This evening our text is found at the end of Psalm 72 and verse 17. And partway through that verse, men shall be blessed in him. Psalm 72, the second part of verse 17. The psalm, as clear from the very beginning, concerns the greatest of kings, even God's Son, the Messiah. King mentioned in Psalm 45, to whom God says, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The Messiah King mentioned in Psalm 2, where God says, the Father, that is, I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. Now the inscription to the psalm says that it is a psalm for Solomon, possibly about Solomon. But what is written in this psalm, though it may have some initial reference to Solomon, was never fulfilled in Solomon. For example, in verse 5, They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure throughout all generations. How long did Solomon reign? Forty brief years. So the psalm speaks of another, a king who shall be honored and respected as long as the world lasts. throughout all generations. If we turn to verse 8, he shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Solomon had a great empire, but he never reigned universally, and this was never fulfilled in him, therefore. I could say of this psalm what is recorded in the New Testament from the lips of our Lord, a greater than Solomon is here. The subject of the psalm is another son of David, great David's greater son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we turn to our text, which says, men shall be blessed in him, that is true of our Lord. And what a statement that is, men shall be blessed in him. The Lord Jesus is the blessed one and he is the source of all good. It says in the Gospel of John chapter 3 that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand. All the blessings which God has decreed for his people all the blessings that have been promised in the everlasting covenant. All those blessings are put in the trust of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus. It pleased the Father, Colossians 1, that in Him should all fullness dwell. That fullness is not the fullness of deity or Godhood. It's the fullness of benefit. He became the trustee of all that had been secured for the people of God. He becomes the executor, the administrator of it. As in the days of Joseph, everyone who was needy and hungry turned to Joseph. who supplied their need. So in these days, everyone in spiritual need must turn to Christ, who has the wherewithal to meet the needs of every man. Christ has only to speak a word and the blessing comes. Had we sung Psalm 133 tonight, as was intended earlier, It says, he commandeth his blessing. That's what he does. He just speaks the word and the blessing comes. So he has a fullness of that there is no doubt, an abundance and a variety of blessing, but he has the power to confer it, to bestow it upon men, despite all the obstacles that there may be to that. You remember the man in the Gospels who said to Christ that he was unworthy for him to come under his roof. But Lord, he said, speak the word only and healing shall result. Well, he is able to command and command This man or that man shall be blessed in him. And the blessing which comes to a man from Christ is marvelous indeed. There was a man in the Old Testament whose prayer is recorded and says, Oh that thou wouldst bless me indeed. Only the Lord can bless indeed. Blesses no other. Bless in a greater and fuller way than any other benefactor can. And in the New Testament we read that the Lord is able to bless with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Men shall be blessed in him, but men who are sinful and guilty, men abandoned to evil and therefore to sorrow. Yes, men shall be blessed in him, however unworthy they may be, because the Lord responds to such wretchedness in grace. We remember the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And grace is conspicuous when the Lord blesses those who never deserved it and never therefore could reasonably expect and all God's blessings are grace in Christ. And that is why the Gospel of John says in chapter one, of His, that is Christ's fullness, have all we received grace upon grace. Everything that I as a sinner receive from Jesus Christ has not been in any way worked for. It has not been earned. It is free. And it is out of respect to his love, not out of respect to my worth. He blesses for his own name's sake, to use a Bible term. Men shall be blessed in him, multiplied are the blessings. Daily, the psalmist says in Psalm 68, he loatheth us with blessings. So blessed sometimes that we can hardly bear the weight of the blessings of God. I love to read of that great man William Tennant, friend of George Whitefield in the 18th century. Going out into the wood one day, lost in prayer and in meditation, and feeling the goodness of God upon him, the blessing of God upon him. And Old Tenent says, he breaks off from prayer and he says, hold, Lord, hold. I can take no more. It is possible for God to bless us in that way, that we can reasonably take no more. And that may be extraordinary, and it is beyond the experience of most of us, I would suggest, but it shows the manner of the blessing of God. And the term loath in Psalm 68 indicates that it's not a benefit here and a benefit there, but it's piled up upon us and pressed down upon us as if really no more could be expected. Men shall be blessed in Him. Whatever their needs, those needs are satisfied, and all their longings fulfilled. God gives them, in Christ, the desire of their hearts. No good thing will he withhold. The Lord giveth grace and all that makes for salvation here, and glory, all that makes for salvation there. Everything is in Christ. The apostle writes, Christ is all. in all. Meaning that all that a blessed man has is from Christ. And every man so blessed is blessed in him. He's everything to everyone. And no wonder therefore Christ Alluding to this, men shall be blessed in him, likened the seeker in the parable to one who found, hidden in a field, a treasure. And it indicates that the believing sinner discovers in Christ and in his salvation a most worthy treasure. A treasure which would be sold at tremendous price. A treasure that really is invaluable. Now all I wanted to do tonight was to look with you at some of the treasures in the treasure chest. Men shall be blessed in him, but what are the blessings with which men are blessed in Jesus Christ? Well, I have several and therefore I shall not dwell at any length on every one of them. But the first thing I will mention that we find in Jesus Christ is divine love. To know the love of a friend is very special, very precious. To know the love of a spouse, husband or wife, is dear indeed and not worthy to be compared. But to know the love of God in Jesus Christ is the greatest good and the greatest possession a man can have. God so loved the world. That's how the gospel verse begins. Romans 8 speaks of the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you remember how the poet put it? The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair Adam and Eve bowed down with care. God gave his son to win, his erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his son. The love of God is one of the things that comes to us as a doctrine in the gospel and as an experience in the heart. We know and have believed the love that God hath for us, writes John. And what is so special about the love of God? Well, it's divine love. There lies its uniqueness. It's the love of the greatest and the best of all beings. The glorious God. This love had no beginning, because God has no beginning. And wherever He was, He loved his people and will never cease to love them. It's the love of God Almighty, who in time made the heavens and the earth. So it is tremendous love, not only eternal, but powerful love. thy maker is thy husband, he says. And the love, therefore, which proceeds toward us is the love of the God who made everything out of nothing. It's a love that still exists and will always exist, because God still is. He's not died. God lives. And the scripture says, He rests in His love. Meaning that His love is unchanged, unchangeable. And God himself can abide in that love, because it will never be overturned, it will never cease to be. It proceeds from the heart of the eternal, and is eternal at heart. The love of God. And if we know anything of the love of God, Then, my dear friends, we can entertain the brightest of hopes, because whatever our state, whatever our fallen condition, if God loves us, then he will remedy it, and he will deliver us. That love is strong as death. It is stronger than the grave itself. And therefore, to have the love of God is infinitely consoling. It was Abraham Lincoln who was asked once, do you think God is on your side? And he answered, I don't know about that, but my concern is to be on God's side. And when you are lost, Yes, you have God on your side, but you're on God's side. He is for you and with you and in you. And He saves you from your sins in love. And He keeps you in all life's changes in love. And He brings you at last in love to his heavenly kingdom. And what's that kingdom like? Jonathan Edwards called heaven a heaven of love. And on the basis of those words found in 1 Corinthians 13, the greatest is love. Love abides. And if love abides beyond all other emotions and graces and gifts, then love must be in heaven. The love of God there. And the love of glorified people there. The kingdom is a heaven of love. And you can know that love if you become a Christian. An overwhelming sense of divine love. Now let's look again into the treasure chest. What else is there of value? Men are blessed in Him. I must say this. Precious Jesus is there. God in His love gave Christ to be the Redeemer of sinners. And when you're blessed, You're blessed not only with what Jesus has, but you are blessed with all that Jesus is. That's a wonderful gift, to have a Redeemer, to have a Savior. One of Scotland's greatest scientists was asked once in public, what, sir, was your greatest discovery? He stood before hundreds of people and said, my greatest discovery was to learn that I had a savior. Precious Lord Jesus, How precious he is, because he is divine. He was God, the scripture says. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God, the scripture says. He says in the scripture, I and my father are one. precious that, that the one who is resolved upon saving us comes not in the strength of mere humanity, but in the strength of deity. So that there is nothing he cannot save us from, and there's nothing he cannot save us to. He is mighty to save. to you that believe he is precious. He's precious in the engagements he undertook, in the plan of salvation drawn up before the world began. He was set up from everlasting, ere ever the world was. And he determined to do the will of his father, though that meant leaving the glory of heaven and the splendor of that eternal dwelling place and taking a journey unto him which would bring him into the regions of the darkness of sin and of shame in order to do what was necessary to bring fallen sinners to God and then to the Kingdom of Heaven. Man shall be blessed in Him, but He's the greatest of blessings. All this He did for us. He lived a sinless life to satisfy the law as to the demand of obedience, but he did it for us, that we might have merit, that his righteousness might avail for us to secure the favor and blessing of God and ultimately the everlasting kingdom. when he suffered for us and died an atoning death to satisfy the law as to its judgment, and he exhausted it. He suffered for our sins. The chastisement of our peace was laid upon him, and it was by his stripes that we are healed. He died that we might be forgiven. He died to make us good, that we might go at last to heaven, saved by his precious blood. Men shall be blessed in him. But he is the greatest blessing of all. Compared to blessings, he is like a golden casket, which when opened yields scores of trinkets, but not one of them compared to the casket, which is of greatest worth, inestimable in value. So Christ. One day this Christ is returning. At the end of time, in the time appointed, I will come again, he said, and surely he will. He that will come, will come, and will not tarry. And when he comes, he will raise the believing dead Through the instrumentality of angels, he shall gather all his people together. He shall pronounce their acquittal at the tribunal of God. He will declare them blessed. And he will bid them enter the kingdom prepared for them. And when at last he concludes all those things, we shall see what a blessing he is. Without him sinners would have languished in hell, but by him sinners rejoice in heaven. Precious Lord Jesus. Men shall be blessed in him Open the casket again, the chest. What now? So great salvation. You notice all these words are qualified with adjectives of one kind or another. Divine love, the love of God. To you that believe he is precious, precious Christ. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? The salvation we have is exceedingly great. Because God is the author of it, it's not the salvation of a man. And it's not deliverance from some petty minor kind of ailment, it is liberty from the greatest evil that ever beset this world. Sin is the greatest evil because it damns men forever. It consigns men to the abyss It hurls men in the bottomless pit. And salvation is deliverance from that. And who saves? There is salvation in no other. Jesus saves. Jesus saves. And he's mighty to save. Then shall be blessed in him with a salvation so great that it is comprehensive. It covers everything. Saved from sin, yes, he shall save his people from sin. Saved from the law and its penalty, yes. Redeemed from the law, there is remission. Saved from death, yes. Christ gives life, and he that believeth shall never die the sinner's death, but shall live forever. Saved from the wrath of God. Yes! He delivered us from the wrath to come. Saved from hell. Yes! He saves that none may perish. A comprehensive salvation which is available to every sinner on the face of the earth in the gospel. That every sinner will not avail himself or herself of it is sure, but nevertheless it is set before men in the gospel as accessible and obtainable. It is the gift of God. to you, Acts 13, 46, is this salvation scent. Great salvation. I raise the lid of the chest again. Men shall be blessed in him. I find a gem here, which I'll call spiritual union. 1 Corinthians 6, 17, he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. When a man is joined to his wife, they are one flesh. Because it is a physical relationship, essentially. But when a man is joined to Christ, The relationship is spiritual, not natural. So not one flesh, but one spirit. How does that come apart? Well, it is necessary, my friends, to hear the gospel, because there the gospel presents Christ to us as God's gift. And men are called upon to receive Christ, For as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. And if men do receive Christ, abandoning hope in themselves and in everyone else and in every refuge in which they have sought relief, and receive Christ as their hope for time and for eternity. I tell you a wonderful thing. He receives the believing sinner. Whosoever cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. And that means that a friendship is established. A friendship which will never be broken, A friendship which will never cease. We have found the greatest of all friends. There is a friend, the scripture says, that sticketh closer than a brother. In the worst of times, he cleaves to us. When we are ready to fall, he holds on to us. And when we are suffering decay, he supports us. He sticketh closer, clingeth more than a brother. And that friendship, which I call here union, because it's a connection to Christ, it's a relationship to Christ, that will never end. For I am persuaded, says the apostle, that nothing shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. So what you have in the treasury is a friend who, unlike the friends we often meet in this world, are not fickle. They are not unfaithful. They are not changeable. What you have in Jesus Christ is the best friend a sinner ever had. One that will love him even though he fails. One that will love him even when he falls. One who will love him even when he dies. A friend for life and for eternity. Men shall be blessed in him with that union. I open again the lid. I find here, now, before me, and my wandering eyes, unsearchable riches. Paul's phrase in Ephesians 3.8, that I might preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. What are these unsearchable riches? All the things that bring us comfort and support in life. All the things that enable us to continue in this life. All the things which give us consolation in this life and enable us to enjoy fullness of life. All that is in Christ. Unsearchable riches. And they're unsearchable, my friends, because the source of these is divine and you can't find out fully to satisfaction the source. Unsearchable because the riches of Christ are vast. You cannot begin to count up the worth. You cannot assess what you have in Christ. Because it's beyond calculation. If a man is blessed in Jesus, he's no pathetic millionaire. He's an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ. Unsearchable riches because they're never exhausted. Christ blesses us every day, all our days to our last day, and then for eternal days. Unsearchable because they are more than everything a man has ever had or could ever hope to have. Unsearchable because The complete whole of these riches will not be seen until we enter heaven. That's yours in Christ. If you become a Christian, that's yours. You are enriched. Don't you realize that you're living a poor life? But if you find Christ, you live a wealthy life. Let's go back. Open the treasure box again. Perfect peace. The words are taken from Isaiah 26. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed upon thee, because he trusteth in thee. Similar Expression in the New Testament, peace which passes understanding. There is no peace when you're an unconverted sinner. God is angry with the wicked. Why? Because they dishonor his being by their very nature. Because they pour contempt upon his law by breaking it. because they run counter to his will, living for self and not for God. And therefore God is against the unbelieving sinner, as he would be against all of us, were it not for the interposition of Jesus Christ, who goes to the cross of Calvary and says, all their wrongdoings, all their crimes, Father in heaven, load upon me, and then judge it. and pour out all your indignation upon it. Let me be made sin and let me bear the whole punishment for it." And thus he died at Calvary. And justice, even the justice of God, satisfied by the satisfaction of Christ God is reconciled. God is appeased. God is propitiated. God is at peace. And the sinner can be at peace with God. Perfect peace. You won't find that anywhere else. You won't find that in the market. You won't find that at the auction. Where will I find it? Men shall be blessed in him. Let me look again. Unspeakable joy. We rejoice with joy unspeakable in Christ, Peter says. Happiness distinguishes the Christian. Why is the Christian happy, a happy man? Because God is his Father. Christ is his Savior. The Spirit is his Comforter. Why is he happy? Because his sins are forgiven. His prayers are heard. His life is blessed. Why is he such a happy man? Because he has every comfort in the troubles of this life. And he has every reward in the life to come. I ask you a question, why shouldn't he be happy? With God as his God, all his sins forgiven, his person accepted through Christ, his life blessed from beginning to end and heaven in waiting. Lachlan McKenzie preached and wrote a poem on what he called happy man, the Christian man. And the world laughs, but hollow is their laughter. They've never found abiding joy. But the Christian's object for joy is Christ, who is unfailing. And therefore he has joy unspeakable. If I am to do justice to this hoard which I found tonight, I must go back again quickly to the treasure chest. And in it now I see certain promises. To us are given exceeding great and precious promises. All the promises of God in Christ are yea and amen. and to the glory of God. I say certain promises not meaning a few or a selection of them, but meaning sure or secure promises. Let me tell you a brief story. There was a famous preacher in America in the 19th century called Wilbur Chapman. And at one point, while he was pastor of a large church, he was in some difficulty. Sad to say, in financial difficulty. And he couldn't see his way to pay his bills and settle his debts. Until one morning, he received a letter in the post. And it was from one of the members of that church, and this is what it said, Dr. Chapman, I understand you are having a difficulty financially. It may be a comfort for you to know that my entire fortune is behind you. These cheques, there were 20 or 30 in the packet, these cheques are all signed. Feel free to write them for whatever amounts you need. God's promises are his cheques, all signed. We have to claim them and the bank of heaven will honour them. Whatever is written on the cheque will be granted. What promises? Promises of help in trouble. Promises of succor in sorrow. Promises of hope in depression. Promises of strength in weakness. Promises of life in death. Promises to cover every emergency of this mortal life. promises to cover the ultimate enemy, which is death and the grave, promises every one of which God will keep. What did Chapman do? He took the packet, he used the checks. What does the believer do? He takes the package, he uses those promises and he comes, he comes before the bank of heaven and says, This I have been promised. I promise to give the bearer this amount. O God, thou hast promised. I ask for the gift. And God is bound by his own honor to hold to his word. certain promises. Look again. Good hope. Scripture says we have everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. What is hope? It's hope It relates to something not seen. It relates to something which is good, otherwise it would be dread, but it's hope. So as believers in Christ, we have hope of goodness and mercy all the days of our lives. And when our walking days are done, and the journey of life is over, we have another hope. I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It's a good hope, isn't it? A hope of companion on the walk, and a hope of being with him at the destination. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Man shall be blessed in heaven. I must open the box before I close the sermon one last time. And what is this I find? I was once in the bookshop in the basement there at the old SPCK in Salisbury. And the manager, who'd become a friend, he said to me, I've just received a great library. He said, go down and help yourself. He's a very good friend. It was a Monday and I descended the steps and I got into this dusty, murky old basement. Well, I was beside myself for joy for two hours as I went through every box. There were some nice things there. But as I came laden with these precious books and I was going up the stone steps to the shop, There was a box in the corner, and on it was a large folio book. Men like me love folios, you know. The bigger the book, the better it is. I went over to it. I put my books down. I thought, this is going to be interesting, to say the least. Well, it may mean nothing to you, but it meant a lot to me. My heart missed three or four beats. It was the commentary by John Rogers of Dedham on the whole of 1 Peter. Spurgeon said of it in his comments on commentaries, the rarest book in divinity. A scarce could believe my eyes. I took it upstairs, and my friend was at the till, and I said, Robert, I'd really like this book. He said, well, it's old, isn't it? And it's very dusty. The spine needs attention. I said, yes, that's true. But it's a valuable book, I said. a very valuable book. You give me two pounds for it, he said. One of the rare times when I had a conscience with a bookseller. I said to him, I can't give you that. It's worth hundreds of pounds. And he smiled at me, winked at me, and he said, I know it is. But you'll read it. You take it with my good wishes. Well, I didn't walk out of that shop. I flew out. I was such an easy man to live with for a whole month after that. I couldn't believe. Now on the top of the treasure here is something like that book. What is it? Everlasting Life. He that believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. So that death isn't the end, It's not the termination of the best that God can give. It's an end, but it's a beginning. There's another chapter. There's another experience which is unending. And it's life as I have never known it in this world. It is the life which God lives. It's the life that they know in heaven. And if I have Christ, it is mine. Men shall be blessed in him. Are you unconverted tonight? Oh, you poor man. You poor woman. You are poor. And you'll be poor forever, unless you believe in Christ. You will be blessed in Him. O come to Him. Receive Him. Rely on Him to bless you. And He surely will. Amen.