In Hebrews chapter 10, I'd like
to consider our text as verses 5 through 7. These three verses
are a quote from Psalm 40. Verses 6 through 8 of that Psalm
are what is quoted here in Hebrews chapter 10. As I've told you
before and you well know, the book of Hebrews again and again,
from the very first chapter until the end, draws a comparison between
the Old Testament sacrifices, the priesthood, and Christ. And each and every time, with
every comparison, whether it's the priest and their offerings,
the sacrifices, the results of those sacrifices, every time
the writer concludes, Christ is better. Christ is better. He's superior. In chapter 1,
we're told that Christ is a better revelation than had ever been
given before. In chapter 7, we're told he's
a better hope. Also in that same chapter, he's
a better priesthood. Chapter 8, a better covenant,
a covenant established upon God's grace. Better promises, a better
sacrifices. We read here the sacrifices they
offered day by day and year by year could never take away sin,
but his did. One time, once was enough. That's why he sat down as our
great and effectual high priest. A better sacrifice, and we're
told in Hebrews 11, we have a better country we're looking forward
to. That is a heavenly and a better resurrection. Psalm 40, from
which our text is a quote, is a psalm of David. But behold,
a greater than David is here, because it speaks of David's
son, but also David's God, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it doesn't
get any better than that. Does it, Lord? It doesn't get
any better than him. God's purpose of grace, God's
purpose to save a people for his own glory is wrapped up in
the person of Jesus Christ. Notice again verse 7, and this
primarily will be our text, just this part of the quote, verse
7. Dan said, I, lo, I come. In the volume of the book it
is written of me, this is Christ speaking to the Father. Lo, I
come to do thy will, O God. He's superior, better as to when
he came. Notice in the context there.
When Christ came. And it begins with these words,
then. Then. And in the context of the
chapter, then, when man's misery from sin could never be remedied
by animal sacrifices. No way. They were never intended
to. As verse 1 tells us, the law
having a shadow. just a shadow, a picture, a type
of good things to come but not the very image of those things
can never, never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year
continually make the commerce thereunto As he asked the question
in verse 2, if they did, then they would have fulfilled their
purpose and it would have ceased to be offered. But because they
could not take away sin, they were offered again and again.
Verse 4, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats
should take away sin then. Then he said, I come to do thy
will, O God. God said, I will have mercy and
not sacrifice. Our Lord quoted that to the religious
leaders one time. And he said, go and learn what
that means. And oh, what a blessed and sweet
lesson it is in God's grace when he teaches a sinner What that
means. That is that it's not the labors
of my hands that can fulfill God's laws demands. Neither can
images and types and shadows they can never avail. Then said
I, lo I come. If sin is not taken away, And
that's the issue. If it's not taken away, that
means that there's no reconciliation with God. If sin is not taken
away, if sin is not accounted for, then there can be no peace
with God. The great gulf between a holy
God and a sinful man remains. And nothing he does. Not all
of his works, all of his prayers, not even his faith, nothing he
has, nothing he does, nothing that he may ever experience will
ever bridge that great gulf. The question is this, how can
God remain just? and yet be merciful. How can
God not relax his justice and yet extend his mercy? And the answer lies in this one
here in our text. Then said I, lo, I come. Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn
back, if you will, to Ephesians chapter two. Here we have the
sweet answer and the blessed result in Ephesians chapter two. We're reminded or exhorted to
remember what we once were, where we were before God's grace, and
where we now are. Our relationship to God now,
near, near, as near as Christ. Isn't that comforting? In verse
11 of Ephesians 2, wherefore remember, remember, that ye being
in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time you were without Christ, without Christ, being
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope. That's what being without
Christ amounts to. Without hope and without God
in the world. He told his disciples that night,
I'm the way to God. I'm the way to the Father. No
man comes to God except by me. And without Christ, we have no
access to God and no hope in this world. Oh, but the writer
doesn't stop there, does he? Paul says in verse 13, but. Thank
God he didn't leave us there. But now. Now, because of that
one who said to his father, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. But now. In Christ Jesus, ye
who sometimes were far off, far off, are now made nigh by the
blood of Christ. Then I come to do God's will. And what did that involve? Doing
God's will. What did that require? Perfect
obedience. Absolute perfect obedience. Not
the best we could do, but perfection. And it required not only perfect
obedience, but perpetual, continual obedience. Justice demands payment. God's justice must be satisfied. Mercy always comes to the sinner. Someone once said, on the wings
of satisfied justice. God's justice demanded payment,
but the problem is here. We don't have anything to pay
it with. We have nothing to pay. Oh, blessed bankruptcy, when
God makes us aware of that fact that we have nothing to pay.
Is this what Newton perhaps was thinking of when he wrote these
words? It was grace that taught my heart to fear. Oh, remember
that. Remember that? We read a moment
ago in Ephesians 2. Wherefore, remember, remember
when God in his grace came to you, although you thought it
was anything but grace at the time, but that necessary work
of stripping us, of bringing us down like he did Saul of Tarsus,
it was grace that made my heart to fear. Oh, I remember those
nights, those sleepless nights, those nights of asking myself,
how can I be just with God? realizing for the first time
in my life that I was lost and there was nothing I could do.
How can God have mercy on a sinner like me? But you remember the
rest of the hymn. Old Newton went on to write,
and grace my fears relieved. Oh, what a relief that was. What sweet relief that was when
God, by his blessed spirit, spake peace to our souls. The rest
in Christ. There's not a greater comfort
to a needy soul. And to hear God say, just to
snuggle up to Christ, in Him, the Apostle says again and again,
and to hear God say, in absolute justice, I'm satisfied. That's enough. That's enough. I can require no more. I demand
no more. When Christ said, I come to do
thy will, O God, then, But then, again, I mentioned the context
of the chapter that we find this verse in. When man's religion
had all failed as it always does, then Christ said, I come to do
thy will. At the time appointed by the
Father. Turn, if you will, to Galatians
chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4. When did
he come? in the fullness of time, the
time appointed, the time agreed upon, in the covenant of God's
grace, all behold the Lamb of God. Behold the altogether lovely
one. Behold that one who is himself
man and God, the God-man, the man who is God. Behold the only
mediator between God and man, the only substitute for sinners,
the only way of salvation. Oh, is he not altogether lovely
like the bride of Solomon's song declared? There's no fault in
him, no spot in him. Galatians chapter 4 verse 4. But when the fullness of the
time was come, God sent forth His Son, O His darling Son, His
only begotten Son, full of grace and truth, made of a woman and
made under the law, made of a woman because His brethren were flesh
and blood. He likewise took part of the
same. He took hold of the seed of Abraham. To redeem them, this was His
purpose. In doing so, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons,
God sends forth His Son to redeem, and then He sends forth His Spirit
to those who are redeemed, verse 6. And because you are sons,
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba, Father, superior as to when He came, and superior
most of all as to who came. Now underline the word in our
text, I. Then said I, lo, I come. The word that was made flesh
and dwelt among us, he came. Paul said without controversy,
great is the mystery of golliness. God was manifest in the flesh. A body has thou prepared me,
we read in verse 5. Behold, who came? The Lord Jesus
Christ, according to the covenant of the triune God. That everlasting
covenant for the purpose of heaven had come to birth. God's decree
brings forth in Revelation chapter 5, We're told that He came forth,
lo a Lamb, came forth and took the decrees, the scroll from
the hand of He that sat upon the throne. And when He did that,
and only because He did it and could fulfill every demand that
contained in that holy law, then could we cry, blessed, glory
and honor be unto him who loved us and gave himself for us. He
had redeemed us with his own precious blood. Oh, imagine had
he not came. Imagine had he not came. There
would never have been such a song in heaven. Heaven and earth are
called to witness this. This blessed event. Remember what the angel said
to the shepherds in the field that night? Lo, unto you is born
this night, tonight, there is born to you a Savior, which is
Christ the Lord. And He's Emmanuel. He's God with
us. all of God. He never ceased to
be God. A body has thou prepared me. Behold the God-man, that man
who is himself God. By man's sin entered into the
world, and by this man sin will be taken away. His incarnation,
becoming flesh, was a means to atonement. He was made flesh
because we were, and in that body from birth to death. He alone can make this statement. I do always those things that
please the Father. Always. Every step he ever took. every thought he ever thought,
every deed he ever performed, everything he did, absolutely
pleased the holy God. He obeyed God's law perfectly,
and that was necessary for the salvation of his people. This
was included in the words, I come to do thy will, oh my God, and
he does it for his people. and that perhaps even a greater
mystery than that, that the eternal God was made flesh, there was
this, then he was made sin. Think about that. He who knew
no sin was made sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Oh, what a great mystery. I come,
though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that we
through his poverty might be made rich. How rich is a child
of God? How much does he possess in Jesus
Christ? Well, he lacks nothing. How rich
is that? How full is that? He lacks nothing
that God's law required. We read in the scripture that
in the beginning was the Word. And that word is identified as
the eternal word, God's Son. He was God's first word, so to
speak. And He was God's last word. Remember what He said when He
appeared? God spoke from heaven and said, this is my beloved
Son. And who I am well pleased, hear
ye Him. And if I'm in Him, If I'm in
him, O comforting thought, God is well pleased with me. Accepted in to be loved. For his own, he did God's will. For the joy we're told in Hebrews
12, for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of
God. The joy of bringing many sons
to glory. The joy of seeing of the travail
of his soul and being satisfied. The joy of seeing the fruit of
that seed that fell into the ground and died and brings forth
issues and much fruit. Many brethren. He's the firstborn
among many brethren. And do not these words also apply
to the sinner? when he's made the despair of
saving himself when he's been stripped or these not the sweetest
words of sinner ever heard when under conviction of sin, the
blessed son comes to him and says, lo, I come lo. I come to you bringing pardon
and peace and when he comes, you'll find you need bringing His robe of righteousness,
I don't need another. His is enough. When He comes,
priests can go. Sacrifices can go. Traditions
can go. When He comes, I have all that
God Almighty requires, all that God Almighty demands, all that
God Almighty will accept. He's everything. everything I
need. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1
that God had made him to be unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. There was a preacher in Scotland
that visited another dying preacher. He went in to see him and he
said, how are you doing? What are you doing today, my
brother? And the dying preacher said, what am I doing? I'll tell
you what I'm doing. He said, right now, just as you
came in, I was here throwing out, throwing overboard every
sermon I ever preached, every prayer I ever prayed, every good
deed and every bad deed. I'm casting it all overboard
and I'm swimming on the plank of God's free grace all the way
to glory. And so it is. Christ is all,
all we need, all in Him we find. And has He not proven this blessed
promise to us again since that first coming to us in salvation
when He says, Lo, it is I, be not afraid. How often has He
comforted our hearts in times of storms with that blessed promise. He'll never leave us or never
forsake us. Look at verse 28 of Hebrews chapter
9. The writer says, so Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many. And you often find that
word in Hebrews, as often as the word better. Because with
Christ, once was enough. Once got the job done. So Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many. And he bore them
away. They won't be found. They won't
be brought up again. They're buried in the sea of
God's forgetfulness and never to be remembered again. And to
them that look for him, shall he appear. Shall he appear. Well, that sounds like heaven
to me. That sounds like paradise to me. That sounds like a reward
for any needy sinner to me when he shall appear the second time
without sin unto salvation. He'll come again and receive
us to himself that where he is, there we may be also. Or he'll
come when our time on this earth is over. and say, lo, I come
and you come with me. Oh, what a day. I often think
about it but don't know how to describe it, don't know how you
would illustrate it, just have to go and see, won't we? One
hymn writer expressed it like this, what a day that will be
when my Jesus I shall see. Can you imagine that? The sweetest
promise in the Word of God, Revelation 22 and 4, they shall see his
face. This is what we're told in verse
28 of chapter 9. Oh, what a day that will be when
my Jesus I shall see and I'll look upon the face of the one
who saved me by his grace. The one who loved me. and gave
himself for me. The one who for me trod the winepress
of the wrath of God alone. The one who ascended Calvary's
mount for me. The one who was nailed there
and mocked and ridiculed and forsaken and forsaken by God
for me. I'll see him that loved me and
gave himself for me. What a day that will be. An unending
day. day that shall never end. Oh,
what a day. I'll try to end. What a day that
will be when my Jesus I shall see and I'll look up on the face
of the one who saved me by his grace. Imagine that. And He takes
me by the hand and leads me through the promised land. What a day,
a glorious day that will be. And the more we know of Him,
the more wondrous He is. Look again at verse 4 of Hebrews
10. We're told it is not possible. that the blood of bulls and goats
should ever take away sin. But concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ and His one sacrifice, we read, but the blood of Jesus
Christ God's Son cleanseth us from all sin. The blood of our
animals couldn't do it, but His blood did. He entered in one
time into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for
us. And His was a better reason for
coming, to do Thy will, O God. Notice what he said. I'm coming
into this world to do the will of God. And he said, this is
the will of God that sent me. Of all those whom he had given
me, I should lose none. I give eternal life to each of
them, and they shall never perish. My sheep are secure in the hand
of the great shepherd. I come to do thy will. not to
attempt to do it, Louis. There's a great difference in
an attempt. We all can attempt to do anything
and fail. No, he says, I come to do God's
will, not to try to do it or to leave it half done. Oh no,
I come to do thy will. Turn back, if you will, to chapter
1. Chapter 1 in Hebrews verse 3, where we read these blessed
words. Hebrews 1 and 3. Speaking of
Christ, who being the brightness of His glory, that is the very
glory of God, and the express image of His person, and upholding
all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself,
all by Himself, purged our sins, past tense. They're done. It's
done. He sat down on the right hand,
which he would have never done had he not accomplished his mission.
But he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Turn, if you will, to chapter
9. We quoted a part of this just a minute ago. But the writer
tells us the same thing again in chapter 9 of Hebrews, verse
11. But Christ, but Christ, being come a high priest of good things
to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made
with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by
the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. By His
own blood, He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. What a Savior. And then a better
outcome. I come to do Thy will, O God. I've already answered the question
I'm going to ask by reading those verses. Did he succeed? Did he succeed? Did he do the
will of God? Did God accept his sacrifice? My eternal salvation depends
upon it. And God proved His everlasting
satisfaction with the sacrifice of His Son by raising Him from
the dead. And He Himself, before He commended
His Spirit back to God, upon the cross exclaimed that it was
complete. He said, it is finished. Take each word, it, it. Sin is put away. Righteousness
has been brought in. I will remove the iniquity of
that land in one day. It's done. Is. Is. Not will be, might be, but it
is. It's done. Oh, bless His name. The great transaction's done. I am the Lord's and He is mine. The last word, finished. It is finished. It's complete. It's done. It's over. And it
can never be undone. can never be undone and it can't
be improved upon. Oh, can you not wrap your soul
in that? Just snuggle up in the arms of
your blessed Redeemer and feel you're complete in him. I have
all that God Almighty requires in him. I'm accepted in him. I'm complete in him. I have everything
I need in him. and you'll be comfortable. Wrap
your soul in that blessed, blessed truth, and just rest easy. Just rest easy. Our Lord said,
come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll
do what? Give you rest. Religion can't
do that. Religion puts you to work, and
it's never enough. It's never enough. Go, go. Do,
do. Never enough. Oh, but Christ
says, come. Just come. Come to me and I'll
give you rest. I'll speak sweet rest to your
soul and bring you to be with me in glory one day forever.
Come unto me and I will give you rest. Oh, hear these words
again by our great redeemer, our substitute, our glorious
high priest. I come to do Look what it says in verse 12
of Hebrews 10. But this man, the God-man, after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he did what
those earthly priests could never do. There wasn't a chair in the
tabernacle. There wasn't a chair in the holy
place because their work was never done. But his was, after
he had offered one sacrifice for his sins forever, after he
had offered himself, he sat down on the right hand of God from
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering, He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified, them that were set set apart
by God in eternal election. He has by his one offering on
their behalf perfected forever. Glory to his name. God bless
you. Amen.