Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. But there is one consistent theme
in the Scriptures from the beginning until the end. They do not record
for us a frustrated God who keeps trying to influence things for
good, in spite of a myriad of setbacks and disappointments.
Rather, we find His purpose to manifest His love for His people
through blood redemption to be demonstrated on every page. It
is impossible to have any right understanding of the proper use
of the Scriptures if one misses that theme. One of the most glorious
aspects of the redemptive work of Christ is the absolute certainty
of His having accomplished the salvation of His people. Every
event which must occur under the carrying out of His purpose
has indeed occurred at the exact moment and precisely as He has
determined it to take place. Judas made an agreement with
the Jews on a sum of blood money for the purchase of Christ's
betrayal. The amount of this transaction was determined before
Judas was ever born and prophesied in the book of Zechariah and
could not have been more or less than 30 pieces of silver. Some
will no doubt say that Zechariah merely foresaw the future events
as they were unfolding and knew ahead of time how much Judas
would make a deal for. If that be the case, what kept
Judas from changing his mind? How many Judas's had to be created
in order to ensure that there would be one who would actually
carry out this transaction? If one admits that the prophets
could foresee events that would take place, then it must be certain
that those events would take place. And so there needs to
be no contingencies nor any doubts that they would happen. The reality
of the matter is that the same God, who determined to send the
Lord Jesus Christ into the world to redeem His elect bride, ordered
and predestined every event to occur in the unfolding of that
redemption. But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent
forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons. If he determined the time that
these events would occur, it is certain that he determined
how they would occur, even to the minutest detail, such as
the purchase price of Christ's betrayal. If one is given eyes
to see the glory of his purpose in redemption, then that man
can also rejoice in the fact that he has obtained it for those
he came to save. This is no open-ended transaction,
nor one whose outcome is uncertain. This is the very ground upon
which the hope of God's children rests, wherein God, willing more
abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of
his counsel. Judas expected that this money
would be to his profit, but in reality it was his admission
price to the ante room of hell, which he willingly, though ignorantly,
paid. In this he fulfilled the Lord's purpose as one marked
out before under condemnation. Even the ways of the wicked fulfilled
the purpose of God. While Judas envisioned what he
might do with his wealth, it had already been determined that
this blood money would be used for the purchase of a potter's
field. Even this purchase of a potter's field with money which
was meant to hurt the Son of God is a picture of the redemptive
provision of Christ for his own, as this potter's field was a
place of burial for the poor, awaiting the glorious day of
the resurrection. It was a field of blood, thus
demonstrating that it is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
that is the purchase price of our redemption. It is also notable
to point out that the bowels of Judas gushed out here. Isaiah
says that Christ's garments are stained not only with his own
blood, but with the blood of his enemies over which he has
triumphed openly. The Lord both ordains who His
enemies are and conquers them by His own power. And who can
even dare question His doing? The Lord will destroy the wicked
as a demonstration of the great mercy which He has unto all who
call upon His name. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Saba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee and people for thy life. Fear not,
for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. If God be for us, who can
be against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely
give us all things? Blessed is that man whose God
is the Lord. What a precious privilege it
is to stand in the number of those whom the Lord has redeemed.
Though not all of them have seen Him with natural eyes, they have
all seen Him. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. For they shall all know Me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more." Do you know Him? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.