Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. No greater mystery exists for
men than how the Lord Jesus Christ can be perfectly and completely
God and yet perfectly and completely a man born of a fleshly mother.
All of the errors concerning the person of Christ stem from
a faulty view of this most compelling mystery. These errors lead to
a faulty view of the purpose of God in the creation of the
world as well as the purpose for which Christ came into the
world that he created. This is demonstrated most clearly
as he went about doing good, all the while being hated by
the very ones who were the recipients of his earthly benevolence. He
was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world
knew him not. He came unto his own, and his
own received him not. In our perusal of the Psalms,
it becomes quite evident to us that though David was the penman
of most of these wondrous words, yet Christ is the subject of
them, and they comprise both the testimony and the prayers
of the Lord Jesus, as He walked among men and communed with His
Heavenly Father. He was indeed tempted, that is,
tried and exercised in all points like as we are, and He learned,
or experienced, obedience by the things which He suffered.
He was heard in that He feared, and thus became the surety of
His people. Since he is a perfect man, exercised
in every trial, and acquainted with every sorrow which befalls
the sons of men, he is sympathetic unto his fellow man. He demonstrated
his human kindness every day as he walked among the sons of
men. He saw the infirmities of those around him, and he ministered
to their needs, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and giving
sight to the blind. He manifested the perfect keeping
of the law. Not only did he, as a perfect
man, give all that he had, but he did so with great joy, demanding
nothing in return. Psalm 35 serves to demonstrate
both the perfect humanity and the absolute deity of Jesus Christ.
In the very first verse we see the prayer of a righteous man
crying out to his father for help. He has none other upon
which he will call, and he feels himself overwhelmed with the
onslaughts of his enemies, which certainly threaten to destroy
him. Yet we see him pray a prayer that no sinful man can rightly
pray, as he asks that the Lord destroy his enemies. Let them
be confounded and put to shame, that seek after my soul. Let
them be turned back and brought to confusion, that devise my
hurt. Let them be as chaff before the wind, and let the angel of
the Lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery,
and let the angel of the Lord persecute them. In these words
we see him demonstrate his righteous indignation against all who will
seek to harm him. He instructed us to never pray
such a prayer. But I say unto you, love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate
you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute
you. But I say unto you which hear,
love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them
that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
He alone who walked in human flesh as the true God could breathe
out these righteous judgments. Mere mortals sharing a sinful
nature have no grounds upon which to pass such condemnation upon
one another. Yet he who is eternal must desire
such in order to fulfill the purpose of the Father whose will
he came to perform. But then we see him demonstrate
a characteristic which cannot at all be found in mere human
beings by nature. He says of those who hated him,
despised his way, and even bore false witness against him, they
rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. Yet
he sought not their destruction, for he says, when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth. I humbled my soul with fasting,
and my prayer returned unto my own bosom. I behaved myself as
though he had been my friend or brother. I bowed down heavily
as one that mourneth for his mother." In this passage, I am
reminded of Paul's words. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die Yet peradventure for a good
man, some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love
toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Oh, who is sufficient for these
things? Who can comprehend the depths of his mercy and the wideness
of his love to undeserving sinners who have not only despised his
word, but hated his person? Surely the psalmist is right
when he wrote, if thou, Lord, should smirk iniquities, O Lord,
who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with
thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul
doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Do you have a hope in
Jesus Christ, or are you simply relying upon something which
you have done? Christ receiveth sinful men. Have you come unto
him? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.