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The Beauty and Might of King Jesus · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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there. So with these intimations then we'll begin our worship today and we're singing firstly
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Psalm 145, Psalm 145, the second version of the psalm that's on page 444 and verses 1 to 7.
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O Lord, thou art my God and King, thee will I magnify and praise. I will thee bless and gladly
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sing unto thy holy name always. Each day I rise I will thee bless and praise thy name time without
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end. Much to be praised and great God is, his greatness none can comprehend. How wonderful
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it is to be reminded in this opening psalm of God's worthiness to be praised, of his greatness
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and of his might and all other aspects of his being that make him worthy of our praise. So
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with the worthiness of God in our minds, let's stand to sing these verses. O Lord, thou art
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my God and King. O Lord, thou art my God and King, thee will I magnify and praise. I will thee bless and gladly sing.
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O Lord, thou art my God and world and never say can I?
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And great God is, His greatness done and of the end.
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Great child, my word, great child to raise the mighty hand so done by Thee.
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Thy mercy, God, and glorious grace, and honor all Thy majesty.
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Thy wondrous works, I will impart, Thy end and my joy be extrobed.
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O God, Thy grateful acts, O Lord, and Thy, Thy greatness will unfold.
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They utter shall upon the tree the memory of Thy goodness quake.
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And chants in praises cheerfully, I may Thy righteousness prevail.
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Let's now call upon the Lord in prayer. Let's unite our minds in prayer.
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Amen.
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Almighty and gracious God, we give thanks for these great attributes that we have been singing of,
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of Your greatness that comprise the beauty and the perfection of Your being.
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We thank You, Lord, today that You have reminded us of Your worthiness to be praised,
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that You alone are worthy of worship.
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And so we gather together, Lord, today to worship You.
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Help us to do so, Lord, with our hearts truly set upon the glorifying of Your name.
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Help us to come before You with a true spirit of worship in our minds and hearts,
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with our mind focused on those things that You have revealed in Your Word.
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With our hearts, Lord, as we seek the blessing of Your Holy Spirit upon us,
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our hearts quickened, our hearts revived,
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and our hearts brought into tune with Your truth.
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We thank You today, O Lord, that we have this opportunity,
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this great privilege once again of being together to worship You as our God.
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And we pray as we do so, Lord, that You would guide us into Your truth.
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We thank You for the way in which we have Your own truth set out for us in written form,
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and for the way that You have brought it to us in our generation,
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with all its authority and relevance for our age,
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as has been the case down through the years in the history of the world.
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We thank You today, Lord, as we look back upon all that You have accomplished,
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that You entered into this world in such a way as to provide for us an access to Yourself,
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an access which we now use in the name of Jesus,
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who is Himself the way, the truth, and the life.
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We thank You today, Lord, that He took our human nature to Himself,
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that You did so in such a way as would combine in His person the wonder of God and man combined,
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and yet combined in such a way to retain the distinctness of the godhood and also of the manhood.
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We thank You today, Lord, for the wonder of Your person,
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for the beauty that pertains to You.
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We pray today as we worship You that we would once again catch a glimpse of Your beauty,
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for Your beauty makes us, Lord, stand in awe at Your majesty and Your perfection and Your truth.
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And we come, Lord, today, and our hearts are needy that we should once again meet with You.
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We pray, Lord, each of us here that You would bless us from Your Word,
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that You would give to us, O Lord, as we struggle with many issues in life.
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Help us, we pray, to realize Your perfection as the God and King of Your people.
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We pray today, O Lord, that You would, as we seek the guidance of Your Spirit into Your Word,
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we pray that You would help us, too, to retain it and to apply it in our lives in such a way, Lord,
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as would reflect the beauty of Christ in us.
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We ask today that Your blessing will be with all Your people wherever they gather.
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We recognize, Lord, even as we are reminded in our bulletin sheet today of places in the world where people are persecuted
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and even put to death for their faith, for their adherence to the Lord Jesus Christ,
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and for the way in which they are determined not to be deflected from following Him,
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from honoring Him, from speaking of Him.
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Lord, we pray today that Your blessing will be with all agencies that seek to uphold these persecuted Christians,
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whether it be through the Barnabas Fund or through Steadfast Global.
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We pray for all their efforts, O Lord, and we pray for all Your people in the world today
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when we are able to rejoice in the freedom that we have,
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the many ways in which we can gather without fear as we do here today.
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Lord, we pray for these places in the world where Your people don't have these liberties
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and yet where they remain faithful to You.
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We ask, Lord, for them that though we don't know them or don't know,
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we confess we don't know even the majority of them or their circumstances,
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yet we know that they are known to You and we know that Your interest is in them
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and Your concern, Lord, is to be their guide and be their stay,
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be their defense and be their shield.
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Lord, we thank You today for the way in which Your Word brings us in the Psalms,
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so many of our human experiences that we can bring before You in praise and also in prayer.
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Lord, we thank You that You have gone before us so as to give us such a manual of praise
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and so as to give to us the experiences of Your people and of Your church down through the years
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that are expressed through the singing of Your praise.
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And we thank You today that whatever depths we may have in the challenges of life
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to contend with and against, that we find them in these words of the psalmist,
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as we do also the heights of rejoicing and of joy that belongs to Your people also.
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Oh, Lord, today we pray that as we come once again to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world
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and His achievements in His life and death and resurrection from the dead,
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Lord, we pray help us to do so, confident that He now lives forevermore,
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that You are alive for the benefit of Your people,
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that You minister to them through Your Spirit from Your throne on high.
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Remember us, Lord, today as a congregation.
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Remember us in all the variety of our need as we present this before You.
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We pray, Lord, that You bless each and every home represented here
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and those that belong to us not able to be here today.
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We pray Your blessing for us, Lord, as we come towards the end of this year in our lives.
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We, Lord, reflect upon the many challenges that You have provided for us
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in Your providence throughout this year.
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But we thank You, Lord, for the provision of Your sustaining grace,
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for the many promises that go before us in Your Word
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as we come to face these issues of life.
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And so we remember today, O Lord, those who come towards the end of this year
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with heavy hearts, with hearts that reflect upon the passing of loved ones
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who have gone from the scene of time during this year.
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Remember them, O Lord, and ask that You would draw near to them.
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We pray that You would comfort them, that You would give them the strength that they require
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as they reflect upon those that have now gone from their midst.
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Lord, we give thanks for many precious memories that You enable us to hold.
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We pray that You would grant Your blessing to uplift us
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when the gloom settles in upon our lives
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and when we know, O Lord, and realize that things are other than we would have chosen
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or wanted to be.
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Yet, Lord, we pray that You would turn us at all times to Your wisdom
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and to the way in which You have ordered and patterned our lives
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according to Your knowledge and according to Your wisdom
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and according to the rule of Your will.
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We pray, too, for those who have lost loved ones in times gone by.
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Lord, we know that this time of year is a poignant time for those who reflect upon times of bereavement
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and sorrow and loss and for whom these things, Lord, are an ongoing challenge
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and an ongoing reality in their lives.
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Continue, Lord, to bless us, we pray, with Your truth
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and continue to provide for us as we come towards the turn of another year.
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We ask, too, that You'd bless those who are ill at this time of our number,
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those who are receiving treatment, who are recovering from surgical procedures.
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And, Lord, we ask that You'd bless them and bless their families
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and bless those who mourn even in these present days.
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We commit them to You also and ask that You'd bless them.
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Remember our children and our young people.
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Grant to them, O Lord, as they hear of the gospel and of the message of Christ
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having come into this world as a saviour.
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O Lord, we pray that You would sanctify their young lives.
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Give them as they hear of the truth of the gospel,
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that they may come more and more and day by day
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to be dedicated and committed to You
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and to Your ways and to walk in Your paths.
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We pray for them today.
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We pray for all their families and ask that You'd bless them.
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We pray that You'd continue to remember us, Lord, as a people
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during this time of ongoing pandemic.
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Lord, we pray that You would lift this from us.
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We pray that You would grant us again to be restored to times
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when greater freedom will be ours in terms of being able to engage
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in activities that we have not had for many years.
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We ask, Lord, that You would bless to us these past two years of difficulty,
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of trial and of affliction and of sorrow and loss.
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We pray that You would grant, Lord, to go before us
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as a new year approaches.
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May it be one that is filled with the light of Your countenance,
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filled with Your blessing,
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filled, O Lord, with those things that would further enrich our lives.
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We pray that You would enable us, Lord,
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to have once again a communion, the Lord's Supper,
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dispensed and partaken of in our midst as a congregation.
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Lord, we ask that You would, in Your providence,
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enable us to be and enable us to come once again to rejoice
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in the provision that You have made
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in the remembrance of the Lord's death until He come.
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Hear us, Lord, we pray now,
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and pardon our many sins
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as we confess our sins before You.
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We ask it all in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Okay, now, children,
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I know there's some watching online as well,
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but it's good to see children back in the service today
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during your time of holiday from Sunday school.
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I hope you all had many presents to open.
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I know that you probably received things that you'd asked for
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for your Christmas.
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Maybe you received some things that you didn't ask for as well
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and were very different, perhaps,
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to those things that you asked for.
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But it's a great thing to receive and to exchange gifts,
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which we do particularly at this time of year,
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at Christmastime.
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And if you think about your gifts,
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I'm sure that none of you left your gifts unwrapped.
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I don't suppose that any of you who received gifts
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just said,
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well, I'm not going to really bother opening that.
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I'll just leave it
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and see what happens in the turn of the year.
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Every time we get a gift,
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especially Christmas gifts,
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we're eager to tear the wrapping off
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and have a look and see what's inside and enjoy it.
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That, of course, is true with the gift of Jesus to us as well.
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We don't want to leave Jesus unaccepted.
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We don't want to leave him as if he's just an ordinary gift.
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He is God's great gift,
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the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
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Now, I wonder if God spares us to see the next Christmas,
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if the gifts that you received this Christmastime
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will still be as precious to you
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or as much used by you
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as they have been in the last few days.
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I doubt if any of you left your gifts unused
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as well as unopened.
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But I wonder how much your interest in these gifts
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will continue through this coming year.
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If you're like me, I'm very excited,
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usually opening a gift,
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but in the passing of time,
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that interest or that enjoyment tends to decrease.
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It tends to wane.
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It tends to not be as intense as it is
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when you first open the present.
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And of course, whatever presents they are,
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the contents will inevitably grow old
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or you may become tired of them
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or you might outgrow them.
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Maybe they're no longer relevant as you grow up.
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And even if you get the most wonderful
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or expensive electronic gifts, for example,
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some of you might have received some of those
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if you're older,
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but even that tends to be outdated after a while.
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Mobile phones, whatever else you have,
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and electronic gadgets,
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they're always replaced by newer versions, aren't they?
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So you tend to actually have the older versions.
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Maybe it goes on for a while,
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but then after a while,
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you're tempted to exchange them
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and people often exchange them as time goes on.
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Well, with the gift of Jesus,
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that's never the case.
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He never becomes out of date.
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He never needs to be replaced by a better model
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because you can't get one that's better than Jesus.
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And he never grows irrelevant or old
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or unsuitable for what you need
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at any time in your life.
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So when you unwrap God's great present
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of eternal life in Jesus Christ,
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when you receive Jesus as your Savior,
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when you trust in him,
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when you believe in him,
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he's there not just for life in this world,
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he's there forever.
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He never needs to be replaced
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and you never want to replace him.
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You never want to be without him.
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That's the great difference
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between the gift that God gives us in Jesus
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and every other gift,
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however expensive,
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however much we enjoy it,
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the gift of Jesus is special.
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Special because there's no one like him.
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And today in the sermon,
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I'd like you to listen to the sermon as well.
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I'll try and make it as easy to follow for you
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as well as for the older ones.
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And we're looking at the beauty of Jesus,
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how beautiful he is and why he's beautiful.
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And not only why he's beautiful,
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but why he continues to be beautiful
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because he never loses his beauty as our Savior.
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And so I hope you had a really good,
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happy Christmas.
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And I hope that whatever you got
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for your Christmas gifts
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will continue to be special to you.
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But do remember the special gift,
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the gift of Jesus as our Savior,
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that God in his love has provided for us.
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And whatever age we're of today,
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Jesus is the gift we need,
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the gift we must never leave unopened.
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So we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together.
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Let's pray the Lord's Prayer once again.
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Amen.
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Our Father, which art in heaven,
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hallowed be thy name.
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Thy kingdom come.
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Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
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Give us this day our daily bread.
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And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
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And lead us not into temptation,
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but deliver us from evil.
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For thine is the kingdom
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and the power and the glory forever.
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Amen.
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Let's now read God's Word.
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And we're going to read today
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from the Psalms,
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from Psalm 45.
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Psalm number 45
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in the book of Psalms.
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We're going to read down through the Psalm.
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It's not very long.
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Psalm 45.
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Psalm 45.
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My heart overflows with a pleasing theme.
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I address my verses to the King.
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My tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.
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You are the most handsome of the sons of men.
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Grace is poured upon your lips.
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Therefore God has blessed you forever.
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Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
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in your splendor and majesty.
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In your majesty ride out victoriously,
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for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness.
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Let your right hand teach you awesome deeds.
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Your arrows are sharp
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in the heart of the king's enemies.
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The peoples fall under you.
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Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
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The scepter of your kingdom
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is a scepter of uprightness.
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You have loved righteousness
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and hated wickedness.
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Therefore God, your God,
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has anointed you with the oil of gladness
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beyond your companions.
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Your robes are all fragrant
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with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
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From ivory palaces,
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stringed instruments make you glad.
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Daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor.
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At your right hand stands the queen
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in gold of Ophir.
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Hear, O daughter, and consider
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and incline your ear.
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Forget your people and your father's house,
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and the king will desire your beauty.
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Since he is your Lord, bow to him.
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The people of Tyre will seek with favor your gifts.
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Your favor with gifts.
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The richest of the people.
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All glorious is the princess in her chamber,
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with robes interwoven with gold.
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In many colored robes she is led to the king,
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with her virgin companions following behind her.
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With joy and gladness they are led along
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as they enter the palace of the king.
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In place of your fathers shall be your sons.
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You will make them princes in all the earth.
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I will cause your name to be remembered
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in all generations.
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Therefore nations will praise you
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forever and ever.
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Amen.
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May God bless to us.
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Again, a reading of his word.
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We're going to praise him once again.
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We're singing Psalm 47 this time.
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Psalm number 47.
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This is in Sing Psalms.
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You'll find that on page 62 of your psalm books.
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And we'll sing the whole of this version of the psalm.
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All nations, clap your hands and shout.
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Let joyful cries to God ring out.
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How awesome is the Lord most high.
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Great king who rules the earth throughout.
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He has subdued beneath our feet
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the nations who had been our foes.
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In blessing Jacob, whom he loved,
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a heritage for us he chose.
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Psalm 47.
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These verses on page 62.
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All nations, clap your hands and shout.
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Amen.
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All nations, clap your hands and shout.
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Let joyful cries to God ring out.
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How awesome is the Lord most high.
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How awesome is the Lord most high.
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Great king who rules the earth throughout.
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He has subdued beneath our feet.
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The nations who have been our foes.
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prod stuff.
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The people of themern you have to beное so thats simple.
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God has been chosen.
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God has gone up with chance of joy.
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The Lord have made the trumpet sound.
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Sing fresh, sing fresh to God's most high.
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To all our kings and priests abide.
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For God is king of all the earth.
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Sing songs of Christ to him alone.
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God rules the nations from all night.
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He sits upon his holy throne.
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The leaders of the nations come.
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To yield themselves to Hebrews God.
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To him beyond the shields of earth.
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Exalted great is the Lord.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Well, let's turn together now to Psalm 45 in the book of Psalms.
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Psalm number 45.
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I'm going to look today at the first five verses of the Psalm especially.
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But focusing really on some of the detail there in regard to the two attributes of Jesus, of Christ as our king.
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Firstly, his beauty and then his might.
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Psalm 45, as you can see from the title there, is a love song.
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But it's not an ordinary love song.
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It's actually a wedding song.
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It's a song of the relationship between a king and a commoner who's going to become his wife.
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And that, of course, has tremendous spiritual significance.
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The psalmist actually very liked the Song of Solomon in many of its expressions.
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And as you find it quoted in the New Testament, it becomes obvious then especially that this really is a prophecy of the relationship between Jesus and his people.
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That he is the one who is referred to here prophetically in anticipation as the warrior king who is altogether beautiful.
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He has so many beautiful attributes that this song really describes them in such a way as would pour out.
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As it says in the very beginning of the psalm, my heart overflows with a pleasing thing.
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My address, my verses to the king.
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It's not just that the verses are about the king.
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They're addressed to the king as he is in his beauty set out before the psalmist.
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And so that's the subject, this king that turns out to be King Jesus.
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And there's a wonderful emphasis in itself that you find things written in the Old Testament scriptures like this psalm that came to be fulfilled many, many hundreds of years afterwards.
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And not just fulfilled, but fulfilled in specific detail.
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A specific detail in such a way that would really just confirm our conviction that this word, this Bible, this word is the word of God.
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Inspired by the spirit of God as he moved different authors to write the various parts of it down through the years.
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How could you possibly find such exact correspondence between some of the passages in the Old Testament like Isaiah 53 and here in Psalm 45 that came to be so specially and minutely fulfilled in the person and the work of Jesus Christ without knowing that God,
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without realizing really that God, or coming to the conclusion that God is really the author of all this from beginning to end.
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Well, here is this wonderful wedding song, this marriage song, and this excited eagerness on the part of the psalmist to actually set forth these details.
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And when we think of a king marrying a commoner, not just a commoner in the sense of the aristocracy or maybe not royalty,
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this girl that he's marrying, this woman is obviously, as it comes to be seen through the psalm, is just an ordinary common person.
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She doesn't have any superior status, doesn't have any royalty, she doesn't have even aristocracy about it.
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She is like the woman in the Song of Solomon.
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She's just an ordinary down-to-earth person.
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And when you think about Jesus coming to be spiritually married to his people, to his church,
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to those that he saves and brings into this marriage relationship with himself spiritually,
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a wonderful thing happens in that union between them.
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Because all the debts that we have as sinners, all the debts that we have and what we owe to God,
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that we cannot ourselves pay, Jesus takes these.
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Jesus pays for these.
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All the things that God requires of us, but that we cannot pay, that we cannot do.
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The debt in which we placed ourselves by a rebellion against him as human beings,
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that's what Jesus has taken.
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The king has taken the debt to himself.
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And he's happy to pay for it.
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That's the meaning of Christmas.
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The Son of God coming into the world.
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Remember how Paul describes it in his second letter to the Corinthians.
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You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Though he was rich and is rich, he's rich with the riches that is his as God.
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Yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich.
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It doesn't mean he lost the riches that belonged to God, but it means he placed himself in the situation that led to his death on the cross.
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And through that work, through that completion, through that accomplishment, we are made rich as we come to be united to him.
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And so, it's not just that our debts are passed to him and he pays the price of these debts by his death.
31:26
His riches are also passed to us.
31:29
This ordinary commoner married to this king can say after the marriage is accomplished,
31:37
after the marriage has actually been gone through, all the riches of the king become hers.
31:43
They're all passed over to her.
31:45
And isn't that one of the most amazing things, one of the most wonderful things to celebrate,
31:51
not only at this time of year, but all times.
31:54
All the riches that belong to Jesus Christ as the Savior of his people are passed to us as we come to accept him as our Redeemer.
32:05
So, let's look at the beauty of Jesus described in these words and also the might of Jesus, the strength of Jesus,
32:13
the Jesus who accomplished such great things for his people.
32:19
First of all, this beauty, you can see here in verse 2,
32:22
You are the most handsome of the sons of men.
32:26
Grace is poured upon your lips.
32:28
Therefore, God has blessed you forever.
32:31
You're not just handsome, but the psalmist is saying,
32:35
You are the most handsome of the sons of men.
32:38
There is nobody else that has that level of beauty,
32:42
that level of spiritual handsomeness that belongs to Jesus.
32:46
He is beautiful, first of all, in his person,
32:49
because we're talking here about the Son of God.
32:52
We're talking about the beauty that belongs to the divine,
32:56
the beauty that belongs to God,
32:57
the beauty and perfection of God himself as it is in Jesus Christ,
33:02
the Son of God.
33:03
That's something that did not actually cease to be the case,
33:07
the truth about him.
33:09
Remember Psalm 27,
33:11
where the psalmist is there speaking of the beauty of God as well.
33:15
In verse 4,
33:17
One thing I have asked of the Lord,
33:19
and that will I seek after,
33:21
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
33:24
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
33:27
and to inquire in his temple.
33:30
When you think about the beauty of God,
33:33
the beauty that's in Jesus as the Son of God,
33:35
the divine beauty that is his,
33:38
we're talking here of the beauty,
33:39
we're thinking here of the beauty of his love,
33:43
the beauty of God's love,
33:46
the beauty of love that does not love
33:48
just in order to get something back in return,
33:51
but loves because he is love,
33:56
because he loves to love.
33:59
The beauty of goodness,
34:02
the beauty of perfect wisdom,
34:05
the beauty of truth that never becomes other than truth,
34:10
constant, eternal truth,
34:14
the beauty of Jesus in his person,
34:16
in terms of the beauty of God.
34:19
There's so much you could amplify in these points,
34:23
so much you could elaborate,
34:24
because the Bible is full of this beauty of God
34:27
and the different ways in which God has made his beauty known to us.
34:31
All the attributes that God has are attributes that manifest,
34:36
that show out his beauty.
34:38
But then remember,
34:39
Jesus is human as well,
34:41
perfectly human,
34:42
completely human.
34:43
He took our human nature to himself.
34:45
The Son of God joined humanity to his deity
34:49
so as to complete in himself
34:52
one perfect person,
34:55
two natures in one person.
34:57
The mystery of Christ as our Savior,
35:01
God and man together.
35:04
And it's the beauty of a perfect humanity,
35:08
a perfect human being.
35:11
What is that like?
35:12
Well, it's like Jesus,
35:17
because that's who he is,
35:19
and that's what he is like.
35:20
And every time you read about him in the Scriptures,
35:23
in terms even of his humanity,
35:25
you always stop to admire that humanity.
35:29
You just imagine what it must have been like,
35:31
even to the extent that we can,
35:33
and we can't go into it too far,
35:35
but the beauty of a perfect man and a perfect life.
35:38
You think of him being brought up as a child,
35:42
and then as a little boy,
35:43
and then as a young man,
35:45
and there's never any flaw in him.
35:50
He has the beauty of perfect behavior,
35:55
perfect speech.
35:57
He has the beauty of that which is perfect
36:02
in its humanity,
36:04
in every aspect of it.
36:05
You can just think as far as you can of his parents.
36:09
I wonder how many times they stopped his parents.
36:13
That is, his mother Mary,
36:14
and his legal father Joseph,
36:16
because of course his father is ultimately God,
36:19
the Father.
36:20
But think about him being brought up by them.
36:24
Think about how they never saw anything in them
36:26
that was sinful,
36:28
that was contrary to what God required.
36:31
every single thing he did,
36:34
every single word he said,
36:37
every aspect of his behavior,
36:39
while he learned because he was human,
36:42
and while his learning as a human developed,
36:45
and all of that is true of him,
36:46
just as it is of any human,
36:48
yet it is perfect.
36:51
He is the perfect human being,
36:53
the beauty of perfect humanity,
36:55
that which did not exist ever since Adam fell,
37:00
ever since we became flawed human beings,
37:03
sinful human beings.
37:05
But Jesus is the perfect human,
37:08
the beauty of a perfect,
37:11
perfect humanity,
37:13
and the beauty of the perfection of God.
37:18
He's perfect.
37:19
He's beautiful in his person.
37:21
You are the most handsome of the sons of men.
37:24
But he's also beautiful.
37:25
Secondly, in his speech,
37:27
mentioned that a minute ago in terms of his humanity,
37:30
but is specified here,
37:31
grace is poured upon your lips,
37:34
or into your lips.
37:36
In other words,
37:36
he is endowed with the most perfect speech.
37:39
And if you look at the Gospels,
37:40
and read the Gospels,
37:42
you'll soon be aware of how people were marveling,
37:46
and just wondering over the words that came from his lips.
37:50
For example, in the Gospel of Luke,
37:52
chapter 4,
37:53
you remember that great occasion
37:55
where Jesus in the synagogue took the book of Elijah,
38:00
the scroll of Elijah was given to him.
38:02
He unrolled it and found the place where it was written,
38:05
the Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
38:08
because he has anointed me
38:10
to proclaim good news to the poor,
38:13
to speak out good news,
38:15
to preach good news to the poor,
38:17
the words of his lips.
38:18
And so on he went to proclaim
38:21
the year of the Lord's favor,
38:23
and he rolled up the scroll,
38:25
and gave it back to the attendant,
38:26
and sat down,
38:27
and the eyes of all in the synagogue
38:30
were fixed on him.
38:31
And he began to say to them,
38:32
And today the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,
38:36
and all spoke well of him,
38:38
and marveled.
38:40
And then listen to the words of Luke.
38:42
Marveled at the gracious words
38:45
that were coming from his mouth.
38:47
Marveled at the words of grace
38:50
that were coming from his mouth.
38:52
And they said,
38:53
Is not this Joseph's son?
38:55
And so on.
38:56
But these words especially
38:57
fit in with Psalm 45,
38:59
don't they?
38:59
It's almost as if Luke
39:00
at the time was just thinking
39:01
of reading Psalm 45.
39:05
Grace is poured
39:06
into or upon your lips.
39:08
You are endowed
39:08
with the most amazing speech.
39:11
You are endowed
39:11
with the most amazing ability
39:13
to speak words of grace.
39:15
Grace has been poured
39:16
into your lips.
39:19
And you know,
39:20
when you come,
39:21
as those of you who know Jesus
39:22
as your Savior
39:24
know very well,
39:25
when he spoke to you
39:27
through his word,
39:28
when he spoke to you,
39:29
when the Spirit of God
39:30
took the words of Scripture
39:32
and impressed your heart
39:33
and mind with them,
39:34
as you heard the voice of Jesus say,
39:37
Come to me and rest.
39:38
You know that these words
39:40
were words filled with grace.
39:42
Words that were not
39:43
of an ordinary type of speech.
39:45
They were words
39:46
of the Son of God.
39:48
Words of the Savior.
39:49
Words by which he awoke you
39:51
to your sense of need.
39:52
Words by which he introduced himself
39:54
to you.
39:55
As the perfect Savior.
39:56
Words that you still remember
39:57
and still hear
39:58
and still long to hear
40:00
is the words of grace.
40:03
Words of favor.
40:05
Words of blessing.
40:09
God endowed him
40:10
so that his ministry
40:12
would be
40:13
a ministry of grace,
40:15
a ministry of favor
40:17
to lost sinners.
40:19
There is a beauty
40:22
in all his words.
40:24
And of course,
40:24
we know that because
40:26
he is the Son of God,
40:28
because he himself
40:29
is behind
40:30
the inspiration,
40:33
the setting out
40:35
of Scripture
40:35
as we have it,
40:37
Old Testament
40:37
as well as New Testament.
40:39
It wasn't just
40:40
at the beginning
40:41
of Matthew's Gospel
40:42
or in those times
40:44
of the incarnation,
40:45
of the coming of Jesus
40:47
into the world,
40:48
the birth of Jesus.
40:49
That's not when Jesus
40:50
began to live.
40:51
That's not the beginning
40:52
of his life.
40:52
He didn't have
40:53
the beginning of life
40:54
ultimately because
40:57
he is God.
40:57
He has eternal
40:58
life as God.
41:00
And you see the beauty
41:04
in his words,
41:07
the beauty
41:08
in his promises,
41:10
beauty even
41:11
in his commands,
41:14
beauty in his counsel,
41:15
beauty in his comfort,
41:16
beauty in his correction
41:18
because he is always
41:19
about setting us
41:20
on the right path,
41:21
keeping us
41:22
on the right path.
41:23
Beauty of words
41:24
of peace
41:25
that he speaks
41:26
into your heart.
41:26
How beautiful
41:27
are the words
41:28
of Jesus
41:29
when your heart
41:29
needs peace,
41:30
when your heart
41:31
needs to rest,
41:32
when you're faced
41:34
with the challenges
41:35
of this life,
41:36
with the many
41:37
different aspects
41:38
of affliction
41:39
and of grief
41:40
and of sorrow
41:41
and of change
41:43
that you find
41:44
in your experience
41:45
from day to day,
41:46
from year to year.
41:47
As you come towards
41:49
the end of another year
41:50
in which you've seen
41:51
changes,
41:52
especially if you've
41:53
lost loved ones,
41:54
if your health
41:55
has been an issue,
41:56
if your mental health
41:57
has been an issue,
41:58
if all of these
41:59
things and others
42:00
you could add to them
42:01
have been issues
42:02
and challenges for you.
42:03
How wonderfully
42:05
beautiful are the
42:06
words of Jesus
42:07
because he addresses
42:09
you in these
42:10
circumstances
42:11
with his perfect
42:12
knowledge,
42:14
with his concern
42:15
to bring his
42:16
promises to bear
42:17
upon your circumstances,
42:18
to impress upon you
42:20
and to give you
42:21
an even deeper
42:21
conviction
42:22
that his word
42:23
is always true,
42:24
his word
42:25
is always reliable,
42:26
his words
42:27
are always beautiful.
42:28
the beauty
42:30
of Jesus,
42:33
beauty in his
42:34
person,
42:36
beauty in his
42:37
speech,
42:38
in whatever he
42:39
says,
42:40
whether it's even
42:40
at times to
42:42
bring us up
42:44
short and
42:45
show us how
42:46
far short we're
42:47
coming of
42:48
the standard he
42:49
expects and
42:50
requires of us.
42:51
maybe it's even
42:54
today a time of
42:55
correction for me
42:56
or for you
42:57
to set us back
42:59
on the right
42:59
path,
43:01
to refocus our
43:02
mind upon
43:03
the things that
43:04
are of eternal
43:04
importance.
43:07
Well, that's
43:08
beauty as well,
43:08
isn't it?
43:09
The beauty
43:10
of Christ's
43:12
words.
43:13
But secondly,
43:14
along with the
43:15
beauty of Jesus,
43:16
these words in the
43:17
psalm speak of the
43:18
might of Jesus.
43:19
Jesus,
43:20
he's talking here
43:20
in verse 3,
43:22
gird your sword
43:23
on your thigh
43:23
and then let
43:25
your arrows
43:26
that are sharp
43:27
pierce the hearts
43:28
of the king's
43:29
enemies in verse
43:30
5.
43:30
So the might of
43:32
Jesus, you can
43:32
see him described
43:33
here as a
43:34
warrior king,
43:35
somebody who is
43:36
constantly equipped
43:37
for battle.
43:39
And of course,
43:40
when the Bible
43:40
speaks about battle
43:41
in this way,
43:42
it's not talking
43:42
about fighting
43:43
literally.
43:44
A lot of
43:45
people make
43:45
that mistake
43:46
that we as
43:47
Christians really
43:48
just set out
43:49
the Bible as
43:51
containing all
43:51
these terms of
43:52
violence, that
43:53
the Bible is
43:54
responsible for
43:55
much of the
43:56
violence in the
43:56
world, for the
43:57
conflict between
43:58
different views
44:00
that human beings
44:01
have.
44:02
Well, of course,
44:02
Christ in his
44:04
might and in
44:05
these terms that
44:06
are used here,
44:07
they're used
44:07
especially in a
44:09
spiritual meaning.
44:10
And it's been
44:14
the case, I
44:14
know very well,
44:15
and you know
44:16
very well that
44:17
down through
44:17
history, at
44:19
certain times
44:19
Christians have
44:20
taken up the
44:21
sword as if we
44:23
present the
44:24
gospel accompanied
44:25
by violent
44:26
means in order to
44:27
persuade people to
44:28
accept it.
44:29
That's not what
44:30
Christianity is
44:31
about.
44:32
That's a
44:32
distortion of
44:33
Christianity.
44:34
That's a
44:34
distortion of the
44:36
values of Christ.
44:37
Because when Christ
44:38
goes out to
44:39
conquer, he
44:40
goes out to
44:40
attack our
44:41
hearts and our
44:42
minds by ways
44:42
of his truth.
44:44
He brings us,
44:44
as it says there,
44:45
into subjection to
44:47
himself.
44:48
In verse 5,
44:49
your arrows are
44:50
sharp in the
44:51
hearts of the
44:51
king's enemies,
44:52
the people fall
44:53
in subjection
44:54
under you.
44:55
The subjection
44:55
that is talking
44:57
here of Jesus
44:58
is the subjection
44:59
of your heart
45:00
and your mind
45:00
to him, to be
45:01
ruled by him, to
45:02
be ruled gladly
45:03
and willingly by
45:04
him.
45:05
It's not a
45:05
forced subjection,
45:07
it's not something
45:07
that's done
45:07
violently.
45:10
That's why we
45:11
value our
45:11
freedom of
45:12
religion, among
45:14
many other
45:15
freedoms like
45:16
freedom of
45:16
speech, freedom
45:18
of thought, freedom
45:19
of religion.
45:21
We don't force
45:21
people into
45:22
acceptance of
45:23
Christianity or
45:25
of Christ.
45:26
We seek to
45:27
persuade them.
45:28
We seek to
45:29
persuade them by
45:29
the beauty of
45:30
Christ, by
45:31
emphasizing the
45:32
beauty of
45:33
Christ, by
45:33
emphasizing his
45:34
beauty in his
45:35
person and in
45:36
his words and in
45:37
everything else to
45:38
do with him so
45:40
that they be
45:41
persuaded to
45:42
lay down that
45:43
rebellion against
45:44
him, the
45:45
spiritual rebellion
45:46
that is ours by
45:47
nature and come
45:48
and yield to his
45:50
authority.
45:52
And that's our
45:53
basis of
45:54
confidence in the
45:55
gospel, isn't
45:56
it?
45:57
That this
45:58
gospel, this
45:59
good news of
46:01
life, of
46:01
eternal life in
46:03
Jesus Christ,
46:04
that is not
46:04
dependent ultimately
46:06
on our ability,
46:07
whatever ability
46:08
we have or
46:08
don't have to
46:09
speak or to
46:10
preach or to
46:11
witness or to
46:11
testify for him,
46:13
the success of
46:14
the gospel does
46:15
not rest with
46:16
that.
46:16
It rests with
46:17
the power, the
46:18
might of Jesus
46:19
himself.
46:20
It's in the very
46:20
nature of the
46:21
word of Christ
46:22
that he uses in
46:23
order to persuade
46:24
us to come to
46:26
be in subjection to
46:27
him, to accept
46:28
his truth, to
46:29
accept him as
46:30
our Lord, accept
46:31
him as our
46:31
Savior, accept
46:33
him as the King
46:33
and Lord of all
46:35
the earth.
46:38
It's interesting,
46:39
isn't it, that
46:39
Psalm 45
46:40
follows on from
46:42
Psalm 44.
46:43
I know you're
46:44
saying, well,
46:44
that's logical,
46:45
45 follows 44
46:47
in terms of
46:48
numerical sequence,
46:49
but what I mean
46:49
is in terms of
46:50
the content of
46:51
Psalm 45, it's
46:54
deliberately placed
46:54
beside Psalm 44
46:56
because Psalm 44
46:57
is by and large
46:58
a psalm of
46:59
defeat, a psalm
47:00
of lament, a
47:01
psalm of seeking
47:02
to have God
47:04
refocus them and
47:05
re-guide them and
47:06
bring them back to
47:08
know himself.
47:10
And there's his
47:11
appeal there in
47:13
verse 23, Psalm
47:14
44, awake, why
47:16
are you sleeping,
47:17
O Lord?
47:17
Arouse yourself, do
47:18
not reject us
47:19
forever.
47:20
Why do you hide
47:21
your face?
47:22
Why do you forget
47:23
our affliction and
47:24
oppression?
47:25
Our soul is bowed
47:26
down to the dust,
47:28
our belly clings to
47:29
the ground.
47:29
Rise up, come to
47:31
our help, redeem
47:32
us for the sake of
47:34
your steadfast love.
47:35
What is the next
47:36
portion of the
47:37
Psalms?
47:38
My heart overflows
47:40
with a pleasing
47:41
thing.
47:42
I address my
47:43
verses to the
47:45
king, and then he
47:45
describes his
47:46
beauty.
47:47
You see, the
47:47
beauty of Jesus
47:48
and the might of
47:49
Jesus is really
47:51
the answer to our
47:52
human problem.
47:54
It's the answer
47:54
to, and I'm using
47:55
the term problem
47:57
in the singular
47:57
because the human
47:58
problem includes all
48:00
our problems.
48:01
All our concerns
48:03
and all our wants.
48:04
But God's answer
48:05
to that is in the
48:06
beauty and in the
48:08
might of Jesus,
48:10
in his suitability
48:11
and in his
48:12
sufficiency to
48:15
actually deal with
48:16
our problems, and
48:18
to deal especially
48:18
with the problem of
48:19
our sin, which is
48:21
the root of all
48:22
other problems.
48:24
Our sin, our
48:25
rebellion, our
48:27
broken relationship
48:28
with God, and
48:30
into that comes
48:31
Jesus Christ, the
48:34
beauty and the
48:35
might that is
48:37
his.
48:38
And the might of
48:39
Jesus, you see, the
48:41
might of Jesus has
48:42
seen that he never
48:44
loses in his
48:45
campaign for the
48:47
truth.
48:49
Christ has never
48:49
lost a battle.
48:50
The church has
48:51
lost many battles,
48:53
but in the overall
48:54
scheme of things,
48:55
the Lord has never
48:56
lost a battle.
48:58
You find it
48:59
described in the
49:00
Gospels, especially
49:01
as the battle
49:01
between good and
49:02
evil, the battle
49:03
between Jesus, the
49:05
head of his people,
49:06
and the likes of
49:07
Satan, who is at the
49:09
head of this great
49:10
campaign against
49:11
Jesus and against
49:12
his truth and
49:13
against the light.
49:14
And every time you
49:15
find Jesus confronted
49:18
by the devil, whether
49:19
it's in the
49:19
wilderness, in
49:20
Matthew chapter 4,
49:21
or Luke's description
49:22
of it, or Mark's,
49:24
you'll always find that
49:25
the ultimate victory
49:27
is with Jesus.
49:28
He never loses a
49:29
battle, nor will he
49:31
ever.
49:31
And you know, that's
49:32
some of the most
49:32
comforting thoughts
49:34
that you can have.
49:37
Some of the most
49:37
comforting truth that
49:38
comes from the
49:40
Bible to you and to
49:40
me today is that in
49:42
all your battles, in
49:43
all your struggles, in
49:45
all the things that
49:45
you experience in this
49:47
life, where you know
49:48
failure, where I know
49:49
failure, when your
49:51
trust is in Jesus,
49:53
ultimately, in the
49:55
final analysis, you're
49:58
never on the side of
49:59
failure.
50:00
You're always on the
50:01
side of victory,
50:03
because this is your
50:04
king.
50:05
This is who your
50:05
king is.
50:08
One who never loses
50:09
in his great campaign
50:12
that he heads.
50:12
You know, even
50:13
coming to the
50:16
description in the
50:18
Gospels of his
50:19
death on the cross,
50:21
and all that led up
50:23
to his trial,
50:25
which was a sham,
50:26
really, of a trial,
50:28
and then his being led
50:30
out to be crucified,
50:32
and his death that
50:33
actually took place on
50:35
the cross.
50:36
Looking at it
50:37
outwardly, and
50:40
probably the devil was
50:41
of this opinion.
50:43
Looks like defeat,
50:44
doesn't it?
50:46
And you find these
50:47
disconsolate disciples
50:48
who had been as
50:50
disciples during these
50:51
years with him, and
50:54
here they are, and
50:54
they're disconsolate.
50:56
They haven't understood,
50:57
of course, at that
50:58
stage, the meaning of
50:59
the cross, and
51:00
especially before the
51:01
resurrection took place,
51:02
you'll find, as in
51:04
Luke 24, these
51:05
disconsolate, downcast
51:07
disciples walking
51:08
together and reflecting
51:10
on what's happened.
51:11
We thought this was
51:13
he who would redeem
51:14
Israel, and where is
51:15
he?
51:15
He's in the grave.
51:18
But then someone
51:19
came and joined
51:20
their company.
51:23
Someone no less
51:24
than Jesus himself.
51:27
And as he revealed
51:29
to them who he was,
51:30
that he was indeed
51:31
Christ, risen from
51:33
the dead, as they
51:34
then reflected on him
51:36
as he eventually
51:37
disappeared from sight,
51:38
and went out of
51:40
their company.
51:42
Did not our heart
51:43
burn within us
51:44
while he explained
51:47
to us the
51:47
scriptures?
51:48
He opened the
51:49
scriptures.
51:50
He opened their
51:50
minds to understand
51:52
the scriptures, the
51:53
beauty of his speech,
51:54
the beauty of his
51:55
words, the beauty of
51:56
his person, and they
51:57
realized this is who
51:59
he is.
52:01
He's risen from the
52:02
dead.
52:03
He's not lost the
52:05
battle.
52:05
He's actually the
52:07
victor.
52:09
He's conquered
52:10
death.
52:11
He's beaten sin.
52:13
He's overcome all
52:14
of that.
52:15
And so we overcome
52:17
with him.
52:18
And by him and by
52:20
being joined with
52:21
him, we come
52:23
indeed to share in
52:25
that victory that is
52:26
his.
52:28
See the way in which
52:30
he appeals here,
52:31
verse 3,
52:31
gird your sword on
52:33
your thigh, almighty
52:34
one in your splendor
52:36
and majesty.
52:37
And then think about
52:39
the difference between
52:40
a sword used in an
52:42
actual battle
52:43
situation and the
52:45
sword that you find
52:46
in a ceremonial
52:47
situation.
52:48
Well, the sword that
52:50
Jesus uses,
52:51
spiritually of course,
52:52
again, is not a
52:53
ceremonial sword.
52:54
It's one by which
52:55
he conquers and goes
52:57
out and brings
52:58
people into subjection
52:59
to himself.
53:00
The sword of his
53:01
truth, the sword of
53:02
the Spirit, the Word
53:03
of God.
53:07
And his cause is the
53:08
most worthy of all.
53:10
I'll finish with this.
53:12
You know that in
53:13
actual battle
53:15
situations, it's
53:18
almost always the
53:18
case that each
53:19
regiment has their
53:21
own colors, the
53:21
ensign or the flag,
53:23
you might call it.
53:23
It's a standard.
53:25
It's an ensign.
53:26
It's called the
53:26
regimental colors.
53:28
You'll find these
53:30
used on different
53:30
parades, even formal
53:32
parades.
53:33
But in an actual
53:33
battle situation,
53:35
almost always the
53:36
colors, the ensign,
53:38
goes before the
53:39
troops into battle.
53:40
They take their
53:40
inspiration from the
53:42
colors of the
53:43
regiment.
53:44
And they follow
53:44
whoever is carrying
53:45
the regimental colors
53:47
into battle.
53:48
They follow on from
53:49
that.
53:50
They take their
53:51
inspiration from that.
53:52
That's what gives
53:52
them, in a sense,
53:53
the courage to follow
53:54
it into battle, to
53:56
engage on behalf of
53:57
the cause that
53:58
they're fighting
53:58
for.
53:59
Well, the regimental
54:00
colors of Jesus are
54:02
inscribed with three
54:04
great words.
54:05
This is the regimental
54:07
motto, if you like.
54:09
You'll find it in the
54:10
psalm, in verse 4,
54:12
and your majesty, ride
54:14
out victoriously.
54:15
And here are the
54:15
battle colors.
54:16
Here is the ensign.
54:17
Here's the standard.
54:19
Here's the regimental
54:20
colors for meekness, for
54:22
the cause of truth and
54:24
meekness and
54:25
righteousness.
54:26
These are the great
54:26
words inscribed,
54:28
embroidered, if you
54:29
like, heavily onto this
54:31
standard, the ensign of
54:33
Jesus.
54:34
And as you see Jesus
54:36
going before His people,
54:39
so this ensign gives you
54:41
the encouragement and
54:42
the confidence to follow
54:44
Him and the inspiration
54:45
to follow Him, because
54:46
that's really a description
54:47
ultimately of Himself,
54:49
truth and meekness and
54:52
righteousness.
54:52
How do we face the
54:55
assault made upon the
54:58
cause of Christ by
55:00
falseness, by lies, by
55:02
false teaching, by
55:03
distortions of the
55:05
gospel?
55:06
How do we counteract the
55:08
pride, the brashness, the
55:10
arrogance of human
55:12
antagonism to God and to
55:14
His gospel?
55:15
How do you react to the
55:18
sin, the immorality that
55:20
is in your own heart and
55:22
also in the world, as you
55:23
see the word living without
55:24
God?
55:26
You follow the
55:27
ensign.
55:28
You take your inspiration
55:29
from Jesus Himself, this
55:31
wonderful, beautiful, mighty
55:33
King.
55:36
And for the sake of meekness
55:39
holiness and truth and
55:41
righteousness, you follow
55:44
the colors.
55:46
You engage with all the
55:49
disanimity with Christ on
55:51
His behalf and as His
55:53
people.
55:55
And that's what the
55:56
psalm sets out for us.
55:58
The beauty of Jesus and the
56:00
might of Jesus, His cause is
56:04
the most worthy of all.
56:06
And His cause is a cause that
56:07
we take up when we follow
56:09
Him.
56:10
And just as He heads up His
56:12
people for the cause of
56:14
truth and meekness and
56:15
righteousness, so that's
56:17
what we take to ourselves.
56:19
And for truth and meekness
56:22
and righteousness, these
56:24
great spiritual qualities and
56:26
moral qualities, we follow
56:28
Him.
56:30
And we follow Him into
56:31
engagement and battle with
56:33
everything that is at enmity
56:35
with Himself.
56:36
and with His people.
56:40
But let me finish with a
56:41
question.
56:45
Who is your King?
56:49
Whose colors are you
56:50
following?
56:52
What's inscribed on the
56:54
ensign of your life?
56:57
Is Jesus today your great
56:59
King?
57:00
Is His cause the most worthy
57:04
and important cause for you
57:06
to follow?
57:08
Have you truly entered into
57:11
the regiment of Christ, the
57:14
regiment of the saved, who
57:17
has our allegiance today?
57:21
Christmas time.
57:22
God's name.
57:23
The word became flesh and
57:26
dwelt among us.
57:29
We beheld His glory, glory as
57:32
of the only begotten of the
57:34
Father, full of grace and
57:36
truth.
57:38
That's our King.
57:40
He's our King.
57:42
And we are to live as His
57:46
people.
57:47
May God bless these thoughts on
57:50
His word to us.
57:52
We're going to conclude our
57:54
service just now singing in
57:55
Psalm 24.
57:57
Psalm 24 in the Scottish
57:59
Psalter version on page 230.
58:01
singing verses 7 to 10.
58:10
Ye gates lift up your heads
58:11
on high.
58:12
Ye doors that last for
58:14
a be lifted up.
58:15
That so the King of glory
58:17
enter me.
58:19
But who of glory is the
58:20
King?
58:21
The mighty Lord is this.
58:23
Even that same Lord that
58:25
great in might and strong
58:27
in battle is.
58:29
And as we read and sing
58:31
these verses, let's think
58:32
of them as the doors of
58:34
our heart being opened up.
58:36
The gates of our heart to
58:38
receive and to admit.
58:40
Once again the King as we
58:42
follow Him.
58:44
So these verses, ye gates
58:45
lift up your heads on high.
58:51
Ye gates lift up your heads
58:56
on high.
58:59
In yours and us all
59:02
name.
59:04
Ye gates lift up that
59:08
saw the King of glory
59:12
enter me.
59:15
But who of glory is the
59:20
King?
59:22
The mighty Lord is this.
59:27
He gates lift up your head,
59:32
in the Lord that great in might
59:34
and strong in battle is.
59:39
In the Lord that great in might
59:46
and strong in battle is.
59:52
He lifted up your heads, ye doors,
1:00:00
He lifted up your heads, ye doors,
1:00:00
Lord, start to last for aid.
1:00:06
He lifted up your head, ye doors, and
1:00:07
he lifted up your head, ye doors, and
1:00:07
he lifted up your head, ye doors, and
1:00:11
the King of glory enter me.
1:00:12
of glory
1:00:14
enter me.
1:00:17
But
1:00:18
who is he
1:00:21
that is
1:00:22
the king,
1:00:24
the king of
1:00:26
glory who
1:00:28
is this?
1:00:31
The Lord
1:00:32
of hosts
1:00:34
and round the
1:00:36
king, the king
1:00:39
of glory
1:00:40
is.
1:00:43
The Lord
1:00:44
of hosts and
1:00:47
round the
1:00:48
king, the king
1:00:51
of glory
1:00:54
is.
1:00:57
Alleluia!
1:00:59
Alleluia!
1:01:03
Alleluia!
1:01:04
Alleluia!
1:01:07
Alleluia!
1:01:08
Alleluia!
1:01:10
Alleluia!
1:01:17
Alleluia!
1:01:20
Alleluia!
1:01:22
Alleluia!
1:01:23
Alleluia!
1:01:24
Alleluia!
1:01:26
Alleluia!
1:01:28
Alleluia!
1:01:30
Alleluia!
1:01:31
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
1:01:33
the love of God the Father,
1:01:35
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
1:01:37
be with you now and evermore.
1:01:39
Amen.
1:01:40
Amen.