{"id":23077,"date":"2024-10-23T01:33:48","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T01:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=23077"},"modified":"2024-10-23T01:33:48","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T01:33:48","slug":"he-shall-see-of-the-travail-of-his-soul-and-shall-be-satisfied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2024\/10\/he-shall-see-of-the-travail-of-his-soul-and-shall-be-satisfied\/","title":{"rendered":"He shall See Of The Travail Of His Soul, And Shall Be Satisfied"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Posted by permission. Chippenham Old Baptist Chapel<\/a>.]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sermon preached at Old Baptist Chapel, Chippenham by Mr. G. D. Buss<\/b> <\/b>on Lord\u2019s Day evening, 23<\/b>rd <\/b>July, 2017<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d\u2014Isaiah 53:11<\/em><\/p>\n

Well nigh two thousand years ago, there was a chariot returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem. In that chariot was the Ethiopian Eunuch, a man whose heart had been stirred to seek the Truth. The Ethiopian Eunuch was reading from the prophecy of Isaiah. There was a man whom God had ordained to preach Christ to that returning seeker: Philip the Evangelist. When Philip saw the chariot with the Ethiopian Eunuch in it, he was commanded to go and join himself to it. And as Philip joined himself to the chariot, he saw what the Eunuch was reading. He asked him a question. \u201cUnderstandest thou what thou readest?\u201d That is a question, isn\u2019t it? I wonder how many understand the chapter that we have read this evening hour? I do not mean to understand it in just a theoretical way, but could you answer the question that is put in the very first verse? \u201cWho hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?\u201d The Ethiopian Eunuch turned to Philip and said: \u201cHow can I, except some man should guide me?\u201d What the Eunuch desired to understand was a question: \u201cOf whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other Man?\u201d The godly evangelist, Philip, immediately saw his opening. His text was given him and his sermon was before him. \u201cThen Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.\u201d And, \u2019ere that sweet scene was over, the Ethiopian Eunuch had received, by God given faith, a precious Christ into his heart. He openly confessed where his hope lay, and we read that \u201che went on his way rejoicing.\u201d There is no better rejoicing, dear friends, than to be able to say: \u2018Yes. We know it is indeed a precious Christ of whom the prophet is speaking.\u2019 But, how many of you understood that hymn that you have just been singing? [689]. How many of you turned it into a prayer? It is sacred language. The good hymnwriter could say that the Lord had shown to him that \u2018all this was done for him.\u2019 Whatever your age this evening hour, my loving exhortation as your pastor is this: give the great God of our text no rest until you have from His own blessed lips that witness: \u2018All this was done for you.\u2019 There are a people for whom it was done. Our text says, concerning that people, that there is a wonderful security and certainty surrounding them. Two \u2018shalls.\u2019 \u201cHe:\u201d that is Christ\u201d (we will expand that in a moment) \u201cshall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d Good John Kent says that God\u2019s people are:<\/p>\n

\u201cFenced with Jehovah\u2019s shalls and wills.\u201d<\/p>\n

J. Kent<\/p>\n

You could not be fenced with a sweeter \u2018shall\u2019 and \u2018will\u2019 than this, this evening hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d So, the prophet is speaking here of Christ. Some of you may say: \u2018But, Christ had not yet come. Isaiah is speaking in the past tense, as if these things have already come to pass.\u2019 Well, the reason for that is twofold. One is that this word was to be a word not just for the Old Testament Church, but for the New Testament Church, as well. In the New Testament, for example, it is quoted by God\u2019s servant, Peter. But, friends, the faith of Isaiah was so strong that he believed that it would most certainly come to pass. And, because he was so certain it would come to pass, he drew comfort from it as if it had already been accomplished. That is living faith. It is \u201cthe substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.\u201d That is the faith of God\u2019s elect. Do not be satisfied with any other faith than that.<\/p>\n

I want, with God\u2019s help this evening, to speak to you of four satisfactions. The first one is the satisfaction that God the Father has of the travail of the soul of His dear Son. Secondly, I want to speak to you of the satisfaction that God the Son has of His own travail. Thirdly, I want to speak to you of the blessed satisfaction the Holy Ghost has in applying this word and bringing it to pass; to blessed fruit. And then, fourthly, and it would be a great mercy if you could come in here: I want to speak of the satisfaction that God\u2019s people have of this blessed doctrine. It is not just something on the printed page for them! It is not just some article of faith. No! It is their salvation. I wonder how many here tonight can say: \u2018Yes. It is my salvation.\u2019 The apostle, in the Acts of the Apostles, preaching to one particular congregation, says: \u201cBe it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent.\u201d May it be a word of salvation to some poor sinner here tonight.<\/p>\n

Before we speak of the four satisfactions, we must remember what this expression means: \u201cThe travail of His soul.\u201d What does this mean? It leads us into some very deep truths. First of all, we are to be reminded of whom it is spoken: the second Person of the glorious Trinity; the eternal Son of the eternal Father. That is the first thing. There is a sweet and precious doctrine here. The things we are talking about are spoken of God\u2019s dear Son; God\u2019s only begotten, dearly beloved Son. That is the first thing. Were these things not being said of He who is God, then there would be no satisfaction. The divinity and the Godhead crowned all that was done by Emmanuel with a virtue that has no dimensions to it, length, breadth or height; that men could measure.<\/p>\n

Secondly, it is spoken of as One who took into union with His divine Person another nature: one He had not before. Lovingly, to perform this great work He assumed another nature, body and soul, into union with His divine Person in which to perform the mighty work of redemption. As we sometimes sing, He:<\/p>\n

\u201cTook up a life to be able to die!\u201d<\/p>\n

I. Watts<\/p>\n

He could not have travailed in the way in which our text speaks unless He had taken this other nature in which to travail.<\/p>\n

The word \u2018travail\u2019 is a very strong word. It is often associated with the bringing of children into this world. In that sense, there is a connection here. It might be said that this is the birth of the Church of Christ that we are talking about. But we are talking about \u2018travail\u2019 in a dimension that was only known by God\u2019s incarnate Son. The pain of it, the agony of it, the intensity of it and the depth of it is a subject which eternity itself will not be able to completely unravel. \u201cThe travail of His soul.\u201d Yes, His bodily sufferings were great: the nails through His holy hands and feet, and the thorns in His holy head. \u201cHis visage was so marred more than any man.\u201d He was smitten, spat upon, railed upon and His dear back scourged; all those were intense sufferings. Those bodily sufferings were so intense that we cannot measure what the holy, innocent, harmless Son of God felt as they were inflicted so mercilessly upon Him by His enemies.<\/p>\n

But friends, it was \u201cthe travail of His soul\u201d which transcended all other sufferings that He passed through. The travail of His soul was that which He endured in His soul: the hell due to His people. That which was due for their sins which justice demanded, He endured. He drained that cup of wrath. He emptied it completely of curse and condemnation by drinking it Himself. He is the sinner\u2019s Substitute. These are called the \u2018vicarious sufferings\u2019 of Christ. In the Church of England, there are vicars. They are supposed to be God\u2019s representatives. Well, dear friends, we can leave that aside. Here is the only true Vicar, if I may use that word aright. Christ\u2019s vicarious and substitutionary sufferings have released the Church eternally from the condemnation of a broken law. He lived a pure, holy life. There were many sorrows in it. It has been said by some that He was never heard to laugh. We do not know that; we cannot say that categorically. Certainly He never laughed in a foolish way if He did. The point I want to make is that I am sure, from His earliest days, there was a shadow over this precious Person. There was something undefinable as others looked on him. As they looked into those loving eyes they saw there was sorrow there. What was it that seemed, as it were, to lay upon His heart? There was a grief there. There was a burden there that they could not fathom.<\/p>\n

And, the nearer He got to Gethsemane and Calvary, the heavier that burden became, until we find Him sweating, \u201cas it were great drops of blood\u201d in the garden of Gethsemane. Oh, sinner!<\/p>\n

\u201cSinner, thou hast done the deed;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thou hast made the Saviour bleed!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Justice drew its sword on Me!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pierced My heart to pass by thee!\u201d<\/p>\n

Friends, we should take the shoes from off our feet this evening hour. This is holy ground. If indeed it was for us, how ashamed we should be that our sins should need and require such an offering; such a sacrifice! That we should cost God\u2019s dear Son the agonies that He endured! How we should be ashamed of ourselves that we laid such a burden on Him; laid such a case at His dear feet to deal with! Friends, this is what will break the back of your sins. Mount Sinai has its place: to reveal your sinnership. It is the sight of the suffering Saviour, and the travail of His soul that will bring to pass a broken and a contrite heart; a repentance \u201cnot to be repented of.\u201d Oh that we might get a glimpse of it this evening hour!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe travail of His soul.\u201d Our text says that: He shall see the travail and He shall be satisfied. His Father hid His face from Him. He endured hours of desolation and darkness that none have ever experienced in the degree He did. And, when at last He had finished the work, He cried: \u201cIt is finished.\u201d He bowed His lovely head and yielded up the ghost. His holy body was laid in the tomb. His soul returned to the bosom of His heavenly Father; there to wait His resurrection morn, which took place three days later. This is the One of whom we are speaking. This is the One who now sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is clothed in the same body in which he travailed, and presents in His own body the very marks of that travail. The marks of the nails and the spear are there. And,<\/p>\n

“The head that once was crowned with thorns\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is crowned with glory now.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, although He is now glorified, He will never forget those agonies and sufferings. It is one of the anthems of heaven. It is one of the sweetest subjects of heaven. \u201cWorthy is the Lamb that was slain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe travail of His soul.\u201d How sweet the rest must have been that the dear Saviour entered into when that travail was over! We read of our Lord\u2019s own words: \u201cA woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.\u201d So, dear friends, there was a wonderful rest that our dear Saviour entered into. It was all the more precious because of what had gone before. The dear labouring Saviour\u2019s rest was sweet that evening hour when His soul left His body after all that travail. Oh! What rest! What peace lay upon His holy bosom and His holy soul as He looked back! As our text says, He saw \u201cof the travail of His soul\u201d and was satisfied.<\/p>\n

Let us then, with God\u2019s help, briefly mention these four satisfactions. They are all essential. The first one is the satisfaction of God the Father. Why is that essential? First of all, it is because God the Father gave God the Son a work to do. Had that work not been completed satisfactorily, God the Son would not have cried: \u201cIt is finished.\u201d The tomb would not have been empty, nor the throne filled this evening hour. When I use the word \u2018satisfaction\u2019 we must be careful. You younger ones may sometimes have a school report. There may be a subject that you know just about enough to get the comment: \u2018satisfactory.\u2019 That means you have just about done what you need to do, but could have done a lot better. But when I use the word \u2018satisfactory\u2019 concerning our Saviour, it is altogether different. He satisfied the infinite mind of almighty God. It is satisfying to all His holy attributes. It is satisfying to the whole of the Godhead, although it is immeasurable. The satisfaction here is a most blessed excellency. It could not be more satisfying, and it could not be more excellent than it is.<\/p>\n

Again. Why must God the Father be satisfied? Because He was the One who poured upon His dear Son the just wrath of offended justice. \u201cThe chastisement of our peace was upon Him.\u201d As the Father lay those chastening strokes upon His dear Son, He was satisfied that those divine strokes had accomplished their purpose. The offering made had satisfied divine justice. If that were not so, friends, there would be no door into heaven. There would be no way into the holiest of all. The Father would not smile on us through His dear Son. No. The Father is satisfied with the travail of His dear Son. We know that is so for three reasons. First of all, the tomb is empty. Secondly, our Saviour has ascended on high and been received into glory in that same body in which He travailed. Thirdly, every prayer answered for Jesus\u2019 sake is because the Father is satisfied with all that His dear Son did. Those prayers would not be answered if there was no satisfaction in the heart of the Father as to what the Son has done.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the name the Father loves\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To hear His children plead;<\/p>\n

And all such pleading He approves,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And blesses them indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

S. Medley<\/p>\n

So, poor, favoured sinner who is pleading the name of Jesus before the Father, you now have access. The Father smiles; He is satisfied with His dear Son. He is satisfied with His work on behalf of those for whom He performed this work. There is that blessed welcome in the heart of the Father for those for whom the dear Saviour suffered, bled and died. And, those who plead His holy name in living faith prove the Father smiles on them through the Son.<\/p>\n

\u201cAwake, sweet gratitude, and sing\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The ascended Saviour\u2019s love;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sing how He lives to carry on\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His people\u2019s cause above.\u201d<\/p>\n

A. M. Toplady<\/p>\n

The Father is well pleased. \u201cHe,\u201d the Father; sees \u201cof the travail of His\u201d Son, and He is \u201csatisfied.\u201d He is satisfied with the life that was laid down, the righteousness that was brought forth, the atonement that was made, the blood that was shed and the Person who accomplished it.<\/p>\n

Twice, during His earthly ministry, the Father said: \u201cThis is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\u201d The first time was at His baptism to anoint Him for His ministry in the flesh. Then, on the Mount of Transfiguration before He suffered, He was given that glory; that glory that emanated so much it eclipsed Elijah and Moses: \u201cThis is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\u201d That was before He went down into those solemn, awesome depths of which I have been hinting.<\/p>\n

So, the Father is well pleased with His Son. He was as He lay in Bethlehem\u2019s manger, He was at His baptism, He was in Gethsemane, and He is now, as He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high. \u201cHe,\u201d the Father; \u201cshall see of the travail of His\u201d Son, and He is \u201csatisfied.\u201d \u201cI am well pleased,\u201d He says.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the dear Saviour Himself is satisfied in a way that you and I could never be.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy best is stained and dyed with sin;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My all is nothing worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

J. Newton<\/p>\n

That is something that we have to acknowledge, solemnly, as we look on our most holy things. They need washing and cleansing. Friends, all that our Saviour did He may look on with blessed satisfaction. I think it was Queen Elizabeth I, who, when she was dying, said: \u2018Oh that I had more time to do what I wanted to do! There is so much not done that I wish I could have done!\u2019 But, when our Lord laid His lovely head down upon His holy breast, it was because He had finished the work. He could not have done more; more was not needed. He went as far as incarnate God could go. And that is a length that you and I cannot measure. It was satisfying to His Father. He was satisfied with what He had done, believing He had fulfilled the law and the will of His heavenly Father. That was His satisfaction. \u201cI delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.\u201d As a very faint hint of what I am trying to say, a loving child in a family finds satisfaction if they please their parents, (or at least they ought to). They should seek to please their parents. That is something that children should be doing to honour their parents. How much more, dear friends, the dear Son of God! It was His holy delight to please His heavenly Father. \u201cThe pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.\u201d \u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul\u201d in that respect.<\/p>\n

Again. He shall see it in another way. All that the Father giveth Him shall come to Him, because of this travail. He has made a way into the holiest of all. It is that righteousness, blood and work that answers for the coming sinner. They shall come; every one of them will be brought by divine grace. There is a satisfaction in the heart of the dear Saviour as He sees them come. He sees them beginning to cry for mercy. He hears that cry from their heart: \u201cGod be merciful to me a sinner.\u201d He sees them searching for the way of salvation. And He sees them when they come, at last, to the cross and lay their burden down there. There is a blessed satisfaction. These are the fruits of His sufferings.<\/p>\n

And, when His children come home to glory there is a welcome for them. I believe He embraces them with His loving arms. They are the fruit \u201cof the travail of His soul.\u201d How dear they must be to Him!<\/p>\n

\u201cWho rather than lose us would shed his heart\u2019s blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

J. Hart<\/p>\n

How dear must God\u2019s people be to the dear Son of God and to God the Father who gave them to His Son to redeem! No wonder Jeremiah was abundantly blessed with those words: \u201cI have loved thee with an everlasting love.\u201d! Could he measure it? The love of the whole Trinity fixed and fastened upon him! \u201cYea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:\u201d and here is the fruit of it: \u201ctherefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.\u201d This is the fruit of the travail of His soul. And, in that great day when time shall end and the last vessel of mercy is brought to know Christ, He will present to His heavenly Father the whole number for whom He suffered, bled and died; everyone who fled for mercy; everyone who sheltered beneath His blood; everyone who came to that blessed point:<\/p>\n

\u201cNo help in self I find,
\nAnd yet have sought it well.\u201d<\/p>\n

J. Berridge<\/p>\n

But, they found it in Christ. He will say to His Father: \u201cI and the children which God hath given Me.\u201d Will you be among them? Will I be among them? What a question! God has a people. They are His chosen people. It will be your wisdom this night to be asking the Lord: \u2018Am I numbered among them?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut can I bear the piercing thought:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What if my name should be left out,<\/p>\n

When Thou for them shalt call?\u201d<\/p>\n

Lady Huntingdon’s Col., 1774<\/p>\n

There is a book called: \u201cThe Lamb\u2019s book of life.\u201d In it are recorded, one by one, the names of those for whom He suffered, bled and died.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Thy fair book of life and grace,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

O may I find my name<\/p>\n

Recorded in some humble place,\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beneath my Lord the Lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n

I. Watts<\/p>\n

So, the Son is satisfied with the travail of His soul, and, I say it most reverently, there is no waste here. You sang of it in your opening hymn. I was very struck with that opening hymn.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho has not shed His blood in vain\u201d<\/p>\n

H. Fowler<\/p>\n

No. You think of the history of this world. Think of some of the wars that have been fought and the blood that has been shed. Many, many lives have been lost in causes that were not really worth fighting for.<\/p>\n

And even in causes that were worth fighting for, much unnecessary blood has been shed. But, when you come to this conquest, it was necessary that blood had to be shed. There was nothing extraneous about it. It was all vitally needed. There is a type of that in the night of the Passover. They were to put a bowl under the lamb that was bleeding to death and they were to gather all the blood in that bowl. Not a drop of it was to fall on the ground. Not a drop! It reminds us that all was needed. A reminder that none for whom that precious blood was shed will perish. No. What a mercy! \u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul.\u201d The Holy Ghost will see of it. This is a very wonderful thought, because the Holy Ghost\u2019s office is to take of the things of Jesus and reveal them to poor sinners. It is His office to open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, plough up the fallow ground of hard hearts to make them feeling, receiving hearts and to make them know their need of a Saviour, and to bring them, step by step, in His own time and way to that Saviour and raise up in them a good hope through grace.<\/p>\n

The Holy Ghost is satisfied in three ways in this respect. First of all, it is His delight to speak of the finished work of the dear Son. He does not speak of Himself, but He speaks of Christ. It is His delight so to do.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the Holy Ghost is satisfied for this reason: where He has begun a good work He will never fail to bring that soul to Christ. In my early days, I often used to pray that prayer; I wonder if any of you pray it?<\/p>\n

\u201cConvince us of our sin,<\/p>\n

Then lead to Jesus\u2019 blood;<\/p>\n

And to our wondering view reveal\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The secret love of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

J. Hart<\/p>\n

Friends, whom the Holy Ghost convinces of sin, in one way or another He will bring them to the blood of Christ; the blood of sprinkling. And there is a wonderful satisfaction in His heart as He does so. \u201cHe which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.\u201d How satisfying it is to that third Person of the glorious Trinity to be accomplishing this work; this work of salvation by experience in the hearts of God\u2019s people!<\/p>\n

And, it will be satisfying to the Holy Ghost when that soul is taken home to glory; a trophy of everlasting love. The work of grace is finished. The Holy Ghost, in union with the dear Son and the Father, are unitedly satisfied as another heir of glory enters the Celestial City gate and casts their crown before the throne, crying \u201cWorthy is the Lamb.\u201d \u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, dear friends, we come to the point with you and me. Are we satisfied with Him? It is a great question. We might say we are, but we may not be acting and believing as if we truly are. First of all, if you are satisfied with what Christ has done, you will want no other Saviour. No. One said:<\/p>\n

\u201cNone other name for me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Anon<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.\u201d You will not want any other name than the name of Jesus, no other blood than the blood of sprinkling and no other righteousness, but His. Are you satisfied with Christ in that way? And, if so, has God given you a holy dissatisfaction with anything other which you might have trusted in? The Apostle Paul speaks of a time when He was well satisfied with himself. Friends, beware of self- satisfaction! It is a dangerous delusion. Paul was well-satisfied with himself. He listed seven things that he thought were satisfying to him. And he thought that because they were satisfying to him, they were satisfying to God. He was just like the Pharisee in the Temple, who boasted of so much he had done and had not done. How self-satisfied the man was! But he never asked if God was satisfied with him. He just assumed He was. You might be assuming that tonight. \u2018I am a Strict Baptist. I sit in Old Baptist Chapel. I come every Sunday. I sit and listen to the services and my friends know me as a Christian. Is that not enough?\u2019 No, it is not enough! You are satisfied without Christ. But, if the Holy Ghost stirs up your heart as He will if you are to be a child of God, all those things will have to disappear as a satisfaction. You will say:<\/p>\n

\u201cGive me Christ, or else I die.<\/p>\n

W. Hammond.<\/p>\n

\u2018None other name for me, but the Lord Jesus Christ.\u2019 I ask you then, dear friends, are you satisfied with Him? Do you look on this blessed Person and all that He did in His life; the laying down of His life at Calvary and say, \u2018There is my only hope.\u2019<\/p>\n

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All other ground is sinking sand.<\/p>\n

E. Mote<\/p>\n

Paul counted everything else \u201cbut dung\u201d that he might be satisfied with this dear Saviour.<\/p>\n

Again. If you are satisfied with Christ, you will not want the world to entertain your heart. True, you are in the world. But you are not to be of it. And, if your heart is right you will not be of it, because the satisfaction you have with Christ will spoil you for those false pleasures of the world. And, friends, if that has not spoilt you for those false pleasures, I have to say that, as yet, you do not know the satisfaction that is \u201cin Christ.\u201d For, He is so precious to the living soul that it will mar anything else that is not Christ. Yes, we have our families. We have our homes and we have many things to thank God for. Please do not think that we are not to thank God for these things; of course we are. But, they are not as precious as Christ, are they? If you think you can hold the world in one hand and Christ in the other; worldly pursuits during the week and make a profession on the Lord\u2019s Day, there is something wrong. You are not really satisfied with Christ. He is not filling your heart and your life as He did the Ethiopian Eunuch\u2019s. Do examine yourselves tonight; whether you be in the faith, or not. How satisfying is Christ to you?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d Paul, speaking of this in Hebrews 13, says: \u201cLet us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.\u201d We should live as pilgrims and let it be known that we are pilgrims. If you read John Bunyan\u2019s Pilgrim\u2019s Progress, Vanity Fair was a place that Faithful and Christian passed through without looking to the right hand or to the left. They were graciously indifferent to the attractions that were entertaining sinners on the way to hell. Vanity Fair was where Faithful was burnt at the stake. Christian got through and went on, and was soon joined by Hopeful, who accompanied him to the end of the journey. But, Vanity Fair proved where their heart was. And it will prove where your heart is, and mine, as well. Our old nature, of course, is no different. We have no stones to throw. But, are you in that Word: \u201cThe love of Christ constraineth us\u201d? When those things are presented to us by the enemy which are not consistent with Christ\u2019s travail, do you say: \u2018How can I do this great sin? How can I turn to this thing and that thing that cost the Saviour His whole life and such suffering? You would not want to wanton with the wounds of Christ. Oh, do be careful, dear friends! These are solemn things. They are vital things. This is a sanctifying word. And, if such a truth as this does not sanctify you, where are you if you are anywhere in the way of faith?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d How wonderfully satisfying it is when a child of God gets that first glimpse of his hope in Christ! How wonderfully satisfying it is when he is raised up to a blessed knowledge of when Christ cried: \u201cIt is finished,\u201d his salvation was bound up in it! To hear Him say:<\/p>\n

\u201cAll this was done for you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n

D. Herbert<\/p>\n

So, the good prophet here foresees this satisfaction. It is a wonderful thought that these four satisfactions will all meet in glory. The undivided Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and this vast, satisfied number of whom we read in the Psalms: \u201cI shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.\u201d There are no jarring notes in heaven; no competition for the place that belongs to God in His dear Son: on the throne. No. All three Persons of the glorious Trinity are adored there. \u201cThe Lamb is the light thereof.\u201d And, that vast congregation are willingly, lovingly casting their crowns before this great God. \u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d Well, how does this word sit with you tonight? Is it a sanctifying word? Is it a word that makes you examine your heart? Where do you stand?<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d This word tells us that when God puts His hand to a work, He always does it well. It was so at creation. He did not rest until that last day; that sixth day. Then, when He had finished, He rested on the seventh day, setting us the example of the Sabbath Day; still to be observed all these generations later. God rested when He saw that all that He had done was good; then He rested from His labours. And the dear Son of God rested from His labours when His work was done. He \u201csaw that it was good.\u201d And, the Holy Ghost will not rest from His labours in quickening sinners and bringing them to Christ until that last sinner is born again and brought to the foot of the cross. Only then will He rest from His labours, and He will see that it is good. And, if you and I are on the right side of that blessed word: \u201cHe which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,\u201d eternity will not be long enough to thank the Father for sending the Son, the Son for coming as He did, and the Holy Ghost for awakening your dead heart to receive such a Saviour as this, by giving you a new nature, a new heart and a new spirit.<\/p>\n

I close with this thought this evening hour. There are those of you here who say, \u2018Yes, all this I do firmly believe. I humbly hope that I am not without hope in this great matter. But I have so many other things pressing upon me; things that trouble me, try me and exercise me. Is there nothing in this text to do with those things that are such a trial to me and such an exercise to me? There is something. Romans 8 tells us. \u201cHe that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,\u201d that is all His dear people; \u201chow shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?\u201d \u201cAll things\u201d that you need in providence and in your way of faith while you are here below. Friends, if He \u201cspared not His own Son,\u201d do you think He is unmindful of those lesser needs that you have? Hymn 247 takes it up.<\/p>\n

He that has made my heaven secure\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Will here all good provide;<\/p>\n

While Christ is rich, I can\u2019t be poor;\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What can I want beside?<\/p>\n

O Lord, I cast my care on Thee;<\/p>\n

I triumph and adore;<\/p>\n

Henceforth my great concern shall be\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To love and praise Thee more.<\/p>\n

May God help us so to do.<\/p>\n

J. Ryland\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Amen.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well nigh two thousand years ago, there was a chariot returning to Ethiopia from Jerusalem. In that chariot was the Ethiopian Eunuch, a man whose heart had been stirred to seek the Truth. The Ethiopian Eunuch was reading from the prophecy of Isaiah. There was a man whom God had ordained to preach Christ to that returning seeker: Philip the Evangelist. When Philip saw the chariot with the Ethiopian Eunuch in it, he was commanded to go and join himself to it. And as Philip joined himself to the chariot, he saw what the Eunuch was reading. He asked him a question. \u201cUnderstandest thou what thou readest?\u201d That is a question, isn\u2019t it? I wonder how many understand the chapter that we have read this evening hour? I do not mean to understand it in just a theoretical way, but could you answer the question that is put in the very first verse? \u201cWho hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?\u201d The Ethiopian Eunuch turned to Philip and said: \u201cHow can I, except some man should guide me?\u201d What the Eunuch desired to understand was a question: \u201cOf whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other Man?\u201d The godly evangelist, Philip, immediately saw his opening. His text was given him and his sermon was before him. \u201cThen Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.\u201d And, \u2019ere that sweet scene was over, the Ethiopian Eunuch had received, by God given faith, a precious Christ into his heart. He openly confessed where his hope lay, and we read that \u201che went on his way rejoicing.\u201d There is no better rejoicing, dear friends, than to be able to say: \u2018Yes. We know it is indeed a precious Christ of whom the prophet is speaking.\u2019 But, how many of you understood that hymn that you have just been singing? [689]. How many of you turned it into a prayer? It is sacred language. The good hymnwriter could say that the Lord had shown to him that \u2018all this was done for him.\u2019 Whatever your age this evening hour, my loving exhortation as your pastor is this: give the great God of our text no rest until you have from His own blessed lips that witness: \u2018All this was done for you.\u2019 There are a people for whom it was done. Our text says, concerning that people, that there is a wonderful security and certainty surrounding them. Two \u2018shalls.\u2019 \u201cHe:\u201d that is Christ\u201d (we will expand that in a moment) \u201cshall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.\u201d Good John Kent says that God\u2019s people are:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":480,"featured_media":22558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1728],"tags":[1230],"class_list":["post-23077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gerald-buss","tag-redemption"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23077"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23077\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23079,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23077\/revisions\/23079"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}