This psalm, Psalm 21 this evening
is our study. Notice this is the psalm of David.
We know David was a man after God's own heart. David was raised
up to be the king in Israel. But we know that David's hope
of salvation was not in David. His hope of salvation was in
his king, his God, his Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm taking
the title from the word that's found in verse 5. His glory. His glory. Salvation's all about
His glory, isn't it? His glory is great in saving
sinners. His glory is great in thy salvation. Honor and majesty hast thou laid
upon the Lord Jesus Christ. His glory is great in thy salvation. Everything around the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ has to do with His glory. the glory
of his grace, and the glory of his justice, as we read here
a moment ago. We read just a moment ago in
1 Timothy 1 about the blessed gospel of the glory of God. That's the grand design of redemption
is what? Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Moses asked the Lord to
show him his glory, he said in Exodus 33, show me thy glory.
And the Lord said, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee.
I'll proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious. I will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. Lord, show me your glory. He
said, I will have mercy. Sovereign mercy is his glory.
So it leads me to this conclusion. His greatest glory, that is to
show mercy, is my greatest need. I need His mercy. We come to
our God always as mercy beggars, don't we? God, be merciful to
me, the sinner. Now this psalm, we know, like
all the 150 psalms that we have, is another gospel, a gospel psalm. It's the gospel of the grace
of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, it's all about the King
of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, and His
great glory. His great glory in accomplishing
our salvation, for our salvation is called in scripture, so great
salvation. His glory, look at verse five
again, His glory is great in thy salvation. In saving sinners,
He gets all the glory. Thy glory is great in Thy salvation. Well, that's what we need, isn't
it? Sinners need salvation. What we read a moment ago, this
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. The Lord
Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Our risen Lord said to those
apostles, all things must be fulfilled which are written in
the Law of Moses and the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning
me. then He opened their understanding that they might understand the
Scripture. Wouldn't that be something tonight?
If the Lord would open our understanding and show us the glory of His
salvation. Look at verse 1. in thy strength, O Lord, and
in thy salvation, salvation of the Lord. It's His salvation.
And in thy salvation, how greatly, how greatly shall He rejoice. Now, this is talking about David
as a believer, and this is talking about every believer. Every believer
has been made a king, priest in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
we rejoice in His mercy unto us. Rejoice in the Lord always,
and again I say rejoice. But I want to consider this psalm
specifically in reference to our blessed Lord. Here is a prophecy
of our Savior's joy as a result of the salvation that He would
accomplish for His covenant people as a God-man mediator. Make no
mistake, the Lord Jesus Christ accomplish salvation, representing
us as our God and as our Savior, and he got the job done. We say
that he is God, our God, and our Savior, like Thomas of old. Thou art my God and my Savior. He is the King of kings, and
He is our King, isn't He? He is our King. He's King in
everything, in everything. Over here in Psalm 74, verse
12, it says, For God is my King of old, working salvation in
the midst of the earth. He is our God and He is our King. God said in Psalm 2, I've set
my king upon my holy hill Zion. I've set my king upon my holy
hill Zion, and because he's on the throne of absolute sovereignty,
the psalmist says here in Psalm 2, serve the Lord with fear,
rejoice with trembling, kiss the son, bow to the son, lest
he be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is cumulable
a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
The king shall joy in thy strength. As our king, you remember Pilate
asked him when he was arrested, the Lord Jesus was arrested and
brought before Pilate. And Pilate said, are you a king?
Remember what he said? To this end was I born, for this
cause came on the world that I should bear witness unto the
truth. Everyone that is of the truth
heareth my voice. Where the word of the king is,
there's power. There's absolute sovereign power. Even when he was manifested in
the flesh as the God-man mediator, he never stopped being God and
King of all the earth. You remember the wise men came
and they asked him, they asked that day, where is he that born
King? He was King when he got here.
He was King when he was manifested in the flesh. He was born King,
he came as King, he lived as King, controlled all things,
even the weather, even the wind, even the dead he raised up, even
the lame he made to walk. He lived as king and he died
as king. You remember they put an accusation
over his cross. Pilate wrote, this is Jesus,
the king of the Jews. And certainly He lived as King,
He died as our God and as our King. And He ascended to glory
as what? Our King. Our King. Turn one
page, Psalm 24. He ascended to glory as our King.
Look at verse 7, Psalm 24. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, the King of glory is coming
in. Who is this King of glory? The
Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates. Even lift them up, ye everlasting
doors. The King of glory. He ascended to heaven and he's
seated at the right hand of God. Lift up your heads, O ye gates,
even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory
shall come in." Who is this King of glory? Well, He's the Lord
of hosts. He's the Lord of His people. He is the King of glory. He always has been King because
He is God. As the man, Christ Jesus, He
looked unto His Father Jehovah for strength. To accomplish the
work the Father gave Him to do, turn over here to Psalm 89. Remember
Psalm 89 verse 19? Now as God, He has all power,
all strength, but as a God-man mediator, as a real man, He required
assistance and help. from God Almighty. Look at Psalm
89, 19. Then thou spakest in vision to
the Holy One, and said, I've laid help upon one that is mighty,
I've exalted one chosen out of the people. I've found David
my servant, with my holy oil have I anointed him. Now it's
talking about David the shepherd, but it's talking about the greater
David. He's anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows.
as prophet, priest, and king. And our Lord Jesus Christ, having
accomplished all of our salvation in the strength of God Almighty,
shall greatly, what? Rejoice. Victory is at hand. He won the victory for us. He's
not disappointed. He's not defeated. You remember
Isaiah 42? He shall not fail. He shall not
be discouraged. Why does he rejoice? Mission
accomplished. Not mission attempted. Not mission
aborted. Mission accomplished. How greatly
How greatly shall he rejoice in all that he's accomplished
for us. Jehovah planned salvation, the
Lord Jesus Christ worked it out, and now he's crowned with all
honor and glory, and he gives salvation to whom he will. The
risen Lord Jesus Christ greatly rejoices in what he has accomplished
in his work being finished. Don't turn, but let me just read
this one too. Hebrews chapter 12, looking unto
Jesus, verse 2, the author and finisher of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before Him, the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising
the shame, and He sat down at the right hand of God. He rejoices
in the salvation that He has accomplished for us. Father,
I delight to do Thy will. He completed all salvation. He
prayed in John 17, Father, I glorify Thee on the earth. I finish the
work You gave me to do. We rest in the Lord Jesus Christ
who finished salvation for us. I didn't say we rested in His
finished work. I'm saying we rested in Christ
who finished the work of salvation for us. Look at verse 2, Thou
hast given Him His heart's desire. What was the heart desire of
our Lord Jesus Christ? You remember He said in John
chapter 4, My meek is to do the will of Him that sent me. This
is the Father's will of all that He has given me. I lose nothing
but raise it up again at the last day. The Father has given
Him His heart's desire. Boy, His heart's desire was to
finish the Father's work. You remember even at a very early
age when Joseph of Mary left Him in Jerusalem, And they traveled
a day's journey and they said, uh-oh, where is the child, the
Lord, where is our child Jesus, the Baptist? They went back and
found him there in the temple, teaching the Pharisees in that
day. And he said to his mother, don't
you know that I must be about my father's business. That was
his heart's desire. That was his heart's desire to
accomplish all the work of redemption. You think of all the work of
redemption. that was given him to do as a surety, as a savior,
as a sacrifice of the covenant. That was his heart's desire to
accomplish what God gave him to do. And he said on Calvary's
tree, what did he say? It's finished. It's finished. Thou has given him his heart's
desire. Everything he prayed for as our mediator, he received
from the hand of the Father because he prayed exactly and perfectly
according to the will of God. Remember, if you ask anything
according to His will, It'll be done? The Lord Jesus Christ
prayed perfectly according to the will of God. Thou hast given
him his heart's desire and the saving of his people. Thou hast
not withholding the request of his lips. Father, I will that
all that you've given me be with me where I am, that they may
behold my glory. That prayer is answered every
time a believer is taken to glory. Look at verse three. Thou preventest
him with the blessings of goodness. And that word there, preventest,
can be rendered preceded him. God the Father preceded him with
the blessings of goodness. The blessings of goodness. All
spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. Thou settest a crown
of pure gold on his head. A crown, he's crowned with glory
and honor. The word here, preventus, is
the word precede, or it means to go before. I'll give an example
of that in 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 15. This we say unto you
by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep,
or not precede them which are asleep. Before the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh to actually accomplish
our salvation, In the fullness of time, He was sent forth. God
the Father purposed, decreed, and preceded His coming with
blessings of goodness to His elect before Christ came and
before the foundation of the world. For He's blessed us with
all spiritual blessings, watch it now, according as He chose
us in Him, when? Before the foundation of the
world. is God who saved us and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose
and grace, given us in Christ, when? Before the foundation of
the world. preceded him with the blessings
of goodness. Thou sentest a crown of pure
gold on his head. God provided the Savior before
the fall. He was lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus
Christ was not the cause of God loving us, He loved us with an
everlasting love. His sacrifice was the result
of God's eternal love toward us. The death of the Lord Jesus
didn't cause God to love us. God had loved us with an everlasting
love, and that's the reason the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself
for us. His choice of us preceded our
believing the gospel. He chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world. He said, you didn't choose me,
I've chosen you. Remember we studied in Acts 13,
as many as were ordained to eternal life, they believed the gospel.
His choice preceded our choice. His choice of us preceded our
believing Him. His calling us preceded His calling
us with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, but his calling
to us preceded our calling upon him, didn't it? He called us,
and then we called upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The old grace theologians
that I read after, they use this word, prevenient grace. You remember
I've told you about that before? Prevenient grace, that is grace
preceding grace. Before you ever experienced the
grace of God in your heart, in your life, there was pervenient
grace. God is always determined and
purposed from eternity to show mercy and grace to you. That's
what we call pervenient grace. Grace before grace. Grace preceding
grace. Grace that goes before and prepares
the way and causes us to believe the gospel of the grace of God. And we know the Lord Jesus Christ
is crowned with all honor and glory. We're going to sing our
closing song, Crown Him with Many Crowns. And He rightly wears
the crown, doesn't He? This same Jesus whom you crucified
is both Lord and Christ. God has highly exalted Him and
given Him a name which is above every name. At that name every
knee will bow, every tongue will confess. What? He is Lord. He is Lord. His crown represents
His holy nature. Pure gold. His crown represents
his total sovereign power. His crown represents the conquest. The crown represents his divine
government. The government's upon his shoulders.
Aren't you glad that God rules all things? I know we have city
government, county government, state government, federal government.
God rules all things. The government's upon his shoulders.
He has dominion from sea to sea. He has all power in heaven and
earth. The king's heart, the president's heart, the judge's
heart, the governor's heart is in the hand of the Lord. And
He turns it whether so ever He will according to His will. Look at verse 4. Now this is
interesting. He asked life of thee, salvation of thee. and thou gavest it him even length
of days for ever and ever. The Son of God, as God, is one
with God the Father in his essential power and Godhead, can neither
ask or receive anything, for all things are his. As God, all
things are his. But he asked of thee as the God-man
mediator life, Salvation, and it was given him. When we see
the Son asking Jehovah the Father, giving it to Him as a representative,
head, and mediator of the covenant of grace. The Father loveth the
Son, and given all things into His hand. Now as God, He has
all things. But as a God-man mediator, all
things regarding our salvation was given to Him to accomplish.
The Father loveth the Son, and all things have been put in His
hand. All judgments committed to the Son and His glory. Think about this. Life. Life. He said, I'm come that they might
have life and have it more abundantly. He said, I am the resurrection
and the life. He said, because I live, you
shall live also. He asked life of thee. And He
gives us life because He has life to give. He has salvation
to give. This is the record God hath given
to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the resurrection and the
life. He said, I'm He that liveth and was dead. Behold, I'm alive
forevermore. Even length of days, we have
eternal life that He gives us. What kind of life does He give
us? Eternal life. Length of days
forever and ever and ever. He saves us with an everlasting
salvation. Look at verse 5 now. His glory
is great. His glory is great in the saving
of His people, honor and majesty God has laid upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. This is the bottom line of all
that He does in saving sinners that is His glory. He's deserving of all honor and
glory, isn't He? Let not the wise man glory in
his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory
in his might. But let him glory in this, that
he knows Me, that I am the Lord. And beside me, he said, there
is no other. The bottom line in all that God
does is His glory and honor. He's the only one that deserves
all honor and glory. That's why the song of redeem
forever and ever is worthy as a lamb that was slain to receive
all honor. glory, blessing, and power, both
now and forever. The grand design of God's redeeming
grace, the grand design of redemption, is His glory, isn't it? His glory. Nothing relating to salvation
is of man. That is the universal testimony
of Scripture. The universal testimony of Scripture
is, we read it over and over again, salvation is of the Lord. He planned it, purposed it, accomplished
it. From election to glorification,
it's all of the Lord. To the praise of the glory of
His grace. God chose us to the praise of
His glory. The Son redeemed us to the praise
of His glory. The Holy Spirit regenerates us
and seals us all to the praise of His glory. Verse 6, Thou hast made Him,
notice the marginal reference, Thou hast made Him and set Him
to be a blessing. God set Him to be a blessing. Thou hast made Him the most blessed
forever. Thou hast made Him exceeding
glad with Thy countenance. The Father has set or decreed
that the Lord Jesus Christ is blessed forever, and that His
people are forever blessed in Him. In Him dwells all the fullness
of a Godhead bodily, and in Him we are complete. Every blessing
God has for His people is given to us upon the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His obedience unto death, His sacrifice,
putting away our sins by the sacrifice of Himself. Thou hast
made Him or sent Him to be a blessing. He is a blessing to His people.
Thou hast made Him exceeding glad, exceeding glad. Look at verse 7. The King trusteth
in the Lord. The King, the Lord Jesus Christ,
trusted in the Father, Jehovah. Through the mercy of the Most
High, he shall not be moved. The Lord Jesus Christ went about
his mediatorial work with unwavering confidence, trusting his Father. The Father and the Father to
enable him to accomplish God's purpose. Remember in Isaiah 50
we read, he set his face like a flint. when he headed toward
Jerusalem. He was not moved from his purpose
by his friends or his foes. By his friends or his foes. Remember when he began to tell
his disciples, I must go to Jerusalem. I must be betrayed of the priests
and the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And I must lay down my life and
I must take it up again. Remember what they said? His
friends said, Peter said, don't go. Don't go there. And the Lord
said, I must, I must go. I must be about my father's business.
No one could turn him from his purpose, not his friend, not
his foes. To establish righteousness for
us and everlasting righteousness and to put away our sin by the
sacrifice of himself. For the king trusteth in the
Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High, for He's not moved. He's not moved one inch from
His purpose. To accomplish our salvation in
doing so in such a way to honor God, His law and His justice
satisfied, may the Lord grant us like confidence and trust
in our great God. Remember Psalm 62, trust Him
at all times, you people. Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. The king trusteth in the Lord,
and through the mercy of the Most High, for he not moved,
not moved away from his purpose, to accomplish all our salvation. Now, verses 8, 9, 10, and 11,
and verse 12, we often see this in the book of Psalms, where
it talks about the blessedness to God's people, and then the
judgment toward God's enemies. He that believeth on the Son
hath life. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see life. But what? Uh-oh, the wrath of
God. Look at verse 8, 9, 10. We'll
just read this. Thy hand, thy hand shall find
out thine enemies. Does God have some enemies? Oh
yeah. Oh yeah. His hand, think about
his hand, none can stay his hand or say unto him, Lord God, what
doest thou? He has big hands. He has righteous hands. Thy hand
shall find out all thine enemies and thy right hand shall find
out those that hate thee. The carnal mind is enmity against
God. He does have enemies. All those
enemies will be made to bow at His footstool. He that sitteth
in the heavens, remember the enemies of the Lord, the kings
of the earth, and the rulers set themselves together against
the Lord and against His anointed. saying, let us break their bands
asunder, let us cast away their cords from us. He that sits in
the heaven shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision. They will bow, every knee will
bow, every tongue will confess that he is Lord. Thou shalt make
them, look at verse nine, as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger. The
anger of the Lord is his holiness stirred in activity against sin. The time of thine anger, the
Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath." Boy, what tremendous
words these are. His wrath, his anger shall swallow
them up in his wrath and the fire shall devour them. their fruit shalt thou destroy
from the earth and their seed from among the children's. Thinking
of a verse over here came to my mind, thinking about To you
who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven, with His mighty angels in flaming fire,
taking vengeance on them that know not God, that obey not the
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
of His power, when He shall come to be glorified in the saints,
and to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony
among you was believed in that day. 2 Thessalonians chapter
1. Judgment's coming. Judgment's
coming to those who are enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ and
His wrath shall devour them. Look at verse 11. For they intend
evil against thee. They imagine mischievous device
which they are not able to perform. Thank God He restrains them by
His grace. Therefore, verse 12, shalt thou
make them turn their back when thou shalt make ready thine arrows
upon thy strings against the face of them. What terrible judgment is coming
on everyone who does not rest in the Lord Jesus Christ and
believe the gospel of the grace of God. Verse 13, he closes this
psalm, with the praise of exaltation, but be thou exalted, Lord, in
thine own strength. So will we, what will we do? We'll worship him. So will we
sing and praise his power. The power of God to save sinners.
The gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. This is our desire, is it not?
His exaltation. It's always right to praise the
Lord and to give Him all glory for the salvation He planned,
purposed, and accomplished. So we will sing of His power
unto Him who loved us and washed us from our sin in His own blood.
To Him be all the glory, both now and forever. We will sing
of His power now, and we will sing of His power then in that
day. We'll worship Him now as He's
revealed in the Word. And we'll really worship Him
then without any distraction, without any sin, as the almighty,
holy, Lord, God, our Savior. So we crown Him as our God, as
our King, as our Lord. Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine
own strength. So will we sing and praise thy
power. Thy power. He's the only one
that has power. All power is given unto me in
heaven and earth. All power. He has all power.