Psalm 45. I've entitled this, The Sweet Garment
of Christ. The sweet, fragrant, glorious
garment of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Psalm 45 and
verse 8 will be our text The scripture here says, all thy
garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassa out of the ivory palaces
whereby they have made thee glad. All thy garments. Now, we know this by the context
of this verse. In Scripture, this is speaking
only of the Lord Jesus Christ. All thy garments. We know this
because in the beginning, God says, I'm indicting a good matter. My heart. The heart of God is
indicting a good matter. And what is that matter? He said,
I speak of things which I have made touching. Who? The King. The King. Jesus is
the King. God's King. God's anointed King. And His heart, this whole book,
is the heart of God speaking only of one subject, one theme. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That was Paul's determination
among the Corinthians. They had a lot of problems. But
this was his determination. This was his focus. The heart
of God. Indicting a good matter, Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. This is the sum and substance
and theme of the whole book. Jesus Christ, the King. He is
fairer than the children of men. Grace is poured into His lips.
Therefore God hath blessed Him forever. And listen, He is the
mighty King. Gird on thy sword. gird on thy
sword upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty, with thy glory and thy
majesty, and in thy majesty ride," how? Prosperously. We know this
is Christ because He rode prosperously He came into this world and accomplished
all that the Father gave Him to do. All the salvation of His
people, He rode as a mighty conqueror into this world. And He accomplished
what God sent Him to do. And listen, He pierced our hearts
with His arrows, did He not? Did He not trample us under His
foot so that we should bow before Him? That we should believe. We were proud rebels, arrogant sinners, and the mighty king conquered
us. Oh, I'm so thankful. Oh, if God left to us, to ourselves,
what kind of miserable people would we be? God conquered us. Christ conquered us. And listen,
verse 6, we know this is Christ because He says this, "...thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever. Thy scepter of thy kingdom
is a right scepter. Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest wickedness. Therefore God thy God hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Can you not
see clearly this is Christ? No one else. This could speak
of no one else but Christ. No one. He alone is the victorious
Savior. So then we see the context here,
all thy garments, the garments of Jesus Christ. Now what is a garment? I'm going
to ask some very tough questions. Very difficult questions. What's
a garment? That's just something you put
on to cover yourself. It's something you put on to
cover yourself. And listen, when a person puts
on their clothes, whatever we put on says something about ourself,
doesn't it? It says this is who we are. You see a man, the kids today
walk around with the blue jeans down below their bottom, a guy
with a white t-shirt on and a gold chain about his neck, and what
do you do? You judge, don't you? Immediately
you judge that fella. Something's wrong with that fella.
He's just not right. Something bad about that fella.
You make a judgment, then you see a man in a $3,000 suit and
he's got a nice Rolex on, good looking shoes, riding in a limousine. What do you do? You make a judgment
based on what? You don't know this man, but
you make a judgment based on his apparel, based on what you
see. Now, listen, that may not be
right. We may not be able, that man with the pants, he may actually
be a smart, maybe a believer, I don't know. So, we make judgments
based on garments, don't we? That's the intent of Scripture
here. So that we might know who Christ is, we may judge Him by
the apparel that He has, how the Scriptures describe Him. So when He speaks of garments,
He is talking about His person, His character, His nature, all
His attributes. What does He say? They smell
good. They are good. They are myrrh and casanella,
fragrance, sweet fragrances, all thy character. So in this
text that God sets before us, the King, the Lord Jesus Christ,
we see his dress, his apparel, tells us much about his person
and his work. as the God-man mediator. Now
the first thing I would have you notice about the apparel
of Christ is this. He wears the robe of deity. Deity. This one that I speak
of is none other than God. That's who Christ is. He is God. God. Flip over a few pages to Psalm
93. Psalm 93. Look at verse 1. Psalmist begins with this simple
declaration. This is not a question, this
is a declaration. The Lord reigneth. That's just
an obvious statement, isn't it? Of truth. The Lord reigneth. And listen, He is clothed with
majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength. Well, who gave him that? Wherewith
he hath girded himself. The Lord is the one that reigns.
He had girded himself, clothed himself with majesty and strength. The world was established and
it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of
old. Thou art from everlasting. The Lord Jesus Christ, then,
is clothed with majesty. and the glorious light of His
holiness that no man can approach. Jesus Christ, our God, is from
eternity the very express image of the Father. In the beginning, John said,
was the Word, and the Word was with God. And what? The Word
was God. And listen, without Him was nothing
made that was made. Him was live and live. He is God. And listen, He established
this world. And it can't be moved. You realize
that? Who gonna move this world? That'd
be a foolish thing to do, right? move the world. You can't move
it. It's established. It's put here by God. And you
know why you can't move it? Because His throne is immovable.
You would have to first remove His throne in order to remove
what He has made. He is God. Look at verse 3. The floods have lifted up. The
floods have lifted up, O Lord. The floods have lifted up their
voice. They lift up their waves. Does that bother the Lord? It
bothers you, don't it? That's what the Psalm is. It's
bothering the Psalmist. The floods have lifted up, don't you know?
Lord, don't you know the floods have lifted up? Don't you know
this world is in turmoil, don't you know? Oh yeah, I know. I'm doing it. Whatever's happening,
God's doing it. Christ is doing it. Don't be
dismayed by what you see. Christ is doing it. What does he say about the wrath
of man? The wrath of man shall praise him. And whatever doesn't,
he holds back. So, why are you dismayed by these
floods? The Lord on high is mightier
than the noise of many waters, than the mighty waves of the
sea. Thy testimonies are very sure. Holiness becometh thy house,
O Lord. How long? Forever. Forever. Behold, the floods of sinful
men rage against God. Do you expect anything different?
I'm asking, do you expect anything different from men? We look at
men and how they rage against God and we're surprised. Why? Isn't that what He said? He said
that they would rage against. He said that this world and its
princes have risen up against the Lord and against His anointed.
What did God say? The God of heaven shall laugh.
and have them, what, in derision. What does that mean to us? Nothing.
Let them be. Let them be. Natural man in his might, they
imagine God to be like themselves, don't they? That's not who God
is. God is nothing. Look in the mirror
and you can see what God's not. look in his book and see who
he is. You want to know who God is?
You've got to go to where God said what he is. Behold his garment
of deity. Jesus said, I am. I am. That's what they wanted to kill
him when he said that. They knew exactly what he was
saying. Before Abraham was what? I am. And they took up stones
to kill him because they knew exactly what he was saying. I
am God. I am God. Paul said this about him in Hebrews
1, he said he is the express image. You want to know who God
is? Look at Christ. The only way
you'll ever see the Father is by Christ. That's it. Therefore,
seeing his deity, we know that whatsoever he hath purposed, he'll do it. That's good, isn't
it? Why? He alone hath clothed himself
in might, majesty, and strength. So whatsoever he purposed to
do, that's what he'll do. That's the garment you should
see Christ. That's the light you should see. Every time you
read Jesus of Nazareth, you should read God Almighty. God Almighty. That's who He is. The second
garment that we should behold of Christ is His humanity. His humanity. God in great mercy, God in great
mercy, had from eternity ordained, purposed, and planned the salvation
of all His church. This God that we were speaking
of, Christ, God the Father, in sovereign mercy, chose a people
and gave them to God the Son. The salvation of His elect people. He has done this, He has purposed
this for one reason. The praise of the glory of His
own grace. Now you want to, I want to make
this very clear as I can. all things. Now you just fill
in the blank. Okay, because remember who's
running this show. All things that are done in time and eternity
will redound to the glory of God. This is the purpose of God
in everything. Remember what He said in that
covenant in Ezekiel. He said, I do this not for your
sakes. I do this for my own name's sake. Why are you saved? Because God
wanted to. For His own glory. The only answer
you can give. You can't find any other answer
why God would do anything for us, except send us to hell. Yet God in His own, for His own
glory, said He would. And He does all things after
the counsel of His own sovereign will. He said, I'm God, there's
none else. Declaring the end from the beginning, from ancient
times, the things that were not yet done, saying what? My counsel
shall stand and I will do all my pleasure. And what is the
pleasure of God? What is for the glory of God?
It is this, the complete and perfect salvation of all His
people. That's His will. That's what
He's decreed. Paul gave praise to God. He said,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. according as He had chosen us
in Christ, before the foundation of the world. That, here's the
purpose, that we should be holy and without blame before Him.
What is His motive? In love, having predestinated
us under the adoption of children. How? By Jesus Christ. You see, everything's planned
in this. Everything is purposed. This is how David said that,
Thou hast made a covenant with me, ordered in all things, ordered
in all things, and sure. And what's the motive? Here it
is, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of
the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved. Believer in Christ, behold the
beauty of our God, behold the glory of His great garments and
grace toward us, that our Father put us in Christ, who is Himself
the express image of the Father. And by doing so, He put us in
the most lovable place, Jesus Christ, the Beloved. And He kept us in His eternal
love, and He will, and His will, that His purpose to accomplish
for His glory is one thing, the redemption of His people. The
redemption of His people. Now, how should He redeem His
people? Redemption. All of His people, all of His
people by nature have their own garments. You and I by nature
have a garment that fitly describes us. It is a wretched garment. It is a vile garment. It is a
putrid garment. It is a stained garment of sin. In our garment is no righteousness
at all. In our garment is no goodness
in all. In our garment, there's nothing
but the stench of death. And because of our nature, all
we deserve is hell. Therefore God, having chose His
people to save, to make us holy, He then must redeem us. Justice cannot be overlooked. God cannot have mercy at the
expense of His justice. Now, that's what men want. Men
want God to have mercy at the expense of His justice. No, God
cannot do that. His justice must be satisfied
in order for Him to have mercy. Therefore, He must redeem us
by His Son. by someone whose garments are
not tainted with sin by someone whose garments are not with the
stench of death therefore he sent his son into the world to
become a man for that specific purpose to redeem us by his death And so Jesus Christ clothed Himself
in the garments of our humanity. The Son of God veiled His glory
and became subject unto God that He might give us an acceptable
robe of righteousness. An acceptable robe of righteousness. Therefore, He must have come
as a man, as a representative man. He came in the stead of
all His people. And now then, behold Him coming
down from heaven as a man, walking among us, being subject to the
law of God, obtaining righteousness by His every thought, by His
every deed, by His every action. And yet this was not enough,
was it? It was not enough that the Son of God come and obtain
righteousness by His own merits. It must be also by His death. Why? Because there is no remission
of sin without what? Blood. How many religions are
bloodless? A bloodless religion is a useless
religion. Why? Without the shedding of
blood is no remission of sin. And yet it must be a particular
blood. It can't just be any blood. There's
a lot of bloody religions, aren't there? But all the blood that
they shed cannot redeem. By the blood of bulls and goats,
no sin can be atoned by that. Why? You can't be represented
by a goat. You're not a goat. You're a man. You must be represented by a
man. And so now then, let us see the garments of Christ as
He came to die for our sins. Go to Isaiah chapter 63 and view
His garments here. He comes in the garment of humanity,
robes Himself. Go to Isaiah 63. Look at verse
1. Who is this that cometh from
Edom with, what, dyed garments of bosra? This is glorious in
his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength. I
that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. That's who it
is. He's answering himself. That's who it is, I. Mighty to
speak God, that's who he's speaking of, his deity. He said, wherefore
thou art red in thy apparel, and thy garments like them that
treadeth the wine fat. Why are your garments soaked
in this red dye? What is this? Here it is, I have
trodden the wine press alone, and of the people there was none
with me. For I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them
in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments,
and I will stain all my remnant. For the day of vengeance is in
mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." Oh, you got
that vengeance and redemption. Where do those two meet? The
cross. That's where, when God hath made
His Son to be sin for us, it was then the vengeance of God
fell on His Son, and the blood of His Son sprinkled all His
garments. He did this alone. He tread this
winepress. And then Paul said, "...in whom
we have redemption." In Ephesians 1 he said, "...in whom we have
redemption." Through what? His blood. You see why he must
take the garment of humanity? So that he must have this garment
dyed in his own blood. And he did this so that we should
have a garment. An acceptable garment. Our situation is greatly pictured
by Joshua the High Priest. Remember, Joshua the High Priest
standing before the Lord in that filthy garment. Having nothing to say, Satan
at his right hand ready to accuse him. And before he's able to
make one accusation, what? The angel of the Lord said, shut
up. Silence. You have no right to
speak of him. Is this not one a brand pluck
from the burning? Is this not mine? This is my
son. And then what does he say? Fetch
the garment. Take off that filthy garment
and put on the priestly robes. Put a crown on his head. Have you believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ? You know that wasn't by accident,
don't you? That was on purpose. We stood before God silent, guilty. And God in mercy said, this is
a brand plucked from the Bernie. Take my garment and put it on
him. And so then we sing with Isaiah
in Isaiah 61, I greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be
joyful in my God. Why? For He hath clothed me with
the garments of salvation. Oh, that's Isaiah 61, 10. He said, He hath clothed me with
the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with what?
The robe of righteousness. Believer, should you then not
rejoice to see His garments, His garment of deity, His garment
of humanity. His garment stained with blood. His robe of righteousness that
God has accepted. Why should we adore these things? Because this is all our salvation. His garments are all my garments.
His righteousness is all my righteousness. His blood is all mine. It's all
mine. i better move quickly there's
so much more here the second thing i want to see
is a smell of this garment i'm gonna go through this rather
quickly uh... you just have to write down some
of these scripture verses and look them up at your leisure
he said this all of thy garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia
now these spices were very important in the old dispensation in the
old covenant in Exodus 30, verse 22 through verse 30, we read
of these three spices as the most important ingredients in
the anointing oil of the tabernacle, the furniture, and the high priest. This oil, made up of these three
elements, was used to anoint those three things, the tabernacle,
the furniture, and the high priest. And all of these picture what? What is a tabernacle picture?
A picture of Christ. Remember that old tent? What
did it have on the outside? Badger skins. And on the inside,
it was beautiful with gold thread and purple and all kinds of beautiful... That's a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ. On the outside, He was a man. Nothing to be admired. On the inside was deity. He's
a picture of that tabernacle. And that was the only place where
God would meet with sinners, wasn't it? In the tabernacle. Where's the only place God will
meet with you? In peace. In Jesus Christ. That's the only
place you can worship God and be accepted. Secondly, the furniture,
the instruments of worship. He is the table of showbread.
Why? He's the bread of life. He's the laver by which we are
washed in His blood. He is the golden candlestick.
He is the light of the world. He is the altar of incense. By
Him, our prayers are being... He is our intercessor. He intercedes
for all of His people. He is also the Ark of the Covenant. Remember, inside was that law. It wasn't broken. That law that
was inside was the complete tablet. What does that say? He kept the
law perfectly in every way. The blood was sprinkled. That's
to show that he offered himself to God and his atonement sacrifice
was accepted. He is the brazen altar by which
his blood for the remission of sins was shed. And lastly, he
was the priest. That was the last thing that
was anointed. The high priest. These three spices in that oil
anointed the priest. God has anointed him to be our
high priest. To make the offering unto God for the people of Israel. And
listen, as our high priest, how many offerings did he make? One. One's all he needed. He said, the many high priests
stand at daily ministry and all the time the same sacrifices,
never take away sin. But this man, after he'd offered
one sacrifice for sin, sat down, finished, done, accomplished. Our Lord Jesus Christ. Now let
me ask you, does that not smell sweet? Is that not the sweetest thing
you've ever heard? Christ is all. Christ is all. He's all our worship, all our
praise, all our redemption. And now this oil of mirth, aloe
of castles. This is not common, is it? This
was not a common fragrance. Matter of fact, God forbid that
anybody use this fragrance for personal use. This oil was specifically for
one thing, anointing God's tabernacle, God's furniture, and God's priest. So what is this saying? There's
only one Savior. Now listen, you can put the name
of Jesus on any Savior if you want to. That's what the world
has done. They've stole the Word of God
and took his name and put it on their God. That's all they've
done. Baal is still being worshipped
today, but they just changed his name to Jesus. Well, how
do you know if your Jesus is the right one? By the smell of
his garments. Listen, Jesus Christ being the
only Savior, here's a mark of the true Savior. Was he successful? Any Jesus that was not successful
to save his people is not Jesus. You remember when Noah was saved, he was saved by what? The ark. The storm, he didn't
escape the storm, He survived it by being in the ark. The ark
took the blow of the storm. And so did Christ take the blow
of God's justice for His people. And He was saved by the ark. And after He got out, what did
He do? He made a sacrifice unto God. And listen to what God said
about this sacrifice. He built an altar unto the Lord.
He took every clean beast and every clean fowl and burned offering
on the altar. And listen, the Lord smelled
a sweet savor. And the Lord said in his heart,
I won't do that again. You got it? Christ is the sweet
saver. And listen, if he wasn't victorious,
it's not sweet. If there's any chance that he
would fail, that's not a sweet saver. The sweet saver is this. He was victorious. He was anointed
of God. He accomplished our redemption.
And God has exalted Him and anointed Him with the oil of gladness. Where? Above all His fellows. If He's above us, then where
are we? We're beneath Him. We bow to Him. We bow to Him. So then there's nothing in this
world that can compare to the person of work of Jesus Christ
to all His people. Now let me ask you this before
I close. Do you have His garment? You remember in the wedding feast
at the end, there was a man who had a garment like everybody
else. But his garment was not a wedding garment. It was one
he brought and made himself. And you know what happened to
that man? He was cast out where there is weeping and gnashing
of teeth. The only hope for everyone here is to have that garment
that Jesus Christ hath made himself. And when you have that garment,
you don't want anything else. I don't want anything else. Listen,
I don't want to hear of anything else. That's it. I want to hear of the robe of
His deity. I want to hear the robe of His humanity. I want
to hear the robe stained with His own blood. I want to hear
of that anointing oil upon His robe that God says is a sweet
savor. I want to hear this, because
that robe is my role. That is my hope and my standing
before God. And if it's yours, how sweet
is Christ to you? Is there any reason why
we don't preach anything else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified? And friends, I know I probably
went long, but I didn't even scratch the surface, have I? Oh, He's so great. He's so good, even to a sinner like me. Pray, God will bless you.