"Blessed in Him"
(No. 2451)
A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD'S-DAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1896.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING,
FEBRUARY 7, 1886.
"Men shall be blessed in Him." Psalm 72:17.
I wish that I could speak at my very best concerning the glorious Him
who is mentioned in the text, but I have hardly got into full working
order after my season of rest. One's voice becomes rusty, like an
unused key, and one does not, at first, feel quite at ease in speaking
after a time of comparative quietude. Do not, however, think that my
subject is a poor one–if there are defects in my discourse, remember
that it will only be the speaker who is poverty-stricken–not the great
King and Lord of whom he is speaking. "Men shall be blessed in Him." O
Sirs, if one had the tongues of men and of angels, and if one could
only, for once, use that speech which it is not lawful for a man to
utter–those words which Paul tells us that he heard when he was caught
up to the third Heaven–if we could even speak as never man yet spoke,
we could not fully set forth all the glories of Him of whom this text
speaks!
David's thoughts, doubtless, rested in part upon Solomon when he said,
"Men shall be blessed in him"–and our Lord, Himself, spoke of Solomon
in all his glory. But what poor stuff is human glory at the very
highest! The, "Him," mentioned in the text, the higher and the greater
Solomon who is truly meant in these words, has a real Glory–not of
earthly pomp and fading tinsel, nor of gold and pearls and precious
stones, but the more excellent Glory of Character and the true beauty
of Holiness. In Him all Divine excellences are blended. I cannot hope
to set Him forth as He deserves. I cannot tell you all His virtues and
His glories, but, oh, He is very dear to many of us! His name is
engraved on the fleshy tablets of our hearts and when we lie upon our
last bed and all other things shall be forgotten in the decay of
nature, we shall still remember that dear name which is above every
name! The contemplation of our Savior's blessed Person shall then
absorb every faculty of our being! "Men shall be blessed in Him," the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Savior, the
Redeemer, the God Over All, blessed forever, who is also bone of our
bone and flesh of our flesh!
As I should fail altogether to speak of Him as He deserves, I will not
attempt the impossible task, but will try to speak of men being blessed
in Him. That is a note a little lower. If we cannot reach the highest
octave, we may attain to a lower one. Yet, while we speak of the
blessing that comes from Him, let us still think of Him from whom the
blessing comes, and let us remember that as all blessings come from
Him, it is because all blessings are laid up in Him–because every
conceivable good is stored up in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ,
"and of His fullness have all we received, and Grace for Grace."
I. My first remark concerning the text is that it makes mention of AN
AMAZING CONDITION–"Men shall be blessed in Him." It is an amazing
condition to be blessed, for, by nature, men are not blessed. We are
born under a curse. Our first father turned aside the blessing when he
disobeyed God's command and, in the early dawn of the day of our race,
he darkened our sky once and for all. The curve still abides upon man,
that in the sweat of his face he shall eat bread, and upon woman, that
in sorrow she shall bring forth children. How much woe lies in the
curse that falls upon us in consequence of our own personal sin! "Who
slew all these"–these comforts and joys of life? Oftentimes, they have
been slain by a man's own hands through his own sin, or through the
sins of those who surround him. The trail of the old serpent is
everywhere! You cannot open your eyes without discovering that man is
not blessed, but oftentimes abides under the curse. Put that Truth of
God down before you and then read the text, "Men shall be blessed in
Him."
Apart from Him, they are accursed! They wring their hands and wish they
had never been born–and some sigh and sorrow almost without ceasing.
Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward, and it is an amazing
thing that any man should be blessed–so amazing, that no man is ever
blessed until he comes to be connected with the Lord Jesus Christ–"Men
shall be blessed in Him."
Many people who forget all about the curse, nevertheless acknowledge
that they are unhappy. Go up and down among the whole race of men and
how few you will find really happy! I believe that none are truly happy
until they are in Christ, but even if they were happy, that is not the
word that is used in our text. It does not say, "Men shall be happy in
Him." It gives us a fuller, deeper, richer word than that–"Men shall
be blessed in Him." To be more happy may be a thing of time and of this
world only. I do not mean that the happiness may not be true and real,
but still, compared with all that the word, "blessed," implies, the
word, "happy," has no eternity, no depth, no fullness, no force in it!
So that, even if men were happy, they would not come up to the fullness
of the promise in our text. But, alas, the mass of men are
unhappy–sighing for this and mourning for that–never blessed, but
only hoping to be so. The text, therefore, comes in with its sweet
silvery ring, telling that men shall cease to be unhappy and that they
shall rise even above merely being happy–they shall come to be
"blessed in Him."
I regret to say that there is a third class of people who, when they
rise above the curse and are not absolutely unhappy, yet nevertheless
are in a state of doubt and hesitation. We could not positively say
that they are cursed, for we hope that some part of the blessing has
fallen upon them. We may not call them unhappy, yet we know that they
are not eminently happy. They hope that they are saved, or they trust
that they shall be safe at the last, but they are not sure that the
blessings of salvation are already theirs. Our text does not say that,
in Christ, this condition of luminous haze, if I may so call it–this
condition of doubt and uncertainty is all that is to be attained. No,
but it says, "Men shall be blessed in Him"–and no man can call himself
truly blessed till he knows that he is blessed, till he is sure of it,
till he has passed the period of dubious questioning, till he has come
out of the miry and boggy country of hesitation and doubt and stands
upon the firm ground of full assurance, so that he can say, "I am God's
child. The Father's love is fixed upon me; I have a part and portion in
the Covenant of Grace–I am saved."
Now it is to that blessed condition that the text directs our
thoughts–it promises that men shall be delivered from the curse, that
they shall be lifted up from their natural unhappiness, that they shall
be rescued from their doubtful or their hopeful questioning–and shall
even come to be blessed! God shall pronounce them blessed. He shall set
upon them the broad seal of Divine approbation and call them blessed!
And with that seal there shall come streaming into their hearts the
sweetness of intense delight which shall give them experimentally a
blessing to their own conscious enjoyment!
Let me tell you what Christ does for a man who is really in Him and
then you will see how he is blessed.
The man who comes to Christ by faith and truly trusts Christ has all
the past rectified. All his sins, whatever they may have been, are
pardoned in a moment as soon as he believes in Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. His iniquities are blotted out and are as if they had never been
committed. As the cloud passes away and is no more to be seen, so the
thick clouds of our sins are dispersed by Christ as soon as we believe
in Him! Nor will they ever return to darken our sky. The forgiveness
which God gives is not temporary, but eternal! Once pardoned, you are
pardoned forever–the act of Divine amnesty and oblivion stands fast
forever and ever. Is not that man truly blessed, then, who is made free
from sin? David says, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputes not
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile." This is the
blessedness which Christ gives to those who are in Him, that, as for
the past, in its entirety, with all its blackness, with all its
aggravated sin, He has taken it upon Himself and borne the penalty due
on account of it–He makes a clean sweep of it and says of the man who
trusts in Him, "Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven you; go in
peace." That is one part of the blessedness of those who are in
Christ–the past is all forgiven.
At the same time, the man who is in Christ receives present favor. As
soon as we truly believe in Jesus, there steals over our heart a
delicious sense of rest according to His gracious invitation and
promise, "Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest." And as we go on to serve the Lord and take His
yoke upon us and learn of Him, we find rest for our souls, for His yoke
is easy and His burden is light. I believe that, oftentimes, a child of
God, when he realizes his union to Christ, feels so blessed that he
does not know of anything that could make him more blessed than he is!
He says, "I am perfectly content with my Lord and with what I am in
Him. With myself, I am always dissatisfied and always groaning because
I cannot entirely conquer sin, but with my Savior I am always
satisfied! I am triumphant in Him and rejoicing in Him, indeed, blessed
in Him."
Some of you know what a blessed thing it is to be a child of God and an
heir of Heaven–how blessed it is to have the Throne of Grace where you
can take your troubles and to have a Helper who is strong enough to
deliver you. I spoke, the other day, with a Christian friend, and I
said to him, "My life sometimes seems to be like that of a man walking
upon a tight rope. The walk of faith is very mysterious–one false
step, or one slip and where would we be?" My friend replied, "Yes, it
is so, no doubt. But then, underneath are the everlasting arms." Ah,
that is a blessed addition to the figure– there is no slipping off the
rope on which God calls us to walk, but if there were, underneath are
the everlasting arms, and all is well! And the Christian, when he knows
that and lives as one should live who is in Christ, is, even now, a
truly blessed man!
But that is not all, for he who believes in Christ has his future
guaranteed. He does not know how long he shall live and he does not
want to know, for his Father knows. God knows all that you and I may
wish to know–and as He knows it, it is better than our knowing it!
Whether our life is long or short, He will be with us unto the end. And
as our days our strength shall be. He will sanctify to us every trial
we meet and nothing shall, by any means, harm us. He will bring us
safely to our journey's end and we shall go through the cold death
stream without a fear! We shall rise triumphant on the shore of the
hill country on the other side and we shall behold our Savior's face
without a veil between forever and forever! All this is an absolute
certainty if we are the children of God, for it is not possible that
one of the Divine family should perish–that one bought with the blood
of Christ should ever be cast away! He will keep His own and preserve
them even to the end. Are they not blessed, then, and is not the text
full of sweetness as to this amazing condition, "Men shall be blessed
in Him"?
Where are you, you blessed men and women? Where are you? Come and enjoy
your blessedness! Do not be ashamed to be happy! I believe that some
Christians are a little frightened at themselves when they find that
they are full of joy and if, perhaps, they should ever break through
the rules of decorum and express their joy, then they turn crimson! It
was not thus with the saints of old, for sometimes they spoke and sang
so loudly of the joy of their hearts that even their adversaries said,
"The Lord has done great things for them," and they replied, "The Lord
has done great things for us; therefore we are glad!" And again they
lifted up their hallelujahs. Then were their mouths filled with
laughter and their tongues with singing. So let it be with you, for you
are, indeed, a blessed people if you are in Christ!
II. Having thus dwelt upon this amazing condition, I now give you
another keyword. The text says, "Men shall be blessed in Him." This is
A WIDE STATEMENT.
Oftentimes, the greatest Truths of God lie in the shortest sentences.
There is a great mass of Truth within the compass of these few
words–"Men shall be blessed in Him." There are only six words, here,
but to make the wide statement true requires breadth of number. You
could not well say, "Men shall be blessed in Him," if those to be
blessed were a very few. It is not possible that the Election of Grace
should consist of a few scores of persons making up an especially
favored denomination–otherwise the Psalmist would not speak after this
wide fashion, "Men shall be blessed in Him." The Holy Spirit is not
given to exaggeration and He would have put it, "A few men will be
blessed in Him." But here there is nothing of the kind! It is, "Men
shall be blessed in Him," meaning the great mass of the human race,
vast multitudes of the sons of Adam! I believe that when this
dispensation comes to an end, notwithstanding all the dreary centuries
that have passed, Christ shall have the pre-eminence as to numbers as
well as in every other respect–and that the multitudes who shall be
saved by Him shall far transcend those who have rejected His mercy. The
text says, "Men shall be blessed in Him." That is to say, the most of
men, innumerable myriads of men shall get the blessing that Jesus
purchased by His death on the Cross.
But when the text says, "Men shall be blessed in Him," it implies great
width of variety. "Men"–not merely kings or noblemen, but, "Men shall
be blessed in Him." Men–not working men, or thinking men, or fighting
men, or this sort of men, or the other sort of men, but men of all
sorts–"Men shall be blessed in Him." It is a delightful thought that
Christ is as much fitted to one rank and one class of persons as to
another–
"While Grace is offered to the prince,
The poor may take their share.
No mortal has a just pretense,
To perish in despair."
Christ is the Christ of the multitude! His Father says of Him, "I have
exalted One chosen out of the people," but He is equally the Christ of
the most refined and eclectic. He comes with equal Grace to those who
stand in the highest or the lowest earthly position. "Men shall be
blessed in Him." Of course, the word, "men," includes women and
children–it means the human race! "Men shall be blessed in Him." Do
not, therefore, let anyone say, "I am a strange, odd person," for the
text puts in this little-big word, "men," which takes you in, whoever
you may be! If you come to Christ, you are included in this promise,
"Men shall be blessed in Him." So that there is a width of variety
implied here.
Our text also indicates length of period. "Men shall be blessed in
Him." Men have been blessed in Him these many centuries, Christ has
shone with all the radiance of Omnipotent Love upon this poor fallen
world, but His light is as full as ever and, however long this
dispensation shall last, "Men shall be blessed in Him." Though some of
those men are, perhaps, gray with years and decrepit through age, yet
the promise still stands, "Men shall be blessed in Him." And while that
verse has the word, "shall," in it, why should not the grayest head
receive the Divine blessing? Why should not a man who is on the borders
of the grave yet lay hold of this blessed text and say, "I will trust
Him in whom men shall be blessed"?
Further, the text suggests fullness of sufficiency concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ. There is a wonderful depth of meaning in this passage
when it says, "Men shall be blessed in Him." "Oh," says one, "men shall
he blessed by philosophy, or by Christ and philosophy!" Not at all. It
is, "Men shall be blessed in Him." "But they shall be blessed in Him
through trade and commerce and the like." Not so! "Men shall be blessed
in Him." Have we not, who are half a century old, heard a great number
of theories about how the millennium is to be brought about? I remember
that at one time free trade was to bring it, but it did not! And
nothing will ever make men blessed unless they get into Christ–"Men
shall be blessed in Him." The quacks are crying up this remedy and
that, nostrums old and new–but there is only one true Physician of
souls! It is the Christ of God who alone has the balm that will cure
the disease of sin! When He is received, the world shall be blessed.
But as long as He is rejected, the curse will still remain upon the
sons of men. "Men shall be blessed in Him."
Oh, that our fellow men would receive Him! Oh, that they would bow down
before the Crucified and acknowledge Him as their Lord and Savior! Oh,
that all would look up to His wounds, still visible in His Glory, and
put their trust in Him! Then should come that glorious time when wars
shall cease to the ends of the earth and every evil shall be put away.
His unsuffering Kingdom must yet come! Oh, that it might come speedily!
But it can only come through Himself, not by any other means. "Men
shall be blessed in Him." Anything short of trusting in Him will end in
eternal failure. You have noted, dear Friends, these two things, the
amazing or, singular condition, and the wide statement.
III. Now I want to dwell for a minute or two, for the exaltation of our
Lord, upon THE FULL ASSURANCE which is expressed in this text–"Men
shall be blessed in Him."
The Prophet speaks here, my Brothers and Sisters, in a very positive
manner. There is no quiver in his voice, there is no hesitancy about
his speech. I am afraid that at the present moment there are some, even
of godly men, who tremble for the Ark of the Lord and the hand of Uzzah
is visible here and there! But the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord
needs no steadying hand from you or from me–the cause of God is always
safe in His own keeping. The cause of the Truth of God is always
secure, for God preserves it. Let us not be afraid, neither let us be
discouraged. It is a grand thing to get a sentence like this with a,
"shall," in it–"Men shall be blessed in Him. " It is not, "perhaps
they may be," but, "Men shall be blessed in Him." Not, "perhaps they
may be blessed under certain conditions," but, "Men shall be blessed in
Him."
This means, in the first place, they shall not try Him and fail. There
never was a man who came to Christ who failed to get a blessing from
Him! There never was one who believed in Jesus and yielded himself up
to the gracious sway of the Prince of Love who did not get a blessing
from Him. I have never met with a Christian yet, who, in life or in
death, has said, "I have been disappointed in Christ. He has deceived
me. I sought and hoped for blessedness, but I have missed it." Never
can this be truly said! "Men shall be blessed in Him." If they really
come to Him, they shall not miss this blessedness.
No, I go further and say that they shall not desire Him and be denied.
There was never a soul that desired to be blessed in Christ and was
willing to yield itself up to Christ, that Christ did ever reject!
There is no one in Hell who can truthfully say, "I came to Jesus and He
spurned me." And there never shall be one such, for it is written, "Him
that comes to Me I will in no wise cast out." The foot that was nailed
to the Cross never spurned a sinner yet. The hand that was pierced
never pushed away a penitent! Christ is all invitation–there is no
rejection about Him–He constantly bids sinners come to Him and this
text is true for you, whoever you may be, "Men shall be blessed in
Him."
I am glad to go as far as that and to say that none who ever came to
Christ failed to get a blessing from Him–and that none who desire to
come to Him have ever been denied by Him! But I am going still further.
"Men shall be blessed in Him," that is to say, they shall come to
Christ and get the blessing. Some, alas, will not come to Him. But, O
Sirs, if any of you refuse to come, do not make any mistake about the
matter! You think that by refusing His invitation you will thwart
Christ and defeat the purposes of God, but that is absurd! The King's
wedding feast shall be furnished with guests–and if you who are bid
will not come, there are others who will! He will send His servants out
into the highways and hedges to compel others to come in, that His
house may be filled! Do not imagine that the result of the death of
Christ depends upon you and that it is in your power to prevent the
accomplishment of the Almighty purposes of the Savior's love! No, no!
"He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of
the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see of the travail of His
soul, and shall be satisfied."
If you believe not, I must say to you what Christ said to the Jews,
"You believe not, because you are not of His sheep." His sheep hear His
voice and He knows them, and they follow Him, and He gives them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. "All that the Father gives Me," He
says, "shall come to Me." Not one of those whom God has given to His
Son shall be left to perish! They shall all come to Him and so the text
shall be fulfilled, "Men shall be blessed in Him." Do not imagine that
when Jesus hung there on yonder bloody tree and groaned away His life
for men, He was dying at a whim! There was at the back of Him the
Eternal Purpose and the Covenant that cannot be changed–and the
Invincible One who, without violating the will of men, can yet achieve
the will of God, making men willing in the day of His power–turning
them from darkness to light and from the power of sin and Satan unto
God!
Be of good courage, my Brothers and Sisters–the consequences of
redemption are not left in jeopardy! Those results which God has
purposed will, to the last jot and tittle, be fulfilled. "Men shall be
blessed in Him." It is not to me a question whether Ethiopia shall
stretch out her hands to God–she shall do it, though I may not live to
see it. It is not to me a question whether the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ–they must
become His! Let us work in this confidence and believe every promise in
this blessed book. If we get down-hearted and full of fear, we are
unworthy of our Lord. If we served a temporal prince with limited
power, we might talk with bated breath, but the banner that gleams on
high, above our ranks, is the banner of the Lord God Omnipotent–and
the shout that shall be heard at the last, is this–"Alleluia! for the
Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"
I ask you–Is it not very natural that He should reign? If He really is
Omnipotent, are not all the certainties as well as the probabilities in
favor of His universal dominion? Must He not reign? Yes, says the
Spirit, "He shall reign forever and ever." "Men shall be blessed in
Him." There is the tone of full assurance about this blessed prophecy!
Therefore, let us rejoice and praise the name of the Lord.
IV. Now, lastly, I want you with all your hearts to think of my text
with A PERSONAL APPROPRIATION– "Men shall be blessed in Him."
Dear Hearers, are you blessed in Christ? Will you answer the question
personally? Do not pass it around and say to yourself, "No doubt there
are many who think that they are blessed who are not." Never mind about
them! For the present moment, ask this question of yourself, "Am I
blessed in Christ?" Some people think that they have Christ as their
Savior, but their religion brings them no blessedness. They go to
Church or to Chapel very regularly. They are, apparently, a good sort
of people, but a part of their religion consists in being, on the
whole, as comfortably miserable as they can! As to anything like
blessedness, that does not enter into their minds. Now, if my religion
did not make me really happy, I would seriously question whether I was
a possessor of the religion of the happy God, for "Men shall be blessed
in
Him."
"Oh," says one, "but we have so many trials and troubles!" Ah, that we
have! Do you know a man or woman who does not have any? I should like
you to mark all the doors in London where people live who have not any
trouble–it will not cost you much for chalk! There is nobody without
trouble! If a man could be without trouble he would be without a
blessing, for in this world one of the rarest blessings–one of the
richest, truest blessings that God ever sends to His children is
adversity! He sends more blessings upon the black horse than He ever
sends upon the gray one! It is the messenger of sorrow who often brings
the choicest jewels to our door. Ah, there is many a woman who has not
left her bed these dozen years, or had a fair night of rest all that
long time who is truly blessed! There is many a man who is as poor as
poverty can make him, shivering in the cold, tonight, and scarcely
knowing where to find another bit of coal to keep his little fire
alight–yet he is blessed! If it were necessary, I could get some of
you to stand up and testify that though you have very little of this
world's joys, and very little of temporal goods, yet you can say, "Yes,
I am blessed, I am blessed indeed–
"'I would not change my best estate, For all that earth calls good or
great! And while my faith can keep her hold I envy not the sinner's
gold.'"
Well, you have that blessedness, then, enjoy it! What would you think
of a man who went thirsty when he had a well in his back yard? What
would you think of a person who always went about poverty-stricken
though he had millions in the bank? Think of Mr. Vanderbilt standing in
the street and asking passers-by for a half-penny! Yet I have seen
children of God act like that in spiritual things. A little boy came up
to me in an Italian town and asked me to give him a soldo– he meant a
half-penny. He was quite a moneyed man, for he had a farthing in his
pocket! He took it out and showed it to me and he seemed delighted with
it. But then he said that it was the only one he had in the world. You
might think, from the way some persons act, that they had about a
farthing's worth of faith, but that is all they have. Is it not so? O
you who have Christ and God, this world and worlds to come and whom God
has pronounced blessed–what? Are you going to live the starveling life
of the unblessed and the unsaved? I pray you, do not! Gentlemen, live
according to your quality! Peers of the upper house–for you are such
if you are born again–I beseech you, act in accordance with your true
nobility. Has not Christ made you princes and kings? And has He not
said that you shall reign with Him forever and ever? Look up, then!
Lift up your heads and say, "Yes, He has blessed me, and I am blessed,
indeed! My poor spirit dances for joy because of Him!"–
"'My heart it does leap at the sound of His name.'" "But," says one, "I
have never enjoyed that." My dear Friend, if you can believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ, you may enjoy it! To believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ is to trust yourself with Him just as you are–to cast your
guilty soul on Him. Oh, that you would do it! That one act will mark
your passing from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.
That one act will be the means of your coming into the glorious liberty
of the children of God and your life shall be totally changed from that
time forth so that you shall joy in God by Jesus Christ our Lord! "Men
shall be blessed in Him." Are you to be one of those men? God grant
that you may be! The Lord add His blessing, for Jesus' sake! Amen.
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–72 (SONG I), 436, 438.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: PSALM72.
This is a Psalm which relates to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ,
not as the Man of Sorrows, but as the King of Glory–not as David,
struggling to secure the throne–but as Solomon, seated upon it, and
reigning in peace.
Verse 1. Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your righteousness
unto the king's Son. Our Lord Jesus Christ is both a King and the Son
of a King. He is King of kings and, therefore, our Sovereign by His own
native right. But He is also our Sovereign Prince as the Son of God.
Oh, that the Lord would visibly give into His hands power over all the
people of the earth! "Give the king Your judgments, O God, and Your
righteousness unto the king's Son."
2. He shall judge Your people with righteousness and Your poor with
judgement. It is the peculiar characteristic of the reigning Christ
that He has His eyes chiefly upon the poor. Most princes rule in the
interest of the great ones around them, but our King rules for the good
of the poor of His people.
3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills,
by righteousness. The reign of Christ is the reign of righteousness,
the rule of true uprightness and, consequently, it is the reign of
peace, love and joy. Oh that His gentle rule were acknowledged by all
the kings of this world!
4. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of
the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. This is the King we
want to reign over us! Oh, that the day were come for Him to take the
crowns from all other heads and to wear them on His own! And to take
all scepters from other hands and gather sheaves of them beneath His
arms, and to be universally proclaimed, "King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords"! Then would the world's loud hallelujahs rise as with the sound
of mighty thunders. O God, how long shall it be before this glorious
King takes to Himself the power that is His by right?
5. They shall fear You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout
all generations. All other kings and princes and rulers pass away. Our
King, alone, has an everlasting Kingdom. Where are the dynasties that
have ruled over vast empires? They have passed almost out of
remembrance, but the promise to our King still abides–"They shall fear
You as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations."
6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that
water the earth. The reign of Christ, even now, is to the poor
dispirited sons of men like rain upon the mown grass! And when He shall
come in His Glory, as He will shortly come, His coming shall be as
blessed to this world as the gentle showers are to the grass that is
newly mown.
7. 8. In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace
so long as the moon endures. He shall have dominion also from sea to
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. This is God's
decree. As surely as He has set His King upon His holy hill of Zion, so
surely will He make Him to "have dominion from sea to sea, and from the
river unto the ends of the earth." I do, therefore, expect greater
Glory for the Cross of Christ than any that the world has hitherto
seen. The crescent shall wane and fade away in eternal night, but the
light of the Cross of Christ shall burn brighter and brighter unto
endless day!
9. 10. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His
enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
shall bring presents. Commerce with all its wealth shall yet lend its
homage to the Savior. And every ship that crosses the sea shall yet
bear its cargo of praise unto His glorious name.
10. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Their barbaric
splendor shall find a higher glory in being consecrated to the King of
Kings!
11. Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve
Him that has no helper. That is what we look for as the true
recognition of religion. The true recognition of religion in a State is
not the setting up of some favored sect to be indulged above the
rest–there is something better than that reserved for the Christ of
God! He must have the first place all the world over–"All kings shall
fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him."
12. For He shall deliver the needy when he cries; the poor also, and
him that has no helper. Again I remind you that this is the
distinguishing mark of the Christ of God, that He has a special eye to
the poor and needy.
13-15. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of
the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and
precious shall their blood be in His sight. And He shall live. With all
our hearts we cry, "Long live the King!" And our King shall live
forever–to Him alone of all kings may it be truly said, "O King, live
forever!" "He shall live"–
15. And to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer, also, shall
be made for Him continually; and daily shall He be praised. One of the
marks of sovereignty is the king's visage upon the coinage of the
realm, and the use of His name in public prayer. And Christ claims this
homage of all His followers–"Prayer, also, shall be made for Him
continually; and daily shall He be praised."
16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the
mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the
city shall flourish like grass of the earth. The cause of Christ in the
earth may be so reduced as to be only comparable to a handful of corn
and that handful of corn may be, as it were, sown on the bleak
mountainside; yet it shall grow and increase until it fills the whole
earth! His Kingdom is without end!
17-19. His name shall endure forever: His name shall be continued as
long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall
call Him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only
does wondrous things. And blessed be His glorious name forever; and let
the whole earth be filled with His Glory. Amen, and Amen. Is not that
double Amen the very mark of the Christ? Often when He preached, He
commenced His sermons with, "Amen, Amen." That is, "Verily, verily, I
say unto you." He is God's great "Amen, the faithful and true Witness."
But interpreting the word in the other sense, do not you and I most
heartily say, "Amen," and again, "Amen," to this royal prayer? "Let the
whole earth be filled with His Glory."
20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. This is the end of
the second great division of the Book of the Psalms. It is. Therefore.
most appropriately closed with this verse–"The prayers of David the
son of Jesse are ended." But I think that David, when he had reached
this point, felt that he could not ask for anything more than he had
already requested in this great petition. If the whole earth should be
full of the glory of God, the Psalmist would then have gained the
utmost that he could desire! Is it not so with us, also? If the name
and the glory of Christ did but cover the whole earth, what more could
we wish for? What more could we ask of God? Till that blessed
consummation is reached, let us keep on praying, "Let the whole earth
be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen."