The scripture that I'll bring
before you this morning, I trust with the Lord's help and blessing,
is found in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 5, just a part of that
verse, Hebrews 10 verse 5, and these words, A body hast thou
prepared me. A body hast thou prepared me. Now Paul, in his epistle to the
Hebrews, was writing to encourage those Jews who had professed
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was writing to them to encourage
them to continue in the faith and to continue in the faithful
profession of his name. In this epistle, Paul shows the
superiority of Christ to all the prophets of the Old Testament. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son. He shows the superiority of Christ
over all the angels of heaven. There in chapter 1, At verse
4 he says, being made so much better than the angels, as he
had by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For
unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my son,
this day have I begotten thee. And again, I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son. And again, when he bringeth
in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all
the angels of God worship him." Under the divine inspiration
of the Spirit of God, the inspired apostle declares the deity of
the Lord Jesus Christ. from the Old Testament Scriptures,
but unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever. And here in this 10th chapter
of his epistle, he goes on to show the superiority of Christ's
sacrifice to all the sacrifices which were offered under the
law For the law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not
the very image of the things, can never, with those sacrifices
which they offered year by year continually, make the comers
thereunto perfect. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered, because that the worshippers, once purged,
should have had no more conscience of sins? But in those sacrifices
there is a remembrance again made of sins every year, For
it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should
take away sins. Well, why then were those sacrifices
instituted under that legal dispensation? Well, Paul tells us here that
they were a shadow of good things to come. They foreshadowed the
coming of Christ who was to put away the sins of his people once
and forever by the sacrifice of himself. Wherefore, when he
cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst
not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come. In the
volume of the book it is written of me, To do thy will, O God. Now the Apostle is here quoting
from Psalm 40. And verses 6 to 8. Sacrifice and offering thou didst
not desire, mine ears hast thou opened, burnt offering and sin
offering hast thou not required. And then said I, lo, I come,
in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to
do thy will, O my God. And we have Paul's exposition
of that scripture here in Hebrews chapter 10 and verses 8 to 10. Above, when he said, Sacrifice
and offering, and burnt offerings, and offering for sin thou willest
not, neither has pleasure therein, which are offered by the law.
Then he said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he may establish the second by the which will
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. Well this then is the context
of the scripture which I bring before you this morning. A body
hast thou prepared me. Paul as he is inspired by God
the Holy Ghost is quoting from Psalm 40 and he is quoting from Psalm
40 to show the superiority of Christ's sacrifice to all the
sacrifices which were offered under the law. But you'll notice,
if you're observant, that there is a difference between Paul's
rendering of the Psalm and the actual Psalm from which he quotes.
Where Paul quotes David as saying, a body hast thou prepared me,
the psalm actually reads, mine ears hast thou opened. Now Paul
is declaring here, by divine inspiration, the true meaning
of the words of Psalm 40. At verse 6. In the New Testament,
the Holy Spirit takes away the veil that is upon the writings
of the Old Testament prophets. Mine ears, in Psalm 40, is a
figure of speech called a synecdoche. Now a synecdoche is a figure
of speech by which a part is put for the whole. So an example
of a synecdoche would be all hands on deck. All hands on deck
literally means everybody on deck. Not just the hands of the
people to go on deck, it's the whole body of the people of course.
A part is put for the whole, that's a synecdoche. Well so
it is here. Mine ears hast thou opened. The alternative rendering which
we have in the margin of Psalm 40 is mine ears hast thou digged. Now this speaks of the opening
of the ear to hear. It's preparation. And so we see that the meaning
between the two scriptures is the same. Mine ears hast thou
opened, or digged, a body hast thou prepared me. The human ear
of Christ was dug and opened, as it were, that he might hear
and obey the will of God. We have the same in Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 50, from verse
4, and this is clearly a prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 50, verse 4, The Lord God hath given me the tongue
of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season
to him that is weary. He wakeneth morning by morning,
he wakeneth mine ear to ear as the learned. The Lord God hath
opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away
back. I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. the Lord God opened his ear.
He was not rebellious. That is, he was obedient as the
servant of the Lord. In order for him to render that
obedience to the will of God, as the servant of Jehovah, it
was necessary for him to have a human body. A body hast thou
prepared me. Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians,
speaks of Christ Jesus, 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. That is what is signified by
the opening of the ear. The opposite to it is the stopping
of the ear. Zechariah 7 verse 9, Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion, So I'm reading the wrong chapter.
Zechariah 7 and verse 9, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying,
Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassion to every
man to his brother, and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless,
the stranger, nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil
against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken,
and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears. that they should not hear. They stopped their ears, they
closed their ears. In other words, they were disobedient.
Mine ears hast thou opened. Speaks of Christ's readiness
to obey his Father's will. A body hast thou prepared me,
lo, I come, to do thy will, O God. Well, we should consider three
things this morning from the words of our text. I trust with
the Lord's help. Firstly, the preparation. Secondly,
the performance. And then thirdly, the purpose
of this thing. A body. hast thou prepared me
let us consider then firstly the preparation of this thing
a body hast thou prepared me the preparations or rather the
plans of this thing were laid in eternity the birth of Messiah
was prophesied in the book of Micah chapter 5 and verse 2 But
thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands
of Judah, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me that is to
be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. He is the only and eternally
begotten Son of God, whose goings forth have been from of old,
from everlasting. And in the eternal covenant of
grace, Christ was set up to be the surety of an elect people. So he says in Proverbs, I was
set up from everlasting, from the beginning, whoever the earth
was and we must emphasize here that the Lord Jesus Christ did
not have a pre-existent human body or a pre-existent human
soul he pre-existed from everlasting as God but not as man He is the
eternal Son of the eternal Father. And in the covenant of eternity,
the covenant made between the three co-eternal and co-equal
persons of the Godhead, it was decreed that the Son should assume
a human nature in time. The plans were laid in eternity,
but it was to be performed in time. Now the first prophecy
of the coming into the world of the father's co-equal and
co-eternal son was given almost immediately after the fall of
our first parents in Eden. And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman. The words are addressed to the
serpent. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and
between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head. and
thou shalt bruise his heel Christ was to come as the seed of the
woman the woman of whom Christ was to be the seed was to be
a descendant of Abraham and so Christ is called the seed of
Abraham Paul says here in chapter 2 in Hebrews for verily he took
not on him the nature of angels but he took on him the seed of
Abraham and of Abraham it was through the line of Isaac that
Messiah should come so God had said to Abraham for in Isaac
shall thy seed be called and of Isaac it was through Jacob
that the promised seed should come and so Jacob was told by
the Lord in a dream you remember and in thee and in thy seed shall
all the families of the earth be blessed and of the twelve
sons of Jacob or Israel Judah was chosen to be the line through
whom the Messiah should come. The scepter shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh
come. And unto him shall the gathering
of the people be. Of the tribe of Judah, the Messiah
was to come of the line of King David. And so it was prophesied
in the Psalms, the Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, he
will not turn from it, of the fruit of thy body will I set
upon thy throne. And so Christ is called the Son
of David, though he is in fact David's Lord. Paul, in his preaching
at Antioch, spoke of David. Of this man's seed, has God,
according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus. And there was a specific prophecy
which said that the promised seed should be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7 verse 14, Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign, Behold, a virgin shall
conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. And Immanuel, as I'm sure you're
aware, means God with us. This is the seed of the woman
who was to bruise Satan's head, one who is both God and man.
And at various times throughout the Old Testament dispensation,
the Son of God manifested Himself in the appearance of a man, even
before He actually assumed a human nature. In this manner He revealed
Himself to Abraham, to Jacob, to Manoah, to Ezekiel, to Daniel,
and to others. And the purpose of those pre-incarnate
appearances of Christ was to raise the hopes of the elect
amongst the Jews for the coming of the Messiah. A body was prepared. The plans were laid in eternity. Promises were made throughout
the Old Testament dispensation. And then, at the appointed time,
when there was the performance There was the performance of
all that was planned and promised. But when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. Let us consider then in Now, strictly speaking, the performance
of this thing, the preparation of this thing and the performance
is the performance of it. You see, the word prepared is
literally fitted. A body has now fitted me or fitted
for me. John Trapp in his commentary
says that it is a metaphor from mechanics who do artificially
fit one part of their work to another and so finish the whole.
God fitted his son's body to be joined with the deity and
to be an expiatory sacrifice for sin. We see the preparation and the
performance of this thing in the words of the angel to Mary
in Luke chapter 1 and the angel answered and said unto her the
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest
shall overshadow thee therefore also that holy thing which shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God that holy thing
the human nature of Christ, his human body and his human soul
was formed in the womb of a virgin and that human nature was fitted,
joined to the deity of the Son. A body hast thou prepared me,
a body hast thou fitted me. Now for an inspired commentary
on these words we could turn to psalm 139 that psalm that
we read and verses 13 to 16 for thou hast possessed my reins
thou hast covered me in my mother's womb 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 parts of the earth. Thy 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 there was none of
them. The psalmist there in verse 14
says, I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made. Fearfully and wonderfully made.
Now, of course, all men could and should say that. I will praise
thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. When we think
of the phenomenon of the conception of human life, and the intricacy
of the formation and development of the human being in the womb.
Oh, it is a fearful and wonderful thing. It is a miracle of creation
and providence. Which is why the murder of the
unborn child is such a wicked and heinous thing. Oh, there is something wonderful
in the forming of infant human life in the womb. how much more
wonderful then is the forming of the infant human nature of
the Lord Jesus Christ in the womb of a virgin that is truly
miraculous that is literally wonderful I will praise thee
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made Now interestingly the Hebrew
word there translated wonderfully made is the same word that's
elsewhere translated sever as in Exodus 9 verse 4 and the Lord
shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt
in Exodus 11 and verse 7 the same word is translated put a
difference that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference
between the Egyptians and Israel in Exodus 33 verse 16 is rendered
separated so shall we be separated I and thy people from all the
people that are upon the face of the earth it means set apart but know that the Lord hath set
apart Him that is godly for himself. The same word is used there in
Psalm 4 verse 3. We see then how pre-eminently
these words must be applied to the human nature of the Lord
Jesus Christ. For I am fearfully and wonderfully
made. By means of the virgin birth,
the human nature of Christ is severed from the generation of
Adam and from Adam's transgression. God has put a difference between
Him and all other men. There is no man like that man.
He is separated and set apart from all other men and is therefore
uncontaminated with the defilement of sin. For such an high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
Paul says here in Hebrews chapter 7. And he is undefiled, separate
from sinners, by virtue of the virgin birth. For I am fearfully
and wonderfully made. or do we not see great divinity
in these words as we apply them to our Lord Jesus Christ? Why
here is God for I am manifesting the flesh fearfully
and wonderfully made the Lord Jesus Christ He is both God and
man God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen
of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, received up into glory. And the fact that he is both
God and man makes him the perfect mediator between God and men. For there is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. away then
with Mary, away then with priest, and away with Pope, for there
is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
This man, the man Christ Jesus, is a sinless man, undefiled,
separate from sinners. Paul in his first epistle speaks
of Christ who did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. Paul here in Hebrews says that we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities
but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
great high priest who offers the sacrifice. Ah, but he is
the sacrifice too. is the sacrifice too. And you know under the law all
the sacrifices were to be without blemish. Your lamb shall be without
blemish, we read in the book of Exodus. Eighteen times in
the book of Leviticus alone we have the phrase, without blemish,
in reference to the sacrifices. And so Peter, writing of the
redemption of God's elect, says that it was with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He is the sinless Saviour. And so we come in the third place
to consider the purpose of this great work, a body hast thou
prepared me. Christ came into the world as
the great high priest of and for his people. And as a great
high priest, he was to offer a sacrifice. That sacrifice was
his own body and blood. And this we are clearly told
in the context here in Hebrews 10, for it is not possible that
the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore,
when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering
thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
Then said I, Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written
of me, to do thy will, O God. And concerning that will of God,
Paul says there in verse 10, by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all,
that is once and for all time. It was according to the will
of God. Paul in his preaching to the
Jews on the day of Pentecost said him being delivered by the
determinate counsel and for knowledge of God ye have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain. It was according to the will
of God. It was according to the purpose
of God and the purpose of God is an eternal purpose. And so
Christ is called in the Revelation the Lamb slain from the fountains It was according to eternal purpose,
for as much as you know. that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold from your vain conversation,
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spots,
who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do
believe in God that raised him from the dead and gave him glory. Why was the sacrifice needed?
To take away sins. To take away sins. Sin is an offence against God. John says, for sin is the transgression
of the law. Sin is the breaking of God's
commandments and it is falling short of that perfect standard
of righteousness that God requires of those who are made in His
image. Now some foolishly imagine that
they have no sin. If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves. and the truth is not in us again
John says if we say that we have not sinned we make him a liar
and his word is not in us would you call God a liar? look in the perfect mirror the
perfect mirror of his holy law the ten commandments and then
tell him that you have not sinned Oh, what folly that is. What
folly. To say that we have no sin. Some
think that their sins are only minor. And so, surely God will
not hold them to account for their little sins. They're small
transgressions of his law. What does James say? For whosoever
shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all. The fact of the matter is that
such think their sins so small because they have no real love
for God in their hearts. That's why they think their sins
are so small. They do not love God. And you
know that's a great sin. Indeed that is the greatest sin
of them all. Which is the great commandment
in the law? Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. Now the reality is that this
is the state of us all by nature. Because the carnal mind is enmity
against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be. So far are we from loving God
with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind.
The natural mind, the natural mind of man is enmity against
God. This is the state of all of us
by nature, being born the sinful descendants of Adam and Eve.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And you know the law of God demands
satisfaction. the soul that sinneth it shall
die for the wages of sin is death this is the curse of the law
for it is written cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them what could possibly remove that
curse? nothing Nothing but a crucified
Christ. Nothing but a crucified Christ. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. The Son assumed a sinless human
nature that he might pay all the just
demands of the law for his people he satisfied the law's just demands
by rendering a perfect obedience to all the commandments of God
and then having obeyed the law he suffered the just sentence
of the law for transgressing the law for Christ had once suffered
for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God
Only one who is without debt can pay the debt of another.
And so Christ, being without sin, having a sinless human nature,
could stand in the place of his sinful people and suffer the
consequences of their sins, that they might go free. That's the
gospel. A body hast thou prepared me. That prepared body was to be
sacrificed. It was prepared for a prepared
people. And so it is written in the prophets, for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. And so it was declared by the
angel of the Lord to Joseph in a dream, prior to his birth,
you remember, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. Now Paul in Ephesians instructs
husbands how they are to love their wives Ephesians 5 verse 25 Husbands
love your wives even as Christ also loved the church and gave
himself for it It was the church that he loved
He didn't love the whore of Babylon he loved the church his bride
it was for his bride that he suffered and laid down his life
and what is the church? why? it is his body for we are members of his body
of his flesh and of his bones for this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother and shall be joined unto his wife and they
too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church. Look again at Psalm 139 and verse
16. 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 there was none of
them. See what David says there by the Spirit? In thy book all
my members were written. Or as the margin has it, in thy
book all of them were written. What book? It is the Lamb's book
of life. And what is written in that book? The names of every one of the
elect. The names of every member of
Christ's mystical body, the Church. And so Paul writes to the Philippians,
Help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement
also, and with other my fellow labourers, whose names are in
the book of life. We see here then, in the words
of our text, a union that subsists between Christ and His Church. A body hast thou prepared me. The literal physical body of
Christ was prepared and His mystical body, the Church, was likewise
prepared. A body hast thou prepared me. Christ and His Church are one. For we are members of His body,
of His flesh and of His bones. The great question then, as we
draw to a conclusion, is this. Have I union to the church's
living head? Is my soul bound in the bundle
of life with the Lord? Is my life hid with Christ in
God? Or how may we know that we are
in Him and that He is in us? It's a vital question, isn't
it? The scripture says, and whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire. It's a vital question and we
can only know it by the gracious operation of the Spirit of God
in our hearts. Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. Or as the margin has it there
in John 3, except a man be born from above, he cannot see the
kingdom of God. That same Holy Spirit who formed
the human nature of Christ in the womb of the Virgin must form
Christ in us, the hope of glory. And this he does in the new birth,
of which he is the sole author. The Holy Spirit reveals a precious
Jesus to us. A precious Jesus in us. Oh is
He precious to you? Unto you that believe He is precious. The Spirit of God reveals a precious
Christ to us. He reveals a precious Christ
in us. And this was Paul's experience. But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace
to reveal his Son in me. And this is the gracious experience
of every one of the elect vessels of mercy which he had aforeprepared
unto glory. Their faith may not rise to such
a high pitch of assurance But being born of God, being taught
of the Spirit of God, they know this, they know that they are
sinners before a holy God. They know that they have transgressed
the law of God, that they must stand before God in the judgment.
They know this too, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief. And that's what every one of
the elect are brought to. Not just that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners. No. It's this, of whom I am chief. Being quickened by the Spirit
of God, they feel themselves to be the very chief of sinners.
and so they're brought to call upon his name that he might save
them from their sins for whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved they can only look to his perfect law
keeping his righteousness for they know that they have none
of their own they can only hope in and depend upon the blood
of Emmanuel which was shed for sin Christ's body is a prepared body.
A body hast thou prepared me. And every member of his body
is prepared and must be prepared. They were prepared in eternity,
being chosen in Christ and given to him by the Father before the
foundation of the world. And all those whose names are
enrolled in the Lamb's book of life must be prepared under the
law to see themselves as sinners. They must be brought to that
conviction of sin. And they must be brought to this. They must be brought to know
and to feel that there is nothing that they can do to save themselves. That salvation lies wholly outside
of themselves. Why they cannot even of their
own selves repent and believe. Those who are thus prepared are
made fit to be joined to the Lord. for the Lord Jesus Christ
comes as the saviour of sinners. And they are experimentally joined
to the Lord by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as that only one
that can save them from their sins. Sing and rejoice, O daughter
of Zion, for lo, I come, And I will dwell in the midst of
thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined
to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will
dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord
of hosts hath sent me unto thee. That's the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking through the prophet Zechariah. In the gospel, you know, we read
of wise men coming from the East seeking Christ. Well, wise women
and wise men, they still seek Christ. Such are made wise unto
salvation. And where is he to be found?
Where is he to be found? Well, Christ is laid in the manger
of the Holy Scriptures. As Martin Luther once said, the
Bible, is the cradle in which Christ is laid. If you would
have Christ and salvation in him, seek him here in the word
of God, the word of the living God, in the gospel of his grace. The Lord bless his word to us
then, and the preaching of it, for the glory of his own holy
name, a body hast thou prepared me. Amen. which was taken number 41. The tune is Saint Denis, I think
it is, from 915. My God, my creator,
the heavens did bow, conventional offended, and stooped very low.