Now please turn in the word of God to Hebrews chapter one. Let's read the portion in the word of God which uses the quotation from Psalm 45. It is Hebrews chapter one. And we'll read the chapter together. I'm looking to the Lord again to bless his word to our hearts. Hebrews chapter one and the verse number one. God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by their prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, who is the pointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. being made so much better than the angels. As he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they, but unto each of the angels saith he, saith he at any time, thou art my son this day, have I begotten thee, and again I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels, he saith, who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire? But unto the sun, he saith, thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Thy Lord in the beginning has laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest, and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the seam, and thy years shall not feel. But to which of the angels saith thee at any time, sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits? sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. Amen. We look to God and again for the blessing of His word as it's read in your hearing tonight. Let's bow together and ask for God's help as we come to study the scriptures again tonight. Eternal God and our Father in heaven, we humbly and reverently we come before the awesome text of scripture. We thank you for a word inspired, inerrant, a living word that continually speaks to our souls. Oh dear father, we pray that you would quicken our minds tonight to understand the word of God. Help us to rightly consider Christ afresh tonight. As we contemplate him, we will be strengthened in our souls. Oh eternal God, Come by thy spirit and speak a word into the ears of those who do not know the Savior. We are longing for thy blessing. We're longing to hear from the very mouth of God tonight. So bring us the word. Bring us the word, we pray, and give help in the hearing and the preaching of it. We ask in Christ's name. Amen, amen. If you have the encounter with some friend or family member who finds themselves in a tremendously discouraged state, I wonder how you address their concerns. I don't know who it might be. You can have somebody in your own mind if you want, or just keep it as somebody who's just in our imagination at this time. But they are troubled. They are concerned. They feel within themselves that they don't have the strength to keep on going on. You might well engage in helping them to think through what it is to live as a Christian. As you talk to them, perhaps there are deficiencies in their Bible study. Perhaps they're using the wrong sort of materials to help them understand the word of God. Perhaps they've trouble in their prayer life, we all have that. And perhaps what they need is instruction on how to pray more effectively. Use a prayer diary. Have a list of requests, all of these things that may well be practical helps. You may talk to them about their church. Perhaps they're attending a church where there's not strong discipleship and strong preaching ministry. Perhaps they need to address these things. What are all the things we could consider when it comes to those who are wearied and fainting in their minds. Well, we must again have the Word of God as the means of directing us in these things. What does the Word of God teach us regarding how we should deal with those who are wearied and faint? Well, in the words of the Apostle Paul in Hebrews chapter 12, we are to consider him. Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds, Hebrews 12, verse three. It is the Christian's solemn duty to continually consider Christ, to live their life day by day, meditating upon the person and work of the Savior. There is There is a reason whereby we as a domination emphasize the preaching of Christ and him crucified. Oh yes, there are times when it is helpful to give practical directions in the Christian life, but the most effective means of encouraging God's people to keep on going on is to preach Christ. It's the most important thing, because it's the very word of God that shows us that it is as we continue to consider Christ that that will prevent us being wearied and fainting in our minds. So what has this got to do with Psalm 45? Well, it is a constant sight of Christ that enables us to keep on going. And the Psalm 45 is one of the portions that Paul uses in Hebrews whereby we would consider Christ. Hebrews chapter 1, we're in the very chapter, and what it says in the verse number 8, But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever. The very purpose of this book is that Paul is encouraging and exhorting the believers, do not give up, do not be weary, and how is he going to do that? He's going to expound the person of Christ. He's gonna show the excellency of Christ. The verse number four has that very term. A more excellent name than they. That Christ is better than the angels, better than Moses, better than Levi, better than all of these things. Christ is the fullness of God. And so Psalm 45 is drawn upon by Paul to encourage believers to consider Christ afresh. So tonight, as we close this series on the Messianic Psalms, I really simply want to overview the Psalm 45 in a devotional fashion to help us all to consider Christ afresh. Whatever your needs may be tonight, it is a meditation upon the person of Christ that will be a blessing to your soul, the child of God. will often times suffer temptation. Temptation to fall away, temptation to go elsewhere. But it is the person and work of Christ that keeps us on the road to glory. So please turn back to the Psalm 45 and let's see what this psalm tells us regarding Christ. So first of all I want you to consider the excellency of the Savior. Verse one serves as a preface to what follows, and it reveals the psalmist's heart when he ponders the excellency of his king. My heart is indicting a good matter. I speak of the things which I have made touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. We know clearly from Hebrews chapter one that the king in view here is Christ Jesus. Many will see Solomon in this psalm. You will read that in the commentaries. They see initially there is fulfillment in the kingdom of Solomon. But undoubtedly, this psalm goes far beyond Solomon. The liberal will end there, but the evangelical will go on, and they will see Christ. Verse 6, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. Said to the Son, who is the excellent one, the more excellent name than the angels, and of the Son of God, proving again the deity of Christ Jesus, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The psalmist contemplates this king, and he finds his heart indicting a good matter. Truly the words of verse number two are words that speak to Christ. Thou art fairer than the children of men. He is the fairest of 10,000 to our souls. He is the altogether lovely one. When you see Christ revealed in the scriptures, There are no flaws or weakness in his character. No flaws or weakness in his conversation. No flaws or weakness in his conduct. We may admire strong, godly men of the past. We may admire even the saints of God in the Scriptures. But they're recorded for us in history and in the Word of God with all of their faults. But there are no faults in Christ. He truly is fairer than the children of men. He is altogether lovely, worthy for admiration. This is the excellency of the Savior. When the psalmist considers the Lord, there are two things that happen. His heart bubbles over. You may have noted in your hymn book, when they put an asterisk to the word indicting, they referred to the writing of a poem or some form of literature. And that is the case, but the word itself is a very visual word in the original language. It's only used here in the Old Testament. And in one of the lexicons it speaks of something boiling over, bubbling up like a fountain or something for boiling water. It indicates a heart that is full of the glories of Christ, and as the psalmist contemplates the excellency of Christ, his heart is bubbling over. You get the sense of energy, you get the sense of passion and enthusiasm, so that the heart that is full of Christ is then bubbling over as he speaks the things touching the King. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. And so a heart that is captivated with the Christ of God is the heart that then speaks much of Christ. And so the heart that bubbles over then leads to a tongue that pours out. I speak of the things which I have made, touching the King. And then what is said is then written down. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. It hasn't happened to me very often, but very, very occasionally. A thought may come to my mind and I can't get the words quickly enough down upon the page, or on the screen as it is nowadays. And you're trying to think, well, I don't want to forget what's in my mind. I want to get it down as quickly as possible. It's a very rare experience. He's a fluent writer. No writer's block. His tongue is so captivated with Christ that he cannot get the words out quickly enough. His tongue is the pen of a ready writer. I believe it could have been the words that Wesley used, oh, for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise. One tongue's not enough. So captive it is, the psalmist, with the love for the King, his admiration of the King, that he cannot say enough. Not enough words, not enough time. That's a bubbling heart for Christ. You see, turn back, please, to the Psalm 39. See, we're here to consider an important matter. If we're considering the excellence of the Savior, you may hear this language and think to yourself, it's okay for the psalmist, but that's not where I find myself in, in the year 2019 here in this part of the world. I am so far removed from that experience. I'm far removed from that experience. The sense of a heart that is so bubbling that you just can't keep the lid on it. I don't know if you boiled potatoes that way, but I remember my mother used to boil potatoes with the lid upon the top of it and the water would bubble and bubble and then it would overflow and make a mess of the hob and the stove. What's the sense here? There's a heart bubbling up and it cannot be contained. How do I get to that point? You look at Psalm 39 and the verse number 3. My heart was hot within me. While I was musing, the fire burned. Then speck I with my tongue. While I was musing, the fire burned. One of the reasons whereby God's people have become increasingly cold and an increasingly busy age is that we've lost the art of Christian meditation. Meditating upon the work of God, upon the person of Christ, meditating upon the scriptures, with all manner of Bible helps and Bible plans, with schemes that we want to complete, we want to make sure that we do our Bible in a year, and all of those things are very commendable and very important. Tell me, is it not true that we've forgotten to meditate upon the Word of God? We've forgotten to stop in our reading. And as we read through the Scriptures, we get a glimpse of our Savior. And we're like those here driving at 70 miles an hour down the highway. We see something in the corner of our eyes and we keep on going. What we need to do is we need to stop and look. and see. And as we muse, then our heart burns within us. And then we have that bubbling heart that overflows in the tongue of praise. I'm encouraging you. I'm reminding myself tonight. If we want to be on fire for Christ, we must consider Christ. And that takes time. It takes care and caution in the reading of the word of God that when we see Christ, we will stop in our readings and we will admire him and we will muse. We will mull over the truth in our souls, we'll consider from different angles and we'll be filled with the love of Christ. Back in 1996, I was going through the Psalms on my own personal devotions. I did it for a couple of years, just going and journaling through the 150 Psalms. I was in my early, early twenties. And on the 22nd of June, 1996, I still have the books. I wrote some words regarding this Psalm 45 in verse one. I said this, as Christians, we live in an age of spiritual declension, whereby it is easy to discuss controversy and problems. Are our hearts though stirred up by Christ and his love for his church? How often do we feel ready to speak of Christ? That's almost 23 years ago this week. We are living in days of increasing declension. And the conversation of God's people so often centers around the troubles all around us. And we've forgotten what it is to speak of Christ. So we are to consider the excellence of the Savior. Consider the extent of the Savior's work in the second place. Whilst this psalm focuses on Christ as King, that is the focus, verse one, touching the King. So many of these messianic Psalms, they center upon Christ and his work as king. But this Psalm is interesting. That's why I've chosen this Psalm as our closing meditation in this series. Because what you see in this Psalm is you see how the kingship of Christ relates to his other offices. You see him here as the anointed Messiah, as prophet, priest, and king. See the prophet, verse number two. Grace is poured into thy lips, therefore God hath blessed thee forever. Into Christ's lips is poured in grace, therefore out of his lips flow grace. I think it's poetic language that speaks of Christ being anointed to the work of the prophet. Luke chapter four, again, the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he had anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Christ, our prophet, brings to us the word of God, expounding the scriptures perfectly. He is the very word of God. Old and New Testament, as our prophets He reveals God to your souls. As our prophet, he shows us the way of salvation. As our prophet, he shows us himself. You think of the grace of Christ, it can be said that perfectly and always his speech is with grace seasoned with salt. Consider the grace in his words. Consider the words that we studied in recent Lord's days. You take them in Matthew chapter 5 again. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Hear His grace in the words of our prophets. That as His subjects, as they feel the poverty of spirit, and the King knows their poverty of spirit, He comes into their ear and says, your poverty is a mark of blessing. Can you think this through? Christ, as the Redeemer, as the glorious King, he understands perfectly the hearts of his subjects. He understands that when his Spirit comes and regenerates our soul, the work of the Spirit produces poverty and hunger and meekness. The Lord knows that. And as the prophet, the Lord comes and brings just the right word. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst. Blessed are the meek. Blessed, the words of grace and the language of Christ. He's the one who says, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavily in. He's the one who says, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Christ is not the harsh dictatorial king who places heavy burdens upon the people. That was the warning to the people of God in Israel's time. You want a king? Be prepared for heavy burdens. But Christ our King gives us burdens that we can bear. He gives us a line of service and gives the grace to do that work. He is the prophet of all grace. Christ came, the grace of God appeared, and the grace of God spoke in the person of Christ. He communicates that grace to us, the disciples in John chapter six, that they go away. Many of them leave. These are hard sayings. And the Lord says, will you also go away? And the apostle Peter, he responds, to whom else shall we go? God has the words of eternal life. You see our prophet here. You see our priest here. In verse seven and eight of the Psalm 45 has the language of Christ priestly work. Oh, he is the king, but he is the king priest after the order of Melchizedek. And we have that here. Therefore God thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows, all thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and casea out of the ivory palaces. Here, I'm telling you, is language that points to Christ as our priest. Do you remember Psalm 110? I'll turn there again. There's a throne mentioned here in Psalm 45. The throne that Paul tells in Hebrews chapter 1 is a throne occupied by the Son. Thy throne, O God, said to the sun in Psalm 45. And so in Psalm 110, again, we have the throne. Verse number one, the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. And to this same king sitting upon a throne, there is in the language of him as priest. Verse number four, the Lord has sworn and will not repent. Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. I'm telling you that the Psalm 45 includes references to Christ as our priest. And you'll see that when you turn to Hebrews chapter 1. Please turn back to Hebrews chapter 1. We have observed that in Hebrews chapter 1 there is the quotation of Psalm 45 in the verse number 8 and 9. My throne, O God, is forever and ever. And you will see also in the verse number 13 of Hebrews chapter one, there is the quotation of Psalm 110 sit in my right hand until I make my enemies life footstool. So undoubtedly Hebrews one is exalting the kingship of Christ. The sun is greater than the angels. The sun is the anointed ascended King. But note what is said in the verse number three, Regarding the sun, so verse 8, unto the sun he saith. Verse 2 refers to the sun. And the sun, verse 3, is the brightness of God's glory, the express image of his person, upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged all our sins, sat down in the right hand of the majesty and high. There's a throne in Psalm 45. There's a throne in Psalm 110. But the way to the throne is the way of the cross. And so verse number three says, when he had by himself, do you know those words? By himself purged our sins. Why is that significant? Because he is the priest. who offers himself. In the Old Testament, you have the sacrifice. And you have the priest who offered the sacrifice. But only if Christ can it be said, he by himself purged our sins. He alone is the offerer and the offering. And so keep in mind those words, by himself, and then think, please, turn over to Hebrews chapter 9. And then Hebrews chapter 9, we are being caused to see that Christ is the greater priest, verse number 11. Hebrews 9, 11, but Christ being come on high, priest of good things to come. And then verse number 14, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God. Do you see it again? By himself, and now here, offered himself. So I want you to keep all of these things in your mind. Hebrews 1, the throne of Psalm 45. Hebrews 1, the throne of Psalm 110. But in the context of Hebrews 1, the son is the one who is said to offer himself, pointing to his work as the great high priest. And what is the outcome of his work? Well, Hebrews chapter 12, And the verse number two, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. He offers himself for the joy that was set before him, which takes you back where? It takes you back to Psalm 45. All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and casea out of the ivory palaces whereby they have made thee glad. That the gladness of the King is a gladness that arises, I was offering upon the cross. And thus Christ's garments, his priestly garments, they are fragranced with the odor of the spices of death. Myrrh. The wise men bring the myrrh. John 19, and there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pound weight. Christ's fragrances, they are the fragrances associated with death. So here we are seeing in the poetic form of the psalm that the king is the king, he is the priest, he is the prophet, he is the priest who was anointed with the fragrance of death because he truly died for our sins, whereof he is now glad. The joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. Here we are seeing Christ as our priest, as the one who ascends to the throne in virtue of his perfect work as our great high priest. And of course we do see him as our king here. The language is clear. Verse number six, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of thy kingdom is a right scepter. Here is Christ as our king. These are prophetic prayers in the verse number three and following. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. Here, here is the prophecy of Christ's kingship. It is an eternal kingdom. Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. His kingdom is not as the kingdoms of this world. It is a kingdom that never ends. His kingdom is not marked by corruption and iniquity. It is a righteous kingdom. He loves righteousness and hate this wickedness. He is fair and just. He shows mercy and compassion to the needy. He shows no partiality, no corruption, no injustice. Now this, I tell you, is an encouragement. It's an encouragement to your soul when it comes to Judgment Day. Who has God appointed to be judge? Who's going to judge your souls on the last day? It is the returning King. Christ has been appointed of God to come as judge. And listen, listen to the character of your judge. He loves righteousness and hate this wickedness. You have no fear in judgment day. You don't have thoughts that you're going to find yourself before the throne of God and fear that you may face an unjust judge. What a terror that would be, that on the last day there may be some miscarriage of justice, that you may find yourself cast away because the judge is corrupt. Oh, our blessed King, our blessed Christ is marked by absolute righteousness. He loves righteousness. And so when you stand before Him in that day, and if you stand before Him in your wickedness, You have no hope of escaping a just sentence. At no point can you pretend in your souls, perhaps I'll get away with it. Perhaps when it comes to the end of the day, I'll be let off all of my offenses. You have no such foolish hopes. For in that day, the judge is a judge of perfect righteousness. But those who have Christ's righteousness. They stand in a righteousness that is perfect and complete. There is no deficiencies, and therefore the judge that loves righteousness is a judge that will accept you and have that final word come into your rest. This is our King. He is the conquering King. He's the king, the captain of the host who comes with the sword drawn. He's got his sword and he's riding prosperously because of the gospel of truth and meekness in verse number four. He is the king who overcomes his enemies. He is the king that subdues people fall under him. Oh, that can happen tonight. As Christ rise in glory in the preaching of the word, there may some of you tonight will find yourself falling before the conquering king and saying, take me into your service. May I be one of those described in the Psalm 110, one of those people made willing in the day of your power. Oh, what a glory is Christ. What a joy there is to consider him. the grace of His words, the efficacy of His work, the triumph of His reign. Fill your minds with Him today. May He occupy your every thought, lest you be weary and faint in your mind. Are you going to keep on going this week? It will only be as you keep on considering Christ. His word alone to guide as a prophet. His work alone to satisfy God. He alone worthy of our worship and our adoration and our obedience. Dear unseated soul, this is God's appointed savior. Hear his word as prophet. Trust his work as priest. Bow before his throne. I tell you, consider Christ tonight. He is the subject of the scriptures. He is the only Redeemer of God's elect, and He's the only way for you to know peace with God. As you have in this psalm, you have the excellence of the Savior. You have the extent of His work, and then, finally, the enjoyment of the Savior. We have this reference in verse number eight of the gladness of this Messianic King, whereby they have made thee glad. Verse nine and following then use the language of the ancient Eastern wedding celebration. There's a link here between his work as prophet, priest, and king, and then this wedding ceremony as the king receives his bride. Let me suggest to you just in closing, Christ's gladness is a motivation in his sufferings. We think of Christ as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. But there is no joy like the joy of our Savior. We have in the portion of God's Word that we love so well regarding the cross, Isaiah 53, he shall save the travail of his soul and he shall be satisfied. The prospect of Christ being fully content in the completion of his work. No frustration in Christ. No sense of feeling to complete His task. He shall be fully satisfied. And so as you read in Hebrews chapter 12, it was for the joy that was set before Him, He endures the cross. He is the King by the way of the cross. And that is linked to His everlasting joy. His gladness and motivation in His sufferings and a motivation in His saving of sinners. The king is glad as he delights in his bride. We are his bride, not yet glorified, but we have the prospect of verse number 11. So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. This is his joy. It is the beauty of his bride. And of course, his delight in the bride is the beauty they have. That is a beauty that reflects Christ himself. Note just the three things at the end of your handout, and then we'll close. Here we see the groom beautifies the bride. Her clothing, verse 13, is of wrought gold. And gold, of course, speaks of the king. Gold, of course, speaks of debt in scripture. The gold points us to the fact that the bride is being clothed with the righteousness of the God, man. The gold points just reminding us that Christ is being formed in us. We are clothed, covered by Christ, and we're being changed by Christ. Verse number 13, the king's daughter is all glorious within. That's the church. You don't think of yourself that way, do you? That by the work of the King, you're being made beautiful within and without. Without your clothed by Christ's righteousness, within you're being conformed to Christ's righteousness. Without no justification, within no sanctification. That when it comes to the final day, as we are resurrected unto eternal life, we will be glorious within and beautiful without. Not in ourselves, but in the word of Christ for us. He beautifies the bride, he woos the bride. Listen to the language of verse number 10. Forget also thine own people and thy father's house, so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty. The gospel message is a message to the bride, leave Aunt Cleve. Leave your family with a sin. Leave the family of Adam into which you were born. Leave off your father, as it were. Leave off your Adam and get to Christ Jesus. And so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty. What a challenge that is again. It's a reminder to you that your affection for Christ must be greater than all else. that the King in His glory, He commands your full affection. Not a heart that is divided, not a heart that goes in various ways, but a heart that is sold out for Christ. And so this union is a prosperous union. Instead of thinking of the past and heritage, verse number 16, there is a future, there's a prospect, there's children, there's a seed, there's a progress in the work of God. I encourage you that there is much to meditate upon in this psalm. Pull down your Coppice, Virgin's, Treasure of David and go back and you read through these things. Consider the pictures and the images of Christ here. I want to overview it very quickly. Because I want to encourage you. I want to stir up your soul to remind you that it is in the contemplation of Christ that you will press on. And you'll keep on going on. It's not in self-help guides. It's not on 10 points on how to be a better Christian. You'll press on when your heart is captivated by Christ and Christ alone. I need that, you need that. And may God indeed give us such a heart tonight. Let's close in word of prayer. Eternal God and our Father in heaven, we come humbly again to thy presence. And we thank thee, O Lord, that Christ is indeed the fairest of 10,000. O Lord, may our eyes behold him. We confess, O Lord, that we are so prone to think briefly upon the Christ of God. to take a little time to consider him. We thank you for the scriptures that bombard us with the revelation of your son. May we indeed consider him afresh tonight. And I pray for some needy soul tonight that as they hear of Christ as the prophet, priest, and king, that they would realize that he is everything they need. They need a word. They need to work and they need to bow the knee to the king. Oh eternal God, bless us. Take us home in safety. May your fever rest and abide upon us. We pray you bless the work good here in the weeks that lie ahead. Bless those who come to labor in the word and the prayer meetings and the Lord's day. Oh eternal God, we do pray. Prosper your work. Cause us, oh Lord, to see children coming. Spiritual children. coming as the seed of Christ that he will see of the travail of his soul and indeed be satisfied. O Lord, we commit our ways into your care. May your blessing indeed rest upon us in Jesus' name. Amen.