# “On the cross He remained the Beloved” by Hugh Martin

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2026/03/11/on-the-cross-he-remained-the-beloved-by-hugh-martin/
- Published: 2026-03-11T09:30:00-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“Did not the Beloved suffer a diminution of His acceptance with the Father— or of
grace in His sight— when He assumed our sin- when He was made sin for us— when He
was made a curse?

Did not this imply that the Father’s favour was removed from Him- that He ceased
to find acceptance in His sight?

The answer is that the evidence of His acceptance with God became clouded, but the
reality remained intact.

He indeed bore our sins on His own body on the tree. He bore them in reality, in
all their heavy crushing burden, in all their guilt and hell-deservingness, in all
the intensity of their merited malediction.

He drank the cup of His Father’s wrath, He tasted the death which is the wages of
sin. He suffered the withdrawal of the light of His Father’s countenance, of the
tokens and evidences of grace in His Father’s sight.

But all the while the Father’s good pleasure in Him — His own infinite favour with
the Father- abode in unveiled perfection.

Standing in our stead, loaded with our sin, doing our work, expiating our guilt,
bearing our curse and death, He remained the Beloved, accepted of the Father even
as before.

For what was there in His taking our place and sin to interfere with the Father’s
high esteem and regard for Him, the Father’s infinite good pleasure and delight 
in Him?

No doubt the divine justice was incensed, and the divine sword awoke against the
man that was Jehovah’s fellow, and smote the shepherd. But justice was incensed 
and the sword awoke, not for taking on Him the sins of His people, but solely for
the sins of His people which He took.

Was it any sin in Him to take the sins of His people on Himself? Was it a work fitted
to sink Him in His Father’s favour or esteem? The Father laid on Him the iniquities
of us all.

Of His own good and holy will He bowed His head to the appointed burden, and stretched
out His hand in willingly endured soul agony to embrace the appointed cup.

Oh, for a good work like this:

— for a work full of love to His Father. ‘The prince of this world cometh, but hath
nothing in me, but that the world may know that I love the Father, arise, let us
go hence, let me go and lay down the life which no man has power to take away,’

— for a work so full of love to man He loved the church and gave Himself for it.

— for a work infinitely the most resplendent of all works, with the highest grace
of the Holy Ghost in all their grandest operations (‘for He through the Eternal 
Spirit offered Himself without spot to God’)

— for such a work as His expiation by eternal covenant of our iniquity, His reconciling
the offended Father to His strayed and ruined family, His glorifying the Godhead
in the highest and gathering in an eternal revenue of praise to God and felicity
to man.

— for such a work, how could He possibly suffer in His Father’s esteem?

It was such a work, for the which I beheld, and ‘I heard the voice of many angels
round the throne, the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was
ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!’

For such a work, how could He be other than His Father Himself describeth Him to
be, ‘Behold my servant, whom I uphold: mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth?’ ‘
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life for the sheep?’

For His joyful and willing advent to the work (‘A body hast thou prepared me: Lo,
I come: I delight to do thy will, O my God’)

— for His firm and devoted entrance on it (‘Suffer me to be baptised of thee- suffer
it to be so now, for thus it behoveth Me to fulfil all righteousness’)

— for His meek and unswerving continuance in it (‘I do always those things which
please him, I have kept my Father’s commandments, and continue in his love’)

— for His finishing the work given Him to do, and therein glorifying the Father (‘
Father, I have glorified Thy name on the earth, I have finished the work given me
to do’)— was He not glorious in the eyes of the Lord?- the branch of the Lord, beautiful
and glorious, excellent and comely?

Still, His humiliation concealed this. He was wounded for our transgressions, He
was bruised for our iniquities. Still He was wounded and bruised, and we did esteem
Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

The Father had not lost aught of His love to Him, His regard and delight in Him,‘
for it pleased the Father to bruise Him, and He hath no pleasure in the death of
the wicked.’ Still the evidence of the Father’s pleasure in Him was concealed.

From Himself, even, the tokens of it were withheld, as He exclaimed on the cross,‘
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ He sank in man’s esteem. He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not), and the proofs of God’s esteem were for the time refused.

But His vindication came as the sun shineth in its strength.”

–Hugh Martin, “[**Accepted in the Beloved**](https://ccrbooks.org/products/union-with-christ-sermons-of-hugh-martin?_pos=1&_sid=13bfe1fb7&_ss=r),”_**
[Union with Christ: Sermons of Hugh Martin](https://ccrbooks.org/products/union-with-christ-sermons-of-hugh-martin?_pos=1&_sid=13bfe1fb7&_ss=r)**_,
eds. Matthew J. Hyde and Catherine E. Hyde (Glasgow, Scotland: Free Presbyterian
Publications, 2024), 32-34. Martin is preaching on **Ephesians 1:6**.

[⌊Union with Christ by Hugh Martin⌉⌊Union with Christ by Hugh Martin⌉[

More quotes from [Hugh Martin](https://tollelege.net/category/hugh-martin/) · More
on [Pierced For Our Transgressions](https://tollelege.net/category/pierced-for-our-transgressions/)