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e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God just one announcement that Wednesday night bible study is back on this week uh God willing will be in Numbers chapter 21 which is balum and his donkey and then the uh balam's Oracles in Numbers 22 and following so that should be an interesting time for those who have not yet attended you're heartily encouraged to attend and hear the the word of God then well for our call to worship this evening you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 67 Psalm 67 I'll begin reading in verse one to the chief musician on stringed instruments a Psalm a song God be merciful to us and bless us and cause his face to shine upon us se la that your way may be known on Earth your salvation among all nations let the peoples praise you oh God let all the peoples praise you oh let the Nations be glad and sing for Joy for you shall judge the people righteously and govern the Nations on Earth say la let the peoples praise you oh God let all the peoples praise you then the Earth shall yield her increase God our own God shall bless us God shall bless us and all the ends of the Earth shall fear Him amen will please turn with me in your hym books to Psalm 134 Psalm 134 will stand as we sing together L you Greatful Ser of in his house to stand and praise him there all your of your hands in PR to theu oh bless the Lord his and worship him with the Lord bless you [Music] from in his love are all to have pra bless be his great and [Music] glor well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you for the privilege to gather again in your house on your day we give praise to you for your works of creation and Providence we TR truly see your wisdom and your power and your goodness displayed in those things we praise you as well for Redemption where we see that same wisdom and that power and that goodness we see grace and we see Mercy we see your loving kindness toward miserable Sinners and we Rejoice that you have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus we pray that as we gather together tonight our hearts would be knit together in worship that we would come to the father through the son in the spirit that you would be enthroned in the Praises of your people here that you would be glorified and honored and God as we are reminded from Holy Scripture that your son came into this world Sinners to save it greatly encourages us we reflect upon his life and death and Resurrection we reflect upon how these things have been applied to us by your Holy Spirit it truly fills our hearts with gratitude and a longing and a desire for worship we ask that you would receive that worship that you would fill us with your holy spirit that we would worship you in spirit and in truth we pray that you would forgive us now for all of our sins and our transgression we know the emphasis in the the word of God is those Justified freely by your grace or to let their conduct be worthy of the Gospel yet we confess that proness to wander and proness to leave the god that we love so Lord cleanse Us in the Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for the promises that are ours in him that if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness we rejoice in what David acknowledges in the 130th Psalm that if you Lord should Mark iniquities oh Lord who could stand there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared Lord God we rejoice in your loving kindness we rejoice in the fact that you do not cast us off that you have promised the one who has begun this good work in us will complete it unto the day of the Lord Jesus Christ as well God we pray for any who've come here this evening that are dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that you would awaken them by your by your powerful word we know that the voice of the Lord is able to crush The Cedars of Lebanon and ser certainly the heart of man is no match for such a glorious and Sovereign God we pray that tonight would be the the time of salvation for Sinners that they would by Grace look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and know the joy of everlasting life we ask for your blessing upon our children and our young people and the babies in the wombs we thank you that you have blessed us richly in this regard we know that children are are a gift given by you Lord our desire is that they would remember their creator in their youth that they would know the joy of the Lord as their strength all their days that you would watch over them and protect them from this present evil age and cause them to know the power of the holy spirit in their own walk we ask God that you'd bless other churches that we are united together with we pray for the Saints in sui and in Armstrong we pray for our brethren in Medicine Hat and pinoca and as well in Regina we thank you for these men and for their Ministries and we pray that they would know the blessing of God upon their preaching that their churches would know The Nearness of God in their times of worship and that you would continue to sustain the Saints and for all the churches that are faithful here in this nation of Canada give us that Grace to shine as lights in this crooked and perverse generation and give us that boldness to hold forth your word of Truth and father be merciful to those suffering Saints in other parts of the world we are constantly reminded of our brother Peter and Myanmar with this difficult work entrusted to him him we thank you that over these many many years we have seen your faithfulness to him in sustaining him keeping him going we pray father that you would continue to bless him physically and spiritually we pray for his family and for all of the orphans under his charge that they would have what they stand in need of in terms of food and shelter and clothing we ask God that there would be a ceasefire in that land and some degree of stability so that gospel preaching could go forth and churches could be planted and more and more people would celebrate the glory of God most high we pray for the missionary Enterprise all throughout this Earth we thank you that the word is running swiftly that it is being glorified we thank you for Psalm 67 and the fact that you the psalmist is able to pray that you would cause your face to shine upon the Nations and that all the ends of the Earth will fear you God we pray for your blessing upon these Ministries we pray that you would sustain those who labor in obscurity and that you would continue to f the the the kingdom of Jesus Christ in this present world and Lord God we pray that now that you would continue with us as we worship you and we pray through Jesus Christ the Lord amen will you can turn again in your hym books to Psalm 22 Psalm 22c as in Charlie we'll stand as we sing together will there his pra the the children of his PR his glor and for his the will he has the heart where s is Will us [Music] to and sisf the shall praise the Lord to for his Mercy sing the of all the Earth God the na worship Him the king of Earth [Music] well you can turn to that Psalm in your Bible Psalm 22 for our meditation this evening before we partake of the Lord's Supper Psalm 22 the outline of the psalm is very simple the first half deals with the suffering of Christ and the second with the glory of Christ so I'll read the entirety of the psalm and then we'll look at it in some detail so Psalm 22 beginning in verse one to the chief musician sat to the deer of the Dawn a Psalm of David my God my God why have you forsaken me why are you so far from helping me and from the words of my groaning oh my God I cry in the daytime but you do not here and in the night season and am not silent but you are holy enthroned in the praise of Israel our fathers trusted in you they trusted and you delivered them they cried to you and were delivered they trusted in you and were not ashamed but I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised by the people all those who see me ridicule me they shoot out the lip they shake the head saying he trusted in the Lord let him rescue him let him deliver him since he Delights in him but you are he who took me out of the womb you made me Trust while on my mother's breasts I was cast upon you from birth from my mother's womb you have been my God be not far from me for trouble is near for there is none to help many bulls have surrounded me strong Bulls of basan have encircled me they gape at me like with their mouths like a raging 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 me my strength is dried up like a hot shirt and my tongue clings to my jaws you have brought me to the dust of death for dogs have surrounded me the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me they pierced my hands and my feet I can count all my bones they look and stare at me they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots but you oh Lord do not be far from me ohe my strength hasten to help me deliver me from The Sword my precious life from the power of the dog save me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly I will praise you you who fear the Lord praise him all you descendants of Jacob glorify him and fear Him all you offspring of Israel for he has not despise nor abhor the Affliction of The Afflicted nor has he hidden his face from him but when he cried to him he heard my praise shall be of you in the great assembly I will pay my vows before those who fear Him the poor shall eat and be satisfied those who seek Him will praise the Lord let your heart live forever all the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the families of the Nations shall worship before you for the kingdom is the Lords and he rules over the Nations all the prosperous of the Earth shall eat and worship although those who go down to the dust shall bow before him even he who cannot keep himself alive a posterity Shall Serve him it will be recounted of the Lord to the Next Generation they will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this amen well let us pray Lord God as we come to this passage of Holy scripture we are struck with being on Holy Ground we know this is a record of our Lord's sufferings on the cross we pray that you would help us to see these things with the eyes of faith and cause it indeed to draw from us worship and praise and adoration and and great love to our Savior we thank you for the lengths that he went to on our behalf we thank you for that Redemption accomplished and applied and we praise you that you've made us uh participants in this by your grace and For Your Glory again forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness and guide us now by your Holy Spirit and we pray through Christ Our Lord amen well as I said the psalm breaks down into two parts first the suffering of Christ we'll notice that in verses 1 to 21A and then secondly the glory of Christ from 21b to verse 31 like our Study last week in Psalm 110 we noted there that David composed the psalm the text of scripture tells us he did so by inspiration of the Holy Spirit but that the Triumph and the glory and the Majesty of the psalm far transcends anything that David knew even at the Apex of his of his kingly power well Psalm 22 is like that as well David wrote it there's a superscription there that tells us or indicates that he does and no doubt David had a lot of sufferings and trials in his own life but what we find in this Psalm transcends or exceeds anything that occurred to David in his Earthly life Alec moer says the psalm goes Beyond any experience of David's while it could arise from some time of his suffering it goes far beyond such to torture and death we are listening to David the prophet looking forward to the suffering Messiah as well many New Testament passages apply this Psalm to our Lord Jesus Christ we see it in the passion narrative we see as well Hebrews 2:12 uh evokes or invokes this particular Psalm to unders our Christ in the midst of his assembly uh as the the song leader as the choir leader As we sing together Christ is with us according to the author of the book of Hebrews so as I said we'll look first at the suffering of Christ and there we'll see three things first the lamentation of Christ secondly a description of the suffering of Christ and then thirdly the petitions of Christ and the petitions are sort of mingled out uh throughout the whole it's not a a three-fold sort sort of a segment in the way that I suggest we'll bounce around a bit as we move our way through Psalm 22 but notice first the lamentation of Christ and that's in verses 1 and two my God my God why have you forsaken me why are you so far from helping me and from the words of my groaning oh my God I cry in the daytime but you do not hear and in the night season and am not silent of course that first verse is what Jesus cites what Jesus recites on the cross according to Matthew 27 especially in verses 45 and 46 we read now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was Darkness over all the land and about the 9th hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying Eli Eli Lama sabak that is my God my God why have you forsaken me now certainly that's a bit of a puzzling statement when you take it at face value how could God the son be forsaken by God the father so in terms of explanation we ought to notice first what it doesn't mean and then secondly what it does mean it does not mean first of all that there was any division among the persons of the Trinity that cannot happen it could not happen it has never happened and it will never happen the unity of the divine nature and the triun of the persons in the godhead forbid such an interpretation that there was some division among the persons of the godhead as well the three persons did not suffer on the cross you see sometimes in in theology that people will suggest such a thing that's not it at all Christ according to his Humanity suffered on the cross for us men and for our Salvation so the cry does not mean there was a division among the persons of the Trinity the cry also does not mean that there was a dissolution of the hypostatic union now by hypostatic Union we refer to the one person of Christ with the two natures and the disolution would be that there was somehow a division or a separation or a destruction of that Union our confession is very clear it says so that two whole perfect and distinct Natures were inseparably joined together one of the mysteries of our religion is that while Christ hung on the cross he was still the God man he was still the Divine word who assumed our Humanity the distinct Natures were inseparable joined together in one person without conversion composition or confusion which person is very God and very man yet one Christ the only mediator between God and man so there was no destruction in terms of the Trinity and no destruction in terms of the hypostatic Union of Our Lord so we ask the question then what does the cry mean the Lord Jesus suffered on the cross according to his Humanity the Lord Jesus suffered on the cross according to his Humanity for us men and for our Salvation remember our sin according to 2 Corinthians 5:21 excuse me is heaped upon the Savior and it's punished in the Savior the forsakenness is the penal sanctions involved with our lawbreaking of God's holy Commandments and so Christ on the cross suffers in our place Hillary says nay it was we who were Forsaken and disregarded so that it was as appropriating our personality that he offered these prayers think ainus is right on the ball he says Christ spoke these words in the person of a sinner or of the church so this that he experienced was due to us men for our Salvation so the forsakenness in short was simply the removal of the Divine Divine favor at the point of the painal sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ the lord Jesus suffered on the cross for the duration determined by the father he was Forsaken and remember the Lord Jesus was delivered to the Cross by the father Romans 8:32 he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things he delivered him up for us all or in the prophet Isaiah yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he has put him to grief and so it's that bruising it's that grief that's wherein lies the explanation of the forsakenness by the Son of God from the father again it's not a a a a breach of the doctrine of the Trinity it's not a dissolution of the hypostatic Union it is Christ as our short going to the uttermost uttermost lengths to suffer on behalf of All Those whom the father had given him so the Lord Jesus Jus suffered on the cross and experienced the withdrawal of the father's favor again according to his Humanity the favor was withdrawn but not the father whatever forsakenness means it cannot mean that there was any removal of the father from the son because all throughout the psalm the son is calling upon the father and that would be absolutely ludicrous if he did not know that he had his father's ear listen to David Dixon he says Christ as man lying under the curse of the law for us was really deserted and forsaken for a time again not completely abandoned often times that's what forsakenness comes to mean that he was abandoned by the son uh by the father in fact that makes it way its way into popular hity and popular songs it wasn't an abandonment the forsakenness was the suffering that the son endured on our behalf in terms of penal sanction so so again Dixon Christ as man lying under the curse of the law for us was really deserted and forsaken for a time in regard notice of all sensible consolation it's like when we go through and I don't want to sort of compare our going our goings through with what Christ is going through but when we're Afflicted or we have hardships or when we have trials we don't or we shouldn't interpret it as being abandoned by the father God doesn't abandon his children God doesn't leave them without him now for a time there might be a lack of sensible consolation but that is a far cry different than suggesting there was some sort of Abandonment of excuse me of the Sun by The Father Dixon goes on for it behooved him to Bear the Wrath or effects of Wrath due to our sins really so far as might satisfy for us and relieve us from wrath it is true the man Christ could no more be forsaken in regard of the divine presence supporting him then the personal Union of the two Natures could be dissolved but in regard of sensible consolation the goodness the the the the favor the kindness and again that's not suggesting that that was somehow sacrificed or compromised on the part of the father but in terms of the experience of the son who stood for us on that cross and received in himself the penalty due to our sins there was that absence but in regard of sensible consolation he was by way of punishment for our sins and by way of cursing our sin in him really in our stead for a while deprived as man of the sense of the comfort of his own godhead so he's dealing with the whole hypostatic Union part as well we've got you know good solid men in our camp I think that probably explain it a lot better than I'm trying to listen to Matthew Henry Christ was made sin for us a curse for us and therefore though God loved him as a son he frowned upon him as assurity that's what the cry we call it the Cry of dereliction that's what this means my God my God why have you forsaken me it's Christ according to his Humanity on the cross suffering the the Wrath and fury of God most high this is an indicator of true Humanity what true man what real human being wouldn't cry this way under such Affliction Dill says but he was now without a sense of the gracious presence of God and was filled as the shity of his people with a sense of divine wrath which their iniquities he now bore deserved and which was necessary for him to endure in order to make full satisfaction for them for one part of the punishment of sin is loss of the divine presence and then John unfl it was a penal desertion inflicted on him for satisfaction for those sins of ours which deserve that God should for forsake us forever as the Damned are forsaken by him so the lamentation of Christ is at the point of what he experiences directly under the Wrath and fury of God the Father we move then to a description of the suffering of Christ now certainly we have more in this PSAL than we do in the passion narrative concerning the physical sufferings of our Lord Jesus you hear that sometimes well why would you sing Psalms in the church there's no Jesus in the Psalms you get more information about Christ on the cross from Psalm 22 than you do from Matthew Mark Luke and John I'm not suggesting that they're bankrupt I'm not suggesting that they don't give us information but I'm suggesting they don't spell it out in the way that the Savior spells it out himself in Psalm 22 he describes for us in Vivid detail the sufferings that he endured in his passion note first the reproach of men verses 6 to8 he says but I am a worm and no man the Messiah is looked upon as a worm by men this is a powerful statement I am a worm and no man now think about it it for a moment if we had public execution which I would argue we should but if we did and we saw somebody being publicly executed our thoughts would probably not run toward There's a Hero in society there's a guy everybody should model themselves after there's the kind of guy every woman should try to seek as a hot no we wouldn't think that we would think that's disgusting this guy deserves what's coming to him that guy gets what the justice has demand Ed for him so Christ says I am a worm and no man a reproach of men and despised by the people Gil says Christ calls himself a worm on account of the opinion that men of the world had of him now if you struggle with this interpretation consider the prophet Isaiah Isaiah 53 2 and3 for he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground he has no form or comeliness and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him he is despised and rejected by Men A Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised and we did not uh esteem him so when Christ here says I am a worm and no man he's expressing what is experience was on the cross they shook the head they they they looked at him they ridiculed him notice in verses seven and 8 all those who see me ridicule me they shoot out the lip they shake the head saying he trusted in the Lord let him rescue him let him deliver him since he Delights in him that is precisely Matthew's gospel that is precisely chapter 27: 39 to 44 remember at the base of the cross the religious leaders those men of renown and dignity are mocking the crucified Messiah and so Christ is reporting all of that Vis firsthand in Psalm 22 again I'm not mitigating the glory of the passion narratives in Matthew Mark Luke and John but Psalm 22 feeds those and Psalm 22 in some sense exceeds those I would suggest that if you're not singing the Psalms of David in public worship you're missing out a lot on the glory and the suffering and the blessedness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ he moves from the reproach of men to the Beast attack by beastly men verses 12 and 13 verse 16 verse 20 verse 21 bold lion dogs dog lion's mouth horns of the wild oxen he's using animals to describe the actions of men that are directed against him while he's on the cross the language is vivid and the language is very expressive of the kinds of sin that is in the hearts of men as Davis says he describes his suffering in beastly terms bull surround him verse 12 but in the next verse Bulls become a lion that tears up its prey and Roars in verse 16 dogs circle around these are not the house Pat variety but the half wild garbage moers of the near East but the canines are human they are a Congregation of evildoers the Beast imagery implies as Alec moer says that the assault lacks any of the constraints of humanity it was a wretched bloodthirsty Lawless frenzy on the part of the persons that nailed our blessed savior to the cross and that is precisely what he is narrating for us in this particular passage of Holy scripture when the puzzlement that we find when we move our way through the Gospel of John to see their antipathy toward the Son of God if we understand the passion and what it all culminated in we shouldn't be shocked at Jesus harsh words Direct acted against the religious leaders of his own day these men that would rally up the crowd these men that would incite the multitudes to cry away with him away with him crucify him they were beastly met they were like Bulls they were like lions they were like those given over to reprobate activity as they target for Destruction the very Messiah sent by God to save his people from their sin now in all of this the resolve of the lordes Jesus is on Full display in the psalm but as well in Hebrews 122 who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame so all throughout our Lord Jesus Christ he set his face like a flint to go to Jerusalem once he was in Jerusalem he sat silent or stood silent before the the the Sanhedrin and he ultimately goes through all that was purposed for him for our salvation notice he moves on to the torture inflicted by men in verses 14 to 18 Again you have to see how this transcends what David experienced David certainly had a hard life he had many adversities he says as much but the Lord had delivered him from them all 2 Samuel 4 First Kings chapter 2 David bookends his life with that statement he knew many adversities but the Lord was faithful to deliver him from them all but none of his adversities included the kind of torture and the suffering and the igny ignominy that was enforced upon Him by these wretches now note the effects of crucifixion in verses 14 and 15 I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint makes sense for one crucified remember that little piece of wood that the the victim stood on was to sort of keep him intact so long as his his lungs would continue to function they typically broke the legs when they wanted to speed up death CU once the legs were broke the body would extend and he would asphyxiate but in this he says I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint my heart is like Wax it is melted within me my strength is dried up like a pot shirt and my tongue clings to my jaws you have brought me to the dust of death notice that constant and persistent acknowledgement of the Providence and the sovereignty of his father he's not mitigating the guiltiness of the Lion of the Bulls he's not mitigating the the conduct of these beastly men but he understands according to his reality as the Divine son who by the father's sending comes to save us from our sins he says you have brought me to the dust of death I think this is echoed in John 1928-30 after this Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled said I thirst now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there and they filled a sponge with sour wine put it on hsip and G put it to his mouth so when Jesus had received the sour wine he said it is finished and bowing his head he gave up his spirit and then note the specific reference to crucifixion in verses 16b to 18 16a for dogs have surrounded me again these aren't canines this isn't your family pet it's much much worse than that kids you know what's much much worse than a vicious vile dog is a vicious vile man a man with sin in his heart and Rebellion against Yahweh and his Christ and a man who has purpose to despise and to destroy the very Messiah sent by the father to save his people from their sins for dogs have surrounded me the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me they pierced my hands and my feet I can count on my bones they look and stare at me they divide my gar among them and for my clothing they cast lots now the English versions here follow the septu the septuagesima text and it's wildly different than what you have here and they pierced my hands and my feet as I said the English versions follow the the set two agent here but Ral Nick makes the observation plainly the mastic text rendering avoids the christological implications of predicting the crucifixion don't don't miss that if there is a specifically christological reading in the mastic text I'm not saying don't trust your mastic text that's not what I'm saying but understand if on the basis of this particular passage as a specimen if there's something that sounds exactly like what happened to Jesus and there's a bit of a uh an obscuring of that at least Rick is suggesting that that's what happened plainly the mastic text rendering avoids the christological implications of predicting the crucifixion thereby taking the less Messianic rendering I'm not suggesting they made up a contrary reading but they took the less Messianic rendering and making it more acceptable to Judaism Dale Ralph Davis makes the observation in 1997 a Hebrew textt from nahal he was published which actually reads they have pierced and this Hebrew text is a thousand years earlier than our traditional Hebrew text the Greek translation or the septu agent from about 200 BC also took it this way in other words the the the the affirmation that this is a specifically Christ centered Messianic reading it's there it it's it's stand it it's not that you know English translators or the L lxx said well let's just bolster this Messianic interpretation that it lands on Christ and and let's throw this in there no that's not what happened so there is a specific reference to crucifixion now the Roman Empire wasn't even in play at this time let alone crucifixion by the Roman Empire so many many years before the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ we read in Psalm 22 that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to be crucified this is why at least one of the reasons why among many other texts at times Jesus got not impatient the way I get because I sin when I'm impatient but Jesus would upgrade his disciples have you not read you you didn't have an expectation that the way that the Messiah would lead many sons to Glory would be through suffering H how do you come through Isaiah 53 the suffering servant of Yahweh and not conclude that the one that the father sends must to some degree suffer or how do you read the Proto Evangel in in Genesis chter 3:15 and not see some sort of of suffering on behalf of the Savior his his heels going to be bruised there's going to be something that obtains with reference to the Messiah so there is a specific reference here to the crucifixion and a description they pierced my hands and my feet I can count all my bones they look and stare at me they divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots we know that they do that in Matthew 27 at verses 3 uh uh at verse 35 and then finally under the head of suffering note the peti of Christ his confidence in the father is not confined to his state of exaltation his confidence in the father is expressed in the midst of suffering I already read that HEB Hebrews 12 who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame he knew that once the cross and once the shame was over there was Joy set before him Vis A the glory of God and the salvation of the bringing of many sons to glory and so before the petitions proper note the affirmation of the father's Perfections he's going through great distress he is crying out or has cried out why hast Thou forsaken me but in verse three he says but you are holy enthroned in the Praises of Israel this is not a man abandoned this is man not a man deserted as if there was no recognition or realization whatsoever of his father and he never once questions the father's Holiness in the midst of it we go there don't we something bad happens to us and we start to get this sneaking suspicion that maybe God's holiness maybe God's goodness maybe God's kindness is on a bit of a holiday because if it wasn't why am I going through what I'm going through not so with the Son of God not so with the son according to his Humanity But You Are Holy enthroned in the Praises of Israel the forsakenness of the son does not mitigate the Holiness of the of the father and the forsakenness of the son highlights the Holiness of the father Spurgeon said however ill things may look there is is no ill in thee Oh God we excuse me are very apt to think and speak hardly of God when we are under his afflicting hand but not so the obedient son he knows too well his father's goodness to let outward circumstances liable his character there is no unrighteousness with the god of Jacob he deserves no censures let him do what he will he is to be praised and to Reign enthroned amid the songs of his chosen people that's a glorious expression of blessedness on the part of the Savior But You Are Holy enthroned in the Praises of Israel notice then he moves in terms of perfection of God's faithfulness verse four our fathers trusted in you they trusted and you delivered them they cried to you and were delivered they trusted in you and were not ashamed verses 9 and 10 but you are he who took me out of the womb you made me trust while on my mother's breasts I was cast upon you from birth from my mother's womb you have been my God be not far from me for trouble is near for there is none to help he's not saying this in a comparative way you know you helped the fathers but you didn't help me no he says that's one of the glories one of the Perfections that is yours father is that you were faithful to the fathers you've been faithful to me throughout the entirety of the time since you brought me forth from my mother's womb you're good and you do good and by way of a practical application I don't want to again and parall parallel our suffering with the saviors that is absolutely ludicrous but man we should learn from the Savior here instead of imputing the Holiness of God or the faithfulness of God when we go through some straight or some hardship or some difficulty let us learn from the Savior on how to deal let us learn from the Savior that at times there are hard things that we have to undergo that at times there are travails that at times there is suffering that at times to be conformed under the image of his blessed son then we too must suffer then we too must have hardship let us guard against the tendency when any bad thing comes well where's the holy God where's the faithful God that is not the mindset of the Savior as he's suffering on the cross it is not a lack of confidence in his father and I provide that the affirmation of the father's Perfections to tie it to his petitions because he prays as a man who believes those varities notice the presence of trouble and the confidence he has in the Father evokes the petition in verse 11 be not far from me for trouble is near for there is none to help the presence of trouble and the faithfulness of God evokes the petition in verse 19 but you oh Lord do not be far from me oh my strength hasten to help me the presence of trouble and his confidence in the Father evokes the petition in verse 20 deliver me from The Sword and the presence of trouble and the confidence in his father evokes the petition in verse 21 save me so this isn't an utter complete abandonment the forsakenness is his experience of the Wrath and fury of God in our place for the satisfaction of divine Justice the psalm opens up for us in a way that no other place in scripture does the glory of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ it's a commentary written by a man named Herman rbos on the Gospel of John I'm not using him this time around but the last time I preached on John this caught my attention in John 1918a it says Where They Crucified him rbos says the New Testament has no trace of any passion mysticism oriented to the physical torture of Jesus he's right I'm looked at Cameron from Cameron of a uh and he was raised Roman Catholic I was raised Roman Catholic if any of the rest of you were unfortunate enough to have to go through that you you'll know that they do a lot with the physical torture of Jesus and unfortunately Protestants are aping them now the Stations of the Cross Passion Play mysticism I think that Ritter boss is right on the New Testament has no trace of any passion mysticism oriented to the physical torture of Jesus like there's something that we should just crave about every time Jesus fell every drop of blood that fell off his head I'm not suggesting we shouldn't think through the implications of his physical suffering but what I am suggesting is that we get a lot more of it in Psalm 22 we get a lot more of it than we do in Matthew's gospel in Mark or Luke or John if you want to know something of what the Savior according to his humanity went through on your behalf Psalm 22 is about the best window you can look through and then I don't want to just blow through it but because of time we're going to have to blow through it the latter part the latter part of the psalm focuses on the glory of Christ I think the specific reference is the Ascension and the current session similar to what we see there in Psalm 110 or what we saw last week and I just want to break down 21b to 26 and then 27 to 31 I think 21b to 26 deals with the blessing upon his people other words what Jesus does and what Jesus went through and the sufferings from chapter or from verses 1 to 21A are for the benefit of others it's for the benefit of us who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven notice we have this response in verse 21b you have answered me the answer of the father notice we have the adoption of his people verse 22 I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly I will praise you Ambrose said he is Lord by nature or our Lord by Nature and becomes our brother by grace that is glorious language I will declare your name to my brethren the one who was circled by these Bulls the one who was gaped at by these wretches the one who was pierced by these filthy criminals this one has done this for us men and for our Salvation notice the Adoration of God predicated on what the son had accomplished in the first part of the psalm notice in verses 23 and following you who fear the Lord praise him all you descendants of Jacob glorify him and fear Him all you offspring of Israel for he is not despised nor abhor the Affliction of The Afflicted nor has he hidden his face from him but when he cried to him he heard my praise shall be of you in the great assembly I will pay my vows before those who fear Him the poor shall eat and be satisfied those who seek him will praise the Lord let your heart live forever the fear of God is a wonderful uh outflow of what the work of the Savior on our behalf accomplishes we see that reason in verse 24 he is not despise nor abhor the Affliction of The Afflicted we see as well this emphasis on corporate worship my praise shall be of view in the great assembly As we sing praises to God as we We join the elders brother and singing praises to the father we do so based on the reality of the first half of the psalm and what the Son of God went through on behalf of guilty vile helpless Sinners and we see this emphasis on constant provision the poor shall eat and be satisfied those who seek Him will praise the Lord let your heart live forever so that's the blessing upon his people but note the extent of his kingdom in verses 27-31 the nations of the Earth will be included in this Redemptive plan so I read Psalm 67 at the outset let the Nations be glad cause your face to shine upon the peoples that the way of Yahweh would be known throughout the entirety of the Earth this picks up a theme that's not just a little one in scripture uh God's promises to Abraham are about Nations included in those blessings we see it all throughout the Psalms we see it all throughout the uh the prophets we see it in our Lord's words go therefore and make Disciples of all the nations we've got this wonderful depiction or presentation of the Glorious extension of Christ's Kingdom all the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the families of the nation shall worship before you for the kingdom is the Lords and he rules over the Nations this is the emphasis in Holy Scripture brings us to the Book of Revelation from every tribe every tongue every people every nation a great multitude that no man can number notice as well it's not just going to affect the the locations in the Earth but it's going to be generational notice in verses 30 and 31 a posterity Shall Serve him it will be recounted of the Lord to the Next Generation they will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this this is an old old Covenant equivalent to a Matthew 16 I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it it is all predicated on the finished and successful and the Glorious work of the Redeemer recorded in the first half of the psalm the suffering of our blessed savior inevitably leads to his conquest of the Nations to his extension of his church or the advancement of his church to the blessedness of his people with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus well in conclusion we see the theology of the Suter it's about Jesus it's all about Jesus if you want to know more of Jesus read the Psalms meditate on the Psalms sing the Psalms pray the Psalms and when you see particular Psalms describing the sinfulness of the save of the of the psalmist you think well that can't be true of Jesus he who knew no sin or God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him those psalms that speak concerning the sinfulness of the P of the psalmist those are not accepted when I suggest that the Psalms are about Jesus there was an imp imputation of our sin to the Savior it's like Psalm 88 remember when Dr renahan preached that last year during the the conference season he made that application he said this is a description of the the sufferings of Our Lord Jesus he was right on he was right on the Psalms are about Jesus in fact turn to Hebrews 2 for just a moment I already referred to this passage but it's good to see it we get it in front of our eyes here verse 10 Hebrews chap 2:10 for it was fitting for him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings for both he who sanctifies and those who are being Sanctified are all of one for which reason he is not ashamed to call them Brethren saying I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to you so there 's that that verse we just saw in this in Psalm 22 I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to you but but look at the first word of verse 12 saying what is the Apostle saying the Apostle is saying when you read Psalm 22 that's Jesus saying to you that's Jesus speaking to you that's Jes Jesus declaring truth to you he is not ashamed to call them Brethren saying I will declare your name to my brethren in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to you we wouldn't need to even make the comparison that whatever suffering David had far was Far exceeded by the sufferings of Jesus the psalmist tells us when we read Psalm 22 we're hearing the voice of Jesus so Brethren make much of the Psalms in 2025 make much of the Psalms in private and incorporate worship as well the glory of the Savior the psalm moves in the direction expounded in the gospels and Epistles life suffering death exaltation the psalm moves in the direction summarized in Hebrews 2:10 he's bringing many sons to Glory how did he do that through suffering and the psalm displays the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed effect of his death and Resurrection verses 27 and 28 all the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord and all the families of the nation shall worship before you for the kingdom is the Lords and he rules over the Nations well may God encourage our hearts may God strengthen us as we participate in the supper and may He indeed confirm us in our faith cause it to grow and may we see in the Psalms the Lord Jesus Christ and may we see specifically in Psalm 22 the suffering and the glory of the mess mesiah well let us pray Our Father in Heaven thank you very much for your word thank you for these prophetic statements in this altar that show us clearly the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for those Apostles in the New Testament applying these texts specifically to our Savior and even more importantly we thank you for the reality for the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ lived for us died for us and was raised again for us and God now as we as we remember in a special way his death on our behalf may we do this for your glory and for your honor and may we corporately preach Christ and him crucified and we ask in Jesus name amen well I just want to remind us of a few things concerning the supper before we actually get to it the sacrament is for believers only this is not um in our view in what we believe is a Biblical view a converting ordinance it's not given to unbelievers such that they will become believer it is rather for the Saints of Christ it is for those people who have by Grace believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as well the sacrament is for believers who are dealing with their sin you see that in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 11 the Apostle Paul basically up braids or rebukes the church in Corinth because of some abuse that was occurring uh alongside of their observance of the Lord's table now I will add that this is a helpful means to to deal with sin as well other words it's a gift given by God or the householder gives us this provision for our well-being and for our growth so it's not the case that man I sin this week I better not take it's not a reward for your obedience it's not a reward for your performance it is a reminder of what Christ has done on our behalf but if there is known sin then and an unwillingness to deal with that sin then you shouldn't Heap up uh chastisement upon yourself as well the sacrament is a means of Grace but we remember the elements are not transubstantiated or cons substantiated they're not changed they don't move from one state to another they are moved rather from the common use or profane use into a sacred use not by any magic or Not by any pronouncement it's just the case that we do not see it the way Rome does and we do not see it the way Lutheranism does both of which have christological problems attaching to their view of the Lord's supper and remember the sacrament should point us to Christ it's okay to look at yourself and confess your sin but it's much better to keep looking to Jesus at times people become as Murray says more preoccupied with themselves than preoccupied with Christ and the suppers about Jesus as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you Proclaim what how horrible you are or how good you are no you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes s so with those things in mind I will move to the table and if the brothers would come up okay I'm going to read the section concerning the breaking of the bread and then the Brothers actually brothers pass out the bread and then I'll read that section that's the way we do it and then we'll sing while they do that number 450 450 please be uh remain seated [Music] I my S your heart till the St of to the my soul [Music] my Al still all my the I might sh all we are PR fall the is I am all rightous of full of true is prise to God all my S the stre take of my [Music] heart so Matthew 26 beginning in verse 26 and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our gracious God it is a blessed privilege to sing Jesus Lover of My Soul we know the Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life for the Sheep he gave us life and and that abundantly and we rejoice in your loving kindness the Apostle tells us to think through this love to be scholars in Christ's School of love so God help us to to get our minds as far as we're able wrapped around these things may it steady us may it stabilize us may it give us that impetus to persevere in the midst of hardship and affliction and trial may we be ever conformed unto the image of your beloved Son we know the son learned obedience through suffering certainly that's going to be the lot for his sons by grace and adoption we thank you for this time together as a church we thank you for this communion of the Saints and we pray for your blessing now as we eat this bread and we pray through Christ Our Lord amen we can turn to number 340 in your hym books while the brothers pass out the the the wine the Wine's in the inner right the wine is in the center part of the plate and juice is in the outer ring but we'll sing number 340 please remain seated while we sing with all their Lo all their all to s my S was [Music] my my your s my my S theam has my and shall shall [Music] be love might shall be [Music] sing for the I the my my the preious BL shall all the of Church of God to S he sa to S the he sa toome Church to sing continuing in verse 27 we read then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives let us pray our gracious God and Father we know that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin but it certainly pointed it for pointed us forward to that that reality of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world we thank you for what he has accom accomplished on our behalf we know without the shedding of blood there is no remission and lo and behold you provided your son your only begotten son who did what we could never do and as we sang It's a Wonderful Prospect the thought of sinning no more and yet that time is not yet so give us Grace as we persevere give us the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit to resist those Temptations and sins that often beset us and give us Grace to live in light of the Glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we pray in his Most Blessed name amen well as they went to sing A Hymn it was probably or could could have been Psalm 117 so we will open to Psalm 117 and we'll stand as we sing this praise to our blessed God 117b as in bravo sing his prise for is TR forever and his is he is he is faithful hallelu praise the Lord now may the God of Peace who brought up our lord Jesus from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the Everlasting Covenant make you complete in every good work to do his will working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation e e e e e