Series: Psalms
Title: Suffering with Christ
Text: Psalm 18: 4-19
Date: May 1, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
Psalm
18 are prophetic words:
1) The
words spoken by Christ Jesus
2) He
is speaking to Jehovah God
3) He
is speaking from the cross—this was the day God delivered him from all his
enemies.
The
requirement necessary to fulfill the righteousness of the law is:
1) One,
to justify us from our sins, Christ had to bear our sins and die to the justice
of God.
2) Two,
Christ’s obedience unto the death of the cross, is the fulfillment of the positive
side of the law—loving God and your neighbor as yourself.
So to
fulfill the righteousness of the law for his people, Christ Jesus, who is God, humbled
himself, so as to make himself totally dependent upon God to deliver him. He
did so even unto the death of the cross. This humility and dependence upon God,
is how the apostle Paul wanted to know more of Christ.
Philippian 3:10: That I may know him, and the power of
his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable
unto his death
Do you
want to know Christ this way, to be conformable unto Christ’s death, to humble
yourself under the hand of God, trusting Christ our God to deliver you from your
sin and suffering?
Title:
Suffering with Christ
Proposition: Christ is here using himself and his suffering, to
exemplify the faithfulness of God to teach his child through suffering.
I. FIRST, WE MUST SUFFER, NOTICE HOW GREATLY
CHRIST’S SUFFERED
He said
Psalm 18: 4: The sorrows of death compassed
me,…
Christ
is Life. Christ is the sinless, spotless
Lamb of God. But just as the high priest presented the spotless lamb to have
the sins of a particular people laid on that lamb, so in the garden of
Gethsemane, Christ our High Priest presented himself—the true spotless Lamb of
God—to have the sin of his people laid on him to die the just for the unjust.
Mark 14: 37:…he began to be sore amazed, and to be very
heavy;
Matthew 26:38: Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
Luke 22:44: And being in an agony he prayed more
earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to
the ground.
We
cannot even imagine what it must have been like for he who is Life, him who
knew no sin, to suffer the sorrows of death, the result of the sins of his
people. Sin brings forth death and is full of sorrows of every kind. Everything
Christ endured was a death of sorts—all was full of sorrows of death: sorrows
of total injustice in that man-made, kangaroo court, before whom he stood; sorrows
of sinner’s, dead in sins, many of which were too blind to see, Christ was
actually suffering to put away their sins—that is a sorrow of death; the sins
of his people laid on him were sorrows of death, the justice of God—the wrath
of God—were the greatest sorrows of death which compassed Christ about. On the
cross, for his people—he suffered the sorrows of that death that never dies.
Psalm 22:14: I am poured out like water, and all my bones
are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15: My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
[here is the worst sorrow of death] and thou hast brought me into the dust of
death.
Note:
The Hebrew word for "sorrows"
signifies the pains and birth throes of a woman in travail—it fitly describes the
sufferings and death of Christ because by the travail of his soul he brought
forth many children from the curse of the law--“he shall see of the travail of
his soul”—he shall see all those he redeemed brought to life and faith in
Christ—“and shall be satisfied.”
Then he
said, Psalm 18: 4: and the floods of
ungodly men made me afraid.
Could
Christ be afraid?
Hebrews 4:15: we have not an high priest which cannot be
touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like
as we are, yet without sin.
The
word “floods” signify the multitudes of ungodly men.
Psalm 22: 16:…dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the
wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. 17: I may tell all
my bones: they look and stare upon me.
Christ
promises us, who believe, there will be times when we shall bear the reproach
of ungodly men. But usually it is only
the reproach of one or two or three at a time. But Christ bore unimaginable pain
and shame at the hands of a multitude of wicked men and unseen spirits: stately
Kings—Herod and Pontius Pilate, the host of Roman soldiers, Jews and Gentiles,
unseen powers and principalities and rulers of the darkness. It was an entire
"company of wicked men" and spirits.
Also, the
word “floods” signifies the variety of sufferings he endured at the hands of
the ungodly. In our day, they usually do not touch us, anymore. They gnash upon
us with their teeth—grinding their teeth as they rage. But they not only gnashed
upon Christ: they spit upon him, buffeted
him with their fist, scourged him with a whip of bones, snatched his hair out
by the handfuls.
Furthermore,
these “floods of ungodly men” signify the floods of our sins, which Christ bore
for us ungodly rebels for whom Christ died.
John Gill sad, “The Septuagint renders the word,
"the torrents of iniquity troubled me"; which was true of Christ,
when all the sins of his people came flowing in upon him, like mighty torrents,
from all quarters; when God laid on him the iniquity of them all, and he was
made sin for them; Christ said,
Psalm 69:1: Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto
my soul. 2: I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into
deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
Furthermore,
these “floods” also signify the just wrath of God, which Christ bore when he
stood as our substitute.
Psalm 88: 6: Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in
darkness, in the deeps. 7: Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted
me with all thy waves. Selah.
It brings us to this third thing…He said, Psalm 18: 5: The sorrows of hell compassed
me about. His people deserved the wages of sin which is death.
Mark 9: 44: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched.
On the
cross, this is what Christ bore—the sorrows of hell compassed me about. God forsook him on the cross!
He
said, Psalm 18: 5: the snares of death
prevented me. [came before me to block me]. According to the four metaphors
used here: Christ was bound like a
malefactor for execution; flooded like a shipwrecked mariner; surrounded and bayed
by dogs of the infernal kennel like a hunted animal; captured in a net like a
trembling bird.
We see
why we are told to “consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself, lest we become weary and faint in our minds; we have not
resisted unto blood.” “Our affliction is light and for a moment” compared to
Christ’s.
II. NEXT, WE SEE OUR STRENGTH AND HOPE: GOD
HEARS CHRIST OUR MEDIATOR—Psalm 18: 6: In my distress I called upon the LORD,
and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before
him, even into his ears.
Here is
Christ our Righteousness, even unto the death of the cross, as the
representative and substitute of his people, he faithfuly looked nowhere else
but God; faithfully calling upon his faithful LORD and God. Here is our assurance of God’s faithfulness to
us in Christ, our assurance that Christ is our Wisdom, Righteousness,
Sanctification and Redemption--“and he heard my voice out of his temple, and my
cry came before him, even into his ears.”
In that
day, when Christ cried it is finished, God removed the foundations that could
be removed—Psalm 18: 7: Then the earth
shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken,
because he was wroth.
The
earth literally shook that day. But a great
deal more took place. Christ took away the first—the Mosaic law—and established
the second—the everlasting covenant of grace, the perfect law of liberty for
his people. God shook and broke up civil, political Israel with all its
pictures and types—but the spiritual Israel which it pictured remains.
Also, God
raised his Sechinah glory—Christ Jesus—to his secret place, leaving the house
of his enemies desolate, scattering his enemies to the four winds—Psalm 18: 11: He made darkness his secret
place;…14
Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out
lightnings, and discomfited them.
Furthermore,
God made known his true foundations: Christ our Foundation who dried up sin and
death, his gospel of grace and his ministers of grace who he began using to lay
the foundation of his church—Psalm 18: 15:
Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were
discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
God did
all this when he raised Christ from the grave, from all his suffering and set
him on his throne of glory—Psalm 18: 16:
He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. 17: He delivered
me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong
for me. [not too strong to conquer, but it shows Christ depended upon God to deliver him] 18: They prevented me in the day of my calamity: [tried to prevent
Christ from being faithful to God, tried to keep his word from coming into God] but the LORD was my stay. 19: He brought
me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
The
Hebrew writer put all that this way:
Hebrews 12: 26: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now
he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also
heaven. [in the last day both heaven and earth shall be dissolved] 27: And this
word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken,
as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may
remain. 28: Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have
grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
III. NOW, LET’S TRY TO LEARN A FEW THINGS
FROM WHAT WE HAVE SEEN HERE.
Christ
Jesus is the only One who ever prayed and was heard by God—without the need of
a Mediator. It is because Christ is Righteousness.
Hebrews 5:7: 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, and was heard in that he feared; 8: Though he
were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9: And being
made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey
him;
He
accomplished the Father’s will by his death on the cross. He put away the sin
of his particular, elect people, obtained eternal redemption for us, brought in
everlasting righteousness for us. Doing so he declared God just and the
Justifier of him which believe in Jesus.
Secondly,
understand we are sinners. Therefore, we need a Mediator to represent us to
God, we need a Righteousness and Holiness to approach God. All for who Christ died have all in Christ
Jesus. Christ is the only Faithful One
who intercedes for his people to the Faithful God. God hears Christ and delivers Christ’s
redeemed for the sake of Christ.
Since
Christ was heard it means if we come in Christ we shall surely be heard of God.
God will hear you sinner if you come to God by faith in Christ Jesus.
John 14:6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father, but by me.
One
reason Christ cried and was heard and delivered, and recorded it for us in
scripture, is to teach his people that God sent Christ and hears Christ and God
will hear us if we come to him in Christ Jesus.
Example: Christ told us that very thing when Lazarus came forth
from the grave:
John 11:41:…And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said,
Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42: And I knew that thou hearest
me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe
that thou hast sent me.
The
best example is in our text: Christ shows us that God is faithful to hear
Christ by showing us that when Christ cried from the cross, God delivered
Christ himself from his suffering, even from the grave.
Sinner,
has God showed you something of your sinfulness. Are you afraid that God will not hear you
because of your sins? Notice no blockade by Satan, not even the hosts of
wickedness, could stop Christ’s prayer from entering in to God. So it is for
every sinner that casts our care upon Christ.
If you mourn
over your sin and can call upon Christ to save you—in true faith—it is because
the Holy Spirit has given you life and faith in Christ—because God chose you
and Christ redeemed you. If that is the case then this is too
Romans 8: 34: Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ
that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also maketh intercession for us.
The
same is true for every believer here—Jew or Gentile—anywhere in the world—for
John said,
1 John 2: 1: My little children, these things write I
unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2: And he is the propitiation for our sins:
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Fourthly,
why must we be brought to suffer? In the beginning, why must God make us see
our sinfulness and suffer? Why do we
suffer the rejection and reproach of our loved ones for the sake of Christ? Why must believers suffer in great trials
throughout this life?
Notice Christ
called then cried: Psalm 18: 6: In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried
unto my God: Note also that he first invokes God under the name LORD, then
advances to a more familiar name, “my God!” God brings us to the end of self so
that our prayer grows from a call to a cry.
God uses our distresses to bring us to cast all our care on Christ, crying
out to Christ as “MY” Mediator and “MY” Savior. He increases our faith by
exercise, by practical instruction in all God’s acts of providence, to make us
entirely dependent upon Christ alone.
For
instance, we hear Christ declare the carnal mind is enmity against God—then we
experience it from a loved one who gnashes on us with their teeth. What does
that make you see? It makes you see what you are in your flesh. It makes you
see what God has saved you from, makes you cry out to Christ to save you now! It
is to draw us to Christ!
Hebrews 4: 15: For we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16: Let us therefore come boldly unto
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
of need.
When
God has used the trial to bring his child to cry and cast all care upon him, then
Christ does in a smaller measure in our
hearts, what God did when he raised Christ from the dead. Christ takes
away the first and establishes the second—the everlasting covenant of grace,
the perfect law of liberty. He turns us from the fleshly, to the spiritual,
scattering our enemies, by making us behold his Sechinah glory in his secret
place . He makes us know his true foundations: Christ our Foundation, his
gospel of grace—Psalm 18: 15 Then the channels of waters [are] seen, and the
foundations of the world [are] discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast
of the breath of thy nostrils. Then
he delivers us so that we praise him alone, saying--Psalm 18: 16: He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many
waters. 17: He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me:
for they were too strong for me. 18: They prevented me in the day of my
calamity: but the LORD was my stay. 19: He brought me forth also into a large
place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. [for Christ’s sake!]
Amen!