Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. There is no more marvelous mystery
unfolded before our eyes than when the Eternal God, who dwells
in the light to which no man can approach, and cannot at all
be seen by men, did take unto Himself a body of flesh and blood,
and dwelt among men. Not only did He become flesh,
but He learned obedience by the things which He suffered, and
was tried in all points of the law, even as His brethren. Wherefore,
in all things, it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For
in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to
succor them that are tempted. So the humanity of Christ is
no mere illusion or temporary condition, for he is a high priest
forever after the order of Melchizedek. He has entered in once into the
holy place in the behalf of his brethren and has obtained eternal
redemption for them. He presently and forevermore
lives as an intercessor for those who come unto God by him. Because
he is pleased to identify himself with his brethren, he has called
them his people, and they have been given the privilege of calling
him their God. He seeks no other people, and
they seek no other God. Everything that was needed to
bring his people to this place of reconciliation, he has provided. In the grand display of his glorious
grace in the scheme of redemption, he did subject his creation unto
vanity, that he might reveal the hope of salvation to those
he is pleased to give faith to believe through the gospel. The
gospel is indeed the gospel of the glory of the blessed God,
for it is a declaration of that salvation which Jesus Christ
has both solely undertook and completely accomplished for those
whom he is pleased to call his brethren. Though he loved his
people with a perfect love, even those who were closest to him
did not stand by his side in his darkest hours. All of those
who had recently expressed their undying love for him forsook
him and fled. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it
were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. Yet it was for them that he was
there alone, whether he was praying for them on a mountainside, smitten
with grief in the garden of Gethsemane while they slept, or traversing
the cobblestone road that led to Calvary, with the weight of
the cross and the sin of his own people heavy upon his torn
and bleeding back. As he poured out his soul unto
death in the garden and upon the cross on Golgotha's brow,
none could stand with him, and none did. Truly he did bear the
brunt of God's wrath against sin alone. Even as he says in
Isaiah, I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there
was none with me. No one did cry out in his defense, nor did
any rush to his aid, or even offer to wipe his bleeding brow.
As a man with bleeding flesh, to prove it, he said, and I looked,
and there was none to help, and I wondered that there was none
to uphold. Compounding the physical suffering
which he bore without regret or complaint, he also subjected
himself to the mental and spiritual anguish of being totally forsaken
not only by those whose benefit he sought, but by the very God
and the Father who sent him, and was his daily delight to
serve and please. Can any man fathom the depths
of the woe which filled his mind and heart as he cried, Eloi,
Eloi, loma sabachthani, which is being interpreted, my God,
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Yet there he was suspended
upon that cross between heaven and earth, forsaken by all alone. Is there any wonder that this
shall be the song through the ages to come of those redeemed?
And after these things I heard a great voice of much people
in heaven saying, Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor and power
unto the Lord our God, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood. We lift our voices in protest
when we hear men preach that the salvation of men is a cooperative
effort between him who died and those who believe in order to
gain it. We are offended by any message that does not give Christ
all glory and honor for the complete and utter salvation of his own,
without anything needing to be done on their part. Did he not
accomplish all that was necessary for their redemption by himself
alone? My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Do you know him
who tread the winepress of God's wrath alone? Do you worship at
his footstool, who triumphed gloriously over all the enemies
of the people of his choice, those that he has loved with
an everlasting love? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.