Psalm 45, I want to try to look
at verse 1, down to verse 8. I'm entitling the message, Christ
Our King. It mentions that in verse 1.
I speak of things which I have made concerning or proclaiming
the King. WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE KING,
DAVID SAYS, EVEN THOUGH GOD HAS MADE ME THE KING IN ISRAEL, DAVID'S
NOT WRITING ABOUT DAVID. DAVID'S WRITING ABOUT DAVID'S
KING, WHO IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. CHRIST INDEED
IS OUR KING. THIS IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS PSALM. It's the subject of all of the
Psalms. You remember Psalm 2, God said,
I've set my king upon my holy hill, Zion. And it is the message
of the entire Bible, the Lordship of Christ, the kingship of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is our God. He is our
King, our Lord, and our Redeemer. He's every man's. EVERY MAN LORD,
WHETHER THEY RECOGNIZE IT, BOW TO IT OR NOT, HE'S STILL KING
OF ALL THE EARTH. IF YOU LOOK JUST ONE PAGE OVER,
PSALM 47, VERSE 7, I BELIEVE IT IS, WHERE GOD IS THE KING
OF ALL THE EARTH. NOW, SAYING HE PRAISES WITH UNDERSTANDING,
GOD REIGNETH OVER THE HEATHEN. GOD SITTETH UPON THE THRONE OF
HIS HOLINESS. HE'S ENTHRONED, RULING, AND REIGNING
OVER ALL MEN, OVER ALL AFFAIRS, IN ALL THE EARTH. YOU REMEMBER
THE REVELATION CALLS HIM KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WITH without
any doubt, is God our King, God our Savior. Verses six and seven
in Psalm 45 are quoted in Hebrews 1, verse eight and nine, and
applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not our King by any kind
of democratic process. WE DON'T CAST A VOTE TO MAKE
HIM KING. SOME PEOPLE SAY WE'LL MAKE JESUS
YOUR LORD. YOU CANNOT DO THAT. GOD HAD MADE
HIM LORD BY THE ETERNAL UNCHANGING DECREE OF GOD. HE'S NOT KING
BY ANY KIND OF DEMOCRATIC PROCESS. SOME PEOPLE SAY GOD VOTED FOR
HIM, THE DEVIL VOTED AGAINST HIM, AND YOU CAST A DECIDING
VOTE WHETHER HE'S KING OR LORD. THAT'S NOT SO. He's king by God's
decree. Remember from Acts chapter two,
he said, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God
had made that same Jesus, the one you crucified, God had made
him both Lord and Christ. He's the anointed Messiah. And this one who is the unchanging
God, our savior, is the same yesterday, today, FOREVER. NOW NOTICE IN THE TITLE OF THIS
PSALM 45, IT'S CALLED A SONG OF LOVES, PLURAL. HIS LOVE FOR
US AND OUR LOVE FOR HIM. AND THE ONLY REASON THAT WE LOVE
HIM IS BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. WE DON'T LOVE HIM LIKE WE
WANT TO OR LIKE WE SHOULD, LIKE WE WILL ONE DAY, BUT WE CAN SAY
WITH YOU KNOW ALL THINGS, YOU KNOW THAT WE LOVE YOU. NOW THERE
ARE MANY ENEMIES OF THE GOSPEL THAT WOULD ACCUSE US OF NOT PREACHING
GOD'S LOVE. A MAN SAID TO ME ONE DAY, CRITICIZING
MY MINISTRY HERE, HE SAID, THERE'S NO LOVE IN THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE. THERE'S NO LOVE. IN THE DOCTRINES
OF GRACE. WELL, THE MAN WAS DREADFULLY
MISTAKEN BECAUSE THE GOSPEL OF GOD'S GRACE REVEALS THE TRUE
LOVE OF GOD, DOESN'T IT? WE ARE CHOSEN HOW? WE'RE CHOSEN
IN WHAT? LOVE. GOD'S ELECTING LOVE. WE ARE BOUND TO GIVE THANKS TO
GOD FOR YOU, BRETHREN, BELOVED OF THE LORD, BECAUSE GOD HAS,
FROM THE BEGINNING, CHOSEN YOU UNTO SALVATION. TALK ABOUT PARTICULAR
REDEMPTION. DO YOU SEE THE LOVE OF GOD IN
HIS SACRIFICE FOR US? WHEN JOHN TALKS ABOUT LOVE, HE
SAID, HERE IT IS, HERE IN HIS LOVE, NOT THAT WE LOVE GOD, BUT
HE LOVED US, AND HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR IT. NOW, DON'T TELL
ME THAT THERE'S NOT LOVE REVEALED IN WHAT WE CALL THE DOCTRINES
OF GRACE, BECAUSE IT'S ALL THROUGH IT, THROUGH AND THROUGH. WE ARE
AFFECTIONATELY CALLED IN LOVE. HE'S LOVED US WITH AN EVERLASTING
LOVE, THEREFORE WITH LOVING-KINDNESS HE DRAWS US. NOW YOU SEE HOW
THIS MAN MADE SUCH AN IGNORANT STATEMENT? THERE'S NO LOVE IN
THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE? WELL, HE'S ABSOLUTELY MISSED
THE GOSPEL. AND THEN WE'RE SAVED AND REGENERATED
BY AND IN HIS LOVE. BECAUSE OF THAT LOVE. ROMANS,
YOU REMEMBER CHAPTER 5? GOD COMMENDETH HIS WHAT? LOVE TOWARD US WHEN WE WERE DEAD
IN SIN. SO WE SEE THE LOVE OF GOD REVEALED
ALL THROUGH THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. IT'S ONLY
IN THE TRUE GOSPEL OF GOD THAT THE REAL MANIFESTATION OF GOD'S
LOVE IS KNOWN. NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM
THE LOVE OF GOD, WHICH IS IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, TO SAY
OR TO MAKE THIS STATEMENT, WELL, GOD LOVES EVERYBODY WITHOUT EXCEPTION
ALL THE TIME, AND GOD IS TRYING TO SAVE EVERYBODY, YET SOME WIND
UP IN HELL ANYWAY. THAT'S NO LOVE AT ALL, IS IT?
GOD LOVES EVERYBODY? GOD LOVES A MAN, AND YET HE PERISHES
IN HELL ANYWAY? WHAT KIND OF LOVE IS THAT? THAT'S
NO LOVE AT ALL, IS IT? And really to say that God loves
everybody and Christ died for everybody, that's the message
of another gospel. That's the message of a false
Christ, another spirit, and another gospel. It's not the gospel of
God. The gospel of God declares the absolute sovereignty of God
in salvation. Jacob have I, what? Loved. Esau, I just loved him less. I still love him, but I love
him less. That's not what it says. Esau have I hated. Now, religious people can kick
at that all they want to, but it doesn't change the fact that
it's so. THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL SAYS ALL THAT ARE ELECTED IN
LOVE AND ALL THAT CHRIST DIED FOR OUT OF LOVE AND ALL THAT
ARE CALLED IN LOVE SHALL BE ETERNALLY SAVED IN CHRIST WITH AN EVERLASTING
SALVATION. NOW THAT GIVES THIS SINNER HOPE.
That gives this sinner hope. He saved his people with an everlasting
love. He said, my sheep, I give them
eternal life and they can never, never perish. Now, with that
introduction, no wonder David says, my heart is bubbling up. LOVE OF GOD, THE TRUE LOVE OF
GOD, THE ETERNAL, SOVEREIGN LOVE OF GOD, OF WHICH NOTHING CAN
SEPARATE US FROM THIS LOVE OF GOD, MY HEART IS BUBBLING OVER
WITH THIS MATTER OF GOD'S LOVE. YOU MEAN GOD LOVES ME, SINFUL
AND WICKED AS I AM, BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY FOR HIS
GREAT LOVE, WHEREWITH HE LOVED US, EVEN THOUGH and we were dead
in sin, as quickened us together with Christ Jesus. God's people,
when they understand this true love of God revealed in the Word
of God, what is that to us? Well, it's a matter that causes
our heart to bubble over with rejoicing in the Lord. And again,
I say rejoice. THE BELIEVER'S HEART IS BOILING
OVER WITH THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL OF THE KING, THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST. THERE IS GRACE TO THE GUILTY.
THERE IS MERCY TO THE MISERABLE. THERE IS REDEMPTION FOR THOSE
WHO ARE RUINED IN SIN. NOW, THE GOSPEL IS NOT ABOUT
WHAT WE MUST DO FOR GOD. MATTER OF FACT, THE GOSPEL OF
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS NOT ABOUT YOU. me is it it's the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ it's all about him it's not about
us the gospel is not about what we must do for him the good news
of the gospel is what Christ came to do for us what he came
to do for us, which we could not do for ourselves. He came
to seek and to save the lost. No lost man is going to save
himself. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
call the sinners to repentance and righteousness in Christ.
This is a faithful saying, worthy of all the acceptation that the
Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. Well, I can identify
with that, can't you? Centered by birth, centered by
nature, centered by practice and choice. Therefore, we are
determined to declare and to preach the gospel of Christ and
Him crucified as the wisdom of God, as the power of God to accomplish
the salvation of His people. While the religious Jew, that's
a stumbling block too. And to the religious self-righteous
man, it's still a stumbling block. And to the Greeks, the intellectual,
the gospel is just pure foolishness. But to them which are called,
Christ, the power of God, Christ, the wisdom of God. That's why
Paul said, I'm determined not to know anything among you, but
Jesus Christ and him crucified. Therefore, my heart is bubbling
up with good news. I speak of things that I know
about concerning the king. Therefore, my tongue is a pen
of a ready writer or a ready scribe. Remember in the book
of Ezra, what the word of God called Ezra, the scribe of God,
word of God that he was a ready scribe. If you look down in the
reference there, I believe there's a reference there given on the
word ready writer. You see that reference Ezra 7.6,
you see that? Ezra was a ready scribe to write
about, not Ezra, not about Jerusalem. Although he mentioned those things,
he wrote about Christ. To him, give all the prophets
witness. We are ready, willing, made to
be able ministers of the gospel by his purpose, power, and pleasure. I love what Paul said one time
in Romans chapter one. He said, for as much as I am,
I'm ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. I was preaching in a Bible conference
somewhere, and the man that got up before me, who sang a special,
who knew that I was gonna preach right behind his special. When
he got done singing, he looked down at me, he said, well, Brother
Tom, he said, are you ready? Well, I got in the pulpit and
I said, as much as in me is, I'm ready to preach the gospel
to you who are at Rome. Now, that's what we're ready,
we're ready to preach Christ. THAT'S OUR MESSAGE. WE HAVE NO
OTHER MESSAGE BUT JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. NOW, WHAT
DO WE SAY ABOUT HIM? THE WRITER GOES ON, VERSE 2.
WE WRITE ABOUT AND WE PREACH ABOUT AND OUR TONGUE IS IN LINE
WITH OUR HEART MADE NEW IN THE GOSPEL, BEING MADE A NEW CREATURE. WHAT WE WRITE ABOUT, WHAT DO
WE TALK ABOUT? CONCERNING THE KING, THOU ART
FAIRER. superior than any other man. The best of men, collectively,
individually, nations of men, Christ is better, better. He's the God-man mediator. Therefore,
grace is poured into his lips. Pastor Henry Mahan has preached,
oh, I don't know, a dozen sermons on this verse too. Grace is poured
into his lips. You can go on Sermon Audio and
find those sermons on Psalm 45. Grace is poured into his lips. You see, he's full of grace and
truth, remember? Therefore, God hath blessed thee
forever. He is the only blessed God. What
do we say about the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, Christ is favor. He's fairer than 10,000 men. Christ is better, greater, superior
than any other, for there is none like Him. He says in Isaiah,
I am God. He says this many times. I am
God, beside me there is no other. There is no other beside me.
Christ is better. You remember from our study in
the book of Hebrews, the key word, We read it in Hebrews chapter
one, Christ is better than the angels. But you remember how
many times in the book of Hebrews, it talks about Christ being better,
superior, greater to, greater than the priest? He's a surety
of a better covenant. He's a mediator of a better covenant. He has a better sacrifice. He's
a better priest, not like Aaron, but like Melchizedek, a priest
forever. After that eternal order of God, Christ is better. He's fairer. He's the fairest. He's the best. And then it says
here, grace is poured into thy lips. He's a storehouse of grace. Grace is treasured up in him. We read in the book of Colossians, in him
dwells all the fullness of God in his body. That's pretty full,
is it not? In John chapter one, HE'S FULL
OF GRACE AND FULL OF TRUTH. THE LAW CAME BY MOSES, BUT GRACE
AND TRUTH CAME BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. AND THEN I LOVE THE NEXT
THING IT SAYS ABOUT THAT. OF HIS FULLNESS HAVE WE ALL RECEIVED
GRACE FOR GRACE. WHAT IS THE REASON FOR GRACE?
GRACE. I LOVE THAT. GRACE IS TREASURED
UP IN HIM. CHRIST IS GOD BLESSED FOREVER. GOD OVER ALL BLESSED FOREVER. BECAUSE HE IS THE BLESSED MOST
HIGH GOD, HIS PEOPLE IN HIM AND IN UNION WITH HIM, WHAT KIND
OF STATE AND CONDITION ARE THEY IN? IN HIM. WELL, THEY'RE BLESSED
FOREVER, ARE THEY NOT? IF HE'S BLESSED FOREVER AND WE'RE
ONE WITH HIM, THEREFORE WE ARE BLESSED FOREVER, FOR HE HAS BLESSED
US WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN THE HEAVENLY AND THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST. WE'RE BLESSED FOREVER. COLOSSIANS
2 SAYS THIS, IN HIM WAS ALL THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY,
AND WE ARE COMPLETE, WE'RE COMPLETE IN HIM. WE'RE COMPLETELY REDEEMED,
WE'RE COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED, We're completely sanctified. I can't
get any more sanctified than I am right now in Christ. And
he's not talking about the flesh being sanctified. The flesh is
never sanctified. The flesh is flesh. That which
is born of the flesh is, what is it? Flesh. That which is born
of spirit is spirit. That's sanctified in Christ,
being a partaker of the divine nature in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now look at verse three, four,
and five. We see the Lord conquering and
saving, conquering his enemies and saving his elect. Gird thy
sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, and with glory and majesty
THY MAJESTY RIDE PROSPEROUSLY, BECAUSE OF TRUTH, MEAKNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS,
AND THY RIGHT HAND SHALL TEACH THEE TERRIBLE THINGS." GOD, OUR
GOD IS A TERRIBLE GOD. AND I MEAN THAT IN A GOOD WAY,
BECAUSE THIS WORD CAN ALSO BE GIVEN, HE'S A TREMENDOUS GOD. THERE'S NONE LIKE OUR GOD. NOW,
THE SWORD HERE THAT'S MENTIONED, gird thy sword upon thy thigh. The sword here that's mentioned
is a symbol of his power. Remember from Hebrew chapter
four, the word of the Lord is called a quick and powerful two-edged
sword. And in the revelation, IT REVEALS
IN CHAPTER 19, OUR BLESSED GOD AND SAVIOR, REDEEMER, THE LAMB
OF GOD, OUT OF HIS MOUTH GOETH A SHARP, TWO-EDGED SWORD. HIS SWORD IS MIGHTY. NONE CAN
DEFEAT HIS POWER. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE HIS SWORD.
HE HAS ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND EARTH. HIS SWORD IS GLORIOUS,
GLITTERING WITH POWER, ALL POWER. HE SAID, IS GIVEN TO ME IN HEAVEN
AND EARTH. THANK GOD HE HAS ALL POWER TO SAVE US POOR SINNERS. HIS SWORD IS MAJESTIC, FULL OF
SPLENDOR AND BEAUTY. HE'S ABOVE ALL GODS. LOOK AT VERSE 4, AND IN YOUR
MAJESTY, HE HAS ALL MAJESTY, GLORY, AND POWER, RIDE. I KIND OF GET AN IDEA OF A SOLDIER
HERE in a chariot, a war chariot of the gospel, girded with a
mighty, sharp, powerful sword, riding in majesty, and then it
says, notice, ride prosperously, or prosper thou in your ride
as a marginal reference has in your majesty ride prosperously
victoriously is what he's saying because of your truth because
of your meekness because of your righteousness those three things
that are mentioned there our lord in his glorious majesty
rides in complete victory His victory is a prosperous victory,
for he accomplishes all of his pleasure. He knows nothing of
defeat, nothing of failure. He cannot
fail because he's God. He is the conquering king. Remember
I told you in our study in the revelation the key verse I believe
that unlocks that revelation is Revelation 6 verse 2 where
it says he went forth conquering and to conquer. He is the lamb
that's victorious. He's the conquering one and we
as believers with him and one with him we have the victory
over all our enemies. He triumphant over them spoiled
principalities and power, having triumphed over them in himself. Get tongue-tied just a little
bit. That's okay for me. an older man, we call those having
senior moments, I guess. I'm a senior citizen now, so
we can overlook one another, don't we? The Lord rides the
war chariot of the gospel, defeating all those that oppose him. What a mission of insanity it
would be to oppose this mighty king. Wouldn't it be much better
and wiser to surrender I mean, you're not going to overcome
him. You're not going to defeat him. He has all power, conquering
over all of his enemies. What should we do? Bow. Submit. Trust him for all of our salvation. He prospers as he conquers because
of those three things that are mentioned there, his truth, his
meekness, and his righteousness. You remember the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Remember from our study
in a book of Genesis years ago, Genesis 39, where it talks about
Joseph, who is a very good personal type of Christ. The Lord made
all that Joseph put his hand to, the Lord made it to prosper. And that's true of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Everything he puts his hand to,
it prospers. Because of truth. Our Lord said,
you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
He is that truth. Christ is that truth. He said,
I am, I am the truth. Because of meekness or mercy. Because of his mercy. Mercy and
truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Psalm 85. And because of righteousness. RIGHTEOUSNESS THAT HE BRINGS
IN FOR US, HE BRINGS IN FOR US WHAT? AN EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS.
BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHOM GOD WOULD IMPUTE RIGHTEOUSNESS WITHOUT
WORDS. THESE ARE TREMENDOUS THINGS AND
TERRIBLE THINGS THE LORD IS PLEASED TO REVEAL UNTO US AS HE MAKES
HIMSELF KNOWN UNTO US. HE HID THESE THINGS FROM THE
WISE AND PRUDENT, AND REVEALED THEM UNTO BABES, EVEN SO, FATHER,
FOR THOUGH IT SEEMED GOOD IN HIS SIGHT, THY RIGHT HAND SHALL..."
NOTICE THE LAST PART OF VERSE 4, "...THY RIGHT HAND, THE LORD
JESUS CHRIST, AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, SEATED ON GOD'S THRONE,
SHALL TEACH THEE." NOW THAT'S THE EDUCATION WE NEED RIGHT THERE.
WE NEED TO BE TAUGHT OF GOD. I'M NOT OPPOSED TO GETTING A
SECULAR EDUCATION. I WISH I HAD MORE. BUT THE EDUCATION
WE REALLY NEED IS TO BE TAUGHT OF GOD. AND HERE'S THE REASON
WHY. NO MAN CAN COME UNTO ME EXCEPT
THE FATHER WHICH SENT ME DRAW HIM. AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE DRAWN
BY HIM THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD. AND THOSE WHO ARE TAUGHT
OF GOD THEY COME UNTO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THE GOSPEL IS NOT
ONLY A MIGHTY SWORD. LOOK AT VERSE 5, WE NEED TO BE
TAUGHT OF GOD, EDUCATED OF GOD IN THE THINGS
OF GOD, AND THEN HE TALKS ABOUT THE GOSPEL NOT ONLY BEING A POWERFUL
SWORD, BUT VERSE 5, ARROWS, AN ARROW. THE ARROWS ARE SHARP. in the heart of the king's enemies.
Now, Lionel can tell you because he's a deer hunter. Do you bow
hunt at all? Some. Some. What is the quality of an arrow
that you shoot? An arrow that you shoot won't
knock the deer down, will it? The arrow, the quality of that
arrow, it pierces. If it doesn't hit a bone, it
goes clear through, doesn't it? It pierces. That's exactly what
the gospel does. The word of God is quick and
powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, and it is piercing the
heart. Now, I can't reach your heart. But salvation is a hard work.
And God does business with his people in their heart. He shoots
them in the heart. He breaks their stubborn will.
He denies them of a broken heart. Save us such as be of a contrite
spirit. When God takes aim with the gospel
arrow, it never misses the intended target. It's always dead center
bullseye. THE HEART AND THE CENTER WILL
ALWAYS BE CONQUERED BY THE ALMIGHTY AND SOVEREIGN GOD. WHEN HE SHOOTS
YOU IN THE HEART WITH THE GOSPEL, YOU DON'T NEED TO BROWBEAT PEOPLE,
COERCE PEOPLE, BUTTONHOLE PEOPLE, BADGER PEOPLE, JUST PREACH THE
GOSPEL. WHEN GOD PIERCES THE HEART, GOD
WHO BEGUN, HAS BEGUN A GOOD WORK IN YOU, HE'LL FINISH IT. Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever." Who is the Lord Jesus
Christ? Well, we read this where it's given in Hebrews 1, verse
8 and 9. The scriptures there apply this
to the Lord Jesus Christ. God said unto thy God, thy Son,
O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
a scepter of thy kingdom. The Father speaks unto the Son,
he said, thy throne, O God. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?
He's God, God Almighty, God the Son. He's always been God. He is from everlasting to everlasting. God the Father calls the Savior
God the Son. No wonder the apostles writing
about the Redeemer, they call him God our Savior. I like that. His throne, His
dominion is everlasting. From everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God. His throne, His rule and reign
and dominion is a righteous reign. Whatever He does is right. He
rules with all power, all wisdom. He's too wise to make any mistake,
and He is too powerful to do anything wrong. Therefore, we can trust Him without
suspicion. WE CAN RELY UPON HIM WITHOUT
DISTRUST, AND WE CAN TRUST HIM AT, WELL, SOME PEOPLE SAY, WHEN
THINGS ARE GOING WELL, YOU CAN TRUST HIM. AT ALL TIMES, YOU
PEOPLE, POUR OUT YOUR HEART BEFORE HIM. GOD IS A REFUGE FOR US,
PSALM 62. ISN'T THIS A GOOD PSALM? THY SCEPTER OF THY KINGDOM IS
A RIGHT SCEPTER. WHATEVER HE DOES IS RIGHT. Verse
seven, he loves righteousness, he hates wickedness. Always has,
always will. Therefore thy God hath anointed
thee with oil. THE OIL OF GLADNESS ABOVE ALL
PEOPLE. OUR BLESSED LORD LIVED AS THE
GOD-MAN MEDIATOR, DEMONSTRATING THESE BLESSED TRUTHS. HE LOVES
RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE IS THE RIGHTEOUS GOD. HE LIVED
IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AS THE GOD-MAN MEDIATOR, TEMPTED IN ALL POINTS
LIKE AS WE ARE, YET WITHOUT SIN. HE HAD NO SIN, DID NO SIN, AND
KNEW NO SIN. HE HATES WICKEDNESS. always has,
always will. He died to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. He was manifested to take away
our sin, and in him is no sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
anointed Lord. He's anointed with the oil of
gladness, anointed in all of his office as the Messiah, prophet,
priest, and king, right? A priest to redeem. A prophet
to reveal, a king to reign. Notice verse 8, and I'll wind
this up. All of his kingly robes, all
of his priestly garments, they all smell. They smell of myrrh,
aloes, cassia out of the ivory palace whereby they have made
thee glad. all of his garments of righteousness
and garments of salvation. His priestly work, the smell
of the smell and the aroma, a savor of life under life. His righteousness,
well-pleasing to the Father. His redemption, his sacrifice
is known as a sweet-smelling savor under God, right? We need his righteousness. We
need his redemption. All of that's in Christ. All
of his garments smell beautiful. God smells of that aroma, that
sweet-smelling sacrifice of his shed blood. And he says, satisfy. On the other hand, all of our
self-righteousness produced of ourselves have nothing but a
foul odor of death about them. You remember God says that those
in Isaiah, those who say, come not near to me for I'm holier
than thou, you remember what God said? That's just smoke in
my nose. All of our righteousness, God
says, are filthy rags in his sight. All his garments, oh,
they smell beautiful in the presence of God, whereby they have made
us glad. All our puny efforts to put away
sin will never make atonement. All our good deeds, morality,
works of the flesh can never put away sin. By the deeds of
the law shall no flesh be justified. We need his righteousness before
God, and we have it by his grace. AND WE NEED HIS SACRIFICE FOR
OUR SIN. THERE IS NO OTHER SACRIFICE FOR
SIN. HE APPEARED ONCE IN THE END OF
THE AGE TO PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF. NOW, LET
ME ASK YOU THIS. IS CHRIST ENOUGH? I MEAN, YOU
HAVE TO HAVE HIM AND SOMETHING ELSE? IS CHRIST ENOUGH? IF HE'S
ALL YOU HAVE, You have enough, that's everything. Because Christ
is all and in all. That is the gospel that makes
his people glad. The gospel makes us glad. David said, I was glad when they
said, let us go to the house of the Lord. You see, we rejoice
in him. 35 years ago, I studied that
psalm, maybe longer than that. At least that long. I've never
got over it. I've never got over that song.