If you would take your scriptures and turn with me to Psalm 18. This 18th Psalm shows what the Messiah was coming to do. It lays out the plan for the incarnate son of God. It provides a picture of the one sent by God to save the people unto himself. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this was the perfect view of what the Christmas story represented. In the first 19 verses, we saw the Messiah as the rejected prophet. He was sent into the world, as John 118 says, to show the father. He was sent to help his people place their hope and trust in his father. In verses 20 through 31, we saw this child coming as the royal priest of heaven. It was through this royal priest that we learn of our Lord's authority, activity, and ability to prepare our way into this glorious salvation. Let's turn now to this Psalm, Psalm 18, verses 32 through 50, and learn of the child as the returning king. So if you will give ear to the reading of God's word, Psalm 18, 32 through 50. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war so that my arms can bend a bowl of bronze. You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has held me up. Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarge my path under me so my feet do not slip. I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them. Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them so that they could not rise. They have fallen under my feet. For you have armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies so that I destroyed those who hated me. They cried out, but there was none to save, even to the Lord, but he did not answer them. Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind. I cast them out like dirt in the streets. You have delivered me from the strivings of the people. You have made me the head of the nations of people I have not known will serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they obey me. The foreigners submit to me. The foreigners fade away and come frightened from their hideouts. The Lord lives. Blessed be my rock. Let the God of my salvation be exalted. It is God who avenges me and subdues the people under me. He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me. You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name. Great deliverance he gives to his king and shows mercy to his anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore. May God add his blessing to the reading of his word. Let us pray. Father, you have been so gracious to your people. You created this world in which we live. You made us as the crown of your creation. You provide everything we need to live and grow. You allowed us to reproduce and carry on our race. You did all of this, even though we rejected you and tried to do everything ourselves. In this Psalm, we look at the morning. You reiterate your promise to us to be our God and guide us through our life on this earth. You show us. this through the Christmas story. So open our ears to hear and to grow in all this Christ child represents in his name. We pray. Amen. We come to the last of Psalm 18. Our text this morning is 32 through 50. How does all of this fit with the incarnation? This particular passage concerning the returning King is the final chapter of the incarnation. Jesus came as the Christ child. He came with a divine purpose, and that was to save the people for his father, to populate a great divine kingdom. He was given a human body, and in the body grew and became the savior of men who would hear and believe this great message of hope. This child faced the corruption of this world of sinful men and completed his task bringing salvation all who would hear and believe in him. He was rejected by mankind. In general, he was mailed to Calvary's cross. Even in the face of their rejection, he gave his life as a ransom for all who would repent and turn to him. Because of his holiness and purity, he defeated sin, Satan, and death to give life to his people. He has taken his place at the Father's side to speak to his people. He is, as we saw last week, in verses 20 through 31, the royal priest. He came into this world to do for mankind what they could not do for themselves. He lived the perfect life. We saw there were two aspects of his perfection, his passive and active obedience. His passive obedience was his willingly going to the cross and giving his life on behalf of his people. His active obedience was his living out his life in perfect obedience to the law. It was through this activity that he earned his authority in heaven. He is responsible as the high priest to carry out the plan of God in regards to man's place before the father. He met the demands of God's justice on the behalf of his people on the cross. He shows his allegiance to God's law by his willingness to take the sins of his people upon himself on that cross, then giving them his righteousness for their belief and trust in him. It is this Messiah, this one who comes in the name of the Father, that has the ability to carry out this great plan of salvation, the greatest activity of Jesus. And this is wonderful. It is the dispensing of his grace. Nothing stands higher than that for us. No other in the history of mankind has ever claimed to be able to do this and then backed up by that claim by changing the hearts of millions over centuries. Jesus alone can save. As we come to the last section of this psalm, we come looking at the last aspect of why God sent the Christ child into the world, those 2000 years ago. Jesus came as prophet and priest, but ultimately he came to be the king. Not just any king, but the one and only king of kings and Lord of lords. First, we see he came to reclaim the kingdom of God, to take from the masses a fallen humanity, a people to serve him. Second, we find he also came to rule the people of God, to guide them in their worship, to show them the one and only way to please him. Third, we understand he came to restore all that was lost in the fall, to bring back to the father a people to glorify and honor him as their creator, to return the home of mankind to its first glory. This section begins with the idea of the reclamation of God's original purpose for mankind. God created man to serve and worship him. That was one of the creation mandates. Because of the sin of man in the fall, that purpose was delayed. Sinful man cannot accomplish that goal. There's nothing you can do to save yourself. But God never intended that his purpose would be waylaid. He wanted man to see that he could not on his own do what he was called to do. He wanted to make sure that as man came to the final goal of this purpose, fellowship with God himself, he understood it only happened by divine help. You can't do it on your own. This is the message of the incarnation. Jesus came into the world taking on the flesh and blood of mankind in order to do for men what they could never do for themselves. He came with a promise that all who would recognize their need of this divine help and place their hope and trust in this son, this God man, would be enabled to come into and complete this purpose of building a new kingdom. Jesus was sent into the world in the infant in Bethlehem to reclaim the purpose of God in the creation of mankind. In this passage is the picture of the battle that is engaged in with the commission Christ gives his disciples at his ascension. This is also seen as his coronation as king of the church. The first thing to consider is the resource required to accomplish this task. Verses 32 through 34. It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. What is the source of strength needed to reclaim the kingdom? It is God himself. Let us confirm this concept. Isaiah 45, 1 through 5. This passage shows clearly the sovereign power of God. This is what the Lord says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him. Isaiah is speaking of Cyrus, the Persian king, who was to come to the throne of Babylon 150 years later. And Isaiah, the prophet of God, delivers a message to this pagan king. He tells him that he, God, will give him the power to subdue nations. Now he's talking about someone who's going to live 150 years in the future. He will be able to strip kings of their armor. He will open gates other kings could not open. He tells Cyrus, I will go before you and will level the mountains. I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. He promises him that he will uncover treasures hidden in the darkness. He will show this pagan king where to find riches lying in secret places. Why does he do this? so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by name." He does this for Jacob, his servant, Israel. He tells Cyrus, all of this will come to him. It will be the strength of God that this pagan king will accomplish all he does. And you realize this, this pagan king, he doesn't even acknowledge God in doing it. In Psalm 18, we see it is God that is the source of power in Christ our King. We see Christ receiving this power, knowing its source. He says, it is God who arms me with strength. Because Christ knows where his strength comes from, he also understands his way is made perfect by the same God. He declares, God makes my way perfect. Jesus also recognizes his strength and enables him to do some amazing things. He is made to be swift and able to stand in high places. The idea is that God has given to Christ the ability to go over those hard places where other men would faint and to do it with great speed and confidence. See what it did in Christ Jesus. Jesus came into this world to do for men what they could never do for themselves. It had been proven that man on his own could not live the perfect life. Adam was the perfect representative of mankind. He was placed in a garden with everything he could ever have needed. Everything was provided and he failed. Jesus was given the strength of God as he took on the flesh of Adam. He faced the same temptations Adam faced. But he did it in a wilderness, in a desert, not in a garden with everything he needed. He had no comforts and provisions to call upon. He used the resources he was given, the word of God, and he defeated his tempters. God sent Jesus to live the perfect life for you. to fill all the requirements of the law on your behalf, to take his perfect life and use it to pay the price required for your sins. He did all of this, and he did it swiftly, and he did it with strength. This was a gift from God to you, and it began with that small infant in the manger. You see in these verses that grace. He trains in my hands for battle. My arms can bend a bow of bronze. Christ was prepared. He was prepared by God to fight for you. And his strength is your salvation. In looking at this from a messianic light, we also have to consider the relief God gives. Verses 35 and 36. You have also given me the shield of your salvation. Your right hand has held me up. Your great and your gentleness has made me great. You enlarge my path under me so my feet did not slip. God gives him his shield of faith. His victory. We see it in the divine side of Christ that led his humanity to victory. This is a victory that is of the most utmost importance to your salvation. Jesus went to the cross in your place. He took your sins and guilt to that terrible hill of Calvary and there paid the price for your sins. He won this war on Calvary's cross. God sustained him in this battle. It was God sending his angels in the garden of Gethsemane that gave him relief in his struggle with his human nature and allowed him to say, not my will, but your will be done. God did stoop down. He stooped down and took Christ from that grave and placed him at his right hand. How much more greatness could he have been given? The kingdom was earned by Jesus on the cross. That kingdom is his in covenant theology. We understand from Genesis 3.15, that Christ would come and he would win the battle for the reconciliation of his people with his defeat of Satan on Calvary's cross. The road to God is open. You can go down that road. It's open for you to move and carry your life through. Jesus is that way. Jesus is the way, the only way. Nothing can stop those from coming into the kingdom who come through Jesus Christ. The relief is secured. It's yours. The growth of his kingdom cannot be stopped. We have seen the resource and the relief given in this pursuit of man's reclamation. We must also consider the responsibility. Verses 37 and 38. I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them. Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them so that they could not rise. They have fallen under my feet." The resource is God. The help to establish came from God. But the responsibility rests clearly on the shoulders of the man, Jesus Christ. David is clearly in all of this talking about his personal victories. However, as he speaks by the Holy Spirit, he's speaking of Christ. Paul in 1 Timothy 2 makes it clear, Jesus does not take pleasure in the souls of those who are lost. His desire is that every man would hear and believe the truth. He wants all men to respond to his gospel message and be saved. He wants them to willingly bow their knees and confess with their tongues that he is their Lord. And this is a big one. For those who refuse to hear and believe on Jesus Christ, he will execute judgment against them. The words of these verses show the results. To all who reject him, they will be crushed. They will be destroyed, never to rise again. That means they will experience eternal death. He has already fought the battle with sin, Satan, and death, and He won. He conquered them. They fell at His feet, but there are men that will not hear and will not believe that truth. They are men without hope. Please, my friends, do not be like them. Believe on Jesus and live, for He is the only resource you can call on for eternal life. There's no other. What is the result of all of this? The result of this reclaiming are sweet words to all who believe on Jesus. Verses 39 through 42, for you have armed me with strength for the battle. You have subdued me under those who rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies so that I destroyed those who hated me. They cried out, but there was none to save them, even the Lord, but he did not answer them. Then I beat them as fine as the dust before the wind. I cast them out like dirt in the streets. God gave the strength. God gave the victory. God decreed. He laid out the plan. He confused the enemy. He brought them to destruction. They cried out for help, but could find no champion. They even called to the Lord himself, but the Lord didn't know them. He would not hear their cries. The result was the total destruction of the wicked and evil people of this world. In 146 BC, Roman forces captured the city-state of Carthage. I don't know if you remember the history or not, Carthage was their great enemy in the early parts of the Roman Empire. It gave them all kinds of things. You may remember Hannibal taking the elephants through the Alps to attack them from the rear. They despised Carthage. Carthage had been that longtime enemy that they wanted to get rid of. They wanted to send a message to all their enemies, so they completely destroyed the city. They plowed the ground so that there was nothing left but dust and mud. This is the picture we have of what will be the final results of all who oppose Christ. He says, then I beat them as fine as the dust before the world. I cast them out like dirt in the streets. Could this apply to anyone other than Christ? Could it be true of any other victory than that of Christ on Calvary's cross? I don't really see how. Jesus Christ came to reclaim lost humanity. He did this through that babe in the manger. He brought relief to all of God's people that all God had chosen and led them to victory with him. God was his resource, and his results were a sure and great victory. We saw the defeat and its accomplishments by the power and plan of God through Jesus Christ as the king. From this victory comes the rule of the king. Again, we see the resource that carries this victory into a kingdom. God delivered him, made him the king, and gave him all power and authority. Verse 43. You have delivered me from the strivings of the people. You have made me the head of the nations of people I have not known will serve me. The resource is God again. He gives the strength and the victory. He speaks of people he didn't know coming under his rule, the Gentiles. It had always been the father's plan to redeem a people unto himself. These people were to come from all nations and tribes of people. Christ rules the kingdom of men redeemed from the sinful race of humanity. What is the sign of this new kingdom? Verses 44 and 45 says, as soon as they hear of me, they obey me. The foreigners submit to me. The foreigners fade away and come frightened from their hideouts. The sign that will overwhelm this new kingdom will be obedience. We also see that fear will come into the hearts of all who refuse to hear and believe. They will come cringing in fear. This is always the reaction of the gospel. The apostle Paul shows our work in this. Second Corinthians two verses 14 and six through 16. Now, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we're the aroma of death leading to death and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. As members of this kingdom, our purpose is to spread the good news of this kingdom and its wonderful king such that those who hear and believe know life and those who do not know death. These are the only reactions to the truth, either fear or obedience. Those who are a part of this kingdom through the grace of God are given a new heart, a new spirit. They are rekindled in their life. Their eyes are open to see their sin and to recognize the resource given in Jesus Christ. In seeing their sin and their need of a savior, they come forth to place their hope in him and in him alone. they see him as their king. We look at the reputation of this king. What is the rule of this king based on? Verse 46, the Lord lives, blessed be my rock, let the God of my salvation be exalted. The declaration, long live the king, comes direct, is derived from this verse. This verse shows that David was looking past his life and his rule to that of another. He was looking forward to the reign of the Christ. The Lord lives. He comes, as Spurgeon says, in possession of underrived, essential, independent, and eternal life. We don't serve one who is inanimate. We don't stand before one who is imaginary. Our King, our Lord, our God is not dead. He comes fully possessing immortality. Raise your voices. With long live the King of Kings. Do it because you see your immortality and pledge yourself anew every morning to him. The rule of this king is to be eternal. The word for rock suggests he will stand immovable and solid. He will be praised. He will inspire great confidence. His reputation will be upheld by God. His rule comes founded on his commitment to God. He will be exalted as no other ever has or ever will be. David, speaking of this Messiah, this one who will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords says, exalted be my Savior. What are the results of the rule of this great King? Verses 47 and 48. It is God who avenges me and subdues the people under me. He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me. You have delivered me from the violent man. We see that this one who is made king will be the Lord omnipotent and he will live and reign forever. He will be blessed and exalted as the God who saves. By him, his people will be avenged of those who persecute them. They will be given their place in his kingdom. Their enemies will fall and his throne will be established in their hearts. If you learn, If you learn to trust in God and in this glorious plan of redemption, he has established through this great king he sent in this world, this king we celebrate as the babe and the manger. The results of his rule are found in God. It is the plan of God that some men are rescued from death and others passed by and allowed to perish. It was the plan of God that Christ would be lifted up and would draw his people unto him. It was the plan of God that hell would be enlarged to accommodate the sinful. The results of the rule of this King is grace and justice perfectly administered according to his plan. This great King, this great King comes with the resources of God's grace and mercy. He comes upon a divine reputation as a perfect administrator of his justice and grace. The results of the perfect implementation of his grace and justice in this world. Boy, should we all not rise up and shout with joy? We're here by the grace of God. We're held in his hands by the grace of God. This psalm comes to an end with a picture of restoration. Verses 49 and 50. Therefore, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name. Great deliverance he gives to his king and shows mercy to his anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore. The resource in this new kingdom is its people. God establishes this kingdom among the people of the earth, people from every nation, tribe, and language group on the face of this world. How has he done this? Through Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus to be a man to pay the price men could not pay. Jesus lived the perfect life and died on Calvary's cross. He was raised from the grave to eternal life. He was made to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Does this really apply only to Jesus? Is this only applicable to David? The Apostle Paul, writing under the direction of the Holy Spirit, explains Romans 15, verses eight through 10. Now I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision of the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers and that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy as it is written. For this reason, I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name." And again, he says, rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. Paul says this is talking about Christ, talking about him as the king and king over a kingdom with Gentiles a part of it. That is made clear throughout scripture. We find it in 2 Samuel 22, 50. Therefore, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to your name. We also find it in Deuteronomy 32, 43. Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his enemies and render vengeance to his adversaries. He will provide atonement for his land and his people. This shows, this shows the double sense of this psalm. First, as a testimony of David as king over Israel, and then as Christ as the king over his church. The results we find in all of this is clear. The king, Christ, is over the kingdom of God and he is victorious. He will return to this earth and gather his people, his kingdom to himself. His victories will all be gathered to him as the gifts they were of God's mercy and grace. His grace is extended to all, to all who hear and believe on him and his works. God shows His unfailing kindness to this king. He shows it to all who come in His name. He returns together you as is subject to Him. He comes to take you to a place prepared for you. He comes to take you home to be with He and the Father in perfect fellowship forever. He restores your place with God. My friends, what this psalm teaches about Jesus as prophet, priest, and king It's very important. Very important to a full and complete understanding of the Christmas story. Jesus Christ was sent into this world. He came from God. He came into the world just like all other men enter it. He came to be their substitute. He to do for them what they could never do. To do for them what Adam failed to do in the Garden of Eden. This little child. born in a stable wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a manger, was destined to be the projected prophet of Israel, the royal priest of heaven and the king of his church. It all began with his birth when God came down and took on flesh and blood and committed himself to save the people to himself out of the mass of sinful humanity. Dear one, I ask you, have you experienced the grace of God? Have you seen your sin and the gulf it is placed between you and your God? Have you recognized the hope offered by God to all who have seen their sin and hopelessness? Have you seen Jesus Christ? Have you accepted his message of forgiveness and hope? Have you received his offer of grace and let him speak for you before God? Have you understood his place as your guide and bowed before him as your king? If you have not, then I would call you to humble yourself before him this day, repent and confess your sins. Open your heart and believe his message. And you can know the love and confidence he gives to all who call on him as their Lord and Savior. Let's pray. Glorious God, almighty Lord, we come this day with thankful hearts for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ. You sent him into the world as your word. The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from you full of grace and truth. He came making himself nothing, taking on our very nature, being made in our likeness. He did this to do for us what we could never do for ourselves. He came to bring us justification. He justified us through Christ's works and freed us from the bondage of sin and set us free to follow him. He did this so we would not have to do it ourselves. Thank you, Father, in Christ's name.