Okay, this evening, I want to
take a look at Psalm 76. Verse 10 should be familiar to
you because I quote this verse quite often, and I'm taking the
title for the message from verse 10. And it is a weighty, heavy,
heavy statement. And we know that it's given of
God, it's the truth of God. Whatever God speaks will surely
come to pass. Surely the wrath of man, and
that includes all the wickedness, sinfulness, the guilt and hatred
of men, they work God's eternal purpose. Shall praise thee and
thank God the remainder of wrath. What would it be if God did not
restrain the wickedness of men in this earth? We would all have
each other by the throat. All humanity would have each
other by the throat and by sundown we'd all be dead. The remainder
of wrath, thank God he restrained us. He restrained us even as
believers, we have the restraining grace of God. So I'm entitling
the message from the words found in verse 10, the wrath of man
shall praise the Lord. Now this is, something it was
probably totally foreign to most religious people today. They
would not understand anything about what the Lord is doing
in his eternal purpose, but as his people, as believers, we
do. One old writer said this, preacher of the past, on verse
10. He said, the devil blows the
fire, melts the iron, and then the Lord fashions it for his
own purpose. Let men and devils rage as they
may, they cannot do otherwise than to serve the divine, eternal
purpose of God. That's saying a lot. That's saying
a lot. Over here in Isaiah, don't turn. I quote this also. We've read
this many times. Remember the Lord said, He declares
the end from the beginning. He said, I am God, there is none
else. I am God, there is none like
me. Declaring the end from the beginning the inch from ancient
times of things that are not yet done saying my counsel My
counsel will stand I'll do all my pleasure Calling a ravenous
bird from the east the man that would execute my counsel from
a far country I've spoken it I'll also bring into pass I've
purposed it God said I will I will do it I Now this verse teaches
us that even the most vile, ungodly, and wicked men are under the
complete, absolute, sovereign control of the Lord, and He uses
them and their wickedness and overrules that to his own glory
and purpose. That's the God of Scripture.
That's the God of the Bible. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his own will. We have many good examples in
Scripture. Pharaoh and many others have
been raised up and then destroyed by the power of God. Notice verse
six, I think there's a reference there to Pharaoh and his army. Both the chariot and the horse
are cast into a dead sleep. Surely when Pharaoh started in
after Moses and the children of Israel and the Lord destroyed
them, he says of Pharaoh, I've raised him up FOR MY OWN PURPOSE
THAT I MAY GET ALL THE HONOR AND THE GLORY. THE LORD OF GLORY
IS SO ABSOLUTELY IN CHARGE OF ALL THINGS THAT EVEN THE WICKEDNESS
OF MEN SERVE GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE. THAT'S THE GOD OF SCRIPTURE.
NOW, SOME THINK THAT THIS PSALM WAS GIVEN WHEN THE LORD bared
his mighty sovereign arm and gave Israel a great victory over
the Assyrian armies. Such was the time in the days
of Hezekiah when he was king in Israel and all Jerusalem was
surrounded by that mighty army of Sennacherib. And the Lord
sent one angel And Israel in Jerusalem, they didn't raise
one hand against the armies of the Assyrian. And the Lord sent
one angel one night and wiped out 185,000 Assyrian armies.
And the Lord raised them up to show his power that he might
get all the honor and glory. We can certainly consider this
psalm with delight as we see the Lord Jesus Christ defeating
all our spiritual enemies. The law of God has been honored.
It was contrary and against us. Sin has been put away by the
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He conquered death, hell, and
the grave for us, defeating all of our spiritual enemies and
giving us a complete victory. We didn't do one thing to put
away one sin or one act of righteousness. We could not do anything to accomplish
salvation. The Lord defeated all of our
enemies, giving us a complete victory over sin, death, hell,
and the grave by His bloody sacrifice, by His obedience and righteousness
and faithfulness unto death. Remember in Colossians chapter
2, we read, having spoiled the Lord Jesus, having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them himself. Remember from our study in the
Revelation, I told you one of the key verses is found in chapter
6, verse 2, where it describes the Lord Jesus Christ as a mighty
warrior going forth, conquering, and to conquer, he's never lost
one battle. He defeated all of our enemies,
and we can say with the Apostle Paul, thanks being to God, Thanks
be unto God who has given us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ. That's our hope. Just as King
Hezekiah and all of Israel THEY LOOKED TO THE LORD FOR DELIVERANCE
IN THAT DAY, AND GOD TOOK AWAY EVERY ENEMY, SLAYING EVERY ENEMY,
AND THEY HAD THE VICTORY THROUGH GOD'S MIGHTY ARM. SO, HAVING SAID THAT, LET'S LOOK
AT VERSE 1. IN JUDAH, IN JUDAH, AMONG GOD'S PEOPLE. IT TALKS
ABOUT JUDAH AND ISRAEL. IN JUDAH IS GOD KNOWN. His name
is great. His name is great in Israel. Among the redeemed of the Lord,
our great God and Savior, He is known. He is known among His
people. Remember from the testimony of
the Apostle Paul where he says, I know whom I have believed. Who you believe determines what
you believe. Who you believe and whom you
trust determines what you believe. We believe that He's the Almighty
God, therefore we know that our salvation is of the Lord. In
Judah, God is known. He's no unknown God among His
people. He's made Himself known unto
us, hasn't He? He's made known unto us through
the preaching of the gospel. He's made known unto us by His
mighty acts of grace and mercy. He's made known to His people
by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. He's hid these things
from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Why,
even so, Father, for so it seems good in God's sight. I like what John writes in 1
John 5, 20. We know the Son of God has come
and He's given us an understanding that we may know Him. We may
know Him who is the eternal, true God. This is eternal life
that they might know Thee, the only true God. He's made Himself
known unto us. by the revelation of his word
unto our heart. God is known by the one who sprang
out of him, came out of Judah, for the Lord Jesus Christ is
called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. The glory of God shines
in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Judah, God is known. We don't worship an unknown God,
do we? We worship a true and living
God as he's made known in the scripture. And in Israel, his
name, his name. Well, we could study a lot about
his name, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Sid Canoe, all those different
names. His name, wonderful counselor
of the mighty God, the Prince of Peace, his name is great.
Everything about his name is great. He is great. He's our great God and Savior. I think it was last week in Psalm
95, we studied verse 3 says, for the Lord is a great God and
a great King. above all gods. What can you
say about our God who is made known unto us in his word through
the preaching by the revelation of the Holy Spirit? What's your
conclusion? He's great, is he not? Everything
about him is great. He's our great savior. He is
the great high priest who made atonement for us. He's the great
prophet that has risen up in Israel to tell us the truth and
the way of salvation. He's the great king, king of
kings. He's the great shepherd and the
chief shepherd of the sheep. His works of mercy, which make
him known unto us, are great, are they not? But God who is
rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when
we were dead in sin, he has accomplished for us so great salvation. You
see, everything about our God is grand. It's grand, isn't it? It's wonderful. It's great. It's tremendous. What other word
could you add to that? Or you could add a whole dictionary
full, couldn't you? To describe the majesty and the
glory of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, watch
this in verse two. In Salem, that is in Jerusalem,
also is his tabernacle, his dwelling place, his dwelling place, in
Zion. God is among His people. The Lord God dwells among His
people in the tabernacle in the wilderness and in Solomon's temple
around and about the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies where atonement
was made. There was a visible what they
call the Shekinah glory of God that was visible in the tabernacle
in the wilderness And in the Holy of Holies in the temple,
that was a manifestation of the glory of God dwelling among his
people. Where did we see that in the
gospel? In the Lord Jesus Christ. The word was made flesh and he
tabernacled among us. And that tabernacle in that temple
is all a picture of Christ dwelling among us. as our prophet, priest,
and king. He said, where two or three are
gathered together, there I am in the midst. The Lord dwells
among his people. In Matthew 28, when he was ready
to ascend to the Father, having accomplished our salvation, he
said, you go, and you preach the gospel, and you remember
this. Wherever you go, John, Peter, wherever you go, Andrew,
Wherever you go, Matthew, I am with you always, even, even to
the end of the earth. And that's the Lord's promise
to us. He said, remember, in Hebrews 13, he said, I'll never
leave you. I'll never, no, never will I
forsake you. The Lord dwells among his people. That's a blessing. And he made
the Lord Jesus Christ as he tabernacled among us, as a God-man mediator
made complete atonement for our sin. He is the mercy seat. He is the sacrifice for sin.
He is the blood offering before God. In Salem also is his tabernacle,
his dwelling place. He tabernacled among us. His
dwelling place in Zion. Zion, there's a picture of the
church. He dwells among the candlesticks. You remember from our study in
the Revelation, dwelling, he dwells among his church, among
his people. Look what he says in verse three,
where God dwells, he has victory over the enemy. There break he
the arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword and the battle.
he gets the victory. Sennacherib's army was defeated
with a powerful, unusual miracle when the Lord came outside the
city and destroyed that mighty enemy of God. Even so, the Lord
Jesus Christ, as the captain of our salvation, suffered for
our sins outside the gate of the city at Calvary and conquered
all of our spiritual enemies, made peace with God with his
own blood. All those enemies of Sennacherib's
army, they didn't come in within the city, they were defeated
outside the city. And that's a picture of our Lord
going outside the city, Calvary's tree, and accomplishing our salvation
for us. Now, in the Lord Jesus Christ,
of God before us, who can be against us? Who can be against
us? We read in Isaiah 54, he said,
no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies us.
It is Christ that died, yea, rather is risen again. Now he's
defeated all of our enemies. THOU ART MORE GLORIOUS AND EXCELLENT
THAN THE MOUNTAINS OF PRAISE." GOD GETS TO GLORY ALONE, DOESN'T
HE? THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO IS GOD OVER ALL, IS BLESSED FOREVER,
AND HE IS THE GOD OF GLORY. HE IS THE GOD OF GLORY. Most glorious. Now that word
there, glorious, can be rendered bright. That is splendid and
glorious in all of his divine nature. In God is light and in
Him is no darkness at all. Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, being
the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of
His person, thou art more brilliant, light, He is light, and excellent. He's excellent in His person.
He's excellent in His office. Excellent in his person as the
just God and Savior who had no sin, knew no sin, and did no
sin. He is excellent in all of his
office. There's no mediator like him,
is there? He's never lost a case before
the judge. He is our excellent advocate.
He is our excellent intercessor. He is our great and excellent,
and He's our mighty Redeemer who's redeemed us with His own
blood, able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by Him,
seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us. He's glorious,
light, brilliance, glorious. The glory of God shines in His
face, and He's excellent. There's none like Him, is there?
None like Him. In His human nature, He's exalted
to the Father's right hand, far above all principality, power,
and might, dominion, signified here by the mountains of prey.
He's high above. The highest mountain of the highest
mountain. He's far above that and exalted
to the right hand of God. How high is that? What is the
altitude of that mountain? When I travel out west, I keep
my garment on the elevation thing because I love to see it going
up and down. As you go up the mountain, you
get that elevation, elevation 12, 13, 14,000 feet. I tell you, the Lord Jesus Christ
is highly exalted above any mountain. He's high above everything. Christ is exalted above all. And all men must answer to Him. Now, that being so, seeing He's
at the right hand of God, seeing all judgment's been committed
into His hand, He's glorious, bright, excellent, above all
things. Now, who can stand against him?
Verse five. Who can stand up to him? Who
wants to take on this mighty warrior? Who wants to take on
this one who is called the captain of our salvation? The stout-hearted,
oh, they're spoiled. They have slept their sleep.
none of them, none of the men of might, have even found their
hand. They can't even raise a hand
against God. They cannot lay a hand upon him. He breaks the rebel before him. The stout-hearted are spoiled
and they're slain and none can escape the wrath of God. How
much more is this among also among the elect of God who by
nature are what? Stout-hearted. who by nature
are rebels against God, and how the Lord does break them and
mold them to his image, doesn't he? He conforms us to his image. He's nigh them of a broken heart.
He save us such as be of a contrite spirit. Remember that old country
saying, he's as hard as a hickory nut, no one can crack him. I
say the Lord can, and he does. MY PEOPLE SHALL BE WILLING IN
THE DAY OF HIS POWER. THAT'S RELOOKING AT SAUL OF TARSUS
THAT REBEL AGAINST GOD WHO HATED THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THE
GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. SITTING BACK AND LOOKING AT THAT
MAN WE WOULD SAY Boy, he'll never be a believer. He'll never be
a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ, but oh, how wrong are we? When
he met the Lord Jesus Christ and was knocked off his horse,
and his heart was broken, and he falls down before the Savior,
he said, Lord, what would you have me to do? And now the one
who was breathing out slaughter and threatening against the Lord's
people, the next day, what's he doing? Preaching the one he
persecuted. Preaching the Lord Jesus Christ
as everything in salvation. And God changes his name to the
Apostle Paul. And his testimony is God saved
us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our
works, but according to God's purpose and grace. The Lord God
Almighty takes object, his object of mercy, and he works his power. None can stand in opposition
against him. The gospel is the power of God
in the salvation. When God determined to save a
sinner, He'll save them. He doesn't wait upon the sinner
to give permission. God breaks and God heals according
to His own will. Look at verse 6. No one can fight against God.
They can't even raise a hand against God, verse five. Now
look at verse six. At thy rebuke, O God, O God of
Jacob, the God of Jacob. I've been reading Genesis. recently and looking at the life
of Jacob and it's such an amazing, we see the sovereignty of God's
mercy to Jacob. He said, Jacob have I loved at
thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and the horse are
cast into a dead sleep, that is, destroyed, destroyed before
God. At thy rebuke, just a word from
the Lord, and the enemies fall backward and are slain, as the
Lord says through Moses, stand still and see at the Red Sea,
stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. But I think about
this, at thy rebuke, The chariots and the horse, the war machine,
they're cast into a dead sleep. They're destroyed. I think about
this. When they came to the garden
to arrest the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lord stepped forward
and said, whom do you seek? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
And he said, I am. You remember what happened? They
all fell backward. You see, where the word of the
king is, there is power. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob. The God of Jacob is a God of
mercy. The God of Jacob is a God of power, sovereign mercy. Jacob have I loved, Esau have
I hated. At his rebuke, at his word, the
sovereign God of Jacob defeats all opposition. His rebukes,
he rebukes his children out of love, right? Whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. He rebukes
his enemies out of wrath and holiness. He rebukes his children
out of love. Our God is the God of Jacob.
Remember he said, I am the Lord, I change not, therefore you sons
of Jacob are not consumed because God does not change. He's able to do above all we
ask or think according to the power that worketh in us, able
to save to the uttermost, able to keep us from falling, able
to perform everything he has promised. Our God is able. At thy rebuke, O God, God of
Jacob, the chariot and the horse. That was a war machine in that
day. A chariot pulled by those horses and the swift swordsmen
and the spearmen on those chariots. Boy, that was a mighty war machine. But what is that against God?
Pharaoh and all of his, what'd he have, 600 chariots, something
like that? What's Moses and those children
of Israel against those 600 chariots? Defenseless. But not when God's
on their side. He cast them into the deep sea
and defeated all opposition. Look at verse seven. Thou, even
thou, thou, even thou, are to be feared, worshipped, reverenced. Who may stand in thy sight when
once thou art angry? Who can stand in his sight? I'm
thinking of this Psalm. You can turn with me if you want
to. Psalm five, the foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou
hatest all the workers of iniquity. And then you remember Psalm 24
where it asks that question, who shall ascend to the hill
of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? Well, none, but those who are
in the Lord of hosts. And then turn to Psalm 130. Can
you find Psalm 130? This tells us who shall stand,
who shall stand in his sight. Thou even thou art be feared
who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry. Look what he says here in Psalm
130. Out of the depths have I cried
unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. Let thine
ears be attended to the voice of my supplication. If thou,
Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand but There
is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared or worshiped. The true and living God among
his people, he is reverenced, reverenced among his people.
Turn back to Psalm, you have it there, Psalm 111. The true and living God, he is feared among
his people, Psalm 111. Look at verse 9. He sent redemption
unto his people. He commanded his covenant forever. Holy and reverent is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A good understanding have all
they that do his commandments. That is, believe his gospel.
His praise, his glory endure forever. Someone said the fear
of man is a snare. The fear of God is a great virtue. We do fear the Lord. With a reverential
awe and fear, God is to be feared because God is to be worshiped.
And we worship a true and living God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 8. When thou didst
cause judgment to be heard from heaven, the earth feared and
was still. I think of Psalm 46. WHERE IT
SAYS, THINKING ABOUT THAT WORD STILL, BE STILL AND KNOW THAT
I AM GOD. I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE HEATHEN. I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH. BE STILL. BE STILL AND KNOW THAT
I AM GOD. THOU DIDST CAUSE JUDGEMENT TO
BE HEARD FROM HEAVEN. The earth feared and was still. Now think about this. When our
Lord Jesus Christ took our sin to himself, when he dies as our
surety and substitute, when sin was found upon the Lord Jesus
Christ being put there and laid upon him by the will and purpose
of God, what happened at Calvary? Judgment fell. God punished our
sin in our substitute. And it came from heaven. Thou
didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven. The earth feared
darkness over all the earth. You remember three hours and
was still when God was judging our sin and our substitute. Judgment
came from heaven. Wrath of God on the Lord Jesus
Christ that he was made sin for us. Look at verse nine. When
God arose to judgment, When God arose to judgment, when our sins
were judged in our substitute, the judgment that came from heaven,
what was the fruit of that? To save his people from their
sin. To save all the meek of the earth. Who are these that are meek of
the earth? Those who are humbled by his grace. The elect of God,
that's for whom the Lord Jesus Christ, he came to seek and to
save the lost. Call his name Jesus, he shall
put the sin of his people away. He shall save his people from
their sin. When God arose to judgment, what
happened? Salvation. He came to save his
people. He didn't come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance now. Verse 10, even the wrath of man. We see that at Calvary's tree,
don't we? We see the wrath of man. The
Pharisees, Pilate, the soldiers, beat at him, mocked him, hail
king. We have no king but Caesar. The
Jews set away with him. Surely even the wrath of man
works the purpose of God. You remember what we studied
in Acts chapter four? Remember? The kings of the earth
stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the
Lord and against his Christ for the truth against thy holy child
Jesus whom thou has anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate.
The Gentiles, the Romans, the people of Israel were gathered
together for to do whatsoever God's hand and counsel determined
before to be done. Isn't that amazing? They did
exactly what they wanted to do in their hatred against God and
against the Lord Jesus Christ. But in doing that, God used that
hatred and the wrath of man to accomplish his eternal purpose.
You see how wise our God is? When in their wicked hatred for
the Lord Jesus Christ, they crucified him, but they were unknowingly
fulfilling the divine purpose of God, weren't they? Him being
delivered by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have, by wicked hand, have taken and slain the Lord
of glory, but they only did what God determined before to be done. Even the most furious and The most serious and fanatic
evil is under the sovereign control of our God. That's right. There's nothing outside of the
will of God. Nothing happens outside of the
will of God. Everything happens upon God's
earth by his determinant decree and in time it comes to pass.
Even the most vile and wicked men are under the absolute sovereign
control of God, and He uses their hatred and their wrath against
men and against one another for His own purpose and His own glory. Now, what shall become of the
remainder of wrath? The remainder of wrath, God says
He will restrain it. What shall become of this, the
remainder of wrath, the excess of man's wrath, what does not
serve God's sovereign purpose, shall be suppressed and muzzled
like a dog on a chain or like a lion in a cage." Still under
the sovereign control of God. Thank God for His restraining,
sovereign grace. THE GRACE OF GOD, THE PURPOSE
OF GOD IN ACCOMPLISHING ALL THINGS. THIS IS THE PURPOSE THAT IS PURPOSED
UPON THE WHOLE WORLD. THIS IS THE HAND THAT IS STRETCHED
OUT UPON ALL NATIONS. FOR THE LORD HATH PURPOSED, WHO
SHALL DISANNUL IT? HIS HAND IS STRETCHED OUT. WHO
CAN TURN IT BACK? NO ONE CAN STAY HIS HAND OR SEND
HIM LORD GOD. ALMIGHTY, WHAT DOEST THOU? NOTICE
VERSE 11 AND VERSE 12, VOW AND PAY UNTO THE LORD YOUR GOD. LET
ALL THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT HIM BRING PRESENCE UNTO HIM THAT
OUGHT TO BE WORSHIPED. WE'RE TO WORSHIP. THE ONLY PLACE
THE SINNER WILL ABSOLUTELY WORSHIP IS AT THE THRONE OF THE SOVEREIGN
ALMIGHTY GOD. VOW AND PAY. Our faithful God
deserves a faithful people that will honor Him and worship Him
with thanksgiving and praise both now and forever. The writer of the Hebrew letter
says, By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually that is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks,
giving thanks to His name. Bow and pay. Worthy is the lamb
that was slain to receive all honor, glory, blessing, power,
both now and forever. Let all that be round about him
bring an offering of praise. We see that all the way through
the psalm, don't we? Bless the Lord, O my soul. ALL
THAT IS WITHIN ME, BLESS HIS HOLY NAME. VERSE 12, HE SHALL
CUT OFF THE SPIRIT OF PRINCES, BECAUSE HE'S THE LORD OF LORDS.
HE SHALL CUT OFF ALL OPPOSITION. HE IS TREMENDOUS, TERRIBLE TO
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH. TURN BACK TO PSALM 2, AND I'LL
LET YOU GO WITH THIS. YOU REMEMBER PSALM 2 TALKS ABOUT
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH? Psalm 2 verse 10, Psalm 2 verse
10. Be wise now. Well, let's back up. Let's begin
at verse 6. Psalm 2, verse 6. Yet have I
set my king upon my holy hill, Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord has said to me, thou
art my son. This day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I'll give the heathen for thy 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 you
kings. Be instructed, you judges of
the earth, serve the Lord. Pay that vow. Serve the Lord
with fear. Worship. Rejoice with trembling. Now kiss the son. Kiss him, bow
to him, honor him, love him, lest he be angry. and you perish
from the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed
are all they that put their trust in him. What a blessing faith
is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, to bow before him, to own him,
to believe him, to love him in your heart as all and in all
in our salvation.