[0:00] Well, we begin with some words from Psalm 103, which I'll read, and then we shall sing together.
[0:12] But the psalmist writes, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with steadfast love and mercy.
[0:35] Well, we want to begin by singing together these words, Psalm 103, which can be found on page 135, the Sing Psalms version, and we'll sing together the first 11 verses of Psalm 103 on page 135.
[0:58] Praise God, my soul, with all my heart. Let me exalt his holy name.
[1:11] Forget not all his benefits, His grace, my soul, and song proclaims.
[1:23] The Lord forgives you all your sins, And heals your sickness and distress, Your life he rescues from the grave, And crowns you in his tenderness, And crowns you in his tenderness.
[1:55] He satisfies your deep desires, From his unending source of good, So that just like the evil strength, Your youthful vigor is renewed.
[2:21] The Lord is known for righteous acts, And justice stood and trodden once, To Moses he made known his ways, His mighty deeds to Israel's sons, His mighty deeds to Israel's sons.
[2:53] The Lord is merciful and kind, To anger slow and full of grace, He will not constantly reprove, For in his anger hide his face, He does not punish our misdeeds, Or kill our sins, Their just reward, And great is love that's high as hell To our tolls who fear the Lord.
[4:01] Let's now come before God in prayer. We do want to bless you, Our awesome and thrice holy God.
[4:15] We bless you for your glory, That you are clothed in splendor and majesty. We bless you for all of your works in creation, That you have stretched out the heavens like a tent, And set the earth upon its foundations.
[4:34] It is you, Our Father, Who causes the grass to grow. It is you who gives to us bread, To strengthen our hearts. And we praise you that you are the giver, Of every good and perfect gift, Giving to us food, Clothing, And shelter, Enabling us to delight daily, In your great goodness.
[4:58] And how we thank you, Lord, That your tender care extends, Not only to our bodies, But to our spirits, To our souls. And that you have met us, At our deepest point of need.
[5:13] That in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, You have forgiven us, All of our iniquities. You have redeemed our lives from the pit, You have set our feet upon a rock, You have put a new song in our mouths, And you have promised to us a glorious inheritance, In the age to come.
[5:37] Lord, How we want to sing your praise, For you are the God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, Rich in steadfast love.
[5:49] You are our heavenly Father, Who shows compassion to his children, For you remember how we are made. We are grass, Our lives are as mist, And yet you are from everlasting to everlasting, And your love is from everlasting to everlasting, For those who fear you.
[6:15] And so as we gather around the table, This morning as we share in the supper, Would you remind us of that love? Would you refresh us with that holy love?
[6:31] A love that even while we were your enemies, Sent Christ to die for us. A love shown that we did not love you, But you loved us, And sent him to make atonement for all of our sins.
[6:48] Lord, as we read your word, As we share the meal, Would we be conscious of your grace? Would you minister to us That grace?
[7:03] Satisfy us in the morning with your goodness, Strengthen our hearts in faith, And remind us afresh of the hope That is ours in Christ, To whom we glory forever and ever, The hope that one day we shall take our places Around his heavenly banquet, And share fellowship with him, The master of the feast.
[7:29] And so it is in his name, And through him we bring to you our prayers, And we bring to you ourselves. Amen. Amen. Well, it is very good to be here this morning.
[7:52] Thank you for your invitation, And it is good to see A number of The younger ones with us, Including our own daughters, Who are very much enjoying their time On the island.
[8:04] And I wonder if you are ever at school, With your friends, And they say to you, What does it mean to be a Christian? What happens when you go to church?
[8:16] What does the Bible teach? And I am sure we have all been in The situation where, When asked that question, Our minds have gone blank, And perhaps our mouths have dried up, And we think, Well, I am not quite sure what to say.
[8:30] And I have been in that situation many times. And so I want to give you A little helpful tool, That perhaps when somebody asks you that, You can explain to them What it means to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
[8:44] And the tool is a very simple one, You have probably got it in your house. It is a piece of blank paper. So if your mind goes blank, You can reach for the blank paper. And you can say to your friend, I am just going to show you What the Christian faith is all about.
[9:00] And I am going to show you Some art and craft now. Okay? I am no expert. But if you are good at paper aeroplanes, What you can do, Is you can fold the sheet, Across one way, Like this.
[9:14] And then you can fold it across the other way, So it now looks like a little house. And then if you fold it in half, Twice more, You arrive at this simple shape.
[9:25] It looks a little bit like a paper aeroplane now. And then if you have a pair of scissors, All you do is you cut right down the middle. I will just tear it, To demonstrate.
[9:37] And after that you are left with all these different shaped pieces. They all sort of fall out in your hands. Now, I am no artist, And so as you used to see in cookery programs, Here is one I made earlier.
[9:52] And here is a couple I made earlier. And if you put all these pieces together, It only takes a minute or two, It actually depicts The scene at the cross.
[10:02] What is the Christian faith all about? It is about the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the cross. Here are the dice.
[10:14] The soldiers used to gamble for his clothing. We will think about that later. Here is the spear that pierced his side. And if you put all the different pieces together, You actually have the scene at Calvary.
[10:25] The two crosses, The thieves, One of whom professed faith in the moments before his death. And so the heart of the gospel, As Paul reminds us, Is that Christ died for sins according to the Scriptures.
[10:41] He was raised to life on the third day according to the Scriptures. And as such, He is able to forgive us all of our sins, Just as we have sung. And He is able to give us life, New life, Lived in the power of His Holy Spirit.
[10:57] New life that continues forever in glory. And if you take these pieces, You can rearrange them to spell the word life.
[11:09] I don't know if you can read that all the way up at the back. It's a bit blocky. But the Christian faith is about the death and resurrection of Christ, And the new life that He gives us.
[11:22] To know Him, To know God as our Father, To count one another as brothers and sisters, And to walk with Him in faith, In hope, And in love.
[11:33] So I hope you all get asked that question this week, And I hope you all have a piece of A4 paper, In your rucksack, Or your handbag, And you'll be able to explain that, To anyone who asks you for a reason, For the hope that is in us.
[11:50] Amen. Well, we'll pray again, And this time we're just going to pray together The words the Lord Himself taught us, The words of the Lord's Prayer, Which are printed on the Order of Service, Just on the second page.
[12:07] So let's unite our hearts together, As we say, With one another, The words of the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, Which art in heaven, Hallowed be your name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven.
[12:28] Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors, And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
[12:40] For thine is the kingdom, The power, And the glory forever. Amen. Well, we want to sing again, At this time the words of the 23rd Psalm, On page 229, Of the Scottish Psalter.
[13:02] A psalm that speaks once more, Of God's goodness and mercy, Following us all the days of our lives. And that we shall sing, The psalm in its entirety, Verses 1 to 6, The Lord's my shepherd, I'll not want, He makes me down to lie, In pastures green, He leadeth me, The quiet waters by.
[13:22] The Lord's my shepherd, The Lord's my shepherd, He'll not want, In exit angel eye, In pastures twin it hath me The quiet watershine.
[14:04] My soul it all restored again, And me to walk the pain Within the house of righteousness, In honest london sing.
[14:43] Yet though I walk in days dark fill, Yet will I hear none ill, For thou art with me, And thy rod hath soft me come forth still.
[15:21] My table love has furnished In presence of my foes, My death and dust with oil and oil, And my cup overflowed.
[15:59] Goodness and mercy all my life Shall surely follow me, And in God's eyes forevermore, My dwelling place shall be.
[16:37] Amen. Well I wanted to read with you this morning from, Not the 23rd Psalm, but the 22nd Psalm, Which can be found on page 548 of the church Bibles.
[17:01] And then to spend some time together looking at this text. Psalm 22 on page 548 of the church Bible.
[17:17] And it has the heading to the choir master, According to the doe of the dawn, A psalm of David. Let us hear together the word of God.
[17:31] My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, From the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, And by night, but I find no rest.
[17:47] Yet you are holy, Enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted, They trusted and you delivered them.
[17:59] To you they cried and were rescued, In you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm, And not a man, Scorned by mankind, And despised by the people.
[18:15] All who see me mock me, They make mouths at me, They wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord, Let him deliver him, Let him rescue him, For he delights in him.
[18:28] Yet you are he who took me from the womb. You made me trust you at my mother's breasts. On you I was cast from my birth, And from my mother's womb.
[18:39] You have been my God. Be not far from me, For trouble is near, And there is none to help.
[18:50] Many bulls encompass me, Strong bulls of Bashan surround me, They open wide their mouths at me, Like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint, My heart is like wax, It is melted within my breast.
[19:09] My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue sticks to my jaw, You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me, A company of evildoers encircles me, They have pierced my hands and feet, I can count all my bones, They stare and gloat over me, They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.
[19:39] But you, O Lord, do not be far off, O you, my help, Come quickly to my aid, Deliver my soul from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog, Save me from the mouth of the lion, You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen.
[20:00] I will tell of your name to my brothers, In the midst of the congregation I will praise you, You who fear the Lord praise Him, All you offspring of Jacob glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, All you offspring of Israel.
[20:18] For He has not despised, Or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, And He has not hidden His face from Him, But has heard when He cried to Him.
[20:33] From you comes my praise in the great congregation, My vows I will perform before those who fear Him, The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied, Those who seek Him shall praise the Lord, May your hearts live forever.
[20:50] All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations shall worship before you, For kingship belongs to the Lord, And He rules over the nations.
[21:03] All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship, Before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust, Even the one who could not keep himself alive.
[21:14] Posterity shall serve Him, It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation. They shall come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn, That He has done it.
[21:32] And we thank God for His Word and the Psalm. Before we study together we want to sing once more, This time from the Sing Psalms version of Psalm 40, Which can be found on page 51 of Sing Psalms, Psalm 40 verse 5 through to verse 10, The wonders you have done, O Lord, How many and how great they are.
[22:02] Your plans for us are far beyond our power to number or declare. Sing once more to the praise of God. The wonders you have done, O Lord, Where wonders you have done, O Lord, How many and how great they are.
[22:32] Your plans for us are far beyond our power to number or declare. Our power to number or declare.
[22:50] You did not ask that paths or goals, We brought us sacrifice for sin, But you have opened up my ears, You did not seek for top of the day.
[23:26] Then I declare, O Lord, I have come. It's written, O Lord, the endless road.
[23:44] I want to do your will, my God, Your law is in my heart and soul.
[24:03] In the assembly when it met, Your justice I profiled abroad, I did not seal my lips at all.
[24:29] You know all this about me, Lord. I did not hide within my heart, Your saving grace on righteousness, In the assembly I proclaim, Your steadfast love and faithfulness.
[25:14] you will know Please do keep your Bible open there to Psalm 22, which we shall look at together and then think about in its context in the New Testament.
[25:43] I mentioned earlier that I'm very much praying for you over in Kilmally and our Dominican Free Church. Great to have fellowship and partnership in the gospel with you all.
[25:57] And in our congregation there, we have been studying together through the book of Psalms. It's a remarkable book in Scripture.
[26:08] We can pray the Psalms, we can sing the Psalms, and we can preach the Psalms. They are a treasure trove for the people of God.
[26:20] And so we decided we'd study through the Psalms in sequential order, beginning at number one, and at some indeterminate point in the far future, arriving at Psalm 150.
[26:34] In recent weeks, we've been looking at Psalms 19, 20, and 21. And so I felt it fitting as we come to the Lord's table this morning to study together Psalm 22.
[26:48] For the Lord himself quotes the Psalm upon the cross at Calvary. And we know that the Psalms are often arranged in a particular manner, brought together, perhaps some theme uniting them.
[27:05] And it's interesting, Psalms 20 and 21, that they speak of somebody who trusts in the Lord in times of trouble and who recognizes his deliverance.
[27:20] Psalm 20 may have been sung or prayed before the king and his armies went to battle. A little bit like singing the national anthem.
[27:30] And it has that great refrain, 20 verse 7, Some trust in chariots and horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
[27:42] And with that, the king goes to battle confident that God will deliver and bring salvation. And Psalm 21 is seen as the counterpart to that Psalm.
[27:56] It is perhaps the Psalm that was sung when he returned victorious from battle. And in verse 7 of that Psalm, we read that the king trusts in the Lord, and through the steadfast love of the Lord, he shall not be moved.
[28:12] The king trusts in the Lord, the Lord saves and delivers him. And just reading these two Psalms, we might think that would be true in the life of the believer, that if we trust in the Lord, all we will know is victory and success.
[28:30] We will pass all our exams. We will get all the jobs we apply for. We will hear the words we want to hear in the outpatient clinic. But when we come to Psalm 22, we realize that life is not so straightforward.
[28:49] Many times we find that same word, trust. Verse 5, the Psalmist's fathers trusted in God.
[29:00] He delivered them. They trusted in God and were not put to shame. And yet the Psalmist himself, though he has trusted in God from his earliest years, now finds himself in trouble.
[29:17] Verse 11, and he thinks there is none to help, none to hear in his hour of need. The Psalmist is afflicted by men, verbally, physically.
[29:34] But worst of all, he feels abandoned by God, that God has forsaken him, that God is far from him. So we want to look at the Psalm and think about the situation he finds himself in, but also the solution to his distress.
[29:58] Now this Psalm, we are mindful, is a very special Psalm. It is a messianic Psalm. It looks forward to the one who was to come, great David's greater son.
[30:12] When the Lord was raised from the tomb, in Luke's gospel we're told that he met some of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. And in that very cheerful chapter, he begins to speak with them.
[30:28] And when he gathers together with his disciples in Luke chapter 24, verse 44, he explains to them that everything written about him in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
[30:42] And this Psalm 22 is one of the most oft-quoted Psalms in the New Testament, quoted by the Lord himself in the hour of his death.
[30:57] And so we want to look at this Psalm, ask what it teaches us about David's woes, and then a thousand years later about the Lord's work.
[31:12] And the Psalm really breaks into two halves. The first 21 verses are a Psalm of lament, which we read of the suffering of the Lord's anointed, the suffering of God's Messiah.
[31:23] But then Psalm 22, verse 22 to the end, becomes a Psalm of rejoicing, a Psalm of celebration, where we read of a salvation, this salvation of a great and a global multitude.
[31:41] So we have suffering, and then salvation. The Psalmist is one who trusts in the Lord. He is one who trusts in the Lord in times of trouble.
[31:55] So important to keep trusting in times of trouble. You do not get out of the train when it's stuck in the tunnel. But although he trusts in the Lord, he feels forsaken by the Lord.
[32:10] And there is three times that word far. Verse 1, Why are you so far from saving me? Verse 11, Be not far from me.
[32:23] Verse 19, Be not far off. Trouble is near. He's in the day of trial and temptation. But God seems far off.
[32:36] Though he prays day and night, it seems that the phone is off the hook. And there is none to hear. And there is none to help.
[32:48] The Psalmist is an orthodox man. He knows the theory. He knows that God delivered his fathers when they trusted in him. Yet his experience seems different.
[33:01] Though in the past, God has been his help and his trust. In this darkest day, in this dark night of the soul, he feels forsaken by God.
[33:15] The Psalmist here describes his own experience. He anticipates the experience of the Lord Jesus Christ. But that experience might reflect your experience or my experience today.
[33:33] Maybe a difficult day. One writer says, The Christian life is a bed of roses, thorns and all.
[33:45] Thomas Boston wrote, Sin has turned this world from a paradise into a thicket. There is no getting through without being scratched.
[33:57] The Psalm may reflect our experience if we are facing present trials. And David's trial seemed to be that he was verbally and physically suffering at the hands of others.
[34:12] Verse 6 tells us that he feels less than human. He feels like a worm. He's scorned by mankind. He's despised by the people. And he's mocked, not least because he trusts in God.
[34:28] One paraphrase has these words, Everybody pokes fun at me. They make faces at me. They shake their heads. He is an object of scorn and derision, not least for his trust in God.
[34:45] So his self-esteem is in his boots. He feels less than human. He feels like a worm. And the language he uses to describe his opponents suggests they are less than human as well.
[35:01] They are depicted as wild beasts. Verse 12, They're strong bulls. Verse 13, They're hungry lions. Verse 16, They are like a pack of stray dogs.
[35:17] Though they are human, they are behaving like animals. Their animal instincts are coming through. So David suffers emotionally.
[35:31] He's suffering psychologically. And he's suffering physically. Verse 14, He is injured. His bones are out of joint.
[35:41] His heart is like wax. He's lost weight. He's lost strength. He's dehydrated. His tongue is stuck to his mouth.
[35:54] And they have pierced his hands and his feet. Verse 18, His opponents think he's about to die. And rather cruelly and rather cynically, they are gambling for his clothes, dividing up his garments.
[36:11] He won't need them anymore. He'll just need a shroud. And so we'll take his clothes for ourselves. Very cruel, very cynical, very callous men.
[36:26] Laughing at him. Mocking him, waiting for him to die. And in his distress, and in his despair, he cries out to the one he trusts in.
[36:41] Do not be far off. Deliver my soul from the power of the dog, from the mouths of lions. He is one who is suffering terribly on account of his faith.
[36:54] Suffering at the hands of men. Suffering because he feels that God is far off in the day of trouble. Silence in heaven.
[37:10] And that has been the experience, hasn't it, of some Christians throughout history. Earlier this year, I read the Tartan Pimpernail, the biography of Donald Caskey.
[37:22] It's a great adventure story. He was the minister in Paris at the outbreak of World War II, the minister in the Scotskirk. And he got involved with smuggling British soldiers and airmen out of France and back to safety in the UK.
[37:39] But his activities were discovered and he was arrested. He was moved from prison to prison. And one time, he was incarcerated in what used to be a delightful villa.
[37:51] But he was thrown into the cellar. He was fed only bread and water. He was mistreated by his guards. And day and night, he heard the screaming of his fellow prisoners.
[38:04] And he writes, when in the night, screaming echoed again, waking me from a deep sleep. It overpowered me with horror.
[38:15] I shouted for the guard, but no answer came. I felt that even God had deserted us. My head reeled and I thought, this must be hell. There is no escape. This horror will go on forever.
[38:29] And then the words of my Savior came to mind and I whispered into the darkness, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Well, that dark night of the soul didn't last long for Caskey and his faith was revived.
[38:44] He was used of God in that prison and elsewhere and he returned ultimately to his ministry. But perhaps you can relate to the words of these verses, the words of this psalmist.
[38:58] Why is God far off when trouble is near? But that is only half the psalm. That is only half the story.
[39:11] And verse 22, there's a dramatic change. There's a gear shift. There's a key change. And there is a very significant turning point. And the psalmist begins to speak of the deliverance which he's either experienced or looks forward to experiencing.
[39:28] when he will get together with a great congregation of his brothers and sisters and give thanks to God. And he looks forward to that day when the families of the earth, when a great multitude will gather in worship from home and abroad.
[39:49] He looks forward to what God will do. He looks forward to glorifying him in the midst of the congregation. And the reason is, verse 24, for the Lord has not despised the affliction of the afflicted.
[40:06] He has not hidden his face from him. Though the psalmist was despised and scorned by these men, God has not despised him.
[40:18] Though they shook their heads at him, God has not hidden his face from him. He cried to the Lord and the Lord hears and responds to his cry.
[40:32] And he looks forward to celebrating that deliverance in the company of the saints. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied. I will praise your name among my brothers.
[40:47] He's anticipating, I suppose, a special service of thanksgiving. And yesterday, we went to Carloway and we were very pleased to see all the work that had happened there in the renovation project.
[41:01] And this morning, this very hour, they're having a service of thanksgiving, a special service to thank God for what he's done. That's what the psalmist looks forward to, telling the Lord's name to his brothers in the midst of the congregation.
[41:17] A special service of worship and a worship that will extend, verse 27, to all the ends of the earth. All the families of the nations will worship the king who rules over the nations.
[41:34] That day when the promise made to Abraham will be fulfilled, where the whole world will be blessed, where the whole earth will be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea.
[41:49] All nations will come, another generation will come, posterity shall serve him, and we have this scene of universal worship. worship. So the psalm seems to fall into these two halves, a psalm of distress, point of death, and then a psalm of rejoicing, great deliverance and celebration and worship, a hopeless situation, hope and a future.
[42:20] after the suffering of the righteous one, after the time of darkness, there will be joy and there will be deliverance and the praise of God will sound forth not only in Israel but through the whole world.
[42:44] And that's a trajectory many psalms follow. Many psalms have that pattern of despair and then deliverance from death. Psalm 30, Psalm 116, weeping in the night, rejoicing in the morning, people celebrating what God has done.
[43:04] But this psalm is the one the Lord Jesus Christ quoted upon the cross. It is this psalm that is referenced in each of the four Gospels in different ways.
[43:17] some have described the psalm as the gospel according to David or even the fifth gospel. And when we turn to the Gospels we see that these words were spoken by the Lord and referred to by the evangelists.
[43:37] In Matthew 27, Jesus cries out from the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? We read in the gospel accounts of the soldiers dividing his clothing, casting lots, gambling for his last garment.
[43:59] We know that the people there mocked and reviled him, even the thieves on the neighboring cross. And we know that the chief priests, Matthew 27, 43, quoted these words back to Jesus.
[44:15] He trusted in God, let him deliver him. And we know that the Lord's hands and feet were pierced as he was nailed to the cross.
[44:34] Quite remarkable, that should be mentioned in the psalm. The crucifixion wasn't invented for many centuries after the life of David. But the words of this psalm were in the mouth of the Lord as he died.
[44:49] They were in the minds of the evangelists as they wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And if Psalm 22 describes the episode in David's life, a time of darkness when he felt forsaken by God, when he felt himself about to die, then it finds fulfillment in the life of Christ where he was forsaken by God upon that cross, where he did die and that for his people.
[45:27] David, the Lord's anointed, a righteous one who trusted in God and yet suffered at the hands of men. David the psalmist, but as Acts chapter 2 tells us, David also the prophet.
[45:44] And here he prefigures and he predicts the coming of Christ and his death for the world. His suffering at the hands of wicked men, his being despised and mocked, his clothes being divided, his hands and feet being pierced and then the terrible silence in heaven as darkness covers the land and the Lord Jesus experiences that forsakenness.
[46:16] And of all the scenes around the cross, it is perhaps that terrible silence that is the most terrible. at the beginning of the gospel, a voice from heaven came saying, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.
[46:36] And that voice now has nothing to say in response to his cries. The Lord Jesus, who in the course of his earthly ministry said, my father is always with me, now finds himself alone, nailed to a tree abandoned.
[46:57] And as we approach that scene, we come to the very heart of the gospel. We come, as Martin Luther said, to the very heart of Scripture, the cross of Christ runs through the whole of Scripture.
[47:14] We come to the very heart of human history. Alexander McLaren wrote, the cross is the center of the world's history. The incarnation of Christ and the crucifixion of our Lord are the pivot around which all the events of the ages revolve.
[47:37] So the Lord quotes this psalm. He fulfills this psalm. David felt forsaken. David felt close to death, but he was delivered.
[47:48] But the Lord experienced that forsakenness. The Lord tasted death. James Packer, the theologian, says this, On the cross, Jesus lost all the good that he had before, all sense of his Father's presence and love, all sense of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, all enjoyment of God and of created things, all ease and solace of friendship were taken from him.
[48:26] And in their place was nothing but pain, a killing sense of human malice and callousness and a horror of great spiritual darkness. How can this be?
[48:36] how can a righteous one suffer in this way? How can the Son of God suffer in this way? And the reason is because he, the righteous one, was suffering for we, the unrighteous, bearing our sins, that he might bring us to God and ultimately bring us to glory.
[49:02] As terrible as the verbal and physical sufferings were, it was the withdrawal of the Father's presence that was the most disturbing, the most horrifying.
[49:16] And in the place of the divine pleasure, the divine displeasure, the wrath of God poured out upon Christ. Another Old Testament prophet Isaiah talks about the one who would be pierced for our transgressions.
[49:34] that a righteous one would suffer for the unrighteous, that the one who knew no sin would become sin, the Son would become sin for us, and that he, the sin bearer, would enter into the presence of a holy God, not with the sacrifice of blood, bulls and goats, but of the sacrifice of himself, the priest, becoming the victim.
[50:04] And the Lord experiences the darkness, the darkness of the world around that day, but the outer darkness of being cut off from God, of tasting his wrath, and he does so in order that we might never be forsaken, we might never be cut off or cast out, we might never face the righteous wrath of a holy God.
[50:37] How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that he should give his only Son to make a wretch his treasure, how great the pain of searing loss, the Father turns his face away as wounds which mar the chosen one bring many sons to glory.
[50:57] It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished, his dying breath has brought me life, I know that it is finished, that he has done it.
[51:14] But that's not the end of the psalm, that's not the end of the story after lament, there is joy after an apparent defeat, there is victory, there is the praising of God's name in the congregation, there is the telling of that name to his brothers, there is the worship of all nations, all the families of the earth.
[51:39] And after the terrible suffering of the righteous one, there is a great deliverance that will be told throughout the world and told all through history. And it's very interesting in Matthew's gospel that the gospel continues beyond chapter 27 and after the events of the crucifixion there is the resurrection.
[52:05] And in that gospel Jesus appears and he instructs some of his followers to go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee.
[52:19] He rises and tells the name of God to his brothers, the only mention of the brothers in the gospel. praising his name in the congregation.
[52:34] And when those brothers assemble in Galilee he appears to them again. And he says to them in his parting words, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
[52:47] Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. All the ends of the earth shall worship and turn to the Lord.
[52:57] All the families shall worship before you. And so after the suffering of the righteous one, the brothers will be told and the nations will hear of the salvation of God.
[53:15] The suffering of a Davidic figure, an heir of David will lead to the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham of universal blessing. And it is that that David sees in the psalm.
[53:35] It is that we trust that the Lord interpreted to his disciples on the road to Emmaus and in the room in which he met them. We're told at the end of Luke's gospel that after his resurrection he interpreted the law and the prophets and the Psalms concerning himself.
[53:56] And he said to his followers that the Christ had to suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name beginning in Jerusalem and to all nations.
[54:15] Suffering, repentance, forgiveness, universal worship, that all nations might turn to the Lord and trust in the Lord for their deliverance from sin, from the powers of darkness, from the outer darkness that Christ faced on his people's behalf.
[54:39] A righteous sufferer and after that a time of universal worship. Christ suffering upon the cross, Christ in our place, Christ for us.
[54:55] And then the preaching of the gospel, announcing the forgiveness of sins, announcing peace with God, announcing that we can now draw near through the most holy place, into the most holy place, through the new and the living way, that we might never face the darkness alone, we might never face the outer darkness.
[55:22] And that's what we remember this morning as we gather around the Lord's Supper. We look back to his sufferings at Calvary, his death in our place, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God.
[55:39] God. But then we look forward to his coming again, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation and to gather in all who are his and to seat them around the heavenly banquet above.
[55:56] Jesus invites his saints to come to him and dine. Here pardoned rebels meet their Lord through signs of bread and wine. For food he gives his flesh, he bids us drink his blood, awaiting favor, matchless grace of our descending God.
[56:16] So shall this bread and wine maintain a fainting breath by union with our living Lord by interest in his death? So the Lord bids us to come this morning and dine to take the bread and the wine in remembrance of him.
[56:38] God, not because we are worthy, not because we are righteous, but because he, the righteous one, gave himself for us, his life, a ransom for many.
[56:51] And so he bids us to come. But we must come having examined our hearts. And on Friday night we thought of the faithfulness of God to we who are very often unfaithful to him.
[57:10] And last night we thought about the forgiveness of God and how having experienced forgiveness ourselves we are to show forgiveness one to another. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11 tells us to examine our hearts before we come to the table.
[57:26] Are we right with God? Are we right with our brothers and sisters? And so the invitation is extended to those who know and who love the Lord, who have a living faith in the living Christ, to those who have been baptized into his name and the name of the Holy Trinity, and to those who are in good standing and membership with a local congregation.
[57:54] The Lord bids us to come, to eat and drink and to remember his grace, and his love and his mercy. Well, before we come to the table, we'll sing once more, this time the 118th Psalm on page 398, Psalm 118, verses 15 to 23.
[58:25] In dwellings of the righteous is heard the melody of joy and health the Lord's Lord's Lord's right hand doth ever valiantly. Psalm 118, beginning at verse 15.
[58:38] thee in the scent of the v righteousness It's here the melody Of joy and health The Lord's right hand Hath ever valiantly The right hand of the mighty Lord Exalted is on high The right hand of the mighty Lord
[59:40] Hath ever valiantly I shall not die But live and shall The works of God discover The Lord of which I set store But not to death give no vow Oh, set ye open unto thee The gates of righteousness
[60:42] Then will I enter into them And I the Lord will bless This is the gate of God Peace, God that you shall Your friends Thou jeep nodes He hurts, and has my safety been.
[61:38] That stone is mid-head cornerstone, Which builders should despise.
[61:56] This is the doing of the Lord, And wondrous in our eyes.
[62:26] In Peter's first letter we read that the prophets searched and inquired carefully, Inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating, When he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the subsequent glories.
[62:47] So the sons of Israel looked forward to the chosen one, to the righteous one, to the Christ who would come, And win for them their deliverance and their salvation.
[63:02] And the psalm we've just looked at gives us a very important clue, As to the identity of the one of the work he was coming to do, To complete the work his Father had given him.
[63:15] To make atonement as the great high priest for the sins of his people. To destroy the devil's work and to bring us out of his darkness.
[63:27] To deliver us from death, from the last enemy. Christ through his death gives himself for us, And before his death he instituted the Lord's Supper, That we write, remember all that he has done for us.
[63:46] Psalm 103, the Lord knows how we are made, and he knows that we forget. He knows that we become distracted in life. He knows that we face many trials and temptations, And we can lose sight of all that he has done for us.
[64:05] And so before his suffering, he instituted with his disciples the Lord's Supper, To bring to their and to our remembrance his selfless sacrifice, His self-giving love for his people.
[64:22] He gave them the bread to remember his body broken for them, The wine, the blood of the new covenant poured out for them.
[64:33] And he established with them the new covenant which the prophets had looked forward to. A covenant which promised that all from the greatest to the least, From the youngest to the oldest might know the Lord.
[64:47] We might know the forgiveness of our sins. We might know the power and presence of his Holy Spirit in our lives. And so the lines of the prophets and the Psalms intersect in the person and the work of Christ, And the events surrounding his crucifixion and his resurrection.
[65:11] And this meal was given that we might remember his passion. We might receive grace for our Christian pilgrimage and our journey toward our heavenly home.
[65:27] And we might resolve to continue following him in the way. Bread of heaven on you we feed, for your flesh is food indeed.
[65:38] Ever may our souls be fed with this true and living bread. Day by day our strength supplied through your life, O Christ who died.
[65:49] Day by day our strength. The Old Testament saints looked forward. We look back to these monumental events. But we too look forward.
[66:01] Because as we share in this meal we proclaim his death until he comes. Day by day when the invitations to that messianic banquet go out.
[66:13] Day by day when we will take our seats at the feast of Abraham with those of that a great multitude from every nation. But gather to rejoice in his presence.
[66:30] Around his table here we sing the wonders of his love. And so anticipate by faith the heavenly feast above. And so we look back in gratitude and we look forward in hope and in faith.
[66:49] The apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth shared these words. But I received from the Lord what I delivered to you. But the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread.
[67:02] Given thanks he broke it and said, this is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
[67:16] Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. Twenty-second psalm quoted by our Lord on the cross.
[67:33] And the psalm occurs in different places in our Bibles and in Hebrews chapter 2 we arrive at the great description of the Lord's incarnation and his atoning death.
[67:44] In that chapter we are told that Christ, the founder of our salvation, the one who will bring many sons to glory, was made perfect through suffering.
[67:54] And though made perfect, he is not ashamed to call us his brothers. Though the very Son of God who was made lower than the angels for a season, he was made like his brothers in order that he might save us.
[68:17] Delivering us from our enemy, the devil. Delivering us from our last enemy, the darkness of death. Delivering us from our last enemy, the devil. And offering himself as a once for all sacrifice for our sin.
[68:32] That we might be forgiven. We might know freedom and fullness of life in him. He is our great high priest. He has made purification for us and is now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high.
[68:50] He ever lives to intercede for us and to bring us into his glory. And the writer to the Hebrews reminds us that he will come again.
[69:02] And he will appear. And Christ shall come with shout of acclamation. And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. He will appear not to bear sin, but to bring salvation.
[69:15] And in the meantime, he calls us to look back to remember him. And what he has done for each of us. He calls us to look forward in hope and faith of when he will appear.
[69:30] And he calls us now to walk with him. To trust him. He will walk with him. He will walk with him. He will walk with him. He will walk with him. He will walk with him. And you will know how deep, how high, how wide his love can flow.
[69:47] He calls us to walk with him through this broken world into which we are now sent. To share with others the good news of his gospel.
[69:57] And to show to others the grace of our Lord. He calls us to work for him. The letter ends by speaking of the God of peace.
[70:11] Equipping us with everything good that we may do his will. The same God who brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant. So we are to walk with Christ.
[70:24] We are to work for him wherever we find ourselves in our daily lives. And we are to wait for him. Wait for his glorious appearing.
[70:38] To his return in glory. To wait for him if we are passing through the dark night of our soul. To wait for him if trouble is near.
[70:51] And to trust that he will deliver us through that. That morning light will break into the darkness. That one day the morning star will rise in our hearts and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
[71:07] And all tears will be wiped from our faces. So we are to wait. And if I may just address any who have not yet trusted themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[71:23] We might want to say that please don't wait. Today can be the day of salvation. Today can be the day that you come to him.
[71:33] And find the forgiveness of your sins. Find freedom from habits and behaviors that have enslaved you.
[71:44] Find fullness of life and life in the power of the Holy Spirit. So while we wait for Christ, don't wait to be right with him.
[71:57] To welcome him as he welcomes any and all who come to him. For he is the friend of sinners and tax collectors. He is the righteous one who went to the cross for the unrighteous.
[72:11] The sinless one who became sin. That we might become the righteousness of God. So we wait for Christ. But don't wait to get right with him.
[72:22] And to trust him as your Lord and your Savior. Walk now with him. That way is light. All other pathways end in night. Walk still with him.
[72:34] That way is rest. All other pathways are unblessed. Let us walk with the Lord. Let us work for the Lord as we wait for the Lord. And let us pray once more together now.
[72:54] Heavenly Father, we give you our praise and thanks that you have conferred on us so great a benefit. As to bring us into communion with your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
[73:10] Thank you that he was willing to be delivered up to death for us. And has now given us food and drink to eternal life. Grant us grace that we would never be unmindful of these things.
[73:27] That we might carry them around engraven in our hearts. And that we might advance in love. And grow in faith. And be rich in good works.
[73:39] Lord, might the rest of our days, whether many or few, be ordered and followed to your glory. And for the good of the world around us.
[73:51] And we pray this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Who with you, the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns in the unity of the Godhead. World without end.
[74:02] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, his name shall indeed endure.
[74:16] And we want to close our time by singing from the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 72, verses 17 to 19. Psalm 72, found on page 314.
[74:27] His name shall forever endure. Last, like the sun it shall. Men shall be blessed in him. And blessed all nations shall him call them.
[74:39] Job is with us. Amen. Amen. Yes. Amen. Amen. Thank you. Amen. To will, among others shall you consider it. Just like the sun it shall.
[75:01] Men shall be blessed Still firm and blessed all nations shall involve.
[75:17] Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel.
[75:36] For he alone doth wondrous works in glory that excel.
[75:54] And blessed be his glorious name to all eternity.
[76:10] The whole earth let its glory fill.
[76:22] Amen. So let it be. Immediately after the service we shall go to the main door.
[76:37] And I look forward to greeting you there. But as we close our time together we do so with a word of blessing. Amen. Amen.
[77:13] Amen. Amen. Thank you.
[77:49] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[77:59] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.