we turn this morning to the 110th
psalm a psalm of david which is one of the shorter psalms
in terms of its length but in many ways it's one of the greatest
of the psalms because of its message this glorious pronouncement
in the light of God's accomplished work through his son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, in delivering his people from their sins, of the
going forth of the gospel, and of his rule in this world, his
sovereignty. David writes, 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 the dew of thy youth. The
Lord hath 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. Seven verses. full of the richness
and the perfections of Christ and His Gospel, in the midst
of which in verse 3 we read about His people, that this people
who were once so unwilling, a people who like all others were dead
in trespasses and sins, fallen, rebels against God, hating God,
utterly unwilling to come to God, shall be willing in the
day of his power thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning
thou hast the dew of thy youth thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power in the beauties of holiness from the womb of
the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth what makes a people
so utterly unwilling by nature, to be willing. What makes a people
call upon God, cry out unto God for mercy, seek the Lord, turn
to worship Him who they once despised? The Gospel does. The day of His
power does. that day in which the gospel
is preached. A gospel which declares God's
free and sovereign grace in delivering his people from their sins. A
gospel which having been accomplished, having been wrought, having been finished on the cross, commences to be preached with
the utterance from the Father to the Son in verse 1. Sit thou
at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit
thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Now David wrote this psalm. And David, by prophecy, by the
revelation of God, could as it were look down through the ages,
through hundreds of years to the coming of Messiah. To the coming of his Lord, who
was also his son by natural generation. to the coming of Christ who would
in due time be born in the city of David in Bethlehem as promised
of the line of David, David's greatest son. David could look
down through the eons of time to that day when his Lord would
come. His Lord would be born. The seed
of David, the Son of God. As Paul makes clear in the opening
of Romans. The seed of David. To that day
when the Son of God, David's Lord, should be born, should
enter this world, should come to do that of which he promised,
to deliver his people from their sins. and having delivered them
by laying down his own life upon the cross in their place for
their sins putting himself under the judgment and the wrath of
God in the place of his people David could see through that
day and that death a salvation accomplished. At the end of which,
Christ cried out in victory, it is finished. And having taken
away all his people's sin, all the sins of all his elect, Christ
laid down his life and entered the grave. And on the third day,
took his life again. for he said in one place I have
power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again
and taking it up again he rose victorious from the grave and
then he ascended on high to his father and sat down victorious
having delivered all his people and David sees by faith that
day When the Father, when the Lord, when Almighty God says
unto His Son, David's Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I
make thine enemies thy footstool. Well done, my good and faithful
servant. God's greatest servant is his
son, David's Lord, who came into this world to serve. And he came
into this world to serve both his people and his master, his
father. And he served by offering up
his life. He served by being that great
priest, after the order of Melchizedek, who would offer up one offering
for sin, and by so doing save an innumerable company, save
a vast quantity of people taken throughout all time and all generations
and all corners of the earth, sinners whom He washed clean
by His blood. And having completed the work
of their salvation, having suffered in the hours upon the cross,
cut off, despised of all men and as it were forsaken of his own
God because of that which he was made to be. and at which
he bore the sins of his people in his own body on the tree.
He was made sin. God looked upon him as the transgressor,
as the substitute in the place of his people. He looked upon
him as though he were they, as though he'd done what they had
done. And looking upon him in that state, God justly had to
pour out his wrath and anger against him and judge him and
slay him. And in the midst of such anguish,
Christ cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because of their sin. Believer,
because of your sin. My sin. the sins of his people
that's why he was forsaken but that's what he did as the Lord's
servant and that's why when he returned to his father victorious
like a warrior returning from the battlefield having conquered
his foes his father could say unto him sit thou at my right
hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Well done, my
good and faithful servant. Believer, if on that last day
you come before Almighty God, and God looks upon you in grace
and mercy, because you stand before him and say, Lord, I've
done nothing, I can do nothing, I'm a sinner through and through,
but my only plea is the blood of thy son, the Lord Jesus Christ. If he looks upon you in mercy
and says, well done, my good and faithful servant, it's because
of what his son has done in your place. when he says well done
to us he's truly saying well done to his son because we're
saved we're delivered because of this one who has sat down
at his right hand and who rules in sovereign almighty power over
this world, over every country, over every land, over every kindred
and tongue, over all people, over this entire universe. He rules and is ruling today
until his God makes his enemies his footstool. the Father says unto the Son
sit thou at my right hand this one verse in so few words encompasses
so much it shows that unity between the Father and the Son the love
of the Father to the Son the eternal God and the eternal Son
of God who in eternity, before the foundation of this world,
made an eternal decree, an everlasting covenant, that they should deliver
a people. The Lord gave the names of a
vast quantity of people to his Son and said, I have chosen these,
they are yours, they are your bride. and the Son promised to
do all that was necessary to save them. He took their names
upon His breastplate of His heart, upon His own heart, to the cross. When He entered this world, when
He walked through the darkness of this world, when He was rejected
by all, His love burnt with an eternal everlasting love towards
all those whose names were on His heart. though at that time
they hated and despised him and though all other men hated and
despised him and though they called out for him to be crucified
and said away with this man and trod him underfoot and tried
to stone him and ultimately had him put to death though all men
hated him he loved. And to the end and he would suffer
and die that they should be saved and that his enemies and their
enemies should be made his footstool. This verse takes us all the way
from eternity right through past the cross through the cross into
glory. encompassing a finished, a complete
and accomplished salvation and the whole of the psalm is in
the light of that salvation wrought and completed upon the cross. Completed. It respects When God says unto
the Son, sit thou at my right hand, it respects this day, the
day of His power, of which is spoken in verse 3. The day of
His power being that day when having completed the work, having
delivered His people, Having suffered and died upon the cross
he arose and ascended and sat down in glory on high from whence
he preaches his gospel. This day is a gospel day. The Son of God is glorified on
high, the sun as it were is risen into the heights of the heavens
from whence the light and the warmth of the gospel shine forth
into the darkness of this world. It's because of this day in which
the sun is sat at the right hand of God that the gospel goes forth
and sinners hear and sinners are saved. We live in such a
day, what a glorious day to be born. What a glorious day to
wake up in. When you woke this morning, did
you think, was your first thought, this is the day that the Lord
have made? We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Did you think that this is the day of his power? Did you
consider that this is a day in which the Son of God is sat upon
the right hand of God? He's enthroned, He's ruling,
He's ruling over everything that could come in your pathway this
day. There is no ill that can come
your way, nothing that can cross your path which is not foreordained
by God and over which the Son of God is not ruling in almighty
power. Believer does that not make your
heart rejoice that there is one seated in glory today who's watching
over everything, who rules. When in these coming days you
hear of events in the world, whether they be local, national
or international, And the media, as it were, tells you of all
the terrible things which are going on. The spread of disease,
this disease we have in Africa at the moment, Ebola. The wars. The many wars and much violence
we see around the world. The violence we see on our own
streets. when you read of the machinations
of governments and the movements of governments and the rising
of powers and the things spoken when you see the evil and the
promotion of evil which is poured forth and the rejection of God
and the rejection of his gospel and his law and his ways when
you see good being evil spoken of and evil being good spoken
of black being made white and white being made black when you
see the darkness of this world all around you and are caused
in a natural sense to feel frustrated to feel angry to feel fearsome
to feel worried what a day may bring or what the future may
bring never forget never forget that all these things are under
the hand, are under the footstool of the Lord which sits on the
right hand of the Lord in glory. There is not a nation, there
is not a leader who is not under his rule There is not a leader
in this world who has not been put in that place by God and
though that man may think he is mighty and though that man
may think he has reached to a great height he is but a puppet in
God's hands put where God will have him placed to do of God's
bidding. And if these leaders and these
governments and these people and these nations rise up against
God's people in the midst and seek to bring them ill and seek
to put them to death or imprison them or restrict their freedom
to worship, all is because God has said this will come to pass.
Because all things are working together for the good of those
who are called, those who love the Lord, His people. He is ruling. This is a gospel day and he is
ruling over this day, age and generation in such a way that
his gospel shall go forth out of Zion. He is ruling in such
a way that the power of his gospel will be preached throughout this
world, that those for whom Christ died will hear, that all for
whom he died will hear and the church will be built and the
church will be gathered in and then the end will come. All is
proceeding exactly as God in his sovereignty, in his purposes
has planned from the beginning. There is not one event in this
world, one event that you will see in the news or the media
this week which is against God's order. Yes men rage against the
outward order that God demands of men. Yes men rage against
God's holy law. Yes men rage against the righteousness
of God. Yes men resist his rule and will
not worship as they should but all is going forth all is proceeding
according to his eternal decree. He rules. The Lord said unto
my Lord sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies
thy footstool. We're in a day where step by
step, day by day, little by little, the Lord is making his enemies
the footstool of Christ. One by one they're being brought
down, the enemies of Christ and the enemies of his people. to
be laid in the dust as his footstool. And one by one those who were
trodden in the dust under their feet, despised and rejected by
them, whom the Lord has set his love upon, are being lifted up
and raised up and caused to sit with Christ in heavenly places.
And that people who are so hated and despised in this world, as
you are believer, are in fact sat with Christ in Christ on
this throne and in him you in him rule over his enemies. And fear not what you see by
sight for we live not by sight but by faith we look outwardly
and we see the faces of those who hate the gospel But we look
up by faith and see our Lord sat ruling until his enemies
be made his foes. Because as verse 2 tells us,
the Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule
thou in the midst of thine enemies. In this day, the day in which
the Son of God, the Son is in the heavens, from whence his
light shines. He is sending the rod of his
strength out of Zion and he is ruling in the midst of his enemies. Now the rod of his strength which
he sends forth out of Zion is the gospel. in this victorious
position having wrought the gospel having accomplished it and completed
it having suffered and died for his people he's proclaiming the
fact the wondrous fact that he's done all that is necessary to
save he's delivering that message in this world he's preaching
it and as it's preached sinners captive as it were chained in
jail are set free. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion and nothing can stop him. Nothing
can stop him. He is building his church. and the gates of Hades shall
not prevail against it. They cannot. The devil and his
angels himself cannot prevent one of these God's little children
from hearing this gospel and being delivered from the darkness
and the chains in which they were once held. the devil will
do everything he can to stop you from hearing and everything
he can to shut your ears and everything he can to blind your
eyes he'll throw as much dust and muck our way to cause us
to stumble to cause us to to not see to cause us to not hear
he'll provide every distraction possible so that people will
not hear he will As he tempted Christ and as he promised Christ
the whole world, he will come unto these people, these children,
these lost sheep of Israel, sinners like you and I, and he will promise
us everything. If we would but turn from Christ
and the Gospel. If we but continue to shut our
ears to the truth. He'd rather have us rich in this
world. He'd rather give us everything
we ever desired in this world and steal our soul and damn us
in eternity than see us come to here. The love and grace and
mercy of God in the gospel in Jesus Christ. Yet despite all
he does everyone for whom Christ died shall hear and shall believe
because the rod of his strength goes out of Zion and Christ rules
in the midst of his enemies though the devil himself go if about
as a roaring lion though the devil's angels the demons themselves
seek to attack Both Christ and His people, though they will
do everything they can, though we are surrounded by enemies,
nevertheless, Christ rules in the midst of His enemies. Oh,
what does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but
lose his own soul? It profits nothing. Don't listen
to the whispering lies of Satan. But though you will, because
he knows how to deceive and he knows how to lead and he knows
how to charm like the snake charmer charms the snake though he will
and though he will entice you and though you will follow there
will come a day called the day of God's power when God will
stand in your way and though you are racing away from him
and though you are racing to embrace all that the devil has
promised you all the riches of this world and the glory and
the adulation of others though you run to embrace all that the
evil one has promised to give unto you there comes a day when
the Lord God stands in your way as he stood in Saul's way as
Saul rode to Damascus to cause havoc in the churches and to
persecute God's people. Christ stood in his way and said
unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And there comes a day,
sinner, if God purposes it, the day of His power, where no matter
what you do, should He purpose to save you, He will stand in
your way and call you by name and say, why persecutest thou
me? And you who were once so unwilling,
so apathetic, so full of disdain and hatred for Him and His gospel,
will be made willing. Your heart will melt. You will
fall down and your resistance will ebb away, it will be washed
away and you will cry out, Lord what must I do to be saved? Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner. verse 3 tells us, thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the day when this
gospel comes their path, in the day when the Spirit of God says
this is the day when this one will hear. and he preaches Christ
under him and an accomplished salvation under him and the grace
of God under him and all the resistance and all the arguments
of man fall aside all the wisdom of man becomes nothing and that
which is foolishness to us the preaching of the cross is made
unto us to be the power of God unto salvation thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power there is a day of his power
and it's that day when the gospels preach well we live in that day
in terms of the age from Christ having done his work and coming
again on that last day to gather in his people we live in a day
of the gospel But there is an individual day for each of us
when the Gospel comes in power by the Spirit of God for the
first time in a way that we've never heard it. And when it breaks
down all our resistance, O sinner, is that the day for you or are
you still fighting? Are you still resisting? Are
you still shutting your ears? burying your head in your hands
burying your head in the sand saying I will not well if it's
the day of his power your will will be washed away and you will
be made willing people speak of free will of accepting of
Jesus well by nature we have no free will we have a will we
can choose to go this way and that way but every direction
we go is away from God We can take this road or that road,
we make a decision but it's always away from God. We're captive
to a fallen will. We're always utterly unwilling
to serve and love and worship God. But in the day of His power,
we're given a new heart, a new spirit, a new will. We're made
willing. In the beauties of holiness,
From the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Oh what's this womb of the morning, does it not speak of the morning
in which life comes forth as it were, in which the child comes
forth from the womb, in which new life springs forth. Does
it not remind us of that morning of the resurrection when Christ,
as it were, having been laid in the tomb, laid in the womb
of this world, is brought forth with life, everlasting life,
never to be laid in the grave again. And all his people were
brought forth with life in him. We read of that morning historically
in Luke 24 verse 1, Now upon the first day of the week, very
early in the morning, The women came unto the sepulchre, bringing
the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and
they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And
it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold,
two men stood by them in shining garments. And as they were afraid,
and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them,
Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here. He is risen. Remember how he
spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee saying the son of
man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified
and the third day rise again and they remembered his words. Yea he was risen early in the
morning he was risen in the beauties of holiness from the womb of
the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth Christ rose victorious
and he rose as it were as one strong as a young man all full
of vigor and full of life and his people who were slain crucified
judged with him rose with him with that same life and in the
day of God's power when they're brought to hear the gospel there
is another resurrection in which they are resurrected from the
death in their natural state the death, the death, the spiritual
death in which they're born and when they're brought to see and
to hear Christ and they rise with Him willing in the day of
His power knowing by experience the life-giving power of his
resurrection as the spirit causes them to be born again a power
which they have of God who quickens the dead unto life but a power
which they long to experience on a daily basis as they look
unto Christ their Saviour and look by faith to Him seated on
high and look to know the power of His resurrection. As Paul
would say in Philippians 3, he counted all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them
but done that I may win Christ and be found in him, not having
mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of
God by faith, that I may know him. and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable under
his death if by any means i might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power Verse 4, the Lord hath sworn and will not repent, thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. What brought
about the day of this power? What brought about the victory
from whence Christ sat down on the right hand of his father
until his enemies be made his footstool? What brought about
the victory from whence Christ sends forth the rod of his strength
out of Zion and preaches a finished salvation? An accomplished salvation
that preaches the power of the gospel on high, the fact that
he was a priest forever, Not after the order of Levi, but
after the order of Melchizedek. He was an eternal priest. He
had no natural mother or father, no beginning. He was the only
priest who lived forever. He, as it were, came from a place
where no man knew, came into the darkness of this world, offered
a sacrifice, brought forth bread and wine, gave unto His people,
and then led them unto glory. Thou art a priest forever, after
the order of Melchizedek. His is not an offering to be
repeated. His was not an offering like
those of the Levitical priesthood, where the priests themselves
were full of sin. and therefore had to offer for
the people and for themselves Christ was the only one without
sin he knew no sin but at the cross as their substitute he
was made sin he bore sins that he might take it all away but he did not offer for himself
he offered for his people alone and he did not offer many times
because he did not take a natural offering the blood of bulls and
of goats he did not take a worthless picture but he took the reality
he took the Lamb of God himself and laid it down and slew it
and shed its blood and offered up a perfect unblemished sacrifice
under his guard and said here am I take me and the priest after
the order of Melchizedek took the very Lamb of God slew it,
sprinkled its blood, burnt the flesh upon the cross outside
of the camp, and took the offering into the holy place, sprinkling
the blood upon the mercy seat. And his lord said unto David's
lord, as a result, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine
enemies thy footstool. One sacrifice. Effectual. Accomplished. Finished. Never to be repeated. God has
done it all. He's left nothing to chance.
He's left nothing to man. He's left nothing for us to add
or complete. He hasn't said, there's the sacrifice,
now you take this step. You claim it. You be willing. You work, you add to it. He said
it's done. And though you're unwilling to
receive of its blessings, though you reject the blood, though
you trample the blood of the son of God on the foot, I will
by my gospel make you my people to be willing in the day of my
power. Willing. Well there's the wonder
of the gospel, the mercy of God for his people. But in verses
5 and 6 he reminds us that just as those for whom he died will
be saved and will be willing, there are others who will never
be willing. And there is an end in sight
for them too. And this sovereign God who rules
over all, rules over his enemies. these enemies will be made his
footstool. Verse 5, the Lord at thy right
hand, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord at thy right hand, shall
strike through kings in the day of his wrath. Verse 6, he shall
judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead
bodies, he shall wound the heads over many countries. Oh, don't fool about with this
one that sits at the right hand of Almighty God. Don't fool about
with the Son of God. Don't fool about with the rod
of His strength, the Gospel. Don't make light of the Gospel. Don't treat it as a light thing. as something you can just pick
up and read as it were, as something you can choose to take and receive
the blessing of when it suits you. Don't shut your ears to
the gospel when you're young and think, well I'll turn back
to that when I'm old, when it suits me, when I need it. Because
the day may never come and you may find yourself amongst those
who are struck through by this One that sits on the right hand
of Almighty God. He rules, He rules over His enemies. The kings of this world that
think they're so powerful, that wield their power and might over
you and I, are under His rule. And the day is coming, the day
of His wrath, when he shall judge among the heathen. He judges
today. He sends the rumbles of his thunder,
the warning signs. He sends the natural disasters. He sends diseases. He makes it
known in this world that there is a God who can wave his finger
and bring a mighty nation to nothing. who could flood a nation
if he so desired as he flooded the whole world at the time of
Noah who can send fires down from heaven if he so desires
he can cause the volcanoes to erupt and for whole towns and
villages to perish he can cause diseases to break forth which
man has no cure and no answer for and kill tens of thousands
And despite all man's wisdom and all man's knowledge, he is
nothing before this God. The nations are as a drop in
the bucket. They are as nothing, a drop in
the ocean. They're nothing. All the might
and wisdom of man before God is nothing. All your might and
wisdom and knowledge before this God is nothing. And should he
choose to send disease your way, you won't stand. Should he choose
to put disaster in your path, nothing you can do can stand.
But you live in a day where today you have life that He has granted
you, where today you still breathe, where today your heart still
beats, and where the Son of God in heaven still speaks and preaches
His gospel. And you may hear with the natural
ear. But is this the day of His power?
When you should hear inwardly, in the heart, and be made willing. For if you're not, the day will
come when He will judge among the heathen, and He shall fill
the places with the dead bodies, yours included, and He shall
wound the heads over many countries. Even the rulers of the countries,
all the people who reject the Son of God will be destroyed. We shall sit in the heavens and
laugh. Psalm 2 reminds us of the same things, that He rules. Why do the heathen rage and the
people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves
and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord. and against
his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder and
cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heaven
shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in
his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The
Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. Ask of me, and I shall give the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the
earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a
rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces
like a potter's vessel. Be wise now, therefore, O ye
kings. Be instructed, O you judges of
the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and
rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry,
and ye perish from the way. when his wrath is kindled but
a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him,
lest he shall judge among the heathen. But verse seven, he
shall drink of the brook in the way, and therefore shall he lift
up the head. Because though this is a world
of darkness, And though there are many amongst the heathen
who hate and despise and reject, it is still a Gospel day. And
it is a day where there is a water and a river which proceeds from
before the throne. A river of life which pours forth
from on high as the water of life is set forth in the Gospel. And that life is the life which
the Son of God gives to His people to drink. And they, when they
are brought by Him to hear this Gospel, and to be made willing,
and to cry out for mercy, and to know their need of this Saviour,
they too will drink of that water, because they're thirsty. And
when they drink of this water, they shall never thirst again.
Or are you thirsty? Not for natural water, but are
you thirsty for righteousness? Do you hunger and thirst after
righteousness? Do you know that you are full
of sin? Do you know that you are like
the heathen? Do you know that you have been
an enemy of the Son of God? Do you know that you have no
righteousness? Are you hungry and thirsty for righteousness? Well, if you are, if the Spirit
has shown you anything of your need, then come unto this brook,
these rivers that proceed from the throne of the Lamb of God,
and drink. Drink of His righteousness. Drink
of His salvation. Drink of His grace, His love,
His mercy. Drink of the everlasting hope
in the Gospel. Know the pouring forth of that
life, in the beauties of holiness which comes from the womb of
the morning, the resurrection life, the life which can never
be taken away, everlasting eternal life, life without beginning,
life without end, life which is in Christ alone. Oh, drink
of these waters of life, and in Christ may you be made to
live forever. May your head be lifted up. This water which flows down lifts
up the head. As Christ, the head of his church,
is lifted up and glorified, so the heads of his people are lifted
up to look up to a throne upon which the Son of God sits, from
whence he rules, from whence the Gospel pours forth as waters
of life to a needy people, from whence he sits at the right hand
of his Lord, until his enemies are made his footstool. Oh, have
you seen? Have you heard? Do you know the
rod of his strength? Have you, as one of his people,
been made willing in the day of his power? Thy people shall
be willing. in the day of my power. Praise God.