And what else do we find here? We can follow the whole story of the cross in the first part of this Psalm. His enemies are described, the bulls and the ravening and roaring lion.--"I am poured out like water."--"All my bones are out of joint."--"My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." Like fire melteth wax so His heart melted in the fire of wrath against sin. The strength of the mighty One, who fainteth not and knows no weariness, failed. His tongue cleaves to His jaws. "Dogs" and "the a.s.sembly of the wicked"
--Gentiles and Jews were there. "They pierced my hands and feet;"
crucifixion, unknown among the Jews when David lived, is here predicted by the Holy Spirit. "I may tell all my bones" as well as the words "all my bones are out of joint" refer to His suffering on the cross. Then after they hung the Prince of Glory at that cross we read "they look and stare upon Me" (verse 17). "They parted my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." What man did to Him, what He suffered from man and from Satan"s power is here described. Yet it was G.o.d who bruised Him. Concerning man the sufferer spoke what "they" did unto Him; but He also addresses G.o.d "THOU hast brought me into the dust of death."
And thus He suffered and died for us. Our sins were laid upon Him and He bore them in His own body on the tree. At what an infinite cost we have been redeemed! What a price has been paid! The Father did not spare His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up for us all. The Son of G.o.d, was made sin for us, smitten, stricken and forsaken of G.o.d.
Jehovah bade His sword awake-- O Christ, it woke "gainst thee!
Thy blood the flaming blade must slake; Thy heart its sheath must be-- All for my sake, my peace to make; Now sleeps that sword for me.
The Holy G.o.d did hide His face-- O Christ, "twas hid from thee!
Dumb darkness wrapt thy soul a s.p.a.ce-- The darkness due to me.
But now that face of radiant grace Shines forth in light on me.
Wonderful Love! But how unable we are to realize adequately these blessed facts! How little after all we think of these marvellous things and how weak is our devotion to that blessed, loving Lord, who loved us thus!
And what do we behold about us? An ever increasing darkness; a turning away from the blessed Gospel of the Son of G.o.d as it centers in the Cross; a greater rejection and neglection of the great salvation which G.o.d has so graciously provided in the great sacrifice. It is fearful to see the enemies of the cross increasing and rushing on to their coming doom. What is to be our att.i.tude? It is for us to glory more and more in the cross of Christ. We must exalt and magnify the Person and Work of our blessed Lord as never before. The more He is rejected by the world, His blessed work on the cross disowned in such latter day delusions as the new theology, Christian Science and the numerous other systems, the more we must give Him the pre-eminence.
But it means also for us if we are faithful to Him the fellowship of His sufferings. G.o.d has called us into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. This includes the fellowship of His sufferings. Never, of course, suffering from G.o.d as He did. But as He is rejected and despised so are we called to share His rejection and take upon us His reproach. He suffered without the gate and the Word exhorts us "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach." In these last days we must like Moses "esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (the world)." And if we are faithful to Him, if we walk in _separation from the world_, including the great "religious world"
with its Christ and the Cross rejecting schemes and tendencies, we shall know something of the reproach of Christ and the fellowship of His sufferings. Oh! that we might know more of that in these easy going days. Such a precious Word of G.o.d as contained in 1 Peter iv:13-14 ought to make us long for bearing His reproach and for sufferings with Him. "But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ"s sufferings that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of G.o.d resteth upon you; on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified."
Be true to Christ and to the cross of Christ. Live out the doctrine of the cross "crucified with Christ"--dead to the things here below, then you will have some suffering from the side of men and Satan as well.
And what will be the awful judgment for the mult.i.tudes, the ever increasing mult.i.tudes who reject the Cross of Christ, who are either opposing it by their ethical gospel, to whom the preaching of the cross is foolishness, or who are indifferent? The Holy Spirit has told us that where the Gospel, the Cross of Christ is rejected or perverted the Anathema, the curse of G.o.d must follow (Gal. i:9; 1 Corinth. xvi:22). Well has one said "Distance from G.o.d was the climax of the Lamb"s dying sorrow." It is a fearful solemn thought that the world while with heedless selfconfidence it still pursues its way, is no nearer now to G.o.d than Jesus was when, under the burden of the world"s iniquity, He cried, "My G.o.d, my G.o.d, why hast Thou forsaken me?" How solemn this is! May we learn to say more fully with Paul, "But G.o.d forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."
The Glory of Christ.
The first twenty-one verses of this Psalm describe the sufferings of Christ. This part closes with an appeal to Jehovah for deliverance.
"But be thou not far from me, O Lord; O my strength, haste thee to help me. * * * Save me from the lion"s mouth." Then comes the joyful statement that He has been heard. The answer He received to His cry is resurrection. We find therefore that the second part of this great Psalm, which reveals so fully the Cross of Christ, is taken up with the Glory of the forsaken One. G.o.d raised Him from the dead, and so we hear at once in this Psalm the notes of triumph coming from the lips of Him who is dead and now liveth. His triumph and His Glory are revealed. All for whom He died, the Church, Israel, the ends of the earth, the nations are mentioned. He is seen in the midst of the church as well as in the midst of the future great congregation. All the ends of the earth are yet to remember and turn unto the Lord. The nations will come to worship before Him; His will be the Kingdom, He will rule among the nations. But we must look at some of these precious predictions a little closer. We need to consider them as much as the Sufferings, the Cross of Christ.
The day of His Resurrection is first mentioned.
"I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren
"In the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee."
It is a joyous word which stands at the head of the glory section of this Psalm. Raised from the dead He met His own with an "All hail"
--rejoice. In the Gospel of John we see Him meeting her who sought the living One among the dead and telling her "Go and tell my brethren." How literally this prediction has been fulfilled. And what He tells her of "my Father and your Father, my G.o.d and your G.o.d" declares that intimate relationship which is the result of His death on the cross. Brought through Him to G.o.d, we are Sons of G.o.d and Heirs of G.o.d. "He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one, therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren"
(Heb. ii:11). Precious truth! He owns us as brethren. He is the Firstborn among many brethren. The congregation mentioned here is the church. In the midst of the church His praise is heard (Heb.
ii:12). It is true the church is not revealed in the Old Testament but it is antic.i.p.ated. And as we, saved by Grace, in possession of His life, approach G.o.d in His worthy Name His own voice is heard; He is the leader of our prayers and our praises. That new and intimate relationship brought about by His atoning death at the cross is mentioned first. He gave Himself for the church (Eph. v:25). In the next place we hear Israel praising Him. "All ye the seed of Jacob glorify Him; and reverence Him all ye the seed of Israel." They who rejected Him, His people who despised Him and had such a part in the suffering of Christ, now own Him. They acknowledge Him, whom they thought afflicted of G.o.d, as having been heard of G.o.d.
That time will come when He returns in power and glory, when Israel will see the Man in Glory, the First begotten coming in the clouds of Heaven. Then they will realize the full truth of Isaiah liii. The blessed Lord will then have the travail of His soul and be satisfied. But there is more glory still for Him.
A _great_ congregation is mentioned; there too His praises will be heard. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn unto the Lord. Nations will worship before Him.
"For the Kingdom is Jehovah"s And He ruleth among the nations" (verse 28).
The great congregation are the nations of the millennial age. Then the ends of the earth will remember Him while He ruleth among the nations. What Glory awaits Him! Now we behold Him, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. It is a spiritual vision; we see Him there by faith. But a little while longer and He will appear in the Glory of His Father bringing His co-heirs with Him, the Son bringing many sons to glory, the sons He is not ashamed to call brethren, for whom He was forsaken on the cross. What a procession of triumph and glory that will be when the Heavens open and He is coming forth, bringing His church with Him! What will be His Glory when Israel at last owns Him and nations submit under His rule, when His visible Glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea! All hail! Oh blessed, blessed Lord!
And we do need to consider all these precious predictions, so numerous in the Scriptures, the prophecies of His Glory. The G.o.d of this age Satan is unfolding the glories of this present age which is almost at the end, with a skilful master hand. He knows how to blind the eyes not only of those who believe not, but of many who are Christians. He makes everything so attractive and many of G.o.d"s people have fallen into his snares. We need to look through the Word of G.o.d upon the brightness of His Glory, the glorious things to come, so that our eyes may be blinded to the miserable playthings of the dust, which the fire of G.o.d"s vengeance will ere long consume.
We need these glorious visions of the great realities so that we can go forward with joyfulness to suffer, be rejected of men and bear the bright and blessed testimony, the Father expects from His beloved children. Take up the watchword of the last days! _True to Christ--all in Christ--all for Christ--Onward to Glory._ Soon He will call us into His glorious presence.
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us"
(Rom. viii:18).
"For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. v:17).
Oh what will be the day when won at last The last long weary battle, we shall come To those eternal gates the King hath pa.s.sed, Returning from our exile to our Home; When earth"s last dust is washed from off our feet; The last sweat from our brows is wiped away; The hopes that made our pilgrim journey sweet All met around us, realized that day!
Oh what will be the day, when we shall stand Irradiate with G.o.d"s eternal light; First tread as sinless saints the sinless land, No shade nor stain upon our garments white; No fear, no shame upon our faces then, No mark of sin--oh joy beyond all thought!
A son of G.o.d, a free-born citizen Of that bright city where the curse is not!
The Exalted One.
Hebrews i.
SOME thirty-five years ago, when the so-called "Higher Criticism"
had begun its destructive work, a believer living in England, predicted that within thirty years the storm would gather over one sacred head. How this has come true! Satan"s work of undermining the authority of the Bible, a pernicious work still going on, is but the preliminary to an attack of the Person of Christ. To-day as never before the glorious Person of our Lord is being belittled in the camp of Christendom. This is done not only in the out and out denials of His Deity but also in more subtle ways. It is for us who "deny not His Name" (Revel. iii:8), whose desire is to exalt Him, ever to remind ourselves of the Blessed One and His Glory. At this time we desire to look briefly at the teachings of the first chapter in Hebrews.
This chapter is divided into two parts. In the first part we find another great description of our adorable Lord, and in the second a description of His exaltation. The beginning of the chapter gives us that solid a.s.surance that G.o.d has spoken and that the Old Testament is His Word. "G.o.d having spoken in many parts and in many ways formerly to the fathers in the prophets, at the end of these days has spoken to us in (the person of the) Son." The Old Testament Scriptures are the inspired Word of G.o.d; at last G.o.d spake in Son, as it is in the Greek. The Old Testament announced that G.o.d would speak in the person of the Son. For this reason it is impossible to deny the authority of the Old Testament without denying the authority of Lord Jesus Christ. The written and the living Word stand and fall together.
This is followed by a description of Himself. Seven things are mentioned concerning our Lord. 1. Heir of all Things. 2. By whom He made the worlds. 3. The Brightness of G.o.d"s Glory. 4. The Express image of His Person. 5. The Upholder of all Things. 6.
He has purged our sins. 7. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. What wonderful seven things these are! Oh that we would meditate more on each, how it would strengthen our faith and deepen our fellowship with Him. It would give us victory when the hosts of the enemy press upon us. Our defeat is the result of losing sight of the object of our faith, Christ.
We also can divide the description of our Lord in the first chapter of Hebrews into three parts. 1. He is the Son of G.o.d in eternity; One with the Father, essentially and absolutely G.o.d. This is found in these great statements "By whom He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His Glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His power." This could never be said of a creature of G.o.d. Our Lord is the Creator Himself, the express image of the person of G.o.d, the one who upholds all things.
What it all means! What a Lord we have! All this harmonizes with the description of His Person in Colossians.
2. He is the Son of G.o.d in incarnation. This is found in the following sentence "When He had Himself purged out sins" or as it is literally "Having made by Himself the purification of sins." For this great purpose He entered His own world. The mighty Creator, the eternal Son of G.o.d, the Holy One is our Redeemer. As Son of G.o.d He walked on the earth in the Spirit of holiness, the holy, spotless One, G.o.d manifested in the flesh. And this wonderful Being was made Sin for us, went as the willing sacrifice to the cross. Oh what a record! "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who when reviled, reviled not again: when suffering threatened not; . .
. . . . . who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, . . . .
by whose stripes ye have been healed." What a foundation for our faith, what a.s.surance! He Himself has accomplished the work for us and has made peace in the blood of His cross. He only could do it.
3. The Son of G.o.d in resurrection. "He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." And in verse 2 we read "Whom He (G.o.d) hath appointed heir to all things."
All this is spoken of Him who had died on the cross and who raised from the dead as glorified Man is at the right hand of the majesty on high. What He is in that resurrection Glory we shall be with Him.
His Love does not stop short of this. The Glory the Father gave to Him, He has given to us. He is the image of the invisible G.o.d, because He is G.o.d. His redeemed people shall be transformed into His image, that He might be the first born among many brethren. What a thought this is! We shall image Him forth in all eternity, as He images the invisible G.o.d. Into what depths we gaze!
Then in the second part of this chapter we find a description of His exaltation and Glory. The Holy Spirit shows this marvelous theme from His Word. He quotes from seven Psalms, that book which is one of the most attacked in the present day. The Holy Spirit gives us a key in these quotations how we should look for Christ in the Psalms.
What wickedness in face of such Scriptures to deny the messianic prophecies contained in the Psalms. The Psalms quoted are the following: "The ii; lx.x.xix (2 Sam. vii:14); xcvii; civ; xlv; cii and cx." They reveal His Glory and in what His future Glory will exist.
And we shall share that exaltation with Him. We are destined to be His Co-heirs. We shall rule with Him and shall be priests with Him.
He is higher than the angels in His resurrection Glory. He was made a little lower than the angels that He could take us with Himself into that place above the angels. All Glory and Praise to His Holy Name. We worship and adore Thee, Thou Son of G.o.d, our Saviour and Lord! What Glory awaits us! What dignity is ours! Oh, child of G.o.d, you need just this one thing, to know Him better, to have the Holy Spirit make Christ and the things of Christ, the future Glory more real to your souls. Let Him do it. And soon we shall be with Him.
Lamb of G.o.d, Thy faithful promise Says, "Behold, I quickly come;"
And our hearts, to Thine responsive, Cry, "come, Lord, and take us home."
Oh, the rapture that awaits us When we meet Thee in the air, And with Thee ascend in triumph, All Thy deepest joys to share!