Psalm 21 Sermon PART 3B — The Wrath That Met the Cross

spoken word, sermon, liturgical contemporary church / Anglican-Episcopal (acoustic)

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We have heard the hard language of God's wrath 
against the evil that destroys his creatures.
We have refused the modern softenings 
that would dissolve this language into metaphor.
But the psalm is not the final word.
The cross is the final word.
Let us hear how God himself 
resolved the wrath the psalm describes.

[SECTION EIGHT — The Wrath That Met the Cross]
[Cello note deeper, then warming]
[Preacher — measured, building toward Christological turn]

The wrath that Psalm twenty-one describes 
is real.
But it has met its end 
in a way that ancient Israel could not have anticipated.

On a Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem 
about two thousand years ago, 
the wrath of God against evil 
met the love of God for sinners 
in the body of Jesus Christ on a cross.

Christ took into himself 
the full measure of the wrath 
that Psalm twenty-one describes.
The consuming fire of God's anger 
against everything that destroys his creatures 
fell upon him in our place.
The swallowing up by wrath 
that the enemies of God deserve 
he received instead.

[SECTION NINE — The Propitiation]
[Cello note steady, warm]
[Preacher — theological, careful]

This is the meaning of the cross 
that the modern church has too often forgotten.

Christ did not die merely as moral example.
Christ did not die merely 
to demonstrate divine love.
Christ died as the propitiation for our sins, 
as the apostle John writes in his first letter — 
the place where God's wrath against evil 
was satisfied in such a way 
that we might be reconciled to God.

The Greek word for propitiation 
is hilasmos.
It is the word used in the Septuagint 
for the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant — 
the place where, once a year on the Day of Atonement, 
the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled 
to cover the sins of the people 
and to turn aside God's righteous anger 
against their transgressions.

The apostle Paul, in Romans three, 
applies this same word to Christ.
God hath set forth Christ Jesus, Paul writes, 
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, 
to declare his righteousness 
for the remission of sins that are past.

This is the gospel that ancient Israel anticipated 
through its sacrificial system 
and that the cross has now finally accomplished.
The mercy seat where God's wrath was turned aside 
has been fulfilled in the body of Christ on the cross.
The blood that covered Israel's sin year by year 
has been answered by the blood 
that covers our sin once for all.

[SECTION TEN — How This Reframes the Psalm]
[Cello note warming]
[Preacher — pastoral, applying]

What does this mean for how we read Psalm twenty-one?

The hard verses of the psalm 
have not been canceled.
They have been answered.
The wrath they describe is real.
But that wrath, for those who are in Christ, 
has been borne by Christ.
The fire that should have consumed us 
consumed him instead.

This is the gospel that the psalm anticipates 
and that the New Testament announces.

When we pray Psalm twenty-one today, 
we do not pray it as those who stand outside the wrath, 
secure in our own innocence.
We pray it as those who deserved that wrath 
and have been delivered from it 
by the substitutionary death of our Lord.

The enemies whose destruction the psalm describes 
include us, 
apart from Christ.
We are the ones whose seed deserved to be destroyed 
from among the children of men.
We are the ones who imagined mischievous devices 
which we are not able to perform.
The psalm's judgment fell on someone — 
and the gospel announces that, for the faithful, 
it fell on Christ instead of on us.

This is not a softening of the psalm.
This is the recognition 
that the psalm's seriousness 
is answered by the cross's seriousness.
Both are real.
Both are necessary.
And both meet in the body of Christ 
broken for us on the cross.

[end]

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[intro] [American Episcopal Scholarly-Preaching Sermon] [Mid-sized Episcopal church acoustic] [Single sustained low cello note] [Faint sanctuary atmosphere] [Preacher — continuing, turning toward the gospel resolution] We have heard the hard language of God's wrath against the evil that destroys his creatures. We have refused the modern softenings that would dissolve this language into metaphor. But the psalm is not the final word. The cross is the final word. Let us hear how God himself resolved the wrath the psalm describes. [SECTION EIGHT — The Wrath That Met the Cross] [Cello note deeper, then warming] [Preacher — measured, building toward Christological turn] The wrath that Psalm twenty-one describes is real. But it has met its end in a way that ancient Israel could not have anticipated. On a Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem about two thousand years ago, the wrath of God against evil met the love of God for sinners in the body of Jesus Christ on a cross. Christ took into himself the full measure of the wrath that Psalm twenty-one describes. The consuming fire of God's anger against everything that destroys his creatures fell upon him in our place. The swallowing up by wrath that the enemies of God deserve he received instead. [SECTION NINE — The Propitiation] [Cello note steady, warm] [Preacher — theological, careful] This is the meaning of the cross that the modern church has too often forgotten. Christ did not die merely as moral example. Christ did not die merely to demonstrate divine love. Christ died as the propitiation for our sins, as the apostle John writes in his first letter — the place where God's wrath against evil was satisfied in such a way that we might be reconciled to God. The Greek word for propitiation is hilasmos. It is the word used in the Septuagint for the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant — the place where, once a year on the Day of Atonement, the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled to cover the sins of the people and to turn aside God's righteous anger against their transgressions. The apostle Paul, in Romans three, applies this same word to Christ. God hath set forth Christ Jesus, Paul writes, to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past. This is the gospel that ancient Israel anticipated through its sacrificial system and that the cross has now finally accomplished. The mercy seat where God's wrath was turned aside has been fulfilled in the body of Christ on the cross. The blood that covered Israel's sin year by year has been answered by the blood that covers our sin once for all. [SECTION TEN — How This Reframes the Psalm] [Cello note warming] [Preacher — pastoral, applying] What does this mean for how we read Psalm twenty-one? The hard verses of the psalm have not been canceled. They have been answered. The wrath they describe is real. But that wrath, for those who are in Christ, has been borne by Christ. The fire that should have consumed us consumed him instead. This is the gospel that the psalm anticipates and that the New Testament announces. When we pray Psalm twenty-one today, we do not pray it as those who stand outside the wrath, secure in our own innocence. We pray it as those who deserved that wrath and have been delivered from it by the substitutionary death of our Lord. The enemies whose destruction the psalm describes include us, apart from Christ. We are the ones whose seed deserved to be destroyed from among the children of men. We are the ones who imagined mischievous devices which we are not able to perform. The psalm's judgment fell on someone — and the gospel announces that, for the faithful, it fell on Christ instead of on us. This is not a softening of the psalm. This is the recognition that the psalm's seriousness is answered by the cross's seriousness. Both are real. Both are necessary. And both meet in the body of Christ broken for us on the cross. [end]

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