Psalm 119:81-88 - Part 11

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ's afflictions?

The Bible reveals that Christ experienced afflictions uniquely, yet He remained without sin, demonstrating the ultimate obedience to God's will. The afflictions of Christ are detailed throughout Scripture, particularly in passages such as Isaiah 53 which outlines His suffering and sorrow. Christ, as the perfect Son of God, faced persecution and trials, yet He did not sin. His afflictions were for our sake, allowing Him to fulfill the righteousness of God’s plan. He empathized with our suffering, experiencing abandonment when He took on our sins, illustrating profound agony over the separation from His Father. His hope rested in the faithfulness of God's promises, which is the only firm ground for believers.

Q: How do we know that God's promises are true?

God's promises are confirmed through Scripture, which reveals His unchanging nature and faithfulness across generations. The truth of God's promises is encapsulated in His character as faithful and unchanging. Throughout the Bible, particularly in texts like Romans 15:8-9 and 2 Corinthians 1:20, we see that every promise of God is fulfilled in Christ. These promises extend to believers, providing hope and assurance in the midst of trials. The historical account of God fulfilling His promises, including the coming of Christ, further reinforces our trust in His word. The reliability of God's word assures us that despite the circumstances we face, He remains faithful to His covenant with us.

Q: Why is understanding suffering important for Christians?

Understanding suffering helps Christians to relate to Christ's sufferings and grow in faith through trials. For Christians, suffering is not pointless but is instead a critical aspect of spiritual growth and maturity. Romans 5:3-5 teaches that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope. Christ’s suffering serves as a model for believers, illustrating how suffering can draw us closer to God and strengthen our faith. The recognition that Christ endured pain and affliction allows Christians to empathize with His experience and find comfort in His faithfulness during their trials. This understanding encourages believers that God uses suffering for their ultimate good and His glory.

Q: What does 'My soul fainteth for thy salvation' mean?

'My soul fainteth for thy salvation' expresses a deep yearning for God's deliverance and presence in times of distress. The phrase 'My soul fainteth for thy salvation' encapsulates the desperate longing for divine intervention that believers often experience, particularly in times of deep affliction. This can be understood in the context of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, crying out for the strength to endure His impending suffering. It reflects a recognition of our spiritual needs and a plea for God's sustaining grace. It reminds us that acknowledging our weakness and dependence on God is essential as we navigate through the challenges of life, emphasizing that true salvation and hope lie in Him alone.

Q: How can Christians find comfort in trials?

Christians find comfort in trials by relying on God's Word and promises of salvation. In times of trial, Christians can be comforted through the assurance found in Scripture. Passages like Psalm 119 remind us that God’s commandments and promises are faithful, serving as a foundation of hope and encouragement when facing adversity. Christ Himself, during His suffering, remained anchored in the promises of God's Word, exemplifying how we, as believers, can draw upon these truths for strength. Additionally, believers are called to support one another in their trials, helping to uplift and remind each other of God's faithfulness and the hope we have in Christ. Ultimately, our consolation derives from knowing that God is with us in our afflictions.

Thank you. Psalm 119. Psalm 119. Nearly every single portion of
this psalm could be considered as the very
words of Christ himself. If there ever was a Messianic
Psalm, Psalm 119 is it. You're going to see that clearly
tonight as never before, I believe, Lord willing. You cannot apply, though, I'd
be the first to say that you cannot apply every single verse
in the Bible. to as the very words of Christ
himself, any more than you can say that every single verse in
the Bible directly speaks of Christ. Every single verse taken
in context with the passage, with the chapter, with the book,
all speaks indirectly of Christ. Look at verse 67 here. Verses
like this, you cannot, you could not apply this to Christ in the
first person. He says, before I was afflicted,
I went astray. Christ never went astray. See
what I mean in verses like that? But you have to have some discernment
to apply these things accordingly. And many verses, many of these
passages apply to both Christ and His people. David is the
writer of this psalm, yet the passages before us tonight, I
believe, are the very words of Christ himself. Yet we can speak
these words ourselves, these very words, because believers
are one with Christ, and believers are partakers of many of the
same things that Christ partook Attempted in all points like
as we are yet without sin, so we partake of the same things,
some of the same afflictions, some of the same desires, many
of the same sufferings. Look back at last week's study
very briefly. Verse seventy-three. It was fortnight
ago, more than a week for seventy-three through eighty, look briefly
through this and you can barely You can see how these could be
the very words of Christ himself. Look at verse seventy-three.
Thy hands have made me and fashioned me. Give me understanding that
I may learn thy commandments. These could be the very words
of Christ when he appeared upon this earth, when he was a young
man, when he was considering the mission before him. He said,
You've made me. You've given me a body. A body
has now given me a work to do. You've made me, fashioned me.
Now, cause me to grow in fear and nurture and wisdom and stature,
just like he did. Give me understanding. I may
learn thy commandments. Verse 74. They that fear thee,
they're going to be glad when they see me coming. That's Christ
talking there, isn't it? They that fear thee, all those
like old Simeon who've been waiting on salvation of the Lord, they're
sure going to be glad when they see me. Like Simeon, they're
going to say, now I can die. I've seen thy salvation. Because
I have hoped in thy word, I've come to fulfill thy word. Verse
seventy-five, I know, O Lord. Now this is Christ talking. I know, O Father, that thy judgments
are right." Now, this could be in the midst of his years, that
your judgments are right, are in righteousness. You see that?
This could be in the beginning of his sorrows and trials. You
remember when he said it behooves us, that John, he said, we must
fulfill all righteousness. And he says, I know, O father,
all your judgments concerning me, all of your orders concerning
me are in righteousness, and I must fulfill them, and that
you in faithfulness has deflected me. We'll talk about that faithfulness
a little more in a minute. God in faithfulness to his word,
to his glory, to his people afflicted Christ for our sake. Verse seventy-six,
Now let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort. Christ
is praying for sustenance here. According to your word unto thy
servant, let your tender mercies come unto me that I may live.
That is, live according to all that I must do, for thy law is
my delight, your commands is my delight, your covenant. Let
the proud be ashamed. He suffered persecution. They
dealt perversely with me without a cause, but I will meditate
in thy precepts. Do you remember how we looked
at that? how he was standing before that wicked and perverse
man, Pilate. And while Pilate was spewing
out his blasphemy and all that, and his proud words, Christ was
considering all he was about to do. And divine wisdom running through
his mind, all of God's precepts running through his Verse seventy
nine let those that fear of the turn unto me look upon me look
under that serpent that's about to be lifted up on the pole those
that have known that testimony those that have been seeking
the let my heart be found in the statue. That I be not ashamed
this is prayer for wisdom. to fulfill his mission. Those
could very well be the very words of Christ himself, couldn't they?
You see that with me? All right, now in the eleventh
part, this is where we're going to study tonight for the next
twenty-seven minutes. In this eleventh part, these
could very well be the words of Christ in the garden. where
he was praying right before he went to the cross. And the next
part after that, beginning with verse eighty-nine, could be the
very words of his exaltation after the cross, after he went
and sat down and said, Oh, forever, O Lord, now your word is settled
in heaven. So these words before us here
could be the very words of Christ in the garden or just before
he went to the cross. Now let's look at it. in with
Christ in mind, and then we'll apply it to ourselves. Verse
eighty-one, he says, My soul fainteth for thy salvation. You
remember when Christ said, If it be possible, let this cup
pass from He sweated, as it were, the scripture
says, great drops of blood in anticipation of that horrible
passion he was about to go through, and more than that, thinking
about the time of separation from his father. His soul fainted,
fainted. The agony Christ must have felt
at the thought of being separated from his God who, like Proverbs
8 said, from the beginning In the very beginning, before time
ever was, I was daily his delight. We had sweet communion together
for 158 trillion years together, nothing but unbroken sweet fellowship
with my Father whom I love, and he loves me. We love to gaze
upon one another, and yet this communion is about to be broken,
and I can't stand the thought of it," he said. Not for an hour,
not for six hours, certainly, six hours on the cross. He was
separated from his God, and the agony he must have felt, and
he said, My soul faints. It's about to faint. He said
this in the garden. But he says, I hope in thy word.
I see, he said. Even though I could wish that
this immediate cup of fainting of trouble would pass from me,
yet I'm not going to ask the Lord to deliver me from this
hour, because for this hour came I into the world. But I hope in thy word, he says,
I see the wisdom and the glory in that eternal covenant that
the Father and I made together. I see the wisdom and the glory
in that. And I know he who had the word written, he who was
the word, as well as having it written in his own heart, he
who was the author of it. He said, I know, according to
God's word, he has said, and he is faithful, he has said that
he will not leave my soul in hell, nor will he suffer his
Holy One to seek corruption. And that's my hope. You see, Christ as a man hoped
in the same thing we hope in, the unchanging, unfailing Word
of God. It's our only hope. We don't
walk by sight, we walk by faith, and it's faith in the promises
of God's Word. He lived by faith. He had to
learn to live by faith as a man, just like we did. And that's
what he said, I hope in thy Word. And folks, this is the only place
we can have any hope. And this is all our hope and
plea, and we want nothing more than, like verse 81, we want
nothing more than God's salvation. My soul fainteth for thy salvation. And all of our hope is based
on the sure word of God to sinners such as we. Come unto me, and
I'll give you rest. OK. Verse 82, Christ says, Mine
eyes fail for thy word, though. It could have been him hanging
on the cross there, couldn't it? Looking for the Father and
couldn't find him. Listening for the voice and couldn't
hear it. Christ on the cross, deserted
by the Father, and he looked for a word of comfort and found
none. And there's times when we feel
as if God has forsaken us. as well as should. He said, though,
I'll never forsake you. I'll never leave you nor forsake
you. You see, what it was that separated
Christ and the Father was our sin, right? Christ was made sin,
and God is of two pure eyes to look upon sin. And Christ who was made sin,
God turned his back on him. Our sins separated Christ from
the Father, as they should have. And there are times when our
sins hide our view of the Father, right? There are times when he
will hide his face in displeasure from his people. It's a fact.
It's a fact. And just as the sin separated
God from Christ, so they do us at times. But he says, Mine eyes
fail for thy word, saying, When will you comfort me? When will
you comfort me? He says, verse eighty-three,
I am become like a bottle in the smoke. I am become like a bottle in
the smoke. Now, turn back to Psalm twenty-two
with me. Psalm twenty-two. I looked up
every single writer I have on this passage. And none of them could suffice,
none of them would satisfy, none of them. Gill, Matthew Henry,
Matthew Poole, Charles Spurgeon, none of them applied this to
Christ, none of them. And that didn't satisfy me at
all. I see this as Christ speaking
here. This is Christ speaking. Christ, as the Scripture said,
he was, as it were, an empty bottle, because it says he poured
out his soul unto death. Look at Psalm 22, verse 14. He said, I am poured out like
water. I'm poured out. He poured out his soul unto death.
And all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It's melted
in the midst of my bowels. How do you make glass? A glass
bottle. You heat up sand. It's melted
in the pure liquid, and then turned into glass, hardened. He said, look at this, verse
15, My strength is dried up like a potsherd, like a dried up,
broken jar or vessel or bottle. I believe this is talking about
cry. I believe you could say that Christ, like a spotlessly
pure and holy and immaculately clean and clear and pristine
iridescent vessel, clear, clean bottle with that wine, that new
wine of heaven within him, came down to this earth, poured out
every bit of himself in death, and then became, emptied himself,
and then was hung up on that cross amidst the smoke and the
fire of God's wrath and indignation against our sin. I believe that's
who that's talking about there. I've become like a bottle in
the smoke, a bottle in smoke. And this is a picture, most of
the writers said that this bottle here refers to an old wine skin,
like they used to have back in the far eastern days, that they'd
hold their liquids in for days, an old wine skin sewn together. And they would hang them up within
their tents, and they'd build their fires inside the tents
with an open chimney in the middle, and these wineskins, after a
while, would become black and sooty and become quite withered
and wrinkled over the years. And that's a picture of Christ
as well, in the midst of this wicked and perverse generation,
hung up. He'd become black. He said, I'm
black, like he said in Job, and withered. His visage was marred
more than any man. And this is a picture of the
believer, too. Going through this world, we
feel like we're in the midst of a dirty place, a world full of
sin and iniquity. It's like smoke up in our nostrils.
This sin is ever before us. We're in the midst of it. It's
thick. It's all around us. We feel like a bottle. I thought
about this, too. I believe this applies. literally all bottled up inside,
like your emotions. Think about Christ. Think of
the Son of God, how his emotions, the Scripture says that he did
not cry or lift up his voice in the streets. He never let
out, really let out his emotions, did he? He never really exposed
his innermost thoughts and feelings for everybody to see. No. If
anybody ever had a right to complain, If anybody ever had a right to
weep and murmur with bitterness and complaint and cry out, because
of his afflictions. Unfair! Christ could have, couldn't
he? But he knew he was bottled up. His emotions, his feelings,
his troubles, he kept them bottled up within him, didn't he? And
we do that at times, don't we? Do you ever feel pent up inside,
all bottled up, your emotions, and you just feel ready to explode?
Huh? I know you do. But he says here,
look at this. I am become like a bottle in
the smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes." Christ, though
he took our sins upon him, though he became sin, though it appeared
to men that he was smitten and stricken by God, yet he remained
holy. A bottle, if you put a bottle
in the fire, that is if there's a cap on it. I don't care how
black and sooty it gets on the inside, it's just as clean as
it always was, wasn't. That may be a picture of Christ.
And I believe we're kind of like this bottle we see through a
glass so dimly, because we walk through this world, this smoke-filled
world, and we feel consumed. Yet we do not forget, according
to God's grace and mercy, we don't forget his statutes. His
predestined purpose concerning us. Look at verse eighty-four.
How many, Christ must have said this, as a man, how many are
the days of thy service? We think our days are long sometimes
when they feel full of trouble. When we experience the sickness
of a child or a loved one, we think the days are never going
to end. You ladies that have sat and
watched, your soul watches more than they that watch for the
morning. Do you know how you sat over your sick child and
you feel like that night, that fever is never going to break?
The night's never going to end. What about for the holy spotless
son of God, thirty-three years in the midst of this wicked world? Surely, John, he must have thought
how this is going to go on forever. Surely. How many are the days
of thy servant? How many? How much longer? When
wilt thou execute judgment on them that persecute me? How long? How long will you allow this
to go on? Surely. Speaking as a man for our comfort.
How long, O Lord, how long? Like Psalm 13. And like I said
before, surely a few hours of separation for Christ, separation
from the Father, was like an eternity, let alone 33 years. And we ask the Lord the same
thing. I ask it all the time. How long, Lord? How long is this
going to go on? How long? When are you coming
back? This is one of the marks of a
true child of God. They're looking, they're waiting,
they're hoping for the coming of the Lord. Waiting patiently,
yet impatiently. Does that make sense? You want
it? Come, even so, come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly. There are times the Lord doesn't
restrain us. We feel like taking our lives
in our own hands and just going on to be with him, ourselves. And we ask the Lord, how long?
How long? Lord, take me now. I want to
go now. I can't wait much longer. I've been living here for 50,
60, 70, 80 years. Now I'm ready. I want
to go. I want to go. How long? How long,
Lord? How long, and he says this, how
long will you suffer these perverts, these blasphemous people to carry
on with their blasphemy and all of this? When are you going to
execute judgment on these fools? And we say, like the apostles
at times, we want to call down fire from heaven on these false
prophets and all. I do. I wish that during a live
telecast of one of these major evangelists, he'd just be consumed
in smoke. It wouldn't do any good. Nobody'd
believe. Nobody'd turn to God. Maybe a
few, maybe. I don't know. It wouldn't do
much good. But their time's coming. It's
coming. It's coming. Nevertheless, we
say how long? Verse 85. proud of dig pits for me." Christ
could have said this. Religious and sinful, proud men
and women from the very outset, they sought to catch him. Catch
him in his words and literally capture him physically and put
him to death. One time they grabbed him, going
to throw him off a cliff, he passed through the mid stone.
He says, they have not followed after your law. They're not after
your law. They don't care that my words
are the very words of the living God. They don't care. They're
not at all interested in God's commandments, God's glory. They're
not interested in what I say is the truth, that I am the truth,
the way, the truth, and nothing but the truth. They're not interested
in that. They're not interested in the
keeping of God's holy word. And to us, we say the same thing
with Christ. We say the proud are big hits
for me. And this is the self-righteous religionists, those we work with,
those preachers on TV, people all around us, good Christian
folk, you know, they'd like nothing better than to see us fall, you
know, true believers. Nothing better. smiling at your
face and sticking a knife in your back. And these preachers, like I said,
they dig holes to catch people in, holes that they themselves
are falling into, and they're just dragging people right down
with them, aren't they? In these pits of covetousness
and worldliness and sin and idolatry, they don't care about God's Word.
They don't care about God's Word. They reject God's Word for their
customs, for their denominational beliefs. It's evident, isn't
it? Verse 86, Christ says that all
your commandments are faithful. All your commands are in faithfulness. Christ says all of God's holy
purposes, resolutions, and determinations concerning him are in faithfulness. It doesn't matter what the wicked
are doing. It doesn't matter that they with wicked hands have
taken and crucified the Lord of glory. They did exactly what
God determined for to be done. Because all of his commandments
will be carried out. He says, I've spoken it, it will
come to pass. And all of his commandments are in faithfulness,
thank God. In faithfulness, faithfulness
to his glory. God said he determined to glorify
himself. And thank God, John, his glory
is contained in my salvation. Thank God he included my salvation
in that glorifying of himself. He didn't have to. He is glorious,
he is all-glorious. He didn't need anything to add
to that, but he displayed it. He sought to display it for all
to see, to enhance it, to magnify it. And he did so by setting
it against the black background of my sin. And his commands are
in faithfulness to glorify himself and save his people. When Christ cried unto the Father
at one place, he said, Glorify your name. You remember that? When Christ cried unto the Father,
Father, glorify your name. Glorify your name. And then there
was a voice that came from heaven that said, I have. I've glorified
it. And he says, I will yet glorify
again. Glorified in you and glorified
in those people that I saved. And all that God does, take comfort
believer, all that God does in the life
of a believer, no matter how hard it may be, no matter how
weighty the trial may be, all that God the Father does, like
the loving All-wise Heavenly Father that he is to his people.
All that he does is in faithfulness. It's the best interest of his
people. It's for his glory, in keeping
with his covenant, for the exaltation of his Son, and the salvation
of his people and their conformity to Christ. He says, they persecute
me wrongfully, help me, help me, and he will. Christ is now
seated, waiting, expecting till his enemies become his footstool,
and God will avenge them, avenge Christ of them, and God will
avenge us of our enemies. I will avenge. Vengeance is mine,
saith the Lord, all those that persecute you." Verse 87, "...they
had almost consumed me upon the earth." Almost consumed me. As I said, surely Christ, as
he was separated from the Father and surrounded by this sin and
this wickedness, his righteous soul, like Lot, was vexed with
the conversation of the wicked. Surely he was ready to leave.
Surely. Jude said this, and I think this
speaks of Christ, that Christ was vexed with the ungodly. Do
you remember that description or that definition of ungodly? Everything is unlike God. Everything
is wicked and vile and perverse. Ungodly. This is the clearest
description that God can give of the people and the things
of this world. Vexed with the ungodly and all their ungodly
deeds which they have ungodly committed and all their hard
speeches with ungodly sinners have spoken against him. four times, ungodly. And that's
what Christ was, vexed and almost consumed. But I forsook not thy
precepts. Thank God he didn't quit. Thank
God. He never took his eye off, his
mind off of the word and the mission before him. And he said
it was like us, he says, his word was ever his comfort and
his affliction, and his word quickened him, just like it does
us. Verse eighty-eight, Quicken me after thy lovingkindness,
make me alive again." He could have said this while he was down
in the tomb, couldn't he? Quicken me according to your
grace, your saving grace for these people. Quicken me, make
me to ever live by your side, seated, ever live to make intercession
for the transgressors. And when you've lifted me up,
quickened me, glorified me, then I will have glorified you by
the keeping of your testimony, of your covenant. See that? So
shall I keep the covenant, the testimony, the sure word, the
sure gospel that you have commanded. And we say the same thing. We
say much the same. Make me to live by faith in Christ
who is the Word. Quicken me. I'm almost gone. I'm ready to halt. I'm nigh, nigh slipping. Quicken me. Regenerate me according
to your grace, according to your love and kindness, and so shall
I keep, believe, trust, live upon the gospel, the Christ of
my salvation. Okay, stand with me now. Dear Lord, it's not the proclamation
of your word or how we say it. It's not the vessel. It's the
contents of the vessel. It's your word, O Lord, that
you've promised will not return void. So we take you at your
word and ask you to use something of this feeble and pitiable attempt
at expounding upon Your Word. We ask that You take Your Word
and apply it to our hearts and our lives accordingly. Comfort
where comfort is needed. Exhort where exhortation is needed.
Encourage, admonish, rebuke where these things are needed. And
above all, point us to Christ, who is the one thing needful.
In His name we pray. Amen. You're dismissed. you

Psalm 119:81-88 - Part 11

What does the Bible say about Christ's afflictions?

How do we know that God's promises are true?

Why is understanding suffering important for Christians?

What does 'My soul fainteth for thy salvation' mean?

How can Christians find comfort in trials?

Sermon Transcript

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Psalm 119:81-88 - Part 11

What does the Bible say about Christ's afflictions?

How do we know that God's promises are true?

Why is understanding suffering important for Christians?

What does 'My soul fainteth for thy salvation' mean?

How can Christians find comfort in trials?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

Comments

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