Let us turn again to God's Word
and to the psalm we were reading. Psalm 65, the psalm and song
of David, we're told in the title of the psalm. I'll read again
then from verse 2 through 5. O thou that hearest prayer, unto
thee shall all flesh come. Iniquities prevail against me,
as for our transgressions thou shalt purge them away. Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto
thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied
with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Thy
terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us. O God of
our salvation, what the confidence of all the ends of the earth
and of them that are far off upon the sea. In verse 2 and
again in verse 5 of course we see that the psalm is very much
in the form of prayer, O thou that hearest prayer. And then
he goes on in verse 5 to speak about God's answers prayer. His people do not seek his face
in vain. He is the God of salvation. By terrible things in righteousness
will thou answer us, O God, of our salvation. But more particularly
I want us to concentrate on that that is sandwiched between those
two verses that speak so clearly of the importance of prayer And
as we look at verses 3 and 4 for our text to say something of
the blessings of the sovereign grace of God. We read very much
of the blessed man. Iniquities prevail against me.
As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest, and cause us to approach unto
thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied
with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Of course, time and again in
the book of Psalms we have mentioned of the blessed man. Even the
opening words of the first Psalm, blessed is the man. That walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is
in the law of the law. And in his law doth he meditate
day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His
leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The whole book begins then with
that remarkable description of the blessed man delighting in
the Word of God and contrast it with the ungodly. In the remainder of that opening
psalm we read of that character who knows not God, who walks
in the ways of wickedness and of sin. and as I said it's not
only there in the opening psalm but many times and in the past
we've tried to consider something of the descriptions of the blessed
man that are scattered throughout this particular part of holy
scripture but this morning to say something with regards to
the blessings of that sovereign grace of God that is really one
of the marks of the the blessed one is a partaker of that grace
of God's in salvation and we have here in these two verses
three and four a wonderful description of that salvation we see it in
terms of the whole doctrine of the Trinity and that's what I
really want to try to bring out from what we're told in the verses
3 and 4 Martin Luther said that doctrine
is heaven and surely the doctrine of the sovereignty of the grace
of God and to know it is something of heaven upon earth all true
Christians this may boast a truth from nature never learned that
Father, Son and Holy Ghost to save our souls are all concerned
and we see that here in this text we see something of the
electing love of the Father we see something of the redemptive
work of God the Son and we also learn of the efficacious grace
of God the Holy Ghost and all of it couched in the language
that speaks of us knowing fellowship with this God, Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. So let us come to the words that
we have in these two verses in particular. Verses 3 and 4. Iniquities prevail against me.
As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest, and cause us to approach unto
thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied
with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. And
first of all to say something with regards to election by God
the Father. Here we have the foundation.
Here we have the fount of all the blessings that God can bestow
upon sinners. And isn't that the statement
that we find at the beginning of verse 4? Blessed is the man
whom thou choosest. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest. God's choice, God's sovereignty
in election is the real source of every blessing that ever can
come to any individual. And we see at least three things
with regards to this election, this doctrine of election. First
of all, surely it is eternal. It belongs to God and God is
that one who is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the eternal
God. And of course we read that remarkable
opening chapter in the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. And
how that truth of eternal election is so clearly set before us in
what the Apostle is saying there. Verse 3, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
Before ever God had created the heavens and the earth, even from
everlasting he had chosen a people. according as he hath chosen us
in him that is in Christ before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love it is
God's choice and it is an eternal choice that God has made and
he goes on to say later in the third chapter of the epistle
in verse 11 according to the eternal purpose which He purposed
in Christ Jesus our Lord. The first truth then that we
have to recognize in relation to the doctrine of election is
that it is something that takes us outside of time. It is what
God did before He created time. He set His love upon the people
and He chose them in the Lord Jesus Christ. Again in that ninth
chapter of Romans we see it in terms of those two individuals
Jacob and Esau, twin brothers and remember what the Apostle
says there the children being not yet born neither having done
any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election
might stand It was said unto her, unto Rebekah, the elder
shall serve the younger. They had done nothing. It was
nothing to do really with anything about them. It was all together
about God and what God had purposed from all eternity. And so, election
by the Father, which is spoken of here in the opening words
of this fourth verse, is an eternal election. And then secondly we
see that this election is also personal. Blessed, it says, is
the man. It's singular. It's an individual. When the Lord Jesus, in the course
of his ministry, sends out his disciples, and gives them charge
with regards to what they are to preach and how that ministry
will be owned by miracles that they are also able to perform
and they come back rejoicing in all that they have witnessed.
But what does the Lord say to them? He says rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven. Not so much rejoicing
in in earthly things and wondrous things that they've been able
to behold as they were obedient to the voice of the Lord Jesus
and went out at his bidding but that to rejoice that their names
are written in heaven and we have it of course there in the
book of the Revelation written in the book of the life of the
Lamb from before the foundation of the world every name every
name written the Lord knoweth them that are his this election
is not only something that takes us outside of time it's before
creation but also it is personal God is pleased to choose individuals
and appoint them to eternal life and in his sovereignty He passes
over others and ordains them to eternal damnation. How solemn it is. The absolute
sovereignty of God. That's the third aspect really.
It's not for anything at all in the creature. It's not for
anything that God might foresee in the creature. I know we have
that golden chain in Romans chapter 8 whom we did foreknow. He also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son. And
there are those, the Arminians, who say, well, isn't it saying
there that what God does is He foresees? He foreknows who are
going to believe and because of what He is aware of, He then
makes choice of them. Well, that's utter nonsense.
That's utter nonsense. If election is eternal, it's
all to do with God and the choice of God. And that knowledge that
is being spoken of there in Romans 8 is not a mere foresight. The knowledge there is the intimacy
of the knowledge. It's the love of God. He has
foreloved them. He has set his affection upon
them. He is because he delights in them. and he delights in them
because of who he is and nothing of theirs. Not anything foreseen,
even here what does David say in the third verse? Iniquities
prevail against men. God says I will have mercy on
whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth nor of him that runneth but of God. that showeth mercy. Though iniquities prevail, the
sinner feels his sin. There's nothing of any worth
or value he feels in himself. God's choice in election is clearly
an absolute choice. And that's the first truth that
we have to recognize. And this is the blessed man because
he has known something of the electing love of God the Father. But then also here in the text
we see that there is redemption in God the Son. Look at verse 3 again. Iniquities
prevail against me, says David, as for our transgressions thou
shalt purge them away. How are sins purged? How is the soul of the sinner
made clean? It is those who are chosen in
Christ who are the objects of the Father's love that the Son
has come to redeem by offering himself as a sacrifice and bearing
that punishment that was there, just do. He has died for the
unjust to bring sinners to God. The God who chooses, you see,
is the one who also cleanses his people. As God has elected
sinners, so he has also elected a saviour. Isn't the Lord Jesus
Christ that one who is God's first elect? that one who, in
the eternal covenant of grace, the whole council of the Trinity,
the great purpose of salvation, it's there that the Lord Jesus,
the eternal Son of God, is appointed to be the saviour of sinners.
And so though, of course, when we think in terms of the doctrine
of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the Godhead, Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, they are eternal, they are equal, there's
no superiority, no inferiority in the Godhead, they are co-equal,
one with the other, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three persons,
in one Godhead. But in that covenant, God the
Son willingly becomes the servant of God. Behold, my servant is
God. Mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my Spirit upon Him,
for He is the Anointed One. He is that one who is the first
of all God's elect. And isn't that a truth that is
stated so clearly again in that portion that we were reading
in the Ephesian epistle. Look at the words that we have
there in verses 4 and 5. They are predestinated, we are
told in verse 5, unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ but
that predestination is rooted back in verse 4 according as
he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ according
to the good pleasure of his will Christ is God's first elect and
all the election of grace are those then who are clearly chosen
in Him in whom we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of His grace all there is cleansing
for the sinner in that precious blood that was shed This is what
the Lord God is pleased to do then for the sinner, to purge
away all his sins. They are removed from him as
far as the east is from the west, or they are buried in the depths
of the seas. And what Paul is saying in his
epistles is exactly the same as what we find recorded in other
parts of the New Testament Now these apostles all speak with
one voice. Peter in his epistles acknowledges
the truth of what Paul has been saying in other epistles. Although he acknowledges there
are certain things difficult to be understood. But what Peter
says really accords with what Paul says. 1 Peter 1.18 for as much as you know that
you were not redeemed with corruptible things received by tradition
from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ the
precious blood of Christ, there is the purchase the Lamb without
blemish, without spot verily ordained from the foundation
of the world He is the one who was paid that great price in
order to the redemption of his people and therefore all their
sins are gone. The blood of Jesus Christ his
son cleanseth us from every sin. How much more shall the blood
of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to God purge your conscience from dead works that she might
serve the Living God. Here we see then the blessings
of the sovereign grace of God. Yes, there's the electing love
of God the Father, but there's also that great work that was
accomplished by God the Son. When He came, when He was made
of a woman and made under the law and submitted to all the
authority of that Lord, honoring it, magnifying it, both in His
life and ultimately in His death. Or that one who died the accursed
death of the cross, of course, was the righteous one. In His
life He wrought such a glorious righteousness. He was obedient
to every commandment. He was holy, He was harmless,
He was undefiled, He was separate from sinners. He is the Lord
our righteousness and yet he is the same one who dies, that
occurs death of the cross. All the completion of that work
then that he has come and undertaken and fulfilled, finished the transgression,
made an end of sin, made reconciliation for iniquity. and brought in
everlasting righteousness. We see not only then the sovereignty
of the Father as it were in election, but we see the blessed work of
God the Son who comes to be the Redeemer of his people and to
bear that punishment that they just deserved. But then also
Are we not in the text reminded of the work of God the Holy Spirit? There is effectual calling here. In verse 4, Blessed is the man
whom thou choosest, it says, and causes to approach unto thee. That's effectual calling. They're
caused to approach, they're made to approach. Where are they by
nature? They are in that state of alienation. They are enemies in their minds,
by wicked works. That's how they are born into
this world, dead, in trespasses and in sins. In order for the
election of the father and the redemption of the son to become
a blessed reality, there must be something wrought in the soul
of that sinner and that is the blessed work of God the Holy
Spirit remember how the promise runs to the Lord Jesus Christ
in the language of the 110th Psalm He is assured his people
shall be willing thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power and this is the day of his power
all power he says, all authority is given unto me in heaven and
in earth and tells his disciples go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature so the word is to go forth but
they must first tally at Jerusalem they must await that blessed
day when the fullness of the day of Pentecost, fully kind. And there was that glorious outpouring
of the Spirit of God Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
One who was shed abroad the Holy Ghost. And so they go forth throughout
the Acts preaching, preaching in the power of the Spirit. Amazing,
really. In Acts 1 we have 120 disciples. after the ascension of Christ.
But then 4,000, 5,000, they're being now saved in the thousands. Why? There has been such a mighty
outpouring, the gracious coming of the Spirit, all that blessed
donation from heaven. The Lord Jesus Christ being by
the right hand of God exalted, Peter says, there at Pentecost
he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. there must be that blessed work
then of the Spirit himself cause to approach blessed is
the man cause to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy
courts or do we not friends have to know that blessed truth no
man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy Ghost. You can say the words, but how
can we know the reality of confessing Christ as God and Savior only
by that gracious ministry of the Spirit in the very depths
of our souls? The Lord Jesus continually makes
this plain in the course of all his preaching. Remember what
he says in the sixth chapter of John, no man can come to me
except it were given to him of my father. It is written in the
prophets, they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard and have learned of the father cometh unto me. That ministry of the Lord was
was offensive to so many when he spoke so plainly of the vital
necessity of a work being accomplished in the sinner's soul. Then at the end of that sixth
chapter, verse 65, he says to the people, Therefore said I
unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given
unto him of my father. From that time Many of His disciples
went back and walked no more with Him. All this truth of the
sovereignty of God in salvation, the electing love of the Father,
the redemptive work of the Son, the efficacious grace of God
the Spirit, how it offends men. And it was offensive, it seems,
in some measure, even to the disciples, the apostles. Jesus
says to the twelve, will you also go away? But Simon Peter
answers, Lord to whom shall we go thou hast the words of eternal
life and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the
Son of the Living God. But then the Lord says, have
I not chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil? Thus he spake
of Judas Iscariot the one who should betray him, and he was
one of the twelve. How offensive, how offensive
is the sovereignty of the grace of God, and yet so plain. All
salvation is Trinitarian. And as I've said here many, many
a time, I think we see it so clearly in that opening chapter
of Ephesians. I know the The punctuation in
our Bibles is not part of the inspired text. There's no punctuation
really in the original autographs. But out there in Ephesians chapter
1, wisely I say, the translators have used the punctuation well. We have those three striking
sentences, long sentences, two of them at least. In Ephesians
1, look at the punctuation, verses 3 through 6 is a single sentence. And it speaks of God the Father
and election. Verses 7 through 12 is another
long sentence. And the subject of that sentence
principally is the redemptive work of God the Son. And then
a shorter sentence, verses 13 and 14, speaks of the sealing
ministry of God the Holy Spirit. And so we see that salvation,
this sovereignty of God in salvation, is very much Trinitarian. We
are Trinitarian. Yes, it is God the Son who has
come in the Incarnation. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
the Lord. It wasn't God the Father, it
wasn't God the Holy Spirit, it was the Son. Being in the form of God, he
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant was
made in the likeness of men. It is the Son who was incarnate
and became a man and as a man he lived and died and rose again
and ascended to heaven and now there he is in heaven, the God-man. But we're more than Jesus people
because we see that salvation truly involves all the persons.
There is the electing love of the Father, and the efficacious
grace of the Spirit, as well as that blessed redemptive work
of the Son. And so, where is our fellowship? Our fellowship centers in all
the persons. Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Again look at the language of
the text. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes
to approach unto thee that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall
be satisfied with the goodness of thy house even of thy holy
temple. Or we come into God's very presence
Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord. And what is this fellowship?
Well, there are at least three aspects of the fellowship that
I want to mention as we come to a close this morning. What is this that we enjoy as
the consequence of this great doctrine that salvation is of the Lord.
First of all, we have access to God. We have access to God. To approach unto thee, we read
here at the beginning of verse 4, the blessed man whom thou
choosest and causest to approach unto thee. We come near to God. Verse 2, O thou that hearest
prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. Or we come and we draw
near, we enter into the presence of the high and holy God. There is one God, remember, and
one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. The only mediator, He declares
himself, doesn't he? I am the way, the truth and the
life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by Me. No other way of access or entrance
into God's presence. That's a blessed truth. It is
through Him who is God-man. who can lay his hand upon us
both. Remember Job, his great desire,
or that there were a daysman betwixt us that might lay his
hand upon us both. His longing, his yearning after
him, he saved in Christ, of course, Job is. There was only ever one
way of salvation in Old Testament as well as New Testament. Does
he not go on to say, I know that my Redeemer liveth? and He shall
stand in the latter day upon the earth He knew the Redeemer,
He knew the Daysman, the Mediator and how Christ is that One who
is so suited to stand between heaven and earth why? He is God
and He never was anything less than God even in all His deepest
humiliations here upon the earth He never ceased to be God that's
the wonder of the incarnation that that little babe so dependent
upon his mother like any little babe and yet that little babe
was God's manifest in the flesh his shoulders held up heaven
and earth whilst Mary held up him says Joseph heart in the
him we can't fathom that he was always God and in the fullness
of time he became man and now he is God-man forever and he's
in heaven and there he ever lives to make intercession for all
that come to God all we must come by him we have access through
him Paul says that's a great verse isn't it Ephesians 2.18
through him We both, he's speaking of Jews and Gentiles, through
him we both have access by one Spirit onto the Father. It's a great Trinitarian verse. We have access to the Father,
we have access through him, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mediator,
and we have it by the ministry of God, the Holy Spirit. Oh,
there is the blessing then of access. But more than that, there
is also acceptance or there's the entrance but there's also
the dwelling look at the language again in verse 4 that he may
dwell in thy courts or we come into the very courts
of heaven when we gather together in this fashion to worship God what a blessed privilege is that are we satisfied with it? look at the language again we
shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house even of thy holy
temple is it really to us something of heaven upon earth when we
gather together Lord's day by Lord's day The people of God,
you see, are called to that corporate worship. Forsake not the assembling
of yourselves together as a manner of some use. When we come together, is it
not the foretaste of heaven? That blessed place where congregations
near break up and Sabbaths have no end. One continual Sabbath
day. in the high courts of heaven.
It's acceptance, you see. It's acceptance with God. Again
in another psalm, what does David say? One thing of my desire of
the Lord, that will I seek after, that I might dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. That was David's desire, to dwell
in the house of the Lord forever. He goes on Lord, all my desire
is before Thee and my groanings are not hid from Thee or when
we come before Him and we can pour out our souls and sometimes
we feel that our prayers are a little more than that groanings,
sighs, cries but an anticipation of heaven itself or the blessings you see of fellowship
with God acceptance, the anticipation of heaven. I have not seen nor
heard, neither have I entered into the hearts of men the things
that God has prepared for them that love Him. We can't begin
to conceive what it is. Whom have I in heaven but them?
There's none upon earth that I desire besides thee, says the
psalmist. You know, the Psalms are full
of all this longing this blessed anticipation, this rejoicing
that there is acceptance with God. We are made accepted, you
see, in the Beloved and we want to be there. The end of Psalm
17, As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness, I
shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness, says the Psalmist. There's access, there's acceptance,
and you know, there's also answers. There's answers to all our praying
when we come in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why,
although we concentrated on verses 3 and 4, I wanted to see these
two verses in that context, sandwiched as it were between verses 2 and
5 where we read so much of prayer, O Thou that hearest prayer, unto
Thee shall all flesh come. We can pray and our prayers will
be answered. But what answers? What answers? By terrible things in righteousness
will Thou answer us, O God of our salvation. What are these
terrible things? what are these terrible things?
well amongst them surely is this that the more we know of this
God and the wonders of his grace the more we're aware of our utter
and complete unworthiness the more we realize what sinners
we are iniquities prevail against me says David and we see it time
and again don't we in the experiences of these people recorded throughout
God's words Isaiah's experience he's there, he's in the temple
King Uzziah has died but he now sees a throne that's always occupied,
never empty he sees the throne of God, he has his remarkable
vision and he sees God or at least he He sees the angels,
the Seraphim, the burning ones. These pure creatures all about
the throne of God. And what does he say? Woe is
me for I am undone. I am a man of unclean lips. I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. And mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts. And one of the Seraphim takes
a burning coal from off the brazen altar and puts it to his lips
and cleanses his lips. The application is Of all that
takes place there on the brazen altar, the place where the sacrifice
was made, burnt offerings, trespass offerings, sin offerings, all
typical of Christ's great sacrifice. Oh, it's that that purges the
sin from the lips of the prophet. He's going to be God's spokesman.
Woe is me, I'm undone. That's his cry. We see the same
in Daniel. Remember Daniel chapter 10 and
there at verse 5 following. He sees a remarkable vision.
And what does he say? His comeliness was all turned
to corruption. Oh, he found himself to be such
a vile sinner. This is how God deals with us.
We pray to Him. By terrible sins in righteousness,
He causes us to see something more of what we are as sinners.
It was John's experience. O John, the beloved disciple
of the Lord, when I saw him, the glorified Christ, there in
Revelation chapter 1, he has this vision, when I saw him I
fell at his feet as dead. He laid his right hand upon them,
saying, fear not, I am the first and I am the last, and I am the
last. I am he that liveth and was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore, and have the keys of hell and
of death. Oh, the Lord put his hand upon
him, restores him to his feet. Oh, the wonder, you see, of God's
revelation of himself, and God reveals himself. The God of salvation,
the God of sovereign grace, revealing himself in all his holy attributes mercy and peace coming together,
righteousness truth, kissing one another the harmony of all
those attributes and how it fills us with a sense of wonder in
the presence of this God and yet this is the blessed man O
that that blessing might be ours, that that blessing might belong
to you, that it might belong to me, the blessed man, whom
thou choosest, and cause us to approach unto them, that he may
dwell in thy courts. We shall be satisfied with the
goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. O the Lord be
pleased, friends, to own that word, to apply that word, that
we might know what it is to say with David in the words of the
third verse, iniquities prevail against me. As for our transgressions,
thou shalt purge them away. May the Lord bless his word to
us. Amen.