{"id":6855,"date":"2025-06-10T03:36:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T03:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6855"},"modified":"2025-06-10T03:36:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T03:36:24","slug":"bulletin-edition-june-2025-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=6855","title":{"rendered":"Bulletin Edition June 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

  The great physician!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 
\nChrist is the least expensive<\/em> Physician.<\/strong>
\nHe takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing to Him but broken hearts. And\nwhen He has cured us, He desires us to bestow nothing on Him but our love.
\n 
\nChrist heals with more<\/em> ease<\/em> than any other.<\/strong>
\nChrist makes the devil go out with a word (Mark\n9:25). Nay, He can cure with a look: Christ’s\nlook melted Peter into repentance; it was a healing<\/em> look<\/em>.\nIf Christ does but cast a look upon the soul, He will heal it.
\n 
\nChrist is the most tender<\/em>–hearted<\/em> Physician.<\/strong>
\nHe is not more full of skill than sympathy, ‘He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds!’ (Psalm\n147:3) Every groan of the patient, goes to the heart of this Physician.
\n 
\nChrist never fails<\/em> of success. <\/strong>
\nChrist never undertakes to heal any, but He makes a full cure.
\n 
\nOther physicians can only cure those who are sick, but Christ cures\nthose who are dead!<\/em><\/strong>
\n“And you has He quickened, who were dead!”\n(Ephesians 2:1) Christ is a Physician for the dead!\nOf every one whom Christ cures it may be said, “He was dead, and is alive\nagain!” (Luke 15:32)
\n 
\nChrist is the most<\/em> bountiful<\/em> Physician. <\/strong>
\nOther patients enrich their physicians; but here the Physician enriches the\npatient. Christ elevates<\/em> all His patients. He not only cures\nthem, but crowns them! (Revelation 2:10)
\n 
\nChrist does not only raise them from the bed, but to the throne!
\n 
\nHe gives the sick man not only health, but also Heaven!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

       \n                     \n                    Thomas Watson<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

,\u201cWhy hast Thou forsaken Me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 22:1<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nEverything recorded in this 22nd<\/sup> Psalm\nwas written prophetically, penned by divine inspiration, as the very words\nspoken by our blessed Saviour when he hung upon the cursed tree, bearing our\nsins as our Substitute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spurgeon\nwrote\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore us\nwe have a description both of the darkness and of the glory of the cross, the\nsufferings of Christ and the glory which should follow. Oh, for grace to draw\nnear and see this great sight! We should read it reverently, putting off our\nshoes from off our feet, as Moses did at the burning bush, for if there be holy\nground anywhere in scripture it is in this Psalm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ\nForsaken<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nThe words of this psalm are the very words of our blessed Saviour when he hung\nupon the cursed tree as our Substitute, when he who knew no sin was made sin\nfor us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. At the apex of\nhis obedience, at the time of his greatest sorrow, in the hour of his greatest\nneed the Lord Jesus cried out to his Father, \u2014 \u201cMy God, my God, why hast\nthou forsaken me<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nThen our all-glorious Redeemer tells us how utterly forsaken he was, so utterly\nforsaken that the Father refused to hear the cries of his own darling Son in\nthe hour of his greatest need. \u2014 \u201cWhy art thou so far from helping me, and\nfrom the words of my roaring?<\/em> O my God, I cry in the daytime, but\nthou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.<\/em>\u201d I read those\nwords with utter astonishment. I will not attempt to explain what I cannot\nimagine. But these things are written here for our learning, that we might,\nthrough patience and consolation of the Scriptures, have hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nI hang all the hope of my immortal soul upon this fact: \u2014 When the Lord Jesus\nChrist was made sin for me, he was utterly forsaken of God and put to death as\nmy Substitute; and by his one great, sin-atoning Sacrifice, he has forever put\naway my sins. He not only bore our sins in his body on the tree, he bore them\naway!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Reason<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nYet, in verse 3 our holy Saviour, when he was made sin for us, answers the cry\nof his own soul\u2019s agony. He cried, \u201cMy God, my God, Why hast thou forsaken\nme?<\/em>\u201d \u2014 \u201cBut thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel<\/em>.\u201d\nWhy was the Lord Jesus forsaken by his Father when he was made sin for us?\nBecause the holy Lord God is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. Our Saviour\nwas forsaken by the Father when he was made sin for us, because justice\ndemanded it. \u2014 \u201cThou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not\nlook on iniquity<\/em>\u201d (Habakkuk 1:13).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nHere, in verse 3 our Saviour, when he was dying under the wrath of God,\njustified God in his own condemnation, because he was made sin for us. He\nproclaims the holiness of God in the midst of his agony. He is so pure, so holy,\nso righteous, so just that he will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:7),\neven when the guilty One is his own darling Son! Rather than that his holy\ncharacter be slighted, our Surety must suffer and die, because he was made sin\nfor us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nOur Saviour had no sin of his own. He was born without original sin, being even\nfrom birth \u201cthat Holy One<\/em>\u201d (Luke 1:35). Throughout his life he \u201cknew\nno sin<\/em>\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:21), \u201cdid no sin<\/em>\u201d (1 Peter 2:22), \u201cand\nin him is no sin<\/em>\u201d (1 John 3:5). But on Calvary the holy Lord God \u201cmade\nhim who knew no sin sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God\nin him<\/em>\u201d (2 Corinthians 5:21). Just as in the incarnation \u201cthe Word was\nmade flesh and dwelt among us<\/em>\u201d (John 1:14), in substitution he who was made\nflesh \u201cwas made sin for us<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nI do not know how God could be made flesh and never cease to be God; but he\nwas. I do not know how God could die and yet never die; but he did (Acts\n20:28). And I do not know how Christ who knew no sin could be made sin and yet\nnever have sinned; but he was. These things are mysteries beyond the reach of\nhuman comprehension. But they are facts of divine revelation, to which we bow\nwith adoration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gethsemane<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nIn dark Gethsemane, as he anticipated being made sin, our Saviour\u2019s holy soul\nshook within him; and his holy heart broke. Anticipating the pains of God\u2019s\nholy fury against sin, his unbending justice and unmitigated wrath were beyond\ncalculation, and the Saviour\u2019s soul was so crushed within him that he was sore\namazed, and very heavy, even unto a sweat of blood. His strength was gone, his\nspirit sank, he was in an agony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     \nThen, as he hung upon the cursed tree, bearing our sins in his on body, he\ncried, as we read in Psalm 22:6, 14-15, \u2014 \u201cI am a worm, and no man; a\nreproach of men, and despised of the people\u2026I am poured out like water, and all\nmy bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of\nmy bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to\nmy jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It\nwas the thought and anticipation of being made sin for us, not of simply paying\nthe debt due unto our sins, but of being made sin, that caused his bloody sweat\nin Gethsemane. It was this fact, the fact that he was made sin for us that\ncaused him to be forsaken of his Father, as he hung upon the cursed tree on\nGolgotha\u2019s hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, my\nGod bore all my guilt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nthrough grace can be believed;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the\nhorrors which He felt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are too\nvast to be conceived!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pride cannot live\nbeneath the cross!<\/strong>
\n(by Spurgeon)<\/em>
\n
\nStand at the foot of the cross, and count
\nthe purple drops by which you have been
\ncleansed; see the thorn-crown; mark His
\nscourged shoulders, still gushing with
\nencrimsoned rills; see hands and feet
\ngiven up to the rough iron, and His whole
\nself to mockery and scorn; see the bitterness,
\nand the pangs, and the throes of inward grief,
\nshowing themselves in His outward frame;
\nhear the chilling shriek, “My God, my God,
\nwhy hast Thou forsaken Me?”
\n
\nIf you do not lie prostrate on the ground
\nbefore that cross, you have never seen it.
\n
\nIf you are not humbled in the presence
\nof Jesus, you do not know Him.
\n
\nYou were so lost that nothing could save you
\nbut the sacrifice of God’s only begotten. Think
\nof that, and as Jesus stooped for you, bow
\nyourself in lowliness at His feet.
\n
\nA sense of Christ’s amazing love to us has a
\ngreater tendency to humble us than even a
\nconsciousness of our own guilt.
\n
\nMay the Lord bring us in contemplation to
\nCalvary, then our position will no longer be
\nthat of the pompous man of pride, but we
\nshall take the humble place of one who loves
\nmuch because much has been forgiven him.
\n
\nPride cannot live beneath the cross!
\n<\/strong>
\nLet us sit there and learn our lesson,
\nand then rise and carry it into practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was not the nails!<\/strong>
\n(J.C.Philpot)
\n
\n“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34
\n
\nIt was not the nails<\/strong> driven through His hands and feet;
\nit was not the crown of thorns placed upon His brow;
\nit was not the stripes which mangled His back;
\nit was not the languor and faintness under which He
\nsuffered–which caused the Lord to die.
\n
\nIt was not the mere bodily agony of the cross; it was
\nnot the mere pain, though most acute and severe, of
\nthe nails driven through His sacred hands and feet. It
\nwas not the being stretched upon the cross six hours
\nthat constituted the chief part of the Redeemer’s
\nsuffering. But it was the almost intolerable load of
\nimputed sin–the imputed sins of millions. It was the
\ntremendous pouring of the wrath of God into His holy
\nsoul; it was the hiding of His Father’s face, and the
\nvery pangs of hell that there caught hold of Him.
\n
\nOur suffering Saviour drank the cup of the wrath of
\nGod to the very dregs–when our vile, dreadful, and
\nhorrible sins were laid upon Him!
\n
\n“Yet we did esteem Him stricken <\/strong>by God, smitten
\n<\/strong> of God, and afflicted<\/strong>.” Isaiah 53:4
\n
\n“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; <\/strong>He hath put Him\nto grief<\/strong>: Yet it pleased\nthe Lord to bruise him; he hath put him<\/em> to grief:\nwhen thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin .\n. .” Isaiah 53:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, indeed, this is\nthe wonder of wonders, the miracle of miracles!<\/strong>
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon, “Flowers from a Puritan’s Garden” 1883)
\n
\n“Christ died for the ungodly!”<\/em> Romans 5:6
\n
\nYes, indeed, this is the wonder of wonders, the miracle of miracles<\/strong> \u2014\nat which my mind will forever stand amazed! That the thrice Holy Saviour should\ntake the sinner’s place, and, coming under the sinner’s doom, should be smitten\nof God \u2014 this is a mystery past finding out!
\n
\nHell <\/em>is horribly amazing \u2014 but the death of Jesus<\/em> is\nfar more astounding, and especially that in death He should cry, “My\nGod, My God, why have You forsaken Me!”<\/em> Only the Son of God could\nendure this great grief. Yet is it a mystery of mysteries, that so divine a\nperson should be capable of enduring it.
\n
\nThe marvel is thought to be, that a man <\/em>should be able to\nsuffer so much. But the real marvel is that, being God<\/em>, He should\nsuffer at all. The being forsaken by the Father, was the very essence of His\ngrief!
\n
\nMy soul, adore and love \u2014 you cannot understand it!<\/em>
\n
\nBehold the eclipse of your soul’s Sun, and know that, had not this been, you\nwould have been in the darkness of Hell forever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wrath of God let\nloose upon His Son!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Winslow, “The\nGod of Holiness”)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divine holiness<\/strong> is\nbest exhibited in the cross of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not hell itself<\/strong>,\ndreadful and eternal as is its suffering:
\nthe undying worm, the unquenchable fire, the smoke
\nof the torment that goes up forever and ever; affords
\nsuch a solemn and impressive spectacle of the
\nholiness and justice of God<\/strong> in the punishment of
\nsin, as is presented in the death of God’s beloved Son.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An eminent Puritan writer\nthus strikingly puts it:
\n“Not all the vials of judgment<\/strong> that have or shall be
\npoured out upon this wicked world, nor the flaming
\nfurnace of a sinner’s conscience, nor the irrevocable
\nsentence pronounced against the rebellious devils,
\nnor the groans of the damned creatures, give such
\na demonstration of God’s hatred of sin<\/strong>, as the<\/strong>
\nwrath of God let loose upon His Son!<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Never did Divine\nholiness<\/strong> appear more beautiful
\nand lovely than at the time our Saviour’s countenance
\nwas most marred in the midst of His dying groans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Himself acknowledges in\nthat penitential psalm,
\nwhen God turned His smiling face away from Him, and
\nthrust His sharp knife into His heart<\/strong>, which forced
\nthat terrible cry from Him, “My\nGod, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
\nwhy art thou so<\/em> far from helping me, and\nfrom<\/em> the words of my roaring? \u2026.But thou art<\/em> holy\u201d Ps.\n22:1-3<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such an impressive view of God’s\nholiness<\/strong> the angels
\nin heaven never before beheld; not even when they
\nsaw the non elect spirits hurled from the heights of<\/strong>
\nglory down to the bottomless pit<\/strong>, to be reserved in
\nchains of darkness and woe forever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus was the innocent One\ndying for the guilty
\nones, the holy One dying for the sinful ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divine justice<\/strong>, in\nits mission of judgment, as it
\nswept by the cross, found the Son of God impaled
\nupon its wood beneath the sins and the curse of
\nHis people. Upon Him its judgment fell, on His soul
\nits wrath was poured, in His heart its flaming sword<\/strong>
\nwas plunged<\/strong>; and thus, from Him, justice exacted<\/strong>
\nthe full penalty<\/strong> of man’s transgression; the last
\nfarthing of the great debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Go to the cross, then, my\nreader, and learn the holiness of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contemplate…<\/strong>
\n  the dignity of Christ;
\n  His preciousness to His Father’s heart;
\n  the sinlessness of His nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then behold…<\/strong>
\n  the sorrow of His soul,
\n  the torture of His body,
\n  the tragedy of His death,
\n  the abasement,
\n  the ignominy,
\n  the humiliation, into the fathomless<\/strong>
\ndepths of which the whole transaction<\/strong>
\nplunged our incarnate God!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let me ask, standing, as\nyou are, before
\nthis unparalleled spectacle<\/strong>, “Can you cherish
\nlow views of God’s holiness, or light views
\nof your own sinfulness?”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The great physician!   Christ is the least expensive Physician. He takes no fee. He desires us to bring nothing to Him but broken hearts. And when He has cured us, He desires us to bestow nothing on Him but our love.   Christ heals with more ease than any other. Christ makes the devil go out with a word (Mark […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6856,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6855\/revisions\/6856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}