SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS, AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS, Part 2

SURELY HE HATH BORNE OUR GRIEFS, AND CARRIED OUR SORROWS

BY AL STONER

PART 2

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” (Isa. 53:4).  Out of his own anguish of heart Job declared to his three friends, “I would strengthen you with my mouth, and THE MOVING OF MY LIPS SHOULD ASSUAGE YOUR GRIEF” (Job 16:5).  Both grief and griefs involve the understanding being obscured, and particularly from the perspective of eternity.  Grief takes place in the mind and in the heart of men. For the godly grief can be nurtured and assuaged by a proper understanding of God and His purpose in Christ Jesus. 

 

GRIEF CAN BE ASSUAGED (made more bearable) by the moving of lips that possess knowledge and understanding of God’s ways and purpose in Christ.  Think of the Savior Himself, how that the moving of His lips has been as been the source of everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.  When the Lord Jesus Christ was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, an angelic messenger appeared “strengthening Him” (Lk. 22:43), and the moving of his lips assuaged the grief of the Savior, no doubt, bringing to His mind and heart anew the blessed prospect of “the joy that was set before Him” (Heb. 12:2). 

David cried, “Mine eye is consumed because of grief” (Ps. 6:5; 31:9).  Grief often produces tears and affects spiritual vision.  The example of Jacob’s grief.  “. . . Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: ALL THESE THINGS ARE AGAINST ME” (Gen. 42:36).  The example of Christ. “And said unto Me, Thou art My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I HAVE LABOURED IN VAIN, I HAVE SPENT MY STRENGTH FOR NOUGHT, AND IN VAIN: yet surely My judgment is with the LORD , and My work with my God” (Isa. 49:3-4).  

Griefs (plural). “Griefs” is not frequently used as a plural word.  Normally, grief is something that is endured by men one at a time, or possibly two at a time.  But manifold and diverse were the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ when He bore our sins in His own body on the tree.  GRIEFS would be the best word to describe the pain and anguish that our sins inflicted upon Him.  He was oppressed and afflicted (Isa. 53:7), He was being watched [as it were for entertainment] (Mt. 27:36), He was despised and rejected of men (Isa. 53:3), He was forsaken of His God (Ps. 22:1), He was forsaken by His disciples (Mt. 26:56), He was mocked (Lk. 22:63), He was spitted upon (Lk. 18:32), He was scourged by Pilate (Mt. 27:26; Mk. 15:15; Jn. 19:1), He was betrayed by Judas (Mt. 10:4), He was crucified (Mt. 27:38), He was chastised by His Father for our sakes (Isa. 53:5), He was smitten of God (Isa. 53:4).  All of these things had the effect of causing innumerable griefs to the Holy Son of God (Lk. 1:35). 

God Causing Grief in Chastening. “For the Lord will not cast off for ever: but THOUGH HE CAUSE GRIEF, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies” (Lam. 3:31-32).  

The Prophet Jeremiah here is speaking of grief that is for the purpose of correction and healing.  It is grief that is that proceeds from the wellspring of God’s compassion and mercy.  It is grief imparted because imparted out of necessity.  “. . . He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence” (Eph. 1:8).  The ravages yet remaining in our old man from the entrance of sin into the world oftentimes make it necessary for God’s dealings to be severe.  Sin, iniquity, and transgression are of such a grievous nature to, yea, such a flagrant disregard for the God, who so loved the world, that He is left with no other recourse but to deal with severity.  But for those who are in Christ, it is translates to grief that is unto correction and perfection.

When the Lord God laid upon Jesus the iniquity of us all, this was a causing of grief like none other.  This was grief that only Christ, as “our Passover” (I Cor. 5:7) and “our Lord” (Heb. 7:14), was able to bear and recover from to the glory (Phil. 2:11) and satisfaction (Isa. 53:11) of God the Father.  We’re speaking here of griefs that only a Member of the Godhead could bear.  And these were sorrows that only God, in the Person of His Son, could carry away.  “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (II Cor. 5:19). 

With the Lord Jesus Christ there was no need for correction. With Him there was need for perfecting, but it was perfecting, not in His essential Person and Character, but rather perfecting unto His ability and capacity to be a “merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God” (Heb. 2:17).  

Bearing and Carrying.  Both were unto the satisfaction of the Divine righteousness and justice.  It was essential not only that the sins, iniquities, griefs and sorrows be borne, but that they also be carried away forever from God’s Presence.  This could either be accomplished by laying the sins upon the sinners, and casting them away from His Presence forever, or by God devising means (II Sam. 14:14) that His Banished (Christ, and all who are in Him, Christ, and all who have believed on Him) be not expelled from Him. 

Bearing (speaks of endurance) Griefs, and Carrying (speaks of duration) Sorrows.  That which sin most certainly causes, produces, and eventuates in (namely, griefs and sorrows), is here, in a figure, substituted for the sin itself (the effect for the cause).  Iniquity, trespasses, offenses, transgressions, and sin are all words that speak of violations of, and contrariness to, the good and perfect will of God.  They are things which grieve “Him at His heart” (Gen. 6:6), and ultimately they stir Him up to jealousy and wrath.   He is “of purer eyes to behold” such things, and things which He cannot look upon (Hab. 1:13). 

From this perspective sin, iniquity, and transgression, as well as griefs and sorrows, are in some respects very similar.  Christ bore our griefs, and carried our sorrows (Isa. 53:4), when He “His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (I Pet. 2:24).  Sins and iniquities are things that are readily apparent to God [they grievously affect Him, they anger Him], whereas griefs and sorrows are things which are the more readily apparent to men.  Men, in their fallen condition, must be instructed about the grievous nature of sin and transgression, because of its effect upon the One who made them and, to this day, sustains them. --Editor

Go to Dark Gethsemane

Jesus' Sufferings and Death

269 — A place called Gethsemane.

269A place called Gethsemane.7s., 6 lines. 

1 GO to dark Gethsemane,

Ye that feel the tempter's power;

Your Redeemer's conflict see;

Watch with Him one bitter hour;

Turn not from His griefs away;

Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

 

2 Follow to the judgment-hall,

View the Lord of life arraign'd;

Oh, the wormwood and the gall!

Oh, the pangs His soul sustain'd!

Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;

Learn of Him to bear the cross.

 

3 Calvary's mournful mountain climb

There, adoring at His feet,

Mark that miracle of time,

God's own sacrifice complete.

"It is finish'd!" hear Him cry;

Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

 

4 Early hasten to the tomb,

Where they laid His breathless clay;

All is solitude and gloom:

Who hath taken Him away?

Christ is risen:—He meets our eyes;

Saviour, teach us so to rise.

James Montgomery, 1825.

Our Own Hymn-Book: A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Public, Social, and Private Worship.

Christ's Precious Cross, by Fred O. Blakely

The Precious Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ
By Fred O. Blakely

The precious cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: What a theme for meditation! “Unto you who believe, He is precious,” it is written of the Savior Himself (I Pet. 2:7, RSV). And the same may certainly be said of the cross, upon which He “obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:11-12). With the Apostle, we “glory in the cross,” and cleave to it with purpose of heart as the basis of our acceptance with God in His beloved Son (Gal. 6:14-16). “Being now justified by His blood, we ––praise God! ––shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9-11).

How varied are the facets of the cross of Christ! How dark it appears from the human view! There we behold man’s enmity, malice, and hatred vented against the holy, harmless, and undefiled Lamb of God––Jesus, the Savior of the world. This was the dark background upon which God displayed Himself in His love, grace, and mercy toward the rebellious race. How splendorous are the glories that cluster around that cross! They shine out through the darkness like the beautiful colors of the rainbow when the light breaks through the dark clouds after a storm.

Sin was spotlighted at the cross. The world––Jew and Gentile––with all its united forces of opposition to God, was there. And so was Satan and all the power of darkness. Yet, amid all the darkness of such an hour-which has no parallel––God was there––praise His Name! Man had sinned. Justice demanded a sacrifice for sin. God’s love provided One––perfect and without blemish. Judgment did its strange work––its act, its strange act.

Now, what love and grace are seen in the cross! There God delivered up His beloved Son “for us all” (Rom. 8:32), to fill the gap, repair the breach and “put away sin” (Heb. 9:26). The deity of the Lord Jesus, His incarnation, followed by His perfect love and grace, were taught and known before. His resurrection and ascension into God’s Presence, carrying with Him all the blessed and precious values of His atoning death, have been declared since. But the cross is where an end was made of sin before the throne of Heaven (Dan. 9:24), its judgment and expiation being laid hard upon the perfect Substitute provided by God Himself for sinful, guilty man (Gen. 22:8; Jn. 1:29).

It was on the cross that our Redeemer cried. “My God, My God. why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Mk. 15:34). Here is where He suffered, where He died, and where His blood was shed––a precious testimony that a life had been given up, and that Heaven’s throne, with all its righteousness and purity, was fully satisfied. And in such a place, and at such a time, God Himself, who is encircled with light and true holiness, was fully glorified. Was it any wonder, or need we be surprised to learn, that the veil was rent––in testimony that the work had been accomplished by which Heaven, even the holiest of all, was now thrown open, and faith invited to enter boldly (Heb. 10:19-22)?

The result of this work of the Savior upon the cross, great and perfect as it is, is wholly efficacious for the implementation of all of God’s eternal purpose in the Son. Not only were the “ever-lasting doors” by it lifted up to admit the “King of glory” (Ps. 24:7-10); they were also thrown back for the admission of those who were sinful, but who were cleansed by the blood of the cross. The Father’s aim is, “in the dispensation of the fulness of times,” to “gather together in one all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10; cf.. Gen. 49:10; Col. 1:20). Since by the offering of Himself our Lord has “perfected forever” those who are so sanctified (Heb. 10:12-14), the cross has made possible and certain the realization of that intent.