Would you turn to Psalm 108? Now, when we read this psalm, read these first as the words
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I think that that will give
us more understanding of what is being said. And every psalm
is first the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. So Psalm 108. Oh God, my heart is fixed. You know, really only the Lord
can say that. Can you see that? My heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise even
with my glory. Again, who's the only one who
can really say that? I will sing and give praise with
my glory. He essentially has glory. Awake, psaltery and harp, I myself
will awake early. I will praise thee, O Lord, among
the people, and I will sing praises unto thee among the nations,
for thy mercy is great above the heavens, and thy truth reacheth
unto the clouds. Be thou exalted, O God, above
the heavens, and thy glory above all the earth, that thy beloved
may be delivered. Save with thy right hand and
answer me, God hath spoken in his holiness. I will rejoice. I will divide Shechem and meet
out the valley of Sukkoth. Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the strength
of mine head. Judah is my lawgiver. Moab is
my washpot. Over Edom, the descendants of
Esau, will I cast out my shoe? Over Philistia, the Philistines,
Israel's perpetual enemies, will I triumph? Who will bring me
into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? Wilt not thou, O God, who has
cast us off, And wilt not thou, O God, go
forth with our hosts? Give us help from trouble, for
vain, worthless, empty is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly,
for he it is that shall dread down our enemies. break. Lord, how thankful we are. And Lord, we come only in the
name of thy son. Through his name, through his
righteousness, through his merits. Through his intercession, where
he can take our prayer and make it acceptable to you. We come only in his name and
we give thanks for who you are. We thank you for the revelation
of yourself and your gospel. We thank you for your word. We
thank you for all your glorious attributes. We thank you that
you've made a way to be just and justify the ungodly through
the work of thy son on the cross. We thank you for the forgiveness
of sins. We thank you for the riches of your grace. We thank
you for your spirit. Lord, we're thankful by your
grace. Now we pray for your presence. We pray that you would bless
your word that we might be enabled to hear your voice through the
preaching of your gospel. Enable us to worship you in spirit
and truth. And Lord, forgive us of our sins. We ask that we might be renewed
in our ability to look to your son and to follow him, to rest
in him. Lord, we pray that you'd give
us the grace to glorify and honor him in our lives. Be with us
for Christ's sake and be with all your people wherever they
meet together. In Christ's name we pray, amen. Now, one of the many things that
is interesting about this psalm is the first five verses are
quoted in Psalm 57. And the last verses of this psalm
are found in Psalm 60. They're repeated. The Holy Spirit
is not at a loss for words, so it must be important for us to
hear this twice in the Word of God. David says, and like I said,
I believe this is the Lord Jesus Christ speaking in the first
person. Yes, it's David speaking, but the Psalms are always him
speaking first. Oh God, my heart is fixed. Now, one of the reasons that
I believe this is obviously the words of the Lord Jesus Christ
is our hearts are rarely fixed. They're up here, they're down
here, they're over here and back over there. But here, David says,
through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaking of the
Lord Jesus Christ and speaking of David, Because by the grace
of God, my heart's fixed too. I'm gonna look by his grace nowhere
but Christ. I'm going to hear his word only. Now in that sense, my heart's
fixed. But let me give you some of the words used in other translations. My heart is prepared. My heart
is steadfast. My heart is determined. My heart
is confident. My heart is set. I think of Christ setting his
face as a flint to go to Jerusalem, to go to the cross. My heart
is fixed. Truly, Christ's heart is steadfast
and fixed. Oh God, my heart is fixed. And here's what this looks like
with us. If our heart is fixed, we can say with Paul, I determined,
I make this my resolve, I'm fixed about this. I've determined not
to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Paul said this one thing I do.
Not two, this one thing I do, forgetting what's behind. And
reaching forth unto that which is before, I press toward the
mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
My heart's fixed. It's one thing I do. But the
Lord says in verse one, I will sing and give praise even with
my glory. Now who could, properly speaking,
who could say that but Christ himself? He has glory in himself. Glory
is essential to his being. He's the glory of God. He says,
I will give praise with my glory. But you know, we can't do in
this sense. He said, the glory thou has given me, I have given
them. And when I give praise from my
heart, it's with the heart that he has given me. That's the only way I can do
it. Verse two. Awake, psaltery, and harp. I
myself will awake early. Now, psaltery and harp are musical
instruments. He says, awake, psaltery, and
harp. And I myself will awake early.
Now, I know that that is a reference. Let me quote this scripture,
first of all. David said, as for me, I'll behold
thy face in righteousness. I'll be satisfied when I what?
Awake in thy likeness. I have no doubt that the Lord
is speaking of his own resurrection when he awakes. Every believer, their death is
asleep. And on the resurrection, we wake
up to true life. Awake, psaltery, and harp, I
myself will awake early. Then he says in verse three,
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people. And I will sing praises
unto thee among the nations. Now, the distinction, the people
are the people of God. The nations are everybody else. Everybody needs to hear the praises
of God. Everyone needs to hear the gospel. I don't care who they are. And
really it's the same message for all people. Sometimes we
make a distinction when this is for the people of God and
this is for the people who are not the people of God. No, everybody
needs the same thing. Everybody needs to hear the gospel.
You know, the gospel is not so much addressed to believers or
unbelievers. The gospel is addressed to men.
Men. all men. And the Lord gives this
distinction between the people and the nations, but they all
need to hear the same message, the singing of his praises. The
praise of God for who he is, the praise of his attributes,
the praise of his character, the praise of his gospel. This
is the message that must be preached. His Praise. Oh, I want to bring a message
that praises God, don't you? I want to, in my heart, praise
God for who he is. I want to praise the Lord Jesus
Christ. I want to see his glory and his
beauty and set him forth in the preaching of the gospel. Now,
that's the message that's to be preached. The praise of our
God. Here's why, verse four, for thy mercy is great above
the heavens and thy truth reacheth unto the clouds. Now here's what
he's praising him for, his mercy and his truth. The truth is salvation
is by his mercy. That's the truth. Praise God
for his truth. The truth is salvation is not
by works. It's not by anything I do, think
or feel. The truth is that salvation is
by his mercy. Oh, don't you love the mercy
of God? He delights in mercy. He delights in saving sinners. Thank God that mercy is the truth. Don't you love that? Mercy. Mercy is the truth. For thy mercy is great above
the heavens and thy truth reacheth under the clouds. Verse five,
be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens and thy glory above
the earth. Now this is the desire of Christ. with regard to his father. And
this is the desire of every believer. This is in your heart, the heart
God's given you. This is your desire that he's
exalted above the heavens and thy glory above all the earth. Now, don't miss this. What is God's glory? Well, Moses
asked that once. He said, I beseech thee, show
me thy glory. It's found in Exodus chapter
33. I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Can you pray that prayer
right now? Lord, show me your glory. Reveal
yourself to me. Show me what you call glorious
with regard to your person. Show me thy glory. And God said
to Moses, I'll make all my goodness pass before thee. I'll proclaim
my name before thee. And I will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. And I will show compassion to
whom I will show compassion. Now, first of all, God's glory
is his goodness. He's good. all the time under
every circumstance. He is good. And if we don't see the goodness,
we believe it because his character is such that he brings good out
of evil all the time. I don't have to understand. I
believe his goodness. I trust his character. Everything
about God is good because he is good. He's essentially good.
That's not true with regard to me and you, but it is true with
regard to him. He is essentially good. You remember when the rich young
ruler came up to the Lord and said, good master, what can I
do to earn or inherit eternal life? The Lord knew he was coming
to him as a quote, good man. He said, why are you calling
me good? There's none good, but one. That is God. He is good. Aren't you thankful
he's good all the time under every circumstance? He's good. He said, I'll proclaim my name
before you. His name is his attributes, his characteristics, his sovereignty,
his justice, his love, his power, his wisdom. Every attribute of
God, and they're all displayed in the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And his glory is his grace. I'll be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. Now this is important. Moses
said, if you're not going to save this bunch, blot me out
of the book. I think what, what a prayer.
If you're not going to save them, blot me out of the book. But the Lord said to Moses. You're
not gonna tell me who I'm gonna save. You're not gonna tell me
what to do. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. God's grace is always sovereign. I'll be gracious to whom I will
be gracious. And I'll show compassion on whom
I will show compassion. Now this is the desire of the
Lord in every believer. Be thou exalted, O God, above
the heavens and thy glory above all the earth. that thy beloved
may be delivered. Now, who is the beloved? This
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. You know who else
is beloved? Every believer. Think about this. You're beloved of God. How overwhelming. You're one
of his beloved ones. David's name means the beloved.
We know that's talking about David, but that's talking about
every believer. Every believer is one of his
beloved ones, loved of God. I hope we can all sing from our
heart. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean. What love? That thy beloved may
be delivered, save with thy right hand and answer me. His right
hand is his power. And this is the Lord actually
speaking from the cross, save with thy right hand. You know,
he never quit trusting his father, even when he was in utter and
complete darkness. He never quit trusting. Now,
when the Lord hides his face from us, how quick do we quit
trusting? Not him, not him. Somebody had
to believe God perfectly and he did. That thy beloved may be delivered,
save with thy right hand and answer me. Now, God has spoken
in his holiness. Now this is God, the father speaking
in the first person. God has spoken in his holiness,
in his otherness, in his apartness. God is other. He's just not like
me and you. He is altogether other. There's nothing in the creation
that we can say, well, that's like God. God is other. That is why any form of idolatry
is so evil. You're trying to bring God down
to human levels. I'm trying to make God explainable.
I'm trying to give some kind of representation. God's like
this. God's like that. No, he's not. No, he's not. God is God. He said, beside there's
none like me. Don't you love that? And don't
you know that? So there's none like him. He's God. The only
thing to do is bow. God has spoken in his holiness. I will rejoice. I want to say this reverently. God's happy. You know, the word
here means literally jump for joy. God's happy. You know, that makes me happy. God
is happy. The blessed God, the happy God. He says, I will rejoice. Why wouldn't he be happy? He's
God. Why wouldn't he be happy? He's controlling everything.
Why wouldn't he be happy? His will is being done. He's
God. He's God. He's the happy guy. And I want
to say that reverently. God has spoken in his holiness. I will rejoice. And then he speaks
of these names or parts of Israel. I will divide Shechem. and meet
out the valley of Sukkoth." They're mine. Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also
is the strength of mine head. Judah is my lawgiver. He's talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the lawgiver. He's the law
keeper. He's the law honorer. Judah is my lawgiver. Moab, this is not part of Israel
now, is my washpot. Moab was the enemy of Israel,
and God says, I'm just using them as a washpot. Over Edom will I cast out my
shoe. Now that's the contempt. Edom
is the descendants of Esau, God's enemy. Turn with me, hold your
finger there. I want you to look at this with me in Malachi, last
book in the Old Testament. Malachi chapter 1. Now, the casting
off of the shoe here is the act of contempt. Look what God says
with regard to Esau and the Edomites. Verse 2, I have loved you, saith
the Lord. Malachi chapter 1, verse 2. Yet
you say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother,
saith the Lord? Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated
Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the
dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, those are
the descendants of Esau, we are impoverished, but we will return
and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts,
they shall build, but I will throw down, and they shall call
them the border of wickedness, the people against whom the Lord
hath indignation forever. Now, with regard to the Edomites,
and we'll have a tendency to say, well, why didn't he love
them the way he loved Israel? Because he's God, and whatever
he does is right. Can you see that? Can you see? why God would hate you. Be amazed at his love. I love
what one person said. Somebody says, a real problem
with God saying he hated Esau. And somebody else said, well,
I've got a real problem with how he said he loved Jacob. I
hope that's our attitude. His love to his people, his saving,
special love. And then he says, over Philistia,
verse, over Philistia, their enemies will I triumph. And what
I thought about is Goliath. Goliath of Philistine, Goliath
of Gath. When David, the beloved, triumphed
over him, all of Israel triumphed, didn't he? That's the gospel
so clearly. If David would have lost, all of Israel would have
lost. But by this one victory, by this one man over Philistia,
all of Israel won. Over Philistia will I triumph. Now verse 10. Who will bring me into the strong
city? Who will lead me into Eat them. And this is David speaking again. This is the Lord has quit speaking.
And this is David speaking. And this was his recognition
of his need of the Lord. Who's going to bring me into
this city? Who's going to give me this victory? Some have said
he was asking the Lord to defeat a foe that he could not possibly
defeat. Well, that's true with us, isn't
it? We're asking the Lord to defeat a foe for us that we cannot
possibly defeat. Verse 11. Wilt not thou, O God, who has
cast us off? Wilt not thou, O God, go forth
with our hosts? Now, remember, these are the
words of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were the words of David.
David's talking about how he had felt. Have you ever felt
cast off by the Lord? Of course you have. Your sinfulness,
Your sin, your sins has made you feel separated, cast off. I felt that way. You felt that
way. But when the Lord was forsaken,
remember when he said from the cross, my God, my God, why has
thou forsaken me? You know who else was forsaken
at the cross? Me and you. Everybody he represented. When
he was cast off, when he was forsaken, That's the justice
of God. Every believer was forsaken.
You got exactly what you deserved. I got exactly what I deserved
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Lord is saying,
Wilt thou, O God, who has cast us off? Even though he knew he
was cast off, he knew joy comes in the morning. And he says,
Wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our hosts? Verse 12. Give us help. from trouble. Aren't you thankful the Lord
prayed isn't us? Give us help from trouble. And that's what we pray ourselves
to through Christ, isn't it? Give us help from trouble. Man that's born of woman is born
to trouble as the sparks fly upward. Trouble. Trouble in my
heart. Trouble in my home. Trouble in
my job. Trouble in my soul. Trouble in
my understanding. Give us help from trouble for
vain is the help of man. Now that word help is when with
regard to Man is the word generally translated salvation. Vain is
the salvation of man. Don't you know that so? Vain
is the salvation of man. Verse 13, through God we shall
do valiantly. For he it is that shall tread
down our enemies. Now I think of the Lord saying
this again as a we. Through God, we shall do valiantly. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who
is he that can condemn? It's Christ that died. Yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Through God, we'll do valiantly. For it is he that shall tread
down, step on, and put away our enemies. He treaded down my sins
and put them away. If God be for us, who can be
against us? May God give me the grace and
you the grace to repeat that in my heart right now. God for
me through Christ. in Christ, who can be against
me? It's he that shall tread down
our enemies.