Image: "Unlikely Mixture", 2020, Severna Park, Md
Psalm 114:7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob,
Psalm 115:1 1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, But to Your name give glory, Because of Your mercy, Because of Your truth.
Psalm 116:3 The pains of death surrounded me, And the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.
Psalm 116:8–9 8 For You have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, And my feet from falling. 9 I will walk before the LORD In the land of the living.
Psalm 118:22–23 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This was the LORD’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes.
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It seems providential that today's reading includes Psalm 116 & 118 which, along with a couple of others, are so clearly Messianic. Verse 118:22 ("cornerstone") is quoted often in the NT and is always applied to Jesus. Psalm 116 is a song of rejoicing for deliverance from death that leads to worship before the LORD in the "presence of all His people (vs. 114, 118) which immediately brings to mind the triumphal singing of our Christ spoken of in Heb. 2:12-13. How can we not think about Good Friday when the Holy Spirit moves us so powerfully through these words.
When we modern Americans think of Jesus' crucifixion I think we over emphasize the idea of "victimhood." We tend toward an abundance of pity... as if His Presence there was unjust, .... that He was helpless and abused. I am not even hinting that we should approach the cross with a clinical detachment. The cross should bring us to our knees... it should rip our proud hearts asunder... there should be tears in our eyes and impulsive groans escaping our lips. Everything about the cross should arouse deep emotions. But we must guard against "trivial" emotions... emotions that bubble and churn on the surface but do not work gut-wrenching change in our souls. It is this latter type of emotions that God desires.
Psalm 114, speaking of another of God's great works, called out: "Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the god of Jacob." The context for that verse was judgment. When God reveals His mighty hand in judgment it is right and proper for all creation to tremble and shake. So it was on that dark afternoon at Golgotha as darkness covered the land and an earthquake shook the foundations of the temple. This is what should shake us also. The cross was God's judgment... powerfully displayed... violently administered... deeply felt and entirely righteous. On that cross God showered down the full impact of Hell on His Son for the particular sins of His particular people. If you read these words and in your mind's eye you look up at Jesus on that cross, then know for certain, if Jesus is your Lord then every agony of His soul was administered for YOUR sin. Here is the right emotion. When we look with horror on His suffering and cannot escape the thought: "He is suffering for MY sin." Now that is an emotion that will crunch your heart when it really hits home.
Another emotion surfaces when the inevitable question springs to our mind: "Lord, why?... why did it have to be this way?" and Psalm 115:1 helps there. "Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but to Your name give glory..." In our mind's eye let's think of Jesus looking down on us... there is pity in His eyes but not for Himself, but for us. He answers our question with the same thoughts that He prayed in the Garden (John 17:1-4): "It had to be this way for Me to glorify My Father and for Him to glorify Me!" God is glorified in the just and righteous salvation of sinners. For them to be saved their sins must be punished. God cannot do otherwise. Therefore, O Sinner, know that there was no other way. Your sins demanded eternal death and Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, paid off that demand in His very own Person. Here we have another gut-wrenching emotion: the combined effects of horror at what we deserve, the extent of anguish it brought on our Substitute and broken hearted gratitude that He did it.... for us!
And then it was over. The debt was paid. He lifted His head and cried out "It is finished" and it was. There no longer remained any punishment to be born nor any debt to be paid in the accounts of His children. They were completely marked through and stamped "paid." With that He was taken from that cross and laid in a cold dark tomb. "The pains of death surrounded me, the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me..." (116:3) Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God was dead! Yes... really dead. Dead in the tomb dead. Stone cold dead. It was not some self-induced coma... nor some near death experience. Jesus died and let no man dare blaspheme otherwise.
But it was not the death of hopelessness. Psalm 116 prophesied that His soul would be delivered from death... His eyes from tears ... and that He would walk again "before the LORD in the land of the living." This was a precious time for Jesus. He went through the portal of human death, something no pagan had ever conceived as possible for an eternal god. Jesus experienced death for us... even death on a cross... and He drank that cup right down to the dregs. But His was a death of hope... and for that reason gives us hope in death also. For (118:15) "precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints."
So, as we, in our mind's eye, stand before the cross let us certainly have the closing image be that it is empty. He is "not there" anymore. He is no longer the Suffering Servant... but the fullness of that joy is reserved for Easter Morning.
Have a blessed Good Friday!
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