“What Wondrous Love!” – FBC Morning Light (7/26/2024)

Well a good Friday morning to you, hope you've had a good week thus far and looking forward to the weekend and gathering with God's people on the Lord's Day and just expecting to hear from the Lord and to give to the Lord the praise and the worship of which he is worthy on the Lord's Day.

The Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53

Well today in our Bible reading we're reading Isaiah 52, 3, and 4. You know yesterday we looked at this verse in Isaiah 49 where the prophet was looking forward to the coming of Messiah and said that he would be, as it says in verse 6 of chapter 49, a light to the Gentiles, where the Lord says you shall be my salvation to the ends of the earth.

Well how did that light shine and how is that salvation shown to the ends of the earth? We get the answer to that in chapter 53. Isaiah 53 is a prophetic passage regarding the suffering servant and what he endured so that he might bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

And what was it that he endured? Listen to some of the words that are used that he is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, despised, rejected by men, in verse 3, despised and not esteemed, one who bears griefs and carries sorrows, smitten by God, afflicted, wounded, bruised, chastised, receiving stripes, and verse 7, oppressed, afflicted, led as a lamb to a slaughter, taken from prison, and so forth.

These are the things that he endured. All right?

Why?

Why?

Again, the passage gives us clear understanding. He has borne our griefs, carried our sorrows, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. It was a chastisement for our peace that was upon him, and his stripes, it's by those stripes that we are healed.

And the Lord, in verse 6, laid on him the iniquity of us all. Verse 8, he says, he was cut off from the land of the living for the transgressions of my people. He was stricken. At the end of the chapter, it says in verse 11 that he, the Messiah, Jesus, shall bear their iniquities.

And at the end of verse 12, he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bore the sin of many. He made intercession for the transgressors. Jesus went through everything that he went through, all of the despising, the sorrow, the grief, the pain, the agony, the bitterness expressed toward him, the mockery, the beatings, the affliction.

He endured all of that for our transgression. Oh my, what wondrous love is this, oh my soul. That was the words of a hymn that came to my mind when I was thinking about this, Isaiah 53. It's a hymn, anonymous, we don't know who wrote it, but it expresses the depth of awe and wonder and appreciation for this gracious love that our Savior would endure all of this for our transgressions.

Here's what he wrote. He says, what wondrous love is this, oh my soul, oh my soul. What wondrous love is this, oh my soul. What wondrous love is this. Do you think he's overwhelmed with the wondrous love of Christ?

Indeed he is.

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul, to bear the dreadful curse for my soul. Second stanza says, when I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down, when I was sinking down, oh my soul, when I was sinking down beneath God's righteous frown, Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul.

Christ laid aside his crown for my soul. Enduring Isaiah 53, torment. And the song ends with this stanza. To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing. To God and to the Lamb, I will sing. To God and to the Lamb, who is the great I am, with millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing, while millions join the theme, I will sing.

How can we not sing? And praise and rejoice in the Lamb who was slain for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, took the chastisement for our peace upon himself. Indeed, what wondrous love is this.

Prayer of Thanksgiving for Christ's Atoning Love

Our Father and our God, we thank you for this wondrous love. We thank you that you gave the Lord Jesus to be a light to the nations that all might see your salvation. We're thankful that he took upon himself our horrific, horrible, wretched sin, our iniquities, and he bore the chastisement in our place.

Thank you and praise you today for this wondrous love. And we thank you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Closing Encouragement for the Weekend

All right.

Well, listen, have a good rest of your Friday. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and do, do gather with God's people and worship the Lord together on the Lord's Day. Good day.