Well, good evening to everyone.
If you would open your Bibles with me to Psalm 119. Psalm 119,
we're going to begin our service reading a portion of what will
serve as our text this evening. Psalm 119. We'll begin our reading
in verse 73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned
me. Give me understanding that I
may learn thy commandments. They that fear thee will be glad
when they see me, because I have hoped in thy word. I know, O
Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness
hath afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful
kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word and to thy servant.
Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live, for thy
law is my delight. Let the proud be ashamed. For
they dealt perversely with me without a cause. But I will meditate
in thy precepts. Let those that fear thee turn
unto me, and those that have known thy testimonies. Let my
heart be sound in thy statutes, that I be not ashamed. We'll
end our reading there. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, we bow in your presence
this evening. giving thanks for another opportunity
that you've given us to hear your word preached and to worship
thee. Father, while we cannot be together
in person right now, Father, I pray you'd cause our hearts
to be lifted up together in worship and praise of Christ our Redeemer.
Father, I pray that you'd give us an hour of true worship. How I beg of thee that you would
bless your Bless your word, cause it to go forth in your power,
the power of the Spirit, and cause it, Father, to bring glory
to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And cause your word to
go forth in power to pierce the hearts of your people, to call
out your sheep, to call them to faith and repentance in our
Lord Jesus Christ. And Father, cause your word to
go forth in power to feed the hearts and the souls of your
people. How desperately we need a word from thee. Give us a word
from thee that would feed our souls, strengthen our faith in
our Lord Jesus Christ. Comfort our hearts by one more
time being able by thy spirit to see our Lord Jesus Christ,
to see that he is all that we need, to see that he has done
everything that you've required of your people. He's done it
for us. Father, we're thankful. Father, we're thankful for how
abundantly that you've blessed your people, blessed this congregation
for so many years. You blessed us with your word,
your leadership. You blessed us with your presence.
You blessed us with your gospel. And Father, I pray that you continue
to bless, continue to lead and guide, continue to reveal yourself
through the preaching of your word. How we beg of Thee that
You would never leave us alone. And especially in this time,
Father, don't leave us alone. Don't leave us to our own devices.
Don't let us go our own way. But Father, use Your Word to
bind us ever closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Show us our need
of Him and to show us that He truly is all that we need. Father,
for our world and our country, We pray your blessing at this
time. We pray that you would reach your hand down and heal
the land, that you would be with our leaders and our political
leaders, our medical leaders and professionals, that you would
give them much wisdom in knowing how we should go forward. Use
them as an instrument, Father, to lead us out of this and above
all, to enable your people to meet together again in safety
and we might lift our voices up together in praise and worship
for Thee. Father, for those who are hurting
and who are sick, we pray for them. We pray that You'd comfort
their hearts. While we can't be with them at
this time, Father, give them a special fulfillment of Your
promise that You'd not leave nor forsake Your people. Comfort
their hearts with Your presence. All these things we ask and we
give thanks. Oh, Father, forgive us. for not
being more thankful as we are. But we give thanks and offer
up our praise and thanksgiving in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ. It's in his name. And for his
sake, we pray and give thanks. Now, the title of the lesson
this evening is Christ from A to Z, Part 5. Continue our study
in Psalm 119, which I've told you four times before, I'll tell
you again tonight that Psalm 119 is a poem that has one eight
verse stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And the
theme of the Psalm, the theme of each one of these stanzas
is the word of God, both the written word and Christ the incarnate
word. My desire through this study
of Psalm 119 is to give you the main point in each stanza. to
show you how under each one of these letters of the Hebrew alphabet
shows us that Christ is all, so that we see from A to Z, Christ
is all. Christ is all that the Father
requires. Christ is all that you and I need. And the Lord
willing, what we will see in these three stanzas that we'll
look at this evening, we'll see David bring us through the darkness
of suffering and death and bring us to the light of victory in
life. Every believer is going to go
through this journey from darkness to light, from sorrow to joy,
from sorrow to victory. We'll probably do that several
times over the course of our life as the Lord brings us through
various trials and afflictions that he sends for the good of
his people in this life. And my prayer is that that is
what the Lord is doing for us right now during this pandemic. It's a dark time. It's a difficult
time. It's a frightening time, scared
about your health and so forth. It's a dark time right now. But
I pray that the Lord is going to show us light, that he's going
to bring us through this and give us joy from the things that
we're learning during this time. The Lord is using this time to
teach his people. And I pray that we'll see soon
the light and joy that the Lord has for us at the end of this
time. If you'll hold your place there in Psalm 119, look back
at Psalm 30. David has experienced this several
times in his life. Just like I told you, we'll go
through it a number of times in our lives. David's been through
it and he learned this from experience. From Psalm 30, verse four, he
says, sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks
at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endureth but a
moment. In his favor is life. Weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Weeping
is going to endure in the night, in the darkness, but for God's
people, joy is coming in the morning. David had experienced
that. He experienced a time of joy
after a time of darkness and weeping. And you and I have done
that too. Every believer will have this
experience. And we will have a time of joy.
After a time of weeping, we'll have a time of life. After going
through this valley of death below, the shadow of death, every
believer will have a time of joy, happiness, glory, and light. We'll have that. That's a promise
of God because of how Christ our Savior has already suffered
and died for the sins of his people. The sacrifice of Christ
guarantees light, joy, and victory in life. for his people. David,
I'm sure, is writing from his own experience here, but this
writing is inspired by the Holy Spirit. Clearly, this is our
Lord Jesus Christ speaking through David in these passages that
we'll look at this evening. This can be none other but the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David speaking. I've told you
this many times, it's Christ that's speaking through all of
the Psalms. It's not just David, but every Psalm is a Messianic
Psalm. Every Psalm points us to Christ.
Every Psalm is Christ speaking from the Psalms. And some of
them are more obvious than others. I'll grant you that. And this
is one of those more obvious times. Every believer can look
forward to the same light and the same victory that Christ
our Savior describes that he goes through and he has in these
passages. That's waiting for every one
of Christ's people because of the suffering of Christ our Savior
for the sins of his people. So Psalm 119 verse 73 begins
the 10th stanza of this Psalm. And it tells us about God suffering
in the flesh for the sin of his people. The Hebrew letter for
this stanza represents God who is invisible. It represents the
omniscience of God, the omnipresence of God, that God is everywhere
at the same time. This stanza shows us God was
in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. This is how God
suffered for the sins of his people in human flesh. God was
in Christ, reconciling the world to himself. And this portion,
this stanza of the psalm tells us how he did it. Verse 73. He
says, thy hands have made me and fashioned me. Give me understanding
that I may learn thy commandments. Now this is talking about the
miracle of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look back
over at Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews, the 10th chapter, the
son of God actually became a man. And he talked about that here
in Hebrews chapter 10, beginning in verse four. He says, for it's not possible
that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
an offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared
me. Same thing David's talking about in Psalm 119, a body hast
thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin, thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me. In the volume of all the Old Testament, in
the volume of Psalm 119 that we're looking at tonight. In
the volume of the book it is written of me. I come to do thy
will, O God. I come to please you. All the
sacrifices of the Old Testament didn't please God because they
didn't take away sin. So the father prepared a body
for his son and his son came in that body to please the father. The father prepared a human body
for his son, a body to be sacrificed for sin, a body that by that
sacrifice would take away the sin of God's people. And that
sacrifice would please God. Look over in verse 10. This is
what he's saying. By the witch will, we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The father prepared a body for
his son and in that body, he was sacrificed. And by that sacrifice,
he sanctified, he made holy all of God's people. The father prepared
a body for his son to be sacrificed. That's why Christ came. He came
to be sacrificed. He came for that hour. But the
father also prepared a body for his son so that God's law would
be kept by a man. The father prepared a real human
body for his son. He became a real man. See, before
the Lord Jesus could die, as a man, he had to keep the law. As a man, he had to establish
righteousness. or else his sacrifice couldn't
save. If he did not establish righteousness, his sacrifice
could save no one. So before he could be sacrificed
in a body, in that human body the father prepared for him,
he had to keep the law. He had to establish righteousness
and that is exactly what he did. Now you can either listen to
me or you can hold your place there in Hebrews. But back at
the end of our text here, verse 73, He says, you fashioned me
this body, now give me understanding that I may learn thy commandments. Now the hard Lord Jesus didn't
learn anything in the sense that he learned something that he
didn't know before. He's God. He always was God. He always
is God. He's always known everything.
He always knew. Even the boy Jesus knew he was
God. He always knew. that he had come
to save his people from their sins. As a boy, he said, wish
ye not that I must be about my father's business. He knew who
he was. He knew he's the son of God, and he knew why he came.
He had come to save his people from their sins. So what is this
learning that our text is talking about? Well, the Savior learned
in that he experienced. He experienced obedience for
his people. If you look in Hebrews, if you're
still there in Hebrews, look at Hebrews chapter five. He talks
about this in Hebrews 5, verse 7. Who in the days of his flesh,
when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death,
he was heard and that he feared. Though he were a son, though
he's God, 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. Now the word learned here is
the Greek word, which means the exact same thing that the Hebrew
word translated learned in our text means. It means to learn
by experience or to learn by use. The Lord Jesus experienced
obedience by obeying the law as the representative for his
people as a man. That's why the father repaired
him a body to do that, to obey the law as the representative
of His people, people who are human beings, sons of Adam. The
Lord Jesus Christ came in the same flesh, yet without sin,
to obey the law for them. That's why the Father prepared
a body for Him. The Lord Jesus Christ established
perfect righteousness for His people. He kept the law in every
jot and every tittle. That's what the letter in our
text, the stanza that we're looking at, this tenth stanza in Psalm
119. It's used for the jot and the
till. Every most minute detail of the law, Christ kept it for
his people and established a perfect righteousness for them. And by
that obedience, once he established that righteousness, now that
made him the perfect sacrifice to go in that body, be sacrificed
to put away the sin of his people. The father prepared a body for
his son, a body that would be perfectly suited to satisfy God. and that body would be perfectly
suited to satisfy the need of sinners. What Christ did in his
body pleased the Father. And you know what? It pleased
his people, too. Look back in our text. Psalm
119, verse 74. They that fear thee will be glad
when they see me, because I have hoped in thy word. Everyone who
sees Christ with the eye of faith will be glad. They'll be glad
to see him because he kept God's law. He kept God's word. He did
it perfectly. And that makes me glad. I'm glad
to see Christ as my salvation. I'm glad to see Christ as my
righteousness. I'm glad to see Christ as my
life. I'm glad to see that forgiveness of sin is in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm glad to see that forgiveness
of sin is by his sacrifice. Because if the forgiveness of
my sin is conditioned upon the sacrifice of Christ, that my
sins forgiven, God will never take it back. It makes me glad
to see forgiveness of sin in Christ. It makes me glad to see
God's mercy, grace, and love is in Christ. It makes me glad
to see Christ as all of my hope. Those things make me glad. Does
it make you glad? I mean, just the gospel of Christ,
who he is, what he accomplished, who he accomplished it for. Those
things make me glad. That makes you glad? That's the
gospel. It ought to make us glad. But you know, our gladness cost
the Savior. It cost him a lot of grief, a
lot of suffering, a lot of pain. It cost him death. Look at verse
75. He says, I know, O Lord, that
thy judgments are right. They're righteousness. and that
thou in faithfulness hath afflicted me." Now, as our Savior suffered,
he never complained. He cried out. He cried out in
pain. He cried out in agony, but he never complained. He never
complained and tried to reason with Pilate, with men. He never
tried to plead with God and reason and say, I don't deserve this.
He never one time said, I'm not getting what I deserve. When
they made all those accusations against him, he never one time
opened his mouth. You know why? Because they were
true. The father had made him sin for
his people and he knew he was getting what justice demanded.
He was getting what he deserved. He knew that God's judgment against
him was right. It was done in righteousness.
He knew that in faithfulness to God's holy character, he was
afflicting him and putting him to death because he was getting
what he deserved. But while he suffered, he suffered
in hope. He suffered in confidence that
the father would accept his sacrifice. And he suffered in this confidence
that everyone for whom he died would be saved in the mercy of
God. That's what he talks about in
verse 76. Let I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort. Let my comfort be your merciful
kindness according to thy word and to thy servant. Let thy tender
mercies come unto me that I may live, for thy law is my delight. And the Savior's plea is mercy
for his people. And I've told you this many times,
that in order for God to be merciful to his people, he's got to do
something with our sin. In order for God to be merciful
to his people, he must pour out his wrath for our sin. He must
pour out justice for our sin upon our substitute. That's the
only way The Holy God can have mercy on the likes of you and
me. The only way God can be merciful to us and not give us what we
deserve is if he gives Christ our substitute what we deserve,
and then he gives us what Christ deserves. That's how God's merciful
to his people. And that was the confidence of
the Savior as he suffered. He prays for mercy for his people
because of his sacrifice for them. This is his cry, his Father,
don't punish my people. because you're punishing me for
their sin. Father, give my people life because
I died in their place. Do what you promised to do in
your word. The word that you said to your servant, the word
of your covenant, the word of your promise. The father promised
the son, when you're sacrificed for the sin of this people that
I give you, I've chosen a people to save. I'm giving them to you
to save. And when you suffer and you die
for them, you shed your blood to put their sin away, I'll accept
them. And that's what the Savior's
saying. And according to your word, to your servant, according
to your promise in the covenant of grace, Father, now have mercy
upon your people. Save, accept these people for
whom I'm dying. That was Christ's comfort. His
assurance as he suffered was he was not suffering in vain.
Not one drop of his blood would be shed in vain. His comfort
as he suffered was everyone he loved, everyone without exception,
would be saved by His sacrifice. Now that makes me glad. That
gives me joy to see that. Isn't that, that gives us such
joy? That's the joy, the comfort of the gospel. The same thing
that comforted our Savior as He suffered comforts the hearts
of His people as we go through this veil of tears. Isn't that
something? What a joy that is. But now there's a solemn warning
here. Christ did not die for everyone. Christ only died for
God's elect. There's not joy for the rebel
to be found in this. Now this is true. Christ died
only for God's elect. That's a true statement. But
this is also true. Nobody will ever be in hell because
the Father did not choose them. Nobody's going to be in hell
because Christ did not die for them. They will be in hell for
their sin. They're not going to be able
to blame God because they're in hell because it won't be God's
fault. It'll be their fault. It'll be the fault of their own
sin. It will be their fault. They will be damned because they
refused to bow to Christ. They'll be damned because they're
a rebel and they refused to trust Christ. See, in the midst of
all this joy, the joy and comfort and confidence that Christ had
as he suffered, there's a solemn warning. Verse 78, let the proud
be ashamed. All the God's people are going
to be delighted, but let the proud be ashamed. For they dealt
perversely with me without a cause, but I will meditate in thy precepts. Now the proud are those who are
proud of their own righteousness. They're proud of their own religious
works. They're proud of their decision.
So they're not going to trust Christ completely. No, they're
trusting in something. They're so proud of themselves.
They're trusting in something that they've done and they'll
be damned for it. And it will be their own fault
because they refuse to trust Christ alone. But if anybody
will be turned, if they'll be turned to Christ and they'll
trust Christ, they will be saved. And that'll be all God's doing.
See, if anybody winds up in hell, it'll be their fault. It'll be
their doing. But if anybody goes to heaven, if they awaken glory
in Christ's likeness, that'll be God's doing. Verse 79, let
those that fear thee turn unto me and those that have known
thy testimonies. Those people who fear God, they're
turned to Christ. And you know why they're turned
to Christ? Because God, the Holy Spirit, turned them. God turned
them. That's why God gave them a new
heart, a heart that fears God, a heart of faith that trusts
God. God taught them. Everyone who's taught of the
Father is going to come to Christ. Well, God taught them. So they
turned to Christ. And not one of those people who
turns to Christ will ever be ashamed. And you know why they
won't be ashamed? They'll never be found guilty.
They can't be found guilty because Christ made them righteous by
his sacrifice for them. So it's impossible for them to
be found guilty. It's impossible for them to be
ashamed. Verse 80, he says, let my heart be sound in thy statutes
that I be not ashamed. No one who is sound in heart,
no one who is sound because they're founded upon Christ, because
they believe on Christ. None of those people will ever
be ashamed. They don't have anything to be ashamed of because Christ
made them not guilty. Now, all of God's people, while
they have nothing to be ashamed of, they'll be found not guilty. They still suffer times of darkness
and suffering and trial all through this life. But we have this promise
that a time of light and joy is coming. We have this to look
forward to. In a time of darkness and suffering
and trial, we have a time of light and joy to look forward
to. So we can cry just like our Savior did. Lord, we're the works
of your hands too. The body of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that's the work of the Father's hands. The Father prepared him
a body. But Lord, we're the works of your hands too. You've made
us too. So Lord, please forsake not the work of your own hands.
That's our hope, our confidence in times of darkness and suffering
and trial. The Lord has promised he will
not forsake the work of his own hand. God won't forsake his people
for Christ's sake. He already forsook Christ, our
substitute, so he'll never forsake his people. Now that's a good
hope. That's something that we can
cling to and have confidence in in a time of darkness and
suffering, just like our Savior did. All right, now this 11th
stanza tells us about the darkness of Christ's suffering. You know,
this last stanza, the 10th stanza we looked at, sounds like Christ
crying to his father from Gethsemane's garden as he prepared to go to
the cross. As he knew what was coming, he
knew the suffering that would come to him when he was made
sin for his people. And he's crying out to his father,
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not as I will, but as thou will. Now this 11th stanza sounds like
Christ crying to the father from the cross. Earlier, it's like
he's crying as he prepares to go to the cross. This 11th stanza
is Christ crying from the cross in the depths of his agony, in
the depths of the darkness of his suffering. The letter for
this 11th stanza speaks of submission and humility. It also speaks
of God's power to make the spiritual blessing be applied to the physical. God's power to apply the spiritual
blessing of salvation to the hearts of His people. And to
make that real, you know where that comes from? It comes from
the submission of Christ. That He would submit Himself
willingly to be made sin for His people. And He would willingly
gave Himself to die to put away the sin of His people. Christ's
willing suffering unto death guarantees the actual salvation
of His people. His submission to His Father
guarantees the actual salvation of his people. The stanza begins
in verse 81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation,
but I hope in thy word. Mine eyes fail for thy word,
saying, when wilt thou comfort me? Now our Savior knew that
his suffering would end, but he makes it clear this suffering
was real. It's deep suffering. It's a deep
darkness he was in. You know, as our Savior suffered
on the cross, in those three hours, darkness covered the earth. The sun would not shine. It wouldn't
shine on this sacrifice of God's Son. And that darkness shows
us, something gives us a hint of the darkness that the Savior
was suffering in. His suffering was so intense,
it seemed like it would last forever. Suffering the humiliation
of being made sin. unspeakable suffering to the
Holy Son of God. Suffering agony, the agony of
the separation from his father was true soul suffering, the
suffering in such darkness, so deep it seemed like it would
last forever. The Son of God, who was from
eternity the daily delight of his father, now suffering all
of his father's unmitigated wrath against sin. suffering like you
and I cannot imagine. Look how he describes his suffering,
verse 83. For I become like a bottle in
the smoke, yet do I not forget thy statutes. Now the bottle
the psalmist talks about here, it's a wine skin. It's not a
glass bottle like we think of the bottle. It's a wine skin,
what they used to put wine in. And that skin had been emptied
and it was used. I don't exactly know why they
did this, but this is what I read. They would hang that used wineskin
in a tent that was filled with smoke to dry it up. And after
it hung there a while, it would become black and sooty and just
very, very wrinkled and worn. Just looked like it was good
for nothing. Looked like it was ancient. That's what happened
to the body of our Savior. It started before He ever went
to the cross. about 30 years old when he began his earthly
ministry. And he was about 30 years old. And he told those
Pharisees before Abraham was, I am, I am telling them he, even
though his body is just 30 years old, he's eternal. But the weight,
he was just 30 years old, but the weight for 30 years of living
in this world of sin, the weight of living in this cesspool of
sin, the burden of living around the sin, the the burden of the
wear that he must be about his father's business to save his
people from their sin. That weight that was on him made
him look 20 years older. He didn't look 30, he looked
closer to 50. That's why the Pharisees said,
well, how did you see Abraham? You're not yet 50 years old.
They didn't say you're just 30 years old because he looked a
whole lot older than that. Like that old wineskin that had
been hung in that smoky tent became wrinkled and worn and
looked so old Now that was before the Savior
ever went to the cross. He suffered that weight upon
His body. His brow furrowed. Oh, if you
could just picture it, having to live in this world of sin,
the care of the salvation of His people constantly upon Him.
And then after all that, then He went to the cross. His time
of suffering didn't begin at the cross. His time of suffering
began in Mary's womb. His time of humiliation began
in Mary's womb. And all through that time, He
suffered. And then He went to the cross as a sacrifice for
the sin of His people. And in that body, He bore all
the wrath of God against sin. Yet He suffered it willingly.
He suffered all those years leading up to the cross. He suffered
it willingly. He willingly allowed that mob to take him. He willingly
went through that mock trial. He willingly allowed those soldiers
to beat him and beat his back with that whip. He willingly
laid down on that cross to have those nails driven through his
hands and feet. He willingly gave his head to
have the thorns thrust down upon it. He gave his cheek to the
smiters, those who had spit upon him. He did that willingly. And
as he suffered, hanging there on that cross between heaven
and earth, suffering abandoned by everyone, his father included,
he still suffered willingly. He suffered willingly in hope
that the father and a confidence that the father would keep his
covenant for his people. He suffered all that willingly
to establish righteousness for his people and to save them from
their sins. He could have called those angels, but he didn't.
He suffered willingly unto death so that his people might be redeemed. but he went through some dark,
deep waters to get there. Look at verse 84. He says, how
many are the days of thy servant? When will thou execute judgment
on them that persecute me? The proud have digged pits for
me, which are not after thy law. All thy commandments are faithful.
They persecute me wrongfully. Help thou me. Now this must be
the deepest, darkest of the night. You know, they say it's darkest
right before the light. This must be the deepest, darkest
time of the night, the deepest, darkest sufferings of the Savior.
And it sounds like he's saying, how long must I suffer? How long?
How many of these days? How long is this going to be?
It seems like there's no end to it. And he talks about those
who are persecuting him wrongfully without a cause. Well, the Jews
and the Romans are executing a man that they know did nothing
wrong. They all know this man did nothing
wrong. They laid traps for him and they persecuted him and they
sentenced him to death wrongfully and they know it. They got witnesses
who would lie against him. They know this man has done nothing
amiss. They know it. So in that sense,
they did persecute Christ wrongfully. He didn't do anything wrong.
He didn't do anything deserving of death. In that sense, they
did deal with him perversely and wrongfully and God will deal
with them one day. Maybe He dealt with him in mercy. I'm confident that he dealt with
some of them in mercy. I'm confident of it. Because
the Savior prayed, Father, forgive them. They know not what they
do. I don't know who he prayed for
exactly at that time, but whoever it was he prayed for, the Father
had mercy on them. The Father forgave them because of the sacrifice
of Christ that was going on at that very moment. Whoever he
prayed for, they're forgiven. They're forgiven by the same
blood The same sacrifice, the same mercy and the same grace
that saved you and it saved me. It took, did that tell you something
about us, about our nature? It took the same blood, the same
mercy, the same grace to save you and me as it did the people
who persecuted Christ wrongfully. Same grace, the same blood. Whoever
he prayed for and that father forgave them, they're forgiven.
And whoever he prayed against here, that the Father would deal
with him in justice, they'll be damned. They'll be damned.
Now as far as the Jews and the Romans were concerned, they did
put an innocent man to death. But an innocent man did not die
on the middle cross that day. A guilty man died. A guilty man. The innocent did not die so that
the guilty could go free. That's a perversion of judgment.
I understand why people say that, but on that middle cross that
day, a guilty man died. Almighty God did not put an innocent
man to death. That would be unjust, and God's
not unjust. No, the Father made Christ sin
for us. That made him guilty. So a guilty
man died so that his people, who he had made righteous, who
he had made innocent, could go free. They would go free in justice
because Christ, by his sacrifice, made them not guilty. That's
what he says in verse 87. They had almost consumed me upon
the earth, but I forsook not thy precepts. Quicken me after
thy loving kindness. So shall I keep the testimony
of thy mouth. Now the wicked, if they hadn't
had their way, they would have consumed Christ from the earth.
They would have killed him and been done with him forever. That
was their goal. We're going to get rid of this
man. We're going to get rid of him or be done with him forever.
We're washing our hands of him. So he does not destroy our place.
They would have consumed Christ from the earth, but they couldn't
accomplish their will. No, God used them to accomplish
his will of the redemption of his people. They would have consumed
Christ from the earth, except He had not forsaken God's law.
He had not forsaken God's word, but he kept it. So the father
raised him from the dead. The father quickened Christ in
loving kindness because Christ had put away the sin of his people
and the father loved righteousness. He loves holiness. All that sin
that had been laid upon the savior was washed away by his sacrifice.
So in loving kindness, the father raised him from the dead. Now,
We've come from that darkness, that horrible, horrible, deep
darkness. Now we start to see the light,
the light of resurrected glory. And that's what we see in this
next stanza. See, so far we've heard Christ speak in Gethsemane,
anticipating his suffering. We've heard Christ speak in agony
from the cross. Now we hear him speak in victory
and joy because he's speaking on resurrection ground. This
12th stanza, tells us of the joy of Christ's victory. The
letter for this stanza tells us of a learner, and it doesn't
just tell us about a head knowledge. It tells us of a heart knowledge
that's been acquired from God. You see, the sacrifice of Christ
accomplished something. The sacrifice of Christ was not
an attempt. Christ did not try to save as many people as he
could. He was not trying to to make himself the most pitiful
martyr that ever was and see how many people might decide
to accept him as their personal savior. No, sir. Christ died
as the victorious savior who saved all of his people from
all of their sin. He died in complete confidence.
Even in the worst of his suffering, he suffered and died in complete
confidence. His death was not in vain. And
the resurrection of Christ is the evidence he got the job done.
The resurrection of Christ is the evidence He is the successful,
victorious Savior who put away all the sin of His people. And
every one of His people who believes upon Him is a learner of that. They've learned it in the heart
because God's given them a heart to know it. And the Savior's
cry now is a prayer of the salvation of His people. It's the cry of
victory. Look at it, verse 89. Forever,
O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto
all generations. Thou hast established it. Thou
hast established the earth and it abideth. God's covenant is established.
Whatever is God's established, it abides forever. God's covenant
of grace is established forever. There was never the least bit
of doubt that that covenant would not be established and fulfilled. Of course it would. God's covenant
of grace was sealed by the blood of Christ in eternity. Before
God created anything, he saw Christ as the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. That was the purpose of God.
It would be done. The purpose of God is just as
sure as an act of God. But before God created anything,
Christ in the purpose of God was the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. God always saw his people justified
in the sacrifice of Christ. But that purpose had to be fulfilled
in time. That blood had to be shed in
time. And this is what the Savior is
saying, now it has been. The great transaction is done.
The price is paid. The salvation of God's elect
is sure because the covenant has been sealed with the blood
of Christ and it cannot be moved. And because of that, God will
always be faithful. to save his people out of this
earth. And just in case that you might
think today is such a dark day, that the suffering on this earth
is so great, just in case you think that God's mercy is clean
gone, or just in case that you think you're a lost cause, that
you think you are too sinful for God to save, that you're
a lost cause, there couldn't be mercy left for someone as
foul as you. Just in case you think that,
the Savior tells us God's still being faithful to his covenant
today. He's still being faithful to save his people today. He
promised he would in eternity. He's been faithful all through
human history, right up till now. And today, today in this
dark, difficult day, God is still being faithful to save his people. Whatever it is going on in the
world and in my lifetime, this pandemic is the biggest worldwide
event of my lifetime. It's derailed, seems like everything,
hasn't it? Derailed men's plans. You can't
go to work. You can't go to the store. You can't do what you
want to do. You can't go visit folks. You can't. God's purpose
is not derailed. God is faithful today. He is
being faithful today to save his people from their sins. Look
at verse 91. They continue, your word, your promise, they continue
this day according to thine ordinances for all are thy servants. God
is still calling out his sheep. He's still saving his sheep.
He's still faithful to save his people by the preaching of the
gospel. It's just as true today as it was in Abraham's day, as
it was in David's day, as it was in Peter's day, Paul's day,
all the reformers, the time of the past, God still being faithful. to save his people. God is still
in the business of saving sinners. I wish we'd remember that. God
hadn't changed. God's still in control and God's
still in the business of saving sinners by his mercy, through
the preaching of his word. That is just as true today as
it ever has been. God has saved his people by his
word. He saved his people by his promise, his covenant of
grace. He saved his people by, through, and in the Lord Jesus
Christ. But now as we've seen, those people, God saved them. He set his love upon them. He
set his mercy and affection upon them. He's crowned them with
his loving kindness. Yet those people will still go
through many dark, difficult trials. But God's going to keep
them. He's going to keep them. He's
going to preserve them by the very same word, the very same
promise, and the very same Christ by which he saved them. Look
at verse 92. Unless thy law had been my delights,
I should then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget
thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me. I am thine. Save me, for I have sought thy
precepts. The wicked have waited for me
to destroy me, but I will consider thy testimony. This is what David's
saying. God, you quicken me by your word,
by your precepts, by your gospel. You quicken me by Christ. You've
given me life. Now, keep me by the same word.
Keep me by the same promise. Keep me by the same power. I
would have quit. And as God put his word in my
heart so I can't forget it, I would have quit. The wicked would have
pulled me away from Christ and I'd have gone with him willingly.
Except Christ wouldn't let me go. See, the Lord uses the same,
the gospel God used to save his people. It's the very same gospel
he uses to feed his sheep and to keep his people. We're saved
when God the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to our hearts through
the preaching of the word. That's when God saves us. And
we're kept and we're comforted and we're fed the very same way.
When God the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us through the preaching
of his word. the very same means. Now look at verse 96. I've seen
an end of all perfection, but thy commandment is exceeding
broad. Now here is the cry of victory. I've seen the end of
this thing. I've seen this thing perfected
and finished. I've seen perfection because
I've seen Christ. It's a dark time now. We're going
to go through many other dark times, but I know how this thing's
going to turn out. I know where this journey is
going to end. It's going to end with glory, with Christ. It's
going to end with victory, with Christ. God's commandment is
exceeding broad. It's a whole lot broader than
I can keep. But Christ has kept it all for me. He's kept it in
every jot, in every tittle. I've seen perfection. I've seen
it in Christ. I've seen the victory. It's in
Christ. The Father has seen perfection
in Christ and He's satisfied. He's pleased. And every sinner
who ever sees Christ with eye of faith, they're satisfied too. They're pleased. You know why
I'm satisfied? I've seen perfection. I've seen Christ and I'm satisfied. You know why I'm satisfied? Because
when I see Him, I don't need anything else. I've got everything
I need. It's all in Him. That's the gospel. That's the cry of victory, the
victory of our Savior. I hope that pleases your soul. I hope that comforts you. I hope
that encourages you. I hope that brings joy to your
heart by pointing you to the successful, victorious Savior. That's the Savior in whom we
trust. Let's bow together in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word. How we thank you for this clear declaration of
salvation through the obedience, through the sacrifice of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Father, how can we thank you
enough? How can we thank you for the depths of suffering that
our Savior went through to redeem his people from our sins? But Father, with everything that
we have, the heart, the tongue, the being that we have, we thank
you. We thank you. We praise your holy name. We know it's not sufficient,
but with what we have, we praise you. We thank you. We look forward
to that day that we might do it perfectly in thy presence. How we thank you, what the glory,
the light, the victory that we have to look forward to as we
go through this time of darkness and trial and suffering and doubts
and sin here below. The victory, the light, the glory
that we have to look forward to, confident in because of the
sacrifice of Christ our Savior. He will not lose one for whom
he died. Father, bless your word. Bless
it to our hearts so we might meditate upon it and see more
of the glory of Christ our Savior. Trust him more fully. Find our
joy and hope and confidence in him even more fully than we ever
have before. Of course, in his matchless name,
it's for his glory that we pray and give thanks. Amen. Until
next time, may the Lord bless you.