The Lord Will Give Grace and Glory

[0:00] Well now before we turn back to the scriptures let's just bow our heads and pray. O Lord our God, we are encouraged by you to remember those who are in authority in the world whom you have raised up.

[0:20] And we know that they are responsible to you for what they do and what use they make of their abilities.

[0:33] And we pray today O Lord for those who are leaders in the earth. Whether they are political leaders or engaged in judging and implementing judgments and laws.

[0:47] O we pray Lord that the day may come when people will see the wisdom and the right standards in your word the Bible.

[1:02] We pray that in our own land too there may be a return to your word. As the rule not only for faith but for life too.

[1:13] We pray O Lord for our Queen and her royal household. And we remember them today and ask that you will give them wisdom and grace to walk in your ways.

[1:29] For those who are yours to guide them to make them an influence for good. And for others to awaken them to their need of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

[1:45] We pray too Lord for those who are in government for the Prime Minister and the Coalition Government. And those in opposition too. We ask Lord that they may have right standards.

[2:02] That there may be an awakening to the standards that used to guide our leaders. We see so much going on.

[2:14] That we can see the logic of. And we can see that in years if not generations to come. That our land and our people will be in a moral mess.

[2:30] A total bog of corruption. And therefore we pray O Lord that you will awaken those who legislate too. To do things wisely and well.

[2:44] To do them with an eye to right standards as we have been saying. And that your kingdom may come among us again. Like the psalm writer of old we pray Lord.

[2:58] That the day may not be far away when all the peoples will praise you. When they will see in Jesus their salvation. And the living hope that is set before them in the good news.

[3:13] Remember us O Lord in all our troubles and difficulties. In these frail mortal frames. And grant O Lord to give us strength equal to our days.

[3:27] And patience to bear what comes with advancing years. Or the inroads of disease. Where it is your will. Give restoring mercies.

[3:40] And where it is otherwise. Give us the grace to. To cast all our burdens upon you. Knowing that you will be faithful to us even.

[3:51] And to death itself. We remember those whose lives are committed. To the care. Of the sick and the suffering. And the dying too.

[4:04] And we pray that. You would give them. Not only a sense of achievement in their work. But a sense of the privilege. Of having such a calling.

[4:16] And of being gifted in that way. Thank you again Lord. For Lachie's safe return to us. And we pray that.

[4:26] There will be blessing attending what he has done. And now as we turn to your holy word. We would say like one of old. Speak Lord.

[4:38] For your servant is listening. We ask you to forgive our sins and shortcomings. Not for our asking. But for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[4:51] For we know that. The death he died. He died in order that we might have. The certainty. Of sins forgiven. And the joy.

[5:03] The joy accompanying the knowledge of that. Be with us now. And bless us in him. Amen. Well now we are going to turn to Psalm 84.

[5:16] And we hope today to conclude our study in it. And you will find Psalm 84 on page 526. And we may read at verse 8.

[5:34] Through to the end of the psalm. O Lord God of hosts. Hear my prayer. Give ear O God of Jacob. Selah. O God.

[5:46] Behold our shield. And look upon the face of your anointed. Or your Messiah. For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. Of my own choosing understood.

[6:00] I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God. Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield.

[6:11] For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts. O Lord of hosts.

[6:23] Blessed is the man. Who trusts in you. Our text is found in verse 11. And we are going to entitle it simply.

[6:36] The Lord God will give grace and glory. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory.

[6:49] No good will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. And I think it can be summed up in these words of our title.

[7:01] The Lord God will give grace and glory. Now before we get into the matter proper. Let's just remind ourselves of where we've come.

[7:12] We've been looking at how true believers in the Lord. In the days of the psalm writer. But for our purpose in our day too.

[7:24] In these last times. True believers in the Lord who follow Jesus. Wickedness. Are in the happy position. That they no longer dwell in the tents of wickedness.

[7:37] But to use New Testament language. They are living stones in the spiritual house. That God is building. And we've been looking at that. But we have noticed further back in our studies.

[7:54] That we are brought into that position. It's not something that we inherit because of our parents. Our grandparents. It's something we are brought into by God.

[8:07] And we saw that that was very much the focus of the psalm writer. We haven't achieved it for ourselves. But God. The God of covenant, mercy and grace. In his Messiah.

[8:19] Whom we've been referring to. There in the psalm. Verse 9. Through the promised Messiah. The Old Testament people were blessed.

[8:31] Who received the promises. And we are blessed too by faith. Receiving the promises. In the Messiah. In Jesus. And we've been emphasizing.

[8:44] In our study. How that. The psalms are simply full. Of Christ. Christ. Christ is everywhere in them.

[8:56] Christ is Lord. That is the wonderful affirmation. Of the New Testament. That he was exalted to God's right hand.

[9:08] And that the day is coming. When every knee shall bow. And every tongue confess. That Jesus is Lord. The emphasis is on his Lordship. That he is sovereign.

[9:20] To the glory of God the Father. And we are brought to him. Again and again. In the psalms. I'm not saying of course.

[9:30] Only in the psalms. I'm reminding you. That it's easy. And I've heard people argue. That the psalms don't. Speak about Christ. Christ. And just because.

[9:42] He's not named as Jesus. It doesn't mean. They don't speak. Clearly about Christ. They speak about him. Because he is Lord.

[9:54] And he's everywhere in them. Some places. He's very much. More apparent. In them. And we've been noticing. That how. By studying the psalms.

[10:06] We meet with him. Again and again. And we've been suggesting. That the more we study Christ. In the psalms. The more we discover. His ability.

[10:17] And his willingness. To help us. In the life of faith. In a practical way. That's what makes the psalms. Real soul songs. For the Lord's people.

[10:29] I sometimes think. This is not to be taken to its logical conclusion. By the way. But I sometimes think. That we. Our psalm tunes. Are not really.

[10:41] Like. The soul music. Of. Of. Even. Secular song. Perhaps the Gaelic. Psalm tunes.

[10:51] Are. A bit more. Soul music. But. The important thing. Is the psalms. Are definitely. The songs. Of the soul. Of the Lord's people. And.

[11:02] They help us. To see. Just how willing. The Lord is. And how able. He is. To help us. Through. Our difficulties. And. My dear friends.

[11:13] As we. Begin our. Study. For a wee while. To. It's so easy. To say that. It's so difficult. To live by it.

[11:25] To apply it. To make it happen. To make it make the difference. When. We are up against it. And. The whole point.

[11:36] Of. Studying. The Lord. And. Studying him in the psalms. At this time. Is to recognize. His willingness. To help us. With what is too much.

[11:46] For us. In the life of faith. And. I want to think. For a few moments. First of all. About what the Lord is. As he's described here.

[11:58] And we're told. Quite simply. The Lord God. Is a sun. And shield. It has been. Well noted. By. Hebrew scholars.

[12:10] That. This is the only place. In the Old Testament. That. We have the word. The regular word. For sun. Shemesh. That's used.

[12:21] Of. The Lord. And there's a certain. Deliberateness. About not using. The word. For sun. The sun. In the sky. For the Lord.

[12:34] Because. In ancient times. The sun. Was worshipped. That's the. S. U. N. It was worshipped. God. And it's still worshipped. In many parts of the world.

[12:45] And I'm afraid. It's worshipped. By. Pagans. And others. In the. The UK. Today. But. What's here. Is a poetic figure.

[12:57] It's an illustration. When it is said. The Lord God. Is a sun. It's. A description. That helps us. To understand. Something.

[13:07] About him. He is not. The sun. He is a sun. It's an illustration. And. What we're looking at.

[13:18] Is. We're looking at. The positive benefits. Of the sun. In nature. In the natural world. And we're then looking. At the positive benefits. Of God. Who is described here.

[13:29] To his people. As a sun. What the sun is. In the natural world. And it's beneficial effects. And. So the Lord is. In spiritual blessing. To his own.

[13:41] To those who embrace. His promises. In the Messiah. And it's most interesting. That. When. Jesus.

[13:52] Was. Being carried. In the womb of the Virgin. You have. Zachariah. The father. Of John the Baptist.

[14:05] Singing. About. His coming. The coming of Jesus. And in Luke's gospel. Chapter 1. Verses. 76 to 76. 76 to 79. You have Jesus.

[14:16] Described. Prior to his appearance. Prior to his birth. As the day. Spring. From on high. Literally. The rising sun.

[14:28] The Anatole. Is the Greek word for it. The rising sun. That's how he's described. And you will.

[14:39] Maybe now recall. Why we read. Malachi. Chapter 4. Because. The prophet. Is looking forward. And he knows.

[14:49] As a prophet. Of the Lord. That there was going to be. A length of time. Before. The Messiah. Would come. But Malachi.

[15:00] Malachi knew. You see. Malachi knew. That. His coming. Would be. Like the rising of the sun. And. We read there. In Malachi. That.

[15:12] Upon those. Who fear my name. The sun. Of righteousness. Shall arise. With healing. In his wings. Or in his beams. That's the description.

[15:24] That's the figure. And. It's interesting. In that same connection. That the apostle. John. Who. When he was writing.

[15:34] His gospel. Account. Described Jesus. As the true light. Who was shining. The true light. Has come into the world.

[15:45] And he dispels. The moral. And spiritual. Darkness. In all. Who. Receive him. By faith. He said. Himself.

[15:56] I am the light. Of the world. Verse. 12. Of. John's gospel. Chapter 8. I am the light. Of the world. Whosoever. Believes in me.

[16:06] Will no longer. Walk in darkness. But have the light. That gives life. He is. To us. In that sense. A son. And.

[16:18] We can dig this. A wee bit further. And. What I'm doing here. By the way. If you don't know it. Is. I'm just. Giving you. Some. Very useful. References.

[16:29] To. To look at. And to think over. And. To pray over. When the writer. To the Hebrews. Describes him. He describes him.

[16:40] As the one. Who is. The outshining. Of the glory. Of the father. The. The. The character. The express image.

[16:52] Of his. Of his being. And he talks about him. As the outshining. Like the effulgence. On a bulb. An electric bulb. That you.

[17:02] You can't really look at. With your eyes. And he's. Described like that. As the outshining. And Jesus. Therefore. Brings to us.

[17:13] Moral and spiritual. Benefits. As well. As his saving power. When we receive. There too.

[17:24] In 2nd Corinthians 4. At verse 6. We read that same thing. The God who commanded light. To shine out of darkness.

[17:35] Originally. In the formation of the universe. Has shone in our heart. To give us the light. Of the knowledge. Of the glory of God. In the person.

[17:47] Of Jesus Christ. And. That's an important thing. To remember. About him. The Lord God. And that. We can attribute that title.

[17:59] To Jesus. The Lord God. Is a sin. He brings. Spiritual light. And life. To us. He. Shows us.

[18:09] What it is. To. To live. The life of faith. And to walk. In the ways of God. His own life. Was lived like that. Perfectly.

[18:21] We have a model. Okay. I know. We can never. Attain to his perfection. That. Almost goes without saying. But. But he is our model.

[18:31] He is our example. And all that. That's going on. Within the church. Today. The broad church. What people are trying.

[18:42] To say. About. Morals. Today. And ditching. The Bible's teaching. If they would stop. And think. If they would stop. And think. About the consistency.

[18:54] Of the old testament. And the new. There is no difference. In terms of the moral. Statutes. Standards. Jesus.

[19:05] Shows us. How the law. Of God. Is lived. From the heart. Not with the. With the. The minutia.

[19:16] Of the Pharisees. You can only walk. So far. On the Sabbath. And so on. But the real. Moral. Fiber.

[19:27] Of living. For God. And it is. Jesus. Who has given. His believing. People. Light. In order. That they may shine.

[19:38] For him. Lights. In the dark world. We are told. Paul tells us. In. In. In. First Thessalonians. Children. Be children.

[19:48] Of light. Shine. As lights. In a dark place. Holding forth. The word of life. And so on. God. In.

[19:58] God. God. God. God. God. God. And in him. Being. To us. As a sin. He is a sin. To us. In that he. He. He. He. He.

[20:08] Gives us. Light. To distinguish. Between. Good and evil. God. And to see. The prince of darkness. For what he is. And that brings us.

[20:21] To the second point. In this. The Lord is a shield. What he is. He is a sin to us. He is a shield to us. Now we have referred to this before.

[20:32] When we looked at verse 9. Behold O God. Our shield. So we just want to touch on this briefly. And to remind ourselves. That this reference is to his kingly authority.

[20:47] To his protective power over his people. Remember how in the. In the catechism. Those of you who are brought up on it. In answer to the question.

[20:58] How does Christ exercise his office as king. He is our prophet, priest and king. In himself. How does he exercise that.

[21:09] And the catechism talks based on the bible. It talks about him. Ruling and defending us. Conquering his and our enemies.

[21:23] Enabling us to overcome. Derek Kidner in his. Little IVF commentary. Says. Says.

[21:33] And. I quote him here. That he simply says. With reference. To. The Lord as our shield.

[21:45] He says. The Lord. As our shield. He is the answer. To all our fears. Of defeat. And.

[21:57] He is the answer. He is the one who enables us. To overcome. He. He shields us from utter despair. The Christian fears.

[22:09] And his fears. Our legion. We seem to have an almost. Obsessive inclination.

[22:20] To fearing. This or that. We brood on things. That may happen. That they may never happen. Doesn't. Seem to occur to us enough.

[22:33] We fear. And we multiply. The fears. And we become agitated. And we lose our way. In our thinking. And he is there.

[22:45] As our shield. To shield us. From. From. Succumbing. To these fears. To deliver us. Often.

[22:57] We have a. A sense. Of defeat. In the life of faith. Often we feel overpowered. By all that's going on. We seem to.

[23:08] Feel the feeling of being engulfed. By what's happening. We never anticipated. Having to cope with this or that problem.

[23:19] That's life. But we didn't expect. And we're not ready. And we seem to be almost overwhelmed. By what's happening. Well. The news is. God's people have been there.

[23:33] We sing it in the Psalms. Your waves and your billows. Have gone over my head. But you see.

[23:46] We heard the word. Your waves. And your billows. And that's a sense of reality there. This is happening to me Lord.

[23:57] I seem to be overwhelmed. By problems. But they're problems you've sent. They're yours. Therefore they're controlled by you. Therefore you're my shield.

[24:09] So that I won't be swamped by them. And we need to remember that. There are all sorts of things that come our way.

[24:21] I think that. And it's something to be prayed about too I may say. I think that ministers of the gospel today are under huge pressure. To give it.

[24:34] To pack it in. I hear it all the time. And it's because they never expected to see what they're seeing. To cope with what they're trying to cope with.

[24:46] In our land today. And you who are under the gospel ministry. You ought to have a special place in your heart for them.

[24:56] Because they're in the same situation as the Lord's people. In every place. Except that they're in the front line.

[25:08] They are special targets of the enemy's attention. And they know what it is to be pressed down. To be under the pressure of giving it up.

[25:24] Because so little has been achieved. Christian life is like that. If you're a realist. If you're honest. Christian life is like that.

[25:34] We seem to make so little progress. We go forward a bit. And we go back. And we wonder did we make any progress at all. That's the reality.

[25:45] And what the psalmist is reminding us of. Is the Lord is not only a sin to us. But a shield to us. And if we need any angle on this.

[26:00] That gives us peace of mind. It's the cross of Calvary. For there he was a shield for us. From the wrath of God. He is set forth as a propitiation.

[26:13] As a wrath exhausting saviour. He dealt with that. What am I saying? Take the bigger picture. And the smaller things are in their place.

[26:24] He has dealt with the wrath of God. The worst that can happen. Our abandonment to hell forever. Has been dealt with. If we by faith believe in Jesus.

[26:35] So we take the bigger thing. And we say. Get a perspective on this. Get real. Understand. He is my shield. And then the spiritual battle of life.

[26:50] Or in life. Doesn't look as overwhelming. As we feel it is. He said through the prophet.

[27:02] No weapon formed against you. Shall destroy you. We need to remember that. He doesn't leave us.

[27:13] To sink. He shields us. From what would cause us. To fall into utter despair. And when we do fall down.

[27:25] We don't utterly fall down. Because he is there. As our shield. To protect us from that. We need to consider him like this.

[27:37] As one who is able to keep us. In all our ways. As our shield. And our defender. That then briefly is.

[27:52] What the Lord is. As the psalmist has it here. As sin and shield. But lastly. What the Lord gives. And we have the two points. Sub points here. He gives grace.

[28:05] And glory. What the Lord gives. He gives grace. Grace. And it seems to me. That we ought not. To limit this. To some special favor.

[28:20] You know the definition. That's often given. Of grace. What is grace? It's unmerited favor. And sometimes. People just take it as.

[28:31] When they say. The Lord gives grace. That means he'll give us. He'll give us. A position. He'll give us blessing. But.

[28:41] The focus here. Is on something. Far more deeper. And meaningful. He gives grace. He gives us. Enabling. He gives us. Power.

[28:53] After and all. We. Learn it from scripture. When we talk about. His sovereign grace. We talk about. His power. That brings us. To see our need of Jesus.

[29:05] And into the faith. That is in Jesus. It's his power. That draws us. His sovereign power. His sovereign grace. Enabling us. To come to him by faith.

[29:18] And to live for him by faith. It's true. The Lord. Bestows that grace. Freely. It's true.

[29:28] That the spirit. Works in us. And it gives us. That grace. That we need to think about. It's relevance. All the time. Not just to bring us.

[29:40] To Jesus. But to live for him. And to live for him. Day by day. Do we really feel our need.

[29:56] Of the grace. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every day. If we don't. There's something wrong. If we don't feel our need of his grace. Is enabling power.

[30:08] To live for him. Something's wrong. And we need to. Seek him about that. That it's put right. It's put right. You see.

[30:21] If you think about it. The great characters. Of the Bible. What recovered them. From their. Their wanderings. What recovered them. From going astray.

[30:33] The grace of God. What recovered. Abram. The father of believers. As he's called. When he made his blenders. In Egypt.

[30:43] And in Gerar. In the land of Canaan. The grace of God. The enabling power. To see what he has done. Was wrong. And to come back.

[30:55] To come to repentance. And to go on. In a more consistent way. It was the grace of God. The same with. With Jacob. And many another.

[31:07] They wandered into sin. And the grace of God. The enabling power of God. Brought them to see. They were going wrong. And brought them. Back. From.

[31:20] Sinful ways. It was grace. That brought all the heroes. Of the faith. Recorded in the Bible. Through their many trials.

[31:33] Toils and snares. It was grace. The enabling power of God. That made. Rahab the harlot.

[31:44] A chaste woman. That made. Zacchaeus the tax collector. An honest man. That made. The sexually aberrant. People of Corinth.

[31:56] Pure. In their thinking. And their behavior. It was. It was. It was the grace of God. That made cowards brave. Again and again. And you know.

[32:09] And I've often thought about this. I've never preached on it yet. But in the book of Revelation. Towards the end. I think it's chapter 19.

[32:19] There's a list. Of ways of life. Lived. That ensure that people.

[32:30] Will go to eternity lost. And we tend to think about. Murderers. And adulterers. The sexually immoral.

[32:40] The thieves. And in the middle of that list. There's cowards. Yes cowards. Who put the opinion of people.

[32:55] Before the opinion of God. And the grace of God. Makes cowards brave.

[33:08] It makes them stand out for him. Was Nicodemus a coward? Yes he was. See me about it.

[33:19] If you don't agree. Was Joseph of Arimathea. A coward. To an extent he was. These were both senior men. In the community.

[33:30] They were top rabbis. And they were afraid to. Declare themselves. To be followers of Jesus. Until God. By his grace.

[33:41] Made the cowards brave. We need to get a grip of the. The wonderful provision. The Lord has made.

[33:53] The fullness of grace. Of enabling power. Of strengthening power. That we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. The Lord. The Lord. The Lord.

[34:04] The Lord. Whatever we are going through. Whatever we may yet go through. He gives us more grace. To manage this or that.

[34:16] Christ. And don't think I'm. Preaching this at you. This is coming to me as well. This is as relevant to the preacher.

[34:28] As the person in the pew. Believe it. Believe it. And a sermon can't be preached. Properly.

[34:39] In the power of grace. That's not being preached. To the preacher first. Believe it. There's a fullness of grace.

[34:54] In the Lord Jesus. For us. For whatever we have to live with. For whatever we have to go through. My grace is efficient for you.

[35:05] He said to the apostle. For my strength is made perfect. In your weakness. Somebody said to me recently.

[35:17] About something that I had to address. By way of reading. Don't read it if you're feeling low.

[35:30] That's true. Don't read it. If you're feeling low. So that meant. Bad news. Be prepared. And my reply to that.

[35:44] Was this. It's true by the way. Actually I had a very low week. Last week. And a very difficult week.

[35:56] Spiritually. And I said. And I said. I know the best time. To do something difficult.

[36:10] Is when I'm low. And weak. Do you know why? Because the Lord says this. My strength.

[36:21] My strength. Is made perfect. In your weakness. Most gladly.

[36:32] Therefore. Will I glory. In my weakness. That the power of Christ. May rest upon me.

[36:43] For when I am weak. Friend. May he be speaking to you. Then. I am strong. May he prove that to you.

[36:55] Even today. Our time is whizzed away. The Lord gives glory. Now glory. The word kavod.

[37:05] It means quite a number of things. In the original. It can sometimes mean honor. God exalts a person. To a place of privilege. And opportunity. But the clear emphasis here.

[37:21] Is that there is a benefit. For those whose lives are seen to be. Godly lives. They live according to God's law.

[37:34] According to his way. According to upright ways. They seek by his grace. To live for him. And those are guaranteed. By his grace.

[37:46] Glory. Not simply honor here. That's true. No doubt. But more particularly. They will be brought into the experience.

[37:57] Of the glory of Christ. In their lives. I have just these two angles on it. As we leave it. Jesus said in his high priestly prayer. In John 17.

[38:08] And verse 22. Note this well. Father. Father. The glory you have given to me. I have given to them.

[38:21] Now there is a glory of Christ. That we can never have. But there is glory that was Christ. As a man from heaven. That we not only can have.

[38:34] But we do have by faith. Father. The glory you have given me. I have given to them. The ministry of the Holy Spirit.

[38:46] Is a glorious gift. Christ's own ministry. As the Messiah. Was a ministry. In the Spirit. That's something we gain.

[38:58] From him. From being united to him. Our approach to God. Our straight in there. To the Father's presence.

[39:09] Is glorious. And we have it. From Jesus. Our access to the Father. Is his access to the Father.

[39:21] Our right to be heard. Is given. From him. To us who believe. Father. Father. The glory.

[39:31] The glory. You gave to me. As a mediator. As a man from heaven. I have given to them. There is more. But time doesn't permit. The point I am making is.

[39:42] There is glory here. If we will but see it. And there is glory hereafter. Peter tells us.

[39:52] One last thing. On the glory here. Peter tells us. That it's a glorious thing. To suffer for the sake of Christ. Christ. We are participating.

[40:04] In his sufferings. As the one who was opposed. But the glory. That surpasses all. Is surely. The glory.

[40:15] That awaits his people. When they see him face to face. And even if it's true.

[40:25] That here in this world. At times. Our flesh and our heart. May faint and faint. The Lord. Is the strength of our heart. And our portion forever.

[40:38] He is a sun and shield. And he will give grace. And glory. Amen.