If I remember right, that hymn
we just sang was William Gadsby's favourite hymn in the whole of
the selection of the hymn book. Let us now turn to the word of
God and turning to the psalm that we read, Psalm 71. Psalm
71 and verse 7. I am as a wonder unto men, that
thou art my strong refuge. And in particular that opening
clause in the verse where David declares, I am as a wonder unto
men. We sang the line just now of
course in the hymn, I'm a miracle of grace. Isn't that the case
with regards to all of the people of God? There is that which is
quite wonderful, remarkable and amazing in the life of every
child of God. Well let us turn then for a little
while to consider the significance of the words as we find them
in our text. And first of all I want to deal
with the specific meaning of the words that is being used
here, the word that's rendered as wonder. It refers to a special
display of the power and the glory of God. And we can think
in terms of God's works. All of God's works, of course,
are a remarkable display of who He is, the greatness that belongs
unto him, who is the only living, the only true God, the creator
of all things. But the word has to do more particularly
with the way in which God deals with his people in delivering
them, and we see it quite clearly, for example, in the way in which
he dealt with the children of Israel, bringing the Hebrews
out of that cruel bondage that they were experiencing under
the Pharaoh in Egypt. And it was by a wondrous display
of his powers that God wrought that great deliverance. And we
have those words that are spoken to the Pharaoh back in Exodus
chapter 7, And there in verses 3 and 4 God says, I will harden
Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the
land of Egypt. And 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. and the Egyptians shall know
that I am the Lord when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and
bring out the children of Israel from among them." God determined
then that he would display his great power. He would multiply
signs and wonders, visiting awful judgments even upon the Egyptians. And this is what's referred to
in that great ninth chapter of the epistle to the Romans. Remember
around there the Apostle speaks of the Divine Sovereignty and
amongst other things he makes mention of the Pharaoh in terms
of God's great purpose. In verse 17 there, the Scripture
says, unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised
thee up, that I might show my power in thee. and that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. Here then we see
something of the biblical significance of the word that we have in the
text this morning, the word wonder. It is a word that is so rich
and so pregnant in its meaning. And not only in the Old Testament,
when we come to the New Testament scriptures, and the ministry
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the ministry also of the Apostles
who followed. We have the prayer that they
make when they are being persecuted there in the Acts in chapter
4. They call upon God and ask that
signs and wonders might be done by the name of thy holy child
Jesus. That was the prayer of the Apostles,
that God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ would perform signs
and wonders, signs and wonders. The word then here has this idea
of portents, the great works, the mighty works of God, the
demonstration of the deity of God. Now we see many mighty works
being performed of course during the earthly ministry of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We see Christ time and again
performing miracles and Christ was able to give sight for the
blind and ears to the deaf, make the dumb to speak and the lame
to walk and to raise the dead to life again. And you know,
the significance of all those mighty works and wonders that
the Lord Jesus Christ performed, they were signs. They were signs. That is the particular word that
is repeatedly used in John's Gospel, translated in the Scriptures
as miracle, but the basic meaning of the word is a sign, and we
have That first miracle that Christ performs in Cana of Galilee
when he changes the water into wine, and we are told this was
the beginning of his miracles, this beginning of miracles did
Jesus. And manifested forth his glory,
his beginning of signs. It was a sign in which he was
being pointed out. He was manifesting himself, manifesting
something of his glory. And the apostles, of course,
were witnesses of these things. And so in their own ministry,
subsequently in the Acts of the Apostles, they bear testimony
to Peter in his preaching on the day of Pentecost. As the
Holy Spirit comes upon him under a blessed unction of the Spirit,
how boldly he declares the truth concerning Jesus of Nazareth.
He speaks of Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you
by miracles and wonders and signs which God did in the midst of
you by him. He uses in this very word wonder,
miracles, wonders, signs, mighty works that God did by the Lord
Jesus Christ. And what was true with regards
to the ministry of Christ was also true with regards to the
apostles. They also were able to perform
those mighty deeds, those miracles. It was the authentication, as
it were, of the message that they were proclaiming. There
was no complete canon of scripture that they could appeal to, the
word of God that they could appeal to. We have the scripture now
in its entirety and we appeal to this book as our authority. But what do those mean? Oh, they
could appeal to the Old Testament, yes, but the scripture was not
completed until we have the New Testament. But God authenticated
their ministry. just as he had authenticated
that ministry of Christ by those signs and miracles and wonders. And so in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter
2, Paul speaks there and says, If the word spoken by angels
were steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense of reward, 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 will. And God bore His own witness
to the truth of what those men, those apostles, were preaching.
and how did God bear his testimony through them with signs and wonders
and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost. And I say
again friends, this word that we have in the text with regards
to David and with regards to every true believer, he is in
that sense a wonder, a mighty work of God, a remarkable display
of divine power is necessary in order for the sinner to become
a saint. And so, what we have to consider
here is that we might say is the very mark, the mark of the
child of God. I am, says David, as a wonder
unto men. Here we read as a parallel passage,
the third chapter of Zechariah. And there we have the words of
the angel to Joshua and his fellows that they too were men wondered
at. Now, when we say that the Christian
is a wonder and the miracle of Christ, in no way of course are
we suggesting that Christians themselves are able to perform
those mighty works, those miracles. As I've already indicated, that
was peculiar to the early years of this Christian era. The authentication of the ministry
of those who were the immediate followers and the apostles of
the Lord Jesus Christ was necessary because there was no complete
scripture to be appealed to. but it's different for us we
now have in our hands God's truth and the scripture is not to be
added to it's not to be taken from we have those solemn words
at the end of the book of the revelation with regards to God's
judgment upon those who would presume to do such a thing either
to add to God's word or to take from God's Word. I testify unto
every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him
the plagues that are written in this book. No new revelation,
no need for that revelation to be authenticated by my key belief. And if any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city,
and from the things which are written in this book. He which
testifieth these things said, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus
Christ. We are those then who, for our
authority, we appeal to the word of God. We have it back in Isaiah,
do we not, to the law and to the testimony. If they speak
not according to this word, it is because there is no light
in them. To the law, the word of God,
the testimony that we have here on the page of Holy Scripture. Peter says we have a more sure
word of prophecy. a more sure word. Here is our
authority. When we say then that the Christian
believer is a wonder, he is not a miracle worker. We are not
contending in any way for miracle workers. But believers themselves
are in a sense in their very persons, in their experiences.
They are wonders. They are signs. And again we
see something of that in the scriptures. Remember the prophets
in their ministry in the Old Testament. On occasions the very
names that they give to their offspring are signs. And we have
that remarkable incident in the ministry of the prophet Isaiah. his wife bears a son in Isaiah
chapter 8. And the child is given such a
remarkable name as we see there in the opening verses of the
chapter. In verse 3, I went unto the prophetess,
and she conceived and bared a son. Then said the Lord to me, Call
his name Meher-shal-al-ashbas. What a name! Meher-shal-al-ashbas. 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. This is a word of reassurance
to the little kingdom of Judah and Israel in the north, the
ten tribes in the north were in league with the Syrians against
Judah. But God will visit his judgments
upon those cities of Damascus, the capital city of Syria, Samaria,
the capital city of Israel. He will visit his judgment by
the great armies of the Assyrians. And there is a message There
is a message to these haughty monarchs in Damascus and Samaria
in the name of the child, Meher Shalal Ashbas. And the margin
tells us the meaning of that name. Before, what is it? In making speed to the spoil,
he hasteneth to pride. That's the meaning of the name.
in making speed to the spoil, the hasten of the pride. They are thinking they are going
to spoil Jerusalem and Judah. They are going to destroy the
kingdom of Judah. But they themselves will prove
to be a prey to the great king of Assyria, Sennacherib. And
I say that the name that is given to that child, you see, is a
sign. It's a sign that God has given.
So, later in that chapter, in verse 18, Isaiah 8, 18, the Prophet
says, Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are
for signs and for wonders in Israel. from the Lord of hosts
which dwelleth in Mount Zion. He recognises the fact of Isaiah
that this child is for a sign and for a wonder. For a sign
and for a wonder. Now, the interesting thing is
that those words of Isaiah are taken up in the New Testament
in Hebrews chapter 2 and they are applied directly to the Lord
Jesus Christ. Hebrews 2.13, Behold, I am the
children which God hath given to me, says the Lord Jesus Christ. They were the people, the children
that were given to the Lord Jesus Christ in terms of the eternal
covenant of grace. When he engaged with God the
Father in that covenant, the Father committed to him a people,
children, whom he was to save. And he says there, taking up
the words of the prophet, Behold I and the children which God
hath given me. And his children, you see, are
signs and wonders. I am as a wonder unto many people. I and the children which God
hath given me. are for signs and wonders. Everything,
of course, about the Lord Jesus Christ himself is a great wonder. Here is the greatest of all the
works of God. Do we witness it, do we not,
in the Incarnation? Do we witness it in all that
the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished here upon the earth as a man?
Oh, what a wonder we see in every aspect of that gracious visitation
from Heaven. Think of the birth, the birth
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is coming into the world,
the great wonder. Or the mystery of the Incarnation,
the miracle. That great miracle of a virgin
birth, a virgin found with child, she knew not a man. The Holy
Ghost shall come upon you. The power of the Highest shall
overshadow you. And that only thing that shall
be born of thee shall be called the Son of God, said the angel.
It's a miracle, it's a wonder. But then the wonder of course
of the child that was born. He shall be called the Son of
God. This is no ordinary child, this is a real male child. This is a real man born into
the world. But this is also God. God contracted
to a span, incomprehensibly made man, says the hymn writer, without
controversy. Great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Oh, the mystery of it, the wonder
of it. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into this world.
And then, what we read in the Gospels concerning Him, concerning
His ministry, and not only the great works, the miracles that
he performs, the compassion that he has upon those who are in
great need, but the purpose of that ministry of miracles, of
course, as we've already said, is to point to him and to point
to his authority as that great prophet. He comes as a preacher,
does he not? He is the prince of preachers,
the greatest preacher that has ever lived. What Do the Jews
say concerning him, never man spake like this man? Or never man spake like this?
In him all the office of the Old Testament prophet as its
full and complete accomplishment. There is to be no other prophet.
The prophet of Islam is the great false prophet of course. Christ
is the last of the prophets and we have the record of his ministry,
we have the record of course of that sermon that people often
refer to the sermon on the mount and when we come to the end of
that sermon comprising of those three chapters Matthew 5, 6 and
7 and at the end of chapter 7 we
are told it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings
the people were astonished at his doctrine or as the margin
says astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes or the ministry then that the
Lord Jesus Christ was able to exercise was like no other man's
ministry And then all of this, of course, is leading up to the
end. He comes not only as a prophet,
he comes also as a priest. And he comes to make that one
great sacrifice. And he is not only the sacrificing
priest, the great high priest, he is the very sacrifice, he
is the Lamb of God, the taker of the way, the sin of the world. And as there is a mystery in
his In his birth, not surprisingly, there is a mystery in his death.
There is a mystery in his death. He was the sinless one. And there was no cause of death
in him. There was no taint of original sin in him. He never sinned in the whole
course of his human life. And yet we read the ways he has
sinned in his death. How can a sinless man die? Oh,
he dies to atone for sins not his own. He dies as a substitute. The sins of his people imputed
to him. And him there as the great sin
offering. And here is the mystery. Here
is the mystery. We are told, are we not, there
in Matthew's account from the sixth hour to the ninth hour
there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour
Jesus cried with a loud voice, Lama, Lama, Sadakana, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It's not so much his sufferings
at the hands of men, he suffers at the hand of God. God pours out his wrath upon
the person of Christ, his only begotten, his well-beloved son. And he feels forsaken. And yet,
how could he burn? How could he burn? How could
God the Son be forsaken of God the Father? There is no division
in the Godhead. Though God be three, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, God is one. And God is undivided and God
is indivisible. Here is a mystery then. That
Christ can make such an awful cry from the cross. He is a wonder,
is he not? A wonder in his death, a wonder,
of course, in his rising again from the dead. Why, he is declared
to be the Son of God now. Declared, marked out as the Son
of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, says
Paul, by the resurrection. How the Father owns him and acknowledges
him. That he raises him again from
the dead and then receives him into the very heaven. or Christ
himself is a wonder I and the children which God has given
them are for signs and wonders and so as Christ is a wonder
his children are also a wonder are they not? Now we see that
we see that in what we read in Zachariah and there in that third chapter
Hear now, O Joshua, the high priest, thou and thy fellows
that sit before thee, for they are men wonderless. For behold, I will bring my servant
the branch." There's a relationship you see between the branch, the
Lord Jesus Christ, and his people. And what do we read at the beginning
of that chapter? He showed me, says Zechariah,
Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord,
and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord
said unto Satan, the Lord rebuked thee, O Satan. Even the Lord
that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee. He is not here to brand
you, plucked out of the fire. Oh, what a wonder! Here is a
brand, saved. ready for the morning, ready
that God's wrath should be visited upon him as a sinner, and yet
he is plucked out of the fire. He is clothed with garments that
are filthy, nearly. Joshua was clothed with filthy
garments, and stood before the angel, and 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 only iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe
thee with change of raiment. This is the believer you see.
He is ready for the burning, he is felful, he is foul, he
is a sinner. And yet God saves the sinner. These are the very ones that
Christ came for. The whole, they need not the
physician, but they are the sick, says Christ. I came not to call
the righteous, the sinners, unto repentance. The believer, I say
then, is clearly a wonder that God should say such sinners as
that. When Paul writes to the Corinthians,
remember what he says concerning that church, a remarkable church
at Corinth. Oh yes, there were many things
that Paul had to rebuke them over but they were very favoured
with great gifts in the church at Corinth and yet those who
were so blessed with those gifts what had they been? they had
been the filthiest and the foulest of sinners and Paul says to them
and such were some of you that's what you were, such were some
of you but you are washed, but you are justified, but you are
sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit
of our God They were wonders. Every believer, I say, is a wonder.
Well, let us just consider something of the wonder that is the child
of God, the Christian believer. There is, of course, first of
all, the wonder, or the miracle, we might say, the miracle of
the new birth. The miracle of the new birth. A natural birth is wonderful,
to see a newborn babe. It is a remarkable thing to witness
the child as he comes whole, perfect, in all its parts, from
the womb of its mother. It's a great thing, is it not? And doesn't David speak of his
here? In verse 6 he says, By thee have
I been holden up from the womb, thou art he that took me out
of my mother's bowels. My praise shall be continually
of thee. Thanks God for his very being,
that God should have granted him creation. And again we see it in the 139th
Psalm in particular. There at verse 15, David says,
My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret
and curiously wrought in the lowest parts 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 there was none of thee. The wonder of God creating
that little life in the womb of the mother. And we see, do
we not, the folly of those who deny God, the foolishness of
the 80s, who says there is no God. There is no denying. These
things just happen by mere chance. There is God, you see. God is
the one who gives natural life. But then we are born into this
world as those alas who are dead in trespasses and sins. We need
new life. We need spiritual life. And so
there must come another birth, a new birth, a spiritual birth. And without that new birth we
can never be saved. We can never be saved. Not enough
to be a religious person, not enough is it to attend a place
of worship, and to be regular in our attendance. The Lord Jesus
speaks to a most religious man called Nicodemus in John chapter
3. And what does Christ say to that man? Verily, verily, I say
unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom
of God. We need a new birth, we need
spiritual life. And that's a wonder, is it not?
Isn't regeneration a mighty work of God? The wind, says Christ,
bloweth where it listeth, where it likes, where it pleases. Thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh,
nor whither it goeth. For the circuits of the wind
are mysterious. So is everyone that is born of
the Spirit. It's a sovereign work of God.
And if today we are those who have known that, that new birth,
is it not right that we should say we doubt it, that we are
a wonder? I am a wonder. I am a wonder
to myself. Am I a wonder to others as I
see the evidence of that new spiritual life? We need to be
born again. And it is, I say, a work of God,
a mighty work of God, which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of man, but of God. They must be born
of God, born from above. And it is the exceeding greatness
of His power. To us who do believe, as Paul
says to the Ephesians, not just His power, nor the greatness
of His power, but the exceeding greatness of His power, to us
wards who believe, which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him
from the dead. The same power that was there in raising Christ
again must come into your soul and my soul, because we are dead
by nature, dead in trespasses and in sin. We need to be born
in the miracle of the new birth. Therefore if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold
all things are become new. There's a change in the man's
life. There's real repentance after that new birth. There's
real faith after that new birth. It must be that way, of course
it must. It begins with a new birth. And where there is that
new birth, then there's fun, saving fun. Then there's that
repentance. That repentance that is such
a fundamental challenge that the man's life is turned around
and his life is turned upside down and inside out he's a new
creature. He's different. Of course there
are some who are favoured to be born into a Christian home
and they're familiar with these things all their days. And so
the change might not be so remarkable as it was with some of us who
had not those privileges. But nonetheless, when the new
birth comes there is a change, there must be a change. And there
must be some evidence of it. We are miracles, if we believe
it. Miracles of Christ. Love I much? I'm much forgiven. I'm a miracle of grace who just
sang in that lovely theme. But do we understand the words
that we sing sometimes? Here is the beginning then of
the Christian who is a wonder. It starts, I say, with a new
birth. But then there's a whole life of the child of God. There's
a mystery. of the Christian life, the mystery
of the believer's experience. And sometimes we can sing some
of those hymns. Lord, what a riddle is my soul!
Alive when wounded, dead when whole. A little couplet in one
of the hymns of Joseph Hart. And it's not just in these hymns,
of course, we also have it in the poetry. You can think of
the the gospel sonnets of a man like Ralph Erskine, he says,
concerning his life, my life's a maze of seeming traps, a scene
of mercies and mishaps. I'm in my own and others' eyes
a labyrinth of mystery, all the mystery, the mystery of the Christian
life, the Christian experience. And Paul, as we know, speaks
of himself as a patent, a patent of them which should hereafter
believe. And he therefore goes on, as he writes
these various epistles, he goes on occasions to speak of his
experiences. He's a patent. And so these things
are left upon record in scripture as a pattern. Now what does he
say of himself? Paul, listen to Paul. In 2nd
Corinthians chapter 6 he says of himself as unknown and yet
well known as dying and behold me dead as chastened and not
killed as sorrowful yet always rejoicing as poor yet making
many rich as having nothing and yet possessing all things. What
the paradox of it. What a strange, mysterious life
is this life of Paul, who is a passant. He says, as dying, and behold,
we live. Remember what he says to the
Galatians, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me. It's the same as he's
saying here, you see. Dying? He doesn't say I'm dying
and we live. He says, behold, it's a wonder,
you see. We die to self and we have to
live to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the paradox and the mystery
of the Christian life, is it not? I am as a wonder unto men,
but thou art my strong refuge, says David. There is this way
of life that involves trials and troubles and tribulations. In the world, says Christ, in
the world ye shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. That's Christ's word to his own
apostles and it's echoed by the Apostles themselves, we must,
we must, says Paul, through much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom. Or we've already gone and maybe
we think then it's going to be such a wonderful way to Heaven.
Or when we're favoured at the beginning and we have that measure
of assurance of our sins forgiven and we're trusting. But what
do we discover? The Hymn writer says when his
pardon is signed and his peace is procured from that moment
his conflict begins. It is the life of conflicts. I am as a wonder unto many, says
David, but rare. my strong refuge. How he has
to learn his complete and utter dependence upon God. How he has
to constantly be looking to God as the place of refuge, the only
place of safety in the midst of all his trials and all his
troubles. Oh, he certainly knew that in
his life, did this man David. He knew it before ever he became
king after he was anointed. Samuel only was cruelly pursued
by King Saul Many times he felt it, he flees for his life, but
the step between David and death, his life is continually in his
hand as he flees from the rage of King Saul. And even when he
is established as king, what does he have to endure by that
absolute rebellion? His own son. His own son. rebels against him there in 2
Samuel chapter 15 and the following chapters. You can read it. And
David having to flee from Jerusalem, why his great friend and counsellor
Ahithophel is in the conspiracy with Absalom. He says here in
Psalm 55 how they took sweet counsel together and went unto
the house of God in company. This was his bosom friend, Ahithophel,
and he's in the conspiracy. all what fails David knew. And then of course there was
the cursings of Shimei. Here is David fleeing from Jerusalem
because he fears for his own life and Shimei sees his opportunity
and he begins to curse David. There in the second book of Kings,
in chapter 16, Verse 5 When King David came
to Barhuri, behold, thence came out a man of the family of the
house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera. He came
forth and cursed them still as he came, and he cast stones at
David and at all the servants of King David and at all the
people and all the mighty men They were on his right hand and
on his left. And thou said Shimei, when he cursed, Come out, come
out, thou bloody man, and thou man of the vile. The Lord hath
returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose
stead thou hast roamed. And the Lord hath delivered the
kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son. And behold, thou art
taken in thy mischief, and because thou art a bloody man. all the
curses that he had to bear from Shimei. And is he not, is he
not mindful of these things? As he writes here at the end
of his days in the psalm. Verse 10, mine enemies speak
against me, they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
saying, God has forsaken you, persecute and take you, for there
is none to deliver him. Oh, but David, you see, is a
man of faith, is he not? Oh God, be not far from me. Oh
my God, make haste to help me. This is the only help David would
desire. He says at verse 20, Thou which
hast shewed me great and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again,
and shalt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. This
man is a wonder, you see. A wonder in the life of faith
that he lives. In the midst of all his trials
and all his troubles, he looks to God. His life, I say, is a
wonder. And that is true, that is true
of all the children of God. Paul, when he writes in Hebrews,
speaks of the apostles as a gazing stock. In Hebrews chapter 10,
and verse 33. He says, whilst ye were made
a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst
ye became companions of them that were also used. Now, the
word is interesting, the word that's rendered a gazing stock,
because it's the Greek word from which we have our word theatre.
It's a Greek word that means, well, the word is theatrissa,
and the English word, the etymology of the English word is directly
from that particular word. You would have gazed, it's like
a theatre. You're there on the stage, and there's the audience,
and they're all watching you. I am as a wonder unto many, you
see. He uses the word again. writing to the Corinthians, in
1 Corinthians 4 and verse 9, he says that the apostles were
a spectacle. It's the same word as we have
in Hebrews 10.33. A spectacle, a gazing stock,
a theatre. A spectacle unto the world. That's what the believer is.
Or, friends, they watch us, they see us. How we are to be those
then who desire that our lives might conform to the image of
Christ, that we might be those who are the true followers of
Christ, who love to walk in the path of obedience to all his
holy commandments, all his holy precepts, to do that that is
pleasing to him, whilst the world looks on. The mystery of the
believer's experience, again, Not only tribulation for the
child of God, but here is the great truth that salvation is
in, the objectivity of it. We look not to ourselves, we
are to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. The great doctrine of
justification by faith. What does David say? Verse 15,
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 again at the end he says my tongue shall talk
of thy righteousness all the day long it's the same spirit
as we find in the Apostle Paul and his great desire considered
it only, what was it, two or three weeks ago, in Philippians
chapter 3, to be found in Christ. To be found in him, he says,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God, by faith. The precious doctrine then of
justification. And we have it in that other
portion that we read, do we not there? in the opening verses
of Zechariah chapter 3. 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 of raiment. Justified from all things. That
they could not be justified from by the deeds of the Lord. Justified
by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what makes
the Christian a wonder. Yes, he desires to live the life
of holiness, but he doesn't look to himself or any of his own
works. He feels the poverty of his own
life. All his only comfort is all the
richness of grace that is in Christ and that precious blood
and that righteousness which justifies him. I am as a wonder
unto many, but Thou art my strong refuge."