Theocracy

Theocracy

(No. 2848)

A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1903.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
SEPTEMBER 23, 1877.

"I will be your King." Psalm 44:4.

"You are my King, O God." Hosea 13:10.

THOSE of you who were present, this morning, will remember that I
preached upon the Kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ and that I
earnestly entreated my hearers to submit themselves to His Kingly
authority. [Sermon #1375, Volume 23– "NOW THEN, DO IT"] I hope that
many who were with us felt that an Almighty force was operating upon
them, making them willing to surrender themselves to the control of the
great King of kings. I dwelt, then, mainly upon the need of decision
for Christ and upon our duty to yield ourselves up wholly to Him. That
is the human side of the question and is, by no means, to be kept in
the background, but, on this occasion I want to speak to you upon the
privilege of having Christ for our King and upon the graciousness of
Christ in allowing Himself to be our King and permitting us to become
His subjects. My purpose, at this time, is rather to set forth what God
does for us in this matter than what He demands of us. To me it seems
inexpressibly beautiful that while we are, in one place, bid to "kiss
the Son" and accept Him as our King, we have, in another portion of
Scripture, such a delightful declaration as this, "I will be your
King." It is always interesting to trace great rivers to their sources.
You usually find that their springs lie far up among the mountains and,
if you trace back to their springs certain practical subjects that you
find in the Word of God, you get to the eternal hills of Everlasting
Love!

I am going, first, to run away from my text and to take another. If you
look in the 10th verse of the 13th Chapter of Hosea, which contains our
text, you will see these words near the end of the verse–"Give me a
King." So, our first head is the need of nature. Then, in the second
part of my discourse, I shall keep strictly to my first text–"I will
be your King." That is the answer of Grace. And then, thirdly, we shall
go back to the 44th Psalm, and at the 4th verse we shall find the
acknowledgment of faith–"You are my King, O God." That is our
program–may we be helped by the Spirit to carry it out and may we be
able, in our hearts, to go from step to step all through!

I. First, then, we are to consider THE NEED OF NATURE–"Give me a
king."

Man was once happy in Eden, for God was his King. But when he cast off
his allegiance to God and became a rebel and a traitor, then he lost
both his Paradise and his peace. Ever since then, man has, morally and
spiritually, needed a king–and the deep groaning of the natural man
is, "Give me a king."

Now, first, this is the cry of weakness. Man finds himself to be a poor
puny creature and he feels that he needs to look up to someone greater,
stronger, wiser, more enduring than himself. There are some plants that
cannot grow much unless they can get something stronger than themselves
to which they can cling and around which they can twine. You may,
perhaps, have seen them when they have been away from a wall or a tree,
stretching out their tendrils and seeking for something to climb upon.
And if they do not find it, they fall to the ground till, in the damp
weather, their leaves grow wet and rot–and the plant is in a sickly
state in which it can barely exist. Such is human nature. It is a
trailing thing and it gladly would be a climbing thing, and a clinging
thing. In some persons, this trait is very conspicuous. They are always
needing somebody to whom they can cling–and this tendency is the
source of the greatest possible danger and sorrow to them. They select
wrong objects for their love and trust and, consequently, they are
betrayed, they are disappointed and they sadly learn the meaning of
that text, "Cursed is the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his
arm, and whose heart

departs from the Lord." That is the result when this clinging tendency
is wrongly used, but many people have this tendency. Man is weak and he
knows that he is weak and, therefore, he cries, "'Give me a
king'–someone who will guide me, direct me, govern me, rule me, take
care of me."

Besides being the cry of weakness, it is also, oftentimes, the sigh of
distress. In the 9th verse of this Chapter, we read, "O Israel, you
have destroyed yourself; but in Me is your help." Then follows my first
text, "I will be your King." Do you see the connection of the two
passages? A King is promised to them because they had destroyed
themselves. When a man feels that he has destroyed himself, brought
himself down to destruction by his sin and folly, then he, too, cries,
"Give me a king." He needs help that he may be brought up out of his
sad condition. When a soul is really convinced of its sin and made to
see that it is brought under the sentence of God's righteous Law, it
naturally cries out for something, or someone, that can give it the
help which it does not find in itself. And this craving is often the
cause of our being duped–for a so-called "priest" comes in and he
says, "I can help you. I am ordained of God to rescue you from
destruction." Many people are willing to trust in anything that has
certain robes upon it, but, for my part, I will trust neither in
chasubles, nor albs, nor stoles, nor any decorations or dresses,
whether they are on linen-horses or on men-milliners!

What can there be in man, or in his clothes, that can be of help to his
fellow man in such a case as this? Besides, God has not entrusted such
a ministry as that to any man! God has bid His servants preach the
Gospel–and that Gospel conveys help, light and power to all who
believe it–but as for forms and ceremonies, musical performances,
ornate ritual, masses and the like, they are sheer deceptions through
and through! Trust not the weight of a feather to them–much less your
souls! But again I remind you that there is in man a craving which
makes him long for someone who can rescue him from destruction–and the
mercy is that God meets that craving by setting before us His dear Son,
who is Prophet, Priest and King! Prophet to reveal to us the mind of
God. Priest to cleanse us by His own blood and to make us acceptable to
His Father. And King to rule and control us and bring us into
conformity to His own will. I know that cry right well and for years I
sent it up from the very depths of my soul, "'Give me a king,' one who
is wise enough, strong enough and willing enough to help my soul in its
greatest extremity."

Further, dear Friends, if sinners were wise, this would also be the
prayer of thoughtfulness. I will suppose that I am addressing a young
man to whom God has given a wise and understanding heart. He has passed
his majority and is just about to leave his father's roof. And he now
feels that everything must depend upon himself and his own character.
He cannot depend upon others as he has done in the past. Now, if he is
a wise young man, he will say to God, "Give me a King," for he will
know from observation, I hope, rather than from experience, that
anarchy in the soul is a truly terrible thing. There have been men of
great talents, who, it seems to me, in the Providence of God, have been
permitted to live on purpose to show what a man is when there is no
King in his soul–when every passion that rules him, leads the mob of
his faculties to tumult and revolt. If his thirst said, "Drink," the
man drank till he was drunk! If his natural appetite and taste said to
him, "Gratify us," he gratified them even though, thereby, he plunged
into all manner of licentiousness and excess!

There have been men, I say again, of great talents, who have blazed in
the moral firmament like meteors and have astonished many with the
brilliance, yet luridness, of their light–yet their influence has been
baleful to the nation and mischievous to all men except those who
learned from them not to try to govern their own passions in their own
strength. To let all the powers within us be without a supreme Ruler is
the most terrible thing that can happen to any man! Young man, never
believe that it can be for your good to follow the leading of your own
evil passions. No, it is in restraining yourself that your welfare and
your happiness will lie, not in throwing the reins upon the neck of
carnal desires, but in reining in these fiery steeds and keeping them
well in hand. And, to do that, you need to pray, "Give me a

King."

It is a dreadful thing to lead an aimless life. I know no person, in
the whole world, who is more wretched than a man who has no true
objective in life. His father, perhaps, left him all the wealth that he
could desire and now the sole occupation of his being is to kill
time–and to dig its grave and his own, also–as quickly as he can! He
does not live to benefit others, he has no high and noble objective as
his guiding star–he simply squanders his time till it is all gone. Now
that is the most miserable man I know. A man who is toiling hard to
bring up a large family may be, and very often is, among the happiest
of men. A man who has an objective in life, especially if it is an
unselfish one and who strains all his faculties in order that he may
attain it, is sure to be happy! Possibly happier while he is pursuing
that goal, than after he has at-

tained it. Trying to win a race warms a man and produces in him joy,
the joy of activity, the joy of competition and, often, the joy of
success. But there are some young men who start out in life intending
to do nothing and they do it very thoroughly–they are great consumers
of bread, meat, wine and such-like things, but, beyond that, I know not
what is to be said about them! Such poor, aimless beings are always
unhappy. They pretend to be merry and they make a great noise which is
supposed to imply joy, but it is only like "the crackling of thorns
under a pot." They know nothing of what substantial pleasure means. I
would as gladly never have been born as live without an objective and,
long ago, I said, "'Give me a King.' Give me something to live for,
something to die for, something that commands all my faculties and
wakens up all my powers, something that stirs my spirit and makes a man
of me. 'Give me a King.' I must have a King, or else what is life worth
to me?"

Any thoughtful man will also have noticed that selfishness, if it
controls our life, is a mean thing. Look over there! Do not tell me
that So-and-So is a man–tell me that he is one of a herd of swine
greedily devouring all that he can grasp. He simply lives that he may
be rich, that he may be famous, that he may be called respectable–he
lives only for himself. His soul is so small that it is trooped up
within his own ribs. His heart, if he has one, is so cramped that it
never goes out on behalf of others, but only beats one tune and that
is, "Take care of Number One." That is a wretched kind of life and any
thoughtful young man must say, "I don't want to live like that, 'Give
me a King.' Let me keep clear of all selfishness. I do not want to be
under the sway of the tyrant, Self. Let me have something that will
rule and govern me. Give me a constitutional monarchy. Give me someone
who is worthy to have the control of my whole life."

I recollect that the thoughts which passed through my mind, when I was
starting in life, were something like these. I distrusted
self-guidance, for I saw how unsafe it was. I have told you before that
I knew one who was at school with me, who used to be held up as a
pattern and example to me, such a good boy, such an excellent young
man. He came to London and within a few weeks, London was too much for
him–I saw him come home in disgrace, his employer would not have such
a fellow in his house! I then said to myself, "That may be my
experience if I trust to myself. I should not like to begin life, away
from home, in disgrace, to continue it in dishonor and to die with
everybody feeling that it was a relief to the world when I was gone."
So I said to myself, "By what means can I ensure my character? Can I
get a guarantee that I shall be kept?" And when I turned to this
blessed Book and found that the Lord Jesus Christ had promised to keep
those who committed themselves unto Him, I accepted Him upon this
ground, as well as upon others, that He was able to keep that which I
had committed unto Him until the Great Day of His appearing. In that
sense, my prayer was, "'Give me a King,' somebody who will take charge
of me, care for me and protect me." And I believe that such a cry as
that is a very wise one for any young man to utter–and also for anyone
else who has not yet acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ as King.

Once more concerning this cry of nature, it often comes up as the
result of experience. Ah, how little do we learn except as we go to the
school of Dame Experience, who raps us on the knuckles very hard! When
a man discovers, to his surprise, that he has played the fool–as soon
as he becomes wiser, he says, "Give me a King." How many a man, who has
made shipwreck of his life and has only discovered it when he has been
upon the rocks, has at last cried, "Oh, that some strength greater than
my own had saved me from this ruin!" I have known men, when they have
been under a sense of danger, when they have seen death approaching,
begin to cry, "'Give me a King'–one who can fight the last enemy for
me, one who can ensure my safety when I pass through the Valley of
Death Shade."

This experience, too, sometimes makes a man feel the weight of
responsibility. He says, "How can I bear it?" And he wants someone who
is his superior, someone who will tell him what to do so that, when he
does it, the responsibility will no longer be with himself. Have not
many of you who are without Christ felt a desire to have somebody with
whom you could leave your responsibilities? Well, this is just what the
Christian finds in Christ–that he can bring all the difficulties in
his life to his great Lord and King, and leave them there–and find in
his King, when he obeys Him, the promise that in obedience shall be the
path of safety. It is a blessed thing to have such a King! When we have
once yielded ourselves to Him, our care is ended and we are at peace.
So much about the need of nature.

II. Now, secondly, and but briefly, I have to speak upon THE ANSWER OF
GRACE–"I will be your King." Listen to this short sentence, you who
are longing for a Master-Spirit to rule your spirits–"I will be your
King."

Notice the condescension of this promise. Here is a ruined Kingdom–"O
Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in Me is your help. I will be
your King." Who will care to wear the battered crown of a desolate
kingdom, whose metropolis is destroyed and whose land is sown with
salt? The great Lord and King of Mercy says, "I will. Lost and ruined
as you are, I will accept the monarchy of your soul. I will be your
King. You have had many lords who have had dominion over you, yet I
will be your King. And I know those pretenders are yet alive and seek
to set up their old claims over you and to get the mastery over you
again. It is an uneasy throne, yet I will occupy it. I will be your
King. Besides this, you are very unruly subjects. In this Kingdom there
are many thoughts, forgings and lusting that are in rebellion against
Me, yet I will be your King. Many disloyal subjects are there within My
town of Mansoul, yet I will be the Prince of it and drive out all the
followers of Diabolus. Enemies are threatening on the right hand and on
the left, and whoever becomes king must carry on a long and serious
war, yet I will take this crown of thorns and wear it–I will be your
King." Is not this wonderful condescension on God's part? Do not you,
Beloved, feel ready to spring up and say, "Blessed Lord, if You will be
our King, we will gladly be Your subjects, rejoicing that we may have
such a King as You"?

Notice next, how suitable and satisfactory such a King as this is to
be! If a man must have a king and yet can have his choice as to which
king shall be his, it is well for him to have the One whom Wisdom,
itself, would select, for there is none to equal Him! He is a King who
is able to subdue the whole territory of our nature through His
Almighty power by which He is able to subdue all things unto Himself. O
blessed King, we are glad to have You to rule over us and to have our
stubborn and rebellious passions brought under the power of Your Grace!
This gracious King is in every way worthy to rule over us. Think,
Beloved, what your God is, what your Savior is. Ought He not to be King
over you? Yes, verily, then let us set Him up on a glorious high throne
and let us rejoice that we can bow down before One whom it is an honor
to obey! What wisdom He has to govern us aright! Fools should not be
kings, but Infinite Wisdom is fully qualified to rule us altogether!
Then, what perfect goodness there is in the Lord Jesus Christ! What
unspeakable goodness in the Divine Father and in the ever-blessed
Spirit! Happy are the people whose King is the Lord of Hosts! Besides,
think what love He has shown to His subjects! Behold His head, His
hands, His feet! Look upon the spear-mark in His side, for it was by
those wounds that He bought us! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to be
crowned as our King and to receive the loyal homage of our hearts–

"Let Him be crowned with majesty

Who bowed His head to death.

And be His honors sounded high

By all things that have breath!

Jesus, our Lord, how wondrous great

Is Your exalted name!

The glories of Your heavenly state

Let the whole earth proclaim." So, it is a proof of Infinite
Condescension, on God's part, for Him to say, "I will be your King,"
and we realize what a suitable King He is for us and how satisfactory
it is for us to have such a blessed Master and Lord!

Then, Brothers and Sisters, how unspeakably consoling it is that the
Lord should be our King! I say, "consoling," for who could feel unsafe
or uneasy when Jehovah becomes his King? If the Eternal and Invincible
God becomes our King, what foe can harm us? His shield can protect us
from all the arrows that fly by night or by day! How consolatory it is
for us to submit to such a God–no longer to stand up in opposition to
Him, but to lie down at His feet as His loyal subjects–no longer to
have a will and a way of our own, but to submit unreservedly to the
will of God, to lie passive in His hands and let Him be our King! Have
you ever experienced this kind of consolation in a time of deep
affliction or bereavement? You have lost the delight of your heart, the
joy of your eyes, the dearest one you ever had–and you have somewhat
rebelled. In that rebellion has been the very bitterness of your grief,
but you have said, "The Lord has done it. He is my King, so He has the
right to do with me just as He wills." That is the great source of your
consolation–you never get relief from the anguish of your spirit till
you see Jesus as your crowned King and only Lord and lay your hand upon
your mouth and, in the silence of your soul say, 'It is the Lord. Let
Him do what seems good to Him."

And, oftentimes, this same precious Truth has consoled you when you
have been in great difficulties and embarrassments. I often sing to my
Lord those lines by F. T. Faber–

"When obstacles and trials seem

Like prison walls to be,

I do the little I can do,

And leave the rest to Thee.

And when it seems no chance nor change

From grief can set me free,

Hope finds its strength in helplessness,

And patiently waits on Thee." I do not know a stronger force in all the
world than utter helplessness–for that is the end of all care. Many
and many a time I have tried till my head has ached, to work out a
problem in Church government, but have not discovered the solu-tion–I
could not see any way out of it. So I have just done as a schoolboy
would who shuts up the two parts of his slate and puts it on the shelf.
I have said to myself, "I will never have anything more to do with the
matter, but will leave it for the Lord to solve." And I have found that
the proposition has been worked out for me in due time.

So, dear Friends, your strength is to sit still and to feel that you
have a King who can settle all your difficulties! When the servant at
the door is puzzled by the many questions that are put to her, she
says, if she is wise, "I cannot answer you, but I will go and ask my
master." And when she has received the message from her master, she has
no further trouble about the matter–she simply says, "I have told you
what my master says. If you do not like it, I cannot help that, for I
am only his messenger." That is the way to end all controversy! A young
man, or anyone else who has a number of questions put to him by various
persons, will be wise if he says, "Well, I have searched my Bible and
found what the King says about these points. If that does not satisfy
you, I am sure I cannot. Your quarrel is no longer with me, but with my
Master–you must settle the matter with Him." This is a blessed
consolation! It gives joy to the spirit to have God for your King. No
man is so free, no man is so happy as he who loyally bows before the
King of kings–to serve God is to reign! He who has God for his King,
is, himself, a king!

Further, think how gloriously inspiring it is to have God as our King.
I should not like to be a soldier in the armies of certain kings whom I
might mention. If I were in their service, I would try to run away as
soon as I could, for I would feel ashamed to have anything to do with
them. If you were a soldier in the army of some little, mean, beggarly
tyrant, I think that you would be glad to leave your regimentals at
home whenever you could. It is strange that any man could be found to
fight for some of the miserable miscreants who have been found in the
ranks of kings. But, with Alexander as leader, every Greek became a
hero! He was so great a warrior that each man in his army felt that he
was, himself, great. Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ becomes our King,
it is most inspiring to us, for He leads us on to fight with sin, to
fight with selfishness, to overcome evil by love and to conquer hate by
kindness! It is a grand thing to serve the King whose fights are all of
that sort and to have Him for a King who never shirked a battle, but
who was always to the front, the bravest of the brave!

It is grand, even, to unloose the laces of His shoes. To be trodden on
by Him would be a high honor. To do anything, however little, in His
cause, makes us feel ourselves elevated! My dear young Friend, if you
have God in Christ Jesus to be your King, your life will be sublime!
With Him for your Example, with His Grace to lead you on, you shall
continually rise higher and yet still higher until even your common
life shall be made sublime! Oh, blessed, blessed, blessed, thrice
blessed, is everyone to whom Jesus Christ is King and Lord! If we are
linked with Him, we are ready either to live or to

die! th th

III. Now turn with me to my second text, which you will find in the
44th Psalm, and the 4th verse–"You are my King, O God." That is THE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF FAITH.

Let me just pause a moment and ask each one of you here, "Can you say
that?" Can you say that, my Brother? Can you say that, my Sister? At
the close of this morning's service, we sang–

"'Tis done, the real transaction's done! I am my Lord's, and He is
mine," and it was noticed by careful observers that there were some
persons in the congregation who did not sing that verse. They shut
their mouths quite firmly while others around them were singing. I was
glad that they were honest enough to do so and that they would not sing
what they could not truthfully sing. At the same time, I was very sorry
that their honesty compelled them to make such a silent confession of
their lack of subjection to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not your King,
then? He is your Creator, but not your King? He is your Preserver, but
not your King? He will be the Judge of the

quick and the dead, yet He is not your King? He is the one and only
Savior of the lost, yet He is not your King? Sadly, sorrowfully, let
this thought eat into your spirit, "Then, I am a rebel against the Lord
Jesus Christ." For He is, lawfully and rightly, your King–and you are
a traitor, for your heart plots against Him! Remember, also, that if
you die without accepting Him as your King, there is a text which I
scarcely dare to quote, yet I must–and, as I do so, let it fall like
fiery hail upon your spirit–"But those My enemies, which would not
that I should reign over them, bring here and slay them before Me." God
grant that none of you may ever know what that terrible verse means!

But now, having given you that word of warning, I ask you to think of
the blessedness of having the Lord to be your King. If you look at this
44th Psalm, you will see that when God is our King, we may confidently
expect to enter upon our inheritance in the skies–"You did drive out
the heathen with Your hand, and planted them." That is to say, each one
of the tribes that entered Canaan under Joshua, obtained its proper
portion in the Covenant-given land of promise. And we who are under the
leadership of King Jesus, the true Joshua, the one and only Savior,
shall win the heritage above–and each one of us shall stand in his lot
at the end of the days, blessed forever and ever in our portion in the
heavenly Canaan!

Notice, next, that, if the Lord is our King, we may expect help in the
time of trouble. Read the whole of verse four– "You are my King, O
God: command deliverances for Jacob." If ever you are in poverty. If
ever you are in sickness. If ever you are under slander and reproach,
if ever your spirit is depressed–if ever family trials affect you, if
ever the clouds in your sky are heavy and the days are dark–you may go
to your King and tell Him all and expect Him to "command deliverances"
for you, for, if He is your King, He will see you through, bear you up
and make what appears to be evil to work for your good and cause your
troubles to prove to be the best of blessings to you! Who would not
have such a King as this?

Next, notice that if the Lord is our King, we should repose entirely in
Him, as the Psalmist says, "For I will not trust in my bow, neither
shall my sword save me." What a mercy it is to be able to put up your
weapons away–to feel that there is Another who fights for you–to have
done with care, worry, distress and just to feel that you have left
everything with Jesus your King! If He cannot do it, then it must be
left undone. Oh, it is blessed to feel that you have put the affairs of
your soul into your King's hands and that you have left the whole of
them with Him, in the utmost confidence! Who would not have a King upon
whom it is perfectly safe to rely?

More than this, he who has God for his King knows that he is saved.
Read the 7th verse–"But You have saved us from our enemies, and have
put them to shame that hated us." He who acknowledges Christ as his
Lord and Master knows that he is saved. His salvation is not a thing
that is to be accomplished tomorrow–it is done now. It is not a
privilege to be enjoyed only in the last few moments of our life, but
it is to be enjoyed now, for our King has covered us with the garments
of salvation! "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God," even
now. Our salvation is finished! Our great Messiah said so on the Cross
and He spoke the Truth. "He that believes on Him is not condemned."

And, last of all, he who takes Christ to be his King has cause for
great joy and rejoicing. In the 8th verse, the Psalmist says, "In God
we boast all the day long, and praise Your name forever." He who has
Christ for his King need never be ashamed of his Monarch, or of his
Monarch's livery, or of his Monarch's laws, or of his Monarch's
friends. He may, rather, adopt the high strain of boasting in his God
and triumphing in Him all the day long.

So I end by repeating the question I asked earlier in my discourse–can
each of you say, "You are my King, O God"? If not, what is your
position with regard to Him? If you do not acknowledge Him as your
King, you are a rebel! Yet, if you are ready to acknowledge that fact,
you come under the act of amnesty which is available for regicides–for
you rebels are just that, and even Deicides in having conspired to put
the King of Glory to death by your sin–and you shall have even this
high crime of God-killing blotted out from the King's records! You
shall be just as though you had never sinned at all if you are willing
to take Christ to be your King and Savior! "Him has God exalted with
His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to
Israel, and forgiveness of sins."

Will you have Him? I mean, the Son of God, who was also the Son of
Mary. I mean the Man of Nazareth, who is also very God of very God.
Trust to the Atonement which flowed from His wounds! Accept the power
which God has given to Him, for all power in Heaven and in earth is
given to Him! God has given Him power over all flesh, that He should
give eternal life to as many as His Father has given Him. Only trust
Him! Cast your souls upon Him! Yield yourselves to His sway! Repent of
your sin! If you lay hold upon His perfect righteousness at once, the
guilt of the past is gone and you shall be admitted into the full
privileges appertaining to citizens of the heavenly Kingdom and
subjects of the great King

of kings! I trust that even before this service closes, some of you
will say. "By the Grace of God and through the power of the Holy
Spirit, I yield myself to Jesus, my Lord and King, to be His loyal
subject and faithful servant forever and ever." God grant it, for His
dear Son's sake! Amen.

EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM 44:1-8; PSALM 45.

Psalm 44:1. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told
us what work You did in their days, in the times of old. Now Israel was
restored to Canaan and the Canaanite and Perizzite were driven out,
that God's chosen people might occupy their appointed place.

2, 3. How You did drive out the heathen with Your hand, and planted
them: how You did afflict the people, and cast them out For they got
not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own
arm save them: but Your right hand, and Your arm, and the light of Your
Countenance, because You did favor them. They did use their own arm and
sword but, for all that, it was God who won the victory for them. It
was His might that made them brave and a consciousness of His gracious
purpose that made them strong, so that they routed all their foes
until, from Dan to Beer-sheba, the land was all their own.

4-6. You are my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob. Through
You will we push down our enemies: through Your name will we tread them
under that rise up against us. For I will not trust in my bow, neither
shall my sword save me. See how the lesson from ancient history was
turned to practical account in the Psalmist's own experience? "As our
forefathers were delivered, not by their own bow or sword, but by the
right hand of the Most High, so I will not trust in my bow, neither
shall my sword save me." Brothers and Sisters, let us always labor to
reproduce in ourselves, by God's Grace, the best experiences of His
saints. Wherever we see the hand of the Lord displayed in others of His
people, let us pray that the same hand may be manifested to us and in
us.

7, 8. But You have saved us from our enemies, and have put them to
shame that hated us. In God we boast all the day long, and praise Your
name forever Selah.

Psalm 45:1. My heart is overflowing with a good thing: I speak of the
things which Ihave made touching the King. You know what King is
referred to here, it is He of whom the Psalmist said, in the 4th verse
of the previous Psalm, "You are my King, O God." "I speak of the things
which I have made touching the King."

1, 2. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the
children of men. The Psalmist writes as if he had been actually looking
upon Him. Faith has a wonderful realizing power–and when the soul is
deeply meditative, it seems to be full of eyes–"'You are fairer than
the children of men.' Though You are one of them, yet You are fairer
than all the rest of them. There is a beauty about You, O Lord, that is
not to be perceived in the brightest and best of the sons

of Adam!"

2-5. Grace is poured into Your lips: therefore God has blessed You
forever. Gird Your sword upon Your thigh, O Most Mighty, with Your
Glory and Your majesty. And in Your majesty ride prosperously because
of truth and meekness and righteousness, and Your right hand shall
teach You terrible things. Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the
king's enemies; whereby the people fall under You. There is no other
conqueror who is equal to Christ, whether He smites with His sword, His
foes who are near at hand, or shoots His arrows from His bow at those
who are far away. Whether the Gospel is preached to us who have long
heard it, or is proclaimed to the heathen in distant lands, it has the
same Almighty Power in it to work the glorious purposes of God's Grace.

6, 7. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: the scepter of Your
Kingdom is a right scepter You love righteousness, and hate wickedness:
therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness
above Your fellows. Note the connection here between God and Man–the
very same Person who is addressed as God, is also spoken of as anointed
by God above His fellows. God and yet Man are You, O blessed Jesus
Christ! You are very God of very God, yet just as truly Man, the
God-Man, the Mediator between God and man!

8-10. All Your garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of
the ivory palaces, whereby they have made You glad. King's daughters
were among Your honorable women: at Your right hand did stand the queen
in gold of

Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider. Listen, each one of you who
are a part of this matchless bride of Christ, you who are part of her
whom Christ has looked upon with infinite and eternal love–"Hearken, O
daughter, and consider,"

10. And incline your ear; forget also your own people, and your
father's house. God's message to His people in the world, today, is
just what it was when the Spirit bade Paul write to the Corinthians,
"Come out from among them, and be you separate, says the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a
Father unto you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord
almighty."

11. So shall the king greatly desire your beauty: for He is your lord;
and worship Him. Our Savior is our King and He must be both loved and
adored–"He is your Lord; and worship Him."

12. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich
among the people shall entreat your favor. When Christ's Church really
has her Lord in the midst of her, and when she is strong in the power
of His might, there will never be any lack of wealth for the carrying
on of His cause–"Even the rich among the people shall entreat your
favor."

13. The King's daughter is all glorious within. Other daughters are
often far too glorious without, but that is the best beauty which is
inward. "The King's daughter is all glorious within."

13-16. Her clothing is of worked gold. She shall be brought unto the
King in raiment of needlework: the virgins, her companions that
followher, shall be brought unto You. With gladness andrejoicing shall
they be brought: they shall enter into the King's palace. Instead of
Your fathers shall be Your children. We often see the hoary head laid
low, and the ripe saint taken home to Heaven–but the ranks of Christ's
retinue are not thereby thinned, for the sons shall stand in the place
of their fathers. God be thanked for this cheering promise! "Instead of
Your fathers shall be Your children,"

16, 17. Whom You may make princes in all the earth. I willmake Your
name to be rememberedin all generations: therefore shall the people
praise You forever and ever.