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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 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 prefigure 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 set to 
the lilies a contemplation of the sons of Korah 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 cashew, 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, O daughter, consider 
and incline your ear. Forget your own people also, 
and your father's house. So the king will greatly desire 
your beauty. Because he is your lord, worship 
him. And the daughter of Tyre 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 this altar. We see that displayed in specific 
psalms along the way. And here we find that King, that 
blessed One, that One who is all-glorious, the One who is 
altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand. We pray that you'd 
give us eyes to see and 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 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 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 Psalter 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 2 to 9, 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, where 
the Song of Solomon is simply relegated to a performance manual 
relative to the conjugal relation between a husband and a wife. 
Well, the ancient church, the church 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 in 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 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 superscription above. And then 
notice the subject of his composition. He says in verse one, 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 10,000. 
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 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 David, or the sons of Korah 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 2 to 9. He describes first the perfections 
of the king, and then secondly, the person of the king. Notice 
the perfections of the king in verses two 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 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 of that glorious vision. No, rather his subject matter 
is the one who is altogether lovely and who is chief among 
10,000. Again, Spurgeon says Jesus is so emphatically lovely 
that words must be doubled, strained, yay, exhausted before he can 
be described. Among the children of men, many 
have through grace been lovely in character, yet they have each 
had a flaw. But in Jesus we behold 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 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 appreciation of, and our adoration toward this one who 
is fairer than the sons of men, even great men. David was, in 
fact, a great man, but a great man who committed adultery and 
conspiracy to murder to cover up that adultery. 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 
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. C. H. Spurgeon is one of them. 
I've got a bobblehead 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 of 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 people in the synagogue rather, 
are shocked, and 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 cause that is manifested by this king. Notice in verses 
3 and 4a, the king's equipment. Verse 3, gird your sword upon 
your thigh, O mighty one. Gird your sword upon your thigh, 
O mighty 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, or Christ's judgment. In fact, in Revelation 
chapter 6, When the seals are open and the judgment of God 
is revealed, we see the strong men of the earth, we see the 
powerful men of the earth call upon the rocks and the hills 
to fall upon them and to shield them and hide them from the wrath 
of the Lamb. For who can stand in the day 
of his 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 to smash and dash 
his 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 gospel. And we 
ought to praise him that we have been conquered by the power of 
his glorious gospel. So he has girt upon his thigh 
the Mighty One, and then we notice the nature of his ride. So verse 
3, "...girt your 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 Pilate'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 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 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 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 cause in truth 
and humility and righteousness. Again, it is Satan's 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 and 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 righteous. And then 
notice back in the psalm, Psalm 45, as we consider 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 four, 
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 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 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 AD 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 bless and 
to save his people from their sins. And on the other hand, 
to curse and reject and cast away those who continue impenitent 
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 people's 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 rider 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 allusion, there's 
thematic, there's an intertextuality, as scholars refer to it. What 
do you think is behind this statement? What do you think is behind this 
statement in terms of he who sat on this white horse was called 
faithful and true, 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, his 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 in heaven, 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 winepress of the fierceness and wrath of 
Almighty God. And he has on his robe and on 
his thigh a name written, 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 true sitting on the white horse, the one who 
judges and makes war and righteousness, Revelation 19, 11 to 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 wickedness and the lawlessness 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 wretch who fiddled while Rome burned 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 wretch who many of us see 
as the actual beast in the book of Revelation? Revelation isn't 
about our future. Revelation is about the people 
of God in the first century. Their 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 sided 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 His Christ has not prospered. You don't do better as a body 
politic in rejecting and resisting the sovereign God. Why do the 
nations rage and the people plot of 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 foolish, they're folly, 
they're engaged in rebellion and treachery and transgression 
against the Holy God. 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 N. 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, right, 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 conqueror 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 wonder, are the wicked gonna win? Does the devil triumph? Is he victorious? Is that all 
there is for us? No, the Bible everywhere tells 
us he's not gonna win. The Bible everywhere tells us 
that Christ wins. So notice verse two, 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 due 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 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 four. 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 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 of 
horrible things. We see abortion. We see euthanasia. We see the 
mutilation of children now, 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 John the Baptist announces 
the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, do 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 gonna be a fool's 
errand, because you're not gonna 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 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 hymn writer said it this 
way, foul I chew the fountain fly, wash me savior 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 
men. 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 men. He delivers his people from their sins. Well, what's 
the means? What's the way? How do I access 
these resources or these riches? By faith. By faith, by looking 
unto the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a man, he 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. 
It 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 Levitical priests 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 and we need to hear his word. 
Now notice the Messiah as 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 
brook by the wayside. 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, you just gave 
me this great deliverance. You're going to let me 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 1,000 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 
1,000 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 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 people's fall under you. So that's the perfections of 
the king, verses 2 to 5. 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 6 to 9. 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. 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 write so that you may 
believe 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 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 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 flock to Him? Do they 
run to Him? 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 king. 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, O God, is forever and ever. And if you suspect 
that I'm making this up in 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. You see, the apostle applies Psalm 45 to the Lord 
Jesus. He's both God and man. Spurgeon 
again makes this observation. He says that 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 are the 
eyes that cannot see God in Christ Jesus. He's right. See, if somebody 
ever says to you, Why do you follow that Jesus? He was just 
a man. He lived a good life. He did 
a lot of good things. But in the final analysis, he 
just seemed to be something of a revolutionary in that first 
century context. So 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 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 6, you not only see the divinity of the King, 
but you see something concerning the eternality of His kingdom. 
Notice, your throne, O God, is what? It's forever and ever. 
It's not here for a generation. It's not here for just a 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 nature 
of His reign? Of His reign, there will be no 
end. It is forever. There'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 it's 
in your will, God, let this pass. Let me just go on into the presence 
of God, singing that last stanza. For when we've been there 10,000 
years, bright, shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing 
God's praise than when we first begun. 10,000 years is a drop 
in the bucket. His 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, O God, is 
forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is 
the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate 
wickedness. See, the problem 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 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 seven, 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? Is there 
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, what does that mean? Well, typically, we 
associate salvation with the death of the Savior, and we should. See, what the death of the Savior 
is, is washing and purifying and cleansing for all of us sinners. In fact, the prophet spoke of 
it this way in chapter 13 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 
guilty sinners are plunged in that. Well, what does that mean? 
It means that we've transgressed God's law. We have 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 holy, 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 song. 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 cacha 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 in gold from Ophir. 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 altogether lovely, 
that one who is chief among 10,000. Now notice, thirdly, Thirdly, 
the instruction to the bride in verses 10 to 15. Notice verse 
10. Listen, oh daughter. This is 
the bride. This is described the king. Again, 
Song of Solomon sort of details this and even more. Versification 
in terms of the allegory. You've got the bride. You've 
got the bridegroom. 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 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 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 they get their house, 
they get their Netflix, they got a six-pack, they're fine. I think we saw that during the 
pandemic. As long as you got a TV, you're 
fine. In fact, you're fighting in terms 
of COVID 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 a heaven to gain by God's grace or a 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 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 or 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, an idol. And then when Yahweh calls him, 
notice the language that Yahweh uses in chapter 12, verse one. 
Now, the Lord said to 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. It 
doesn't mean your mother or 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 him the way persons add a beverage to their already complete life. 
Mentioned before, a 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 Coke, 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 bevy. 
He's kind of like a beverage, kind of like a Coke. When you 
have Jesus, things are just better. Brethren, that's not our Jesus. He is altogether lovely and he 
is chief among 10,000. He is fairer than the sons of 
men. 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'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 negative there. So going back to the psalm, verse 
10. Listen, O daughter, consider 
uninclining your ear. Forget your own people also in 
your father's house. Motier 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 men, 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 tell the harlots and 
the publicans, you need to repent of 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 you up in the same place. It's not 
your sin that God has a problem with, because he deals with that 
through the blood of Jesus. As Gershner 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 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 go into heaven, and God will say, wow, 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, O daughter, consider and incline your ear, 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, 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 Romans chapter 12, Therefore, beloved, by the mercies 
of God, I beseech you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice 
to God, which is what? Your reasonable service. This 
is rational. This is legit. It's kind of like 
Elijah at Mount Carmel. If Baal is God, then serve him. But if Yahweh is God, then serve 
him. Or the way Joshua seeks to denounce 
that self-righteousness at that covenant renewal at Shechem. 
He basically says, don't even bother. 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. It 
means pray. It means lead your little ones to God Most High 
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 enter the king's palace. Now again, Motier says we are 
robed for the occasion. This is using illustration of 
what I said earlier in terms of the 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 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 myself on the 
mercy of God, I'll at least get three haunts and a cot. He's 
not converted when he goes back to the father. It's the father 
who runs out on him, not 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 try harder. We weren't smarter than the average 
bear. It's God Most High who saved 
us. It's God Most High 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 of 
Nun, 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 turban 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 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 her 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. 
We've been considering the Old Testament in our Wednesday night 
studies. We've moved from Exodus to Leviticus, 
and Exodus ends on a tension. Exodus ends with realization. God says, build me a dwelling 
place. They do build him a dwelling place called the 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 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 that's the tension upon which 
the book ends. Well, how do we resolve that 
tension? The book of Leviticus. These sacrifices, 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 in to the Holy of Holies. One man alone, the high 
priest. And he didn't go in all of his 
robes 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 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 
lampstands. So what was at one time forbidden 
for most, 99.9% 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. No, 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 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's 
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 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, we'll stand as we sing together. 
♪ Praise God the Lord, all blessings 
flow ♪ ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him, our 
God, ye heavenly host ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost. Amen. The Lord make his face 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, in 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.