He drank it up—every drop!
(Brooks, "The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures")
"Who can comprehend the power of Your wrath?"
Psalm 90:11
Jesus Christ comprehends it, for He underwent it!
His whole life was made up of suffering.
From His birth to His death,
from His cradle to the cross,
from the womb to the tomb,
—He was a man of sorrows!
Behold His bodily sufferings—
the crown of thorns on His head,
the smiting of His cheeks,
the spitting on His face,
the scourging of His body,
the cross on His back,
the vinegar in His mouth,
the nails in His hands and feet,
the spear in His side,
His crucifixion and death on the cross
—might well astonish us!
Behold that head, before which angels cast down
themselves and worshiped—crowned with thorns!
Behold those eyes, which were purer than the
sun—put out by the darkness of death!
Behold those ears which heard nothing but halleluiahs
—hearing the blasphemies of the multitude!
Behold that lovely face—spit on by such beastly
wretches!
Behold that mouth and tongue, which "spoke as
never any man spoke"—accused of blasphemy!
Behold those hands, which freely swayed the
scepter of heaven—nailed to the cross!
Behold those feet, "like unto fine brass"
—nailed to the cross for man's sins!
Who can behold Christ thus suffering—
and not be struck with astonishment?
1 Peter 3:18, "Christ has suffered for sins once for
all, the righteous for the unrighteous." This is . . .
the wonderment of angels,
the happiness of fallen man, and
the torment of devils—that Christ has suffered.
The doleful tragedy of His sufferings is unutterable!
The sufferings of Jesus Christ were very great and
heinous. What agony, what torment was our Savior
racked with! "He was despised and rejected—a man
of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief!" Is. 53:3
He was a man of sorrows—as if He were a man made
up of sorrows! He knew more sorrows than any man,
yes, than all men ever did! We never read that Jesus
laughed at all, when He was in the world. His whole
life was filled up with sufferings.
How deep were His wounds!
How weighty His burden!
How full of trembling His cup, when He lay under
the mountains of the guilt of all the elect!
How bitter were His tears!
How painful His bloody sweat!
How dreadful His death!
Lamentations 1:12 is very applicable to Christ—
"Look and see! Is there any pain like Mine, which
was dealt out to Me, which the Lord made Me suffer
on the day of His burning anger?" What sufferings
can you think of, which Christ did not suffer? Christ
suffered in His birth, and He suffered in His life,
and He suffered in His death. He suffered in His
body, for He was diversely tormented. He suffered
in His soul, for His soul was exceedingly sorrowful.
He suffered in His estate, they parted His clothing,
and He had nowhere to rest His head. He suffered
in His reputation, for He was called a Samaritan,
a devilish sorcerer, a drunkard, an enemy to Caesar,
etc. He suffered from heaven, when He cried out,
"My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?" He
suffered from the earth, being hungry. He suffered
from hell, Satan assaulting and encountering Him
with his most black and horrid temptations. He
began His life lowly and basely, and was sharply
persecuted. He continued His life poorly and
distressedly, and was cruelly hated. He ended His
life woefully and miserably, and was most grievously
tormented with whips, thorns, nails; and, above all,
with the terrors of His Father's wrath and horrors of
hellish agonies! Who can compute how many vials of
God's inexpressible, insupportable wrath, which Christ
drank? Yet, He drank it up—every drop, leaving
nothing behind for His redeemed people—but large
draughts of love and salvation!
The death of Christ on the cross was . . .
a bitter death,
a sorrowful death,
a bloody death.
The bitter thoughts of His sufferings put Him into a
most dreadful agony: "Being in an agony, He prayed
more earnestly, and His sweat was as great drops of
blood falling to the ground." Luke 22:44
Nothing could fasten Christ to the cross—but the
golden link of His free love! Oh, what a wonder of
love is this—that Jesus Christ, who is the author of
life, the fountain of life, the Lord of life—that He
should so freely, so readily, so cheerfully lay down
His life for us!
