Measure Upon Measure – Guilt And Shame – The Restoration Of God - Part 1 Series

MEASURE UPON MEASURE – GUILT AND SHAME – THE RESTORATION OF GOD - Part 1

(A). MEASURE UPON MEASURE - INTRODUCTION

An incident occurred in Brisbane some years ago which reached the National news. An elderly lady who required the assistance of a walking stick to get around, was driven to a required destination by a taxi driver. When the journey was completed, there developed a dispute about the amount of the fare. The taxi driver became infuriated and left the woman there, but not before he had purposely broken her walking stick. There was an immediate outcry about the incident and the next day numerous other taxi drivers banded together and purchased a new walking stick, which they presented to her. There was one important fact though that should not be overlooked - the new stick was costlier and more beautiful than the one she had previously owned.

The think in the United States they call a walking stick, a cane. Some places refer to it as a walking aid. I have two walking sticks that used to belong to my grandfather from the 1940s and 1950s. In those years there was no such thing as knee and hip replacements so the only help was a walking stick. I have two knee replacements and walk mostly fine but if that technology was not available then I would be using a walking stick today, and in a lot of pain.

We will embark here on a study that I hope proves profitable. There are several of these delights in God’s word and this one from a Genesis 3 passage is very rewarding as it unveils another progression in our bibles to its completion.

The remarkable fact about God’s word is the way all scriptures are interlocked. Because of that, the bible proves itself. We have seen that in the study of the Branch – the 4 Old Testament references; the link to the 4 Gospels and the connection also to the 4 faces of the cherubim from Ezekiel chapter 1. That can be found here - https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-restoration-of-israel-jeremiah-part-9-chapter-33-15-the-remarkable-study-of-the-branch-in-scripture-ron-ferguson-sermon-on-restoration-288162

Now we come to the introduction of the woes of sin through Adam and the restoration won by the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to look at 6 consequences and see how each one has played out.

CONFIRMING PSALM 69 AS A MESSIANIC PSALM

The psalms are majestic and they encompass every experience of our pilgrim walk. When we are happy there are numbers of psalms with which we can identify. Likewise when we are rejoicing or are depressed, or have sinned, or are undergoing trial, discouraged, or feel forsaken - to enumerate only a few, we can discover those psalms which deal with the exact matter, and so that section of the word of God thereby becomes our joy and comfort or our instruction.

Certain Psalms contain an additional feature in that they relate to the Lord Jesus Christ. These psalms are called Messianic Psalms and there are about twenty of them. The experiences of the psalmist are contained within that particular psalm but aspects of those experiences or thoughts he has written, transcend his time and encompass experiences not fully his own. They project prophetically to the Lord in His person or work. Psalm 22 is probably the best known of this select group of psalms. That psalm begins with the deep cries of Jesus from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”

One other magnificent Messianic Psalm is 69. In it we read the opening prayers where David felt he had no standing and was swallowed up in a flood, where he was weary with crying to the Lord for help. Those too were the Lord’s experiences on the cross, only in deeper measure. Verse 7 speaks of bearing reproach, and we know the Lord bore ours.

Verse 8 is a very interesting one. {{“I have become estranged from my brothers, and an alien to my mother’s sons.”}} “An alien to my own mother’s sons,” is possibly a more correct rendering. We read in the New Testament where the Lord was not believed by his own brothers, and in this sense they rejected him. The incident recorded in the beginning of the seventh chapter of John’s gospel would inform us of his own brothers’ disbelief. Actually this psalm is THE ONLY PLACE in the entire word where we can conclude that Mary bore other children, apart from the Lord, and that exposes the falsehood of the Roman Church which claims Mary was a perpetual virgin.

Yes, I know the New Testament speaks of “Your mother and Your brothers” (Matthew 12:47) but that is argued about and the Catholic Church does it claiming the brothers are the sons of Joseph. The verse from Psalm 69:8 is the one that destroys the perpetual virginity error of Mary.