One of the scripture that I'll
bring before you this morning is found in the psalm that we
read, Psalm 17 and the last verse of the psalm. It's a verse to
which I'm often drawn. The last part of the, the last
clause of the psalm I think I would like to have on my gravestone. The scripture reads like this.
Psalm 17, verse 15, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake. with thy likeness. As for me,
I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. This psalm, Psalm 17, bears the
title of Psalm of David, and I'll remind you that all the
titles of the psalms are inspired. They are a part of the Word of
God. There's one other psalm which
bears this exact same title, and that is Psalm 86. And we
see from these words, from this title, that David was a man of
prayer. We see that, of course, throughout
the history of David, which we have recorded in the Old Testament,
as well as throughout the Book of Psalms. David was a man of
prayer. And, you know, prayer is the
mark of the true believer. It is after he was converted
that Saul of Tarsus It was said of him, Behold, he prayeth. Behold, he prayeth. Now Saul
of Tarsus was brought up a Pharisee, a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
Ah, but when he was converted it was then that it was said
of him, Behold, he prayeth. Prayer is a mark of true conversion. But it's not just saying one's
prayers, or reciting prayers, or reading prayers from a prayer
book that is the mark of the true believer. At the beginning
of this prayer of David, David says, Hear the right, O Lord,
attend unto my crying, give ear unto my prayer that goeth not
out of feigned lips, Or as the Margin has it, Hear the right,
O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth
without lips of deceit. The Lord Jesus Christ, quoting
the prophet Isaiah, spoke of the Jews, This people draweth
nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me. Those who draw near to God with
their mouth only, honoring Him with their lips while their heart
is far from Him, their prayer does go out of feigned lips.
Their prayer goes with lips of deceit. For there is not that
agreement in the heart which that which is spoken with the
tongue. It was not so with David. Hear
the rites, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer
that goeth not out of feigned lips. David was a true believer
and this is a true believer's prayer and this is true prayer. The Lord's ransomed, redeemed
and regenerated people are often brought to pray. David was brought
to pray and he was brought to pray because of all his enemies
who came against him. There was King Saul, and many
others that we read of in the history of the life of David
in the Old Testament, who came against him and persecuted him. See how he prays in this psalm,
in verses 13 and 14. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him,
cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy
sword. from men which are thy hand,
O LORD, from men of the world which have their portion in this
life. You see how he regards his enemies as instruments in
the hand of his God to chasten him or to prove him. He knows
that everything that happens to him, even all the assaults
of his enemies, comes to him for a purpose. And he knows that
he who sent the sword, that he who applied the chastening hand,
can just as soon remove it. And so the Christian knows many
spiritual enemies which will drive him to his knees in prayer. We are told that we must, through
much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of God. And we know
that these tribulations do not come to us by chance. They are
sent for a purpose. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. All these things are sent to
try us, to prove us, perhaps to chasten us, or to drive us
to our knees in prayer. And Paul tells us the ultimate
end of all our trials. There in Romans chapter eight,
and we know that all things work together for good to them that
love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brethren. There it is. That is the ultimate
end and purpose of all the tribulations which the child of God must pass
through to enter into the kingdom of God. It is that he should
be conformed to the image of his son. The tribulation that God sends
then into the life of a believer is a means in the hand of our
Heavenly Father to chasten and to prove us. It is a means to
bring us to prayer. You know, garlic must be crushed
if the full flavor is to be enjoyed, if the flavor is to be infused
throughout the meal. The olive must be beaten in order
to extract the oil. The alabaster box must be broken
for the odour of the ointment of spikenard to fill the house.
The Lord's people must be brought through trial that the inward
graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit might be exercised. Paul says in Romans 5, And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience. and patience experience and experience
hope and hope maketh not a shame because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us tribulation comes in various
forms both inwardly and outwardly but the effect is always the
same tribulation worketh patience tribulation worketh patience
it works a humble dependence upon God this is what every true
child of God must be brought to so it was with David as we
see in this psalm from verse Five, he says, hold up my goings
in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. You see, his confidence
is in God. God must hold him up. Hold up
my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not. I have
called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God. Incline thine
ear unto me, and hear my speech. Show thy marvellous lovingkindness,
O thou that savest. By thy right hand, them that
put their trust in thee, from those that rise up against them.
Keep me, here it is again, keep me, hold me up, he says, keep
me, 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. Now it seems that the particular
trial which David faced was that he was vilified as an
eviltoer. He was condemned as a rebel and
as a traitor. And so he, like his Lord who
was yet to come, committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.
He appealed to the Most High, the judge of all the earth. His
prayer begins, Hear the right, O Lord, or as the margin has
it, Hear justice, O Lord. and then he prays in verse 2,
let my sentence come forth from thy presence, let thine eyes
behold the things that are equal. He appeals to God as his judge.
He would be vindicated from all the calumnies, slanders and false
accusations which were levelled against him by his enemies. Like
Peter, he had the answer of a good conscience toward God. Like Paul,
a conscience void of offence toward God. and toward men. And so he could pray in verses
3 and 4 of this psalm, Thou hast proved mine heart, Thou hast
visited me in the night, Thou hast tried me and shalt find
nothing. I am purposed that my mouth shall
not transgress. Concerning the works of men,
by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the
destroyer." How are we kept from the paths of the destroyer, from
Satan? By the word of thy lips. Is it not often the case with
many of the Lord's servants and many of the Lord's people that
they are produced as heretics? It was so with the Apostle Paul,
wasn't it? And the early church. We read
in Acts chapter 24 verse 14. But this I confess, this is the
testimony of Paul. But this I confess unto thee,
that after the way which they call heresy, So worship I the
God of my fathers, believing all things which are written
in the law and in the prophets. Well, so it was with Christ. And remember how he said, The
disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.
It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and
the servant as his lord. If they have called the master
of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of
his household? The Lord Jesus Christ was crucified as a heretic, being accused of blasphemy in
declaring himself to be the Messiah, the Son of God. If they have
called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall
they call them of his household? And you know that in our own
country, during the reign of Bloody Mary, almost 300 of the
Lord's people, both men and women, and even infants, were burned
at the stake as heretics. Many others perished in the dungeons.
But you know the persecutions didn't end with the death of
Mary Tudor, no. Many of the Puritan non-conformists
lost their livings and their lives under subsequent monarchs
with the establishment of the Episcopalian, supposedly reformed,
Church of England. With the rise of Arminianism
within the Church of England came the persecution of Calvinism. Under Charles I, the mere mention
of the doctrine of predestination became a punishable offence.
Now I didn't know this until I read Neil's History of Puritans,
very interesting book, I recommend it to you. Yes, to mention the
doctrine of predestination became a punishable offence even though
it was and it still is one of the Church of England's own articles.
But you know, where there is not that open hostility or physical
persecution, there may yet be a verbal or a psychological persecution. At the present time, the Reformed
Establishment, if we can call it that, derides our churches. These are so-called Calvinistic
churches, who would deride our churches, who would deride us
as being hyper-Calvinist and antinomian. along with such heretics,
in inverted commas, as Tobias Crisp, John Gill, John Brine,
William Huntington, William Gadsby, JC Philpot and so on. You know,
you won't find their works in the Tabernacle Bookshop or published
by Evangelical Press or the Banner of Truth. They're on the censored
list. We are condemned by the religious
world and we are condemned by the secular world. We are anti-science
creationists. Yes. Akin to Flat Earthers. We're climate change deniers.
We're anti-choice and anti-women's rights. We're homophobic, transphobic,
islamophobic and any other phobic you can think of. And if we dare
to question the government's current narrative or incessant
propaganda, then we are dangerous, selfish, anti-vax, Covid deniers
and conspiracy theorists. And it's not only from our enemies,
but sometimes from our own friends too, that we receive these verbal
assaults. As Hart says in one of his hymns,
from sinner and from saint he meets with many a blow. What are we to do then, when
we are surrounded by so many who oppose us? Well, we can only
cast ourselves upon God. like David in this psalm. Hear
thy right, hear the right, O Lord. Attend unto my cry, give ear
unto my prayer that goeth not out of faint lips. Let my sentence
come forth from thy presence. Let thine eyes behold the things
that are equal. And we can, like David and like
Paul, hold faith and a good conscience, cleaving only to the Word of
God and dependent only upon the grace of God. That's what a true
Christian does. Concerning the works of men,
by the word of thy lips I have kept thee from the paths of the
destroyer. Hold up my goings in thy paths,
that my footsteps slip not. These things I say by way of
preliminary or introductory remarks. It's the last verse of the psalm
really, verse 15, that I'll consider with you a little this morning.
As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall
be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. Now in these words
we see three things. Firstly, a contrast between the
Christian and the worldly. And secondly, the Christian's
present dissatisfaction And then thirdly, for Christians' future
hope. Firstly then, we see a contrast
between the Christian and the worldling. The words at the beginning
of the verse, as for me, as for me, they indicate that there
is a contrast. A contrast is drawn between the
unbeliever and the believer, between the unregenerate and
the regenerate, between the carnally minded and the spiritually minded.
between those whose hearts are set on things on the earth and
those whose hearts are set on things above they are enclosed in their own
fat with their mouth they speak proudly. They have now encompassed
us in our steps, they have set their eyes bowing down to the
earth, like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it
were a young lion lurking in secret places. Arise, O Lord,
disappoint him, cast him down, deliver my soul from the wicked
which is thy sword, from men which are thy hand, O Lord, from
men of the world which have their portion in this life, and whose
belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure. They are full of children,
and leave the rest of their substance to their bays. As for me, as
for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be
satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. the worldling is satisfied
with the things of this world or at least he looks for satisfaction
in the things of this world and quite often the worldling appears
to prosper in the things which pertain to this world as it is
written in another psalm, Psalm 73 their eyes stand out with
fatness they have more than heart could wish I'm reminded of the
rich man and Lazarus and we read the portion earlier didn't we
in Luke 16 verse 19 There was a certain rich man
which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously
every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. Oh, no man would attend to him.
Only the dogs showed him a little kindness. Oh, who is that rich
man? Well, he is the worldling. He's
satisfied with the things of this present world. He knows
no spiritual hunger or thirst, because he is spiritually dead,
dead in trespasses and sins. He only finds satisfaction in
the things which pertain to this life. If he's not rich in this
world's goods yet, he would love to be. Paul speaks of those that
would be rich, but they that will be rich fall into temptation
and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown
men in destruction and perdition. Lazarus, the beggar, is the true
believer. He's full of sores. He's conscious
of his sins and of his sinfulness. He hungers and he thirsts for
righteousness. Concerning this world's goods,
he is happy with the crumbs which fall from the rich man's table.
He's a beggar, seeking all he needs from God, the God of his
salvation. I like something that D.A. Dowden
said, he was a Church of England man, but he was a good man. And
he said this, you know, my favorite signature is a free grace pensioner. Upon his kindly keeping, his
gracious bounty, his unalterable faithfulness, I, one of the vilest
of sinners and the weakest of saints, rest from day to day,
and with not a rag to cover me, but his righteousness. Nothing
to wash in, but his precious blood. Nought else to feed upon,
but himself, the bread of eternal life. Oh yes, the true spiritual
beggar seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He looks for satisfaction not
in the things of this world but of the next. As for me, I will
behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. And in that parable of the rich
man and Lazarus, the contrast is drawn between the respective
ends of these two men. Verse 22 of Luke 16. And it came
to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried, and in hell he lift up his eyes being in torments. And
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and
said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that
he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue,
for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented. And this seems to be a recurring
theme throughout the scriptures. Earlier on in Luke, the Lord
Jesus again draws that comparison. In Luke chapter six, verse 20,
he says, it says there, he lifted up his eyes on his disciples
and said, blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Now he's speaking here of the
spiritually poor. Blessed be ye poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now,
for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now,
for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall
hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company,
and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the
Son of Man's sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap
for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. for in the
like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. But woe unto
you that are rich. And again, rich in a spiritual
sense. They are self-righteous. They
need not the righteousness of Christ. They need not the fullness
that is in Jesus. They're rich in themselves. But
woe unto you that are rich, for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full, for
ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now,
for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe unto you when men, when all
men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the
false prophets. So we have it here at the end
of this psalm. The contrast is drawn, the comparison
is made between the end of the wicked and the end of the righteous,
men of the world which have their portion in this life and whose
belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure. They are full of children
and leave the rest of their substance to their babes, as for me. I
will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. As there is a difference in the
lives and in the affections of the godly and the ungodly, well
so shall there be a difference in their respective ends. Say ye to the righteous that
it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their
doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him. for
the reward of his hands shall be given him. Now I know I've
quoted it many times, this portion by Thomas Doolittle, he was a
Puritan, I've quoted this so many times in preaching but I
feel I must do so again, it bears repeating. He says, "...all men
in this world, having for their constituent parts a mortal body
and an immortal soul, are passing out of this life into another,
out of this because of the mortality of the body, into another because
of the immortality of the soul." And all, both good and bad, are
daily and hourly traveling to an everlasting and unchangeable
state, whose bodies shall be quickly turned into lifeless
dust, and their souls enter into heaven or hell, to be with God
or devil, in joy or torment, when they come to their journey's
end. And according to the way they now walk in, so will it
be with them forever. Those that walk in the way chalked
out by God at the end of this life shall have the end of their
faith and hope and holiness, the salvation of their souls. But those that walk after the
flesh and the ways of sin shall find hell to be at the end of
their walk. Solemn words, how we need to
examine ourselves. Ponder the path of thy feet and
let all thy ways be established. Are you walking according to
the course of this world, as those who have their portion
in this life? Are you walking after the flesh, minding the
things of the flesh? Are you walking in the paths
of the destroyer? Or are you walking by grace,
in the way chalked out by God? As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Can you say that with David and
with all the saints of God? Well, having considered the contrast
between the Christian and the worldling, let us go on to considering
the second place, the Christian's present dissatisfaction. The words, I shall be satisfied,
indicate a present dissatisfaction. Now, with what, then, is the
true Christian, the true believer, dissatisfied? Well, I'll suggest
two things. Firstly, the Christian is dissatisfied
with the world, being born again of the Spirit of God, being born
from above. He has a hunger and a thirst
for spiritual things, especially for God Himself and for His righteousness. as the heart panteth after the
water-drops, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth
for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God? This is a thirst which the world
cannot satisfy. There is a spiritual need in
the heart of all those who are born from above which the world
cannot satisfy. O every one that thirsteth, come
ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and
eat, yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently
unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight
itself in fatness. In the gospel of the grace of
God there is an invitation to every poor and needy, every hungry
and thirsty soul to come and to draw of the fullness which
is in the Lord Jesus Christ. Incline your ear and come unto
me, here as your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. One who is
truly born from above cannot be satisfied with this present
evil world, especially when one considers the evil which is perpetrated
in the world. The evil which is done in the
world is like just lot, vexed with the filthy conversation
of the wicked. for that righteous man dwelling among them in seeing
and hearing vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their
unlawful deeds. The wickedness of the world and
those who are of the world is a continual source of dissatisfaction
and vexation to true believers. They are those that sigh and
that cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst thereof.
The psalmist says, rivers of waters run down mine eyes because
they keep not thy law. If the sins of the world are
a continual source of dissatisfaction to the Christian in this world,
then how much more the sins of the professing church? So it
was with Ezra Ezra chapter 10 verse 6 we read, Then Ezra rose
up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of
Johanan the son of Eliashib. And when he came thither, he
did eat no bread nor drink water, for he mourned because of the
transgression of them that had been carried away. He's mourning
for the sins of the people of God. them that have been carried
away. This is the true Church. The
captivity. The true Christian mourns on
account of the sins of the professing Church, the sins of those with
whom he is in fellowship. But you know, the second great
thing that is the cause of the Christian's present dissatisfaction
is his own self. And surely this is the greatest
thing which causes the greatest dissatisfaction in the believer's
life and experience in this world. He is dissatisfied with what
he is, for he is a sinner. O wretched man that I am, he
says, who shall deliver me? from the body of this death.
It's the constant complaint of his heart. Oh wretched man that
I am! Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? He's dissatisfied with what he
is. He's a sinner. He's dissatisfied
with what he does. He knows that and he feels that
all his best works, all his best endeavors are so shot through
with sin Everything he does is tainted
with it. Even all that he would do for
the Lord is tainted with sin. He falls short of the glory of
God. And he knows it, he feels it.
I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. Again, his sad complaint. He's dissatisfied with what he
is, he's dissatisfied with what he does, he's dissatisfied with
what he knows. that I may know Him. That I may
know Him is the ongoing desire of a heart regenerated by God
the Holy Ghost. He's not content with knowing
all about Jesus, no! He's not content with a mere
intellectual knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and his work
of redemption. His desire is to know Christ
personally and experimentally, to use that word. His desire
is to know and to feel a vital union with the living Savior. He knows that anything short
of this falls short of real Christian experience. Paul says in Philippians
3, In verse 10, that I may know
him, this is his desire, that I may know him and the power
of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death, if by any means I might attain unto
the resurrection of the dead, not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect, I follow after. if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Oh, he's dissatisfied with the
little knowledge that he has. Oh, that I might know him is
the chief desire of his heart and he's dissatisfied with what
he enjoys. Oh, how often he must pray, restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation. Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation. Why must he pray this prayer? Because his spiritual enjoyments,
his joy and peace in believing are often interrupted by the
temptations and the assaults of the evil one. And there is
the rising up of sin and doubt and fears in his heart. Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation. Well such then is the Christian's
present dissatisfaction. No doubt there are other things
that we could mention which cause the believer to be satisfied
cross providences, divine chastening, ill health, old age, infirmities. But I suggest these two things
as giving the true Christian the greatest dissatisfaction.
The world and his own self. Let us go on thirdly then and
finally to consider the Christian's future hope. The Christian's
future hope. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. And we note that this hope of
the Christian is sure and certain. It's expressed in the words,
I will and I shall. I will and I shall. The Christian's
use of the word hope is entirely different from that of the world's.
The world uses the word hope in the sense of that we hope
for something that might happen, but it's uncertain as to whether
it will happen or not. The Christian's hope is more
akin to expectation. As Paul says, which hope we have
as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which
entereth into that within the veil. We see from the words of
our text these two parts of the Christian's future hope. First,
I will behold thy face in righteousness. I will behold thy face, to behold
the face of God. to behold the face of God is
heaven. It's heaven. As it is written
in the Revelation, and they shall see his face and his name shall
be in their foreheads. The heavenly state. Oh, but how
can poor sinful worms of the earth like us ever behold the
face of God? when we consider that angels
cannot fully bear the sight. The seraphims cover their faces
with two of their wings while they cry, holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory. How
then can we ever behold the face of God if the angels cannot behold
the face of God? Well, David says here, as for
me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. in righteousness. In whose righteousness did David
hope to see God's face? In his own? No. I will make mention
of thy righteousness, even of thine only," he read in Psalm
71. In Psalm 89, blessed is the people
that know the joyful sound. They shall walk, O Lord, in the
light of thy countenance. In thy name shall they rejoice
all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted. In thy
righteousness shall they be exalted. though all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags the Christians only hope is in the righteousness
of Christ and their righteousness is of me saith the Lord because
of the perfect law-keeping of the Lord Jesus Christ in our
nature and because of that blood that he shed which sealed the
covenant and cleanses from sin all the saints of the Most High
every true twice-born believer can say with David as for me
I will behold thy face in righteousness the unbeliever who's trusting
in his own works is like a spider spinning a web out of his own
bowels and the Word of God says of such their webs shall not
become garments neither shall they cover themselves with their
works their works are works of iniquity you remember the parable of the king who made
a marriage for his son there in Matthew 22 verse 11 we read
and the king came in to see the guests and saw there a man which
had not on a wedding garment And he saith unto him, Friend,
how camest thou hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. You see, spider-web religion
will not do. A religion of your own works,
mere chapel attendance will not do. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
my beauty are, my glorious dress, midst flaming worlds in these
arrayed, with joy shall I lift up my head, when from the dust
of earth I rise, to take my mansion in the skies, even then shall
this be all my plea, Jesus has lived and died for me. or as
it is in the words of our text, as for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. Yes, Christ's righteousness imputed
to me, that righteousness which shines brighter than the righteousness
of angels. And the second part to the Christian's
future hope we have in the words, I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. There is to be a future resurrection
from the dead. That's what David is alluding
to here when he says, when I awake, when I awake, there is to be
a general resurrection of the dead. Daniel spoke of it. And many of them that sleep in
the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life and
some to shame and everlasting content. The Lord Jesus Christ
speaks of it. Marvel not at this, for the hour
is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto
the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation. The apostles spoke of it. There
shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the
unjust. Now I'm reminded of something
that the late Mr Matronola once preached in his preaching here
at Salem. He spoke of a Roman who had died or so it was thought
and he was put on a funeral pyre. But it turned out that he hadn't
actually died and he awoke in the midst of the burning of the
funeral pyre only to perish in the flames. And this Mr. Matronola likened to the resurrection
of the unjust. It stuck with me over many, many
years that. It's a very good illustration.
It's not so with the just, of course. Those who are justified
by grace through faith in the Redeemer's perfect finished work.
No, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I
shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. the second
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, the dead will be raised. Now
this is the dread of all the wicked, the hope of all the elect. For our conversation is in heaven
from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body. that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body in thy likeness, that it may be fashioned
like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is
able even to subdue all things unto himself. John says, Beloved,
now are we the sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. This hope is sure and
certain because it is founded and grounded in and upon the
eternal covenant of grace for whom he did foreknow he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. It is sure and
certain because Christ is risen from the dead and become the
first fruits of them that slept. It is sure and certain because
of the sealing of that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest
of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession
unto the praise of His glory. What can we say in conclusion
to all these things? I like what Henry Law says at
the conclusion of his little meditation on this psalm and
on this verse in particular he says gazing on this prospect
we may care little for those short-lived troubles they need
not fear the face of man who soon will see the face of God
they need not fear the face of man who soon will see the face
of God the Lord bless his word to each one of us And may we
each by grace prove to be partakers of this blessed and glorious
hope. As for me, I will behold thy
face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. Amen.