A curse...
Tonight, while reading John 18-19, I realized that Christ (in His crucifixion) was denied every request of the psalmist. One request that particularly stuck out to me was David's repeated plea that his enemies would not be allowed to boast over him...By tying Christ's Passion to the Psalmist's despair, Christ's humanity and suffering are more potently expressed.
To hear and experience David's fearful and desperate cry to be saved from the schemes of his enemies, that the Lord would rise up and defend His people for His name's sake, that the LORD would not let his soul be counted among those who went down to Sheol, that he would not be cut off from the land of the living, that he would dwell in the presence of the LORD forevermore, and to hear God's responding promises to bless and to be his sure salvation, faithful and loving, his unassailable Fortress and solid Rock... and then to hear "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"...I cannot imagine the hell He experienced on our behalf.
It is one thing to curse God and then to be cursed by Him, and another thing to be faithful to God only to be cursed by Him. Imagine all those points in your life when you cried out to God in desperation...then imagine that the heavens are silent, hope is shut-up in darkness, and you are alone...
The Son of God willingly denied himself every blessing that His people had asked of Him in the OT, and every promise that He had made to them. Every blessing of the covenant was kept from the perfectly obedient, covenant-keeping Son of Man while He was on the cross--while He was a curse.
To hear and experience David's fearful and desperate cry to be saved from the schemes of his enemies, that the Lord would rise up and defend His people for His name's sake, that the LORD would not let his soul be counted among those who went down to Sheol, that he would not be cut off from the land of the living, that he would dwell in the presence of the LORD forevermore, and to hear God's responding promises to bless and to be his sure salvation, faithful and loving, his unassailable Fortress and solid Rock... and then to hear "My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"...I cannot imagine the hell He experienced on our behalf.
It is one thing to curse God and then to be cursed by Him, and another thing to be faithful to God only to be cursed by Him. Imagine all those points in your life when you cried out to God in desperation...then imagine that the heavens are silent, hope is shut-up in darkness, and you are alone...
The Son of God willingly denied himself every blessing that His people had asked of Him in the OT, and every promise that He had made to them. Every blessing of the covenant was kept from the perfectly obedient, covenant-keeping Son of Man while He was on the cross--while He was a curse.
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree'" Galatians 3:13
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