labyrinth of mysteries. All the mystery of that life
of faith. And David, David says it there in that psalm that we
read, Psalm 71. We've already referred to verse
7, he says much the same as we have in our text. Here we read
concerning Joshua and the fellows that are before him that men
wondered at. And what does David say? Psalm 71 verse 7, I am as a wonder
unto men, but thou art my strong tower. Oh what a wonder David
was. Remember the rebellion of his
son Absalom. And David, oh David has to flee
from Jerusalem. His great friend Ahithophel is
also in the conspiracy and he writes of these things in another
psalm, in Psalm 55. We see how Now there he speaks of those
who had set themselves against him. Verse 9 of Psalm 55. Destroy,
O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and
strife in the city. Day and night they go about it,
upon the walls thereof. Mischief also and sorrow are
in the midst of it. Wickedness is in the midst thereof.
Deceit and guile depart not from our streets. And then he comes
to this, for it was not an enemy that reproached me. Then I could
have borne it. Neither was it he that hated
me that did magnify himself against me. Then I would have hid myself
from him, but it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine
acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together
and walked unto the house of God in company. Doubtless he
is mindful of Absalom, but also of Ahithophel, his great friend,
his counselor. how these have set themselves
against him. And as he flees, there is Shimei,
that's Benjamites, and he curses him in 2 Samuel chapter 16 and
there seems to be some reference to Shimei in the psalm that we
read. He says at verse 10, for mine
enemies speak against me. And they that lay wait for my
soul take counsel together, saying, God hath forsaken him. Persecute
and take him, for there is none to deliver him. All this language
here in Psalm 71. Isn't David mindful of the curses
that were being spoken against him by Shimei? How he knew what
it was to be in trouble. And he says there in that 71st
Psalm, I am as a wonder. I am as a wonder. And God was
in these things and he acknowledges God was in these things. He says,
Thou which has shown me great and saw troubles shall quicken
me again and shall bring me again from the depths of the earth.
In the midst of all those trials, all those troubles, where is
David's confidence? Why his trust is in the Lord. And why are these things written?
They're written for our learning. That we through patience and
comfort of the scriptures might have hope when we're in troubles.
All what troubles that man after God's own heart knew. Many things
he brought upon himself by his folly and his sin. And God forgave
him his sin but took vengeance upon his inventions. the folly
of his adultery and all that that entailed the murder of Uriah
as well as his adultery with Bathsheba and implicating Joab
also in dispatching Uriah and yet always such a wonder he can
say I am as a wonder unto many but thou art my strong tower. His confidence It's all together
in His God. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God, He says. Himself is nothing but a sinner.
Isn't this the life of the child of God still? All our strength
must come from the Lord God Himself. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God, says David. I will make mention of Thy righteousness,
of Thine own. Believe us. I like David. And like these who are associated
with Joshua, men wandered out. When Paul, in the New Testament,
addresses himself to the church at Corinth, what does he say?
He speaks of his ministry and he says he's a spectacle unto
the world. The ministry of the apostles.
A spectacle. The margin gives the word theatre.
a theater unto the world. And then again writing to the
Hebrews in chapter 10 of Hebrews, Paul says to those believing
Hebrews, ye were made a gazing stock. It's the same word, a
spectacle. Ye were made a theater both by
reproaches and afflictions. These are the people of God.
What are they in this world? They're like a theater. People
look at them. What strange creatures. The world doesn't understand
the life of faith. And it's not all conflict. I
often think when talking to the unbelieving they have no idea
at all of the wonder of the life of a Christian. Or they seek
their happiness in this world. These transitory things. That's
what they live their lives for. They work hard, they play hard.
And they think our lives are so uninteresting, so boring. And yet, for the life of faith,
what a blessing it is, the mystery of the Christian's experience. Our God is constantly teaching
us by our experiences, showing us our sounds, revealing Himself
to us. We have to go in and out, and
as we go in and out, what do we do? We find pasture. We find
that gospel food that is nourishment to our souls. There's the beginning
then of the life of the Christian, that spiritual birth, that new
birth. It's the miracle. It's the mystery. It's the wonder. The whole life
that follows is just a sign. the mystery of the Christian's
experience. And finally, think of the believer's spiritual standing, and the manner of that standing,
and the great mystery really we might call it, the doctrine
of justification. That's what we have here. Joshua,
we're told, was clothed with filthy garments and stood before
the angel. And he answered and spoke unto
those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy
garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold,
I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with change and raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair
mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon
his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the
Lord stood by." What a blessed exchange here. Take away the
filthy garments. Behold, I have caused thine iniquity
to pass from thee." What has happened to the iniquity of Joshua? What has happened to the iniquity
of all those men who are standing before him? Why all that sin
has been removed and been imputed to the Lord Jesus Christ. He
was made sin for us, it says. Who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. There is the exchange. He takes the sins of his people
to himself and he bears the punishment of their sin in his own person. He dies as their substitute.
The great doctrine of substitutionary atonement. It's Christ in the
sinner's place and in exchange. Why? What does he give? He gives
his righteousness. All that was wrought by Him throughout
that life of sinless obedience. And we have it again in the Psalm
that we read. Psalm 71, I am as a wonder unto
many, says David, but thou art my strong refuge. And then again at verse 15 he
says, My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy salvation,
all the day, for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in
the strength of the Lord God. I will make mention of Thy righteousness,
even of Thine own. Verse 19, Thy righteousness also,
O God, is very high. Who has done great things, O
God, who is like unto the And then he concludes on this note,
"...my tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the
day long, for thou art confounded, for thou art brought unto shame,
but seek my heart." Here is David, why he's a wonder. The Lord is
his strong refuge. He is clothed in that righteousness
of the Lord God Himself. It was the same for Abraham. Remember how Abraham's righteousness
is spoken of in that fourth chapter of the epistle to the Romans?
A chapter that deals with the great doctrine of imputation. And there in Romans chapter 4
verse 3, what saith the scripture, Abraham believed God. And it
was counted unto him for righteousness. What was it for Abram to believe
God? It was to believe in God's promise.
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded
that what he had promised he was able also to perform and
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Always the
object of his faith, the promise, the promised seed, Isaac. but
that's promising a wonderful type of the Lord Jesus. There
is Abraham's righteousness. There is David's righteousness.
There is the righteousness of Paul, as he says to the Philippians,
is one desire to be found in Christ, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, he says, but that which is through the
faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. And it is that that makes all
of these men such a wonder. Hear now, O Joshua, the high
priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for they
are men wondered at. For behold, I will bring forth
My servant the branch, all their righteousness is in Him who is
spoken of as the Lord's servant, the Lord's righteous servant,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh God grant that we might know
in our own souls something of these wonders that wonder of
Christ in his person, his work in his birth, his ministry his
death, his resurrection ought to know these things to know
that we have an interest in these things to know this great wonder
of that miracle of spiritual life, the new birth that mystery
of the experience of faith, the life of faith, and to know that
our standing before God is all together in Christ, to be those
who are men and women of wonder. Oh, the Lord then, bless to us
His own truth, for His name's sake. Amen.