[0:00] That is in Romans chapter 3. At verse 25. We may begin to take up the reading for the sake of the context at verse 23.
[0:13] Romans 3.23. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
[0:32] And now the text I want to look at briefly. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.
[0:45] To declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. Through the forbearance of God. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.
[1:07] There are two different ways of looking at the death of Christ. More than two.
[1:20] But of all the different views that you may collect. Concerning the death of Christ and its meaning. There really are just two.
[1:31] There are those who would have us believe that the death of Christ. Was an example of suffering to the world.
[1:45] Or that he was a martyr to a cause. These persons are bound to regard the death of Christ.
[1:57] As really a tragedy. That he came to do good to mankind. But that he was misunderstood.
[2:10] Misrepresented. And so. Instead of being victorious. He suffered martyrdom and death. In a good cause.
[2:22] Now there are many who have looked upon the death of Christ like that. And there are plenty of people. Educated. And uneducated.
[2:34] Who still look at the death of Christ. As tragedy. And as failure. And as sorrow. Indeed as misery. But that is the very reverse.
[2:49] Of the Bible's attitude to the death of Christ. In the eyes of scripture. Jesus' death.
[3:00] Is the central fact. Of all history. That it is the hinge. upon which the destiny of men and nations turns.
[3:14] That of all that God ever intended for this world. And all that God ever executed in this world. Nothing was ever more wonderful.
[3:25] Or more glorious. In its design and accomplishment. Than the cross. Or Christ. These two attitudes.
[3:37] Can be well summarized. In the attitude of Peter. To Jesus. When our Lord said to his disciples. He must go to Jerusalem.
[3:49] And be rejected of the scribes and Pharisees. And crucified. And the third day rise again. And Peter. Foolishly.
[4:00] Ignorantly. Turned to the Lord. You remember. And he said. That be far from the Lord. This shall not happen to thee. You see.
[4:12] He regarded. The death of Christ. As tragedy. As failure. As loss. As misery. As grief.
[4:25] And our Lord had to rebuke him. And say to him. Get thee behind me Satan. In other words. By telling him. He had not understood. The nature of his death.
[4:38] That if he had understood. The nature of his death. He would never use. Such expressions. As he had just used. That indeed. He was adopting. Satan's attitude.
[4:49] To the cross. And the world's. Attitude to the cross. Thou savorest not the things of God. But those things that be of men. Your theology of the cross.
[5:00] Says Jesus. By a paraphrase. Is the theology of men. Not the theology of scripture. Your understanding of my death.
[5:11] As tragedy. And as failure. Is blindness. Peter. Not spiritual illumination. Get thee behind me. Take away.
[5:22] That foolish attitude. To my death. Now in the passage. That I have read. And given as a text. That is Romans. Chapter 3. Verse 25.
[5:33] And that context. We see the true attitude. The Bible adopts everywhere. Towards the cross. Propitiation. And it is all summarized.
[5:45] In one word. And it is simply this one word. I look at today. It is the word. Propitiation. That's not an easy word.
[5:56] Because. We don't use it frequently. In common speech. Propitiation. Is not a word. That the man in the street. Understands.
[6:07] It is a technical term. And there are some people. Who would. Resent. The use of technical terms. In matters of religion. But you can't reduce.
[6:18] The things of God. All the time. To A. B. C. You have to have technical words. In all sciences. And the word of God.
[6:29] Is the queen of the sciences. That God has given to man. And it has its own technical vocabulary. And the word propitiation.
[6:39] Is one of the choices. The most important words. That God has given to us. As a key. To interpreting and understanding. The death of Jesus Christ.
[6:51] For us. Propitiation. In a word. We can define it like this. It is the turning. Away from man.
[7:02] Of the anger of God. It is. As though. The world was standing. Beneath a waterfall. And that waterfall.
[7:14] Was due to deluge. Like a cataclysm. The whole of mankind. Because of sin. Now Jesus is propitiation.
[7:26] Precisely because. He diverted the stream. Of the wrath. By standing himself. Under it. And so protecting the world.
[7:37] From it. He exposed himself. To the wrath. In order that we should not. Be exposed to it. He took it.
[7:47] He took it into his own breast. That we might ourselves. Be free. And scateless. I want therefore. This morning.
[7:58] To look at three points. With you. Briefly. First. I want to say. In what ways. Christ. Did not. Suffer.
[8:09] The wrath of God. God. Second. I want to say. How Jesus Christ. Suffered the wrath of God. In his own mind.
[8:20] Third. And last. I want to say. How Jesus suffered the wrath of God. In his. Body. And soul. Soul. And in this way.
[8:33] I hope to show you. A little. Because that's all we can ever hope to do. Just to get a glimpse. Of that little. That we are able to. Arrive at.
[8:44] Of what it means. That our savior. Bore the wrath of God. In becoming a propitiation. In order therefore.
[8:55] To clarify our thinking. I must begin. With a negative heading. The ways I say. In which Christ. Did not suffer. The wrath of God.
[9:05] There are many points. Of confusion. In the minds of men and women. About this matter. We must therefore. Seek a clearer. Definition. Of what we mean.
[9:16] When we say that Christ. Died. For sin. And became. The sin bearer. And the taker of wrath. Now first.
[9:27] Under this heading. Christ. Did not suffer. The wrath of God. In such. A way. That he himself.
[9:38] Was defiled. By the contact. He had with sin. Now this is a deep mystery. Jesus. Not only died.
[9:48] For sin. But Jesus. Was. Made. Sin. For us. He became. The very. Embodiment. Of sin.
[9:59] He became. Sin. Incarnate. So to speak. Using a figure. And you and I. Would think. That therefore. It would be proper.
[10:10] For us. To say. That in dying. For man. And bearing wrath. Christ. Became. Sinner. Now that is improper. That is. Illegitimate.
[10:21] Use of language. We must never. Suggest. That Jesus Christ. Became. A sinner. He came. As close.
[10:32] To being. A sinner. As it was. Possible. For him. To do. Without actually. Being defiled. By sin. He came. As close.
[10:44] To the sinner's. Place. As conceivable. Without. In the least degree. Ceasing. To be holy. Harmless. Undefiled.
[10:56] And separate. From sinners. That is a matter. Of great wonderment. In itself. I go on. Christ. Did not suffer.
[11:06] The wrath of God. In that. He did not suppose. That God was. Angry with him. Personally.
[11:16] Now you understand. What I mean. When I say that. There are some. Persons. And they have imagined. That Jesus Christ.
[11:27] Was confused. On the cross. That Jesus. Did not know. That God. Was not angry with him. There are persons.
[11:37] Who think. That when our Lord. Cried out. My God. My God. Why hast thou. Forsaken me. That our Lord. Is in a turmoil. And he could not.
[11:48] Very well. Sort out. The logic. Of his own thoughts. And they suppose. These persons. I refer to. That Jesus. Imagined. That God.
[11:58] Was angry. With him. Personally. On the cross. Now that is a mistake. Which we must be careful. To avoid. Our Lord. Knew.
[12:10] That God. Was not angry. With him. As an individual. He knew. That the suffering. He was undergoing. At the hand of God. Was an official.
[12:21] Suffering. It was. As a public. Representative. Of others. That it was. As a man. Set forth. To stand. For other men.
[12:33] That our Lord. Jesus Christ. Was suffering. That is the point. Which we must see. Clearly. In our Lord's mind. Son. Furthermore.
[12:44] Jesus. Knew. That God. Did not. Hate him. During that period. In which. God. Was smiting him. And striking him.
[12:54] And making his soul. And offering for sin. Now you will. Sometimes. Hear. Preachers. Suggest. If not. Explicitly. State. That Jesus Christ.
[13:05] Was. Hated by God. On the cross. When he bore. Our sin. The argument. Goes like this. God is holy. God. Must. Needs. Hate.
[13:16] Sin. Christ. Was. Made. Sin. And therefore. God. Hated Christ. Now that seems to be. A flawless argument. But it is incorrect. And I hope. None of us.
[13:26] Would ever imagine. For a moment. That God. The father. Would hate. His son. On the cross. That is.
[13:37] Entire. Misrepresentation. And misunderstanding. God the father. Never hated Christ. For an instant. And the proof of that is.
[13:48] That God. Only hates. Those. Who are justifiably. The object of his hatred. Now his only begotten son.
[13:58] His beloved son. Never came into the category of those. Who deserved hatred. The justice of God. To speak no higher than that. Would forbid that God.
[14:09] Should hate. His own son. And the proper way. Of understanding this. Matter therefore. Is to say. That God. Loved his son.
[14:21] And never more so. Than during that moment of time. Or that period of time rather. In which he was making his soul. An offering.
[14:31] For sin. Furthermore. Under these. Negative points. We must say. That Jesus Christ. Did not. Enter into physical death.
[14:44] Under the wrath of God. Now. That is something of great importance. To us to remember. When. Unbelievers.
[14:56] Die. They enter into wrath. The wrath of God. They enter into death. With the wrath of God. Upon them. And with the sentence of condemnation.
[15:09] Resting upon them. And with their sins. Imputed to them. But in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. This. Was not so.
[15:21] The sin that was reckoned to Christ. And imputed to Christ. On the cross. Not his own. Certainly. But ours. Involved him.
[15:32] In suffering. The penalty. But that penalty. Of the wrath of God. And the condemnation. Terminated.
[15:45] At the time. When he entered into physical death. Or to say the same thing. Another way round. When our Lord. When our Lord. Entered into physical death.
[15:56] He had already. Undergone spiritual death. And he had already. Exhausted the demands. Of the wrath of God. And of his justice.
[16:08] So that when he entered into death. Physical. He did not do so as a spirit. Or a man condemned. Had he done so. He must need to have paid.
[16:19] The further penalty. Of going to hell. Which of course. Our Lord did not do. And did not need to do. And explicitly tells us. He would not do. When he told the thief on the cross.
[16:29] This day. Thou shall be with me. In paradise. And I want just in a word. To point out further. As I come to the end.
[16:40] Of these negative points. It was not necessary. For Christ. For Christ. To bear the wrath of God. For the long duration.
[16:51] Of time. Now you see. How different. He is. In suffering. From. The damned. Wicked men.
[17:02] Who are damned of God. When they enter into eternity. They must suffer. For their sins. For an infinite.
[17:13] Period of time. They go on suffering. Throughout all. The eons. Of eternity. But in doing so.
[17:23] They can never. Come to an end. Of their punishment. Because the punishment. Of sin. Must be infinite. Sin. Is a sin. Against an infinite God.
[17:34] And an infinite evil. Can only be paid for. And punished for. By. The suffering. Of an infinite duration. Of punishment. But our Lord Jesus Christ.
[17:45] Was himself. An infinite person. Or a person. Of infinite value. And so. He is the great exception. To the need. For a sinner. Or a person. To whom sin.
[17:56] Is reckoned. To suffer. For an infinite. Period of time. Man. What happened. In his case. Was. That by suffering. For a short. Duration. On the cross.
[18:08] Because he was. God. The son. And of infinite value. By a short. Period and duration. Of suffering. He was able.
[18:18] Not simply. To pay. Some of the penalty. For sin. But all. The penalty. For sin. He was able. To exhaust. The claims. Of God's.
[18:29] Justice. Against. Mankind. He was able. To swallow. All our debts. And obligations. To divine law. And righteousness. He was able.
[18:39] To render. A complete. And absolutely. Perfect. Satisfaction. To God. The father. And therefore. That was done. By a. Suffering.
[18:50] Of limited. Duration. How different. That will be. From the sufferings. Of the damned. When they lead. This world. They must need.
[19:01] Suffer eternally. Because they are. Finite in value. And because their sins. Will rest upon them. Forever. And never be removed. Now I clarify then.
[19:14] In these different respects. That Jesus Christ. Did not suffer. The wrath of God. In these particular ways. In order now. Positively.
[19:25] To prepare the way. For my further two. Headings. Of brief. Headings. In order to try to show you. Now in what ways. Jesus Christ. Did. Bear the wrath of God.
[19:37] And you remember. Our method of understanding. And dividing the subject. Is this. First we shall see now. That Christ suffered. The wrath of God. In his mind. And then last.
[19:48] In his body. And in his soul. And in all these things. We see our Lord. Was made. A propitiation. He was standing.
[19:59] Under wrath. He was exposed. To damnation. And to the curse. And to the malediction. And displeasure of God.
[20:10] For our sake. So then. Christ suffering. In his mind. Now my friends. And brethren. Mental suffering.
[20:21] Is not. A myth. It is not. A nonsense. To talk about. Suffering. In your mind.
[20:34] We know very well. That to suffer in the body. Can be great torment. But let's not forget. That to suffer in our minds. Can also be.
[20:46] Equally great torment. And possibly. Even greater torment. At times. Than to suffer in the body. It's not only. In general hospitals.
[20:56] You see people. Racked with pain. But you see people. In mental hospitals. Also racked. With a different type of pain. Equally tragic. And equally poignant.
[21:08] So it all. Was with Christ. He not only. Suffered in the body. And in the soul. But he also suffered in the mind. I want to say.
[21:20] In what ways. This is true. Well first. Because. Of his anticipation. Now when trouble. Comes upon sinners. It comes.
[21:30] Usually without. Any anticipation. Let us imagine. For the sake of example. To clarify our point. That somebody in this.
[21:41] Building today. Has a dear one. And tomorrow. They're going to die. God forbid. It should be so. But it may be so. But you don't know. If it's so.
[21:53] But tomorrow. When it happens. According to my illustration. Then you will feel. The agony. Of the loss. A husband. A wife. A child. Or whoever. The loss.
[22:05] Will be. Deep. In your spirit. But you don't have. That sense of loss. Today. Because you do not know. That that loved one. Is going to die.
[22:17] But this is altogether. Different. With our Lord. He had the mental. Strain. Of anticipating. All his sufferings.
[22:28] Every one of them. Was known to him. In advance. Now we couldn't. Stand that. And God. In his goodness. Has not exposed us. To the sorrow.
[22:39] Of future events. Which providence. Has screened. From view. But providence. Did not screen. From view. The sufferings. Of Christ. He knew.
[22:49] These sufferings. From the Old Testament. We read. Of some of them. Today. And sang. Of others. Of them. Today. In the Psalms. 22. 69. Isaiah. 52. 53.
[23:00] And many. Another passage. Our Lord. Knew. These chapters. By heart. He sang. Some of them. In the synagogues. And in the temple. Of his day. He knew.
[23:10] That they referred. All of them. To him. And he had the strain. Therefore. Of mental anguish. As he looked. Steadily. For the realization.
[23:21] And fulfillment. Of every one of them. The things. Concerning me. Have an end. And a fulfillment. He said. That doesn't exhaust.
[23:33] This point. At all. Christ's. Mental anguish. Consisted also. In his realizing.
[23:44] That he was. To be. The one. Who would bear. Sin. That all. The wrath. Of God.
[23:54] Would be directed. At him. For our sin. He knew that. He understood that. He had to prepare. His mind. For that. All the types.
[24:06] And sacrifices. Of the Old Testament. Especially. The Paschal Lamb. Reminded him. Of the coming. Wrath.
[24:17] Which he would bear. Upon the cross. And that was. Mental. Anguish. For Christ. The nearer he came. To the cross.
[24:27] The more clearly. He saw. In his human nature. What damnation. Involved. We can see this. By reading the gospels. Carefully. Because. Early in his ministry.
[24:40] He refers. To his coming death. Without an overwhelming. Sense. Of their imminence. But when he gets. Close to Gethsemane.
[24:50] He begins to feel. The shadow. Of Calvary. Falling upon. His spirit. Now is my soul. Sore troubled. He says. On one occasion. On another occasion.
[25:03] He has to fall down. Upon his very face. Falling headlong. In the garden. Sweating drops. Of blood. Under the very. Prospect. Of being the sin.
[25:15] Bearer. And propitiation. So great. Were his thoughts. A trouble. To him. He was not suffering. Now. Yet. So much. In the body. Out in the mind.
[25:26] And his mental sufferings. Would have killed him. In the garden of Gethsemane. Had God not made. Already a provision. For him. And given him. Special grace.
[25:38] In answer. To his prayer. And an angel. Ministered to him. Also. Words of comfort. Adds to this.
[25:49] The fact that. Christ. Being so. Holy. Understood. The fearful. Nature. Of sin. Now.
[25:59] This is what. No sinner. In hell. Will ever know. Because. No sinner. In hell. Will ever know. The awfulness. Of sin. Sinners.
[26:10] And we're all sinners. But I mean. Those who go. Down into the eternal. Pits of darkness. Even when they're. Suffering. The wrath of God. Sinners. Will not understand.
[26:21] How awful. Sin is. To God. Because they don't know. What it is to be perfectly holy. Christ did. And as he was bearing sin.
[26:34] He was bearing that thing. Which above all things. Was most opposed. To his own nature. As the holy son of God. God. And he understood.
[26:45] The demerit of sin. And the defilement of sin. And the disgusting character of sin. In a way that we can never even begin. To dwell upon.
[26:57] Or to understand. Or to fathom. And that added greatly. To his own sufferings. In mind. And to that my dear friends.
[27:07] We must add this further point. That if that was not enough. Of mental suffering. We must bear in mind. That Christ also understood.
[27:19] That the one. Who was going to give the punishment. To him upon the cross. Was none other than. His dear father. Now it's one thing. To be punished.
[27:30] By Pontius Pilate. Who was an outsider. To him. It's one thing. To be scourged. By a Roman governor. Who was a godless man. It's one thing.
[27:41] To be mocked at. By King Herod's soldiers. Who spat upon him. And buffeted him. And smote him across the face. With a reed. And plucked off the hair.
[27:52] Of his beard. That's one thing. These men were outsiders to him. They were no part of his family. But what was so profoundly. Disturbing to the mind of Christ.
[28:03] Let us say. Was this. That the one. Who was going to place. The cup of damnation. In his hand. To drink from. Was his father. Whom he loved.
[28:15] His father. Whom he had served. And the thought. That receiving. Damnation. At his hand. That was the acme. That was the high points.
[28:26] Of all our Lord's. Mental anguish. That of all the beings. From whose hand. He might receive. This exquisite. Physical.
[28:37] And spiritual. Punishment. And torment. Was none other than. His father. Now that is not to deny. Of course. That he understood. That his father.
[28:48] Did this. In love to him. And in love to us. He knew all that. He understood. Why it was happening. He knew it was. For our salvation. He looked beyond the cross.
[29:02] To the consequences. It was for the joy. Set before him. In that he would have. A people in heaven. With himself. For eternity. All that is true. Let us never forget.
[29:13] That it was his own father. In whose bosom. He had dwelt. From eternity. Who was now. Mixing the cup. For him to drink.
[29:23] And you cannot. For a moment. Suppose. That that was anything. But profound. Mental. Agony. For our blessed. Savior. Oh my father.
[29:36] Let this. Come pass from me. Nevertheless. Not as I will. But as thou wilt. And of course. There is a still. Further element.
[29:46] With this. I close this heading. And a still. Further element. Is this. Let us not forget it. That our Lord. Was bowed down. With profound.
[29:58] Sympathy. For those. Who hated him. Upon earth. And that was one of the factors. That added to his. Mental sufferings. It's one thing.
[30:09] You know. To suffer. At the hands of men. To whom. You are indifferent. If you see men.
[30:19] Treating you badly. And you. Commit your cause. To God. Then you say. Well God. Will vindicate me. And I go. I don't care. About these persons.
[30:29] Who are nailing me. To the tree. I'm indifferent. To them. I'm careless. About them. Whatever happens. To them. I don't care. At all. But our Lord. Was not in that.
[30:40] State of indifference. Towards his persecutors. It grieved him. To the very soul. And to the marrow. That these persons. Who were persecuting.
[30:51] Were chiefly. His fellow countrymen. Were chiefly. From. The Israel. Of God. Were the very ones. That had the scriptures. Were the ones.
[31:02] Who failed. To understand. The meaning. Of the very word. That God had given to them. Through their forefathers. The prophets. And that is how. We see him. Dealing with those.
[31:13] Who accompanied him. To the cross. Remember the women. Who wept for him. And wailed for him. And sympathized with him. And our Lord. Turned to them. And he said to them.
[31:23] Ye daughters of Jerusalem. Weep not for me. But for yourselves. And for your children. Because of the things. That are coming upon you. Our Lord. Tells us.
[31:34] In his great last discourse. That he saw. The punishment. Which was coming upon. His persecutors. He saw. All those Roman legions. And circling Jerusalem. In 70 AD.
[31:45] Saw them by faith. Saw them by his foresight. He knew. The terrible persecution. Which God would pour out. Upon the Jewish nation. In consequence. Of their having rejected him.
[31:56] And our Lord. Is not indifferent. To their sufferings. Which were to come. And he bled for them. In a sense. Not literally now. I mean. But in a sense. In his own spirit.
[32:07] He grieved. For them. And his prayer. For them. You all remember. Was. Father forgive them. For they know not. What they do.
[32:19] And this. Deep sympathy. For his persecutors. And haters. Was no small element. In the mental. Anguish. And distress. Of the blessed.
[32:30] Son of God. God. But I come third and last. Now to speak about. Christ. Suffering wrath. As our propitiation. In his body.
[32:42] And in his soul. In what sense. Did our Lord. Suffer the wrath of God. In body. And in soul.
[32:53] I have tried to show you. In what ways. He did not suffer. The wrath of God. I have tried to make it clear. In what sense. He suffered in mind. Now finally. In what sense. Did he suffer the wrath of God.
[33:03] As our propitiation. In body. And in soul. Well like this. That although God.
[33:14] Was not angry with him. As an individual. Yet God treated him. As though. He were angry with him.
[33:25] That is the way. We must understand the matter. Christ knew this. We ought to know it. But you see. That is the dreadful. Fact of the matter. Glorious.
[33:37] And dreadful. Depending upon. How you interpret. And look at these things. It is a great wonder. That God the father. Was. Filled with love.
[33:48] For his son. And yet. He treated him. As though he were not. God the father. Was filled. With delight. In his son. God. But he treated him.
[34:00] As though he hated him. And that is the exquisite. Wonder of the gospel. That the justice of God.
[34:11] Treated Christ. As though he were the greatest. Sinner. Who ever lived. And now you would have thought. That God the father. Would have mitigated.
[34:22] And softened. Some of the blow. Because we would have done that. To our children. If for some reason. You had to chastise. Your own son.
[34:32] And beat him with a rod. Because of some. Misdemeanor. Some crime. That he had committed. And it was your responsibility. To punish him. You would mitigate.
[34:44] Some of the blow. You would soften the blow. You would remit. Some of the punishment. You would ease. Some of your anger. You would lessen.
[34:54] The amount of punishment. You would give him. Because he was your son. And your heart would bleed for him. And he would say. I have smitten him ten times. I cannot give him the twenty.
[35:05] That he deserves. He is my son. And he would forgive the rest. And he would say. That's enough. Now that's the very thing. God did not do. And would not do.
[35:16] He would not spare his son. He would not lessen the punishment. He would not mitigate. The wrath. And the curse. And the damnation. Not in the slightest degree.
[35:27] The whole weight. Of the judgment of God. And his fierce anger. Came upon Christ. Without the slightest remission. Because he was.
[35:38] His own. Only beloved son. And then. The consequence of that was. That there was removed. From Christ.
[35:49] In his sufferings on the cross. All common grace. Oh friends. We should be thankful. For common grace. It is that. Working of God. In the world. Which prevents this world.
[36:01] From becoming a hell on earth. Common grace. Leaves men decent. Even if they are not godly. Common grace. Makes men respectful.
[36:13] One towards another. And even towards the church. And even towards God. Even though they don't really love him. A wonderful thing. Common grace. Restraining the lusts.
[36:25] Of the flesh. And of the mind. But I want to point out to you. That part. Of the sufferings of Christ. Involved. The removing from him.
[36:35] In his death. Of common grace. How? Jesus said. This is your hour. And the power of darkness. God removed from him.
[36:48] Those restraining influences. Which would have kept the devil. At bay. The devil is usually kept. At a distance. From godly men.
[36:59] That is God's way. With them in this world. In the world to come. The devils will have full power. Over godless men. They will be tormented by devils.
[37:09] They will do God's work. Injustice. They will be the torturers. Of wicked men in hell. That is the destiny. Of those who hate Christ. And go into the pits of darkness. On the cross.
[37:21] Christ had something of that. The devils were allowed. To cluster around him. To fill his mind with doubts. About who he was. About what God was doing.
[37:32] To bring his mind. Into confusion. The devils also had the power. To instigate. Unspeakable hatred. And bitterness against Christ.
[37:44] So that the persecutors. Under the cross. Wagged their hands. And their fingers. And they said. Aha. Aha. He saved others. He can't save himself. And all that. Terrible.
[37:55] Stream of blasphemy. Which those around the cross uttered. It was the consequence. Of the removal of common grace. This is how we must account.
[38:07] For Peter's denials. There was something in the air. That night. And Peter was afraid. All his courage. Drained out of him. There was something in the air.
[38:18] Devils came. And filled the heart. Of Judas Iscariot. So as to betray his master. Only for a short time. Was his mind. Deluded into thinking. That his master. Ought to be treated in that way.
[38:30] But in a matter of hours. He saw the stupidity. Of what he'd done. And he threw this blood money. Back into the temple. And hanged himself. In terrible remorse. There was something in the air.
[38:40] That night. The darkness came down. It was physical for a time. And all this was part. Of the removal of common grace. From the Son of God. All the sensible.
[38:52] Comforts of life. Vanished for a time. Let me go on. And say that he suffered. In every part. Of his body.
[39:03] We know this. From the description. Given to us. In the gospels. There was scarcely. A part of his body. That was not lacerated.
[39:15] And wounded with blood. As they looked at him. They cried. Behold the man. Man. His visage. His face. Was so marred.
[39:26] Said Isaiah. More than any man. His form. More than the sons of men. What with the crown of thorns. Upon his head. And blood coming down. From his face.
[39:37] What with the men. That ripped off his beard. And spat in his face. And blood coming down. From his face. What with his hands. And feet. Tongue of nails. What with men.
[39:49] Skirting his back. He said himself. In Psalm 22. Thou hast brought me. To the dust of death. My tongue. Cleaves to the roof.
[40:00] Of my mouth. I may count. All my bones. They do upon me. Look and stare. And all this. Was indicating. The torment.
[40:11] Of every part. Of his body. He was made. A holocaust. He was made. A whole. Burned offering. Every bit of Christ. From the crown.
[40:21] Of his head. To the sole. Of his foot. Was the object. Of the wrath. And curse of God. And as he was made. Sin. His body. Was a total victim. And.
[40:34] We must not forget. That all of this. Was nothing. Compared to. That which was. The cream. If you like. Of all his sufferings.
[40:46] The quintessence. Of all his sufferings. And that was. Spiritual death. And judicial. Abandonment. By God.
[40:57] Himself. During the hours. From twelve. Till three. Of the afternoon. During that time. He cried out. My God.
[41:08] My God. Why hast thou forsaken me? And the reason. For that cry. Was because. There. Occurred.
[41:19] A severance. Between. God. The father. And Christ. Human nature. The telephone.
[41:30] Line. Was broken. If you like. For the one. And only time. In Christ. Eternal. Existence. Before that. Our Lord. Had always known.
[41:42] The comforting. Assurance. Of the love. Of God. In his heart. Just as believers. Know that. So he. Knew that. There was the witness.
[41:53] Of the Holy Spirit. With his spirit. Human. That he was the son of God. Not simply a son of God. But the son of God. If we as Christians. Have that assurance. And that peace.
[42:04] He had it. A forty or I. He had it. Vastly more. But on the cross. As sin. Was imputed to him. And he suffered.
[42:15] Damnation for us. As the propitiation. There was a total severance. Of all comfort. From Christ. He.
[42:27] Experienced. In his own heart. And mind. Such feelings. As men. Will only experience. When they are in hell. Itself.
[42:39] Such awesome. Fear and darkness. Fell upon him. Such awful. Sense. Of wrath. And desolation. That even in eternity.
[42:52] We shall never understand. That text. My God. My God. Why hast thou forsaken me? But that judicial abandonment. Was the quintessence.
[43:04] It was the very. Lowest point. Of all that was involved. For Christ. In being a propitiation.
[43:16] In his blood. For sinners. For sinners. So I close. With these observations. Friends. The effect of Christ's sufferings.
[43:27] On believers. Are wonderful. Beyond all conception. There occurred. What I can only call.
[43:39] A resolution. A resolution. Within the attributes. Of God. Perhaps you know. That in great music. Before you come to the final chord.
[43:52] The composer sets. Two notes. Which jar. One against another. The intention of that. Is to tell. The listener.
[44:03] The music. The music is not yet finished. Something has further to be stated. In order to bring. A resolution. Well. There were two attributes in God.
[44:14] Which from all eternity. Since man. That is to say. Since man sinned. I mean. From all of time. Since Adam's day. I mean. There had been this conflict. Between.
[44:24] Two attributes in God. The justice of God. Demanded the punishment of sin. The mercy and love of God. Requested the forgiveness of sin.
[44:38] And all throughout the Old Testament. These two attributes. Father. And he must receive. Because his death. Is the down payment to God.
[44:50] Of the whole inheritance. Which his people will receive. They don't receive. Salvation. Merely. Merely as a matter of grace. And nothing more.
[45:00] Of course. They do receive it as grace. From God ultimately. But grace. Which has also. Accompanying with it. The payment. Of a purchase price. So that the inheritance.
[45:12] Of glory. And immortality. And eternal life. Are due. To Christ. And to his people. Because he was made. Says Paul.
[45:22] A propitiation. Through faith. In his blood. Oh what cause. For worship believers have.
[45:33] Oh what cause. For comfort believers have. Let us love. This Jesus. Let us love. This Savior.
[45:43] With it unspeakable. Condescension. Even to the death. Of the cross. Let us serve him. Let us give ourselves to him.
[45:58] Let us enthrone him. King of kings. Lord of lords. In our own hearts. And homes. All the days we live.
[46:09] And unto eternity. Amen.