Turn with me to the psalm of
Solomon chapter 5. I would like to look at the 14th
verse and look at really the first half
of the 14th verse. The Scripture says, and this
is the bride speaking concerning him who is altogether lovely,
she says of him, his hands are as gold rings set with the barrel." I began to think, I was thinking
a moment ago when Pat was leading that last song, I began to think
on the hands. of the Lord Jesus Christ and that which is said concerning
His hands. She says that His hands or His gold rings sat with the
barrel, but those hands, I thought about the hands that touched
those that he came in contact with, the leper that he healed,
the woman that was raised, Peter's wife raised, the young boy that
was at a funeral, the Lord raised, the hands that laid themselves
down. He laid his hands down and was
pierced. He told Thomas when Thomas doubted,
he said, unless I see the prince, unless I see the scars, I am
not going to believe. And the bride speaks of his hands. What does his hands What does
the Scripture say about His hands? Why are His hands to the bride? Why are they so lovely? Why are they, as she says, as
gold rings? His hands, the hands of the Beloved. first of all, of His accomplishment. Psalm 92 verse 4 says, For thou,
Lord, hast made me glad through thy work. I will triumph in the
work of thy hand. What has the Lord Jesus Christ
accomplished? That is what He has done. He
has accomplished it. He said this, these were the last words, some of the last words that are
recorded. He said, it's finished. It's finished. It's over. He
had put away sin, paid the debt. The psalmist says here, you've
made me glad through your work. I triumph, he says. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one who's triumphed, but David said here, he said, I triumph
in the work of your hands. That which you've done, you've
done for me. You've accomplished for me. Psalm 116 says he showed his
people the power. of his works, that he may give
them the heritage of the heathen. He has done that which only he
could do. His hands speak of his accomplishment. Secondly, his hands speak of
his purpose. Turn with me to Acts 4, verse
27. Acts chapter 4. Verse 27, the Scripture speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ being taken before the crucifixion. Acts 4, verse 27, For of a truth
against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people,
of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand
and thy counsel determined before to be done." It says here that
God's hand purposed. All that was purposed to be done,
thy hand purposed. Whatever God has purposed for
His people surely will be performed and experienced in this life. The Korah read in Ephesians chapter
1 that which God had purposed. God Almighty, before the foundation
of the world, chose a people in Him, predestinated them to
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself. He purposed
it. Almighty God purposed it, and
His hand, the Scripture says, was that hand of purpose. Here we see God Almighty, the
Father, who the Scripture says, the last verse that Carl read,
who first trusted in Christ. We spoke on that a while back.
Who trusted in Christ first? The Father. The Father trusted
in Him first. working all things after the
counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise of
the glory of His matchless grace." His hand purposed it. His purpose. If left to man's will or ability
would fail. At first I wrote that down. I
said, His purpose could fail. And I scratched it out. If you
ever look at my notes, you scratch that out, and I said it would
fail. It would. It is not even up for debate.
His purpose would fail if his purpose was at the weakness of
man's will. But Job 4, 17 to 19 says, Shall
mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure
than his Maker? Behold, he put no trust in his
servant. His angels He charged with folly,
how much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation
is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth. His hand, whatsoever
your hand purposed to do." The hand of His immutable purpose. The bride says of Him, His hands. Oh, the hands. of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Speaking of His purpose, Job
15, verse 15 says, Behold, He putteth no trust in His saints. Concerning His purpose, will
Almighty God entrust His purpose, Neal, even to His elect? Would He? He putteth no trust
in His saints. The heavens are not clean in
his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water? His hand
concerning his purpose. Then thirdly, his hands speak
of his power. Psalm 20 and verse 6 says, Now
I know that the Lord saveth his anointed. He will hear him from
His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand."
His right hand. His power. This is the hand of
the Almighty God. Omnipotent. I like that it says,
I know, David said, I know, I know that the Lord saveth. Saveth
His anointed. Saveth. He will hear him when
his right hand is mentioned in Scripture. The right hand of
the Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks of the Lord's power
to accomplish the mediatorial work in the everlasting covenant. He accomplishes. Some in judgment. His right hand is judged sometimes
in mercy. but it's always powerful. His
right hand. Psalm 80 and verse 17 says, Let
thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man
whom thou madest strong for thyself. His right hand. In Exodus 15,
verse 6, Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath
dashed in pieces the enemy. That's His hand. When He speaks
of His hand, He speaks of His purpose, His accomplishment,
His power. Who is He? Bride? Who is Your
Beloved unto You? Who is Your Beloved more than
another Beloved? That's what the daughters of
Jerusalem... I'll tell you, she's telling
Him all these things. She gets down to His hands or His gold
rings set with barren. His hand, fourthly, speaks of
his providence and his provision. Turn with me while I look at
this. Turn over to Job 2. Let me just say this. Job had providentially
been brought to a great trial. We know the story of Job. Satan
had come to the Lord, and the Lord asked him, Have you considered
my servant Job? And Satan told him, He said,
Well, you hedged him about. If I could get to him, I'll tell
you what he'd do. He'd curse you. You take everything
from him. You put him in dire straits.
Get him where he doesn't have anything. Has no possessions. Does Job serve you for nothing? That's what he asked. Will a
man serve God for nothing? My question is this, could a
man serve God for nothing? No, he couldn't. Somebody would
say, yeah, but if you think of the riches that we have in glory
in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's something. Satan asked him, he
says, does Job serve you for naught? You let me get at him. And the Lord told him, He said,
you can Touch his body, you can't kill him, though. Take what he's
got. And in Job chapter 2, verse 9 and 10, after Job had had all
of this stuff taken, and here's what Job's wife, this was her
advice to him. Then said his wife unto him,
Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said, Unto her thou speakest,
as one of the foolish women speaketh." What? Shall we receive good at
the hand of God and shall we not receive evil? In all this
did not Job sin with his lips. In his lips. I mean in his hands. That is the hand of his providence. The hand of his provision. Job
says it. And I have received good at the
hand of the Lord and not evil. He does that which is right. In Psalm 31, verse 15, the Scripture
sets forth of the stability of God's people. Psalm 31 and verse
15. My times, that's what it says,
are in thy hand. Deliver me from the hand of my
enemies and from them that persecute." My hands, I mean, my times are
in your provision, on your timetable, according to your purpose. My
times are as far as you dictate. That is what His hand is. The
Lord works all things after the counsel of His own will and His
hand of Providence performs it to His honor and to the good
of His people. His hands protect and preserve
and keep. But His hands, not only are they
the hands of provision and protection and preservation, accomplishment,
power, His hand is referred to in Scripture as the hand that
presents the bride before the face of the Father. I want you to turn with me to
Psalm 45, verses 7 to 9. Psalm 45. This is a beautiful
passage of Scripture concerning the presentation of the bride. It was my thought was the honor
that was bestowed upon the bride as she is presented. It's as
if she has been granted the privilege, like when a woman comes and takes
the arm of her husband, puts her hand upon him, and he escorts
her. That's what's being done right
here. Psalm 45. Verse 7 to 9, Thou lovest righteousness
and hateth wickedness. Therefore, thy God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy gardens
smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia are out of the ivory palaces
whereby they have made thee glad. King's daughters were among thy
honorable women. Upon thy right hand did stand
the Queen." That's the Bride right there. Upon His right hand.
The Queen in gold of Ophir. The Queen. The Bride of the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the King of Glory, is arrayed, that is,
the Queen. She is arrayed in the gold of
Ophir. Now look at that. That's the
best gold. She is arrayed in the best. She is upon His hand. And here she is being presented.
She is being presented to Almighty God upon His right hand. She stands there. Stands beside
in the imputed robe of His righteousness. And the Lord Jesus Christ sets
forth His Bride in the place of dignity. The chaste virgin
found in him, it says here in that last verse, King's daughters
were among thy honorable women, upon thy right hand did stand
the queen in gold of Ophir. That word stand right there is
stationed, appointed. That's what it means. That's
where she stands. He's made her to stand. He's appointed her.
Here we behold Christ and His bride. as she is accepted in
the Beloved. Now, you think about this. The
Lord Jesus Christ, as He stands before His Father, and here is
His Bride, chosen in Him from the foundation of the world,
beloved, everlastingly loved, entered into between the thrife-holy
God, that eternal covenant, on her behalf, with her, in Him. And here she is arrayed in the
spotless, holy garments of His righteousness. And she is escorted
in by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, the beloved
Son. And here's what Scripture says. accepted. There is the Queen,
and She stands appointed, placed on His right hand, His hand of
purpose and power and providence, protection and preservation. And here She is presented, robed
in His righteousness, perfect. says, according to thy name,
O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth. Thy right
hand is full of righteousness." Your right hand of power, purpose,
protection. He is righteous. He is righteousness. What He does is righteous. What
He gives in mercy is righteous. And whatever He withholds, is
according to His righteousness. He does what He will in the army
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No man stays His
name. He is the Righteous One. And by His hand is revealed justice. Psalm 21, verse 7. By His hand
is revealed the justice of Almighty God, the judgment Condemnation,
Psalm 21, verse 7, For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through
the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Thine hand
shall find out all thine enemies. Thy right hand shall find out
those that hate thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery
oven in the time of thine anger. The Lord shall swallow them up
and His wrath and the fire shall devour them." Who is He? It's
His hand. His hand of power, providence,
protection, preservation, presentation. His hand. And by His hand, turn
over, look at Psalm 17, verse 7. By His hand is salvation. Psalm 17, verse 7. Show thy marvelous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest. By thy right hand, them which
put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them,
keep me as the apple of the eye. Hide me under the shadow of thy
wings from the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies who
compass me about his hand." That's what verse says. 7 says, Show
thy marvelous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right
hand. Power. Here is the comfort of
the believer. Here is the safety of the saints. Psalm 20 and verse 7 says, Some
trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember
the name of the Lord our God. We trust in Him, in His right
hand. Here in the hand of our mighty
God is security. You think of the honor that is
spoken of, of the hands of God. As our great covenant head, the
Lord Jesus Christ, as He hung upon that tree, Our surety. Our representative. He spoke
these words and all in Him spoke these words. Into Thy hands I
commit my spirit. Into His hands. Into Your protection. Into Your power. Into Your preservation. Into Your keeping. Your hands. His hands, the bride says, are
as Gold rings. Precious. Priceless. And glorious. No imperfection
found within His hands. That's what she said. Your hands
are as gold rings. No beginning. No end. Perfect in any angle. A setting
forth of His eternal covenant. Jeremiah 31.3 says, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. That's what His hands are. Nothing
fleeting. Nothing perishing. But I like
this. He says His hands are His gold
rings. Plural. Plural. The rings. Psalm 104.24 says, O Lord, manifold
are Thy works. In wisdom hast Thou made them
all. The earth is full of Thy riches."
I thought on the riches or the rings, the gold rings, the way
His hands are compared. His hands are His gold rings. Consider the riches of eternal
life. John 17, 2 says, "...as Thou
hast given Him power over all flesh that He should give eternal
life, first, to as many as thou hast given Him. Secondly, eternal
redemption. Your hands are as gold rings,
everlasting. You know, I talk about that when
you have a marriage ceremony. We talk about the ring and it's
round. It has no beginning, no end.
Everlasting. Eternal. That's what it is. Gold rings. Eternal redemption. Secondly,
Hebrews 9.12 says, "...neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us." He accomplished it. He obtained it. He bought it,
paid for it in His own blood. Then the ring of eternal glory. 1 Peter 5.10 says, But the God
of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by
Jesus Christ, after that ye have suffered a while, make ye perfect,
establish, strengthen, settle ye. Who is He? What is He to you? She says His
hands are His gold rings. But this is the last thing she
says that I'll deal with tonight on his hands. She said they're
set with the barrel. What are his hands? They're gold
rings set with the barrel. The first time that barrel, that
gem is mentioned. Barrel was one of the stones
That was the precious stones that were mounted upon the breastplate
of judgment of the high priest. The different stones it named
them. Sapphire, onyx, the beryl, the diamond. Those stones represented
God's peculiar people. True Israel, the elect, the bride,
His church. And it set forth in type when
that high priest would go in to the holy place. He would go in bearing upon his
heart the names of all that he represented. The Lord Jesus Christ bears upon
his heart all of the elect. He represents them as their High
Priest. And the bride says concerning
Him, His hands are set with the barrel." They're set. I looked
at that for a while and I kept trying to focus in on the word
barrel, the gem itself. And I knew that it was a setting
forth the elect of God, the people of God. That's the barrel. That's
what it was talking about, the precious stones. Those who in
Malachi 3.17 feared the Lord, they're said to be His jewels.
That's what Malachi 3.17, the special treasure that shall be
spared, His people, His jewels. They are the recipients of the
mercy of Almighty God, who Jeremiah 32, 40 said, God has put His
fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from Him. That's who the Barrel are. That's
who they are. But the bride says concerning
Him, His hands are His gold. They are set. His hands are set. There's the key word right there,
Neal. Set. His hands are set. with the barrel. Set. That set, setting forth
right there. What it means is they are in,
held. That is who they are. He says
they are set in the everlasting memory of His love. That is what He is talking about.
That word set means to fill, to be full of, to be fenced,
to gather, or to have wholly. W-h-o-l-l-y, or completely. That's what the word set means.
Set. Filled, full, fenced, gathered,
to have completely. His hands, she says, are as gold
rings, and they are set, they are filled. They are holding. They are filled with. They are
gathered with the barrel. His hands, who are they? This is the hands of my security.
His hands are set, filled with the barrel, with the elect. They
are set in the memory of His love. Isaiah 49, 15, and 16 says,
Can a woman forget her sucking child that she should
not have compassion on the son of her womb. Yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon
the palms of my hands of power, and thy walls are continually
before me." The walls, he said, your walls, that means Your protection. You're hedged about. This is
what he said. He said a mother may forget her
second child. I've got a daughter that's got
a little baby. Nurses that little baby. I can't even just fathom
that she'd forget that baby. I mean, she just wakes up. I'll
call her and talk to her about it. And I say, well, how you,
you know, How's Kelly Grace?" You know, oh, my goodness. Oh,
Daddy, I just sit there and wait for her to wake up so I can nurse
her. Oh, she's so excited. She's so cute. She says this.
She does that. She says, Papa, and stuff like
that. Well, she's thinking about it. But oh, that little bit.
She says, can a woman forget her second child? Yes. But he
said, I will never forget you. I have graven thee upon the palms
of my hands. I'll remember you." That dying
thief, the song said he rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. What did he ask the Lord Jesus
Christ? He said, Lord, would you remember
me? Would you remember me? Who is this? Oh, his hands. His hands of power
and accomplishment. preservation, purpose, provision,
protection. His hands are as gold rings,
and they are set, filled, gathered, accomplished with the barrel,
the elect. John 10, 27 to 29 says, My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give
unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them
Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out
of My Father's hand." Who is He? She said, Well, I'll tell
you this, His hands are as gold rings. set with the barrel. That's who he is.