In this sermon, the speaker reflects on the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the cross. He emphasizes the rejection Jesus faced from those He came to save and the excruciating pain He endured, particularly through the piercing of His hands and feet. The speaker highlights the importance of meditating on these sufferings to promote worship and adoration for Jesus. He also emphasizes the need for believers to approach God with clear hearts, confessing all sin, in order to be true worshipers.

Received as much of a blessing as I have, just being able to be with the Lord's people and to have our attention focused right on the person of the Lord Jesus. It just seemed like we started off tonight, all these hymns that we were singing, again, they seemed to just center in the person of Christ and his cross and the suffering and I'm delighted that I've been able to grow some in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. In the years I've been saved, I have a greater capacity, I guess is the word, for spiritual things. Initially, I didn't have too much interest, but growing in the Lord and developing that appreciation of the person of Christ, that's all important. If you're going to enjoy your salvation, if you're going to enjoy the things of God, it is just essential that you have some growth. And your capacity, your interest in the things of God, it expands along with the years as they go by. You've heard someone say, I'll tell you, I was so delighted in the Lord and was just enjoying what was happening so much, I just felt like if anything else happened, I'd just bust open. And you hear things like that sometimes, and I can relate to that. Because there have been times when we were singing and we were gathered together and the prayers and everything. I said, if it gets any better than this, I can't stand it. But it's wonderful to have a day like that. And this certainly seems to have been one of those days. And it's a special day honoring Mother. And mothers are just great. That's all there is to it. Mothers are great. We all have a mother. And I've thought about mine today. I lost my mother when I was just a young boy. And my brother never recovered from that. He was only nine years old when my mother died, and just the two of us. And his dear daughter told me after he died down in New Orleans that he confided in her and he said, the sorrow that I felt over the loss of our mother, I never really recovered from it. I remember something. This is rather touching for me, but we'd always pinned on the red rose on Mother's Day. And that first year after Mama had died, we put a white rose on, which indicated that our mother had died. He just broke down and wept. I tried to console him. I had to be strong for him, although my heart was broken, too. But mothers are wonderful. Have a good mother. Have one that loves you. And we ought to tell them, if they're still around, that you love them. So that's wonderful. That's very personal, but that's my thoughts about this Lord's Day. But we came tonight to open the scriptures again, and my attention has been focused on Psalm 22. Psalm 22. Now, there are 14 messianic psalms, and this one seems to me to be the one that it just focuses in on the things that we've been thinking about today, about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and his suffering. Someone has described this, I think it was Brother Scroggie, in reading some of his material on this. He likens those first 21 verses of Psalm 22 to the sobs. This is concerned with the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. The last verses from 22, down to the crows, is of a song, the glory of the wonderful victory that was won, and all of the associated glory with what was accomplished through this death of our Lord Jesus Christ. So I don't think we'll get through this psalm. In fact, I had it divided up into those two sections, and I'm just planning to go with these first 21 verses, and I'll see how far we get, but let's read the first 21 verses, and then we'll make some comments. These are familiar words. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And why are you so far from helping me? And from the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not hear, And in the night season, and am not silent. But you are holy, who inhabit the praises 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 despise of the people. All those who see me laugh me to scorn. 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 when I was on my mother's breast. 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 Bashan have encircled me. They gape at me with their mouths as 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 has melted within me. My strength is dried up like a patchwood, and my tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. The assembly of the wicked has enclosed me. They pierce 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 locks. But you, O Lord, do not be far from me. O my strength, hasten to help me. Deliver me from the sword. My precious life from the power of the dogs. Save me from the lion's mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen. You have answered me. Shall we just look to the Lord again in a word of prayer? Our Heavenly Father, these are such moving words that we have read. We certainly identify with what we have read because it is well recorded in the Gospels, the word of God that you have given to us, that these conditions and these circumstances are so accurate. And yet this was prophetically spoken long before our blessed Lord appeared upon the scene. It does indeed move our hearts and souls to a fresh remembrance that indeed the divine plan and purposes of God were carried out, and carried out so perfectly. We are so thankful that there was one that thought to do nothing but your will, thy will be done. We are so thankful that he has provided for us all that is needed for the salvation of our souls. And we are aware today, because of many things we have heard and things that have been impressed upon our hearts by the Spirit of God, that it was at such great cost that you purchased us. You purchased us at the price of the sufferings of the Son of God, under the wrath and the judgment of God for our sins. And we indeed today have been true worshipers of thee, Lord. The Spirit of God has moved us to worship and praise the Lord Jesus Christ. Grant, we pray thee tonight that we shall be able to glean something from what we have read, and any comments that are made, they will be those that honor the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and just further help each one of us to a deeper appreciation of what he did for us. It is in his precious name we ask this. Amen. Well, there are 14 of these Messianic psalms, and in this one there is a cry that came forth at the end of those last 3 hours upon the cross. That's what this is all about, prophetically. The title of this is the Psalm of the Cross, and some have identified David as being the one that this psalm speaks of. But there is nothing really to even justify that, as far as I'm concerned, and I've read a number of commentaries. They all agree this is a psalm, this is a Messianic psalm, this is a psalm all about the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. David never had this experience. In fact, I feel like I'm safe in saying no man ever had this experience that we've read about here tonight. That's why it's so moving, that's why it just sinks down deep within your soul, and it causes you afresh to just look up and be aware of how wonderful God is in dealing with us by his grace. So this is a cry that came forth in those 3 dark hours of darkness on the cross, and there have been so many references today to the cross. The first 3 verses that we read, and those are familiar words because that's a direct quote from what our Lord said, hanging upon the cross, "'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Well, this, of course, is the blessed, holy Lamb of God being made sin for us, the one that knew no sin. This is what we have in 2 Corinthians 5.21, the one that knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And, brother and sister, we couldn't get it any other way. There was no other way. I'll tell you, sometimes I feel such a sense of helplessness in talking to some of these people that talk about working their way to heaven, depending upon something else for the salvation of their souls. I just want to tell them, wake up! Please, wake up! Not by works of righteousness, which we have done. The best thing you ever did is no better than filthy rags in the sight of God. Why don't you wake up? Satan has you blinded to the wonderful truth that the Son of God, God's only begotten Son, died on a cross. He was made sin. He felt the judgment and the wrath of God for our sin upon the cross. That's how we procured our salvation. That's God's plan. That's the way he did it. And it's a free gift. And you just have to come as a poor, lost sinner and say, I don't have anything in my hand. I couldn't bring you anything. I haven't got anything. I would be ashamed to offer anything that I put on the same level as having that kind of importance as far as procuring salvation. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by me. Oh, to have souls moved, not only the Spirit of God can do that, but when he does it, he captivates your heart and he makes you aware that indeed he is the way and the only way. So here we have in this cry that goes up in these first three verses, when you sense that feeling of remoteness, those are dark hours upon the cross. The Son of God is hanging there. He has been rejected by his own. The very one that he came to save has rejected him. They have declared, we will not have this man to rule over us. Isn't that a sad picture? And we think about the nation of Israel today, still living in spiritual darkness. They still cry out to Jehovah, God, but they won't accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah and as God manifest in flesh. God has visited us. Oh, how wonderful it is to be enlightened to these things. We ought to just sometimes jump up and down and give thanks to God. Oh, Lord, I am humbled in your presence that you would ever single me out and reveal these things to me and help me to understand what a wonderful thing you have done in providing salvation when there are so many illustrious people in the world, people of great prominence, and they still live in spiritual darkness. That little nation of Israel over there, surrounded by all of those hostile forces, and they are still rejecting their Messiah. They are still rejecting the Lord Jesus. Thank God there is going to be a day coming when they will recognize and accept him. What a wonderful day that will be. But what he did upon the cross, as you think about it, and that's what we do so often here on the Lord's Day around the communion table. We are recognizing that what he did, it meets every righteous demand that a holy, righteous God demanded for the penalty, paying the penalty for my sin. He meets every requirement. Look, search through the scriptures. He meets every divine requirement for righteousness. That's what it is when you accept him and the value of what he did, that righteousness that's put to your account. I tell you, brother, that is something wonderful for the soul to meditate upon and think about the righteousness of God, that holy, righteous God. The righteousness that he recognizes, the righteousness that he values has been put to my account. And we may look upon ourselves as just being small, insignificant. Nobody is in this vast world in which we live, certainly in this vast universe. And yet he has done this for us. Isn't he a wonderful God? Amen. Isn't he a wonderful Savior, the Lord Jesus? Yes, he is. And he did it, he did it to save our souls. He carried out the will of the Father perfectly on behalf of poor sinners. I think about what he experienced in being abandoned. Remember the wonderful, holy, divine communion and fellowship that were enjoyed by the Father and the Son. That had remained unbroken through all of the time, those 30-some years that he spent here upon the face of the earth. But now something has happened. He has been abandoned. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This is the greatest hour of need that has ever been experienced, and now you have abandoned me. Those thoughts remind us again of what it cost to bring this salvation to you and me. It may be free, brother, but it's not cheap. Don't you ever think for a moment that the salvation of God is something that's cheap? How wonderful it is to think that he values our souls and our personal welfare so much that he would do this for us. He did it for poor sinners, abandoned by God, who is a purer eye than to behold evil. I read that verse in Habakkuk 113, and that's why he was abandoned. You see, he became that sin offering for us, that sin offering, the one that was to bear the penalty of our sin. That's what he became for us. And a holy, righteous God could not look upon that which was being subjected to his wrath and judgment because of our sin. The great sin bearer, God laid on him the iniquity of all of us. My sin, your sin. Think about that accumulation of the sin of the whole world laid upon him. One man will pay the penalty for his own sin if he rejects the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about what he pays for being a rebel sinner and rejecting God's offer of salvation. Think what he pays for that. Eternity separated from God. He's making payment for his own sin. God's judgment and wrath have fallen upon him when he could have accepted the value of what Christ did upon the cross. He could have escaped all of this. He could have been accepted into the very presence of God and had the righteousness of God put to his account. God abandoned his own son. Our Lord provides the answer to that. It's found in that third verse. But you are holy. No sin can come into the presence of this holy God that we worship, the one that created all things. No sin can come into his presence. And our Lord knew this. You are holy. He justifies God in deserting him. That's what it amounts to. You are holy. And I know because for this hour came I into the world when I would become this offering for sin. I would pay this great penalty for the sins of all mankind. I know this. I perceive why all of this is taking place. He and he alone could perceive that. It seems in the minds of those, if we begin to rationalize all of this, that's not fair. That's not fair. This holy, sinless person, well, he willingly did this for us. For we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich he became poor, that we through his poverty might have our lives enriched. Oh, brother and sister in Christ, what he did for us. There's just no way you can measure the value of what he has done for us. We will escape the judgment and wrath of God. But here he justifies that terrible desertion, abandoned by his heavenly Father. Communion and fellowship are shut off. There is no fellowship and communion between him and the Father. That sweet communion and fellowship has been terminated while he has become the offering for sin. And a holy, righteous God, he cannot behold evil. But here in verses 4 through 8, we have that comparison of Christ's sufferings with that of others. There have been cries for deliverance in the past among the Lord's people, but they received deliverance, but not for him. There is no deliverance. It almost seems that God is taking sides with his tormentors, but still there is no other way. When we read these verses and we think about these things, it has such an impact upon your soul. He trusted in the Lord. Let him rescue him. That was one of those taunting cries that went up to him as he hung there upon the cross. You trust in God? Can't you just visualize that mob around the cross and those taunting cries going up? Let God rescue him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him. You see, the darkness that grips the hearts and souls of those that have no enlightenment as to what this is all about. Isn't it wonderful to know what this is all about? To think that one day we could have read through this psalm and it wouldn't mean a thing to you. Brother, you have to be born again. You have to have spiritual enlightenment. You need spiritual help to get hold of these things. Thank God tonight we can get hold of it. Thank God it can move our souls afresh to praise and to worship the Son of God. That's what happens when we come together. We come together in his name, to his person. And the Spirit of God wants to have freedom in drawing our hearts and souls out to him. Let him deliver him since he delights in him. Delight thyself in the Lord, he will give you the desires of your heart. Well, here's one that delighted himself in the Lord continually, unbroken fellowship and communion, and yet there's no help for him in this great time of need. But verses 9 through 11 said, But you are he who took me out of the womb. He turns again to God. You made me trust when I was on my mother's breast. From his birth there's been unbroken fellowship and communion. His only desire was to do the will of him that sent him, and now he provides no help for him. He suffered and died alone. If you'd have been there, no matter how great your devotion and love for him, you couldn't have helped him one iota. You couldn't help him. No one could help him. When we realize what is at stake here, if we are to have God's salvation, this must become a fact. This must become an experience that the Son of God, the one, the sinless one, will be made sin for us. It had to become a fact. It had to take place. When I read about there were twelve legions of angels just hovering there, at his beck and call, he could have said, Enough! Enough! The price is too great. I'm not willing to pay that price. I will not allow this to go any further. He is God. I summon you. Abolish everything that is unpleasant here upon this thing. All of these that are arrayed against me, wipe them out. And I'm going back to heaven. I'm going to have the glory that was mine when I left. By right he could do that. By right he could do that. But isn't it wonderful that he went all the way? And that final cry, It is finished, tells me that all that God had expected and all that God wanted to be accomplished, it was accomplished. In and through that one person, the Lord Jesus Christ, he was the only one that could do it. Praise God, he did do it for us. He suffered and died alone. Now there's help for you and me. And I can tell others. We talked in this morning about mothers telling their children from the cradle up, there's a Savior that has come into the world. Oh, my dear son, daughter, I want you to know about that person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The lady told me this morning, her earliest reflections of anything about spiritual things was that her mother told her about the Lord Jesus Christ. How wonderful that was. She had never forgotten that. And that was the thing that we tried to impress upon those mothers that were here this morning. How can I help but love him when he loved me so? There's a song by that name. How could I help but love him when he loved me so? Verses 12 through 18, here we have the physical tortures of which he endured at the hands of men. These heartless enemies, there was not one show, not one indication that they wanted to alleviate the suffering that he was experiencing. And by now, believe me, what they could view of him was a picture of a dying man going through an experience that couldn't help but move the hardest heart and cause reflection to be made upon, oh, what suffering. They are likened to bulls and lions and wild dogs. You know, a bull has a lot of strength. They crush. So our blessed Lord had been crushed by the power and the authority of Rome, all those soldiers and those people that were there. A lion speaks of one that kills its prey and devours it on the spot. Cruel. No show of mercy, no pity. Wild dogs are characteristically, they travel in packs. And we think of that great multitude there, and they are out to get him. They want to see him eliminated. They want to see him discredited. When we think about the lion's mouth, I have to think about Satan. Remember, Peter said, Satan goes about as a roaring lion, seeking those that he might devour. When you look and remember a message, and many of you may recall it, a man by the name of Bill Patterson, years ago at the Gospel Center, he brought a message from Isaiah 53. He told us about all of those wounds and the type of wounds that were inflicted upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're here, our blessed Lord. Verse 14, disjointed bones, bones that are torn out of their sockets. If you've ever had a member of your body without a joint, it's a painful thing. It may just be a finger, but let it be a shoulder, let it be some other part of the body. And that can be a painful experience. When he says that my heart, within me, it was like wax. Heart frustration, that rapid pulsation of the heart. If you've ever seen an animal, I remember seeing some animals that were led to the slaughter, and they didn't do the job very effectively. And that animal's heart was just beating madly, frightened. Well, that's what happened to our Lord. Think of the thirst. Our thirst was one of the cries from the cross. Our thirst. Think about those pierced hands and feet. By now you know, in those vital areas where all of those nerves are, don't you know there was such excruciating pain there? Oh, this psalm, it grips your heart and soul and reminds you again of the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. Agony and pain. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Psalm 53. Isaiah 53. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. God laid upon him the iniquity of us all. I'm so thankful that the end did come to all of this. God answers his cries. He said, deliver me from the lion's mouth, and he did. You know, Satan couldn't touch him. God would not allow that. Satan could not touch the Lord Jesus Christ. I think it would be something that would be fresh in the memory of Satan that he was defeated decisively when he thought to bring temptation into the picture when he tempted the Lord Jesus. And our Lord said, it is written, it is written, it is written. And Satan left him. But Satan was there. He was there present in all of those that were tormenting the Son of God. He was that rallying force. He was that power so active in thinking that I will rid this whole world of this person who has been revealed as the Son of God. I will kill him. Little did he know. Little did he know. This was the day of his defeat. He defeated all the forces of evil. But because the holy and righteous Son of God, he paid the price that God demanded for our salvation. But now we can note, if we went in further into this psalm, that he who was alone in these first 21 verses, he is not alone in these last verses. If you read that from verse 22 to the end, you will discover that it is a great song of victory. And our meditation on this moving psalm is bound to produce in our own hearts, if you just reading it and going over it and thinking about these things, it is used by the Spirit of God to promote worship and adoration. And you are like Moses. You want to take your shoes off your feet. You want to reexamine your own soul and say, Lord, I just want to be sure that there is not one thing in my heart and soul that even smacks of sin. It is, I confess it. I confess it. I don't want anything to block me understanding, appreciating, and being able to take in all of this that promotes such worship and praise for the Son of God. Oh, beloved brother and sister in Christ, let's be true worshipers of God. He is a holy and a righteous God. We must approach him, and our souls must be clear of all sin. All sin must be confessed if you come into the presence of God. He will not respond where there is sin. If he would not presence himself there when his Son was being made sin for us, oh, think for just a moment. Do you think he would allow you with unconfessed sin in your life to come into his presence and defile everything that was holy and righteous? No, brother. No, brother. He is holy and righteous, and God wants us to be like him. He wants every one of us, every one of us, to be transformed into that likeness of his only begotten Son and be Christlike. Our Father in Heaven, we thank thee for the day, and we thank thee for the moments spent together, for every reflection upon the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, for every thought that the Spirit of God has been able to use to enrich and cause a greater appreciation to well up in our souls for him, the Lord Jesus. Thank you, Lord, thank you. Thank you for God's people here in this place tonight. And we ask your blessing upon them. And as children of God, have their hearts turned toward thee. May the Spirit of God, may he indeed do a work in each of our hearts and draw us out of these in fresh appreciation and love and worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in his name we pray. Amen.