[0:00] Brothers, sisters and friends, it's a joy, isn't it, again, to be gathered around God's Word. The same announcement as the morning, just to remind ourselves that this coming Lord's Day is all week. This evening, we hope to have Donald, Donnie driving, Donnie McLeod giving his testimony next door in the Afrochurch Fellowship.
[0:18] So please do come along to that if you're able. We're here to worship God. Let's carry on that public worship. Let's sing first of all from the Scottish Psalter. The Scottish Psalter and Psalm 102.
[0:34] Psalter, Psalm 102, the second version of the Psalm. Psalm 102, the second version of the Psalm. It's on page 368.
[0:45] Page 368. Psalm 102, page 368.
[0:55] We can sing from verse 19. To the end of the Psalm. From his holy place looked down. The earth he viewed from heaven on high. To hear the prisoners mourn and groan.
[1:08] And three of them that are doomed to die. That Zion and Jerusalem too. His name and praise may well record. When people and the kingdoms do. Assemble all. To praise the Lord.
[1:19] Psalm 102, from 19 to the end. To God's praise. To God's praise. To God's praise. Amen. Amen.
[2:23] Amen. Amen.
[3:23] Amen. Amen.
[4:23] Amen. Amen.
[4:54] Amen. Let's join together in a word of prayer. Let's pray. Lord, we ask you would help us to still our hearts and still our minds again this evening.
[5:10] As we come once more around your living word. As we come once more around this time of fellowship, this time of togetherness. We understand that this is where it is good for us to be.
[5:23] We come to this place away from the wind and the wild of the raging storms of this world. The raging storms perhaps even of our own individual circumstances and lives.
[5:34] And we come to this place for this short time of refuge. This short time of togetherness as brothers and sisters around your word. We do ask this evening for this short time together.
[5:47] You would truly gel us together as brothers and sisters. We give you praise for this togetherness. We give you praise for the gift of family unity. As we sit here this evening.
[5:59] We can look around and know that those in front of us and those behind us, those beside us. That many of those we see just now are part of your kingdom.
[6:12] That many here this evening are brothers and sisters in the faith. And as we even were reminded this morning that our saviour has his people. He has his people here.
[6:23] He has his people across the world. And this evening we gather with those who have been called and purchased with his precious blood. Those whom he has come to make that perfect and final sacrifice for.
[6:38] Those whom he calls his own precious people. Those who he purchased with that eternal price. We come this evening to worship beside not just brothers and sisters but also sons and daughters.
[6:52] We worship alongside those who like us have been known from eternity past. Those who like us have been known the love of God from all time. Who have had your love set upon us before creation itself.
[7:07] It is no small thing to call one another brother and sister. Help us then to understand that in a greater sense this evening. Help us our short time this evening as we come around your word shortly.
[7:20] To see in it the beauty and the glory and the wonder of who you are. As we spend time this evening seeing just a glimpse of that beauty.
[7:30] A glimpse of that glory. Help us Lord to be humbled this evening. Help us to leave this place having been humbled by you. Humbled by who you are.
[7:42] Humbled by the briefest glimpse we will receive from your word as to your eternal qualities. Your eternal person. We come this evening and we confess that we spend so much of our time looking around.
[7:54] And so much of our time as it were looking down. We look inwardly. We look to ourselves. We look to our own abilities. And we are disappointed. We look to our own efforts.
[8:06] And we find ourselves so short of where we need to be. Of what we should be doing. We look to those around us. And we see those who have meant well. But who have failed both themselves and ourselves.
[8:18] We look to our world. And we see amidst the beauty of creation. We see the pain and the misery of sin. We see death and destruction. We see downfall all around us.
[8:30] And we find ourselves looking down. As we see the dust of the earth. We are reminded that we are from the dust. And one day we will return to the dust. We thank you that in your word we can look up.
[8:43] We can look up and see the reality that we are purchased and known and kept. That we are enthused and made alive. That we are called eternally yours.
[8:56] Because of the finished work of our saviour. We can look up and behold the throne. We can look up and behold our saviour at the right hand of the throne. We can look up and know that for us a torment has been made.
[9:09] We can look up and know that before us goes our saviour, our king. Leading the way into that new Jerusalem. We can look up and know that we no longer see a saviour hang on the cross.
[9:21] We look up and we see an empty cross. We look up and we see a saviour pierced for his people. The marks of his love eternally present in his body.
[9:33] We look up and we look forward to that day we will see him as he is. We look up and we look forward to that day we will join him for time without end. But until these days come.
[9:45] We ask Lord you give us the wisdom and give us the help to look up in our daily lives. As we seek to serve you day by day. We pray that for ourselves here in this congregation.
[9:57] Here in this community. We bring just now before you those who are heavy on our minds. Our loved ones. Those who have been praying for for years. Some perhaps for decades.
[10:09] Those we care so tenderly for. Those we longing. Those we are longing to see come to this place. Or those we are longing to see make some sort of interest.
[10:21] Show some sort of care for their souls. But as of yet perhaps I have shown none of it. We ask the Lord for them. You draw alongside them that you would be with them.
[10:34] That you would speak to them. In their lostness. In a waywardness. You bring them home to yourself. We pray just now for any here or any amongst our number. Who feel far away from you.
[10:48] Here or perhaps any who we know and who we are close to. Who love you and who know you. But who have found themselves of recent days and recent months. And perhaps recent years.
[10:59] Of falling away from you. Lord we ask you to restore them to yourself. And bring them back to you. Lord we could come just now. We know we could list the various many problems and worries.
[11:10] And we could make that list last as long as the time we have together this evening. We give you praise that we don't have to list our desires and our needs before you. For you know us.
[11:22] You know all that we are. You know all that we need. You know what it is as we pray at times even silently. We often can find even the words to say in the right order.
[11:33] At times we come before you and we have nothing to say. But we sit before you in silence. As the spirit groans as it were on our behalf. As he makes those groans and intercessions for us.
[11:44] We know we have a God who knows and who hears these groans. That all that we have and all that we are. All that we desire and all that we need. It is all known to you.
[11:55] Help us this evening to spend a short time admiring your wonder. Spend a short time being lost in your majesty. As we find ourselves running so short and running so empty of human words to describe you.
[12:09] We know that you are beyond description. The most glorious and beautiful of jewels on this earth. Does not come close to describing the reality of your true radiance.
[12:19] The words we have for time and even words we have for eternity. Don't come close to describing your longevity. That you are from all time and to all time.
[12:31] You are out with time. You cannot be measured. You cannot be limited. But you are God. You are Yahweh. The covenant keeping, covenant making God.
[12:44] Lord, we come this evening as those who are, many of us here this evening, those who know and who love Jesus. We are beneficiaries of that covenant. That covenant that promises a saviour would be sent.
[12:56] That promises all who trust in him would be saved and truly saved for all time. Time without end. As to you and to your covenant keeping mercies. To your covenant keeping graces.
[13:08] As to you and to your covenant keeping name. We come this evening. And we throw ourselves down. We have failed you this week. We have gone against you this week and this day.
[13:20] We have interactions in our own body. In our words. In our minds. In all that we think and say and do. We have transgressed against you. We come just now confessing the finished work of one.
[13:33] Confessing the righteousness of one. Confessing the love and care of one. Who saw us in our wretchedness. Who saw us in our misery. And who set himself to come and to save us and call us his own precious people.
[13:49] Help us never to lose sight or to lose wonder at the beauty of the gospel. Help us never to grow tired at coming before you. Help us never to grow tired of meeting together as brothers and sisters.
[14:01] Knowing it is good for us to meet together. We pray just now once more for those in our community. Those even in our own homes this evening. Who do not and who will not pray for themselves. Those who have no care and no concern for the gospel.
[14:14] We ask you be with them. And we ask that even this evening. You would somehow use a providence. You would use something to bring them to yourself. Help us to go home and to tell those perhaps in our family and our friends.
[14:28] What it is we heard from your word. Lord you would use us as your witnesses. We pray just now for those who are downcast in our minds. Those in our congregation. But also those in this wider community.
[14:38] Those who are facing ill health mentally and physically. Those who are going through times of trial. Those who are going through times of crisis and worry. Those who are going through darknesses and pain.
[14:50] Those who are facing circumstances beyond our understanding. Lord you see it all and you know it all. We ask that we would find our comfort only in you. We feel ourselves so small.
[15:02] We feel ourselves so weak. We feel our efforts and our energies at times so inappropriate to the task that lies before us. We give you praise that the task is not ours.
[15:15] It belongs alone to you. And you make use of us as means. You use us as your people. And to bring about the grand and glorious plans you have for our day to come to pass.
[15:26] From before creation and time itself. Help us Lord and keep us serving you humbly we ask. Asking these things for the ongoing forgiveness of sin.
[15:39] To the only one who forgives. The Lord Jesus Christ. In his name and in his power we ask these many things. Amen. Let's start reading God's word.
[15:50] We have two readings this evening. First of all the gospel of John. That well known reading. John chapter 1. Reading a section of John chapter 1.
[16:02] Then turning to Hebrews. But first of all John chapter 1. We can read from verse 1. Down to verse 28. John 1.
[16:15] Verse 1 down to verse 28. Let's again hear the word of God. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God.
[16:26] And the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. And without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life.
[16:38] And the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness. And the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God. Whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light.
[16:53] That all might believe through him. He was not the light. But came to bear witness about the light. The true light. Which gives light to everyone. Was coming into the world.
[17:05] He was in the world. And the world was made through him. Yet the world did not know him. He came to his own. And his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him.
[17:16] Who believed in his name. He gave a right to become children of God. Who were born not of blood. Nor of the will of the flesh. Nor of the will of man. But of God.
[17:28] And the word became flesh. And dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory. Glory as of the only Son. From the Father. Full of grace and truth.
[17:38] John bore witness about him. And cried out. This was he of whom I said. He who comes after me. Ranks before me. Because he was before me.
[17:50] For from his fullness. We have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God.
[18:02] The only God. Who is at the right Father's side. He has made him known. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem. To ask him.
[18:13] Who are you? He confessed. And did not deny. But confessed. I am not the Christ. And they asked him. What then? Are you Elijah? He said.
[18:24] I am not. Are you the prophet? And he answered. No. So they said to him. Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
[18:34] He said. I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord. As the prophet Isaiah said. Now they that had been sent from the Pharisees.
[18:47] They asked him. Then why are you baptizing? If you are neither of the Christ. Nor Elijah. Nor of the prophet. John answered them. I baptize with water.
[18:59] But among you stands one. You do not know. Even he who comes after me. The strap of whose sandals. I am not worthy to untie. These things took place in Bethany.
[19:11] Across the Jordan. Where John was baptizing. Turning again this time. The book of Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 1. This will be our text this evening. Hebrews chapter 1.
[19:25] Let's again read. And hear. God's word. Hebrews chapter 1. Long ago. At many times.
[19:36] And in many ways. God spoke to our fathers. By the prophets. But in these last days. He has spoken to us. By his son. Whom he appointed the heir of all things.
[19:47] Through whom also. He created the world. He is the radiance. Of the glory of God. And the exact imprint. Of his nature. And he upholds the universe.
[19:58] By the word of his power. After making purification. For his sins. He sat down. For sins. He sat down. In the right hand. Of the majesty and high. Having become.
[20:09] As much superior. To angels. As the name. He has inherited. Is more excellent. Than theirs. For to which of the angels. Did God ever say. You are my son.
[20:21] That they have begotten you. Or again. I will be to him a father. And he shall be to me a son. And again. When he brings. The firstborn into the world. He says.
[20:31] Let all God's angels. Worship him. Of the angels. He says. He makes his angels winds. And his ministers. A flame of fire. But of the son.
[20:42] He says. Your throne. Oh God. Is forever. And ever. The scepter of uprightness. Is the scepter. Of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness.
[20:52] And hated wickedness. Therefore God. Your God. Has anointed you. With the oil of gladness. Beyond your companions. And. You Lord.
[21:03] Laid the foundation. Of the earth. In the beginning. And the heavens. Of the work of your hands. They will perish. But you remain. They will all wear out. Like a garment. Like a robe.
[21:14] You will roll them up. Like a garment. They will be changed. But you are the same. And your years. Will have. No end. And to which of the angels. Has he ever said.
[21:25] Sit at my right hand. Until I make your enemies. A footstool. For your feet. Are they not all ministering spirits. Sent out to serve. For the sake of those. Who are to inherit.
[21:36] Salvation. Amen. Good praise to God. For his holy. And his perfect word. Let's sing. Once more. This time. From Sing Psalms.
[21:47] Sing Psalms. In Psalm 110. Sing Psalms. Psalm 110. That's on page 149.
[21:59] Of the Psalm books. Psalm 110. On page 149. We can sing verses 1. Down to verse 6.
[22:10] Of the Psalms. Psalm 110. It's Messianic Psalm. The Lord said to my Lord. Sit here at my right hand. Until I make your foes.
[22:21] A stool on which your feet may stand. The Lord will make you reign. Extend from Zion's hill. With royal power. You'll rule among. Those who oppose. Your will.
[22:32] Psalm 110. Verses 1 to 6. To God's praise. The Lord. The Lord said to my Lord.
[22:45] Say, Lord, you'll have my right hand. Until I make your foes.
[22:56] You'll have my right hand. That's all. ... On which you do. You'll have your foe. Though I have my right hand. The Lord will make you reign.
[23:10] Extend from Zion's hill. With joy and power your own hand Goes to the posture well When you did say you found You need good luck to you Have done a great in holiness You've heard with God like you I've changed every then heart With solid purpose for Just like Memphis in Ecuador
[24:14] The priest forevermore The Lord's hand to right hand That he will ever stay He on his feet of wrath Will crush the king to bow his way The nations he will judge The dead in peace will lie The mighty army and field cash All through his soul divine Let's turn back to God's word
[25:18] And back to the text we had In the book of Hebrews Letter to the Hebrews Looking at this whole chapter Chapter 1 But for the sake of a text for ourselves This evening We can take this glorious Truth of verse 2 But in these last days He has spoken to us By his son Whom he appointed The heir of all things Through whom also he created The world So on If you recall last week We started a very short series We got a wee break from our Judges series And as we were saying Very honestly last week Although there is of course Real hope at times In the book of Judges Very often in the book of Judges It brings us down As it should Rightfully so It reminds us of our sin It reminds us of our rebellion It reminds us that we are Naturally people We are naturally created creatures
[26:19] Through sin Through the fall Who want nothing to do with God And Judges reminds us At times bluntly At times pretty horrifically It reminds us that we are people Who are so prone to sin We will find any and every way Of doing it And after a few weeks It became almost eight weeks Of Judges We took a wee break perhaps And last week We looked at Hebrews chapter 2 And we saw last week Just some of the beauty Of who our God is We were reminded as to The Father in creation God's creation And our place in it And we called our short series Looking up Looking away from ourselves Away from the pain and misery We see in Judges And looking up for a wee while Reminding ourselves as to the beauty And the glory Of who our God is This evening
[27:21] We can see the Son And we can see specifically His rule And His reign As Hebrews 1 Brings it to us His rule And His reign Again just for a short time Our goal this evening As we said last week Is to leave this place Of course hopefully having grown In our knowledge We always hope for that But our goal is to leave this evening And go home Having grown in our love In our wonder In our awe Of who the Son is Of what He has done What He does Of His power Of His person And so on Just to help us To break down this chapter Just two overall headings for us We can see the rule of the Son And then the reign of the Son So the Son in His rule And the Son in His reign
[28:22] There's plenty of crossover In these points And we'll address that As we work through them But the Son in His rule And the Son in His reign In order to show something Of the power of who Jesus is Who the Son is We see the author of Hebrews This whole first chapter He quotes doesn't he Every word Three quarters of this first chapter And it's a feature in Hebrews That's a feature study for us But in this first chapter alone You'll see every second or third line It's a quote And the majority of these quotes Are from the book of Psalms In chapter 1 And he quotes three Psalms In particular And we'll look to them Throughout our time And we've actually sung Them already This evening We've sung before We've sung just now And we'll finish off also By singing later on One of the Psalms We see used here We started off of course With Psalm 102
[29:22] And we'll move on then To sing at the end Psalm 45 Psalm 102 Psalm 110 And Psalm 45 They are unique They're unique why?
[29:37] Because they belong to the group But we call The Messianic Psalms The Psalms which tell us Something about who Jesus is Long before he came Long before he was born Into human flesh These Psalms praise The Son The second person of the Godhead First of all we see then The rule of the Son The rule of the Son Now that rule We can break up into two sections As this chapter allows us to We see his rule as eternal And his rule as creative It's eternal And it is creative What defines the rule of the Son?
[30:21] What defines the rule of the King of Kings? Of the second person of the Godhead? What defines his rule?
[30:31] First of all we see his rule Is eternal The first half of verse 8 Of the Son he says Your throne O God Is forever And ever Your throne O God Is forever and ever Now note that he In verse 8 That's speaking of God But of the Son God says Your throne O God Is forever and ever Now I don't know how many times We have sung Or you have sung in your life Psalm 102 Perhaps plenty of times When you stop and think When we sing these Psalms And sing these verses Of Psalm 102 We are singing verses Singing words Which glorify Jesus And the Father Addresses the Son To the Son And he says to the Son Your throne O God Is forever and ever There's power there There's beauty there
[31:33] As the Father Addresses the Son He addresses him As what? He addresses him In his full deity He addresses the Son As God We see that's Given to us Clearly in the first section Verses 1 Down to verse 4 Verse 5 Really We see that The writer of the Hebrews Is keen to remind These struggling Christians When they come to worship Jesus He's not just a prophet He's not just a priest He's not just a king He is God He is fully divine And we see that Mentioned here The throne of God Your throne O God Is forever And ever The Father Names The Son As God And the rule of the Son Is based on the reality Of who he is The Son Is fully
[32:33] God The Son Is divine We come this evening To worship The one Whose rule is eternal Because he himself Is eternal We come and praise Our saviour We praise Our king this evening We praise one Who has been From all time And to all time And that's based On the very fact Of who And of what He is In verse 3 He is the radiance Of the glory of God And the exact imprint Of his nature And he upholds The universe By the word Of his power He is And all that he is He is God We've touched before Plenty of times On the full Humanity of Jesus When he was born He was born like us In all ways Apart from sin And it's so good for us To acknowledge that And understand that But let's never lose sight He is fully God And fully man And he is God His deity
[33:34] He is fully God And because he is Fully God His rule Is eternal Your throne There The word throne It's the same sense As rule It's your place Of authority Is forever And ever Well we know this This is not new information For us Brothers and sisters Let's first of all Never I hope you aren't I'm not saying you are But just Let's never grow tired Of being reminded Of the wonder Of who our saviour is And the power Of who he is That he is God Eternal But also There's a practical Application of this I don't know if you are noticing But our friends In the Mormon religion Also applies to The Jehovah's Witness religion To the LDS And the Jehovah's Witness They of course Will both claim That Christ is
[34:34] Not God In various ways And for various reasons But essentially They will both claim In different ways That he is not God And there's an increase In the last few weeks The last few months If you are looking around town An increase In the missionaries That they are obviously Sending up just now The LDS church In Stornoway The Mormon church Although Mormon Is a term They aren't keen on It's LDS They go by mostly Their church is growing There's more people Moving up to it They're doing more outreach Of sorts That's why these verses Are so important for us They will claim of course That Christ is not God That he is a created creature He is the ultimate created being But he's created nonetheless And we see here evidence Clearly Where the father speaks of the son And the father calls the son God Where the father gives the son
[35:35] The full deity The full description of deity As the son deserves And if you find yourself Discussing or talking about Christ To our friends In these In these other groups And they say Well there's no evidence That Jesus is God In scripture Well there is God himself The father calls the son God He addresses him as God He is not created He is not from of old He is not the best of God's creation The son is not the pinnacle of God's creation The son Father And spirit We worship a triune God One God And three persons That is our God His rule Is eternal Because he Is Eternal And the rule is timeless Your throne O God Is what
[36:36] Is forever And Ever Again it's only fair It's been a while Since we last did some Hebrew lessons So let's do some more Hebrew lessons This evening These two words there Your throne O God Is forever And ever We read that And we understand it Forever and ever It's It's ongoing But if you break down What's being said here It's beautiful Truly beautiful How eternal Is the eternal rule Of our king Well first of all It is Forever The word there Is Olam It's a word That speaks Of something That is eternally Into the future His rule Is Olam His rule Is eternally Into the future Stretching forward Without sight To give the poetic Translation of it Something which stretches Forward Without sight Without end That's forever
[37:37] But the throne Is also forever And ever That ever In Hebrew word Is ad A-d For us And it means Eternally From the past So his rule Is eternally From the past Stretching forward Eternally Into the horizon Into the forever In other words From all time And to all time His rule And his reign Have No End That is the kingdom That is the rule Of the son His rule Is Eternal And that rule Is then Further Given image To us By the glorious Words we have Of verse 11 And verse 12 Quoting from the Psalm we sung At the beginning There I see these Glorious Reminder As to the Timelessness Of our Saviour
[38:37] Speaking of Creation Speaking of All that's been Made They will Perish But you Remain They will Wear out Like a garment Like a robe You will Roll them up Like a garment They will be Changed But you Are the same And your Years Will have No end What an image What an image Here of Creator And created Again We touched on this Last week When you look around Yourself And look around This evening Look around Creation Look around Creation On earth Itself And see The magnitude Of creation Look to the Night sky And see the Magnitude Of the Universe We touched on This last week It's billions Times trillions Of stars More stars In the sky Than there are Grains of sand And I looked at The maths again This week I still can't Explain that Maths to you But it's very You want to look At yourselves So you'll work It out yourselves If you know Maths more Than I do The maths is There More stars Than sand The size
[39:38] Of the cosmos The size Of the universe Billions and Billions of Galaxies The whole Of creation And our King is in Full control Of every Single part Of it From galaxy To galaxy From unknown Reality Over there Somewhere Out in the Depths of the Universe Down to Ourselves Living And breathing And eating And drinking And drinking In Tulsa It's all His But note The The The The Magity Of creation The size Of creation The wonder Of creation One One day It's all It's all It's all going To just Wear out The The The Magity And the Power of it All It's like a Garment Like a bit Of fabric Like a bit Of fabric That our Saviour Our king Can just Roll up In his Hands It's nothing To him The whole Creation Belongs
[40:39] To him Nothing Is beyond His Eternal Power His Rule Is Eternal All that We see All of Time And space Has an Endpoint It has A start It has An end Point One day All that We see And know Will be As well Rolled up New heavens And a New earth Will come In And the One doing That Is the King Whose Days Whose Years Have No End The Wonder Of our Saviour Is That we Run out Of words Very Quickly But The Majesty And the Wonder Of his Eternal Rain And his Eternal Power It's Only Solidified It's Only Made More Glorious By What He Did For Us So That's Who Our Saviour Is Eternally
[41:40] There Eternally From All Time And For All Time And To All Time The Whole Universe As I Were In The Palm Of His Hand Like A Garment To Him He Can Roll Up And Change In A Second And Yet Where Do We Find That Saviour Where Do We Find That Saviour Where Do We Find That King We Find That King Stepping Down Out Of That Glory In In That Ad In Glory God To His Own People To His Own Created Universe He Humbles Himself To Leave Glory Eternal Down To Time And Space He Takes On Matter He He takes on human flesh.
[42:31] He takes on, he becomes, as it were, dependent on time in his body. He becomes dependent on his parents, on others around him. He lives and breathes in oxygen.
[42:45] He eats and drinks. He needs to be sustained in his body. All because in his love for his people and of obedience to the Father, he would come to save us.
[43:01] He left, as it were, the immaterial, the spiritual realm beyond our understanding. I don't know where I'm pointing to because it's not out there.
[43:13] He left the realm and he entered into his own creation. He became like us in all ways, apart from sin.
[43:25] His rule is eternal. But also note, quite beautifully, his rule is also creative. It is creative.
[43:38] Perhaps, I won't lump you in with myself, but quite often, at least many times, I've caught myself thinking of the Father alone as creator.
[43:50] The Father alone made the heavens and the earth. But we must not ever forget that the work of creation, it was a triune event.
[44:01] Father, Son, and Spirit fully involved in the work of creation. That's a series for a different day. But just this evening, for a short time from these verses, we see that the Son, that the King, that he is a creative God.
[44:16] That he has a full role in creation. His rule is a creative rule. All things made through him.
[44:28] All things made for him. We see here, even given to us in verse 2. In these last days, spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
[44:44] Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends, all creation, made through the Son, made for the Son.
[44:56] Our King, his rule, it is creative. And here again we see, back to verse 10, back to the Psalm, quoting Psalm 102, we see the beauty of the creative work of the Saviour.
[45:15] The creative work of the Son. Verse 10. You, Lord, laid the foundations of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens of a work of your hands.
[45:27] You, Lord, laid the foundations, the full active work of the Son in creation.
[45:41] He made it, made through him, his full divinity being shown in his creative power. By the word of his mouth it came to be.
[45:54] And that is the power and the beauty of our Saviour. The word of his mouth all came to exist, that does exist, John 1.
[46:08] We read in John 1 that reminded us of that. That section, John 1, that is often a tongue twister when you read it, but it reminds us as to the deity of our Saviour who did not just step back and stand back and watch creation, but he was fully involved in creation itself.
[46:29] All things were made through him. John 1, verse 10, he was in the world and the world was made through him. The world was made through him.
[46:41] We worship this evening a Saviour whose rule is creative.
[46:56] And we see that here. We see that here, the glory, and again in verse 3, he upholds the universe by the word of his power. We imagine, as it were, a baby Jesus, meek and mild.
[47:09] Now, as wrong as that might be, just bear with me here, it was wrong because, well, I don't know, babies, but I know enough to know that not every baby is meek and mild throughout their whole or for infancy.
[47:20] Babies cry and make a lot of noise and baby Jesus was no different. Baby Jesus lying there in a manger, meek and mild perhaps, crying and screaming more likely. Baby Jesus in a manger, there he is in his smallness, there he is in his full humanity, there he is, useless and helpless, needing the love and care of his parents.
[47:42] And yet, there he is in his full divinity, his full divinity, upholding the universe for the word of his power. Not just creating, but upholding.
[47:53] That's an ongoing term there used. The grammar is never ending. He is continually, continually upholding the universe. All things are kept ongoing as they are because of his creative power.
[48:10] Again, baby Jesus, meek and mild, he is maintaining the full reality of his own creation. It is all his. As we look up this evening, as we go about this new week looking up and around, looking down to ourselves, we behold the kingdom of the sun.
[48:32] we behold also the creation of the sun. And we worship this evening our eternal king. Eternal king who is also our creator.
[48:46] Okay. His rule is eternal and his rule is creative. What about his reign? How does the sun reign?
[49:00] Very briefly, we see again in verse 8. The reign of the sun is described here first of all to us. Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of our brightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
[49:12] You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. The sun reigns in power. The sun reigns in power.
[49:24] He has the scepter. That image, of course, even in our own day, but of course, more historically, for this day, was our real image.
[49:35] Not just a metaphor, but a real image. The scepter of the king showed that he had full control of the military might, of the financial might of the kingdom.
[49:48] Jesus in his rule. The sun in his reign. He is complete complete in his reign, complete in his power, complete in all that he is and all that he does.
[50:04] Again, it's the image of not just fullness, but the image also of might. The image of a scepter that is one of military might. He commands, we see in scripture, as it were, the whole host of the army of heaven.
[50:21] All the forces of heaven, all the spiritual forces belong to him. Also, more than that, though, all of creation belongs to him in a real sense.
[50:32] All the so-called forces of nature and of creation are his. But also as a scepter, we note, that is upright, a scepter that is perfect.
[50:46] The sun reigns as king, but his reign is one of uprightness, one of righteousness, you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
[50:58] Because he loves righteousness, we can be assured that the reign of a son is a reign of a good king. A good king.
[51:09] It's a reign of a kind king. It's a reign of an upright king. Unlike all the rulers of this earth, even the best of leaders of our countries, they have skeletons in the closet.
[51:23] They do things and say things and think things and enact things and make laws which are horrifying at times, even the best of leaders. Not so with our king.
[51:34] He is good at all times and always. He is perfect in his reign. He is an upright king. He is eternally good, eternally perfect, eternally upright king.
[51:50] But also note he is a king whose reign is a reign over people. We close with this, is a reign over people.
[52:03] Look with me please at verse 13. And to the angels has he ever said, speaking of Christ once more, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.
[52:19] God is a reign. And we've covered Psalm 110 before at length and we've looked a few times at it since in various ways for various reasons.
[52:31] So I won't try not to rehash what we've said before but just to bring a conclusion to this for us this evening. When we come to look at the reign of the sun, it is a reign that's eternal, a reign that's creative, a reign that's glorious, a reign that's glorious in its uprightness and power.
[52:48] But it is a reign that is a reign that is a reign over people. A king needs, as it were, his kingdom. As we come to look at this verse, we are reminded of several things.
[53:00] First of all, we see, and we covered this before, but just to remind ourselves, when we see the father say to the son there, sit at my right hand. It's a reign that is fully approved of and fully loved by the father.
[53:17] The image there of sitting at the right hand of the father is one of completeness. We said before this, Psalm 110, it's the words that the son hears as he enters back into glory, having completed his time on earth, having achieved and purchased with his own blood the redemption of his people.
[53:38] He hears these words from the father. Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. And the question then needs to be asked, well, who are the enemies of Christ and how are they being made this footstool?
[53:56] How are they being made to bow down before him? How are they being conquered? You see, Christ's rule, the son's rule, it is a fair rule.
[54:06] It's a righteous rule. And the question is, how are the son's enemies made to bow down before him? Well, we can go down so many theological routes, but the easiest way to answer that is to find the Christian and hear and ask them.
[54:25] You who are once an enemy of Christ, you who once hated Christ, you who once fought against Christ, you who once wanted nothing to do with him, who despised even the thought of becoming one of his own people, why do you now love him?
[54:44] Why do you now care for him? How does Christ subdue his enemies? He brings his salvation to them.
[55:00] Now, don't get me wrong. This is spoken, of course, in terms of salvation, and that salvation is free and open to all who come, all who come crying out to him for it. He won't turn you away.
[55:12] But also, our king is a just king. And we live in a world of so much injustice, a world with so much pain, a world where there are so many people who have suffered so many awful things in their life.
[55:25] And in this verse, we have a reminder, and again, I'm not saying this, and if this applies to you, I don't know it does.
[55:37] I'm not saying this to yourselves, I'm saying this just from the text. If you are here, and if you know and love the Lord, and if you have been wronged terribly, perhaps, in your life, and you've seen no justice for that wrongdoing, know that justice is always done.
[55:57] Justice is always done. It's either done in this life, if not in this life, it's done at the end. We have a just saviour, an upright saviour, who either rescues his enemies and brings them into the kingdom, whoever transforms them from enemies to friends, from enemies to subjects, or the final day, he judges all those who are still against his rule and his reign.
[56:30] And we read the heavy words of Psalm 110. Psalm 110, again, if you go home this evening, read it yourself this evening. It ends in a heavy way with a king destroying his enemies.
[56:42] Yes, Jesus is peaceful. Yes, our king is one of love and care. Yes, our king is an upright king. But, because he is an upright king, he cannot permit injustice.
[56:58] He cannot be faced with sin. He will not leave his enemies alone. Friends, you come this evening, and you come before a king who is glorious.
[57:14] You come before the son who is eternal, who before you ever existed, your parents or your grandparents, who whilst this island was having, who was walking on in terms of rituals and ceremonies, before the name of Christ was spoken to this island, before this building was built, before time itself, before creation itself.
[57:36] Friends, you come before a God who knows and who knew you. there's no excuse you have this evening that the God does not know.
[57:48] There's no reason not to come this evening that God has not heard you ponder and think over and think through. You come this evening to our God. You come this evening to our king who is eternal, who is creative, who is upright in all his ways, but he's a king who has and who grows his kingdom.
[58:08] And the call this evening and the hope this evening and the prayer this evening is you would come and be part of that kingdom. You would no longer be known as one of his enemies, but instead you would be known as a friend of the king, as a subject of the king, as one who enjoys his goodness and his mercy, who enjoys those pleasures evermore he gives and promises to those who will just come to him.
[58:43] Christians, brothers and sisters, as we begin this new week, let's look up. Let's look up and know in our hearts that we have a saviour who sees us, who knows us. An eternal saviour from all time to all time.
[58:57] A creative saviour who creates and sustains the whole universe by the very word of his power. A saviour who has known you and kept you and put his love upon you from before time itself, who has brought you into his kingdom, who will never let you go.
[59:14] That is the king we worship. That is the saviour we worship. That is the son that we praise this evening. It's about our heads now. A word of prayer. We come and we thank you for the great truths we heard this evening.
[59:33] The truth from your word. Lord, we truly do worship a saviour who is above our understanding, who is deserving of eternal praise, eternal glory. Help us this week.
[59:45] Help us, as your people this week, to praise your holy name, to understand that no matter what we may face, what we are currently facing, that we have a saviour who is glorious and exalted, who is great, who sustains us in the universe with the very word of his power, that nothing is beyond his understanding or his full control.
[60:06] Help us to leave all things with him, the one who knows us and who loves us, who shows and has shown and will show his continual care towards us. I pray once more for our friends here this evening who as of yet cannot say fully or truly that we know or love Jesus.
[60:22] We ask that for a short time, Lord, that even this evening that we have a chance to listen, even for a short time this evening that we have a chance to hear your word. We would go home this evening and bring these thoughts together in our own minds and perhaps bring these thoughts to you and perhaps the first time in their lives pray to you knowing that you hear them.
[60:42] We would ask that they be made as aware citizens of the glorious kingdom of our saviour of all colours and nations and tribes and tongues, of all backgrounds and all stories, all ages, but those who are accepted and those who are called your own and those who are cleansed and perfected by the finished work of our saviour.
[61:06] Ask all of these things, looking up to our king at your right hand, seated on that glorious throne, that king who makes now constant intercession for us, that king who will one day come and destroy his enemies and take his people home to be with himself.
[61:23] Till that day comes, help us, Lord, to serve him well. Ask all these things in and through and for his precious name's sake. Amen. Let's bring our time to a conclusion by singing the final section of the readings we had in Hebrews there.
[61:43] We read and sang from Psalm 102 and Psalm 110. We can conclude by singing from Psalm 45. Think of Psalms and Psalm 45.
[62:02] Scottish Psalter, Psalm 45. We can sing Psalm 45, the first version of the Psalm. Psalm 45, the first version of the Psalm.
[62:13] That's on page 267. Of course, these are words which speak of the beauty and the perfection of Jesus as King. O thou that art the mighty one, thy sword gird on thy thigh, even with thy glory excellent and with thy majesty.
[62:32] For meekness, truth, and righteousness in state ride prosperously, and thy right hand shall be instructed in things that fearful be.
[62:42] Psalm 45, the first version, verses 3 to 8. to God's praise. O thou that art the mighty one, thy sword gird on thy thigh, in with thy glory, excellent, and with thy majesty.
[63:13] sing. For meekness, through the righteousness, in state I trespass thee, and thy right hand shall be in start in things that fear for thee.
[63:38] for nothing shall be in 거야. Thy loveege in sources art of you, and your sin of theAngel, and your gloryę。 Father, for meekness, and your liberty, and my temptations of You, yourount with thy wit.
[63:58] Thank you.
[64:28] Thank you.
[64:58] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[65:10] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[65:22] Thank you. Amen.