The Beauty and Might of King Jesus

there. So with these intimations then we'll begin our worship today and we're singing firstly

Psalm 145, Psalm 145, the second version of the psalm that's on page 444 and verses 1 to 7.

O Lord, thou art my God and King, thee will I magnify and praise. I will thee bless and gladly

sing unto thy holy name always. Each day I rise I will thee bless and praise thy name time without

end. Much to be praised and great God is, his greatness none can comprehend. How wonderful

it is to be reminded in this opening psalm of God's worthiness to be praised, of his greatness

and of his might and all other aspects of his being that make him worthy of our praise. So

with the worthiness of God in our minds, let's stand to sing these verses. O Lord, thou art

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.

O Lord, thou art my God and world and never say can I?

And great God is, His greatness done and of the end.

Great child, my word, great child to raise the mighty hand so done by Thee.

Thy mercy, God, and glorious grace, and honor all Thy majesty.

Thy wondrous works, I will impart, Thy end and my joy be extrobed.

O God, Thy grateful acts, O Lord, and Thy, Thy greatness will unfold.

They utter shall upon the tree the memory of Thy goodness quake.

And chants in praises cheerfully, I may Thy righteousness prevail.

Let's now call upon the Lord in prayer. Let's unite our minds in prayer.

Amen.

Almighty and gracious God, we give thanks for these great attributes that we have been singing of,

of Your greatness that comprise the beauty and the perfection of Your being.

We thank You, Lord, today that You have reminded us of Your worthiness to be praised,

that You alone are worthy of worship.

And so we gather together, Lord, today to worship You.

Help us to do so, Lord, with our hearts truly set upon the glorifying of Your name.

Help us to come before You with a true spirit of worship in our minds and hearts,

with our mind focused on those things that You have revealed in Your Word.

With our hearts, Lord, as we seek the blessing of Your Holy Spirit upon us,

our hearts quickened, our hearts revived,

and our hearts brought into tune with Your truth.

We thank You today, O Lord, that we have this opportunity,

this great privilege once again of being together to worship You as our God.

And we pray as we do so, Lord, that You would guide us into Your truth.

We thank You for the way in which we have Your own truth set out for us in written form,

and for the way that You have brought it to us in our generation,

with all its authority and relevance for our age,

as has been the case down through the years in the history of the world.

We thank You today, Lord, as we look back upon all that You have accomplished,

that You entered into this world in such a way as to provide for us an access to Yourself,

an access which we now use in the name of Jesus,

who is Himself the way, the truth, and the life.

We thank You today, Lord, that He took our human nature to Himself,

that You did so in such a way as would combine in His person the wonder of God and man combined,

and yet combined in such a way to retain the distinctness of the godhood and also of the manhood.

We thank You today, Lord, for the wonder of Your person,

for the beauty that pertains to You.

We pray today as we worship You that we would once again catch a glimpse of Your beauty,

for Your beauty makes us, Lord, stand in awe at Your majesty and Your perfection and Your truth.

And we come, Lord, today, and our hearts are needy that we should once again meet with You.

We pray, Lord, each of us here that You would bless us from Your Word,

that You would give to us, O Lord, as we struggle with many issues in life.

Help us, we pray, to realize Your perfection as the God and King of Your people.

We pray today, O Lord, that You would, as we seek the guidance of Your Spirit into Your Word,

we pray that You would help us, too, to retain it and to apply it in our lives in such a way, Lord,

as would reflect the beauty of Christ in us.

We ask today that Your blessing will be with all Your people wherever they gather.

We recognize, Lord, even as we are reminded in our bulletin sheet today of places in the world where people are persecuted

and even put to death for their faith, for their adherence to the Lord Jesus Christ,

and for the way in which they are determined not to be deflected from following Him,

from honoring Him, from speaking of Him.

Lord, we pray today that Your blessing will be with all agencies that seek to uphold these persecuted Christians,

whether it be through the Barnabas Fund or through Steadfast Global.

We pray for all their efforts, O Lord, and we pray for all Your people in the world today

when we are able to rejoice in the freedom that we have,

the many ways in which we can gather without fear as we do here today.

Lord, we pray for these places in the world where Your people don't have these liberties

and yet where they remain faithful to You.

We ask, Lord, for them that though we don't know them or don't know,

we confess we don't know even the majority of them or their circumstances,

yet we know that they are known to You and we know that Your interest is in them

and Your concern, Lord, is to be their guide and be their stay,

be their defense and be their shield.

Lord, we thank You today for the way in which Your Word brings us in the Psalms,

so many of our human experiences that we can bring before You in praise and also in prayer.

Lord, we thank You that You have gone before us so as to give us such a manual of praise

and so as to give to us the experiences of Your people and of Your church down through the years

that are expressed through the singing of Your praise.

And we thank You today that whatever depths we may have in the challenges of life

to contend with and against, that we find them in these words of the psalmist,

as we do also the heights of rejoicing and of joy that belongs to Your people also.

Oh, Lord, today we pray that as we come once again to celebrate the coming of Christ into the world

and His achievements in His life and death and resurrection from the dead,

Lord, we pray help us to do so, confident that He now lives forevermore,

that You are alive for the benefit of Your people,

that You minister to them through Your Spirit from Your throne on high.

Remember us, Lord, today as a congregation.

Remember us in all the variety of our need as we present this before You.

We pray, Lord, that You bless each and every home represented here

and those that belong to us not able to be here today.

We pray Your blessing for us, Lord, as we come towards the end of this year in our lives.

We, Lord, reflect upon the many challenges that You have provided for us

in Your providence throughout this year.

But we thank You, Lord, for the provision of Your sustaining grace,

for the many promises that go before us in Your Word

as we come to face these issues of life.

And so we remember today, O Lord, those who come towards the end of this year

with heavy hearts, with hearts that reflect upon the passing of loved ones

who have gone from the scene of time during this year.

Remember them, O Lord, and ask that You would draw near to them.

We pray that You would comfort them, that You would give them the strength that they require

as they reflect upon those that have now gone from their midst.

Lord, we give thanks for many precious memories that You enable us to hold.

We pray that You would grant Your blessing to uplift us

when the gloom settles in upon our lives

and when we know, O Lord, and realize that things are other than we would have chosen

or wanted to be.

Yet, Lord, we pray that You would turn us at all times to Your wisdom

and to the way in which You have ordered and patterned our lives

according to Your knowledge and according to Your wisdom

and according to the rule of Your will.

We pray, too, for those who have lost loved ones in times gone by.

Lord, we know that this time of year is a poignant time for those who reflect upon times of bereavement

and sorrow and loss and for whom these things, Lord, are an ongoing challenge

and an ongoing reality in their lives.

Continue, Lord, to bless us, we pray, with Your truth

and continue to provide for us as we come towards the turn of another year.

We ask, too, that You'd bless those who are ill at this time of our number,

those who are receiving treatment, who are recovering from surgical procedures.

And, Lord, we ask that You'd bless them and bless their families

and bless those who mourn even in these present days.

We commit them to You also and ask that You'd bless them.

Remember our children and our young people.

Grant to them, O Lord, as they hear of the gospel and of the message of Christ

having come into this world as a saviour.

O Lord, we pray that You would sanctify their young lives.

Give them as they hear of the truth of the gospel,

that they may come more and more and day by day

to be dedicated and committed to You

and to Your ways and to walk in Your paths.

We pray for them today.

We pray for all their families and ask that You'd bless them.

We pray that You'd continue to remember us, Lord, as a people

during this time of ongoing pandemic.

Lord, we pray that You would lift this from us.

We pray that You would grant us again to be restored to times

when greater freedom will be ours in terms of being able to engage

in activities that we have not had for many years.

We ask, Lord, that You would bless to us these past two years of difficulty,

of trial and of affliction and of sorrow and loss.

We pray that You would grant, Lord, to go before us

as a new year approaches.

May it be one that is filled with the light of Your countenance,

filled with Your blessing,

filled, O Lord, with those things that would further enrich our lives.

We pray that You would enable us, Lord,

to have once again a communion, the Lord's Supper,

dispensed and partaken of in our midst as a congregation.

Lord, we ask that You would, in Your providence,

enable us to be and enable us to come once again to rejoice

in the provision that You have made

in the remembrance of the Lord's death until He come.

Hear us, Lord, we pray now,

and pardon our many sins

as we confess our sins before You.

We ask it all in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Okay, now, children,

I know there's some watching online as well,

but it's good to see children back in the service today

during your time of holiday from Sunday school.

I hope you all had many presents to open.

I know that you probably received things that you'd asked for

for your Christmas.

Maybe you received some things that you didn't ask for as well

and were very different, perhaps,

to those things that you asked for.

But it's a great thing to receive and to exchange gifts,

which we do particularly at this time of year,

at Christmastime.

And if you think about your gifts,

I'm sure that none of you left your gifts unwrapped.

I don't suppose that any of you who received gifts

just said,

well, I'm not going to really bother opening that.

I'll just leave it

and see what happens in the turn of the year.

Every time we get a gift,

especially Christmas gifts,

we're eager to tear the wrapping off

and have a look and see what's inside and enjoy it.

That, of course, is true with the gift of Jesus to us as well.

We don't want to leave Jesus unaccepted.

We don't want to leave him as if he's just an ordinary gift.

He is God's great gift,

the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Now, I wonder if God spares us to see the next Christmas,

if the gifts that you received this Christmastime

will still be as precious to you

or as much used by you

as they have been in the last few days.

I doubt if any of you left your gifts unused

as well as unopened.

But I wonder how much your interest in these gifts

will continue through this coming year.

If you're like me, I'm very excited,

usually opening a gift,

but in the passing of time,

that interest or that enjoyment tends to decrease.

It tends to wane.

It tends to not be as intense as it is

when you first open the present.

And of course, whatever presents they are,

the contents will inevitably grow old

or you may become tired of them

or you might outgrow them.

Maybe they're no longer relevant as you grow up.

And even if you get the most wonderful

or expensive electronic gifts, for example,

some of you might have received some of those

if you're older,

but even that tends to be outdated after a while.

Mobile phones, whatever else you have,

and electronic gadgets,

they're always replaced by newer versions, aren't they?

So you tend to actually have the older versions.

Maybe it goes on for a while,

but then after a while,

you're tempted to exchange them

and people often exchange them as time goes on.

Well, with the gift of Jesus,

that's never the case.

He never becomes out of date.

He never needs to be replaced by a better model

because you can't get one that's better than Jesus.

And he never grows irrelevant or old

or unsuitable for what you need

at any time in your life.

So when you unwrap God's great present

of eternal life in Jesus Christ,

when you receive Jesus as your Savior,

when you trust in him,

when you believe in him,

he's there not just for life in this world,

he's there forever.

He never needs to be replaced

and you never want to replace him.

You never want to be without him.

That's the great difference

between the gift that God gives us in Jesus

and every other gift,

however expensive,

however much we enjoy it,

the gift of Jesus is special.

Special because there's no one like him.

And today in the sermon,

I'd like you to listen to the sermon as well.

I'll try and make it as easy to follow for you

as well as for the older ones.

And we're looking at the beauty of Jesus,

how beautiful he is and why he's beautiful.

And not only why he's beautiful,

but why he continues to be beautiful

because he never loses his beauty as our Savior.

And so I hope you had a really good,

happy Christmas.

And I hope that whatever you got

for your Christmas gifts

will continue to be special to you.

But do remember the special gift,

the gift of Jesus as our Savior,

that God in his love has provided for us.

And whatever age we're of today,

Jesus is the gift we need,

the gift we must never leave unopened.

So we're going to say the Lord's Prayer together.

Let's pray the Lord's Prayer once again.

Amen.

Our Father, which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom

and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.

Let's now read God's Word.

And we're going to read today

from the Psalms,

from Psalm 45.

Psalm number 45

in the book of Psalms.

We're going to read down through the Psalm.

It's not very long.

Psalm 45.

Psalm 45.

My heart overflows with a pleasing theme.

I address my verses to the King.

My tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

You are the most handsome of the sons of men.

Grace is poured upon your lips.

Therefore God has blessed you forever.

Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,

in your splendor and majesty.

In your majesty ride out victoriously,

for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness.

Let your right hand teach you awesome deeds.

Your arrows are sharp

in the heart of the king's enemies.

The peoples fall under you.

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.

The scepter of your kingdom

is a scepter of uprightness.

You have loved righteousness

and hated wickedness.

Therefore God, your God,

has anointed you with the oil of gladness

beyond your companions.

Your robes are all fragrant

with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces,

stringed instruments make you glad.

Daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor.

At your right hand stands the queen

in gold of Ophir.

Hear, O daughter, and consider

and incline your ear.

Forget your people and your father's house,

and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your Lord, bow to him.

The people of Tyre will seek with favor your gifts.

Your favor with gifts.

The richest of the people.

All glorious is the princess in her chamber,

with robes interwoven with gold.

In many colored robes she is led to the king,

with her virgin companions following behind her.

With joy and gladness they are led along

as they enter the palace of the king.

In place of your fathers shall be your sons.

You will make them princes in all the earth.

I will cause your name to be remembered

in all generations.

Therefore nations will praise you

forever and ever.

Amen.

May God bless to us.

Again, a reading of his word.

We're going to praise him once again.

We're singing Psalm 47 this time.

Psalm number 47.

This is in Sing Psalms.

You'll find that on page 62 of your psalm books.

And we'll sing the whole of this version of the psalm.

All nations, clap your hands and shout.

Let joyful cries to God ring out.

How awesome is the Lord most high.

Great king who rules the earth throughout.

He has subdued beneath our feet

the nations who had been our foes.

In blessing Jacob, whom he loved,

a heritage for us he chose.

Psalm 47.

These verses on page 62.

All nations, clap your hands and shout.

Amen.

All nations, clap your hands and shout.

Let joyful cries to God ring out.

How awesome is the Lord most high.

How awesome is the Lord most high.

Great king who rules the earth throughout.

He has subdued beneath our feet.

The nations who have been our foes.

prod stuff.

The people of themern you have to beное so thats simple.

God has been chosen.

God has gone up with chance of joy.

The Lord have made the trumpet sound.

Sing fresh, sing fresh to God's most high.

To all our kings and priests abide.

For God is king of all the earth.

Sing songs of Christ to him alone.

God rules the nations from all night.

He sits upon his holy throne.

The leaders of the nations come.

To yield themselves to Hebrews God.

To him beyond the shields of earth.

Exalted great is the Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, let's turn together now to Psalm 45 in the book of Psalms.

Psalm number 45.

I'm going to look today at the first five verses of the Psalm especially.

But focusing really on some of the detail there in regard to the two attributes of Jesus, of Christ as our king.

Firstly, his beauty and then his might.

Psalm 45, as you can see from the title there, is a love song.

But it's not an ordinary love song.

It's actually a wedding song.

It's a song of the relationship between a king and a commoner who's going to become his wife.

And that, of course, has tremendous spiritual significance.

The psalmist actually very liked the Song of Solomon in many of its expressions.

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.

That he is the one who is referred to here prophetically in anticipation as the warrior king who is altogether beautiful.

He has so many beautiful attributes that this song really describes them in such a way as would pour out.

As it says in the very beginning of the psalm, my heart overflows with a pleasing thing.

My address, my verses to the king.

It's not just that the verses are about the king.

They're addressed to the king as he is in his beauty set out before the psalmist.

And so that's the subject, this king that turns out to be King Jesus.

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.

And not just fulfilled, but fulfilled in specific detail.

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.

Inspired by the spirit of God as he moved different authors to write the various parts of it down through the years.

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,

without realizing really that God, or coming to the conclusion that God is really the author of all this from beginning to end.

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.

And when we think of a king marrying a commoner, not just a commoner in the sense of the aristocracy or maybe not royalty,

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.

She doesn't have any superior status, doesn't have any royalty, she doesn't have even aristocracy about it.

She is like the woman in the Song of Solomon.

She's just an ordinary down-to-earth person.

And when you think about Jesus coming to be spiritually married to his people, to his church,

to those that he saves and brings into this marriage relationship with himself spiritually,

a wonderful thing happens in that union between them.

Because all the debts that we have as sinners, all the debts that we have and what we owe to God,

that we cannot ourselves pay, Jesus takes these.

Jesus pays for these.

All the things that God requires of us, but that we cannot pay, that we cannot do.

The debt in which we placed ourselves by a rebellion against him as human beings,

that's what Jesus has taken.

The king has taken the debt to himself.

And he's happy to pay for it.

That's the meaning of Christmas.

The Son of God coming into the world.

Remember how Paul describes it in his second letter to the Corinthians.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Though he was rich and is rich, he's rich with the riches that is his as God.

Yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich.

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.

And through that work, through that completion, through that accomplishment, we are made rich as we come to be united to him.

And so, it's not just that our debts are passed to him and he pays the price of these debts by his death.

His riches are also passed to us.

This ordinary commoner married to this king can say after the marriage is accomplished,

after the marriage has actually been gone through, all the riches of the king become hers.

They're all passed over to her.

And isn't that one of the most amazing things, one of the most wonderful things to celebrate,

not only at this time of year, but all times.

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.

So, let's look at the beauty of Jesus described in these words and also the might of Jesus, the strength of Jesus,

the Jesus who accomplished such great things for his people.

First of all, this beauty, you can see here in verse 2,

You are the most handsome of the sons of men.

Grace is poured upon your lips.

Therefore, God has blessed you forever.

You're not just handsome, but the psalmist is saying,

You are the most handsome of the sons of men.

There is nobody else that has that level of beauty,

that level of spiritual handsomeness that belongs to Jesus.

He is beautiful, first of all, in his person,

because we're talking here about the Son of God.

We're talking about the beauty that belongs to the divine,

the beauty that belongs to God,

the beauty and perfection of God himself as it is in Jesus Christ,

the Son of God.

That's something that did not actually cease to be the case,

the truth about him.

Remember Psalm 27,

where the psalmist is there speaking of the beauty of God as well.

In verse 4,

One thing I have asked of the Lord,

and that will I seek after,

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire in his temple.

When you think about the beauty of God,

the beauty that's in Jesus as the Son of God,

the divine beauty that is his,

we're talking here of the beauty,

we're thinking here of the beauty of his love,

the beauty of God's love,

the beauty of love that does not love

just in order to get something back in return,

but loves because he is love,

because he loves to love.

The beauty of goodness,

the beauty of perfect wisdom,

the beauty of truth that never becomes other than truth,

constant, eternal truth,

the beauty of Jesus in his person,

in terms of the beauty of God.

There's so much you could amplify in these points,

so much you could elaborate,

because the Bible is full of this beauty of God

and the different ways in which God has made his beauty known to us.

All the attributes that God has are attributes that manifest,

that show out his beauty.

But then remember,

Jesus is human as well,

perfectly human,

completely human.

He took our human nature to himself.

The Son of God joined humanity to his deity

so as to complete in himself

one perfect person,

two natures in one person.

The mystery of Christ as our Savior,

God and man together.

And it's the beauty of a perfect humanity,

a perfect human being.

What is that like?

Well, it's like Jesus,

because that's who he is,

and that's what he is like.

And every time you read about him in the Scriptures,

in terms even of his humanity,

you always stop to admire that humanity.

You just imagine what it must have been like,

even to the extent that we can,

and we can't go into it too far,

but the beauty of a perfect man and a perfect life.

You think of him being brought up as a child,

and then as a little boy,

and then as a young man,

and there's never any flaw in him.

He has the beauty of perfect behavior,

perfect speech.

He has the beauty of that which is perfect

in its humanity,

in every aspect of it.

You can just think as far as you can of his parents.

I wonder how many times they stopped his parents.

That is, his mother Mary,

and his legal father Joseph,

because of course his father is ultimately God,

the Father.

But think about him being brought up by them.

Think about how they never saw anything in them

that was sinful,

that was contrary to what God required.

every single thing he did,

every single word he said,

every aspect of his behavior,

while he learned because he was human,

and while his learning as a human developed,

and all of that is true of him,

just as it is of any human,

yet it is perfect.

He is the perfect human being,

the beauty of perfect humanity,

that which did not exist ever since Adam fell,

ever since we became flawed human beings,

sinful human beings.

But Jesus is the perfect human,

the beauty of a perfect,

perfect humanity,

and the beauty of the perfection of God.

He's perfect.

He's beautiful in his person.

You are the most handsome of the sons of men.

But he's also beautiful.

Secondly, in his speech,

mentioned that a minute ago in terms of his humanity,

but is specified here,

grace is poured upon your lips,

or into your lips.

In other words,

he is endowed with the most perfect speech.

And if you look at the Gospels,

and read the Gospels,

you'll soon be aware of how people were marveling,

and just wondering over the words that came from his lips.

For example, in the Gospel of Luke,

Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

you remember that great occasion

where Jesus in the synagogue took the book of Elijah,

the scroll of Elijah was given to him.

He unrolled it and found the place where it was written,

the Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to proclaim good news to the poor,

to speak out good news,

to preach good news to the poor,

the words of his lips.

And so on he went to proclaim

the year of the Lord's favor,

and he rolled up the scroll,

and gave it back to the attendant,

and sat down,

and the eyes of all in the synagogue

were fixed on him.

And he began to say to them,

And today the Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,

and all spoke well of him,

and marveled.

And then listen to the words of Luke.

Marveled at the gracious words

that were coming from his mouth.

Marveled at the words of grace

that were coming from his mouth.

And they said,

Is not this Joseph's son?

And so on.

But these words especially

fit in with Psalm 45,

don't they?

It's almost as if Luke

at the time was just thinking

of reading Psalm 45.

Grace is poured

into or upon your lips.

You are endowed

with the most amazing speech.

You are endowed

with the most amazing ability

to speak words of grace.

Grace has been poured

into your lips.

And you know,

when you come,

as those of you who know Jesus

as your Savior

know very well,

when he spoke to you

through his word,

when he spoke to you,

when the Spirit of God

took the words of Scripture

and impressed your heart

and mind with them,

as you heard the voice of Jesus say,

Come to me and rest.

You know that these words

were words filled with grace.

Words that were not

of an ordinary type of speech.

They were words

of the Son of God.

Words of the Savior.

Words by which he awoke you

to your sense of need.

Words by which he introduced himself

to you.

As the perfect Savior.

Words that you still remember

and still hear

and still long to hear

is the words of grace.

Words of favor.

Words of blessing.

God endowed him

so that his ministry

would be

a ministry of grace,

a ministry of favor

to lost sinners.

There is a beauty

in all his words.

And of course,

we know that because

he is the Son of God,

because he himself

is behind

the inspiration,

the setting out

of Scripture

as we have it,

Old Testament

as well as New Testament.

It wasn't just

at the beginning

of Matthew's Gospel

or in those times

of the incarnation,

of the coming of Jesus

into the world,

the birth of Jesus.

That's not when Jesus

began to live.

That's not the beginning

of his life.

He didn't have

the beginning of life

ultimately because

he is God.

He has eternal

life as God.

And you see the beauty

in his words,

the beauty

in his promises,

beauty even

in his commands,

beauty in his counsel,

beauty in his comfort,

beauty in his correction

because he is always

about setting us

on the right path,

keeping us

on the right path.

Beauty of words

of peace

that he speaks

into your heart.

How beautiful

are the words

of Jesus

when your heart

needs peace,

when your heart

needs to rest,

when you're faced

with the challenges

of this life,

with the many

different aspects

of affliction

and of grief

and of sorrow

and of change

that you find

in your experience

from day to day,

from year to year.

As you come towards

the end of another year

in which you've seen

changes,

especially if you've

lost loved ones,

if your health

has been an issue,

if your mental health

has been an issue,

if all of these

things and others

you could add to them

have been issues

and challenges for you.

How wonderfully

beautiful are the

words of Jesus

because he addresses

you in these

circumstances

with his perfect

knowledge,

with his concern

to bring his

promises to bear

upon your circumstances,

to impress upon you

and to give you

an even deeper

conviction

that his word

is always true,

his word

is always reliable,

his words

are always beautiful.

the beauty

of Jesus,

beauty in his

person,

beauty in his

speech,

in whatever he

says,

whether it's even

at times to

bring us up

short and

show us how

far short we're

coming of

the standard he

expects and

requires of us.

maybe it's even

today a time of

correction for me

or for you

to set us back

on the right

path,

to refocus our

mind upon

the things that

are of eternal

importance.

Well, that's

beauty as well,

isn't it?

The beauty

of Christ's

words.

But secondly,

along with the

beauty of Jesus,

these words in the

psalm speak of the

might of Jesus.

Jesus,

he's talking here

in verse 3,

gird your sword

on your thigh

and then let

your arrows

that are sharp

pierce the hearts

of the king's

enemies in verse

5.

So the might of

Jesus, you can

see him described

here as a

warrior king,

somebody who is

constantly equipped

for battle.

And of course,

when the Bible

speaks about battle

in this way,

it's not talking

about fighting

literally.

A lot of

people make

that mistake

that we as

Christians really

just set out

the Bible as

containing all

these terms of

violence, that

the Bible is

responsible for

much of the

violence in the

world, for the

conflict between

different views

that human beings

have.

Well, of course,

Christ in his

might and in

these terms that

are used here,

they're used

especially in a

spiritual meaning.

And it's been

the case, I

know very well,

and you know

very well that

down through

history, at

certain times

Christians have

taken up the

sword as if we

present the

gospel accompanied

by violent

means in order to

persuade people to

accept it.

That's not what

Christianity is

about.

That's a

distortion of

Christianity.

That's a

distortion of the

values of Christ.

Because when Christ

goes out to

conquer, he

goes out to

attack our

hearts and our

minds by ways

of his truth.

He brings us,

as it says there,

into subjection to

himself.

In verse 5,

your arrows are

sharp in the

hearts of the

king's enemies,

the people fall

in subjection

under you.

The subjection

that is talking

here of Jesus

is the subjection

of your heart

and your mind

to him, to be

ruled by him, to

be ruled gladly

and willingly by

him.

It's not a

forced subjection,

it's not something

that's done

violently.

That's why we

value our

freedom of

religion, among

many other

freedoms like

freedom of

speech, freedom

of thought, freedom

of religion.

We don't force

people into

acceptance of

Christianity or

of Christ.

We seek to

persuade them.

We seek to

persuade them by

the beauty of

Christ, by

emphasizing the

beauty of

Christ, by

emphasizing his

beauty in his

person and in

his words and in

everything else to

do with him so

that they be

persuaded to

lay down that

rebellion against

him, the

spiritual rebellion

that is ours by

nature and come

and yield to his

authority.

And that's our

basis of

confidence in the

gospel, isn't

it?

That this

gospel, this

good news of

life, of

eternal life in

Jesus Christ,

that is not

dependent ultimately

on our ability,

whatever ability

we have or

don't have to

speak or to

preach or to

witness or to

testify for him,

the success of

the gospel does

not rest with

that.

It rests with

the power, the

might of Jesus

himself.

It's in the very

nature of the

word of Christ

that he uses in

order to persuade

us to come to

be in subjection to

him, to accept

his truth, to

accept him as

our Lord, accept

him as our

Savior, accept

him as the King

and Lord of all

the earth.

It's interesting,

isn't it, that

Psalm 45

follows on from

Psalm 44.

I know you're

saying, well,

that's logical,

45 follows 44

in terms of

numerical sequence,

but what I mean

is in terms of

the content of

Psalm 45, it's

deliberately placed

beside Psalm 44

because Psalm 44

is by and large

a psalm of

defeat, a psalm

of lament, a

psalm of seeking

to have God

refocus them and

re-guide them and

bring them back to

know himself.

And there's his

appeal there in

verse 23, Psalm

44, awake, why

are you sleeping,

O Lord?

Arouse yourself, do

not reject us

forever.

Why do you hide

your face?

Why do you forget

our affliction and

oppression?

Our soul is bowed

down to the dust,

our belly clings to

the ground.

Rise up, come to

our help, redeem

us for the sake of

your steadfast love.

What is the next

portion of the

Psalms?

My heart overflows

with a pleasing

thing.

I address my

verses to the

king, and then he

describes his

beauty.

You see, the

beauty of Jesus

and the might of

Jesus is really

the answer to our

human problem.

It's the answer

to, and I'm using

the term problem

in the singular

because the human

problem includes all

our problems.

All our concerns

and all our wants.

But God's answer

to that is in the

beauty and in the

might of Jesus,

in his suitability

and in his

sufficiency to

actually deal with

our problems, and

to deal especially

with the problem of

our sin, which is

the root of all

other problems.

Our sin, our

rebellion, our

broken relationship

with God, and

into that comes

Jesus Christ, the

beauty and the

might that is

his.

And the might of

Jesus, you see, the

might of Jesus has

seen that he never

loses in his

campaign for the

truth.

Christ has never

lost a battle.

The church has

lost many battles,

but in the overall

scheme of things,

the Lord has never

lost a battle.

You find it

described in the

Gospels, especially

as the battle

between good and

evil, the battle

between Jesus, the

head of his people,

and the likes of

Satan, who is at the

head of this great

campaign against

Jesus and against

his truth and

against the light.

And every time you

find Jesus confronted

by the devil, whether

it's in the

wilderness, in

Matthew chapter 4,

Matthew 4 · chapter mention

or Luke's description

of it, or Mark's,

you'll always find that

the ultimate victory

is with Jesus.

He never loses a

battle, nor will he

ever.

And you know, that's

some of the most

comforting thoughts

that you can have.

Some of the most

comforting truth that

comes from the

Bible to you and to

me today is that in

all your battles, in

all your struggles, in

all the things that

you experience in this

life, where you know

failure, where I know

failure, when your

trust is in Jesus,

ultimately, in the

final analysis, you're

never on the side of

failure.

You're always on the

side of victory,

because this is your

king.

This is who your

king is.

One who never loses

in his great campaign

that he heads.

You know, even

coming to the

description in the

Gospels of his

death on the cross,

and all that led up

to his trial,

which was a sham,

really, of a trial,

and then his being led

out to be crucified,

and his death that

actually took place on

the cross.

Looking at it

outwardly, and

probably the devil was

of this opinion.

Looks like defeat,

doesn't it?

And you find these

disconsolate disciples

who had been as

disciples during these

years with him, and

here they are, and

they're disconsolate.

They haven't understood,

of course, at that

stage, the meaning of

the cross, and

especially before the

resurrection took place,

you'll find, as in

Luke 24, these

disconsolate, downcast

disciples walking

together and reflecting

on what's happened.

We thought this was

he who would redeem

Israel, and where is

he?

He's in the grave.

But then someone

came and joined

their company.

Someone no less

than Jesus himself.

And as he revealed

to them who he was,

that he was indeed

Christ, risen from

the dead, as they

then reflected on him

as he eventually

disappeared from sight,

and went out of

their company.

Did not our heart

burn within us

while he explained

to us the

scriptures?

He opened the

scriptures.

He opened their

minds to understand

the scriptures, the

beauty of his speech,

the beauty of his

words, the beauty of

his person, and they

realized this is who

he is.

He's risen from the

dead.

He's not lost the

battle.

He's actually the

victor.

He's conquered

death.

He's beaten sin.

He's overcome all

of that.

And so we overcome

with him.

And by him and by

being joined with

him, we come

indeed to share in

that victory that is

his.

See the way in which

he appeals here,

verse 3,

gird your sword on

your thigh, almighty

one in your splendor

and majesty.

And then think about

the difference between

a sword used in an

actual battle

situation and the

sword that you find

in a ceremonial

situation.

Well, the sword that

Jesus uses,

spiritually of course,

again, is not a

ceremonial sword.

It's one by which

he conquers and goes

out and brings

people into subjection

to himself.

The sword of his

truth, the sword of

the Spirit, the Word

of God.

And his cause is the

most worthy of all.

I'll finish with this.

You know that in

actual battle

situations, it's

almost always the

case that each

regiment has their

own colors, the

ensign or the flag,

you might call it.

It's a standard.

It's an ensign.

It's called the

regimental colors.

You'll find these

used on different

parades, even formal

parades.

But in an actual

battle situation,

almost always the

colors, the ensign,

goes before the

troops into battle.

They take their

inspiration from the

colors of the

regiment.

And they follow

whoever is carrying

the regimental colors

into battle.

They follow on from

that.

They take their

inspiration from that.

That's what gives

them, in a sense,

the courage to follow

it into battle, to

engage on behalf of

the cause that

they're fighting

for.

Well, the regimental

colors of Jesus are

inscribed with three

great words.

This is the regimental

motto, if you like.

You'll find it in the

psalm, in verse 4,

and your majesty, ride

out victoriously.

And here are the

battle colors.

Here is the ensign.

Here's the standard.

Here's the regimental

colors for meekness, for

the cause of truth and

meekness and

righteousness.

These are the great

words inscribed,

embroidered, if you

like, heavily onto this

standard, the ensign of

Jesus.

And as you see Jesus

going before His people,

so this ensign gives you

the encouragement and

the confidence to follow

Him and the inspiration

to follow Him, because

that's really a description

ultimately of Himself,

truth and meekness and

righteousness.

How do we face the

assault made upon the

cause of Christ by

falseness, by lies, by

false teaching, by

distortions of the

gospel?

How do we counteract the

pride, the brashness, the

arrogance of human

antagonism to God and to

His gospel?

How do you react to the

sin, the immorality that

is in your own heart and

also in the world, as you

see the word living without

God?

You follow the

ensign.

You take your inspiration

from Jesus Himself, this

wonderful, beautiful, mighty

King.

And for the sake of meekness

holiness and truth and

righteousness, you follow

the colors.

You engage with all the

disanimity with Christ on

His behalf and as His

people.

And that's what the

psalm sets out for us.

The beauty of Jesus and the

might of Jesus, His cause is

the most worthy of all.

And His cause is a cause that

we take up when we follow

Him.

And just as He heads up His

people for the cause of

truth and meekness and

righteousness, so that's

what we take to ourselves.

And for truth and meekness

and righteousness, these

great spiritual qualities and

moral qualities, we follow

Him.

And we follow Him into

engagement and battle with

everything that is at enmity

with Himself.

and with His people.

But let me finish with a

question.

Who is your King?

Whose colors are you

following?

What's inscribed on the

ensign of your life?

Is Jesus today your great

King?

Is His cause the most worthy

and important cause for you

to follow?

Have you truly entered into

the regiment of Christ, the

regiment of the saved, who

has our allegiance today?

Christmas time.

God's name.

The word became flesh and

dwelt among us.

We beheld His glory, glory as

of the only begotten of the

Father, full of grace and

truth.

That's our King.

He's our King.

And we are to live as His

people.

May God bless these thoughts on

His word to us.

We're going to conclude our

service just now singing in

Psalm 24.

Psalm 24 in the Scottish

Psalter version on page 230.

singing verses 7 to 10.

Ye gates lift up your heads

on high.

Ye doors that last for

a be lifted up.

That so the King of glory

enter me.

But who of glory is the

King?

The mighty Lord is this.

Even that same Lord that

great in might and strong

in battle is.

And as we read and sing

these verses, let's think

of them as the doors of

our heart being opened up.

The gates of our heart to

receive and to admit.

Once again the King as we

follow Him.

So these verses, ye gates

lift up your heads on high.

Ye gates lift up your heads

on high.

In yours and us all

name.

Ye gates lift up that

saw the King of glory

enter me.

But who of glory is the

King?

The mighty Lord is this.

He gates lift up your head,

in the Lord that great in might

and strong in battle is.

In the Lord that great in might

and strong in battle is.

He lifted up your heads, ye doors,

He lifted up your heads, ye doors,

Lord, start to last for aid.

He lifted up your head, ye doors, and

he lifted up your head, ye doors, and

he lifted up your head, ye doors, and

the King of glory enter me.

of glory

enter me.

But

who is he

that is

the king,

the king of

glory who

is this?

The Lord

of hosts

and round the

king, the king

of glory

is.

The Lord

of hosts and

round the

king, the king

of glory

is.

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God the Father,

and the communion of the Holy Spirit

be with you now and evermore.

Amen.

Amen.