Sermon
#1294[1] Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: The Greatness of
Christ’s Glory In Salvation
Text: Psalm 21:5-6
Reading: Psalm
21:1-13
Subject: The Glory of Christ in Salvation
Date: Sunday Morning - September 7, 1997
Tape
# U-2
Introduction:
It is one of the plainest and most obvious truths of
Holy Scripture that the glory of God is and must be the first and ultimate end
of all things. As Bro. Scott Richardson brought out so clearly in his message
last weekend, God’s glory is himself, his essence, his nature, his very being.
Those magnificent attributes and perfections of his nature which identify him
and him alone as God are much more than mere emanations from and qualities of
his nature. Unlike us, God’s attributes are himself. His being is his glory.
When we think and speak of the great, almighty, solitary God in the trinity of
his sacred persons, we must always think of him in possession of all those
incommunicable attributes and perfections of his being which distinguish him alone
as God.
Yet, the glory of the triune God is revealed,
manifest to, and seen by us in the person of his dear Son our Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ. In Christ alone the invisible God is visible! Beholding his
glory, we behold all the fulness of the glory of the triune God! So great is
that glory that the Lord our God has prepared and appointed a whole eternity
(if I may be allowed to use such language) to display it to his creatures. It
is written…
Ephesians 2:7 "That in the ages to come he might show
the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus."
Not only shall the glory of God be revealed to us
throughout the endless ages of eternity; but it shall be revealed and made
known to us in the person of the God-man, God in our nature, our most glorious
Christ. Yet, there is a peculiar preciousness about this everlasting revelation
of the glory of God in Christ. Listen to this. The Holy Spirit tells us that
the glory of the triune God revealed in Christ is directly and inseparably
connected with his grace toward us. The revealed glory of God is, to all
eternity, connected with the salvation of his elect and our infallible, eternal
union with Christ. According to Ephesians 1:6, we are now and shall forever be…
Ephesians 1:6 "To the praise of the glory of his
grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved."
The glory of the triune God, that is to say, the
glory of our most glorious Christ, that One designated by the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit as the One in whom all fulness should dwell and the One who
should forever and in all things have the pre-eminence, is seen in many, many
things. The glory of our God is evident everywhere.
·
In Creation
·
In Providence
·
In The Scriptures.
Proposition: However, the glory of God is
seen most fully in the face of Jesus Christ as our Savior, and that glory is
most great and most greatly revealed in his salvation.
That is what I want to show you in this message.
Turn with me to Psalm 21. You will recall that when Moses asked God that he
might see his glory, that which God showed him was his sovereign goodness in
the salvation of sinners by Christ.
Exodus 33:18-19 "And he said, I beseech thee, show me
thy glory. (19) And he said, I will
make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD
before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show
mercy on whom I will show mercy."
Here, in Psalm 21:5, the psalmist declares, “His
glory is great in thy salvation.” Give me your attention for a few
minutes. May God the Holy Spirit take total control of my thoughts and of
yours, may he be pleased to speak through these stammering lips of clay and
give you ears to hear, as I try to preach to you about The Greatness Of Christ’s
Glory In Salvation. My text will be verses five and six; but we
will begin with verse one and work our way down to verse five. I realize that
David wrote the psalm and that it has a proper historical application to him.
But David was only a type of Christ. His kingdom was only typical of Christ’s
kingdom. His deliverances were by the hand of God. But hey were only typical of
Christ’s salvation of his people. And David’s glory was only typical of
Christ’s glory. The King in Psalm 21 is Christ or King. The salvation is Christ’s
salvation. And the glory is Christ’s glory.
Psalms 21:1 "The king shall joy in thy strength, O
LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!"
Here is a prophecy of our Savior’s joy as the result
of the salvation which he would accomplish. When God the Son had assumed our
nature, as agreed upon in the covenant of grace, having accomplished our
salvation by the strength of Jehovah, having entered in once into the holy
place with his own blood and obtaining eternal redemption for us, “how greatly did he rejoice!” What
bliss, what joy, what rejoicing there is in Immanuel’s heart as he sits upon
his throne. His work is finished. His Father is glorified. His people are
redeemed. Their salvation is certain.
Psalms 21:2 "Thou hast given him his heart's desire,
and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah."
What was our Savior’s heart’s desire? “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God!” “Father,
glorify thy name.” “Thy will be done.” It has been given to him. What was
the request of his lips? Was it not the salvation of his people? The heart
desire of Christ and the prayer of his lips, which cannot be and shall not be
withheld from him, was the glory of his Father and the eternal welfare of his
people. Nothing is so dear to the heart of the Son of God as our…
·
Redemption By His Blood.
·
Regeneration By His Spirit.
·
Comfort In Trouble.
·
Preservation In Trial.
·
Holiness Before His Father.
·
Happiness Forever In His Presence!
“Selah!” These are things before
which we should pause in thoughtful adoration. Stop here. Linger awhile.
Meditate on these things. Eternity will be too short for us to comprehend them
fully!
Psalms 21:3 "For thou preventest him with the
blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head."
The word “prevent” means to “precede” or “go
before.” So the meaning of this verse is that the Lord God bestowed all the
bountiful blessings of goodness and grace upon us in Christ even before Christ
came. Indeed, he blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ before the world
began (Eph. 1:3). Still, thee is more. God’s goodness toward his elect goes out
to them even before Christ comes to them in the secret workings of providence.
This text has reference to that great, wondrous mystery of prevenient grace,
grace which goes before and prepares the way for God’s saving grace.
Goodness and mercy precede Christ’s coming, come
with Christ, and follow Christ. Then exaltation and glory are given to him. The
Lord God, the triune Jehovah has set upon his head a crown of pure gold, a
pure, everlasting, precious, indescribably glorious crown.
·
As The Reward of His Obedience.
·
In The Hearts of His People.
Psalms 21:4 "He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of
days for ever and ever."
This refers to our Lord’s resurrection, exaltation,
and dominion, which he earned, asked, for, and received from his Father.
Psalms 16:8-11 "I have set the LORD always before me:
because he is at my right hand, I
shall not be moved. (9) Therefore my
heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. (10) For thou wilt not leave my soul in
hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (11) Thou wilt show me the path of
life: in thy presence is fulness of
joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures
for evermore."
John 17:1-2 "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up
his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that
thy Son also may glorify thee: (2) As
thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him."
Divisions: Now, as I wrap my message up and bring it
to a conclusion, I want to show you seven things in verses five and six about The
Greatness Of Christ’s Glory In Salvation. His glory is great as…
1. The Son.
2. The Surety.
3. The Servant.
4. The Substitute.
5. The Sovereign.
6. The Savior.
7. The Satisfier.
I. THE SON Christ’s glory is great in Jehovah’s salvation
personally as the Son of God.
Our text declares, “His glory is great in thy
salvation.” There are three things in the opening line of verse five
that I want you to see.
A. The salvation revealed and spoken of in Holy
Scripture is God’s salvation.
Everything spoken of in our text and everything
spoken of in the Word of God relating to salvation is of God, by God, and
belongs to God. Nothing relating to salvation is of man. There is much talk in
our day about man’s free will. But man’s free will has never done anything yet
except ruin him, until his will is conquered by God’s will. Any man left to
himself is sure to choose that which is evil and do that which is evil. As
naturally a water runs downhill, so the will of man is bent toward hell and
wickedness. If the heart and will of a man ever looks heavenward, ascends
upward toward holiness, chooses Christ, comes to Christ, and follows Christ, it
is because that man has been the object and recipient of God’s salvation. From
he first sigh of repentance to the songs of praise in glory, salvation is God’s
work. We are God’s workmanship. The universal testimony of Scripture is - “Salvation
is of the Lord!” We must never presume to mingle anything of the
creature with the glory of the Creator. Salvation is God’s! From beginning to
end, salvation is entirely God’s work. Those who say otherwise, at any point,
to any degree imply do not know God and have not experienced his salvation. Every believer, speaking of salvation,
ascribes it to the triune God. We call our salvation, “THY SALVATION!” It is God’s…
1. In Its Conception.
2. In Its Execution.
3. In Its Application.
4. In Its Preservation.
5. In Its Completion.
“When it is all finished, -- when every one, who
ever shall be called, has been called, -- when every one of the Lord’s elect
has been regenerated, justified, sanctified, and glorified, -- when the whole
of the blood-washed family of God shall surround the throne above, all the
glory shall be given to the Lord alone. There will be no jarring note in
heaven, no whisper of human merit, (OR FREE WILL!), no claim of a reward for
good intentions; but every crown shall be cast at Jesus’ feet, and every voice
shall join in the ascription, ‘Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name be
all the glory of the salvation which thou hast wrought out for us from first to
last.’” C. H. Spurgeon
B. Salvation comes from God and belongs to God; and our
salvation is for the glory of God.
Remember this. Never lose sight of it. It is his
glory, not ours, which is great in salvation. We who are made partakers of the
unsearchable riches of his grace are receivers only, not contributors. And we
are all alike receivers, and equal receivers. The great have nothing to bring.
The little have nothing to offer. We all receive everything as empty handed
beggars at the door of mercy.
“God’s glory is the first object proposed by
salvation. God is more concerned for the promotion of his glory than any of his
people can be for their happiness.” Robert Hawker
If salvation is for the glory of God and God’s work
alone, if we cannot and must not contribute anything to it, then God’s
salvation is a salvation exactly suited to the most helpless, most desperate,
most needy sinner there is. What stronger argument can their be to persuade you
to flee to Christ for salvation? Come, come, O helpless, guilty, desperate
sinners, come to Christ!
C. Now, get this: Christ’s glory as God the Son is
great in Jehovah’s salvation.
We are Trinitarians. We worship, love, and serve the
one true and living God in the trinity of his sacred persons, Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. We delight in the Father’s election, the Son’s redemption, and the
Spirit’s regeneration. However, the triune God has purposed that Christ, the
Son of God, God the Son, shall have all pre-eminence in the whole affair of
salvation, putting all fulness in the Son, for the glory of the Son.
1. All the fulness of the
Godhead is in Christ the Son (Col. 2:9-10).
2. All the fulness of salvation
and grace is in the Son (1 Cor. 1:30-31).
3. All the fulness of glory is
in the Son (John 1:14).
How I love to meditate upon, read about, hear about,
sing about, and preach about the glory of Christ! I am like a dying saint I
read about yesterday. Someone in the old lady’s room began to speak about the
greatness, grace, and glory of Christ. Others urged him to be quiet and let the
woman rest. As they did, she said, “Oh, speak some more! Let me hear more. Do
not stop telling his praise. I long to see him soon; but I want to hear about
him now!”
“Surely I cannot say too much of Jesus Christ. On
this blessed subject no man can hyperbolize. Had I the tongues of men and
angels, I could never fully set forth Christ…Oh, the loveliness, beauty, and
glory of his countenance! Can I speak, or you hear too much f such a Christ?” Isaac Ambrose
The tongues of men and angels combined, the tongues
of all men and all angels combined, could never tell out the glory of our all
glorious Christ. Let me therefore never look for another theme. May God give me
grace to give my life to its dying breath to preach the great glory of Christ
in the salvation of sinners.
Christ’s glory is great in salvation as the Son. Secondly,
and I must do no more than make a passing mention of this because time will
permit no more, Christ’s glory in salvation is great as…
II. THE SURETY.
It is impossible to talk about salvation in biblical
terms without talking about an everlasting covenant of grace made on behalf of
God’s elect and of Christ’s everlasting engagements as the Surety of that
covenant.
Hebrews 7:22 "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a
better testament."
Hebrews 13:20-21 "Now the God of peace, that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through
the blood of the everlasting covenant,
(21) Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Let me describe the glory of Christ in salvation as
our Surety. He is…
A. An Everlasting Surety.
B. A Voluntary Surety.
C. An Accepted Surety.
D. A Trusted Surety.
1. God the Father trusted his
Son as our Surety (Eph. 1:12).
2. I trust this great Surety.
3. Will you trust this Surety?
A. A Faithful Surety.
The Son of God, our all glorious Redeemer is great
in salvation as the Son, as the Surety, and thirdly as…
III. THE SERVANT.
In order to save us, as our great covenant Surety,
the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ became Jehovah’s Servant; and as
Jehovah’s righteous Servant his glory is great in salvation.
Isaiah 42:1-4 "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall
bring forth judgment (RIGHTEOUSNESS)
to the Gentiles. (2) He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor
cause his voice to be heard in the street.
(3) A bruised reed shall
he not break, and the smoking flax
shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. (4) He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the
isles shall wait for his law."
Christ’s glory is great in salvation as the Son of
God, as the Surety of the covenant, as the Servant of Jehovah, and fourthly as…
IV. THE SUBSTITUTE.
The greatness of Christ’s glory as our Substitute is
seen in the objects of his love, the purpose of his death, and the efficacy of
his atonement. Will you allow me to refer you once more to that glorious text
of Scripture (2 Cor. 5:17-21) describing the great glory of Christ in salvation
as our Substitute?
2 Corinthians
5:17-21 "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new. (18) And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
ministry of reconciliation; (19) To
wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God did beseech you by us: we
pray you in Christ's stead, be ye
reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
Christ’s glory is great in salvation as our
Substitute, and fifthly as…
V. THE SOVEREIGN.
The psalmist declares, “Honor and majesty hast thou laid
upon him.”
Psalms 45:2 "Thou art fairer than the children of
men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for
ever."
Hebrews 1:1-3 "God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
Hebrews 1:8 "But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom."
Having accomplished our atonement by his blood,
having obtained eternal redemption for us, the Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted
to the place of highest dominion as our Mediator. The God-man has been made the
sovereign Ruler of all the universe for the salvation of his people.
John 17:2 "As thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given
him."
That Man who died at Calvary now sits upon the
throne of God in heaven as Joseph sat on the throne in Egypt with Pharaoh. The
throne of Christ is…
·
A Sovereign Throne.
·
A Universal Throne.
1. Christ is Lord and King over
all angels.
2. Christ is Lord and King in
Zion, the Head of his Church.
3. Christ is Lord and King
everywhere, the Head over all things for his Church.
·
A Throne Of Grace!
The glory of Christ is great in salvation as the
Son, as the Surety, as the Servant, as the Substitute, as the Sovereign, and
sixthly as…
VI. THE SAVIOR.
How can these weak, sinful, stammering lips begin
describe the great glory of Christ in salvation as our Savior? His name is
JESUS because he is our Savior.
Matthew 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their
sins."
He shall indeed save all his people from all their
sins…
·
By Redemption.
·
By Regeneration.
·
By Resurrection.
The greatness of his glory as our Savior only
eternity will declare. Let me just scatter a few diamonds you can easily gather
up, take to the bank of faith, and draw upon forever.
A. The glory of Christ as the
Savior of sinners is to be seen in the people he saves.
B. Our Savior’s greatness and
glory is displayed in the obstacles he has overcome by his grace and power to
save us.
·
God’s Justice
·
Satan’s Power
·
Our Will
C. Our Master shows his
greatness and glory in the means by which he saves his people.
·
The Preaching of The Cross
·
The Allurement of Love
D. The greatness of Christ’s
glory in salvation is to be seen in the number of those whom he saves as well.
E. The great glory of Christ as
our Savior is distinctly seen in the fact that those who are saved by him are
attached to him forever. – He enshrines himself in the hearts of saved sinners
forever, with ever increasing devotion.
I have tried, in my very limited, feeble, sinful way
to speak to you about that which no human tongue is worthy to mention, least of
all mine; but it is my highest honor to do so. I hope the message has been
blessed of God to your souls, and that every one of you now see and rejoice in
the greatness and glory of Christ in salvation as the Son, the Surety, the
Servant, the Substitute, the Sovereign, and the Savior. And I pray that you who
have known him long and know him well, and that you who have never before known
my Lord will all leave here worshipping, rejoicing in, trusting, and praising
the Lord Jesus Christ for the greatness of his glory in salvation as…
VII. THE SATISFIER.
Turn back to Psalm 21 again. Look at verse six. Here
the sweet singer of Israel speaks by the Spirit of prophecy about the great and
glorious reward of Christ’s work as our Redeemer and Substitute, our Surety and
Savior, as Jehovah’s righteous Servant.
Psalms 21:6 "For thou hast made him most blessed for
ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance."
The first line of this verse could properly be
translated…
“Thou hast made him most blessed forever,” or “Thou
hast made him a blessing forever,” or “Thou hast made him blessedness forever.”
Either way, it is describing the glorious blessedness of Christ as our Savior.
He is the most blessed forever! He is a blessing forever! And he is blessedness
forever! Our most glorious Lord Jesus Christ is all the blessedness of all his
people forever! He is our satisfaction now; and he shall be our satisfaction
forever.
In his fulness is the sum and substance of all
blessedness. Listen to the Spirit’s testimony. In him dwelleth all the fulness
of the Godhead bodily; and ye are complete in him!” I have chosen my
words deliberately. Hear what I am telling you. The Lord Jesus Christ has undertaken to do, sworn himself to do, and
most assuredly shall do all that grace can do for all his people forever!
Christ himself will be our blessedness and glory
forever. I love the way Robert Hawker
put it…
“It is not enough in our contemplation of his
blessedness to say, that all gifts and graces; our happiness, our holiness,
will be given to us by him, to constitute our felicity in heaven; but it is HE
HIMSELF, which is, and will be, our heaven, our home, our everlasting portion.
The most capacious faculties ripened in glory will be filled from him, in the
ocean of his fulness; yea, he saith himself, ‘He that overcometh shall inherit all things’ (Rev. 21:7); and in
him, as our inheritance, we truly possess all things!”
Now, look at the last line of verse six. “Thou
hast made him exceedingly glad with thy countenance.” Our all glorious
Christ is forever, exceedingly glad!
·
In The Presence Of The Triune God.
·
Because Of The Pleasure Of The Triune God In Him.
·
With The People Of The Triune God Whom He Has Saved By His Almighty
Power And Grace Through The Merits Of His Blood And Righteousness.
Application: I have not even begun to
scratch the surface of this magnificent theme. The Greatness Of Christ’s Glory
In Salvation is a subject to big for time and mortality. I send you
home to meditate upon, worship, adore, and serve this great God, our great and
glorious Savior.
1.
He is glorious in himself. Honor and majesty are laid upon him!
2.
His blessedness to his people is immense beyond thought. He is most
blessed forever!
3.
See that this all glorious Christ is your salvation, your glory, your
portion, and your blessedness.
Look for these things nowhere else. They are nowhere
else to be found. Let me find nothing satisfying until I find Christ in it.
This I know – Nothing can be dissatisfying, no matter how unpleasant and
painful it is in itself, if I can see Christ in it. A conscious awareness of
his presence sweetens every natural, earthly bitterness. The love-tokens of his
favor heightens every joy. The sweet savor of his blessed name is as ointment
poured forth, a spikenard very precious, to perfume the lives of all who trust
him. May God be pleased to make Christ all blessedness to you and to me
forever.
AMEN.
[1] Misc. Sermon #1519-Danville (Tuesday-11/19/02)
Misc. Sermon #1294-Danville (AM 09/07/97)-Almont, MI-(08/21/98)