THE CRUCIFIXION
When with deep agony His heart was racked,
Not for Himself the tear-drop dewed His cheek,
For them He wept, for them to Heaven He prayed,
His persecutors- " Father, pardon them;
They know not what they do."
"When they came to the place called Calvary, there they crucified him, along
with the criminals--one on his right, the other on his left." Luke 23:33
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving
me, so far from the words of my groaning?" Psalm 22:1
'Ah see! His bleeding arms are extended wide; He stretches them out to every
sinner. His hands point to the east and west; for He shall gather His
children from the ends of the earth. The top of the cross is directed toward
the sky; far above the world will its effects extend. Its root is fixed in
the earth; the cross becomes a wondrous tree, from which we reap the fruit
of our eternal reconciliation.' -Krummacher
THE SAVIOR AT HIS CRUCIFIXION.
Behold Him now
Suspended on the cross! On His pale brow
Hang the cold drops of death; through every limb
The piercing torture rages; every nerve
Stretched with excess of pain, trembles convulsed.
Now look beneath, and view the senseless crowd;
How they deride His sufferings, how they shake
Their heads contemptuous, while the bitter taunt,
More bitter than the gall they gave, insults
The agony of Him on whom they gaze.
But hark! He speaks, and the still hovering breath
Wafts His last prayer to all approving Heaven
'Forgive them, for they know not what they do!'
-C. P. Layard.
We are now to contemplate the most solemn scene ever presented to the view
of man- the crucifixion of our Savior. What sight so impressive, affecting,
and sacred as that of the Son of God in human nature, the Creator of the
universe, the Lord of life, suspended on the ignominious cross- hanging in
agonies and death! And for whom is He thus lifted up from the earth? For the
righteous? for the noblest intelligences of the universe? Oh, no. For
sinners- for a world of rebels are His bleeding arms extended on the
accursed tree. Oh, what wonder of wonders is this! What infinite
condescension! What mighty love! As the Christian turns to Calvary, what
hallowed thoughts arise in his mind! What various emotions are awakened
within him! What sorrow and joy, wonder and praise, alternately prevail in
his renewed heart! Let us view this most solemn scene with the deepest
reverence; and may the holy Spirit bring the divine truths which it
displays, home to our souls with power, enlightening them with the saving
knowledge of Christ crucified, and showing us by this great mystery of
godliness the path of life– a life of immortal felicity, and joy, and glory,
beyond the precincts of mortality.
THE SAVIOR'S TRIAL AND CONDEMNATION. While turning our eyes from the sacred
scenes of Gethsemane, in that momentous hour when the soul of the Savior was
wrung with anguish, and when His body was bathed in blood, we behold Him
hurried away by the band of soldiers from the garden, with weary, fainting
footsteps, re-crossing the Kedron, and conducted up Mount Moriah. On
entering the city He is first led to Annas, the ruler of the Sanhedrin.
Annas sends Him. bound to Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It is
past the hour of midnight, but yet there is no repose for the Savior, though
He greatly needed it after enduring His terrible conflict in the garden.
View Him now, while you think of the pains He has just undergone in
Gethsemane. What traces of sorrow do you still discern. in that 'visage so
marred' by the stroke of divine justice- by the weight of sin- by the
breaking forth of a mysterious, bloody sweat? How weak and exhausted does He
still appear!
Oh, how little do we think of the sufferings of Jesus in that night when,
'with wicked hands,' He was taken and brought as a lamb to the slaughter!
Let us view Him as He stands arraigned as a criminal before Caiaphas. There
stands the Holy One of Israel to be judged by sinners! There Jesus stands as
our representative, bearing our sins! There stands the Lamb without spot, to
be slain to take away our guilt! False witnesses are sought by the chief
priests and elders, and all the council of the Jews, to condemn Him to
death. The predictions of the Psalmist are now literally accomplished.
'False witnesses rose up; they laid to my charge things that I knew not.'
'False witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.'
Many false witnesses come forward; yet their testimony disagrees. At length
two false witnesses come and testify that Jesus affirmed He was able to
destroy the temple of God and to rebuild it in three days. But even their
testimony is conflicting. How meekly and patiently does the Savior listen to
all the false accusations His enemies and persecutors are bringing against
Him! No contradictory statements, no severe invectives fall from His lips.
He remains silent amid the reproaches cast upon Him. The wicked Caiaphas,
who had already declared that Jesus should die, at length rises with
indignation, and says to the meek and innocent Savior: 'Well, aren't you
going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself? But
Jesus remained silent.'
What a noble pattern of suffering innocence do we here behold in the Man
Christ Jesus! Now are fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah, '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 opened not His mouth.' But still the mockery of a trial, devoid of all
the principles of justice goes on, until the crowning accusation is brought
forward. In the lighted chamber of Caiaphas, where the scribes and the
elders were assembled, Jesus is accused of blasphemy, and judged to be
guilty of death. Now all manner of insult and indignation is heaped upon His
sacred Person by the men who hold Him. They deride Him; spit in His face;
buffet Him; smite Him with the palms of their bands; and having blindfolded
Him, strike Him on the face, and cry with malicious mockery, 'Prophesy unto
us, Christ, who hit you?' Hundreds of years before it occurred, this very
scene of insult and derision was predicted by the prophet Isaiah, in those
remarkable words: 'The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious,
neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my checks to
those who plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.'
O my soul, consider with what unruffled patience the Savior bore Himself
amid all the insults of that wicked examination and trial, when the rulers
of the Jews were thirsting for His innocent blood, when Peter denied Him,
and all the disciples forsook Him! Was there ever before such an example of
patient suffering? Oh, how patient was the blessed Jesus amid all His
sufferings, until on Calvary He commended His spirit into the hands of His
Father, and bowed His head in death! What sorrows did He undergo! and with
what patience did He suffer them! Patient, when Judas unworthily betrayed
Him with a kiss- patient, when hurried from one place to another- patient,
when Herod and his men of war set him at nothing- patient, when Pilate so
unrighteously condemned Him- patient, when scourged and crowned with thorns-
patient, when His cross was laid upon Him, and when He was reviled,
reproached, scoffed at, and every way abused. Lord Jesus, grant me patience
after this example, to bear Your holy will in all things. Oh, Jesus, who now
sits at the right hand of God, to support all who suffer in a righteous way,
be my advocate for grace, that in all my sufferings I may follow Your
example, and 'run with patience the race that is set before me.' Let us
always look to our Savior for the noblest example of patience in suffering.
But at length that last sad and terrible night of the Son of God wears away,
and morning breaks. The sun rises and pours a flood of light upon the world,
while with the Sun of Righteousness it is still the hour and the power of
darkness. What an eventful morning! What a momentous day! Before the sun
would again set, what scenes were to occur on Calvary! what a work was to be
accomplished there! Scenes which the sun could not behold; a work which will
be celebrated through ages, countless as the stars of heaven, or the dust of
earth!
Early in the morning, when the great Sanhedrin, or council of the Jews,
assembled, Jesus was brought before their tribunal, and falsely accused,
examined, condemned, bound, and hurried away to the judgment hall of Pilate,
that the final sentence of death might be pronounced upon Him. What disciple
of the Savior can contemplate that most malicious and unjust trial without
feelings of heartfelt sorrow, as he sees his divine Master cruelly insulted
and beaten by the Jewish rulers and the Roman soldiers? Draw near and view
the meek Man of Nazareth standing before those ferocious men. See how
vehemently He is accused of sedition by the 'whole multitude' that follow
Him to the hall of Pilate: see how He is mocked by Herod, and arrayed in a
gorgeous robe, and sent again to Pilate: and while Pilate is about to
release Him, because he could find nothing worthy of death in Him, hear the
infuriated multitude vociferate, 'Crucify Him, crucify Him!' 'Not this man,
but Barabbas!'
Truly was it prophesied of the enemies of the blessed Redeemer; 'They
swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a roaring flame.'
Barabbas is released, while the innocent and holy Jesus is scourged by the
Roman soldiers; and, at the command of Pilate, delivered into the hands of
the Jews to be crucified. 'So Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released
Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then
turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him.' Jesus is now taken
unto the 'common hall' by the soldiers, stripped of His garments, and
clothed in a purple robe. A crown of thorns is placed upon His head, a reed
in His hand; and in derision and scorn He is saluted, 'Hail, King of the
Jews!' Now the soldiers spit upon Him, smite Him on the head with the reed,
and strike Him with their hands.
Behold Him now with the crown of thorns on His head, while the soldiers with
heavy blows drive those thorns into His temples, which force the blood down
His cheeks. 'Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple
robe. And Pilate said, "Here is the man!" Why does Pilate thus exclaim? Does
he exhibit the Savior in derision? Or does he imagine the sight of His
bleeding and disfigured form would excite compassion in the bosom of His
enemies, and lead to His release? If so, how great must have been his
surprise on hearing the chief priests and officers; when they saw the Man in
that pitiable condition; exclaim, in their animosity, malice, and fury:
'Crucify Him! Crucify Him!'
But here let us pause, and behold the Man, the Man Christ Jesus, the Lamb of
God standing before the infuriated Jews, wearing the crown of thorns and the
purple robe? His face stained with blood, and His whole Person bearing the
marks of cruelty. How astonishing the sight! Emmanuel, God in our nature,
suffering by the hands of those whom He came to redeem- wearing the piercing
crown of thorns, and bleeding for sinners! He whose throne is in the
heavens, and who is exalted far above all principality, and power, and
might, and dominion, stooping to such torture- made such a spectacle 'unto
the world, and to angels, and to men!' This is certainly a sight which, if
seriously beheld, is calculated to make the deepest impression on our
hearts. Oh, let us draw near, and with the eye of faith, behold the Man.
Behold the face of Him, who is fairer than the children of men, crimsoned
with blood; see His sacred head bowed in agony amid the shouts of derision,
and the cries of, 'Crucify Him! Crucify Him!' Let us look steadily and
earnestly on our suffering Savior, until He becomes unspeakably precious to
our souls; until His love is abundantly shed abroad in our hearts; until in
the blissful light of heaven we behold Him in the midst of the throne, as
the Lamb that was slain, and join in the unending song of the church
triumphant- a song sweeter than angels sing- 'All praise to him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us
his kingdom and his priests who serve before God his Father. Give to him
everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever! Amen!'
There is no sight so purifying and elevating to the soul operated upon by
the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit, as that of a suffering Savior
voluntarily taking upon Himself the burden of our guilt, and making
atonement for our sins. May this sight never fade from our view during our
passage through life; may it refresh our souls in the hour of death! Oh,
what heavenly peace flows down to the faithful beholders of the Man Christ
Jesus, wearing the thorny crown, and the purple robe!
'See! from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did ever such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?'
This is a sight which will support us in the hour of temptation and deep
distress. Oh, tempest-tossed and grievously afflicted children of God, who
may have been long walking in darkness, having no light, we invite you to
behold the Man, bearing your iniquities in His own body, His face and His
garments stained with blood, that you might be clothed in the white robes of
His righteousness- that through His divine blood you might obtain eternal
redemption, and enter the gates of the New Jerusalem with everlasting songs
of joy, and with never-fading crowns of glory. When sin oppresses, when
Satan accuses, when your own conscience condemns, fix your eye of faith on a
suffering Redeemer. Behold the Man; and derive strength and courage from the
look. You cannot come into condemnation now, if you are a sincere penitent.
No matter how great or aggravated your sins may be, the blood which flows
beneath that crown of thorns is all- sufficient to wash away your guilt. It
was shed for this very purpose. It is blood of wondrous virtue. Oh, then,
come to Jesus; wash your robes, and make them white in His blood. Touch the
hem of His purple robe, and virtue will come forth to heal your soul. Then
with rapture will you sing through all eternity of the infinite efficacy of
that blood by which yon have been redeemed to God- then will you forever
behold the Man of Nazareth, the Son of God, not in a state of deep
humiliation and suffering, but crowned with all that divide majesty and
glory which He had with the Father before the world was. Oh, blessed sight!
Let those who have hitherto neglected or refused to look to Jesus, now
behold the Man. 'Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world!' Behold Him, and live. 'Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of
the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.' The suffering Savior has
procured for you the pardon of sin, the favor of God, and a life of endless
felicity beyond the grave. By His precious blood 'shall He sprinkle many
nations.' Ah! if you do not behold Him now, with thankfulness and joy, as
your Savior, there is a day approaching when, with terror, you shall behold
Him coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, to judge the
world. Then you who have pierced Him by your sins, and refused to look to
Him for pardon, shall behold the Man when it will be too late to receive His
pardoning mercy; when you must forever drink of that bitter cup of wrath,
which the Savior in the garden emptied for those who have fled to Him for
refuge. Then every eye shall behold Him, and they also who pierced Him. How
unlike the Man of Sorrows, how unlike the pale and agonizing Sufferer of
Gethsemane, how unlike the tortured 'Man of Calvary', will He then appear!
Oh, let us look to Him now by faith; and in that great and dreadful day,
when the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, we shall lift up our heads with joy, while the
despisers of His mercy, in terror and despair, are calling upon the
mountains and rocks to fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him who
sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb!
BEARING HIS CROSS, TUE SAVIOR IS LED TO CALVARY. The sentence of death has
been passed upon the Son of God: He has endured the most shocking insults
from the officers of the priests, and the soldiers; and now the bloody
sentence is to be executed. Amid a crowd of His bitterest foes, Jesus, the
Lamb of God, is led away to the scene of His crucifixion. A few sorrowing
friends follow Him 'afar off;' while multitudes view the scene with but
little concern. Let us– in spirit, follow the procession as it moves along
the streets of Jerusalem, and passes through the gates of the city towards
Calvary. Let us carefully trace the footsteps of our Savior to the Cross;
and witness, with feelings of solemnity, the lowest steps in His
humiliation.
'And they took Jesus, and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went
forth unto a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the
Hebrew, Golgotha.' What a sight is that which now meets our astonished gaze!
The Savior going forth to die, bearing His own cross upon His shoulders,
while the blood still flows down His checks from the thorns that pierced His
temples! Well may Isaiah, rapt in prophetic vision, ask with wonder: 'Who is
this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained
red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in the greatness of his strength?
It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation! It is I, the Lord, who is
mighty to save!' With what astonishment must all heaven have gazed on this
sad and mysterious scene! Yet we hear no complaints from the lips of the
lowly, and oppressed, and afflicted Redeemer. What unexampled meekness and
patience are manifested by Him who could, by His word of omnipotence, have
laid His enemies lifeless at His feet! What gratitude and praise shall we
render to the blessed Savior for thus, in His immeasurable love, voluntarily
bearing our sins in His own body!
But look again! Behold the Man of Sorrows oppressed with the burden He
bears. Behold Him, whose arms sustain the pillars of the universe, bending
towards the ground under the weight of His cross! Behold Him, whose voice
stilled the waves of the sea, and called the dead to life, almost prostrated
at the feet of His enemies! No wonder the strength of Christ's human nature
should now be exhausted under the burden laid on Him. No wonder that groans
are now uttered by the suffering Savior. Look at Him but a few hours before
this affecting scene occurred, when He lay agonizing in Gethsemane, exposed
to the cold, damp, midnight air, drinking the horrible cup His Father had
given Him, while mysterious drops of blood from His sacred body were falling
to the ground. Look at Him in this weak and exhausted condition, seized,
bound, dragged from the garden, arraigned before Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate,
and Herod- buffeted and scourged, His face disfigured, and His temples
pierced with the crown of thorns. Can you wonder that Jesus should now be
exhausted when He so recently endured the most piercing agony, and the most
cruel treatment? Do not these sufferings of His seem to you, even without
His crucifixion, to have been most violent and bitter grief's, to have been
awful and dreadful scenes?
But view the scene in another light. It was not merely the weight of that
cross-piece, which bowed the Son of God in pain and exhaustion to the
ground. It was not merely the fatigue, nor the loss of blood, nor the
prospect of a painful and ignominious end, that caused the pallor of death
to pass over His countenance. It was a burden far greater than the cross on
His shoulders. It was the infinite wrath of God due to sin. It was this
heavy burden that most severely oppressed the Savior. It made Him faint. It
cost Him His precious blood. To His cross were nailed both sin, and the
curse of the law; and both were laid upon His shoulders. Thus He bore our
sins upon the cross. When we behold this mysterious sight, the Lord of
glory, the Son of the Eternal, in our nature, bowed to the ground in
weakness and pain for our sakes, we may truly exclaim with the prophet:
'Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we
considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was
pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are
healed.'
'He sunk beneath our heavy woes,
To raise us to a throne
There's never a gift His hand bestows
But cost His heart a groan.'
O my Savior, when I view You bearing the cross, and sinking under it, may I
be deeply affected with a proper sense of Your extreme sufferings, and the
infinite evil of sin– the procuring cause of Your death. May I also view,
with admiration and gratitude, Your condescending grace here so
illustriously displayed. Most willingly and patiently did You bear the cross
on earth, that I might wear a crown of glory in heaven. How infinite Your
mercy in stooping so low in humiliation and suffering, that ruined man might
be crowned with all the happiness of the celestial world! In imitation of
You may I be enabled to take up my cross daily, and follow You through evil
as well as good report, remembering You have said, 'If any man will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.' Since
You have borne the cross for our sakes, the burden You impose on us is
indeed light. In Your boundless benevolence for the sinful, the lost, and
the wretched, You have said, 'Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I
am meek and lowly in heart; and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden is light.' In compliance with Your command, and
supported by You, may I always be found bearing Your burden, and my cross,
up through the wilderness of this sin-stained world, to those blissful
abodes, where I shall rest and rejoice forever at the Fountain of all
felicity.
Let us still hear our cross cheerfully and patiently, while we follow the
sacred steps of the Lord Jesus. Though our path be rugged, and beset with
enemies; though our hearts often faint, while innumerable evils encompass
us; yet may we remember, that it is by the cross we reach the kingdom of
heaven and the crown of everlasting life. And why should we fear to take up
that which will conduct us to a heavenly kingdom and a never-fading crown of
glory?
When the cross was removed from the shoulders of Christ it was laid on
Simon, a native of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, 'that he might
bear it after Jesus.' The procession again moves along, leading the innocent
victim, the immaculate Lamb of God, to be immolated on the summit of
Calvary. Immense crowds of people are following, many of whom are doubtless,
strangers assembled from different parts of the country, to observe the
Passover. Among this mixed multitude, we may well suppose, were not a few
who had experienced in their own bodies the healing power of Jesus. These
would follow Him with sorrowful steps. Many women bewailed with tears His
near approaching death. 'And there followed Him a great company of people,
and of women, which also bewailed and lamented Him.' The heart of Jesus is
touched for these mourners. He could bear the reproach and insults of the
rabble with patience, and without uttering a word; but now He speaks. Oh,
when are the lips of Jesus ever sealed to the voice of grief? When is His
heart insensible to our woes? When does He not sympathize with us in
distress? When does He not pity the miseries even of those who reject Him,
and say in their heart- 'We will not have this Man to reign over us?'
Though Calvary is within sight- though the dreadful scenes of His
crucifixion are fully in view- yet He seems to forget His own deep distress,
while He turns to the weeping women, and says, 'Daughters of Jerusalem, weep
not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the
days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and
the wombs that never bore, and the breasts which never nursed. Then shall
they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?'
Ah! what a fearful picture of distress was before the mind of the Savior
when He uttered these words! Before the eye of Him, who declares the end
from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
arose the terrific scene of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. He
sees the city encompassed with armies; and the Roman eagle waving in triumph
over the ruins of the magnificent temple. He hears the moans of the dying
inhabitants as they are swept off by the famine, the pestilence, and the
sword. Yes, and on His vision rises that dreadful scene so vividly described
by Josephus- the crucifixion of so many of the Jews before the gates of
Jerusalem, by the command of the Roman general, that at last there was
neither room to erect crosses near the walls, nor wood sufficient for
crosses. In view, then, of all the woe and carnage of that dreadful siege of
Jerusalem under Titus, which took place in less than forty years from that
time, and which Josephus tells us exceeded all the calamities which had
befallen any nation from the beginning of the world, well may the Savior
address those touching words to the women who lamented His death.
THE SAVIORS CRUCIFIXION. At length the place appointed for the crucifixion
of Christ is reached. 'When they came to the place called the Skull, there
they crucified him, along with the criminals– one on his right, the other on
his left.' With our hearts deeply affected, let us now contemplate this most
solemn scene of our Lord's crucifixion. And, while we turn our eyes to the
cross, let us not stand at a great distance, and take a 'far off' look at a
crucified Redeemer, like those of whom it is said, 'they stood afar off,
beholding these things;' but let us draw near, and see this great and
marvelous sight which the angels beheld with astonishment, and which has
brought glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards
men. Oh, let us draw close to Christ by faith in His atoning blood, and be
clothed in His spotless righteousness. Behold Him, as He reaches the summit
of Calvary, after His wearisome and painful way to the cross. See Him laid
upon the ground, with His arms stretched out on the cross-piece which he had
carried, and to which He is nailed. Listen to the sound of those heavy
blows, which drive the nails through the palms of His blessed hands. See His
persecutors now driving other spikes through His feet, which fasten them to
the upright post. Thus is the prophecy of the Psalmist fulfilled: 'They
pierced my hands and my feet.' See the cross now erected with its bleeding
Victim nailed to it. Now behold the Son of God suspended upon the accursed
tree, His whole weight hanging on the spikes through His hands and feet, His
blood flowing in streams from the wounds, enduring pains the most extreme
and griefs the most bitter, encompassed by His reviling persecutors,
assailed by evil spirits, and forsaken by His Father! ' My enemies surround
me like a pack of dogs; an evil gang closes in on me. They have pierced my
hands and feet. I can count every bone in my body. My enemies stare at me
and gloat. They divide my clothes among themselves and throw dice for my
garments. In this condition He is left to die, with the two thieves as his
companions. Thus the Lord of glory, while bearing the sins of many, is
numbered with the transgressors, and makes His grave with the wicked.
While the Savior hangs in indescribable torture on the cross, let us listen
to His dying words. To the very last He is employed in doing good, and in
accomplishing the great work on which He had been sent into the world. Even
on the cross He is not inactive. His hands are still stretched out to bless
and to save. His heart is still full of compassion and pity. His voice is
still uttering words of forgiveness and love to the sinful and the wretched.
Oh, what affecting, consoling, and blessed words fall from the lips of the
Son of God before He bows His head in death! Let us carefully attend to
those last sayings of the Lord Jesus, uttered while He was enduring the deep
agony of a crucifixion.
THE SAVIORS FIRST SAYING ON THE CROSS. The first saying of Christ on the
cross is the prayer for His persecutors. It was offered when His heart was
racked with the deepest agony; when His persecutors were in the very act of
driving the nails through His hands and feet, or shortly after the cross was
erected, when they had accomplished their wicked work. How natural to
suppose that the innocent Sufferer would now pray for the destruction of His
persecutors! But hark! What gentle accents do we hear falling from the pale,
quivering lips of Him who is stretched on yonder bloody cross? They are the
breathings of the dying Savior, whose cheek is dewed with tears of
compassion for lost sinners, and whose boundless love has constrained Him,
amid excruciating pain, derision, and reproach, to give His holy life a
ransom for many. From that cross on which the world's Redeemer hangs and
bleeds, the wondrous prayer is borne to heaven- 'Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do.'
Oh, what unexampled benevolence is displayed in this prayer! How unlike the
utterances of the natural heart- how like the language of Him who is love!
Behold the Savior's meek, forgiving eye raised from the cross in patient
agony, and read in that eye the vastness of His redeeming love. The dying
Jesus praying for His murderers! What more touching scene can be presented
for our admiration, gratitude, and praise? And was not that remarkable
prayer answered? Yes, not long after, many who had shouted, with the chief
priests and scribes, 'Away With Him, Crucify Him,' were heard to cry out in
heartfelt sorrow, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Under the touching
sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost, 'about three thousand souls' were
added to the church; and soon after, 'the number of the men was about five
thousand.' The apostles were directed to make the first offers of peace and
pardon, through the atonement made on Calvary, to those very people who had
imbrued their hands in the blood of the Son of God. 'Beginning at Jerusalem'
was the command.
I hear a sound that comes from far;
It fills my soul with joy and love;
Not seraphs' voices sweeter are,
That echo through the courts above.
'Tis mercy's voice that strikes my ear,
From Calvary it sounds abroad,
It soothes my soul and calms my fear;
It speaks of pardon bought with blood.
And is it true that many fly
The sound that bids my soul rejoice,
And rather choose with fools to die,
Than turn an ear to mercy's voice.
With such I own I once appeared,
But now I know how great their loss;
For sweeter sounds were never heard,
Than mercy utters from the cross.'
But amid all that unspeakable compassion and love which the Savior manifests
on the cross, the people, the rulers, and the soldiers, still go on to
deride and reproach Him, by saving, 'So! You can destroy the Temple and
build it again in three days, can you? Well then, if you are the Son of God,
save yourself and come down from the cross' 'Himself He cannot save.' 'If
you are the son of God, come down from the cross.' 'If He is the King of
Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He
trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him: for He said, I
am the Son of God.' The soldiers part His garments among them; cast lots for
His coat; and sitting down, watch Him there. But let us listen further to
the consoling and majestic words of Jesus on the cross.
THE SAVIOR'S SECOND SAYING ON THE CROSS. His next saying is His address to
one of the malefactors, who desired the Savior to remember him when He
should come into His kingdom. 'And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when You come into Your kingdom.' How full of grace, mercy, and truth, is
the Redeemer of mankind! To the end of His earthly sojourn He loves to
promote the spiritual and eternal welfare of the fallen and the erring,
verifying His own declaration, 'I have not come to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.' In what a happy light is He here exhibited to us
from the cross- in His own death saving the dying malefactor! While nailed
to the accursed tree, enduring the most indescribable suffering both of body
and soul, He turns His gracious eye to the penitent thief, and addresses to
him these cheering words, 'Truly, I say unto you, today you shall be with me
in Paradise.' What more animating words could have been spoken by the Savior
to one whose past life was stained with sin, and who was now punished for
his transgression, and about to appear before the Judge of heaven and earth!
Today you shall pass with me through the gates of Paradise. Today you shall
drink wine with me in my Father's kingdom, and eat of the fruit of the Tree
of Life, which grows in the midst of Paradise. Today you shall enjoy the
most blissful and intimate communion with me in those heavenly mansions
which are irradiated by the glory of God and the Lamb. Wondrous grace
indeed! This precious promise must have rejoiced the soul of the penitent
thief in the highest degree, and made death itself appear to him as a
conquered enemy; with its sting extracted and its terrors fled.
Yes, we seem to hear from the lips of that once wretched man- but now, at
the eleventh hour, reclaimed by sovereign grace- the shout of triumph amid
the piercing agony of a crucifixion, and in the near prospect of dying, 'O
death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? Thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.' 'Today!' How
glorious the transition to that poor dying thief! Little did he think, when
that last morning of his life dawned, that the day of his wretched execution
was to end in such happiness; that the storm of angry elements of the
morning would be changed into so blessed an evening's calm. Conceive of the
rapid and glorious change! In the morning nailed to the cruel cross– in the
evening wearing a golden crown! In the morning cast out as too vile for
earth– in the evening welcomed into the highest heaven! In the morning
blaspheming a dying Savior– in the evening with that Savior in Paradise! In
the morning pierced with sorrows more bitter than the nails in his hands and
feet– in the evening ceasing from care and pain, and enjoying a peaceful
rest! In the morning surrounded by angry foes, in whose curses he joined– in
the evening received among angels and the spirits of the just, joining in
the chorus of the redeemed! In the morning on earth– in the evening in
heaven! In the morning on the borders of hell– in the evening caught up to
Paradise. How marvelous, how matchless the richness of Divine grace! 'W ho
is a God like You, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin!'
This was the first fruits of the blood of the cross. Precious fountain of
redeeming blood! How many thousands, once as vile as the dying malefactor,
have since washed their robes in this blood of the Lamb, that was shed for
the remission of sins- thousands who are now with Christ in Paradise. Yes,
with Christ in the better country above- in the goodly land of Emmanuel,
enjoying the benefits of His vicarious sacrifice on Calvary- monuments of
the all-sufficiency of His atoning blood to save- beholding His surpassing
glory- now tasting of the immortal fruit of the Tree of Life- now sitting
under its delightful shadow- now standing before the throne, and joining in
all the sweet, and melodious, and transporting songs of the heavenly temple!
In view of all the blessedness that awaits the whole family of the redeemed,
as the purchase of a Savior's blood, what voyager on life's stormy ocean,
desiring to find the peaceful haven of eternal rest, is not ready to breathe
from his inmost soul, the prayer, 'Oh! blessed Jesus! support my spirit when
I come to die, with this comfortable promise, "This day shall you be with me
in Paradise." We indeed, suffer justly the sentence of death. Oh, You who
did nothing amiss, and yet did suffer for me; remember me, O Lord, now that
You are in Your kingdom.'
There is a fountain filled with blood
drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he,
washed all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Your precious blood
shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God
be saved, to sin no more.
E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Your flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing Your power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
lies silent in the grave.
THE SAVIOR COMMENDS HIS MOTHER TO THE CARE OF THE BELOVED DISCIPLE. As
Christ hangs in the midst of His dying agonies, see Him affectionately
commending His sorely-tried mother, who stands near the cross, to the care
of John, the beloved disciple. Turning to her whose cheek is bedewed with
tears, and whose soul is wrung with the most poignant grief, He addresses
these words: 'Woman, behold your Son!' It has been observed, that 'He called
her not mother, lest she might grieve the more from the tenderness of her
intense love.' After uttering these words, He fixes His eye on the beloved
disciple, who was standing near the deeply-grieved mother of our Lord, and
says, 'Behold your mother!' 'From that hour,' we are told, 'that disciple
took her unto his own home.' How tender the regard of Christ for her in whom
the prophecy of Simeon was then fulfilled: 'Yes, a sword shall pierce
through your own soul also.'
Has the tender kindness of the Redeemer for His own, who are in the world,
ever been equaled? Oh, no. It infinitely surpasses all the manifestations of
human tenderness. It is unutterable. He never for a moment forsakes those
who are found doing the will of His Father, and whom He regards as His
brother, and sister, and mother. They are always kept as the apple of His
eye- engraved upon the palms of His hands- borne upon His breastplate, and
set as a seal upon His heart, and upon His arm. All their needs are supplied
out of His unwasting fullness. His eye of love is ever upon them during
their earthly pilgrimage; and He knows how to deliver them out of all their
troubles. 'Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivers
him out of them all.' Oh, let us ever rely on His providential care, and
confide in His unchanging love.
In this saying of Christ, the church is furnished with an excellent pattern
for the proper discharge of some of the most important duties of human
relationship. He has commended filial love and duty in the strongest terms:
and if we would follow His blessed steps, let us carefully observe the
divine command: 'honor your father and your mother; that the days may be
long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.'
THE MYSTERIOUS DARKNESS. It was at the third hour of the day at nine o'clock
in the morning, that Jesus was nailed to the cross. For three hours He hangs
in indescribable torture, patiently enduring all the scoffs and reproaches
of His foes. His last prayer for His persecutors has been offered. He has
rescued the penitent thief from the pit of the lost, and assured him that,
in a few hours, he should be crowned with the glory and felicity of
Paradise. He has commended His mother to the care of the beloved disciple.
During all this time nature does not seem to sympathize with the divine
Sufferer of Calvary. All is tranquil. No thunder rolls along the heavens: no
lightnings flash across the sky: no earthquakes upheave the lofty mountains.
In the bright sunlight smiles the rich landscape of Palestine, now clothed
with all the verdure of spring. But look again. How changed the scene! It is
now mid day. Noon time has come! when lo! all at once, a horrible darkness
gathers over the land, filling many a heart with terror and dismay, and
hiding the tragical scenes of Calvary from the view of the insulting and
persecuting foes of Christ. But more than this; the heavens are turned into
blackness. The sun, refusing to shine on a scene so shocking, veils his face
in midnight darkness, while Emmanuel is suffering more than mind can
conceive- while the cold drops of death stand on the pale, agony-wrung brow
of the Son of God, the Savior and Friend of sinners. Now is literally
accomplished the prediction of Amos, 'And it shall come to pass in that day,
with the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will
darken the earth on a clear day.' 'And when the sixth hour had come, there
was darkness over the whole land, until the ninth hour.' 'And the sun was
darkened.'
'The sun beheld it- No, the shocking scene
Drove back his chariot: midnight veiled his face;
Not such as this; not such as nature makes;
A midnight nature shuddered to behold;
A midnight new! a dread eclipse (without
Opposing spheres) from her Creator's frown!
Sun! did you flee your Maker's pain? or start
At that enormous load of human guilt,
Which bowed His blessed head; overwhelmed His cross;
Made groan the center; burst earth's marble womb
With pangs, strange pangs! delivered of her dead?
Hell howled, and Heaven that hour let fall a tear;
Heaven wept that man might smile!
Heaven bled that man might never die!'
THE SAVIOR'S PIERCING CRY. During that mysterious, natural darkness, which
enveloped the whole land from the sixth hour until three o'clock in the
afternoon, the human soul of our blessed Savior was surrounded with the most
dreadful spiritual darkness and desertion. From the commencement of the
supernatural darkness until about its termination, He seems to have remained
silent. He drinks the bitter cup of God's wrath due to sin. The powers of
darkness fiercely assail Him. He enjoys no sensible communion with Heaven.
It is the gloomiest period in His whole life. But at length His agony is so
piercing that He is constrained to utter the most touching words of grief.
His Father- His own Father- in whose bosom He had lain from eternity- His
Father, by whom He was always beloved, has withdrawn the light of His
countenance from Him; and from His cross arises a most piercing and
agonizing cry.
At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, 'My God, my God,
why have You forsaken me?' Oh, how mysterious, how solemn, how affecting is
this cry! It is the most doleful that ever came from the lips of Christ
during His sorrowful sojourn from the manger to the cross. While in the
garden, enduring His great spiritual conflict, He did not cry in this
manner. He could then address His Father, as being near Him, to assist Him
in His mysterious agony. He could then say: 'O my Father; if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.'
But now on the cross how different His cry- 'My God, my God, why have You
forsaken me?' Ah! how dreadful must it be to experience the withdrawal of
the countenance of Him in whose favor is life, and in whose frown is death.
This was the heaviest wave that ever went over the human soul of Jesus; and
it made the last hour of His pilgrimage the hour of unspeakable suffering.
He had patiently endured the seizure of His person, the forsaking of His
disciples, the cruel trial, the unjust condemnation, the mocking, the
scourging, the bearing of His cross, the reproaches of His persecutors, the
assaults of His spiritual foes, and all the torture of a crucifixion; but
when His Father hides His face from Him He is well near overwhelmed.
All His former sufferings came short of this trial. To the Savior this was
truly the hour of darkness- of reproach- of temptation- of pain- of
desertion. Yes, while His blessed body- is quivering in every nerve from
excruciating pain - while wicked men and devils surround Him, he enjoys no
sensible communion with His Father. No one can conceive what anguish must
have been experienced by the Son of God under the hidings of His Father's
face by Him who had always enjoyed His Father's presence, and His Father's
love; and who could ever say, 'I am not alone, because the Father is with
Me.' 'Oh, my Savior, no tongue can describe, no angel can fathom the abyss
of Your suffering for me a sinner! As I cannot reach the infinite height of
Your love and Your glory in heaven, so I cannot descend into the depth of
Your sorrows when here on earth. I can only wonder and adore.' (Rowland
Hill)
Let us often remember those hours of darkness and desertion when Jesus was
stretched on the cross; and while we think of our suffering and deserted
Savior, let us also consider the cause of that internal, overpowering
conflict, which at last caused His grief to burst forth in a cry that wrung
the hearts of His friends with sorrow, and filled heaven with astonishment.
Ah! why does He thus groan in Spirit! Why does He hang on yonder cross,
uttering with 'strong crying and tears' these doleful words, 'My God, my
God, why have You forsaken me?' It was not the nails which pierced His hands
and feet, nor the agony of a crucifixion, that caused this mournful cry. He
was now offering himself a sacrifice for the sins of the world; and as our
Surety He suffered all that divine justice required to bring the sinner back
to God and to glory. Here is the great mystery of Godliness: the Father
bruises the Son, and puts Him to grief for our sakes; and all those cries,
and tears, and groans of Him, whom the Father appointed to accomplish our
salvation, were for us.
If Christ had not interposed and made peace by the blood of His Cross, if He
had not assumed our guilt and stood in our room, He would never have
experienced such anguish of soul, nor uttered so doleful a cry; for God the
Father would never have deserted His beloved Son. But when He voluntarily
undertakes to redeem man, when He comes in the great name of God to save us
sinners, the Father forsakes Him, because that on His shoulders was then
laid the enormous load of human guilt. How should it excite our hearts to
gratitude and praise, when we remember that all Christ suffered on the cross
was for sinful humanity. He then endured pain that we might enjoy pleasure.
He suffered the hidings of His Father's countenance, that the light of that
countenance might shine upon us; that we might have gracious communings with
the Father of Spirits; that we might enjoy the smiles of our Heavenly
Father's love; that God might be our everlasting light. Oh, what do such
voluntary humiliation and suffering demand from us? What can we render to
our Divine Surety for His amazing and unparalleled love to us? Surely our
warmest affections should be given to Him who was thus mindful of us in our
lost condition.
'Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.'
Let our whole lives be passed in celebrating His redeeming love, and
contemplating His excellence and beauty, so that we shall be prepared to
dwell in His presence on High, there unceasingly to behold His face in
righteousness, and to trace, as the ages of glory roll, the streams of His
boundless, unfathomable love flowing in ever widening channels through all
eternity. And oh, may we now have grace to feel, as we turn to the cross of
the sinner's Friend, that for our sakes came the doleful voice, 'My God, my
God, why have You forsaken me?'
Oh, what a groan was there! a groan not His.
He seized our dreadful right; the load sustained,
And heaved the mountain from a guilty world.'
THE SAVIOR'S THIRST. After uttering the piercing cry, 'My God, my God, why
have You forsaken me?' and knowing that all things were about to be
accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I thirst.'
Who can wonder that He should complain of extreme thirst amid the agonies He
was enduring on the cross? He has received no refreshment since the
commencement of His awful conflict in Gethsemane, where the arrows of the
Almighty were within Him, the poison whereof drank up His spirit. He has
suffered so much from the effusion of blood that He can now say, 'My life is
poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like
wax, melting within me. My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My
tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left
me for dead.' For nearly six hours He has endured the most inconceivable
suffering on the cross, until His strength is dried up like a sunbaked clay-
until His tongue cleaves to His jaws- until He is brought into the dust of
death. And now, in the extremity of His sufferings, He cries, 'I thirst.'
The soldiers forthwith fill a sponge with vinegar, and hold it up to His
parched lips. He meekly receives the bitter potion; and immediately after,
He utters His last two sayings; and then resigns His spirit into the hands
of His Father.
When our Lord had received the vinegar mingled with bitter gall, the
prophecy was fulfilled, 'They gave me also gall for any food; and in my
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.' The sufferings which caused the
Savior thus to thirst were both physical and mental. At that solemn moment
He could say, 'My heart is smitten, and withered like grass. I am weary of
any crying: my throat is dried: my eyes fail while I wait for my God.' 'My
soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.' Oh, how great were the
sufferings of His soul, which was then enduring the righteous displeasure of
God against sin! The hand of His Father was now heavy upon Him for our
sakes. His soul was filled with grief, and His moisture 'turned into the
drought of summer.' On the cross He thirsted for God. His soul panted after
Him. He longed for rest in the bosom of His Father. He thirsted for the
pleasures of the heavenly world, and the light of the Divine countenance
which was withdrawn from Him.
He also thirsted for the accomplishment of our salvation. He thirsted that
the believer might thirst no more. 'He that believes on me shall never
thirst.' He was dried and parched with burning thirst that our spirits might
be refreshed, while passing through the earth, with the pure, soul-reviving
water of life, clear as crystal. He thirsted, that the streams of salvation
might break out in the desert of this world. He thirsted, that the redeemed
might forever drink of the river of pleasures in the Paradise of God. There,
'they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house; and You
shall make them drink of the river of Your pleasures.' There, 'they shall
hunger no more, neither thirst any more.' How wonderful is the grace of
Christ to a lost world!
'Oh, the rich depths of love divine;
Of bliss a boundless store
Dear Savior, let me call You mine,
I cannot wish for more.
On You alone my hope relies,
Beneath the cross I fall,
You are my life, my sacrifice,
My Savior, and my all.'
THE SAVIOR'S SIXTH SAYING ON THE CROSS. The unutterable anguish of Jesus is
drawing to a close. His sixth saying, 'It is finished,' falls on the ears of
the astonished spectators. Information more joyful, more glorious, could not
have been communicated to man. In these words is contained all that an
immortal spirit can desire; peace with God- the richest blessings on earth-
the highest felicity in heaven. 'IT IS FINISHED.' Glad tidings! Now can
Christ address the Father in these words: 'I have glorified You on the
earth. I have finished the work which You gave me to do.' The illustrious
Sufferer who hangs on yonder cross, has finished His divine mission on
earth- His wearisome journeys through the land of Israel- His works of
benevolence, and mercy, and miracles- all His sorrows and agonies as our
representative. He has finished the great work of redemption- finished
transgression- made an end of sin- made reconciliation for iniquity- and
brought in everlasting righteousness! He has pointed out the way of peace-
bound up the broken hearted- reclaimed the wanderer- preached the gospel to
the poor- revealed the purposes of God respecting the salvation of sinners,
and brought life and immortality to light.
The types and prophecies concerning His death are fulfilled; the great
atoning sacrifice is offered; the ransom is paid; divine justice is fully
satisfied; the promises are sealed; the powers of darkness are vanquished;
man is saved, and God glorified. Nothing now interposes between Heaven and
earth. The last barrier in the way of the sinner's salvation has been
removed. Now the gates of Paradise are opened wide to the children of earth,
and celestial glory shines forth. It encircles the humble believer; leads
him through green pastures beside the still waters; and guides him to those
blissful realms, where the tabernacle of God is with men- where the shadows
of death are past- where grief is changed to songs- where God is all in all.
How serene, how full of confidence, how triumphant does Christ appear in His
last moments! The sublime thought of the happy result of His death, sustains
and soothes Him amid the most extreme pain. Now does He see of the travail
of His soul, and is satisfied. He rejoices in spirit. 'Therefore my heart is
glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also shall rest in hope. For You will
not leave my soul in hell: neither will You allow Your Holy One to see
corruption.' Behold the triumph of the Redeemer in His death. He did not
commit His spirit into the hands of His Father, and expire, until He knew
that all things pertaining to the redemption of man were accomplished. Then,
with a loud voice, He exclaims: 'It is finished!'
At the sound of this victorious cry, we believe that Satan and his legions
trembled and fled; while the hosts of God on high tuned their golden harps
anew, and sang 'as it were a new song,' when they saw the 'Lion of the tribe
of Judah, the Root of David,' seize the prey out of the hands of the mighty,
prevail over death and hell, and lead captivity captive. W hat rapturous joy
must have sprung up in the bosom of those pure, celestial beings, when they
saw that the work of redemption was finished! Into this glorious mystery we
are assured the angels desire to look. And shall we neglect or despise so
great salvation? Shall we ever be deaf to the blissful sound which comes
from Calvary- from the lips of the dying Friend of sinners, 'It is
finished.' May this sound from the cross ever strike our ear with the
sweetest melody. It proclaims pardon, peace, and eternal life to a sinful,
guilty world. No sound is so sweet to the ears of an awakened and anxious
sinner as that which conveys the tidings of a finished salvation. Then look
to the Cross, O you who feel the heavy burden of sin– you around whom the
galling chains are fastened, and who are taken captive by Satan at his will.
Come to the Savior. He will break your chains, and give you rest, peace,
joy, and immortality; for with His dying voice of love and mercy He has
proclaimed, respecting man's salvation- 'It is finished!'
'Hark! the voice of love and mercy
Sounds aloud from Calvary;
See the rocks are rent asunder,
Darkness veils the mid-day sky;
"It is finished!"
Hear the dying Savior cry.
Oh, what joy to helpless sinners,
These triumphant words afford!
Heavenly blessings, without measure,
Flow to us through Christ the Lord.
"It is finished!"
Saints His dying words record.
Tune your harps anew, you seraphs!
Strike them to Emmanuel's name;
All on earth, and all in heaven,
Join the triumph to proclaim,
"It is finished!"
Glory to the bleeding Lamb.'
THE SAVIORS LAST WORDS ON THE CROSS. Having now accomplished the grand
object of His mediatorial office on earth, the Savior prepares for the last
struggle- the solemn and affecting moment of death. Look again at yonder
cross, and listen to the last cry of the Son of God. It is not one feebly
uttered. No; it is aloud cry. It is the voice of One who has power to lay
down His life and to take it again. It is the cry of One who voluntarily
expires. 'And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into
Your hands I commend my spirit.' The last words of Christ are spoken. His
last solemn act is performed. In what divine majesty does He now appear to
the believer! How great and sublime are His parting words! After having come
from His Father, and accomplished His Father's will, He calmly and
confidently commits His spirit into His hands; in accordance with His own
declaration, 'Yes, I came from the Father into the world, and I will leave
the world and return to the Father.'
The first saying of Christ on the cross is the prayer, 'Father, forgive
them: for they know not what they do;' and His last, is the prayer, 'Father,
into Your hands I commend my spirit.' Thus He commences and ends the scene
of His suffering with prayer. What a noble example is here presented for the
imitation of believers in the closing hours of their earthly pilgrimage! May
the last words of Jesus be our support and our joy when we approach the
margin of the dark river of death. Then, while relying with cheerful hope on
the merits of the Redeemer, may we say with a smile on our countenance, and
the love of God shed abroad in our heart, 'Father, into Your hands I commend
my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.'
Let us now commit our spirits into the hands of our Heavenly Father, and our
compassionate Redeemer, that they may be safely preserved unto the day of
glory, and admitted into mansions of unending felicity. If our souls are
faithfully entrusted to the hands of our divine Savior, we may rejoice even
amid the swellings of Jordan; for when our earthly house of this tabernacle
is dissolved, our spirits shall immediately pass to a building of God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Then, while we are
passing through the valley of the shadow of death, we may confidently sing
with the Psalmist, 'God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for
He shall receive me.' While we thus close our eves on all the transitory
scenes of earth, we will open them amid the seraphic splendors of eternal
day, and find ourselves with Christ in Paradise. Oh, then, in health, in
sickness, and in the solemn hour of death, let us commit our spirits to the
hands of our Heavenly Friend; and all will be well.
Like the blessed Savior, the true child of God leaves this valley of tears
with prayer on his lips; and thus engaged he is conducted by ministering
spirits into the mansions of eternal peace, where the prayer of earth is
exchanged for the praise of heaven. what a happy thing to bid adieu to earth
with this prayer, offered in the fervency of a living faith in the merits of
the Redeemer, 'Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.' 'Lord Jesus,
receive my spirit!' And how many thousands of those who now stand with
adoring gratitude and praise before the celestial throne, rejoicing with
unspeakable joy in the Divine presence, have thus passed the valley of
mortality, and been caught up into Paradise with Christ! Visit the dying
believer, who is strong in faith, and listen to the last words he whispers,
and see how he follows the example of his Lord, calmly resigning his spirit
to the Divine hand with prayer. Yes–
'Hear the last words the believer says.
He has bidden adieu to his earthy friends;
There is peace in his eye that upward bends;
There is peace in his calm confiding air;
For his last thoughts are God's, his last words, prayer.'
THE SAVIOR EXPIRES. When Christ had addressed His Father in His last words
of prayer, He immediately yielded His spirit into the hands of God. 'And
having said thus, He gave up His spirit.' Amazing sight! The Holy and the
Just One bows His head in the agonies of death! The Lord of glory expires on
the accursed tree! Messiah the Prince is cut off; but not for His own
iniquity. Let us gaze upon this solemn scene, until our hearts glow with
gratitude and love to the dying Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world.
'See where man's voluntary sacrifice
Bows His meek head, the Lord of glory dies!
Fixed to the cross His bleeding arms are bound,
While copious mercy streams from every wound.'
He who is the life of the universe voluntarily lays down His own life a
ransom for sinners! He, whose brightness is the light of heaven, and who is
the true Light of the world, veils His light in the region and shadow of
death!
THE SIGNS ATTENDING THE SAVIOR'S DEATH. While we gaze on an expiring Savior,
and see His blood flowing from the cross, and listen to His last words,
other scenes meet our astonished view, and claim our serious attention. It
is the voice of nature proclaiming the greatness of Emmanuel. While men are
denying the divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth, and with wicked hands
crucifying the Son of the living God, the very rocks cry out, and 'all the
frame of the world acknowledges the dominion of the Son of God, whom man
despises.' No sooner had Christ yielded His breath than the earth felt a
wondrous shaking, and 'gave a groan as if she too was about to expire.' At
the solemn moment of the Savior's death, the earth quakes- the rocks are
torn asunder- the mountains tremble- the veil of the temple is rent in two-
the tombs burst open, and the dead spring to life. 'At that moment the
curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook,
rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women
who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus' resurrection. They left
the cemetery, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many
people.'
What a solemn spectacle! Never before was such a scene witnessed by man.
Well may the day be overspread with darkness, and the light of the sun fade
in the heavens- well may the earth quake to its foundations, and the
sepulchers open, when the Refuge of Judah, the Holy One of Israel, the
glorious and mighty Lord of creation, hangs in death!
'Well may the cavern depths of earth
Be shaken, and her mountains nod;
Well may the sheeted dead come forth
To gaze upon a suffering God!
Well may the temple-shrine grow dim,
And shadows veil the Cherubim,
When He, the chosen One of Heaven,
A sacrifice for guilt is given!'
Those wonderful signs which attended the death of Christ made no little
impression upon many of His persecutors. The Roman centurion, the commander
of the band of soldiers who attended at the cross, was one of those who were
most affected. When he saw the heavens turned into darkness at noonday, the
earth quaking, and the rocks rending; and especially, when he thought of the
divine conduct of Jesus on the cross, and heard Him cry with a loud voice at
the very point of death, and saw that He so calmly and confidently committed
His spirit into the hands of His Father, he feared greatly, while at the
same time he gave vent to his feelings in the exclamation, 'Certainly this
was righteous man.' 'Truly this was the Son of God.'
After witnessing the solemn scene of the Savior's crucifixion, the whole
multitude left the sacred spot with deep emotions. 'And all the people that
came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote
their breasts and returned.' But let us stay on Calvary; and not be borne
away with the torrent of this vain, thoughtless, and sinful world. Let us
daily contemplate the Savior's cross. Glory shines from it. The sweetest
songs of heaven have respect to it. It gives rise to the happiness of the
whole redeemed host of God. O my soul, seriously and steadily look at your
Redeemer offering Himself a sacrifice for your sins. Behold the Son of God,
hanging on the accursed tree, making peace between God and man by the blood
of the cross! On the sacred summit of Calvary the church was purchased with
the blood of Emmanuel. There a fountain, which cleanses from all sin, has
been opened. There the precious blood of Christ, as a Lamb without blemish
and without spot, has been shed. See it streaming from the cross for the
salvation of the world– speaking better things than the blood of Abel–
pleading for pardon, peace, and reconciliation– opening the gates of the
heavenly city, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.
This is the fountain of which Zechariah prophesied, 'In that day there shall
be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.'
You pilgrims, who are journeying through a dry and thirsty land where there
is no water, come to this fountain for refreshment; here wash your robes,
and make them white, that you may be prepared to sit down at the
marriage-supper of the Lamb, and to walk with Christ in white, as those who
are worthy. Behold the water of endless life flowing from the side of the
blessed Jesus, the true smitten Rock; and as you journey through the burning
sands of life, keep close by this Rock- the Rock of our salvation.
Amid all the changing scenes of our earthly pilgrimage- in the sunshine of
prosperity- in the gloom of adversity- when blessed with health, and when
prostrated on beds of affliction- may we turn our eyes with gratitude and
love to the cross of Christ, around which beam the most resplendent rays of
divine love. On that peaceful mount, where all is sprinkled with atoning
blood, may we always rest; and when we come to yield our breath, may our
last thoughts be of Calvary, and our last words those of the apostle, 'As
for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world died
long ago, and the world's interest in me is also long dead.'
When on Calvary I rest,
God, in flesh made manifest,
Shines in my Redeemer's face,
Full of beauty, truth, and grace.
Here I would forever stay,
Weep and gaze my soul away;
You are heaven on earth to me,
Lovely, mournful Calvary.'
How differently does the blessed Jesus now appear in His state of
exaltation! Lift up your eyes from the scene of His humiliation and
suffering on earth, and by faith behold Him in heaven. His head, which was
once encircled with the crown of thorns and smitten with a reed, now wears
'many crowns' of glory. His visage, which was once marred more than any man,
now shines like the sun in his strength. His eves, which were once suffused
with tears and swelled with grief, are now 'as a flame of fire.' His voice,
which once uttered those doleful cries in the garden and on the cross, is
now 'as the sound of many waters.' He, who was once nailed to the cross, and
derided as the King of the Jews, has now on His robe and on His thigh a name
written, 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords.' He, who was once hurried away by
His insulting and persecuting foes, with faint and weary steps, to the scene
of His crucifixion, is now followed by the armies of heaven with unending
hallelujahs. He who was once crucified on Calvary, in the midst of the two
thieves, now appears in the midst of the heavenly throne as the Lamb that
was slain, radiant in all the glory of His divine and human nature, while
the voice of the great multitude before the throne is saying, 'Alleluia! for
the Lord God omnipotent reigns.' 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord
God Almighty; just and true are Your ways, Oh King of saints. Who shall not
fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? for You only are holy.' 'Worthy is
the Lamb who was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. Blessing, and honor, and
glory, and power, be unto Him who sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb,
forever and ever.'
Blessed Jesus, may the consideration of Your sufferings and death make a
deep and permanent impression on our hearts, leading us to forsake the ways
of sin, and to look to You for the blessings of grace and glory. We adore
You for becoming our representative, and for removing the guilt of our sins
by Your vicarious death. Oh, may we be drawn to You by the sweet, attractive
influence of the cross, and be conformed to Your blessed image in all
things. Fulfill in us Your words, 'And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
will draw all men unto myself.' May we incline our ear, and come unto You;
may we hear, that our souls may live; and make with us an everlasting
covenant, even Your sure mercies. Draw us, we beseech You, by the bonds of a
living faith to the cross; and may we ever dwell beneath its peaceful,
refreshing, and life-giving shadow. Fill our souls with spiritual light and
comfort; sanctify us with Your blood; and give us Your Holy Spirit to abide
with us forever. May we repair, without delay, to that healing fountain
which has been opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. And while resting in devout
meditation on Calvary, may our hearts be pervaded with Your love, and our
tongues extol the riches of Your redeeming blood. There, in that serene and
sacred light which beams around the believing soul, may we learn much of the
mystery of Your boundless grace, in expiring upon the Cross, that we might
be embraced in the arms of divine mercy, and raised from the pit of the
lost, to the throne of heaven, to reign with You forever and ever.
There may we see the infinite evil of sin in Your death- how highly
displeasing it is in the sight of God. There may we see that it was our sins
which prostrated You in Your mysterious agony in the garden, and nailed You
to the cross. There may we see mercy and truth meeting together-
righteousness looking down from heaven- the law honored- justice satisfied-
man reclaimed, and grace abounding to the very chief of sinners. And forbid
that we should trample under foot Your precious blood, by which the Church
has been redeemed. May it be sprinkled on our hearts, so that the destroying
angel will spare us in the day of divine wrath, when all the enemies of the
Lord shall perish. May we have a saving interest in Your sufferings and
death. Clothe us in Your perfect righteousness; and may we rely with
implicit confidence on the infinite merits of Your atonement. While passing
through this valley of sin and sorrow, may we always enjoy the precious
fruits of Your redeeming love; and when we pass the river of death, may we
be arrayed in the robes of glory, and forever partake of those blessings
which are the purchase of Your death, and which exceed all that the eye has
seen, or the ear heard, or the heart conceived. With cheerful hope may we
now approach the grave, praising You for disarming death of his terrors, and
for illuminating the dark valley by Your own passage through it.
Oh, may we spend our most delightful earthly moments in celebrating Your
death, until we arrive at the realms of everlasting light, and peace, and
joy, where, amid the unfading beauties and pleasures of the heavenly Canaan,
You shall feed us, and lead us unto living fountains of waters- while the
arches of heaven are ringing with the sweet notes of the song of redemption
on Calvary: 'Unto Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be
glory and dominion forever and ever! Amen.'
'Come to Calvary's holy mountain,
Sinners ruined by the fall;
Here a pure and healing fountain
Flows to you, to me, to all,
In a full perpetual tide,
Opened when our Savior died.
Come in poverty and sinfulness,
Come defiled without, within;
From infection and uncleanness,
From the leprosy of sin,
Wash your robes, and make them white:
You shall walk with God in light.
Come in sorrow and contrition,
Wounded, impotent, and blind;
Here the guilty, free remission,
Here the troubled, peace may find;
Health this fountain will restore,
He that drinks shall thirst no more.
He that drinks shall live forever;
It is a soul-renewing flood,
God is faithful- God will never
Break His covenant in blood;
Signed when our Redeemer died,
Sealed when He was glorified.'