Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. The incarnation, that is, becoming
flesh and blood, of the Son of God is one of the most glorious
occurrences in the history of mankind. It transcends our comprehension
and causes us to bow our faces to the earth in wonder. The eternal
God of the ages, the Ancient of Days, He who is holy and undefiled,
clothed Himself in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin
condemned sin in the flesh. He being without sin was indeed
perfect in all of His ways, and though He were a Son, yet learned
He obedience by the things which He suffered. And being made perfect,
he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him. He is indeed exactly suited to
our need, 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.
His purpose in this incarnation was to redeem those sons which
were given to him before the foundation of the world, and
he has completely performed that task, by his obedience to the
law in his jot and tittle, his satisfaction of the penalty of
sin by his one sacrifice for sins forever, and his complete
and utter triumph over all of the enemies of his people, most
especially death, as he rose a victor over it in the day of
his resurrection. On the day of his ascension back
to the Father, the angels told his disciples, Ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken
up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen him go into heaven. If he comes in the same manner
in which he left this earth, then of necessity he is in the
same body which the apostles touched and saw before he ascended
back to the heavens, which must receive him until the time of
the restitution of all things. All of our hopes rest on the
fact that he ever lives to make intercession for us in heaven
itself, who being the brightness of his glory and express image
of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his
power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the majesty on high. Now of the things which
we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such a high priest who
has sat on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in
the heavens. He who is now at the right hand
of that majesty is a man who has completely satisfied the
law, and having subjected himself to the rigors of death which
it demanded of sinners, has fully and completely obtained eternal
redemption for all of those for whom he stood as a substitute.
Having obtained it for them, his presence there ensures their
complete deliverance. The delight of our Savior was
to gain the deliverance of those which were given to him before
the foundation of the world, and he could be satisfied by
nothing short of that goal. Even as Isaiah the prophet said,
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief.
When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall
see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail
of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Being a man, he had no delight in physical pain and suffering
any more than any other man, so he took no delight in the
death and despair that he was faced with, yet he gladly suffered
all of it for the sake of those whom he loved. This is he who
is our hope and expectations, as he has quickened us and caused
us to be looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God. The chief delight of the Son
of God was to do His Father's will, and it is in the presence
of His Father that He describes as the place of His greatest
pleasure. He delights in His Father, and His Father delights
in Him, even as He declared on the Mount of Transfiguration,
according to Peter's testimony. For He received from God the
Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to Him
from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased. And this voice which came from
heaven we heard when we were with Him in the Holy Mount. Since
this is the place of his greatest delight, it seems quite apparent
that this is the same place that he would bring those whom he
has loved with an everlasting love. In fact, this is exactly
what he told his disciples. Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my father's house are
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself,
that where I am, there ye may be also. If ye then be risen
with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God. Do you delight in heavenly
things? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.