Psalm 18 describes the distress Jesus experienced and how the Father came from heaven to be with Him. Beginning with verse 4 we see the waves of death, the waves of our sin as they overflowed Him: "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord,. . .and my cry came before him, even into his ears."

Extraordinary self-control was manifested at the cross: by God, in not delivering His suffering Son; by Jesus, in not coming down from the cross; and by the angels, for not breaking through and rescuing Jesus. The Father and the angels stood by, but they could not speak. The disciples were in agony, depression, and discouragement. They were all hiding. Their hopes had been dashed. The darkness that circled the cross of Calvary was an illustration of the darkness in the minds of the disciples. They had lost all hope.

But there was a greater illustration--the heavens were declaring the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. When neither man, God, or the angels could speak, nature preached "Christ and Him crucified." When the sun refused to shine, there was nothing but darkness in the mind of Christ. He was suffering in our stead, without hope. He experienced despair, despondency, and discouragement to the very depths of which no human has ever felt.

We are told that the earthquake that shook and cast out the huge stones and rocks when Christ was dying was but a feeble emblem of the state of His mind: "Behold Him, dying upon the cross amid the deepest gloom. For the heavens are darkened and the earth convulsed. The rent rocks are but a feeble emblem of the state of His mind when He cried out, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?'" (Review and Herald, June 23, 1896).

The Greatest Earthquake of All Time

When Christ was dying there was a greater earthquake in His mind than in the earth that was being ruptured. The enemy took Hmi to the very edge of His sanity, but the faith of Jesus held, and the faith of Jesus will bring the despondent, the discouraged, and the abused through their devastating experiences.

Abuses that we never dreamed possible are occurring in so-called Christianity today. For example, there is physical and sexual abuse that to a large degree is ignored, but it is a growing problem. We desperately need the gospel of Jesus Christ to heal broken hearts--on both sides, parent and children. There are damaged emotions that popular Christianity is not touching, but the gospel that God has given to us must cure this damage or it is not the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation. If people can understand that Jesus understands, there will be healing.

It is because Jesus has been touched by the feeling of our infirmities that He knows and understands, not by "head knowledge,: not as God only. He understands not as Adam before he fell, but He understands where you and I live, because He lived there. He knows by experience, and He is well able to save unto the uttermost all those who respond to His marvelous grace. He does heal damaged emotions.

Our gracious Father, I know this is an awful picture as we dwell upon Jesus. But it's the "awfulness" of the gospel that will heal. We know that Your gospel can reach down into broken hearts and damaged emotions and place the mind of Christ in these desolate areas. Thank You so much for Jesus. In His precious name. Amen.

Gerald L. Finneman, pastor of the Erie, Pennsylvania, Seventh-day Adventist Church, conducts gospel-center seminars on healing from depression and abuse. He speak from personal experience, having suffered intense depression before and early on in his college years.
Bible texts are from the King James Version, unless otherwise noted.
*See Matt. 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36; The Desire of Ages, pp. 419-425
Taken from 1888 Message Newsletter Supplement, July-Agust 1995

TERESAQ

THIS was really good the way it was explanined

and yes even if GOD the father or the angels were
silent in showing self control...like you said nature
spoke out darking of the son....the lighting...the
earth quake all were speaking out...

dgrimm60