I was dumb ... because thou didst it. (ii) (Quality: Very good)

[0:00] I will again venture to read the text you will find in Psalm 39, verses 9 and 10. Psalm 39, verses 9 and 10.

[0:14] I was dumb. I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. Remove thy stroke away from me.

[0:27] I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. I was dumb. I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it.

[0:42] Remove thy stroke away from me. I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. This morning, we looked at these words as they related to several of the saints of God.

[1:04] Aaron, Job, Paul, and David. And made some application to personal experiences, which are the same in that which the scripture describes in all ages.

[1:28] Though those things which come upon God's people may be various in the manner of them, yet, when it comes to Christian experience as described in the scriptures, especially in the book of Psalms, we shall find that though we may be directed to the spot to utter the same words, it may be by different route, and under different circumstances.

[2:09] I was dumb. I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. So we see Aaron solemnly instructed, as his two sons sunk down into everlasting fire, of the importance of the Lord's servants being sanctified before God.

[2:39] And then, in the book of Job, we read again of a silence.

[2:51] When God came down himself to instruct him, he put his hand upon his lips, after saying, Behold, I am vile.

[3:03] So much teaching, so different in the manner of teaching, yet bringing two different persons by entirely different mediums to utter, in substance, I was dumb.

[3:25] I opened not my mouth, because thou didst it. And looking at the apostle Paul, we see him being blessed with the abundance of revelations that astonished him, gave him dumbness, because he was incapable of expressing what he saw.

[3:52] And again, God gave him the thorn in the flesh, only that he might establish this important truth, My grace is sufficient for thee.

[4:11] And David's case, described in such detail, in the Psalms, 38th and 39th Psalms, in connection with his coming to this verse.

[4:28] There is one other place that we may consider, and that is Zechariah. And the Lord spoke to him concerning the birth of John the Baptist.

[4:50] And because he was unbelief, because of his unbelief, he was dumb for a Caesar. If we are dumb, we should remember that it is God that has control over all our faculties, both natural and spiritual, and also emotionally.

[5:20] And Zechariah, being a gracious man, submitted to it, recognized his sin, and how eloquent it became when God opened his mouth.

[5:35] We may therefore consider this, that though we may be in a case of dumbness at the moment, yet it may result in eloquence in regard to the gospel of Jesus Christ and its proclamation.

[6:00] to blow the weight upon the psalmist was real. It was not imaginary.

[6:13] It was placed upon him by God. Remove thy stroke away from me. Only God could remove a stroke that he has put on.

[6:26] I am consumed by the blow of thine hand. All that might have been of the flesh was burnt up by this present pathway of trial in which David needed so much the mercy of God.

[6:52] as we came to the amen this morning, we inferred that this evening we will attempt to look at these words as we, as Jesus Christ may be seen in his humanity, standing in our lower place and stead of being our surety.

[7:22] but how can we begin to speak of such things without divine enlightenment, treading as we obviously do upon holy ground.

[7:40] We read in the 53rd chapter of Isaiah that chapter which describes by prophecy what the Lord himself would pass through that he was oppressed and he was afflicted yet he opened not his mouth he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he openeth not his mouth.

[8:16] we should recognize that these words were fulfilled in the humanity of Jesus Christ as the sin of the church was laid upon him.

[8:36] Being a man though God he felt as we do. Though he was sinless yet sin being laid upon him he felt the weight of it.

[8:59] Mr. Hart says what must the load of all have been when only mine so great. Much in the Psalms gives us by prophetical language the very movements of his own soul before his God.

[9:26] But in all these things he patiently bore that which his father had laid upon him.

[9:37] we notice a little farther down in this chapter yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him he hath put him to grief when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed he shall belong his days and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

[10:07] What we see centering in the Lord Jesus Christ is the work of the eternal God in respect to the salvation of his church may we come more personally to consider this as it refers to ourselves so we may see occasions when the Lord Jesus Christ was dumb I was dumb I opened not my mouth because thou didst it there were times that we read he answered not a word we may well be dumb which indicates a submission to God as we behold our savior and our redeemer enduring the wrath of men enduring the savagery and enmity of Satan himself is it possible that the devil himself should be let loose upon the son of

[11:37] God Christ Jesus Christ but he suffered in his human soul is clear when we read that in Gethsemane's garden angels came to him and strengthened him when we read of his temptation in the wilderness that he had divine assistance this is a great mystery and it is with careful treading that we would venture upon it but yet if we are led forth by the spirit undoubtedly there is much consolation and much comfort to be discovered in it what did God do then Jeremiah's lamentations speak to us like this is it nothing to you or ye that pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger might shitty forgive them however much the devil might have been let loose upon our Lord and Saviour, yet there is this, the day of his fierce anger.

[13:21] Shall we be done as we behold the Lord Jesus Christ enduring the day of the fierce anger of Almighty God?

[13:33] He was made a curse for us. Thus it is written, and the Lord submitted. In this sense we may look at these words, I was dumb, the Lord Jesus quietly submitting.

[13:53] I was dumb, the sinner beholding that that was taking place with amazement. Amazement. Is it not amazing to think that the Lord Jesus Christ does stand and endure the fierce anger of Almighty God?

[14:15] I was dumb. God did it. How differently we shall look at the work of Jesus Christ as it is more clearly and yet more clearly revealed to us that this is God's work.

[14:35] How truly in looking at the Redeemer's life, work and death, so often we seem to see through a glass darkly what it really meant.

[14:51] We cannot comprehend. And yet, sometimes we may feel led to comprehend it in a measure.

[15:03] Why? Because it will enable us to bear our own sorrows and our own bitterness and our own trials and our own sin.

[15:19] But sometimes we have sung the lines, His way was much rougher and darker than mine. Did Christ my Lord suffer and shall I repine?

[15:32] I was dumb. I open not my mouth because thou didst it. Laying afflictions upon the Lord of life and glory.

[15:45] Laying our sins upon Him that He might bear them away to be remembered no more forever. How differently we must look at God's work when it is recognized as such.

[16:08] Are we sometimes troubled because we are afraid that we look at it superficially? And do not treat the sufferings of Christ as we should.

[16:23] Do not value them as we should. More particularly, we may observe from the next verse, Remove thy stroke away from me.

[16:38] Now in the gospel according to John, we read this. That Christ might be delivered from that hour that He had come unto.

[16:58] Indeed, He says, Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour.

[17:11] But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. How much was this uppermost in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ?

[17:25] The bitterness of his soul? The bitterness of his soul? Who can plumb its depths? The purpose in his mind? Who can fully appreciate it?

[17:39] Father, glorify thy name. If we look at our own pathway, whether it is bitter or less so, or more so, may this grace be given to us to be concerned that the Lord's name may be glorified.

[18:01] The Lord's name is glorified in his sustaining grace, in his upholding power, in his communicating strength sufficient for the day.

[18:14] And when we look at this, even the Lord himself cried, Save me from this hour.

[18:33] Shall we not find some sympathy when we have come, so to speak, to the end of our tether and to say that we can bear no more well, the Lord said, Save me from this hour.

[18:52] But then, the purposes of God came before him. And immediately, his soul speaks forth that the Father's name might be glorified, that what he was doing could be justified.

[19:14] I was done. That the Lord Jesus Christ should have been put to such an extremity that his very soul should cry out, Father, save me from this hour.

[19:34] That, if that had been, even the thought had been answered, would have meant destruction, the destruction of the church of God, the conquest of Satan.

[19:52] And we may well say that could have far-reaching effects in every way. I was done looking at Christ, willing to endure.

[20:11] How did Christ endure? We have that said before us in the 13th chapter of John. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, with suffering so intense yet to taste of, yea, to drink the cup of bitterness right up, he looks beyond it all to that time when he should depart out of this world unto the Father.

[20:47] we do not know what lies before us tomorrow. But God knows and what are his purposes?

[21:02] Are they not that we should be looking forward and looking onward, looking to that time when we shall go to the Father, enter into heaven itself, behold the Lord Jesus Christ in his beauty and in his glory as a risen Christ.

[21:32] But not before he had passed through bitterness, passed through heaviness. how much of the psalm we read this evening says before us at least some of the things that describes surely the soul feelings of the Lord Jesus in his own life.

[22:03] I sink in deep mire where there is no standing. I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying.

[22:16] My throat is dried. Mine eyes pale while I wait for my God. If it never happens any other time, it certainly happened when the Lord cried out my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

[22:35] I wait for my God. Mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. Of his suffering so intense angels have no perfect sense.

[22:54] Let us not lose sight of the humanity of Christ. a body was prepared in order that he might suffer.

[23:09] God as a spirit could not suffer. So God prepared our Lord Jesus Christ with a body, with the faculties that we have, with the emotions that we have, and yet without sin.

[23:30] And yet he bore the sufferings for sin because of the sin laid upon him. He was made sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in him.

[23:52] Shall we stand with the words of the psalmist and say, I was dumb. I opened not my mouth because thou didst it. Christ made sin so different from what he was.

[24:13] He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. And he felt the burden of sin, not his own, but the sins of the church.

[24:28] Can we come in and say, he felt the burden of our sins? They that hate me without a cause, and more than the hairs of mine head, they that would destroy me, they being mine enemies, wrongfully, are mighty.

[24:47] then I restored that which I took not away. In the light of these things, may we look upon our own pathway, and readily ascribe that it is easy compared with his.

[25:07] if we say, how can I bear up? We may say more, how did the Lord Jesus Christ bear up?

[25:23] It will be good for us to look away from ourselves, however heavy our troubles are, to see the Lord Jesus Christ bow down beneath the load of the church's sins.

[25:42] And we are bound to come with David and say, I was dumb. And you will certainly be dumb when you see the Lord himself, holy as he was, being charged by men with being a sinner.

[26:03] We know that this man is a sinner. yet he opened not his mouth. It may be that we've had the thought sometimes, why didn't Jesus defend himself?

[26:22] Why did he not defend himself? It was a question here and I was dumb, because thou didst it.

[26:32] a sinner because sin was laid upon him. The work that his father had given him to do.

[26:48] I made sanctum also my garment and I became a proverb to them. doubtless David passed through these things.

[27:00] One would judge much of it was experienced in those early days before he came to the throne. But nonetheless he passed through it. and these things were written under the divine inspiration.

[27:19] Maybe David didn't quite realize how much prophecy there was in the words that he was inspired to write. And yet since he was David's Lord and yet David's God and yet the son of David, must he not have had some revelation that he was speaking of his Messiah.

[27:52] And of the sufferings that he would have to endure if he himself was to be delivered. But then again to consider that these words describe David's own experience what consolation to feel that he was not alone.

[28:15] What consolation to feel the persuasion in all their afflictions he was afflicted. so we may read on through this psalm and many others which bring to our attention the dreadfulness of the Lord's sufferings.

[28:38] I was dumb, I opened not my mouth because thou didst it, which brings us to consider yet another stroke.

[28:49] Remove thy stroke away from me. Surely we must see the heaviness which overcame our Lord in Gethsemane's garden.

[29:03] If it be possible let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless not my will but thine be done. this must surely emphasize to us that the task of our Lord Jesus Christ in redemption was no easy matter.

[29:23] I don't know how you find it but sometimes there is that thought which raises itself in the carnal mind that because Jesus Christ was God it was an easy thing for him to bring about redemption.

[29:45] We must never forget that he suffered as a man and therefore he needed divine support. His human nature needed this and yet his God had needed no support.

[30:04] Great mystery is the God man. Human nature the nature of deity joined and yet separate.

[30:19] And then we come to his agony in the garden of Gethsemane backwards and forwards. Thrice he ran as if to seek some help from man.

[30:31] Does this display to us the Lord in his sufferings in his humanity there would have been no need for him to have come to the disciples and say could ye not watch with me one hour if he was suffering as God and we speak very carefully God he could not suffer may we repeat that so he felt the weakness the weakness when we speak about weakness we speak about his dependence upon God for everything we are weak when we have to depend upon God God gave him his spirit without measure but in his humanity he was weak and needed that spirit to be communicated continually he bore all incarnate

[31:45] God could bear with strength enough and none to spare remove thy stroke away from me now this stroke of the laid upon the Lord Jesus Christ by Jehovah was what we might call a long stroke it was a stroke that gradually became heavier and heavier and heavier as he walked along passed along his life here below and we begin to see how weight it was in Gethsemane we have yet to behold how weight it was when he came to the cross was hanged there and then became a curse for his people as the wrath of

[32:47] God was poured out upon him with the result the darkness covered the earth for three hours and all that time we may say that the scripture was fulfilled I was done I opened not my mouth because thou didst it the hidings of the face of almighty God from the Lord Jesus Christ in his manhood and yet secretly supported under that heavy triumph we should observe that it was not at the beginning of those three hours that the Lord cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me much at that time the

[33:48] Lord was silent bearing the iniquity of his church bearing the transgressions of his church bearing the indignation of almighty God against the wrath of his church in his own soul what support what strength was given to him to sustain that heavy load thus laid upon him if the Lord was dumb and opened not his mouth as he entered into a period of darkness that could be felt and may we say that was darker than the darkness of the plagues in Egypt then what shall we say what shall we say as we observe it and view it shall we must we not be incredulous at such a sight mysterious conflict dark disguise hid from all creatures peering eyes angels astonished viewed the scene and wondered yet what all could mean oh kidrum gloomy brook hell fell thy black polluted waters roll no tongue can tell but some can taste the filth that into thee was cast we cannot but stand and look by faith at the sufferings of Christ without being done the ground is sacred and therefore we must put up our shoes from off our feet to behold the Lord

[35:54] Jesus Christ in this way suffering this heavy stroke remove thy stroke away from me it was one stroke although it may have been composed of so to speak so many strokes I remember when my own soul was torn to pieces as sitting listening to my pastor on one occasion he said before us the Lord Jesus Christ bearing his cross being bowed down and seeming to receive one stroke after another and as though a voice from heaven seemed to say this is one more stroke for my son to bear our sins as a stroke for Christ to bear our sins as that which caused him additional agony quite a distinct experience from the wonderful blessing of the pardon of sin is that when we can see

[37:26] Jesus Christ bearing our sins suffering and agonizing under our sins if we're done our hearts may be torn apart ready to burst because of the love that is set forth before one's very eyes the stroke and then to get the intensity of it remove thy stroke away from me this Jesus Christ God in whom I repose all my hope crying out remove this stroke thy stroke away from me and then saying I am consumed by the blow of thine hand what a blow from the very hand of God was inflicted upon the

[38:33] Lord Jesus Christ and yet he bore it silently how many people knew what he was suffering did the disciples know what he was suffering and they were right close to him would they have forsook him and fled if they could have known what he was suffering can we know what he really suffered how he bore his own agonies silently occasionally he spoke of what he would endure at Jerusalem and his disciples didn't understand it and in the same way if we should attempt to meditate upon this great subject must we not confess we have little understanding of it the cost we may speak of it but how much it is beyond our calculations and computations now the fullness of

[39:55] Christ's suffering is described to us in this last clause of the tenth verse I am consumed by the blow of thine hand this shows the completeness of the sufferings of Christ the infliction of wrath the fierce wrath of God was not to stop until it was complete I am consumed by the blow of thine hand and the Lord endured endured it though these words are written surely to give us what mr.

[40:45] hart says he bore all incarnate God could bear with strength enough and none to spare we need care in interpreting such words because we should ever remember this that Jesus Christ in his humanity depended upon no man for his strength but he depended upon God the whole of his life was spent with God his manhood conversing with his father how wonderful are some of those petitions which are recorded oh my father

[41:46] I thank thee oh father lord of heaven and earth thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes what did he mean to whom did he address when he uttered those words surely this is elucidated when we consider the words spoken to Mary I ascend unto my father and your father and to my God and your God we read in the gospels my father is greater than I now this does not refer to the trinity father son and holy ghost are equal in every aspect but as the son of man taking that level so to speak that we're on he looked up and in that capacity as the servant of

[42:53] God and yet the son of God he was willing to say father the same father that is to be realized and known by the adopted children of God now I am consumed by the blow of thine hand it was a direct blow there was no question of misfiring anyone else would have been completely destroyed the Lord Jesus he absorbed the wrath of God into his person how it was done we can't discuss but this we know it was done for us that will be good when we can utter such language because it will be consoling to us and comfortable to us

[43:59] I am consumed by the blow of thine hand figurative language God being a spirit he has no hands in that sense but it conveys to us that which is intended it it was something felt everything in religion is something felt the Lord Jesus Christ when he suffered felt it he felt it in the beginning and he felt it in the end he felt it all the way through but then he rejoiced and with a loud voice said it is finished he was not a man in the sense that we are exhausted by what he had to endure he was sinless we have the inroads of sin working in our members and sin was laid on him how he could have borne the load is a mystery but undoubtedly he did not come to the end and gain the victory with exhaustion sometimes we have heard of men engaged in fighting and though one has gained the victory they've been exhausted now that wasn't so with

[45:47] God that wasn't so with our Lord Jesus Christ he was free when he said it is finished it meant that the load of sin was cast away cast into the depths of the sea the huge debt had now been liquidated the church had been made free the head was free if the body is free the head is free indeed and therefore his strength was such that he could truly say with a loud voice it is finished now we have the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ surely to be sounded with a loud voice since we have in the concluding moment of his life that which indicates that he was a conqueror but he was not to finish there as an evidence of his conquest he was to rise again here again we may say looking on

[47:06] I was dumb I opened up my mouth because thou did sit the disciples were dumb because Christ was crucified they wondered what God was doing and they were equally dumb when the Lord Jesus rose again from the dead why because it was the mighty work of God that was being enacted and how have we gone along in our experience do we know anything of being done as one thing has been revealed one truth has been revealed and then another truth has been revealed we've been amazed and then we're amazed at this amazed to see myself so vile and Jesus smiling all the while no wonder in the prophecy of

[48:09] Isaiah we can read how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of them that bring good tidings truly it is a blessing bestowed upon the church of God which will cause the church of God to rejoice if there was dumbness now will there not be songs of praise in the future you know every pathway of bitterness ends in praise ends in victory have we not some experiences of our own which prove this and they will not be altered God will go on to bring forth judgment unto victory in our own individual lives

[49:11] Satan will be put down the curse will be removed we shall be vindicated by the Lord's life and death and we shall be justified by his resurrection so the psalmist whilst passing through a solemn experience himself may also be said to feel some fellowship with his suffering saviour it makes such a difference to our pathway when we feel that the Lord Jesus Christ Christ Christ Christ

[50:12] Christ is ho Christ Christ Christ God Haw Christ Christ Christ