Series: Psalm
Title: The Lesson from Christ’s
Suffering
Text: Ps 55: 1-23
Date: January 9,2019
Place: SGBC, NJ
Psalm 55 is David’s prayer
near the brook Kidron near the garden of Gethsemane the night he was pushed out
of Jerusalem. Absalom, David’s own son,
had betrayed him by leading a rebellion against David to take his throne. Ahithophel, David’s counselor, had also betrayed
David, uniting with David’s enemies.
2 Samuel 15:23: And all the
country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also
himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward
the way of the wilderness…31: And one told
David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And
David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into
foolishness…
2 Samuel 16: 5:
And when king David came to Bahurim, behold, thence came out a man of the
family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei, the son of Gera: he
came forth, and cursed still as he came. 6: And he cast stones at David, and at
all the servants of king David: and all the people and all the mighty men were
on his right hand and on his left. 7: And thus said Shimei when he cursed, Come
out, come out, thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: 8: The LORD hath returned
upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned;
and the LORD hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son: and,
behold, thou art taken in thy mischief, because thou art a bloody
man. 9: Then said Abishai the son of Zeruiah unto the king, Why should this
dead dog curse my lord the king? let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his
head. 10: And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so
let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then
say, Wherefore hast thou done so? 11: And David said to Abishai, and to all his
servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how
much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him
curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. 12: It may be that the LORD will look on
mine affliction, and that the LORD will requite me good for his cursing this
day. 13: And as David and his men went by the way, Shimei went along on the
hill’s side over against him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him,
and cast dust. 14 And the king, and all
the people that were with him, came weary, and refreshed themselves
there.
They passed over the brook Kidron near the garden of
Gethsemane, near where the anti-type of David, Christ Jesus, partook of that
brook.. The brook Kidron was where they dumped
the filth from the temple and Jerusalem.
Spiritually, symbolically, not literally, scripture says of Christ,
Psalm 110: 7:
He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
That filthy brook represents the great burden Christ bore
for his people when he bore our sin and our curse. Bearing sin which he hated and drinking the dregs
of the cup of God’s wrath was to Christ like drinking of the brook Kidron to
Christ.
Matthew 26:42…O
my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will
be done.
So as David crossed that very brook praying so we hear
Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane near the same location. That is why this is a Maschil psalm: full of instruction
for God’s saints. One reason God causes
his child to suffer is that the suffering child might teach his brethren what
God taught him. That is true of David
writing this Psalm—but it is especially true concerning of Christ’s suffering. Christ is the Firstborn among many brethren
and Christ teaches us in this Psalm from the things he suffered
Subject: The
Lesson from Christ’s Suffering
Psalm 55: 22: Cast thy
burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved.
If we can cast our burden upon
the LORD then Christ has already begun to relieve our burden because we cannot
do so except the Spirit enable us. Who are
“the righteous” he will not “suffer to be moved”. The righteous is Christ and all those God trusted
to Christ before the world was made. The
righteous are those Christ justified by his blood. The righteous are those the Spirit of God has
made to believe on Christ our Righteousness, who walk not after the flesh but
after the Spirit. God will not suffer
the righteous to be moved because Christ justified us before the law of God
But what is involved in casting our burden upon the
LORD?
Proposition:
We learn what it is to cast our burden on the LORD by seeing how Christ cast
his burden upon God his Father.
EARNEST PRAYER
Psalm 55: 1: Give ear to my prayer, O God;
and hide not thyself from my supplication.
2: Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a
noise;
In the garden of Gethsemane, Christ cast
his burden on the LORD God by earnest prayer.
His prayer was always earnest
prayer. But ours is only earnest when God hedges us about to behold our total
inability. Then we beg rather than make demands—"give
ear to my prayer, O God; And hide not thyself from my supplication” It means “O God, do not pass me by.” Christ’s spirit
in the Garden was “if it be thy will, O God, give ear to my prayer and hide not thyself from my
supplication.”
Casting our burden upon the LORD in prayer
does not mean that we pray pretty words—"Attend unto me, and hear me: I
mourn in my complaint, and make a noise.”
David went in the way crying
and praying as he went. He was under
such distress that all he could do was make a noise. There were no pretty words that night as
David went up Mt. Olive crying and praying.
It earnestness with which Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane
while he was in soul agony and sweat great drops of blood. In this Psalm we hear Christ prayer that
could not be uttered with words.
Brethren,
at times we mourn so much that the only thing we can do is make a noise; our
minds wander and our prayer is all over the place. But scripture says,
Romans 8: 26: The Spirit
maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered; 27: And he
that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
David asked God not to hide himself from him. But when Christ bore the sin of his people, it
was God’s will to justly hide himself from our Substitute—“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Ps
22:1). Christ bore the heaviest burden anyone has
ever borne—the sin and curse of all
his people.
Isaiah 53: 4: Surely he
hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. 5: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he
was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed. 6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
That
is how Christ satisfied the justice of God on our behalf and purchased us with
his own blood—"with his stripes we are healed” (Is 53: 5). To be healed is to be complete in Christ! To be healed is to have your sins separated
from you as far as the east is from the west, God remembers them no more.
Therefore,
brethren, though God may make you think he has hidden himself from you. Yet, for the sake of his Son, God will never
pass by one of his blood-bought, justified children. Cast your burden on him in earnest prayer for he hears our prayer
even when we cannot utter words.
THE
CAUSE
Psalm 55: I mourn in my complaint, and
make a noise; 3: Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression
of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me…
Christ
cast his burden on the LORD his God by laying before him the cause of his
suffering. Notice
the three things mentioned: One, with the voice they cast iniquity upon him—they
falsely accused Christ; two, with the hands they performed wicked deeds—the
oppression of the wicked; three, It all came from the sin-nature that is hatred
against God—In wrath they hate me. The
serpent hates the Seed of woman. And so
does the carnal mind of men. The greatest proof of man’s total depravity is Christ on
the cross
Brethren, the enemy who oppressed our
Savior was not only the Jew and Gentile of his day, but you and I, his people. Our sinful nature is enmity against God:
therefore the only thing we can do in our flesh is speak and do wickedly. Yet, while we considered him our enemy, Christ
laid down his life for his elect and reconciled us to God. Therefore, now that he has made us friends,
we can be certain, he will save us from our burden.
Romans 5: 6: For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7: For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some
would even dare to die. 8: But God commendeth his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9: Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10: For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much
more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (Ro 5:6-10).
Brethren, cast your burden upon the LORD by coming to Christ in earnest prayer and
laying out your cause before him. He already
saved us from the enemy of our flesh, he shall save us from every other enemy.
HIS STATE
Psalm 55: 4: My heart is
sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5: Fearfulness
and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6: And I said,
Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at
rest. 7: Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the
wilderness. Selah. 8: I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and
tempest. 6: I said, Oh that I had wings
like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 7: Lo, then
would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. 8: I would
hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
Christ cast his burden upon
the LORD God by laying bear his heart concerning his state. David was deeply wounded in his innermost
heart--why? His own son, Absalom, led the rebellion against him. It would be the deepest hurt to spend your life bringing
up your children, putting them before yourself, only to have them treat you like
an enemy. That is exactly what we did to God our everlasting
Father and what we do now, when we knowingly, willingly rebel against Christ.
Isaiah 1:2: Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I
have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
That
is our burden which Christ bore on the cross.
This is why “The terrors of death” fell upon Christ and “horror
covered”
him, why he sweat great drops of blood of Gethsemane
David
also confessed to God his true desire—"I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for
then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and
remain in the wilderness. Selah. I w'ould hasten my escape from the windy storm
and tempest.” Most commentaries lay a lot
of blame on David for this. And we can
be sure there was sin in David’s prayer.
But there was no sin when Christ prayed, “Father, if it be possible let this cup
pass from me, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.”
David
is being honest with God. That is what we
do when we cast our burden upon the Lord.
But I can assure you if we were in our bare feet with David, wading
through the sewer ditch Kidron up Mt Olivet, with all these enemies after us, being
led by our own son, we would desire to escape, too. No child of God desires to suffer storm and
tempest; we desire peace and rest, not strife.
David did not want wings of an eagle to fight his enemies, he wanted wings of a
dove to fly away. He wanted to escape the storm and tempest
But
brethren, Christ did not fly away, he suffered the cross. And we cannot fly
away from the storm and tempest, either. But our peace is in our inner state, not outward circumstances. God sends us suffering to teach us there is
but one way of escape:
1 Corinthians 10:13: There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Christ
is that Way! When we confess our state to Christ, he said, “Him that cometh
to Me, I will in no wise cast out.” He promises, “I will give
you rest.” Some believer might say, “But
we have been rebellious children like Absalom!” Yes, but our Everlasting Father put away that sin,
along with all the rest. What did the
father do when he saw his prodigal son returning?
Luke 15: 21: But when he was yet a great way off,
his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him. 21: And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22: But
the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him;
and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23: And bring hither the
fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24: For this my son was
dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be
merry.
So it
is when one sinner repents and comes to Christ casting our care on him.. Christ comforts us by reminding us that he swallowed
up death in victory. He covered us in
his righteousness, so he will not let the terrors of death cover/overwhelm us. Oh, cast
your burden upon Christ! He is the “way
to escape, that ye may be able to bear [the burden].” See that! He is able to give us peace in heart, even
while the storms rages about us. It is
because our peace is not in our circumstances.
Our peace id Christ the Prince of peace.
HIS
ENEMIES
Psalm 55: 9: Destroy, O
Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in
the city. 10: Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief
also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11: Wickedness is in the
midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. 12: For it was not an enemy that
reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that
hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have
hid myself from him: 13: But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide,
and mine acquaintance. 14: We took sweet counsel together, and walked
unto the house of God in company… 20: He hath put forth his hands against such
as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. 21: The words of
his mouth were smoother than butter, but [all along] war was in his heart: his words were softer than
oil, yet [all along] were they drawn swords.
Christ
cast the burden of his enemies into the hands of the LORD. He prayed “Destroy, O Lord, and divide
their tongues.” Do you see how Christ left it in his Father’s hands? He did not attempt to make foolish the
counsel of their tongues himself. The perfect,
faithful Servant asked the LORD to do so.
Notice, David was betrayed by great subtilty—deceit and guile
depart not from her streets. For it was
not an enemy that reproached me.” It
was one very close and very dear to David:
his own son Absalom; his own counselor, Ahithophel. Our Redeemer was betrayed by one very near to
him, Judas Iscariot. I can bear reproach from an
enemy—I expect it; I can bear one that hates me magnifying himself against me—I
can avoid him; But one who professed to love me?; one with whom I walked to the house
of God?; one I was at peace with? one who made a covenant promise to me? Brethren,
are we not Judas Iscariot by guile-nature?
We have been one with Christ from eternity, yet, we broke God’s covenant
in deceit and guile when we broke the law.
Was it not—and is it not—as heartbreaking when we sin against Christ as
when Judas did! And to make it worse, Christ
did not redeem Judas but he redeemed us!
Will we go on sinning against Christ?
But what a Savior!
Though we have done this to him yet Christ teaches us to cast our burden
on him. Christ cast the burden on God
his Father to divide his enemies against themselves—and God did it.
Mark 14:59:
neither so did their witness agree together.
So let us leave our burden in Christ’s hand. As we
call on Christ to save us, remember what Christ has already accomplished for us
on the cross?—Psalm 55: 18: He hath delivered my soul in peace from
the battle that was against me: for there were many with me…23: But
thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and
deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
We had many enemies within and
without! But by Christ trusting his
Father on our behalf, by Christ perfecting our faith by his faithfulness, by
Christ redeeming us with his own blood, there were more with us than with them. Brethren, seeing Christ has already delivered
our soul in peace so that our warfare is accomplished, remember, the battle is
not yours but the Lord’s. Leave your
enemies in his hands.
So finally, having heard Christ’s
prayer in his agony, having seen how the Father answered him, here is the
lesson that Christ teaches us his people through suffering—Psalm 55: 22: Cast thy burden upon the LORD—in
earnest prayer, confessing the cause, confessing your state, leaving your
enemies in his hands—and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the
righteous to be moved.
Amen!