We'll take your Bibles and turn
with me to Psalms 110. Psalm 110. To begin this, we'll read through
this entire Psalm here. Psalm 110. The title of the message
today is The Promise to the King. The Promise to the King. The scripture says, the Lord
said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of thine
enemies. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of
the morning. thou hast to do of thy youth. The Lord has sworn and will not
repent. Thou art a priest forever after
the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall
strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge
among the heathen. He shall fill the places with
the dead bodies. He shall wound the heads over
many countries. He shall drink of the brook in
the way. Therefore shall he lift up the
head." The promise to the king. Now this last month, the Lord
has put me through great and many trials. and difficulties,
as I know he does all of those that he calls to the ministry. And I, like John Newton, cried
at one point in this trial, "'Tis a point I long to know, am I
his or am I not?' And I know this struggle is not
just common with me or John Newton, but it is common all among God's
people. At one time or another, we struggle
with this matter of assurance. We struggle with this matter
of assurance. And we know that it is because
we all have this in common, we all still have that old nature,
that old man of unbelief hanging around our necks. We all have
that in common. We have a new nature, a new nature
that loves Christ, that wants to serve Christ, but the old
man still sometimes comes in and overwhelms us. David said,
when I am overwhelmed." Have you ever been overwhelmed? Have
you ever been overwhelmed with unbelief? I have. But God in grace has given us
the comfort and assurance not in looking to ourselves, but right here. You want any
assurance? You want any comfort? You want
any peace? You will find it only in the
Scriptures that speak only of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is where we will find comfort,
hope, and peace. This is the Word of God. In here we find the promises
of God. The promises of God. Friends,
God has not left this matter of our salvation to our imagination. And praise God, He's not left
it to our feelings. Feelings come and feelings go. Feelings are deceptive. We don't base our salvation on
how we feel. And friends, even the promises
of salvation that are recorded in scripture, let us realize
that they are promises to us, but they are not promises directly
to us. They are always through Christ. He just read this a minute ago.
He made a covenant with Israel directly, didn't He? He said,
that covenant which I made with your fathers, they did what?
They did break it. And if God made a covenant directly
with you through His law, we broke it. And the only peace,
the only comfort, the only assurance of the promises of God to be
ours is to recognize that they are through Christ. They are
to Christ first and then they become ours as we believe in
Christ. Then they become ours. Ephesians 1 verse 3 said, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Where? in
Christ. There's where all the blessings
and all the spiritual blessings reside in Christ. And it is only in Him that we
have these spiritual blessings. And so here in this text we see
a promise, a promise to Christ. I see a promise to Christ. Look
at this. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand
till I make thine enemies thy footstool. A promise to be a
king. He promised Christ that he would
be a king. Now David writing this psalm
is speaking of the promised Messiah who was also his Lord. If you'll
remember, he asked the Pharisees that question, whose son is the
Messiah? And they quickly answered, well,
he's the son of David. They all knew that. They all
understood that he would come from the line of David. Even
Herod and his wicked scribes, they knew that he would come
from David's line and David's city. But what they didn't know
was this. Jesus asked him, so if David
is David's son, then how does David by the Spirit call him
Lord? That's what they missed. They
missed that he would not only be the son of man, they missed
that he would be the son of God as well. The Lord said unto my
Lord. David's son was David's Lord. Jehovah God said to David's son
the Son of God the eternal Son of God I Promise you son You
will be a king a king The Messiah the Christ the Son
of David was promised to be the anointed King and Savior Here
Jehovah extends the promise by announcing Him to be the eternal
King. When was this promise given?
When was this promise given? This promise of God was given
to Christ in eternity. This was the promise of God before
there was ever a sinner. before Satan even fell, before
the world was created, God said unto His Son, Thou shalt be a
king and sit at My right hand. The right hand of power. You see, He was the eternal Son,
wasn't He? He's the eternal Son of God.
Psalm 2 verse 7 says, I will declare the decree the Lord has
said unto me, thou art my son this day. When? When was that
day? When was that day? That was an
eternal day. This day have I begotten thee. Even so, this is an eternal covenant
of God with the Son. Sit at my right hand. And thou
shalt be an eternal king over all men, angels, and creation. And so God the Father promised
him the scepter of rule in his hands. I want you to see this
also in Proverbs chapter 8. Flip over to Proverbs chapter
8 for me. This proverb is wisdom speaking, who we know as Christ,
the wisdom of God. Proverbs chapter 8, look at verse
22. The Lord Jesus Christ here speaking,
He says, the Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way before
His works of old. Now that word possessed, it can
also be translated begotten. When hath the Lord begotten the
Son? When hath He possessed the Son of God, Jesus Christ? He
is the eternal Son of God. He did it before His way, before
His works of old, in eternity. He was the Son of God. And look
at the next verse. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth was. Now if the Son of
God is eternal, how then is He set up? He's set up to be a King. He was set up to be a mediator. He was set up to be the Christ,
the Savior of men before there was ever a man, before there
was ever sin. He was set up from all eternity. He was set up by the eternal
God. My friends, this Jesus whom I
am speaking of today, Not less than God because he is the Son
of God that does not make him less than God Friends he is equal
with the Father and the Spirit He is himself God and has from all eternity ruled
as sovereign king." Well, how then is God going to make him
a king? What does that mean? If Christ
is equal with God, and He was God from the beginning, and without
Him was nothing created, He was the ruler of all things, how
is it then that God would promise to make Him a king? Scriptures tell us he was set
up from everlasting. This is not speaking of his creation
But his eternal office is Savior and Redeemer and the king of
men because he would come and be a man He would come and unite
himself with our nature The Son of God was set up to be the mediator
and to come into the world to be a man. And as a man, He would
obey God in complete, full obedience to His law. He would die on the
cross for the sins of His people. He would be raised again the
third day. And then, when He has accomplished
that work, God fulfilled His He promised and He set Him up
and He put Him on the throne. And right now there is a man
in heaven on a throne. Why? Because of you? No. God promised Him. And God fulfilled
His promise to Christ. And He made Him a King. And friend,
He rules you whether you like it or not. He rules all men without
exception. He is the only potentate, King
of kings and Lord of lords, and He rules all men after the counsel
of His own will. If you're lost today, false religion will ask you what
you'll do with Christ. The better question is, what
will Christ do with you? He's King. Because God promised
to make him king. And friends, God has made him
king. I'll tell you, if he is king, if he is king, does he have a people? What is a king without a people?
Isn't that a mockery? If you set up a man to be a king
and he has no people to rule, isn't that a mockery? It is. What is a ruler without a people
to rule? Men would claim that Jesus is
king, but they claim He has no people to rule. They would say
He rules from all eternity, but they fail to recognize Him to
have a people from all eternity. This would be a mockery to have
an eternal decree of God to be a king, to accomplish redemption
by his death, rise again from the dead, sit on the throne,
and yet still not be sure if he could deliver anyone. That's
a mockery. That's not a king. That kind
of king is not worthy of worship, is he? A king that has no power? A king that has no authority?
But that's not the Jesus I worship. The Jesus I worship, He is King.
And guess what? When He was set up to be King,
God also gave Him a people. God also gave Him a people. And
in our text, we see that God has given Him the scepter and
that He has accomplished salvation for sinners and sat on the throne.
But God has given Him a people. Look in your text, in verse 3,
He says, Thy people. thy people." So when God set
him up to be king, God also said, thy people. He gave him a people. And these people, these people
whom God set Christ to be the king and savior over, they would
be not only a people, but a willing, holy people. Look at that. They shall be willing in the
day of thy power in the beauty of holiness. There are three
things that I want us to see from this concerning these people
that would give us comfort this morning. First of all, they are
a people given. Second of all, they are a people
purchased. And third, they are a people
conquered. given, purchased, and conquered. First of all,
a people given. This is none other than the sovereign
election of God the Father from all eternity. Paul said, we are
bound always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. How? Through the means of the
Spirit, the sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the
truth. These chosen people were given
to the King out of love to be His children. And through Him,
they are to be accepted blameless and holy before God. You don't
have to turn there. I'm sure you all have this memorized.
But if you want to, it's good to read. Ephesians 1, verse 4. According as He hath chosen us,
where? In Him. When? Before the foundation of the
world. Why? That we should be holy and
without blame. In love, having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children. By what? By Jesus Christ to Himself. according to the good pleasure
of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He has made us accepted in the Beloved." Jesus, who was appointed
to be King by the Father, was also given a people to be their
surety and representative. And as their King, He was sent
into this world to save them, to deliver them. Because His people You see, His
people that was given to Him, they weren't altogether holy. His people that was given to
Him, they were not altogether desiring Him when they were born. No. His people are born into
this world full of sin like everyone else. There's no difference.
I like this, the Bible is the great leveler of men. I don't
care how big you think you are or how small you think you are.
We are all born in sin. And I'll tell you where sin is,
righteousness is absent. Where sin is, you can't have
righteousness. You'll either have one or the
other. Can't have both. We're all together born in sin
of the race of Adam and ruined by his rebellion. And even so,
Jesus, anointed to be King, so to bring His people from ruin
to glory, He became their federal head from all eternity. He says
this, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. Why? They're His people. The
Father gave them to Him. Friends, Jesus is God's anointed
King, and as God's King from all eternity has given Him a
people, and Jesus Christ has saved those people from their
sins. He has redeemed them by the blood
of His cross. Isn't that the prophecy? Isn't
that the prophecy? You shall call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. And praise God for this promise. Friends, if God had not given
a people to Christ, there would be no salvation among the sons
of men. If there were no election, friend,
there would be no salvation. None. If God hasn't given us
to Christ before the foundation of the world, there would be
no hope. Praise God, there's hope. There's hope because he's
given a people to Christ to save. Number two, this people is a
purchased people. Not only were they given to Christ
from all eternity, they must be purchased, redeemed people. Christ was given a people, but
He was also given to be their Redeemer. As I told you, we were
not a people born willing or desiring to bow to Him. Matter
of fact, we were born in sin and enemies of Christ. The Scripture
says the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be." In other words, the
carnal mind is not willing to be subject to the law of God
and it cannot be subject to the law of God. It won't and it can't. This is all our condition when
we're born in this world. All men and children of Adam
are born in sins, and we say within our hearts, I will not
have this man to rule over us. That's what we said. I'll tell
you, friends, people don't mind a God of their own imagination
ruling over them. They don't mind a God that they
can conceive of, that they can come about by their own making.
They don't mind that God. They'll bow to that God. They'll
worship that Christ. As long as Christ is subject
to them, they'll bow down to Him. But that's not Christ. That's
not Christ. Friends, we've all sinned and
missed the mark. And I don't care how religious
you've been all your life. And I don't care if you've been
the worst sinner on the face of God's earth. Friends, if you
have sinned one sin, we're all in the same boat, naturally,
without hope to save ourselves. Without hope. Naturally speaking,
we are without hope to save ourselves. It is impossible for men to save
themselves. You know that? Christ said that. I didn't say that. Christ said
that. Remember that rich man, that rich young ruler? He says
hardly. He said it's easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a sinner. He said
a rich man, but you can put anything you want to there. A covetous
man. A self-righteous man. A religious
man. It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than a sinner to enter into the kingdom
of God. And then what did His disciples
say? Who then can be saved? See, they had it right. They
knew. And He confirmed it when He said with men, it is impossible. Want to save yourself? Impossible. Impossible. You don't have anything
God wants. I don't have anything God wants. But friend, God has sent Jesus
Christ who has everything God desires. Matter of fact, in that
Proverbs chapter 8, the Scripture says, I was daily His delight. I was daily His delight. Friends, you remember that man
that was robbed and left for dead? That man where he was laying
on the side of the road and he was dead, dying, and what did
the Pharisee and the Levite do? They passed him by. Why? They couldn't touch him. If they
touched him, they would be defiled. So they had to pass by. My friends,
that's the law. The law cannot save you. You
cannot be saved by your religious deeds. It's impossible. The law
is not going to defile itself to save you. It can't. But along came the good Samaritan.
And because he was the sinless Son of God, he was able to pick
up that sinner and bear it on his shoulders all the way to
the end and bind him up. And he said what he said to me.
He said, whatever it costs, I'll pay for it. And friends, Christ
has paid for it. He already has. How? By His blood. Without the shedding
of blood, there is no remission. As king, he alone had the power
not only to rule in the midst of his enemies, but he also had
a responsibility to redeem his people from among them. And he
redeemed them by dying as their substitute. Friends, Jesus Christ will come
in judgment. He's King. A King must judge. And this text tells us that He
shall judge among the heathen. Who is that? Anyone outside of
Him. Anyone that will not believe in Christ, He will come and He
will judge you based on your sins. But praise God that he was sent
to be a redeemer, a savior for sinners. How does he do it? How in the
world could he save a wretch like us? Look at verse 7. He shall drink of the brook in
the way. This has reference to the Brooke
Kidtron. If you remember David when he
was outcast by Absalom, he walked across this brook, Kittron. Now, when I first read this or
first heard of the brook Kittron, you know Jesus going into the
garden, I think of a pleasant brook that he gets to cross and
he goes in the pretty garden. No! This brook was a drainage
ditch where all the entrails and blood from the sacrifices
would drain down. It was a putrid place. It was a place where they burned
all of the false idols and gods of the Israel nation. They took
them out to this brook, Kitron, and they burned them there. It
was a putrid place. It's not a place you'd expect
a king. There David went. David went across this brook.
And you know who else went with him? His people. I love that. Why? Because this is the same
brook that the Lord Jesus Christ crossed going into the Garden
of Gethsemane. It pictures to us that He drank
the brook of our sins. He said, Father, let this cup
pass from me. What cup was it? It was the brook
in the way. You see, this brook of sin was
in the way. It was in our way. It stood between
us and God. Our sins stood in the way. And Christ had to remove the
way. He had to move the sins. And
He took them on Himself. God the Father imputed our sins
to Christ so much that they became His sins. He said, My sin. I don't understand that. No idea. I know He was still
the Holy Son of God, but yet He was made sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
He took our sin out of the way, and He purchased His people with
His own blood. And number three, these people
are a conquered people. Well, how do I know if I've been
given to Christ? How do I know if I've been purchased
by the blood of Christ? Have you been conquered by Christ? Has this King come and conquered
your soul? See, because everyone he's been
given, everyone that he has purchased, they will come to him. Paul, speaking of the carnal
flesh, he says, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Now, Ryan, you
recognize that. Have you seen that? Have you seen that no man can
come to Christ except the Father which has sent Christ draw him? But God that chose a people in
Christ to give them to Christ and redeem the people, they shall
be willing when in the day of his power. This King who has
given a people, who loves a people, who died for a people, will also
come and conquer His people. You see, Jesus was promised not
to rule in the midst of His friends, but in the midst of His enemies.
And it's from this place that the rod of His strength will
go forth out of Zion. What is that? That's the gospel
message. That's the preaching of the gospel
from His church. It is the rod of His strength.
And the Spirit takes the message and He applies it to the hearts
of men and creates in us a new man. A new man that's willing.
You see, the old man's never willing. The old man is never
willing. Friends, even now, my flesh is
still not willing. Oh, but that inner man, he is
willing. And when Christ came in, he subdued
that old man. He grabbed the old man. And he
conquered the old man. And he put a new nature in. A
nature that loves to follow and serve and worship Christ. Is this your confession? Has Christ conquered your soul?
Has His love overwhelmed you? Has His blood sprinkled on your
heart? Have you come to Christ by faith
in Him alone? Are you still trying to trust
in something else? Are you still holding on to something
else? You know those Jews, they wanted
to hold on to circumcision and Christ, and Paul said, let them
go to hell. Let them go to hell. You hold
on to Christ and your free will, you'll go to hell. You hold on
to Christ and your understanding, you'll go to hell. Friends, we that come to Christ
come with nothing but sin. And we lay ourselves out before
the King. I ain't got nothing God wants.
He has everything I need. I'm going to go to Him. And all
who come to Him, guess what? You've been given to the King. You've been purchased by the
King. You've been conquered by the
King. What else do you need? Is there anything else you desire?
I don't. Christ is all my salvation. And because of Him, I trust in
the promises of God that were delivered to Him for me. And in that is assurance, peace,
and comfort for the souls of men. Do you have that? Believe on Christ. Whosoever
believeth on Christ, as the Scripture has said, shall not be ashamed."
Not ashamed to proclaim the gospel and not ashamed to stand before
God. Why? Because He shall make us holy
in the beauty of holiness. Friends, in my new nature, I
am as holy as God. What else do I need? What else
are you looking for? Don't look inside for this. Don't
look at this. You won't find no peace there.
Promises of God. Darwin told me last night, I
thought it was good, he said, God put His name on this. And if God's promises aren't
true, I tell you, God's got a lot more to lose than you. But God
ain't going to lose nothing. And neither will we if we trust
in Christ. I pray that God blesses to your soul.