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morning everyone welcome to Free girls Baptist church for our morning service we have a number of announcements this evening we'll have the Lord's supper at 5 PM which is our usual monthly practice on the first Sunday of the month so come prepared for the Lord's Supper Wednesday night bible study continues 7 30 p.m here in the fellowship hall the annual work day is taking place on Saturday May 20th so that's just a couple weeks away at 8 30 in the morning We Gather here to tidy up and do some loose end Works around the church to make everything look presentable and spotless so come and join us for that um the newsletter is out for the month so pick that up at the back if you haven't got a coffee or if you haven't accessed the the one electronically lots of good information historical information things that are happening around the world things that are happening here and Doctrine as well and then there's the crossword puzzle for anyone that wants to do that um and as well the word indeed uh magazine is out this is an organization a missionary organization that we support they send out a newsletter every quarterly so the spring one is out it's at the back of the church as well uh one more thing in the summer Ben take turn mowing the Lawns and there's been an email that's gone gone out about that we still need some volunteers to keep the churchyard Tidy during the summer so if you're available talk to Steve Lawson about that and then one other thing that's happening uh on May 17th the Justice Center is going to be doing an address at the free reform church that's at 7 30 PM there was also an email sent out about that but if you want more information Ask Pastor Butler one of the Deacons so now we'll go to worship by turning to Psalm 72. for our call to worship psalm 72. a Psalm of Solomon give the king your judgments o God and your righteousness to the King's son he will judge your people with righteousness and your poor with Justice the mountains will bring peace to the people and the little Hills by righteousness he will bring Justice to the poor of the people he will save the children of the needy and break in pieces the oppressor they shall fear you as long as the sun and moon endure throughout all generations he shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing like showers that water the Earth in his days the righteous shall flourish and abundance of peace until the Moon is no more he shall have dominion also from sea to Sea and from the river to the ends of the Earth those who dwell in the wilderness will bow down before him and his enemies will lick the dust the the kings of tarshish and of the Isles will pres will bring presence the kings of Sheba and sibo will offer gifts yes all Kings shall fall down before him all nations Shall Serve him for he will deliver the needy when he cries the poor also and him who has no helper he will spare the poor and needy and will save the souls of the needy he will redeem their life from oppression and violence and precious shall be their blood in his sight and he shall live and the gold of Sheba will be given to him prayer also will be made for him continually and daily he shall be praised there will be an abundance of grain in the Earth on the top of the mountains its fruit shall wave like Lebanon and those of the city shall flourish like grass of the Earth his name shall endure forever his name shall continue as long as the son and man shall be blessed in him all nations shall call him blessed blessed be the Lord God the god of Israel who only does wondrous things and blessed be his glorious name forever and let the whole earth be filled with his glory amen and amen the prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended amen for our first hymn this morning we're going to sing Psalm 149 in the Trinity psalter hymnal selection b as in bravo 149 B please stand with me as we sing [Music] the Lord [Music] Praise Him and enjoy Ed [Music] people [Music] that we glorious days [Music] to honor always [Music] foreign [Music] we'll have a time of prayer now our gracious Heavenly Father we thank you for your kindness toward us we thank you for this day that you have set apart for your worship and for our rest we thank you for the mercies that you've provided for us throughout this week past thank you for giving us employment and for giving us health and strength thank you for families thank you for this church thank you for the brethren Lord you have been gracious and merciful and kind to us and Lord we we love these mercies forgive us for too often taking them for granted we pray Lord that all over the face of the Earth your people would experience the peace and the joy that we know and we pray o God for those people that are being persecuted in distant lands have mercy upon them o God and sustain your people this day May the gospel go forth even in dark places where people are meeting in secret this day the Lord we pray that the gospel would go forth here as well in North America we pray that your your truth would be heralded from the pulpits across this land we pray oh God that the spirit your spirit would attend the preaching of the word and that many would be drawn out of darkness and into marvelous light this day but we pray for our sister churches that you would be gracious to them the church plants in Surrey and in Armstrong and in Dryden we pray o God that you would encourage these and bless their leaders and bless the congregations Lord continue to save those who should be saved and to bring in amongst them new visitors we thank you for our kind your kindness to us here at free Grace Baptists and we pray for each and every one that is assembled this morning that you would minister to our hearts those in need of encouragement those in need of chastisement those in need of Direction and of help I pray o God that you administer that this day and Lord we we long to worship you as we ought in spirit and truth and yet we know that we have remaining corruption we know there is wickedness we know that our hearts wander we pray oh God that you would cleanse us this day that you would fit us with the righteousness of Jesus to be able to present our sacrifices of Praise before you this morning be kind and merciful to us I pray for those in in the congregation that are ill this day and unable to be with us or those that suffer with chronic illness I pray God you'd be merciful and gracious to them I pray that you would bless the families of this church and continue to raise up a generation that is eager to follow you in the future as well Lord be with us as we continue in worship do us good for your own name's sake we pray this for Jesus name amen for our next hymn we're going to sing number 286. in the hymnal 286 let us love and sing and wonder please stand with me as we sing [Music] thank you [Music] is one he has [Music] always [Music] foreign [Music] where the grace and Christ is [Music] equal how air races [Music] you are worthy [Music] for our morning scripture reading we're in Revelation chapter 17 this morning Revelation chapter 17 we'll read the entire chapter then one of the Seven Angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me saying to me come I will show you the Judgment of the great Harlot who sits on many Waters with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication so he carried me away in the spirit Into the Wilderness and I saw a woman sitting on a Scarlet Beast which was full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns the woman was arrayed in purple in scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and Pearls having in her hand a golden cup full of Abominations and the filthiness of her fornication and on her forehead a name was written mystery Babylon the great the mother of harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I marveled with great amazement but the angel said to me why did you Marvel I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the Beast that carries her which has the seven heads and the ten horns the Beast that you saw was and is not and will Ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to Perdition and those who dwell on the earth will Marvel whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world when they see the Beast that was and is not and yet is here is the mind which has wisdom the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits there are also seven Kings five have fallen one is and the other has not yet come and when he comes he must continue a short time the Beast that was and is not is himself also the eighth and is of the seven and is going to Perdition the ten horns which you saw are Ten Kings which have who have received no Kingdom as yet but they receive Authority for one hour as kings with the Beast these are of one mind and they will give their power and authority to the Beast these will make war with the lamb and the lamb will overcome them for he is Lord of lords and king of kings and those who are with him are called Chosen and faithful then he said to me the waters which you saw where the Harlot sits are peoples multitudes Nations and tongues and the ten horns which you saw on the Beast these will hate the Harlot make her desolate and naked eat her flesh and burn her with fire for God has put it into their hearts to fulfill his purpose to be of one mind and to give their Kingdom to the Beast until the words of God are fulfilled and the woman whom you saw is that great city which Reigns over the kings of the Earth amen let's pray gracious Father in Heaven I thank you that we serve that lamb who is Victorious over all of his enemies Lord we see these enemies that are arrayed with power even with certain beautiful garments and pearls and crowns and yet they're deceptive and and desperately wicked we see that you give them Authority even to Martyr some of your Saints and this has happened throughout the centuries of the history of the church and yet the the death of your Saints is precious in your sight and you control all things we thank you for this we thank you that our future is in your hand and we pray oh God that you would continue with us as we worship and pray Lord that you would be pleased with our worship and we bring it to you through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen for our last hymn we'll turn to number 195. him 195. shine thou Upon Us Lord please stand with me as we sing [Music] thank you so much [Music] everybody [Music] lyrics [Music] everything [Music] is always [Music] oh my God [Music] is [Music] always [Music] inside of them foreign [Music] you can turn in your Bibles to the Psalms psalm 45. we will return God willing to our exposition of John's gospel in a week or two but to this morning another Messianic Psalm one that is connected to Psalm 2. we also see Messianic Psalms throughout the psalter in fact we could say the psalter itself is Messianic but there are some that specifically outline and foreshadow and pre-figure and announce what the Lord Jesus Christ will do when he comes to save his people from their sins remember the Psalms are written long before the coming of the Savior Psalm 45 is a description of a royal wedding essentially it's Christ and his church so I want to read beginning in Psalm 45 at verse 1. to the chief musician sat to the lilies a contemplation of the sons of Korah a song of a song of love my heart is overflowing with a good theme I recite my composition concerning the king my tongue is the pen of a ready writer you are fairer than the sons of men Grace is poured upon your lips therefore God has blessed you forever gird your sword upon your thigh o mighty one with your glory and your majesty and in your majesty ride prosperously because of Truth humility and righteousness and your right hand shall teach you awesome things your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies the peoples fall under you your throne o God is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom you love righteousness and hate wickedness therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions all your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and Kasha out of the ivory palaces by which they have made you glad King's Daughters are among your honorable women at your right hand stands the queen in gold from ophir listen oh daughter consider and incline your ear forget your own people also in your father's house so the king will greatly desire your beauty because he is your lord worship Him and the daughter of Tire will come with a gift the rich among the people will seek your favor the Royal daughter is all glorious within the palace her clothing is woven with gold she shall be brought to the king in Robes of Many Colors the virgins her companions who follow her shall be brought to you with gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought they shall enter the king's Palace instead of your fathers shall be your sons whom you shall make princes in all the earth I will make your name to be remembered in all generations therefore the people shall praise you forever and ever amen well let us pray Our God and Father we thank you for your word we thank you that the scope of scripture is our blessed savior the Lord Jesus Christ we see that displayed in the psalter we see that displayed in specific Psalms along the way and here we find that King that blessed one that one who is all all glorious the one is all together lovely and chief among ten thousand we pray that you'd give us eyes to see in our hearts to receive these things do forgive us for all of our sins and unrighteousness and cleanse Us in that precious blood of the of the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you that he is king of kings that he is Lord of lords that he is enthroned at the right hand of God most high where he ever lives to make intercession for his people where he rules and Reigns over all things for the church and we look forward to that reality wherein he brings all of his enemies into subjection he does conquer he does Vanquish he does deal with all those who rise up in opposition against him may we be encouraged and may we be strengthened as the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ to know that our head and our champion leads the way that he is for foremost and in the Forefront in terms of the battle and help us to be faithful help us to be upright help us to be diligent followers of the lamb and we pray through Christ the Lord amen well as I said we have a connection between several Psalms in the psaltra that highlight the work of the Lord Jesus Christ hundreds of years before he was born hundreds of years before the Incarnation of the Son of God we have these announcements littered through the prophets littered in the psalter concerning what he would do and how he would do it well there's four particular parts to this Psalm I want to look first at the intention of the psalmist in verse 1. secondly the description of the king in verses two to nine thirdly the instruction to the bride in verses 10 to 15 and then finally the Declaration concerning the king in verses 16 and 17. one commentator J.A Alexander has said the allegorical idea of this Psalm is carried out in the Song of Solomon now there have been interpreters in our own generation I think they've been there before as well but it seems to have come to a fever pitch at least in the last several years with a Song of Solomon is simply relegated to a performance manual relative to the kanji relation between a husband and a wife well the ancient church the church Turner in her best ages has always seen the Song of Solomon as a depiction of God or Yahweh and Israel as well it foreshadows Christ and his church and so the Song of Solomon shows us an allegorical form what we find in this particular passage in Psalm 45 we see not only the king but we see his bride we see the church we see the body of Christ addressed in this particular Psalm so let's look first at the intention of the psalmist notice in verse 1. he says my heart is overflowing so as he takes pen to paper he has a particular Mission he has a particular theme he's going to reveal that to us in just a moment but notice he's not some cold dry Theologian rather he is a man that loves his savior he is a man that adores the Christ he is a man that has this overflowing heart it's also also translated as boils or bubbles up it denotes the language of the Heart full and ready for utterance so it's not again just this dry theological treatment but rather it is a composition a song of love as we see in the super scription above and then notice the subject of his composition he says in verse 1 my heart is overflowing with a good theme well what is that good theme well the theme is our blessed savior the theme is the one that the bride describes as altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand the good theme is our Lord Jesus Christ and he reveals that to us in verse 1C notice I recite my composition concerning the king I recite my composition concerning the king Spurgeon says here some here see Solomon and Pharaoh's daughter only they are short-sighted others see see both Solomon and Christ they are cross-eyed well-focused spiritual eyes see here Jesus only so that's the theme that's the message that's what uh uh David or the sons of Cora here are writing concerning and then notice at the end of verse 1 my tongue is the pen of a ready writer it reflects the bubbling over of his heart in other words he has this love for Christ and it fleshes itself out in his writing of this Psalm of love to Christ now notice the description of the king in verses two to nine he describes first the Perfections of the king and then secondly the person of the king notice the Perfections of the king in verses 2 and following he speaks of the blessing of God's grace upon the king notice in verse two you are fairer than the sons of men Grace is poured upon your lips therefore God has blessed you forever Christ has Supreme In fairness in fact the word is doubled in Hebrew it's literally you are fairer fairer or you are beautiful beautiful you are the fairest or Thou Art more beautiful than he is showing us the superlative Glory of our Lord Jesus Christ he is not simply revealing something that is about a creature of the earth he's not looking at a landscape and saying wow I want to compose this song of love because that glorious Vision no rather his subject matter is the one who is all together lovely and who is Chief among ten thousand again Spurgeon says Jesus is so emphatically lovely that words must be doubled strained yea exhausted before he can be described among the children of men among the children of men many have through Grace been lovely in character yet they have each had a flaw but in Jesus we both be hold every feature of a perfect character in harmonious proportion I think spurgeon's absolutely correct there and absolutely right those of you familiar with the Old Testament know that in many ways there's a difference between the old and the New Testament the difference isn't in the subject matter the difference isn't in the author the difference is in the way that it comes to us in fact in the Old Testament you get a lot of narrative concerning people you get Heroes presented to you in the Old Testament again not that the apostles in the New Testament are not heroic men but in the Old Testament You've Got King David of Israel you've got Samson you've got jephthah you've got the judges in Israel you've got you've got Gideon what is one consistent testimony that brings these men together they all have flaws they all have issues they all have problems they all have challenges they all have sin remaining corruption I think the emphasis of the Bible is to present one hero one Champion one king one Lord one glorious one and that is Jesus Christ and so Spurgeon is right we need to increase our devotion we need to increase our love our our appreciation of and our adoration toward this one who is fairer than the sons of man even great man David was in fact a great man but a great man who committed adultery and conspiracy to murder to cover up that adultery uh Samson was a great man I love Samson Samson's probably one of my favorite guys in the entirety of the Bible and I don't think he's half as bad as the church has made him four times we see that the spirit of God Came Upon Samson where else in the Bible do you find a man upon whom it said four times that the spirit comes upon him but all that to say even Samson had his struggles Samson had his issues Samson had his uh his trials Samson had his remaining corruption but not so Jesus in the church today you have Heroes we have Heroes we look back in the history of the church we have the apostles the Apostle Paul we have men that we love CH virgin is one of them I've got a bobble head of him on my desk that was gifted to me by a dear brother in Seattle several years ago these are heroic men but Jesus is fairer Jesus is more glorious Jesus is more wondrous men will always at some level or some point let you down men will always bring to bear upon you the reality that they're imperfect if you put the thought into your fellows that they need to deliver Perfection you are saddling them up with things they cannot deliver it is Christ Alone who is perfect and in terms of the song of love you are fairer than the sons of men Grace is poured upon your lips I think in John 1 17 here the law came or the law was given through Moses but Grace and Truth was given through the Lord Jesus Christ or you have that scene in Luke's gospel in chapter 4 at a synagogue in Nazareth where the Lord Jesus Takes the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and he reads it and he says today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing and the people of God there the the people in the synagogue rather are are shocked and they they Marvel at the grace or the gracious words that proceed from his mouth up until the fact or up until the time he highlights the Judgment of God upon apostate Israel and then they want to throw him off of a hill but at least initially they appreciate the fact that Grace proceeded gracious words proceeded from the mouth of our blessed savior so as he's composing this song of Love he says you are fairer than the sons of men Grace is poured upon your lips therefore God has blessed you forever so the blessing of God's grace and the provision of God the Father to the son in order to carry out the Messianic task but then notice the commitment to God's cost God's cause that is manifested by this King notice in verses 3 and 4 a the king's equipment verse 3 gird your sword upon your thigh o mighty one gird your sword upon your thigh Almighty one now there are many ways to take this we saw last week in Psalm 2 at verse 9 that Christ the ascended Lord Christ the King of Kings Christ the one who has all and absolute Authority from the right hand of the father wields an iron rod and with it he dashes the Nations down like a Potter's vessel and we see God's Judgment of Christ's judgment fact in Revelation chapter 6 when the seals are open and the Judgment of God is revealed we see the strong man of the earth we see the powerful men of the earth call upon the rocks on the Hills to fall upon them and to Shield them and hide them from the Wrath of the lamb for who can stand and in the day is Fury and so with reference to Christ he dashes his enemies down but in Revelation chapter 19 a passage we'll look at in just a moment we see that the sword proceeds from the mouth of our Lord Jesus so yes he reigns and rules with overwhelming power He Reigns and rules with transformative power he is able Smash and dashes enemies but he also wields the power of his sword which is the word of God and that dashes his enemies as well Paul speaks of that in Colossians 1 13 he speaks of the enemies of Christ being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the son of his love we were enemies we were Rebels we were Confederates we were transgressors against our great God but now we've been conquered now we've been blessed now we have been restored to fellowship with the living and true God so Christ has two ways of ruling and reigning dashing and destroying his enemies or converting them by the power of his glorious God gospel and we ought to praise him that we have been conquered by the power of his glorious gospel so he has gird upon his thigh the the mighty one and then he and then we noticed the the nature of his right so verse 3 girder sword upon your thigh o mighty one with your glory and your majesty and then notice in verse 4 and in your majesty ride prosperously because of Truth humility and righteousness ride prosperously because of Truth humility and righteousness this is a wonderful statement in fact turn to the Gospel of John John chapter 18. John chapter 18 the only time the Earthly or physical birth of our Lord Jesus is highlighted John's gospel tells us about the fact that he is the only begotten son of the father stresses very clearly the Divinity of the son that he is from Everlasting to Everlasting that he is the second person of the Triune God the birth narrative is absent in John's gospel the only reference that Jesus gives relative to his physical birth is when he stands before Pontius Pilate and Pontius Pilate is pressing him Pontius Pilate is a stooge in the hands of the Godless Jews to try to get at Jesus they didn't have authority to crucify they didn't have authority to engage in capital punishment they needed pilate to sign off so Pilot's a puppet in the hands of the Jews and pilate is pressing him notice what pilate asks in 1837 pilate therefore said to him are you a king then Jesus answered you say rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world that I should bear witness to the truth everyone who here who is of the truth hears my voice so consider the word of the psalter he rides prosperously because of Truth humility and righteousness it is the Godless that Advance their cause through the deception it is the unrighteous Satanist that advances his cause through lies the truth has nothing to fear the truth does not fear the light the truth does not being fear being brought out in the marketplace truth is truth and it does what God intends it to do so Christ doesn't Advance his cause by lies and deception he doesn't say oh come to me and I'll make sure you have a nice big car and you'll have a nice big house and you'll have a nice big wallet and you'll have a nice big you know summer home at the lake he doesn't lie like that he tells us in this world you will have tribulation but he encourages us to be of good cheer because he's overcome the world he advances his costs uh cause in truth and humility and righteousness again it is Satan schemes to use lies to use pride and to use unrighteousness to advance his Wicked cause it's only unfortunate that so many people fall subject to that or fall prey to that we've accepted lies we've accepted deception we've accepted political leaders in the media and everyone around us to just lie to us constantly and regularly but not so in the Kingdom of Jesus it's Advanced by truth it's Advanced by power it's Advanced by his glory his nature as a humble and glorious Savior and and righteous and then notice back in the psalm Psalm 45 as we consider his Tri uh his commitment to God's cause it sort of now moves into the triumph over God's enemies look at 4B and 5. so verse 4 and in your majesty ride prosperously because of Truth humility and righteousness and your right hand shall teach you awesome things your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies the peoples fall under you this idea of your right hand shall teach you awesome things kind of a curious or interesting statement let me quote John Gill here he says or thy power which thy right uh the right hand is a symbol of shall perform terrible things as it did in the work of redemption by conquering and destroying the enemies of his people and of himself and as it does in the conversion of men which makes terrible work in their consciences as in as the instances of the three thousand of Saul and of the Jailer show and as it has in judgments on his enemies the Jews in the utter ruin of their Nation City and Temple he's referring to 80 70. and will do on all the anti-christian powers in the latter day in other words what he says concerning your right hand shall teach you awesome things is the demonstration of the power and the glory and the Majesty of Jesus Christ as he carries out the Messianic task on the one hand to blast and to save his people from their sins and on the other hand to curse and reject and Cast Away those who continue in penitent and unbelieving see when it comes to the Lord Jesus Christ he's as glorious in his judgments as he is in the application of his grace and so the right hand of the power of Jesus shall demonstrate awesome things and then notice what the psalmist says in verse 5 your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies the peoples fall under you your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies the people shall fall under you now you can turn to the Book of Revelation Revelation chapter 19. Revelation chapter 19. where you see the writer on the White Horse specifically verses 11 to 16. now I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse and he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes War sounds as if John under the inspiration of the spirit while he's on the island of Patmos for the word of God and the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ has a lot of Old Testament in his head in fact the Book of Revelation is the most old testament-ish book in the entirety of the New Testament that doesn't mean there's as many quotes necessarily but there's illusion there's thematic there's a there's an intertextuality as as Scholars refer to it what do you think is behind this statement what do you think is behind the statement in terms of uh he who sat on this this White Horse was called faithful and true and and in righteousness he judges and makes War certainly wouldn't surprise me if Psalm 45 was in his head certainly wouldn't surprise me if the thought of the sons of Korah descripted in this song of Love Is in the mind and heart of this man under the inspiration of the spirit notice in verse 12 as I eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns he had a name written that no one knew except himself he was clothed with a robe dipped in Blood and his name is called the word of God and the armies and having clothed in fine linen white and clean followed him on white horses now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the Nations and he himself will rule them with a rod of iron he himself Treads The Wine Press of the fierceness and Wrath of almighty God and he has on his robe and on his thigh a name rich and king of kings and Lord of lords I love Ralph Davis in his commentary on the Book of Joshua he says we must catch the vision of the faithful and Truth sitting on the White Horse the one who judges and makes war and righteousness Revelation 19 11-16 he says no mild God or soft Jesus can give his people hope it is only as we know the warrior of Israel who fights for us and sometimes without us that we have hope of triumphing in the muck of life I need to make a confession in my prayer I stole a Brother's prayer when I spoke of Jesus as the captain leading his bride that came out of prayer meeting this morning so I want to make sure everybody knows that it's a rich and beautiful image the captain of our Salvation doesn't Trail the church we may think that at times it looks as if at times that the church has fallen on hard times it looks like we're not going anywhere it looks like the world is winning it looks like the the the wickedness and the lawlessness on on high places in terms of the Civil polity is Victorious nothing could be further from the truth we've got Christ on the White Horse waging and making War we've got Christ protecting and providing for his people we've got Christ fighting for us as king of kings and Lord of lords we've got the Blessed Christ who does what the psalmist says here in Psalm 45 he rides prosperously in truth humility and righteousness your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies the peoples fall under you where's the Roman Empire that was so about persecuting the people of God it's done where's Nero Caesar that that rat who fiddled while Rome burned and he and he blamed the people of God that wretch under whom the Apostle Paul was beheaded that wretch who was described by John Fox as a beast that ratchet many of us see as the actual beast in the Book of Revelation Revelation isn't about our future Revelation is about the few uh the that the people of God in the first century they're first persecuting enemy was the unbelieving Jews the great City that our brother read of is identified in chapter 11. it's Jerusalem it's a spiritual Sodom and Gomorrah it's a spiritual Babylon that turned its guns against the professing people of God that cited with Jesus the Messiah so what happens to them Christ from the right hand of the Throne of God Almighty brings judgment to Bear upon them via the Roman armies what happens when the Roman Empire Rises up against the people of God they're put down too in other words if you look back at history everybody every system every government that has opposed God most high and as Christ has not prospered you don't do better as a body politic and rejecting and resisting The Sovereign God why do the Nations rage and the people plot a vain things why do the kings set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against Yahweh and against his Christ well the answer is simple because they're sinful fools they're they're they're foolish they're falling they're engaged in rebellion and treachery and transgression transgression against the holy God the the finite is trying to oppose the infinite the creature is trying to oppose the Creator that's why Psalm 2 says why did the Nations rage do they know what they're doing to steal Albert and Martin's sort of illustration again when I come out to my front porch and I see a line of ants and they say we're going to get you I laugh at them I hold them in derision I will distress them in my wrath because they cannot mount an effective opposition against me I can with foot lower it upon them or I can with raid extinguish them so when the creature Rises up against the Creator the question is legit why do they do that you're not going to prosper you're not going to win and in terms of the history of the world this is programmatic and in your majesty Prosper a Majesty ride prosperously because of Truth humility and righteousness we have a blessed God who has sent his son to save us from our sins look at Psalm 110 another Messianic Psalm in particular but look at how we see the Messiah as Khan depicted at the end of the psalm notice in Psalm 110 we know verse 1 the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool God the father says to God the son sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool in other words you're going to win there's no question so you don't come to the Bible and say I I wonder are the wicked going to win does the devil Triumph is he Victorious is that is that all there is for us no the Bible everywhere tells us he's not going to win the Bible everywhere tells us that Christ wins so notice verse 2 the Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion rule in the midst of your enemies your people shall be Volunteers in the day of your power in the beauties of Holiness from the womb of the morning you have the do of your youth the Lord is sworn and will not relent you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek see that's an interesting facet concerning our Blessed Redeemer he's king of kings and Lord of lords but he's also a prophet and a priest we need a priest don't we if we're going to enter into heaven there needs to be blood atonement the Apostle says this in Hebrews 9 22 without the shedding of blood there is no remission so what does God do he provides his son his only begotten son he takes on our Humanity the son and he assumes that position as mediator which means he's Prophet priest and King so the same King that rules and Reigns over his enemies is the same God the same son rather that became a priest to offer himself up for the sins of his people that's what the psalmist is saying here in verse 4 the Lord has sworn and will not relent you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek now you may not be a believer here this morning and there might be a a resonating in your heart in terms of the kingship of Jesus yeah yeah there's a lot of bad things going on in this world it's a lot horrible things we see abortion we see euthanasia we see the mutilation of children now via uh violating the seventh commandment oh we got to affirm them at eight to go ahead and engage in mutilation that is going to affect them forever yeah I'd like a king to be able to stomp on these enemies I'd like a king to be able to crush these enemies so if that's resonating in your heart good that resonates in my heart too but let the priesthood of Jesus resonate in your heart and dare I say even more for a little time because you need a priest you need a victim and Christ is both priest and victim when the Baptist John the Baptist announces the the Earthly Ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ you know how he doesn't do it behold the king who's going to dash his enemies and who's going to crush them like Potter's vessels no he says Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world you may resonate with the kingly office of our Lord Jesus Christ and good on you but you need to look to the Priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ the Bible teaches that we're Sinners the Bible teaches that our hearts are deceitful above all things and desperately wicked the Bible teaches that this is a comprehensive problem it's not just me though I'm part of it it's not just Paul who says he's the chief of the Sinners it's not just the rest of us here who are in this room all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so what's the answer what's the Hope what's the remedy do I need to get better well that's going to be a Fool's errand because you're not going to get better I just hate to break that to you and shatter your bubble today oh I just need to do more and perform better and and work harder well you'll do more and work harder and perform better on your way to hell there is one hope for Sinners the the hymn writer said it this way fowl I to the Fountain fly wash me save your or I die he says nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I cling it is Christ Alone in whom there is forgiveness and a righteousness by which we enter into heaven and so it's faith in Jesus looking to that Priestly office hearing that prophetic word from him come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and that blessed promise and I will give you rest come to him find shelter under the shadow of his wings find that Refuge find that place of forgiveness and mercy and Grace find that place of not just temporal safety Christ isn't just an insurance plan for the next 40 years in your life Christ brings Eternal blessing hence this song of love in Psalm 45 he is fairer than the sons of man he doesn't just deliver a generation like Samson does he doesn't just deliver a generation like King David does no he's fairer than the sons of man he delivers his people from their sins well what's the means what's the way how do I how do I access these these resources of these riches by faith it's by Faith by looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ there was a man it was a Jailer in Philippi and he was about to kill himself and the Apostle Paul and Barnabas said don't do that and so this man comes and falls down before them not the other prisoners he comes and falls down before Paul and Barnabas not the other prisoners and he says sirs what must I do to be saved you know what they didn't say go try harder go do more be better be a better version of you no that's not what they said they said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved it's faith in the Redeemer it's faith in this priest it's faith in this one who has a priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek it's not like the uh the levitical priest that had to offer up sacrifices daily for their own sins and then for the sins of Israel he's the holy harmless and undefiled one so back to the psalm this same King Psalm 110 is a priest and he's a prophet he speaks to us because we're ignorant we need to hear his word now notice the Messiah is conqueror in verses five to seven the Lord is at your right hand he shall execute kings in the day of his wrath he shall judge among the Nations he shall fill the places with dead bodies he shall execute the heads of many countries he shall drink of the brook by the wayside therefore he shall lift up the head beautiful martial imagery applied to the savior in his conquering here notice he shall drink of the book by Brook by the wayside why does why does he do that well the same reason Samson after he killed a thousand Philistines with the Jawbone of an ass said you know Lord just gave me this great Deliverance you know let me you know die of thirst here there was this Fountain open for him to refresh himself because I don't know but I'm guessing that killing a thousand people with the Jawbone of an ass probably saps your energy a bit probably taxes you just a little in terms of your energy levels we can't walk up a hill without breathing and sucking air Samson stood toe-to-toe with thousand Philistines and dispatched them that man was heroic but what does he do he needs water what does the psalmist say concerning our blessed savior in a depiction of his power of His glory of his victory he drinks by uh he drinks of the brook by the wayside and therefore he shall lift up the head so back to Psalm 45 we see the very same emphasis in terms of his total Victory the peoples fall under you so that's the Perfections of the king verses two to five the blessing of God's grace the commitment to God's cause the triumph over God's enemies now notice the person of the king in verses six to nine notice in the first place the divine nature of the king we've been working our way through John's gospel in the morning if you're visiting with us this is not the norm usually we go expositionally through John in the morning Ephesians in the evening we find ourselves at the end of John 10 we're just about to start God willing John 11 but John's emphasis from the very beginning of his gospel narrative is to stress the Divinity of Jesus in the beginning was the word the word was with God and the Word was God John 1 1 John 1 14 deals with the glory of the Incarnation the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us John 1 18 highlights the special nature of the only begotten son when John says no one has seen God at any time but the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father has declared him and then John ends the gospel properly chapter 21 is sort of an epilogue but chapter 20 ends on this high note from doubting Thomas when he sees Jesus he says my Lord and my God and then of course John tells us the thesis of his book I I write so that you may believe that that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and that believing in his name you may have everlasting life so John takes pains to stress the Divinity of the son and along the way he has butted heads Jesus has with the religious leaders and one of the things that I have tried to encourage us to understand is that the Old Testament prophesied a Divine Messiah the Old Testament prophesied a Divine Messiah certainly a human messiah in Christ we have that blessed thing theological theologians call the hypostatic union that's a big word that simply means he's one person with two Natures Divine and human so the Old Testament tells us he'll be a man in fact this Psalm does in just a moment but in Genesis 3 15 we have that first gospel announcement that there will be victory for God's people and it will come as a result of a man born of a woman it will come as a result of that man born of a woman suffering and dying to bring total Victory to his people and then throughout the Old Testament we see more facets described concerning this Messiah and so for the Jew today and the Jew in Jesus day to say well you know the Bible never taught a Divine Messiah no the Bible most certainly teaches a Divine Messiah Isaiah 9 6 and 7. he's Mighty God he's Everlasting father Micah 5 2 whose goings forth are from of old or from Ancient of Days we have all kinds of description in the Old Testament concerning the Divinity of our blessed savior and Psalm 45 is not an exception look at the Divinity of of the king verse 6 your throne o God is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom well why is that why do we need a Divine King because there's no hope of Salvation without a Divine King we need God to save us we can't do it ourselves we don't have the wherewithal the competency the power we don't even have the willingness until God gives it to us to want to be saved look at the world around you you tell them about Jesus and his wonderful salvation what do they do do they do they flock to him do they run to them do they say oh yes let me have him let me believe on him no they can't be bothered these things are not intrinsic or these things are not important to them so we need a Divine King and we need a human chain because if he doesn't live for us and he doesn't die for us and he's not raised again for us there's no salvation see in Christ we have the perfect mediator in Christ we have the perfect savior in Christ we have the perfect Messiah or Christ in terms of saving his people from their sins so notice the language there your throne known oh God is forever and ever and if you suspect that I'm making this up and its application to our lord Jesus Paul applies it to him in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 8. when he's highlighting the superiority and the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ he does so in a myriad of ways in those opening chapters Christ is over the prophets Christ is over the Angels Christ is over Moses Christ is over Joshua Christ is over Aaron Christ is over the levitical priesthood Christ is over this Tabernacle that you fools keep going back to and rejecting or resisting the once for all sacrifice rendered by Christ that's the point in the book of Hebrews see the Apostle applies uh Psalm 45 to the Lord Jesus he's both God and man Spurgeon again makes this observation he says the the psalmist cannot restrain his adoration his enlightened eye sees in the Royal husband of the church God God to be adored God reigning God reigning everlastingly blessed sight he says blind to the eyes that cannot see God in Christ Jesus he's right see if somebody ever says to you what well why do you follow that Jesus he was just a just a man he you know he lived a good life he did a lot of good things but you know in the final analysis he just seemed to be something of a revolutionary in that first century context well I'm not suggesting he wasn't revolutionary in the first century context but it's because of what the scripture says concerning him he is both God and man the second person the Blessed Triune God that be uh takes on our Humanity so that he can live for us die for us and be raised again for us he is God from God light from light true God from true God but as you look back at verse six you not only see the Divinity of the king do you see something concerning the eternality of his kingdom notice your throne oh God is what it's forever and ever is not here for a generation it's not here for just the time it's not here for just a few years but it's from Everlasting to Everlasting it is forever and ever you see that in Isaiah 9 you see it in Luke 1 Luke 1 the birth announcement of our blessed savior what's the the the nature of his reign of his Reign there will be no end it is forever it's a hymn writer named John Newton he writes this wonderful song called Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a Wretch like Me I once was lost but now I'm found was blind but now I see well the fourth stanza after you've been singing the other three is already elevating you to the point where hey I could go right now if if it's in your will God let this cup pass let me just go on into the presence of God singing that last stanza for when we've been there Ten Thousand Years bright shining as the sun we've no last days to sing God's praise than when we first begun ten thousand years is a drop in the pocket his King kingdom is forever and then notice the equity of his kingdom that's a big word today our politicians like to Bandy it about notice your throne oh God is forever and ever a scepter of your a separate of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom you love righteousness and hate wickedness see the problem is is that they use equity in a Marxist context which basically reverses this you love wickedness and you hate righteousness that's the modern conception of equity but with reference to God most high with reference to the reigning and ruling and glorious Christ he loves righteousness and he hates wickedness the fear of the Lord according to Proverbs 8 is to what with evil it's to hate it oh you Christians you're so high and mighty you're so judgmental of everything no we're simply following our blessed savior he hates evil we are to hate evil as as well so with reference to our Savior he's not only the divine one his kingdom is Without End and a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of his kingdom he loves righteousness and he hates wickedness but then notice the Divinity of the king but the humanity of the king look at verse 7 you love righteousness and hate wickedness therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions so how can this be as their two Gods is there three Gods no there's the Christian doctrine of the Trinity one Divine being one essence or substance and in this Essence there are three persons the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit and so Christ according to his Humanity refers to the father as God so there's no problem theologically here you've got the Son of God who is divine who takes on our Humanity he counts himself as one of us in all points like us and yet without sin but he does so so that he can live so that he can die and so that he can Rise Again you've probably heard me say that a few times you're probably wondering well what does that mean well typically we associate salvation with the death of the Savior and and we should see with the death of the savior is is washing and purifying and cleansing for all of us sinners fact the prophet spoke of it this way in Chapter 13 of of Zechariah he says behold there will be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness we sing A Hymn that says that there's blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and and guilty Sinners are are plunged in that well what does that mean it means that we've transgressed God's law we've violated his righteousness we have lacked Conformity when he says do this we have transgressed when he says don't do this we are sinners that's a universal problem and so we need the blood of Jesus Christ his son to cleanse us from all sin but you see it's not just that cleansing that we stand in need of we also need a righteousness you see we need to be able to enter into heaven perfect well if you think for a moment about that demand it should cause you to go nuts I'll never go into heaven because I'm not perfect I've never been perfect I'm not presently perfect and I have no intention to try and be perfect because I know that that's an impossibility you're right but guess who was perfect guess who was wholly harmless and undefiled guess who said I must fulfill all righteousness guess who never sinned guess who never had a lustful thought guess who never engaged in any sort of character assassination guess who never gossiped guess who never slandered guess who never went into a school and shot people for no reason guess who never did that it's the Lord Jesus so the beauty of the Christian Gospel or good news that's all that gospel means it's good news is that Christ lived Christ died and Christ was raised again so that every sinner who by God's grace looks to him in faith receives not only forgiveness but they get a righteousness they get clothed in the righteousness of Jesus and it's not going to be hard to sort of convince you of that as we move through this Psalm because guess what the bride is wearing is the bride wearing that Perfection that she herself wrought out is the bride wearing that perfect garment that she herself built no it's through the imputed righteousness of Jesus and received by faith alone our blessed savior is both God and man you love righteousness and hate wickedness therefore God your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness more than your companions now notice it describes the beauty of the king in verse 8 all your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and Kasha out of the ivory palaces by which they have made you glad describes the king's Entourage verse 9 King's Daughters are among your honorable women at your right hand stands the queen and bold from oh fear you'd either have to pay me a lot of money or put a gun to my head to have me watch a royal wedding on television but with reference to this Psalm it invites the believer to stand in awe of their great God it calls us to look upon that one who is fairer than the sons of men that one who is glorious that one who is all together lovely that one who is Chief among ten thousand now notice thirdly thirdly the instruction to the bride in verses 10 to 15 notice verse 10. listen oh daughter this is the brine this is describe the King again Song of Solomon sort of details this and even more uh uh versification in terms of the allegory you've got the bride you've got the bride groom we've got the bridegroom considered thus far now notice the bride what do you think is necessary in terms of the bride's response to the king it's what I've been saying faith and repentance faith means to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ and while you're looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ you're turning your back on the sins that once characterized you this is what the the psalmist says verse 10 listen o daughter consider and incline your ear I love that language as I mentioned earlier we just don't think about spiritual things in our day we don't think about a life to come if you ever go downtown or you you know go door to door or you try to talk to people about their soul about Sin about salvation about Jesus about a life to come people don't care as long as I get their house they get their Netflix they got a six-pack they're fine I think we saw that during the pandemics as long as you've got a TV you're fine in fact you're fighting in terms of covet by by sitting on your couch good for you sanctimonious one people just don't care and so I think the language of the psalmist here is most appropriate for a materialistic age like ours listen oh daughter consider and incline your ear perhaps some of you have not given thought to these things perhaps some of you have not entertained the reality of the heaven to gain by God's grace or Hell to suffer because you're a rebel and a transgressor she says listen oh daughter consider and incline your ear forget your own people also and your father's house what does that depict but faith and repentance coming to the Savior turning your back upon those things that at one time captivated you they ravished your heart they were things that that you were entrenched in look back for just a moment at a similar thing in Genesis chapter 12. Genesis chapter 12 we talk about Father Abraham that father of the faithful we typically don't understand her think about or reflect upon the fact that he was an idolater he was a pagan he was living in a Godless land worshiping a false god a a a an idol and then when Yahweh calls him notice the language that Yahweh uses in chapter 12 verse 1. now the Lord said to Abraham Abram get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you you see coming to the king coming to the Savior coming to the Lord Jesus means leaving things behind it doesn't mean everything doesn't mean you you know your your mother your father is dead to you now no that's not what it means but in terms of a primary commitment in terms of Allegiance in terms of a focus or an orientation we don't just add Jesus to our already complete life we don't add them the way a person's at a beverage to their already complete life mentioned before our brother saw years and years ago this is back when church signs were even cheesier if you can imagine and one sign had things go better with Coke I'm sorry things go better with Jesus they do go better with Coke I guess if you're a seller of Coca-Cola but things go better with Jesus what is that to do it's to pull Jesus off the Throne of absolute majesty and put him into our consumer-driven age well he's kind of like a heavy it's kind of like a beverage kind of like a Coke when you have Jesus things are are just better Brethren that's not our Jesus he is all together lovely and he is Chief among ten thousand he is fairer than the sons of man so isn't it righteous for God to say turn your back on those things that at one time captivated you and change your orientation through faith in the Savior and repentance unto life this is the way you close with the King and that is precisely what Abram was told get out of your country from your family from your father's house to a land that I will show you you hear people today well if I become a Christian I can't do this or I can't do that nobody that I know that's a real Christian ever said that I mean they may have and then they were saved and then they thought how foolish was that I mean giving up the city of Destruction for the celestial City you're only a winner you you've only prospered you've only benefited giving up all things for the glory of Jesus Christ that's only win-win there's no uh there's no negative there so going back back to the psalm verse 10 listen oh daughter consider an incline your ear forget your own people also in your father's house motere makes this observation the heaping up of four verbs of command places enormous emphasis on the bride's need to put the past behind and find her all in her new relationship John Gill says Christ is to be preferred before natural relations converted persons are not to have fellowship with carnal man though ever so nearly related former superstitions whether Jewish or heathenish are to be buried in forgetfulness sinful self and righteous self are to be denied for Christ's sake I'd love that he says that sinful self and righteous self right we we tell the harlots and the public ends you need to repent to your wickedness and come to the Lord Jesus we should tell the righteous you need to repent of your self-righteousness and come to the Lord Jesus self-righteousness and a godlessness will end up in the same place it's not your uh uh uh sin that God has a problem with because he deals with that through the blood of Jesus as gerstner said it's your damnable good works it's your pride and your arrogance it's your thought that oh I don't need Jesus all all I need is a bit of moral reform I don't need Jesus I'll just stop doing this and I'll start doing that and by stopping and starting I'll I'll go into heaven God will say wow you you're so great so good you don't think that obedience to law must be exact it must be entire it must be Perpetual it must be perfect there's only one who does that and that's Jesus that's why you need to repent of your sins and repent of your righteousness and Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ so he says sinful self and righteous self are to be denied for Christ's sake and the world and all things in it are to be treated with neglect and contempt by such who cleave to him and then notice in verse 10 listen oh daughter consider an incline you're here forget your own people also in your father's house verse 11 so the king will greatly desire your beauty great great words positively wonderful words especially when you consider that it's our Beauty he desires well it's a beauty that he conveys upon us it's a righteousness that he gives to us he fits us for himself the bride uh bridegroom rather prepares the bride for this wonderful event so the king will greatly desire your beauty because he is your lord worship him see that's the reflex that's natural right it's like Paul says in in Romans chapter 12 therefore beloved by the mercies of God I I beseech you to present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice to God which is what your reasonable service this is this is rational this is legit it's kind of like Elijah and Mount Carmel if if Baal is God then then serve him but if Yahweh is God then serve him or or the way Joshua seeks to denounce that that self-righteousness that that Covenant renewal at shechem he basically says don't even bother well why is that because he knows the heart of man he knows what's in us but with reference to this Lord so the king will greatly desire your beauty because he is your lord worship him this is consistent what does that mean it means come to church it means read your Bible means pray it means you lead your little ones to to to God most high and in family worship and then notice the description of the Bride in verses 13 to 15 the Royal daughter is all glorious within the palace her clothing is woven with gold she shall be brought to the king in Robes of Many Colors the virgins her companions who follow her shall be brought to you with gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought they shall enter the king's Palace now again motere says we are robed for the occasion this is using illustration of what I said earlier in terms of a Sinners coming to Jesus when you come to Jesus in faith what happens you're washed in the Precious Blood of the lamb and then you receive by God's grace this righteousness by which you now may enter are into heaven what do you think the robe is what do you think the Garment is remember that prodigal son he comes back smelling like Pig he comes back smelling like the waste of a life he comes back smelling like a mercenary oh if I throw my myself on the mercy of God I'll at least get three hearts and a cot he's not converted when he goes back to the father it's the father who runs out on him and on him but to him and falls on him and kisses him and puts a ring on his finger and puts a robe on him what does that signify he's now prepared to enter in to the table of his father there is this imputed righteousness of Jesus that we desperately need that is given to us in the gospel of our Salvation that's the robes the Royal daughter is all glorious within the palace her clothing is woven with gold we didn't prepare ourselves for heaven we didn't get better we didn't and try harder we weren't smarter than the average bear it's God most high who saved us it's God most I who fell on us it's God most high who kissed us it's God most high who puts a ring on our finger it's God most high who puts the robe of Christ's righteousness on us to fit us for this blessed wedding it's not us we give glory to God in Isaiah 61 verse 10 I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh my soul shall be joyful in my God why for he has clothed me with the garments of Salvation he has covered me with the robe of righteousness there's a scene in the prophet Zechariah where Joshua the high priest not Joshua the son and none Joshua the high priest is standing there representing the nation of Israel and he's filthy he's disgusting he is covered with muck he's covered with Grime he's covered with sin and the devil is right there ready to rebuke him as is true of his very name and nature he's an accuser of the Brethren before he can open his mouth God rebukes the devil and what do you think God demands relative to Joshua the high priest standing there in his filth God says take those garments off of him get rid of the sin wash him in that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness get rid of that pig smelling garment that he's wearing that is filled with his sin and transgression and rebellion and then take these beautiful garments and this turbine and put them on him you see what is taught us there in Zechariah 3 is what many theologians many centuries later would write in their catechism Westminster Shorter Catechism number 33 asks the question what's what is justification justification is an act of God's free Grace wherein he pardons all our sins praise God and receives us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone so when the bride is prepared here it's not our Ingenuity that's celebrated it's not her ability that's celebrated it's not her godliness and her Holiness that's celebrated it's God's grace that is amazing and then notice with gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought they shall enter the king's Palace we have been considering the Old Testament we're getting close to the end don't worry uh we've been considering the Old Testament and our Wednesday night studies we've moved from Exodus to Leviticus and exodus ends on attention Exodus ends with realization God says build me a dwelling place they do build him a dwelling place called a tabernacle and then the Shekinah Glory which means the glory of God comes down and fills that Temple but Moses can't go in which if you know who Moses was he was like the godliest one of all of them if anybody could have and should have been able to have access it would have been Moses but he couldn't so so that's the tension upon which the book ends well how do we resolve that tangent The Book of Leviticus the sacrifices this this Blood these offerings this atonement this means by which sinful people enter into the presence of a holy God and then later on in the Book of Leviticus in chapter 16 we learn of the day of atonement you've probably heard of this it's called Yom Kippur it's the day of atonement still celebrated in Judaism but on that day of atonement one man went into the holy of holies one man alone the high priest and he didn't go uh uh in all of his Robes of of Glory he basically stripped down to linen why because it is a sinner approaching a holy God and he doesn't go in there alone he goes in there with blood and he pours it out on the mercy seat and once he comes out after having done that probably two or three times because there's a lot of a lot of sin that has to be dealt with in terms of that blood he then takes another goat and he puts his hands upon that goat and he confesses the sins of Israel and then he drives that goat out into the Wilderness well what is that a picture of it's a picture of the Gospel it's a prefigurement it's typical it foreshadows it tells us what the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world will do well now notice what we have in the New Covenant notice that we have access to the king's Palace notice that we have access to the king himself notice in the Book of Revelation our brother read from chapter 17 chapter 1 tells us where Jesus Christ is in this new covenant era he's in the midst of the lamp stance so what was at one time forbidden for most 99.9 percent of Israelites is now opened up to us in and through the blood and righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ the gospel is Gospel it is good news and then that last scene verses 16 and 17. the psalmist is speaking to the king now the psalmist has spoken of the king the psalmist has spoken to the church and now he ends on the high note of declaring the glory of the King instead of your fathers shall be your sons whom you shall make princes in all the Earth he says I will make your name to be remembered in all generations therefore the people shall praise you forever and ever see there's no hint of perhaps this may not be the case there's no sort of I kind of hope there's always a people for you in the coming Generations now he knows of a truth he knows that God will always have a church he knows that God will always have a people he knows that Christ will say maybe he didn't know it specifically in terms of Matthew 16 but he knew the promise of Matthew 16 I will build my church and the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against it in other words Brethren this king who rides prosperously in truth humility and righteousness is not frustrated the church ain't going anywhere if the church could be destroyed the church would have been destroyed whatever comes in our future in terms of any more overreach or political pressure or Godless pressure from other religions know this fact the the Lord Jesus Christ is in the business of assembling together to himself a great multitude that no man can number from every tribe every tongue every people and every nation the church WIll march on the church WIll march on not because she's great but the church WIll march on because her head her savior her King her Champion is great and he leads the way and our task is to follow him and to be faithful to the very end well let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the psalmist description the song of Love composed concerning our blessed savior truly he is fairer than the sons of men and we rejoice in your goodness and your kindness to us we Rejoice that you have had mercy upon our hearts and souls that you have given us life eternal in him and we pray that all throughout the Earth today as this gospel is proclaimed it would run swiftly and it would be glorified and that many would come out of out of Darkness into Marvelous Light to Proclaim your excellencies and to Proclaim your praises and we ask this through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn in your hymn books and we'll sing a song of praise to our Triune God page 568 568 will stand as we sing together [Music] praise [Music] shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace God go with us now and cause these things to be true for each of us and may you be glorified in our hearts in our lives and our families and in this church and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we may be seated for a brief time of meditation