All right, if you take your Bibles
now and turn with me to Psalm 45. Psalm 45. Last week I was not with you.
I was in Newcastle, and I did intend to preach this message
to you last week, but preached it in Newcastle. And as I preached
it there, I was blessed by this message again, and I pray that
God would bless it to you even tonight. and they were blessed. It is a message in the continuation
of looking at Christ, our King. Christ, our King. And I've entitled
this message, The Sure Throne of Christ. The Sure Throne of
Christ. Our text will be found in verse
6 and 7. The Scripture says, Thy throne
O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is
a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore thy God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Five points in this message,
five things that I want us to see tonight. And it's my heart's
desire that God would really give us eyes of faith so that
we might look into the heavens tonight, according to this word,
according to the word of God, and see the throne of Christ. that we might see the surety
of that throne, that we might see that that throne is established
forever. There is no moving the throne
of Christ. It is established. Thy throne,
O God, is forever. By faith, I desire that we should
not only see the throne, but we should see the person seated
there. I want to see Him. I want to,
sirs, we would see Jesus. Is there anything else you really
want to see tonight? Is there anything else you want
to hear about tonight? I want to see him. Because in
him is all my hope. In him is all my salvation. I want to see him. I want to
see his person. I want to see his strength. I
want to see his deity. I want to see his humanity. I
want to see him. I want to see His character.
I want to see His power. I want to see His love. And I
hope that God, by grace, will show us these things and through
these five points. Now, first of all, I want us
to see the throne of Christ, the surety of this throne. Second,
we are going to look at the person of Christ. In our text, we're
going to see both His deity and His humanity and why they are
both necessary. Thirdly, I want us to see the
character of the king, the character of the king. He said, Thou lovest
righteousness and hatest wickedness. Fourthly, I want us to see the
joy of the king. He is anointed with the oil of
gladness. I want to see his joy. What does
Christ joy in? And lastly, I want to see the
scepter. Thy scepter is a ripe scepter. So let's look at these in order
now. The sure throne of Christ. Verse 6, it says, Thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. Now, this text here,
after Christ, was appointed king. You remember this text is written
by God. This is God speaking here. And
God said, My heart is indicting a good matter concerning what?
My king. My king. Christ was an anointed
king after God had chosen and appointed Christ to be king. He came into the world. The prophecy
here says, gird on thy sword, O most mighty, and ride prosperously. And when Christ came into the
world, what did He do? He gird on that sword. He rode
prosperously. He accomplished the salvation
of His people by His obedience and by His death. And after He
accomplished our salvation, He died and was buried in a tomb. For three days he lay in that
tomb, and on the third day God raised him from the dead. After
he died, he was buried. And after he was buried, he rose
again from the dead, proving God's acceptance of his perfect
work. And after that, what did God
do? God raised him up and sat him
down on the right hand of the majesty on high. Because God
delighted in that offering. God was so pleased with His offering. Christ's merit was so meritorious,
He earned the throne of God. He merited that throne. He earned
it. It was His by right. And God
set Him on the throne and established His kingdom forever. Scripture
says in Philippians, says, Wherefore, because of His victory, wherefore
God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name that is
above every name. Don't you know that the name
of Jesus is above every name? God exalted him to be above every
name, and that at his name every knee shall bow, and every tongue
shall confess that Jesus Christ is what? Lord. Jesus Christ is Lord. You know
that? People run around saying, Make
Jesus your Lord. No, He is your Lord. God made
Him Lord before you did. God made Him both Lord and Christ,
and every knee shall bow. God set Christ on that throne
that is above every throne, above every creature, above all power
and authority. Christ rules sovereignly above
all principalities and powers. Jesus is right now at His rightful
throne, and He sits in all the glory of God. He is right now. accomplishing
everything He has purposed to do. He's moving all things after
the counsel of His own will. What is that will? If Christ
is ruling all things, how is this necessary and comforting
to us? Because all He is doing is for
the salvation of His people. Can you understand that every
chastisement, every providence that has ever happened to you
ordained to keep you, to sustain you? And had we not had these
trials and providences, surely we would have been left. We would
have left, we would have gone astray, we would have been apostates. Yet God moves all things in keeping
His people, in saving His people. So that not one of His people
should perish. This is God's will. God is willing that not any should
perish, but all should come to repentance. We who believe on
Christ have this testimony in our hearts by the Spirit. He
testifies in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He
is King. Does the Spirit of God testify
of that to you in your heart, that Christ is King? that He
is Lord? Do you know that He is right
now seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High, ever
living to make intercession for us? Have you bowed to Christ? Have you bowed to Christ? I'll tell you this, not all have
bowed. Not all have bowed the knee to Christ. Not all have
come to Christ for all their salvation. Some will not bow. They desire to share, rather
to share in the glory of Christ. To bow to Christ as King is to
see Him as all your salvation. To see that His righteousness
is all your righteousness. That His blood is all your offering
to God. Some will not bow. simply because
they desire to share in His glory. They desire to share in the glory
of His salvation. And these that will not bow down
before His throne, who will not submit to His righteousness,
but go about to establish their own righteousness, they have
not bowed If you go to Romans 10, you see what Paul was talking
about with his brethren. Look at this in Romans 10 and
verse 2. Romans 10 and verse 2. Paul said, I bear them record.
I bear them record. They have a zeal of God. But what's wrong with their zeal
of God? They have a passion for God. You can say that about most religious
people, don't you? They have a passion for God.
I'll tell you this, sometimes the zeal of the false church embarrasses
those of us who are truly His. Their zeal way surpasses ours. But what's wrong with their zeal
is this. They have no light. They have no understanding. It's
blind zeal. Paul says this, but not according
to knowledge, not according to knowledge. The evidence of their
ignorance and darkness, it says for this is the evidence that
they are blind, that they are ignorant. What do they do? Being
ignorant of the righteousness of God. Thinking that the righteousness
of God is obtainable by obedience to the law. That's ignorance.
That's ignorance of the righteousness of God. What do they do with
this ignorance? They go about to establish their
own righteousness, and have not submitted themselves. You see, they have not bowed
themselves. They have not bowed themselves
under the righteousness of God. Who is the righteousness of God?
It is Jesus Christ. They have not submitted themselves
to Him. You who believe on Christ is
all your righteousness. That is submission to Christ. That is bowing to Him. We've submitted to His righteousness. And this is our joy. Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness. Aren't you glad for that? The
end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. I'll
tell you this, not all men have bowed now. Many will not bow
to Him as Lord, and Savior, they desire to share in His glory.
They have not submitted to the righteousness of God. They've
gone about to establish their own righteousness. But one day
they will. You see, God has exalted Him,
and every knee shall bow. And in that day it will be too
late. They will bow, but it will be
to no avail. They will constantly be made
to bow in hell, but that shall not avail them any comfort. But you that have bowed the knee
to Christ, you that believe on Him, this throne of Christ is
not one to be feared, but one to be loved and believed. trusted. It is a throne of hope. It's a throne of hope. To those
who will not bow, it is going to be a throne of judgment. But
for us who have bowed, it is a throne of hope. John said this
in Revelation. He said, Seal not up the prophecy
of this book, for the time is at hand. Listen, there's hope
for sinners right now. You understand? There's hope
now. The door is open now. Today is the day of salvation.
What is it to be saved? It is simply this. It is to submit
to the righteousness of God that is in Jesus Christ. It is to
believe on Him. It is to forsake your own righteousness
and flee to Christ. Flee to this throne of grace. I'm so thankful that the door
is not closed. I'm so thankful there are yet.
You know, you know how I know the door is still open. Christ
hadn't come back. When he comes back, the door
is closed. When the bridegroom comes, there will be no hope.
But now there is hope for sinners. There is hope. The door is open and Christ sends
His messengers to testify of Him that liveth and was dead.
And behold, what? He is alive forevermore. He is alive forevermore. And
He alone has the keys of death and hell. Behold, believers,
our Savior has subdued both the power of death and hell. When I'm talking about the throne
of Christ, I'm talking about a victorious King, one who has
conquered our enemies. And we who believe on Him, we
take great comfort that our Redeemer liveth and that God has sent
Him above all things, over all flesh, so that nothing will ever
be able to remove us from Him. Nothing. Why? Because His throne
is established forever. His throne is established forever. Therefore, you listen, your salvation
is established forever. Forever. You know, a kingdom
is only as good as the king. Isn't that right? A kingdom is
only as sure as the king who sits in authority. If you have
a weak king, surely your nation's in trouble. We've always had weak kings.
No nation has ever endured the test of time. But this kingdom,
listen to my text, thy throne, O God, is forever. Forever and ever. Therefore, consider this. Go
to Romans chapter 3. Consider these questions. As
we consider Christ's surety of Christ's throne, as we consider
the surety of His salvation, Paul asks a couple of questions
here in Romans. Romans chapter 8. Look at verse
33. Look at this first question. He says, Who shall lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Who will make even an accusation? It's God that justified them. If God justified me, if God declares
you innocent, now listen, if God declares you innocent, what
does it matter if anyone makes any accusations against you? And I'm talking about men and
self, Satan and conscience. If God justified you, what does
it matter what accusations are made? Who is he that condemneth? That's greater than an accusation,
isn't it? It's one thing to be accused of a crime, it's another
thing to be condemned of one. We who are sinners, we must confess
this, that we have sinned. That we are guilty. That we deserve
the condemnation of God. How is it that we can say, Who
is he that condemneth? Listen. It's Christ that died. Christ suffered and paid the
condemnation. Yea, rather, what? He is risen
again and even at the right hand of God. Do you see how He shows
us how the throne is our assurance of no condemnation? that God
has accepted that offering once and for all and sat Him on the
throne, He ever lives to make intercession for us. So then,
the question comes, who shall separate us from His love? Seeing
the throne is established, who's going to take you from Him? If God's satisfied, what else do you need? His throne
is established forever. Nothing shall remove us from
His throne. Our salvation is sure. Our hope of heaven and peace
with God, our forgiveness of sins is secure because Christ
died. Christ rose again. Christ is
seated at the right hand of God, ever living to make intercession.
And because nothing can remove his throne, nothing can remove
you from him. Nothing. Paul said, I'm persuaded
that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor power, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, listen, nor any other creature. Just go ahead and name
it. If I've missed one, name another
creature. Nothing shall be able to separate
you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. And where
is Christ Jesus? He is on His throne, and it is
established forever. Your salvation is established
forever. That's what this text is telling
you. Thy throne, O God, is forever. It's sure. Now then, let's see
the person seated on this throne. Look at the throne. Look at this
here. This reveals to us in verses six and seven of our text concerning
both the deity and the humanity of him who secured our salvation. Look at this. Read verse six
with me again. Thy throne. Oh, what a wonderful
throne it is. Is it not wonderful? Is that
not a wonderful, so thankful his throne is established? But
whose throne is it? Thy throne, who? O God, is forever
and ever. Who's writing this? Whose heart is indicting a good
matter and who is he indicting it about? You know that this
is the words of God the Father. God the Father is speaking concerning
what? His King, His Son. And what does
God the Father testify of? His heart is the pen of the ready
writer? And this is a more sure word
of prophecy than if God spoke it Himself. If you heard a voice
right now from heaven, this is more sure than the voice you
heard. Why? Because the voice you heard might
be some psychotic episode, right? You might take medication if
you start hearing voices. But I don't have to hear a voice.
This is the Word of God. And the more sure Word of God
is this, Thy throne, O God. Believer in Christ, this truth
of Christ's deity is the root and anchor of our faith and salvation. It is our assurance and the greatest
hope of our souls that this Christ, this Jesus, is God, very God. That He is one with the Father
and the Spirit, equal in will, in power, in purpose, in wisdom. That He, Jesus, the One whom
we believe in, that He was from all eternity God, very God. Isn't that what John tells us
in John 1? In the beginning was The Word. Now, when He says the Word, we
don't need to be confused. John tells us in verse 14 of
that same text, the Word was made flesh. We know He's speaking
of the Son. He said, in the beginning was
the Word, the Son. And the Word was with God. You get that? He was with God,
distinct. And yet the Word, listen, was
God. The same was in the beginning
with God. The same. And all things were
made by Him, and not without Him. Him was not anything made
that was made. John says, There are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit. And
these three are what? One. One God. Yet three distinct
persons. And this person we are talking
of seated on the throne of God is Christ. He is the Creator
and Sustainer of all things. As a matter of fact, Colossians
1 and verse 16, it tells us that all things were created by Him
and for Him. And He is before all things and
by Him all things consist. You know, as I was doing this,
reading this, I was thinking about the furniture. What holds
that together? If I were to knock on this, why
don't I go through it? Why do we walk on this ground
and we don't sink below it? Why is that? Don't you realize
that you're made up of water, mostly water? Why don't you just
puddle up? Because Christ holds all things
together. All matter is being held together
by His omnipotent power. Isn't that astounding? The planets move in their orbit
simply by His will. He holds all things consist by
Him. This is the one I'm speaking
of. He is God. Jesus himself testifies of this
in John chapter 8. John chapter 8, you remember,
he told those Jews, verily, verily, truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was what? I am. They knew exactly what
he meant because they took up stones to kill him. because of
what he said. I am. It's the same thing that
he said to Moses in the burning bush. He said, I am that I am. You tell them, I am hath set
thee. Christ is the great I am. And this is necessary, friends,
for our salvation. It's necessary for us to know
that he is God manifest in the flesh. No man can be saved apart
from knowing the deity of Christ. Do you understand that? Anyone
who does not confess that Jesus Christ is God is not saved. I
don't care what they say. You know why? Because Christ
Himself said it. In the same chapter, in John
chapter 8 and verse 24, He said this, If you believe not that
I am, you shall die in your sins. You got that? Anybody miss that?
In that verse there, it says, Believe I am He. The word He
is in italics. It's not there in the original.
Throw it out. He that believeth not that I
am, he shall die in his sins. It is necessary for us to see
that He is God. And this is the testimony of
God Himself in our text. Look at your text. This is God
speaking. He said to Christ, Thy throne,
O God. Now, how do I know that God is
the one speaking? Well, if you were to go to Hebrews
chapter 1 and verse 8, Paul clarifies this. He said that God said unto
the Son, and he quotes this text, Thy throne, O God, is forever. He's speaking to the Son. This
is God speaking. David said, the Lord said unto
what? My Lord, sit thou at my right
hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Thomas confessed
Jesus Christ is both his Lord and his God. Is this not what
you confess? You who believe on him as you
see him seated on the throne, do you not see him as God? You
do. You believe him. We confess him
to be God. Therefore, we have great hope.
Great confidence. Because only God, our Savior,
could execute salvation perfectly. Who else but God could do something
perfect? God, only God, could have accomplished
our salvation. If Christ had failed, what would
that prove? It would prove He's just like
us. He's not God. But because he is, he cannot
fail. He cannot fail. Because he's God, we know that
he did not fail and he cannot fail because God says this, my
counsel shall stand and I will do what? All my pleasure. This is comforting because what
is the pleasure of Christ? It is to save His people. That
is His pleasure. And because He is God, guess
what? He will do His pleasure. Now, second of all, we see in
our text that He is not only God, He is man. Look at verse
7 of our text. Go back to your text, look at
verse 7. It says, Of Him that sits on the throne, thou lovest
righteousness and hatest wickedness. Therefore, God, thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
This also is a root and ground of our faith and hope that Jesus
Christ is not only truly God, but He is truly man. This was necessary for our salvation,
to know that God was manifest in the flesh, that He should
be our fellow. He said he has anointed him with
the oil of gladness above thy what? Fellows. Is there any fellow
like him? Is there any companion like him?
God anointed him above his fellows. But consider this. He is our
fellow. That he should be made one of
us. For what purpose? Why should God condescend to
be made a man? For one reason, that He should
represent us before God. That He should represent us before
God. He became man. In 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16,
Timothy says this is an undebatable thing. This is without argument. If you want to argue about this,
Paul says, I'm not even going to waste my time with you. He
said, without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery of how God
can be just and justify the ungodly. Isn't that a mystery? That is
an enigma that man could never solve in all the millennia of
history and all that is yet to come. He could think and reason
and never come up with a solution. It is a mystery. It's a great
mystery. Mystery of godliness. How could God save you? How could God make guilty sinners
innocent? It's a mystery. But then he explains
the mystery. God was manifest in the flesh
without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. I remember telling you this story
about the Baptist preacher who had a brother who was a Unitarian,
didn't believe in Christ's deity, or Christ's humanity, rather. And he said his Unitarian was
sick, and his brother, he asked him to preach. He said, just
don't preach anything controversial. And he quoted this. Without controversy. This is
undebatable. God was manifest in the flesh. He did this so as to represent
us. Remember how sin came into the
world. How sin came into the world?
It came by a man, did it not? Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered in the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men, for all have sinned. Death came by sin, and sin came
by our father Adam, as a representative of all his race. Scripture says,
by him many were made sinners. It was by man that spiritual
death and depravity came. It was by one man's sin spiritual
darkness made our understanding void. It was by one man's sin
that we all were filled with sin. Therefore, no man of his line
can by nature recover ourselves from the guilt of sin. There
is nothing you can do to recover yourself from this sin. Nothing. No man by nature could by his
obedience obtain the righteousness of God. In fact, Paul says in
Romans 8 that the carnal mind, the natural mind, is enmity against
God. It's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. So then, what's the conclusion?
They that are in the flesh cannot please God. I don't care what
you do. Yet men by nature think that
the law is a means by which he can obtain righteousness. They
still do. It's amazing to me. I told you
this story many times about that sign I read almost every night
I had to go to work. I'd go through and there's big
billboard signs. The Ten Commandments, God's road
to happiness. It's amazing to me that they
still believe that they can obtain righteousness by obedience to
the law. They think that because they think the law is physical.
That if I can just stop my mouth from lying, if I can stop my
body from committing adultery, if I can stop my hands from murdering
somebody, I'm obeying the law. Jesus revealed this, that the
law is not just physical, it's spiritual. It's spiritual. Natural man thinks the law is
something that if he just does his best at it. If I just do
my best, then God will accept my best. He doesn't understand
the righteousness of God. Scripture says, Curses everyone
that continueth not on all things written in the book of the law
to do them. Man by nature sees the law still as a means of salvation. Law of God is perfect and holy,
but it was never intended to save anyone. Paul says by the
law is the knowledge of what? Not salvation, sin. Sin. The law cannot save you. Those
things contained in the law do point you to Christ, because
no one else could obey those things except Christ. The law only shows us how God
would redeem sin, by blood. But never by the blood of bulls
and goats. It pointed to Jesus Christ, who is to both honor the law
by his obedience and satisfy the justice of the law by his
death. Therefore by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. The only hope then for sinful
men is what? Another man. Sin came by man,
and because of that, there was no hope of our ever obtaining
the righteousness of God by obedience. Therefore, what did we need?
We needed another man to obtain righteousness for us. A man to
represent us before God, and it was man that brought sin.
Therefore, it must be by one man righteousness should come. Paul said that by one man many
were made sinners, even so by the obedience of one shall many
be made, what? Righteous. Righteous. And that man is who? Who is that
man? It is Jesus Christ. He is the
second Adam that come to make an atonement for his people,
and the only atonement price was what? Blood. That's what
the law testified of, that without the shedding of blood is no remission. Now are you beginning to see
why he must become a man? He must become a man to obtain
righteousness by obedience. And he must become a man because
only by blood can atonement be made. You see, man was guilty, and
he must die. But what value is the death of
a sinful man? It is of no value. It never will
satisfy the justice of God. That's why hell is forever. Therefore, man cannot not sin. Is that right? Man cannot do
anything but sin, but God, He can't sin. Yet man must die,
but God cannot die. So what's the answer? We needed
God to obtain righteousness, but we needed man to represent
us and die in our stead. Therefore it behooved Christ
to take upon Him our nature, so as to accomplish both righteousness
and make an atonement. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 14,
For as much as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
He also Himself, God, very God, Himself, took part in the same. For what purpose? What reason?
That through death He might destroy him that hath the power of death
That is the devil. Jesus Christ, the God, Jesus
Christ, our God, condescended so low as to take upon us, take
upon himself our nature so that he might be a mediator. You know, when Job was in his
pain, he cried out, Oh, that there was a days man. What that
word means, umpire. It means somebody who could touch
God and Him. Somebody who could intercede
between Him and God. What was He crying for? He was
pleading for Christ. He was desiring that Christ should
come and intercede between Him and God. And that's what Christ
did. Being found in fashion as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death the cross. Therefore in our text it says
that God was his God. Why? So that he might be our
brother. I think of Ruth. You remember
Boaz was the near kinsman. He was the near kinsman redeemer.
The law required that a kinsman, and only a near kinsman, could
redeem them from poverty. What a picture of Christ. He
is our near kinsman redeemer. Therefore, glory to God for Christ,
the only God-man mediator. We may be comforted because of His immutable throne,
but we are also comforted in His person, that He is both God
and man. Thirdly, I want to see Christ's
love, Christ's character. Look back in your text, look
at the character now of Him that sits on the throne. He said,
Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness. As the God-man mediator and representative
of the elect Jesus, did only that which was righteous. Imagine Him as He came into the
world. He was not the seed of Adam,
He was the seed of the woman as His body was made by the Holy
Spirit. He was the sinless man. You remember in His childhood,
even in His childhood He was righteous. When we only have
one glimpse into his childhood, you know that was at 12 years
old, he was where? He was in there teaching the
doctors of his day. Isn't that just how you would
perceive him to be? He's God, man! Where else would
God be but instructing his people? And he was in there instructing
those teachers of the law at 12 years old. You know what happened? His parents came in there and
scolded him. You got that? They scolded God
manifest in the flesh. Where have you been? Don't you
know we were worried about you? You imagine the frustration it
was to be his parents. He was always right. You were
always wrong. He was righteous. And yet what
did he do? He loved righteousness, therefore
he submitted himself even to those sinful paths. Because he
loved righteousness. He loved obedience to God. He loved it. In his ministry
and his death were all in righteousness. Which of you convinces me of
sin? The prince of this world hath found nothing in me. He loved righteousness. That's
good. You know why? Because by that
He merited my righteousness. So when I see Him in heaven,
I see that He loved righteousness. And because of that, I am made
the righteousness of God in you. But you know what else? He hated
sin. He hated sin. Yet in order to
love righteousness, he must be made the thing he hated. Can you imagine the grief and sorrow
of the man who loved righteousness that night as he was about to
bear our sins in his own body? He said, Father, if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, I love righteousness.
Thy will be done. And what? He was made sin for
us. Made sin for us so that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. Therefore now He
is exalted, His throne is secure, He is the God-man mediator, His
character is that He loved righteousness, obtained righteousness, and by
His death He obtained our redemption. But get this, because He loves
righteousness and hates wickedness, guess what? That means that His
covenant, His oath that He made, He cannot break. He loves righteousness. How then could He love righteousness
and ever cast us off? Scripture says God, willing more
abundantly to show the heirs of promise, said by the mutability
of His counsel, made an oath that by two immutable things,
in which it is impossible for God to lie, that we might have
a strong consolation. When you see Him seated on that
throne, you can have a strong consolation in this. He will
never abandon His oath. Why? He loves righteousness.
He hates wickedness. I'm so grateful for that. I'm
so thankful. Now, fourthly, I want to move
this real quickly, the joy of the King. Thou hast anointed
him with the oil of gladness above his fellows. I want you to know this, that
Christ is always happy. Now, in the sense we think of
happy, But in a much deeper sense, he is always content. He is always rejoicing in the
presence of his father. Isn't that good? You know, when
these kings were unhappy, nobody wanted to... Because they'd just
kill you. If they had a bad day, they'd just say, I'm having a
bad day. Kill him. Why do you think they
always tried to make the king happy? I mean, nobody had a frown
on their face when they came into the presence of a king. But you know what? We don't have
to worry about that. Christ is anointed with the oil of gladness,
joy. And what is His joy? His joy
is to save his people. You know, he said in Proverbs
chapter 8, he says, I was always the delight of the Father, but
my joy was among the children of men. His joy is you. Isn't it wonderful when Jesus
said, The angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner that repented,
rather than 99 that need no repentance. There's joy in heaven! Why? Because the King is always
joyful. He's always joyful. He is always
pleased. And it is His pleasure, it is
His joy that none of His people should perish. He said, 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. Why? I and My Father are
one. You know what we just went through? He's God. He's man, He represented
us, His throne is sure, and His joy is to save His people. And the last thing is His scepter.
He said, Thy scepter, verse 6, Thy scepter of Thy kingdom is
a right scepter. Jesus, who is both God and man
seated in heaven, is rightly seated on His throne. It is His
scepter by right. When I think of this scepter,
I think of that text in Esther. You remember Esther, she had
a dilemma. Haman was going to kill all the
Jews. He had the seal of the king,
he was ready to do it. But she knew this, she could
not approach unto the king except he yield what? His scepter. And she was afraid. Yet she came because she had
need. And what did the king do? Because
of his love for Esther, he immediately yielded his scepter to her. Know
this. Believer in Christ, your king
loves you. His throne is a right throne.
There's no one to usurp this throne, and he will always yield
a scepter of mercy to his people. Always. How many times you go to God
and you don't feel like you're accepted? What does that matter? His scepter
is a right scepter. His scepter is a scepter of mercy.
Therefore, we should rejoice in the surety of Christ's throne.
It's established forever. Why? Because He is God and man. He represented us and He accomplished
our salvation. His characters, He loved righteousness,
He obtained righteousness. He hated sin, He bore our sin. Redeemed us by His blood. And His joy is to save you. Therefore,
it is His joy always to receive you. I pray that God will give you
a heart of joy when you think of
His throne. when you think of the surety
of it. Because your salvation is tied to that throne. And that
throne ain't going anywhere. Neither is your salvation. It's
sure. I pray God will bless this. Gracious
Father, I pray you would bless the message to the hearts of
your people. Forgive us our sins. Go with us now as we leave this
place. I pray that you would give us comfort and peace. that
you would give us eyes of faith that we should see Christ, Him
seated upon the throne of His glory, that our salvation is
accomplished in Him. I pray that you would give us
hearts of love and affection as we think of these things toward
Thee and toward Christ our Savior. We pray this in His name. Amen.