In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the profound tragedy of Jesus' cry on the cross and the forsakenness he experienced. The sermon highlights the depth of human sorrow and the eternal significance of the cross. The preacher also discusses the connection between the riches of God's grace and the representation of grace in Solomon. Ultimately, the sermon calls for a renewed focus on the cross and a deeper understanding of the grace demonstrated through Jesus' sacrifice.

Lord, thou who readest all hearts knows how reticent we are to add words. Thou hast spoken, and thou hast spoken more than we can carry out in a lifetime. Why more? And so our need is very real, great. A matter now of capacity, God-given, to receive, to be able to receive. O Lord, help us at this time, in this very real need, to speak, to hear, to further prophesy, grant us this help. O Lord, grant us thy help at this time. For thy name's sake, amen. We remind ourselves of the words which are governing our gathering together at this time, from the letter to the Ephesians. Chapter 1, verse 8, the phrase, The Unsearchable Riches of Christ. The last clause of what we said yesterday morning was we are going to be occupied with some of the unsearchable riches of Christ. Probably you know that in this letter, where these words are found, that what riches is related to quite a number of things. The riches of his grace. The riches of his glory. The riches of his wisdom. The riches of his inheritance in the faith. The riches of full assurance of understanding. So on. It is a vast land, full of mines of wealth. Wealth of all these times. We shall never exhaust that, though we stayed here a very long time. But we just go on as the Lord enables. And this morning we take up again what was before us to our brother last evening, only perhaps to present it in a little different way, not to improve upon it by any means. St. John will add two, but it seems the Lord wants to underline this. The first of these connections. The riches of his grace. That is in the seventh verse, as you notice, of the first chapter of the letter. Now to help us in this occupation, we are going to take our position at the summit of Old Testament fullness. That summit was reached, as you know, with Solomon. I would like just that you should look at one or two fragments in the first book of the Chronicles. First book of the Chronicles, chapter 28. And David assembled all the princes of Israel. The princes of the tribe, the captains of the companies that served the king by force, and the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, and the rulers over all the substance and possessions of the king and of his sons, with the officers and the mighty men, even all the mighty men of valor, unto Jerusalem. Then David the king stood up upon his feet and said, Hear me, my brethren and my people. As for me, it was in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God. And I had made ready for the building. But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build a house for my name, because thou art a man of war and hast shed blood. Howbeit, the Lord, the God of Israel, chose me out of all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever. For he hath chosen Judah to be prince. And in the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, he took pleasure in me to make me king over all Israel. And of all my sons, for the Lord hath given me many sons, he hath chosen Solomon, my son, to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. And he said unto me, Solomon, thy son, he shall build my house and my court, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. Chapter 29, verse 25, And then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord. In the second book of the Chronicles, chapter 1, And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. We have said that the summit of Old Testament fullness of glory was reached in Solomon. And we shall find that Solomon will lead us to Christ, and then Solomon will be a Christian, far out of view when the greater than Solomon is here. Solomon's wealth and wisdom and glory and heritage are, of course, proverbial and fabulous, renowned and farfetched. He does represent the zenith of kingship and glory in the Old Testament. Jesus himself acknowledged the greatness of Solomon on two occasions. Do you remember? He pointed to the flowers of the field and said, Consider the lilies. They oil not, neither do they sting. Yet Solomon in all his glory is not afraid like one of these. Solomon in all his glory, it was proverbial. Even in those days when Jesus himself acknowledged it. On another occasion he said, The queen of the south shall rise up in judgment against this generation. For a king came from a far country to Solomon to consult him concerning his wisdom with her hard questions, acknowledging the great place that Solomon had in the world of wisdom. But then Jesus added, after death, Solomon in all his glory, Solomon in all his wisdom, but a greater than Solomon is here. Solomon came when Jesus, the unsearchable, riches of Christ. We have then to consider how in these various respects Jesus is greater than Solomon. One thing that we have been saying and that is in our hearts about this time together is our great need of a new apprehension of the Lord Jesus to adjust everything for us. But there are two preliminary matters before we can proceed with matters. Why did God magnify Solomon? For it says the Lord magnified Solomon above all that have been before him. The Lord endowed upon Solomon this fabulous, proverbial richness of wealth, dominion, and wisdom. Why did he do it? You had that explained to you already this morning. God from eternity has only one person and that person was not Solomon, or any other one but his son. And if the Lord so magnified Solomon it was to bring his son the still greater into view through the greatest thing that he could do here on this earth to lead on to the much greater of the heavens. God had his son in view the other one, the greater than Solomon and that's why he did it. We, Solomon, had known him, saved him, and raised him up. We saw that, really saw that all these tragedies of which we have been reminded mistakes and blunders that we make that Solomon did later they would be obvious if this one, this only one were ever filling our vision. All the wonderful things that God said seemingly about Solomon and we have no time to look at them could never possibly have been fulfilled in Solomon himself quite beyond Solomon. God was reaching beyond this man in the things that he said seemingly about him and to him. And you have to pick up your New Testament in order to discover that that was true. Well, we may come on that as we go on but the point is we must not see Solomon as just the end in himself. We must look through him to another and see God in his poverty magnified and glorified this Solomon only with another one in view that in the long run we should stand aghast when we see that greater than Solomon greater than the greatest that God has ever done on his earth. Another thing we must remember in this preliminary consideration is that Solomon was not really himself. That sounds strange and a sort of mysterious to me I don't know what you mean. Well, I mean this Solomon was his father David. Solomon was the fullness of his father David. And you can never see Solomon without seeing David. That is, it was not so much the power as the significance of the person that is present in contemplating Solomon. When you turn to the New Testament Solomon is only referred to at most a half a dozen times almost in a casual way. But in the New Testament you will find David referred to in a very positive way over thirty times. The father eclipses the son. The son is thus the fullness of the father. That's a statement that you must dwell upon, of course, to verify. You open your New Testament with the first book, the Gospel by Matthew and you find you haven't read a few words before you're on Solomon, on David. David comes there in that place of priority right at the beginning of your New Testament. You go through your New Testament and I have said more than thirty times you'll find yourself with David and right at the last book the twenty-second chapter of the book of the Regulations David crops up again. This man is something very wonderful very full, has a very large plate and there is one clause in Isaiah 55 and repeated in the New Testament which defines David the sure masses of David Oh, to be able to plumb the depths of that but even this morning we shall see a little of that the sure masses of David all that pertains to Solomon was the sure masses of David that brings us to the first of the greatnesses the first of the unsearchable riches that's right the first in his region and everywhere and always the riches of his beauty the riches of his grace as conveyed to us by Solomon hmm having seen the great eminence of glory, of wealth, of wisdom to which God brought this man Solomon we have to look to see where it all began where did all that begin and there is a very dark background indeed to Solomon's birth and Solomon's life a dark background we have said that Solomon was the fullness of his father David Solomon was the son of David's old age Solomon was not the oldest son we've read, God has given me many sons we know so long we know so long and one in particular, Absalom Solomon was the son of David's old age and it was an old age full of shadows shadows of tragedy of sorrow of great mistake Solomon was related to the dark clouds in David's life we know the story the story of David's great sin the sin with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah David relaxing wrongly when kings go out to battle at the time when kings go out to battle he went up onto the housetop there are relaxations which are very dangerous and from the housetop he aspired that beautiful woman Bathsheba and coveted Bathsheba his passion grew and he said, I must have her and passion is a very, very fertile thing, you know in evil and so he came to get her you know the rest of the story how he planned, plotted to get her husband Uriah in the forefront of the battle and then told the other fighters to retire and leave him alone to the enemies which they did for Uriah was left and sleep according to David's pre-constellation and they came back to David and told him it succeeded Uriah is dead and David said to Bathsheba and the child born of that iniquity union by God and language ordained and then died and Nathan the prophet went to David with a message from God and wrapped it up in a parable about something that happened in the city and he painted it in such lurid pictures that David all rose in anger in wrath fiercely and he said that man who has done such a thing shall die Nathan's family died Nathan brought home the accusation the judgment of God in a smashing crushing blow that that is thou shalt not die you see the point of that in a moment but thou shalt not die the death and the greatness of David him is seen in those terrible confessions heart brokenness we've got to look from our touch here and there with this in Psalm 32 we have a bit of it verse 5 I acknowledge my sin unto thee unto mine iniquity have I not hid I said I will confess my transgression unto the Lord leave it there for a minute Psalm 38 verse 18 for I will declare mine iniquity I will be hurry for mine sin and then a whole psalm Psalm 51 one of the most terrible bits of literature in existence 51 have mercy what is the heading of this psalm a psalm of David when Nathan the prophet came unto him after he had gone into Bathsheba have mercy upon me O God according to thy loving kindness according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgression wash me truly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin for I acknowledge my transgression and my sin is ever before me against thee thee only have I sinned and done that which is evil in thy sight so the whole psalm which we will not read but one fragment deliver me O God from blood guilty here we are brokenhearted penitent standing at God's tribunal pleading for mercy full of self condemnation a conscience tamed tamed and God's faithful desolation Christ restore unto me the joy of thy mercy upon me and he has sinned the sin which put him beyond the pale of the virtue of all the Levitical sacrifices you read the sacrifices and the conditions they do not cover this they make no provision for this even the cities of rescue provided for the man there would not take him daily because the man there who found refuge there was a man who had caused someone to die inadvertently without premeditation by accident all right this provision for him a man who premeditated schemes brought about the city of refuge has no concern no sacrifices provided for him therefore in this Psalm 51 David says sacrifice and after him and burnt off since thou desirest not no good I haven't any and out of the pale of all the sacrifices and their virtues without duty by premeditation by premeditation oh how far this man has gone how great was his culpability no wonder his conscience makes him cry out like this you are a death murder it is by the Levitical the little innocent baby lies at his door what are you going to do with that what are you going to do with a man like that what are you going to do with a thing like that outside the pale of all God prescribing what answer have we got to this how can this man escape how can glory be the end only one answer and there is an answer great goes beyond all limits David is the greatest Old Testament example of pardon so great remember that that's why he is brought into view so much and that is the meaning the pure mercy of David of David his unsearchable of his and pardon gathers into himself all that meaning of divine grace what grace can do in relation to a situation like that how glory glory can follow grace the glory of his grace is a phrase isn't it glory my heart beats how you are can there be anything greater a greater demonstration of grace than that towards David represented in a temporal way in Solomon underlined Edward can there be anything greater than that is there greater grace than that represented by Solomon oh yes a greater than Solomon is here as son of man God came God's son came into the inky darkness and blackness of the sin of the whole race not of one man bore the judgment of that sin upon the whole race and brought God infinitely to the world to the world look again at that cross on Calvary's hill take another look and listen listen to death bitter heart broken cry early early lama sabaton my God quiet forsaken me a word embracing all time and eternity forsaken David may have tasted something of death of one man dear friends when you look at that cross and hear that cry you touch the deepest deepest depth of human tragedy that is that the race but for the grace of God is God forsaken eternal if you have ever tasted a deep deep within the compass of human capacity you know that in that hour of darkness it's like an eternity it isn't momentarily it's like an eternity seems that everything forever has been touched in the moment when Jesus cried he touched the eternity of man's destiny in or outside of God forsaken forsaken that cry with that word forsaken is the measure of human depravity we have yet to feel the tremendous impact of the cross in this sense that if Jesus if Jesus had not gone there for us we are eternally forsaken of God faith of God is on the way blackness and darkness of eternal doom rests upon the race but for the cross of Jesus Christ what he has done there forsaken forsaken have you ever tasted the slightest the slightest drop of death oh yes it's possible even now Christian life spiritual life I can bet that there have been times when I've wondered if the Lord's gone out of my universe he really was alive yes but he hadn't forgotten me I have tried has the Lord forgotten to be gracious as though the Lord was gone gone, can't find him I pray but I can't touch him and a little experience like that it isn't God forsaken thank God it never is for he said I never will forsake you but a little consciousness of the remoteness of the Lord from us is the last period of tragedy in our lives oh it's the most awful you have to go for a little while without the realization of the Lord be groping for the Lord and not finding him like Joe a righteous man I go on the right hand he's not there on the left he's not there I go forward he's not there oh that I knew where I might find him have you had any experience at all like this I don't want you to have it if you haven't don't covet it but some of you may just know a day or a few days oh where is the Lord where is the Lord it may be the Lord lets us know something like that to bring us into the fellowship of his covenant make us understand how great a thing he has done for us for the Lord does not believe in theories and doctrines the Lord is very practical experience is his he will teach us he will teach us in that heaviness yet a greater than Solomon or David is here that's his he is he came he touched the deepest depths of human disparities which are found in that word forsaken forsaken anybody who doesn't believe in the depravity of human nature and the total depravity has not yet seen the cross of the Lord in us there on the one side he has reached the deepest point of human tragedy that is man forsaken but for Christ that is it great what a word this is what a word this is, Solomon in all his glory is born out of that hell iniquity, judgment outside of the pale of Leviticus all his glory comes out of that oh great what is good there say about it what word is there to explain only this word great we'll go round that word for all time and all eternity Dr. J. Jarrett who was one of the greatest teachers of the last century said this there is a word I have wrestled with so much no word with which I have wrestled more than great it is like expressing a great American forest in a word no phrase can express the meaning of great great is more than mercy it is more than tender mercy it is more than a multitude of tender mercy great is more than love it is more than innocent love great is holy love but it is holy love in spontaneous going out in eager quest towards the unholy and the unlovely it is the ministry of a great to redeem the unholy and the unlovely into the beauty of God the grace of God is holy love on the moon to thee and to me and the like of me and thee is God unmerited undeserved going out toward the children of men that he might win them into the glory and brightness of his own likeness well that's an attempt an attempt to define this word great are we nay was not Paul right in speaking of the unsustainable of grace and Paul knew what he was talking about as we were reminded last night of the back glance of this I'm not worthy said he to be called an apostle I trusted to teach it and on his knees before the Lord and the Lord was showing him his grace and his mercies that Lord when your servant Jesus was martyred I was there giving myself up what ground have I what ground have I to be anything at all my hands were taped with blood soaked in blood all premeditated designed and enacted with terrific how dare I look up into your eyes and be a disciple a child of God there is nothing of being but unto me who am less than the least of all things was this grace to preach among the nations the unsustainable which is if you can't comprehend may the Lord register the impression how easily with satire words do we repeat the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in which he O Lord challenged us with that word lift us with that word save us with that word can we dare can we dare to say glorify that word O if all the words are forgotten our human effort to convey fail entirely is in vain leave me a second grace of God is indeed the greatest thing in this universe for humans such as we are we commit it to thee O give us glory in thy for thy name's peace