Thus saith the Lord. I don't know how many times that statement is in the Word of God,
but how we ought to give our hearts to that and be attentive
under that when God speaks. Thus saith the Lord. And we see
in this brief passage, in these next three verses we're going
to look at, The greatness and sovereignty of God in creation,
in providence, and in salvation. And how all of that pertains
to his son and his sons. That all this concerns his sons,
he declares plainly in verse 11, ask me about my sons. We
love to talk about our children. No, we just ask me ask me about
him. Ask me what they did what they've
accomplished what they What they made for me in school this week
and things like that when they were little just love to talk
about our children so does the Lord and That all this concerns his
son is shown in verse 13 as we'll see there's only one this can
be speaking of and as we always notice in the scriptures it's
hard to distinguish between the two is he talking which when
did he change from talking about us and start talking about the
Savior well as he is so are we in this world when he sees us
he sees his well-beloved son and we're all his sons in
Christ first of all God declares who he is the Lord, the Sovereign,
only the Sovereign who does as he pleases and rules all things
as he pleases, runs all things as he pleases, and that's different.
He rules, he decides what he wants to decide, and he manipulates
everything in his universe the way to do what he wants it to
do. And he reveals all things that are revealed. Nobody knows
anything without him. And only that one could say the
things he's about to say here. That's why he introduces himself
that way. You don't have to bow to hear it. This is the Lord
speaking. The Lord. The Holy Lord. And listen to me. We strive to
understand something of the holiness of God because it's so high above
our thinking. But think of it this way tonight.
What the name the Lord, the Lord, what that says about his status, the name the Holy One says about
his character. As high as he is in status as
the Lord and in office and in eminence, that's how high and
lifted up he is also in his character. Does that help a little bit?
We get little glimpses, don't we? But how sovereign is he? He's that good too. He's that
righteous too. Absolutely. Infinitely. The Lord says that he is absolute
in power and authority. The Holy One says that he's absolute
in his goodness and righteousness and judgment. And bless his holy
name. He is the Holy One of Israel. He can't even state his name
without mentioning us. What a blessing that is. Now
that doesn't puff us up. If anything that puts us in the
dust. Because why would he have anything to do with such as we? But who he is has something to
do with us. His very name Jesus we just sang
about. There is something about that
name isn't there? I love that song because it's a love song.
We love him and we love to hear his name. We love to talk about
him and he loves to talk about us. There's something about that
name. You know what it means? He's
going to save me and you. His people. His very name. We're in there. We're included
in it. Isn't that wonderful? Is there anything more wonderful
than that? Not the earthly nation of Israel,
but his spiritual Israel from every nation those called the
Israel of God in a spiritual sense He identifies with us even
in his very name He says that who he is has something to do
with us And then he said this his maker
Israel's maker He is the Lord of us He is the Holy One of us
and He is the Creator of us. Not just made us from the dust,
but made us what we are. I am what I am, Paul said, by
the grace of God. I'm a new creation in Christ
because He made me that way. We always refer to that verse
God who commanded the light God who said let there be light in
the first creation Said let there be light in the second creation.
He's my maker physically and spiritually He shined in my heart
Like he shined on this black earth and gave his light He made us from the dust and
he made us everything that we are except for our sin we did
that I We can't blame our sin on God, but God decides everything
about me. You ever think about that? God
decided when I was born. Throughout all the ages, I think
about sometimes, what if I would have been born 200 years ago?
What would that have been like? He decides when I'm born. He
decides where. I'm glad I was born in this country,
aren't you? Thank God for that. Well that's
why I bow up when I hear somebody talking bad about this country.
Why don't you go try another one? Thank God for this country. Give it a shot over in one of
these other countries where women are treated like dogs. And they
just kill people just because they don't like them. What they
do and how they think. Go give it a shot over there
and then tell me what you think about the good old United States
then. Thank God. He decided where I
was born. He decided by whom, who my parents
were and who all, everybody that's been around me. Think of all
the billions of people in this world. And here I am tonight
with you. I'm glad of that. Aren't you?
I'm so glad. I thank God for that. You know, he decides what we
look like, what we act like, what our personality is. What
our gifts and abilities are, he is the potter who makes of
the same lump a vessel under honor and another under dishonor.
If he's made you a vessel under honor, how can we ever cease
to praise him? He does with his own what he
will. He's our maker. And then he says, ask of me things
to come concerning my children. Just like we like to talk about
our kids, but we have to talk about what they've done, you
know, things in the past. He says, ask me what I'm going
to do for them. What I hadn't even done yet.
Ask me what they're going to be like one day when I change
their vile body and fashion it like into my glorious body. Ask
me about my children. And the clear implication here
is that all things to come concerning his children are preordained.
Why ask him about him unless he can tell us about it? And
he can tell us about it because he has ordained it and nobody
can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? Ask me what I'm going to do for
them. All of it's preordained in Christ. Ask me what I have
determined providentially for them. Ask me how I'm going to
bless them and make all things work for their good. Ask me. God says ask me because he loves
to talk about it and he does talk about it doesn't he? He
talks about his children. Isn't it just seeing the way
he refers my chosen, my precious ones, my jewels. When you read John 17, the Lord
keeps referring to us as those that you gave me. Take care of
them, keep them. I've taught them. I've gathered
them. They're one with us. You've loved
them just like you've loved me. Oh, he loves to talk about us
and I love to hear him talk about us, don't you? We sing that song,
I love to tell the story, so does he. And every time somebody
preaches, that's him telling the story, isn't it? That's him
telling it. He tells it in this book. From
start to finish. He wrote a perfect, wonderful
book about it. And he tells that story by the
mouth of his preachers all over this country, all over this world
today. Here and there. And look, he says, and concerning
the work of my hands. Now think about this. You've
noticed in several of our studies how he refers to the work of
his hands But he's talking about all of these things that he's
done in Providence too. It's not just making this world
and making everybody in it, but he's working with his hands tonight.
He ain't creating a new earth tonight, but I'll tell you what
he is creating. He's creating a future for every one of you
and me. He's making it happen in our
very midst. Every moment, moment by moment,
he's making things happen with his hand. All that he's done, all that
he is doing, and all that he shall do, and in the context
he's talking about for his sons, for his children. Ask me about
what I've done for them. The work of my hands for them
and as it pertains to them. Salvation is the work of God's
hands Religion says he has no hands but our hands when actually
it's exactly the other way around. What are we going to do without
God? I'll tell you what he's going to do without us. Everything
that needs to be done. But what are we going to do without
him? I'm the one with no hands. I don't need any. He's done everything
for me. He does everything that's worth
doing. He has and he does and he shall. Paul said to that superstitious
religious crowd in Acts 17 25, God is not worshiped with men's
hands as though he needed anything. And what he's saying there, if
you look up the definition of the word hands there, it means
that God is not worshiped by the help or agency of man. That's
all what religion is about. That's the way they worship God.
We're going to do something for God. That's not how you worship
God, by doing something for him. You worship Him by standing in
awe of Him and praising Him and glorifying His holy name for
what He's done for us. He's not worshipped with your
hands. We worship Him in what His hands have done. God is worshipped by acknowledging
and praising Him for doing everything without us, for us, in our place. That's why God sent his son because
we can't do anything. He came down here and did it
all. He accomplished salvation from start to finish with his
hands. By his power, by his agency, by his help, God laid help upon
one that is mighty and it wasn't me and you. It was the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's not worshipped by us doing
something for Him. He's worshipped by us glorying
in what He did for us. So verse 12, I have made the
earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands have stretched
out the heavens and all their hosts have I commanded. The fact
that God made the earth concerns His sons. Why did God create
a paradise? He didn't need one for himself.
He inhabited the very throne of heaven. He made a paradise
for us and put us in it before he ever made us. He prepared
it for us. Why was there a garden of Eden? Why all those fruit
bearing trees and all that plenty of provision and so much beauty? He prepared that place for man.
That's his way. He prepares. He takes care of
those that he loves. We've marred this paradise and
turned it into a disaster. But for his people, he said,
I'm going to prepare another place for you. Another paradise. He said to the thief, today you'll
be with me where? In paradise. I'm going to prepare another
paradise for you. And when I do, I'm going to come
back for you and receive you unto myself. So that where I
am, there you may be also. That's what made the first paradise
what it was. Adam walked and communed with
God in the cool of the evening. I reckon he'd have got tired
of looking. It's the presence of God. It's
communion with God. That's what paradise is. He said
to that thief, you'll be in paradise. What does that mean? Where's
paradise? What is paradise? With me. You'll be with me in
paradise. And that's His way. He provides
for us. It's all for His people. God
has a universe because He has a people. How many times have
we said that and seen that in the Word? Why do you plow and
till a garden? Because you just like, you know,
bust it up dirt better than grass? No. Because you're going to have
a garden. You're going to put some plants
in it. That's why God made this earth. He did it for his children,
for his sons. This earth is his elect. To him,
God so loved the world. You know who that is. It's not
the weeds. It's the garden. It's his sheep.
His elect. God has a world, a garden. And he planted some weed in it.
He told us about it, didn't he, in the book of Matthew. And the
tares are going to be dealt with, but the garden is not the tares.
It's the good plants, it's the trees that the Lord said, my
heavenly father has planted, and the other ones are going
to be rooted up. Even with his hand, even with
my hand, he said, I've stretched it out. But notice he didn't
just make everything. He also commands it. He runs
it. He rules it. He manipulates it.
He moves it. He commanded it into existence,
but he also commands its course and all of the contingencies
and fortuities of man. Everything that he made, everything
that happens, God has caused it. In other words, he's the
God of creation, but also of providence. We've seen these scriptures so
he turns the heart of the king I want us to think about that
verse though the king's heart is in his hand and he turneth
it I Quote that verse quite a bit,
but I want us to think about it a little bit deeper than that
He turns the king's heart. He turns it He doesn't woo it
he doesn't influence it He turns it You see the difference? Religion has God, you know, doing
his best. He's like, he's wanting you to, and he's telling you,
and he's guiding you, and he's giving you advice, and all kinds
of things, just trying to get you. No, he just turns it. He
just turns it. The prophet said, Lord, turn
us. Turn thou, turn thou us, and we'll be turned. And he does. He does. He grants repentance, and faith
in his son. And he does it with the king,
the one who, if anybody has a free will, who is the one on this
earth with the freest will? A king. There's one person that
somebody has put on a throne and said, whatever you say goes.
But that one's heart is in the king's hand. And he turns it
whithersoever he will. Whithersoever he will. He doesn't
consult with the king. about it as to where he turns
it. He turns it wherever he will. What a God we have to do with
it. We need to think about that before
we defy him, before we openly defy him. And think about that
before you despair. Before you give up before you
quit think about that. He's on the throne. It ain't
up to you. Thank god Verse 13 I have raised
him up in righteousness. Oh Now is he still talking about
us or is he starting to? Talk about his son here. You
see how It just kind of fades into it doesn't I will direct
he shall build my city that you know That's talking about the
lord, but he's talking about man I've created man. I have raised him up in righteousness. I will direct all his ways. He
shall build my city and he shall let go my captives. Not for price
nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. I have, I will, he shall,
he shall. David said, Oh, God made with
me an everlasting covenant. It's ordered in all things. sure
I love it when God says I shall because I don't know much there's
so many things we're ignorant of but when God says I shall
I know something whatever he said I shall it's done I know
that. Is he still talking about his
sons or is he talking about his son? The Lord Jesus Christ. Of course it's both. Of course
it's both. Because how did God raise us
up in righteousness? He's going to raise us up in
righteousness. And spiritually speaking, He already has. And
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. How did
He do that? By raising up His Son in righteousness. He is our
righteousness. He raised up His Son. He raised
Him up. That is, He caused Him to be
born into this world. Made under the law that he might
redeem them that are under the law. We're raised up together
with him So he's talking about man But in this in the sense
that man is raised up in righteousness. That's christ and all of us in
him and with him Acts 5 29 then peter and the
other apostles answered and said we ought to obey god rather than
men The God of our fathers raised up Jesus. Our text said, I will
raise him up in righteousness. And Simon Peter said, that's
what he did. He promised he'd do it. He raised
up Jesus whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance
to Israel and forgiveness of sins. He raised him up in righteousness
and what's the result? He forgave all of our sins and
now I'm going to be raised up in righteousness. With regard to the first phrase
of this verse now look at I have raised him up in righteousness
remember verse 8 Drop down ye heavens from above and let the
skies pour down righteousness and let the earth open the earth
received him He was born of a woman Born into
this world made under the law that he might redeem them made
on made a curse for us that he might that we might be delivered
from the curse. Drop down ye heavens, pour down
righteousness. The earth opens up, receives
him. He's born into this world. And what's the result? Righteousness
springs up. He's born and from a boy. He does always. He said, don't
you know I've got to be about my father's business as a boy? What was the result? God caused
righteousness to rain down from heaven. Why did he do that? Because
there wasn't any down here. So he brought his son down from
above to live for us, to establish righteousness for us. Because
of sin. And we see in verse 13 what we
already said about verse 8. This righteousness, look at verse
13. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways.
He shall build my city. And wait a minute, he said in
verse eight there, righteous is going to come down and righteous
is going to be raised up. But that righteousness, as we
already knew, is a hymn. In verse 13, we see that flat
out. It's a hymn. And in verse eight, when he calls
that right, the righteous, the righteousness, we don't have
to guess what that is. There's only one human righteousness. It's the Son of God. It's God's righteousness, but
also human, because he became us and lived it, worked it for
us, established it for us. He caused it to fall from heaven.
Something was brought forth and sprang up as a result of that.
Salvation and righteousness. And as we see now in verse 13,
that righteousness is a hymn, the same hymn. God raised up
his son to be the righteousness of his people. His name is called
the Lord Our Righteousness. There again, it's a name for
Christ, for God, that has something to do with me. He's the Lord
Our Righteousness. His very name is mercy to me, to sinners. He is the man that's mentioned
in verse 12 Now you can call it you can talk about that being
us and all that I have made man I have made the earth and created
man upon it. He did create Adam. He did create
all of us I'm gonna tell you something God created man for
his glory And you know who's glorified
him one of them He didn't create him now think about this with
me God Christ is not a created being he is the creator Without
him was not anything made that was made But that's Christ there
him being the only righteous man. He is the representative
man He is really in a very true and very important sense the
only man He's the only one that lives up to what it really means
to be a man. I don't think Pilate knew what
he was saying, but he said it in John 19 5 when the Lord Jesus
Christ had been mocked and beaten with their fists and whipped
with the cat of nine tails and spit on and his beard Pulled
out and that crown of thorns pressed into his brow and they
brought him out onto the porch of that judgment hall and it
says in John 19 5 then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns
and the purple robe covered in blood from his head to his feet
and Pilate saith unto them behold the man and He didn't have I'm
sure he didn't know what he was saying But just like the Lord had him
right over his head, this is Jesus the king He was Jesus the
man and when God says I've created man upon the earth. He talked
about his son now No, he's not created himself that word there
has to do with him. He raised him up He is the man
and when he created us He created us in Christ. We're new creations
in Christ, created in righteousness and true holiness. So in the
sense that we are created beings. That has everything to do with
him, too. You see how this he's preeminent in this. Raised up in righteousness. But
suffering for my sins, bearing my guilt and my shame. And ultimately he bore the very
wrath of God. As we behold the man, we behold
that. He bore the wrath of man and
God. But the wrath of God is a whole other thing now. Because
God is the Holy One. He was pleased to crush his own
son when he bore my sin. In his own body on the tree.
Because he is the Holy One of Israel. He did that for me. He crushed him because he is
the holy one. He did it. He did it for me because he's
the holy one of a people. To redeem us from all of our
sin. And then look what he said about him. I will direct all
his ways. That's Christ and us. Our Lord did nothing and said
nothing but what he received from the Father. Isn't that what
he said? The Lord, he said, I'll direct all of his ways. The Lord,
when everybody tried to kill him, he walked through the midst
of them because it wasn't his hour yet. The Lord directed all
of his ways. Man didn't have anything to do
with it. Man's not going to decide when or how or what. God is. He said, then answered the Lord
Jesus, John 5, 19, and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, the Son can do nothing of himself, But what he seeeth the
Father do, the Lord directed all the ways of his Son, and
he acknowledged that. I'm here to do his will, his
way, and his time. For what things soever he doeth,
these also doeth the Son likewise. I can't of mine own self do nothing.
As a man, God directed all of his ways. As I hear, I judge.
And my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me. In verse 28 of
chapter 8 of John, he then said, Jesus unto them, when you have
lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know that I am he.
And it really says there, you shall know that I am. The he
is in italics. And that I do nothing of myself.
But as my father had taught me, I speak these things. And of
course, the Lord directs all of our ways also. He brought
my footsteps to the throne of mercy. He brought me to the cross.
He drew me to, you're not coming unless he draws you, he said.
But he did, he directed my steps to the Savior. He drew us to his son. The Lord
Jesus said, no man can come unto me except the Father which has
sent me. Draw him and I'll raise him up again at the last day.
You see, we're raised up in righteousness because the Lord raised him up
in righteousness. We know that God works all things
for our good. I want him directed all my way.
I don't want a free will, do you? I don't want to be free. I want him to direct all my ways.
I'm real comfortable with that arrangement by his grace. He has predestinated us to be
conformed to the image of his son. Why is all this happening? Well, I don't know, but I know
the end result of it. We're going to be just like Christ.
Everything, we're predestinated. Everything is predestinated to
that end. That's a good end. And all of
his directing Is right and good and we bow Lord direct up keep
the door of our lips direct our steps. Don't let us do anything
without you And he said this he shall build my city He shall
build Now that's just flat out christ That's just christ isn't
it he man Shall build the city of god. I've created man upon
the earth Man is going to build the city of God. Ephesians 2.19
Now therefore are you no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all
the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in
the Lord. In whom also you are built together for the inhabitation
of God through the Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ built the
house of God. And we are that house. I don't
understand that. I can't explain it. But we are
his temple. We are his building, fitly framed
and joined together. Inhabitation of God. Where is
God? He's in his church. That's where
he is. That's where he lives. He said
in Matthew 16 18 on this rock will I Build my church We don't build I'm not trying
to build a church I'm just watching him build it and I'm glad to
be in on it Thank God we're in on it And the gates of hell Shall
not prevail again if I built it How long would it last? I believe
that's why this church continues on, because I didn't build it. And he shall let go my captives. The captives don't come out for
free though, do they? We know what that means. If he's
going to let them go, he's got to pay the price, doesn't he?
He's got to redeem them from captivity. Remember Luke 4.16,
the Lord Jesus Christ came to Nazareth where he had been brought
up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the
Sabbath day and stood up for to read. And there was delivered
unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened
the book, he found the place where it was written, the spirit
of the Lord is upon me because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book and gave
it again to the minister, and sat down, and the eyes of all
them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he
began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled
in your ears." Boy, he fulfilled that In a whole other sense now,
in your ears the day, the first day he opened them, think about
that, the Lord sent him to preach deliverance to the captives and
one day for the first time you heard it and it was fulfilled,
him setting the prisoners free, that was fulfilled in your ears.
Your eyes were fastened on the one who spoke and he spoke from
the very mouth of God. And Christ and His purpose of
grace toward His people was fulfilled in your ears. What a day. I can't even remember what day
it was, but I rejoice in it just as much. Don't care what day
of the calendar it was, what date it was. I just know that
He set me free one day. And I'm free today because of
Him. In this same story now that we
just read in the book of Luke there They tried to throw him off a
cliff for what he said he began to preach his sovereignty just
after this He was sent only to certain ones They tried to throw
him off a cliff, but it was not yet his hour But how did Christ
fulfill the prophecy that he read concerning himself As we've
already mentioned, if he's going to preach deliverance to the
captives with authority, he's able to preach it with authority
because he is deliverance for the captives. And that deliverance
came at the cost of his own precious blood. The Lord sent me. That's what
he said, the Lord sent me to preach deliverance. He sent him
to this earth made a curse that he might redeem
them that were under the curse made under the law that he might
redeem them that were under the law he sent him he came to this
earth and he came preaching even as a boy he reasoned with those
who who taught the word of God and they marveled at his understanding
and the things that he taught and he came preaching the gospel
concerning himself isn't that what he just did in Luke 4 there?
He's talking about the gospel. He's talking about God's captives
being set free. And he said, I'm the one, I'm
him. I'm the one sent to do that.
He preached the gospel concerning himself and being despised and
rejected of the religious and being crucified and dying for
the sins of his people. They tried to kill him the day
that he preached it there in Luke four. And ultimately the
Lord arranged it so that they did. By wicked hands, they took
him and crucified him. But that's how he set us free
by his precious blood. He preached it and he accomplished
it by making his own soul an offering for the sins of his
sheep. And look, finally, he didn't
do it for price nor reward. You know why he did it? For the
glory of God. In this sense here, now he is
rewarded. He's rewarded with a bride, with
his people, with all things. He inherits all things. He earned
them. That's not why he did it. You know why David killed Goliath?
Remember that? They said, oh, you'll marry one
of the king's daughters and all this is going to happen. And
then after that, he said, I'm not worthy to marry one of the
king's daughters. He blew that off. I'm not even worthy for
that. That's not why he did it. He did it because that idiot
came and defied the armies of the living God. He did it for
the glory of God. And that's why our David did
it, not for price nor reward. He had this one concern as he
came as our high priest and prepared to go to Calvary. And he prayed
this in John 17, 1. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. No
man could take me. They tried and I walked right
through the midst of them. But the hour has come for him
to lay it down. The hour has come. Glorify thy
son. Why? That thy son may also glorify
thee. That's why he did it. One of these days, We're going
to do everything we do for His glory. I can't do that now. Why do we do what we do now? We want to glorify Him, don't
we? We have that heart in us by His grace. I want to do what
I do for His glory as the Lord works in me. There's an element
of that, but let's be honest. Why do we do what we do? We're so selfish in all that
we do. But our Lord Jesus Christ was
not. Though He was God in human flesh as a man, He did always
those things that pleased His Father. And it pleased His Father
to crush Him for my sin, and He submitted to it. Willingly. He did always and
everything that pleased his father and that's why he did it he did
what pleased his father and he did it to please his father and
because he did I'm gonna skip ahead a little bit and just look
at verse 17 we're not gonna expound it but this is the result now
we're gonna get to that Lord willing next time Because he did. Because he glorified. He's the one. He's the one man. Why'd God create man? For his
glory. And we all are a failure in that.
Except him. But because he glorified the
Father. As a man. All Israel shall be saved in
the Lord. In the Lord. Because of him.
For his sake. with an everlasting salvation. You shall not be ashamed nor
confounded, though you haven't glorified Him, you haven't done
anything for God, but you're not gonna be ashamed nor confounded,
world without end, because He did. He did. Those who trust in Him shall
never be ashamed. God, give us a heart. to trust
in Him. Let's pray together.