WHO CAN ENJOY GOD FOREVER?: Psalm 24

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WHO CAN ENJOY GOD FOREVER?: Psalm 24

Psalm 24

July 10, 2022 • Brett Baggett • Psalm 24

DOCTRINE: The Lord God owns everything and everyone by creation, and He has created mankind to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. But who can enjoy God forever?

I. THE LORD OWNS EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE (Psalm 24:1)

The LORD God Himself says to the man Job in The LORD God Himself said to Job, “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine” (Job 41:11). And the LORD sarcastically says in the Psalms, “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine” (Psalm 50:12). Commenting on Psalm 24:1, Matthew Henry wrote, “When God gave the earth to the children of men he still reserved to himself the property, and only let it out to them as tenants.”

The Lord owns the dirt. He owns the grass, fields, crops, trees, deserts, creeks, rivers, seas, oceans, plains, valleys, hills, and mountains. You have never seen, touched, or heard anything the Lord God does not look at and say, “That is mine.” The Lord owns your house. The Lord owns your transportation, tractors, tools, toys, and treasures. The Lord owns your books. The Lord owns your clothes, your wallet, purse, cash, and cards. The Lord owns that chair you are sitting on right now. The Lord owns every piece of food and drop of drink you have ever or will ever consume. You have never owned anything, properly speaking. God Himself owns everyone and everything. The things we call “ours” or “mine” are entrusted to us as stewards by our merciful God. The Lord owns your wife, husband, and He owns your husband, wife. The Lord owns your parents, your bothers, and your sisters. The Lord owns your children. You have never met a person the Lord God does not own. The Lord owns you. He owns your body. The Lord owns your brain. The Lord owns your heart, lungs, tongue, and eyes. The Lord owns that air you are breathing in this very moment. Every atom is an asset of the Lord God, each one existing to shine forth His infinite glory!

I) Use this truth for testing yourself.

Do you treat the earth and the fullness thereof, even your own possessions and your own body and your own soul, like they belong to the Lord God? Do you humbly give thanks to him, the owner, who has entrusted to you His goods? thanklessness is a great sin! The English Puritan William Cooper said in a sermon on thankfulness, “To be unthankful to a bountiful God, is for a froward child to beat his mother’s breasts that gave him suck, and to kick his father’s loins.” God says through Paul in, Romans 1:21, “Although [sinners] knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” God owns everyone and everything. Do you act like it?

II) Use this truth also for comforting yourselves, if you belong to Christ.

Everything that exists belongs to your generous Father!Matthew Henry again notes, “All the parts and regions of the earth are the Lord's, all under his eye, all in his hand: so that, wherever a child of God goes, he may comfort himself with this, that he does not go off his Father's ground.” God says in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23, “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.” All is yours if you are in Christ because all is His and He is yours. Rejoice, believer.

II. THE LORD OWNS EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE BY RIGHT OF CREATION (Psalm 24:2; Job 38:1-11)

III. THE CHIEF END OF MAN IS TO ENJOY GOD FOREVER (Psalm 24:3, 5-6)

Moses knows this, so he says. “Please show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). David knows this wonderful truth, therefore he sings, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Asaph knew the chief end of man was to enjoy God forever, so he sings, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). Paul experientially knew the enjoyment of Christ is the chief end of man, so he writes, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8). Christ knows this, therefore he prayed, the night before he bled and died to ransom his people, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). John the apostle knows the chief end of man is to enjoy God forever, because he saw and heard with his own eyes and ears, “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:3-5).

Any pleasure you have sought in sin pales in comparison to the pleasure that is found in enjoying God! Sin gives “fleeting pleasures” (Heb. 11:), but “at God’s right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16:11). This is the wonder and glory of the Garden of Eden, where God deposited our first father Adam. Adam and Eve could enjoy God face to face, in His very presence where happiness ever flows! However we lost that when we all sinned in Adam. Therefore David asks these questions in Psalm 24:3: Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? Who can enjoy God by standing in His holy place, in His very presence? Now God gives us four qualifications through David in this Psalm:

I) Only those who have clean hands can ascend, stand, and enjoy God forever.

“He who has clean hands…” (Psalm 24:4a). Why must we have clean hands? Because to have clean hands means to be without sin when it comes to your actions. Hands are symbols of the actions we perform; the things we do outwardly. We defile ourselves by sins of omission and commission; by doing what is against God’s Law, and by not doing what God’s Law requires.“[The LORD] said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live’” (Exodus 33:20). Why? “You…are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). In God’s presence is fulness of joy, but not a spot of evil!‘Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life” (Revelation 21:17). What fellowship has light with darkness? What communion has holiness with defilement? What preferment has the red-handed malefactor with the white-robed Majesty?

Sin is trespassing. What will happen to you with Oklahomans if you trespass someone’s land and try to steal their property What will happen to you with God if you trespass His Law and try to steal His glory? The wages of sin is death, not life. The penalty for sin is misery not merriment. The result of sin is sadness not happiness. Jonathan Edwards wrote, “Since God is of infinite honor, infinite majesty, and infinite holiness, the slightest sin is of infinite consequence. The slightest sin is nothing less than cosmic treason when we realize against whom we have sinned.” Have you obeyed, with your external actions, the moral Law of God summarized in the Ten Commandments? Do you have clean hands?

II) Only those who have a pure heart can ascend, stand, and enjoy God forever.

“and a pure heart…” (Psalm 24:4b). John Calvin notes, “True purity, no doubt, has its seat in the heart, but it manifests its fruits in the works of the hands.” Have you obeyed, with your internal thoughts and affections, the Law of God? Do you have a pure heart?

III) Only those who worship the Lord and not idols can ascend, stand, and enjoy God forever.

“who does not lift up his soul to what is false…” (Psalm 24:4c). Have you worshipped the Lord your God and served Him only? Have you loved the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Or would Jeremiah 2:13 be true of you: “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

IV) Only those who have clean lips can ascend, stand, and enjoy God forever.

“and does not swear deceitfully” (Psalm 24:4d). Has your tongue always told the truth, perfectly obeying the ninth commandment? Remember what verses 5-6 promise to the one who can ascend the hill of the LORD and stand in His holy place: “He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah” (Psalm 24:5-6). I ask you to examine yourself, compared to what God says here and I ask you: Can you ascend the hill? Can you stand in the holy place?

IV. WHO CAN ASCEND, STAND, AND ENJOY GOD FOREVER? GOD HIMSELF (Psalm 24:7-10)

Only Christ can gain access. This is the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He came down the hill, so that he could live without sin, die to pay his people’s sin-debts, and arise to then carry us on his back up it to the eternally happy presence of God! Christ, who is God, left the holy place and came to the earth, becoming a man to redeem sinners like you and me so that we could get back into the holy place before the holy face of God. So who can ascend the hill of the Lord? Christ alone! And yet you and I can ascend the hill if we ride on his back.

Confess with the prodigal son, “I have sinned against God and against other people.” Confess with Jeremiah, “My heart is desperately sick and deceitful above all things.” Confess also with Jeremiah, “I have committed two evils: I have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for myself, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Confess with Isaiah, “I am a man of unclean lips and I live amongst a people of unclean lips.” Then look to Christ in faith and live! And you who believe, listen to John Preston: “Look on your own secret sins, your relapses, and then on Christ’s coming with His mercies and favors—and you cannot help but love Him.” If you belong to Jesus Christ by faith, as you ride his back up the hill, trust him and labor by the power of the Holy Spirit to wash your hands, cleanse your heart, repent of lifting up your soul to what is false, and use your tongue to the glory of the King of glory. This is how we have sweet fellowship with God even here and now.

THE HAPPINESS OF SAINTS AND THE MISERY OF SINNERS: Psalm 1

May 30, 2021 • Brett Baggett

OUTLINE I. THE HAPPINESS OF SAINTS (vv. 1-3) I) Would you be happy? Then do not walk in the counsel of the wicked (v. 1a) II) Would you be happy? Then do not stand in the way of sinners (v. 1b) III) Would you be happy? Then do not sit in the seat of scoffers (v. 1c) IV) Would you be happy? Then get a delight in the Scriptures (v. 2a) V) Would you be happy? Then meditate on the Scriptures day and night (v. 2b) VI) What are the happy saints like? (v. 3) II. THE MISERY OF SINNERS (vv. 4-6) I) What are the wicked like? (v. 4) II) Those who stand in the way of sinners will not stand in the judgement (v. 5a) III) Those who walk in the counsel of the wicked will not be in the congregation of the righteous in heaven (v. 5b) IV) The great difference between saints and sinners (v. 6) DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Q1. What does it mean to “walk in the counsel of the wicked”? Can you think of a time in your life when you did this? What was the outcome? What is the opposite of “walking in the counsel of the wicked”? Q2. What does it mean to “stand in the way of sinners”? Can you think of a time in your life when you did this? What was the outcome? What is the opposite of “standing in the way of sinners”? Q3. What does it mean to “sit in the seat of scoffers”? Can you think of a time in your life when you did this? What was the outcome? What is the opposite of “sitting in the seat of scoffers”? Q4. What does the happy man do according to verse 2? How can you apply this to your daily life? What do you need to change so you can both delight in and meditate on God’s word? Q5. What is the happy righteous person like according to verse 3? What does David mean? Q6. What is the miserable wicked person like according to verse 4? What does David mean and how does Matthew 3:12 help? Q7. What is the outcome for the wicked according to verse 5? What does David mean by each phrase? How should this wake you up out of your sins and propel you toward Christ? Q8. How does David finish this Psalm in verse 6?

KISS THE SON: Psalm 2

July 31, 2022 • Brett Baggett • Psalm 2

DOCTRINE: Rebels to the crown will be utterly defeated one way or another by the exalted King, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will defeat them by conversion or condemnation. I. WHAT DO REBELS DO? (Psalm 2:1-2) I) Rebels rage against the LORD (Psalm 2:1a) II) Rebels plot against the LORD (Psalm 2:1b) By the way, the raging and plotting of rebels is vain and pointless—because they will not defeat the King of Heaven (Psalm 2:1c). III) Rebels set themselves against the LORD and against His anointed (Psalm 2:2a) V) Rebels take counsel together against the LORD and against His anointed (Psalm 2:2b) II. WHAT DO REBELS SAY? (Psalm 2:3) I) Rebels lie about the Law of God and say it should be overthrown (Psalm 2:3) People who do not love Jesus also do not love his Law. Sinners who refuse to turn to Christ and be saved will lie to you about God’s Law. But you need to know that the Law of the LORD is perfect and righteous altogether! I) The Law reveals who God is in his holiness. II) The Law also reveals how society should be governed, so that the wicked do not trample of the innocent. III) The Law reveals that we are sinners that need to be saved by Jesus. IV) The Law reveals how we as Christians should live so that we can please and glorify our merciful King. III. WHAT DOES THE LORD SAY IN RESPONSE TO REBELS? (Psalm 2:4-6) I) The LORD laughs and mocks the rage and vain plots of rebels (Psalm 2:4) II) The LORD speaks wrathfully against rebels (Psalm 2:5). III) The LORD mocks and terrifies rebels by pointing to his Anointed King (Psalm 2:6). IV. WHAT DOES THE LORD DO IN RESPONSE TO REBELS? (Psalm 2:7-9) I) The LORD gives solid evidence that his Son is the King (Psalm 2:7). II) The LORD gives the nations to the King as his heritage and the ends of the earth as His possession (Psalm 2:8) III) The LORD promises the King will utterly defeat His enemies (Psalm 2:9) V. WHAT DOES THE LORD DEMAND OF REBELS? (Psalm 2:10-12) I) The LORD demands all to be wise, the highest to the lowest (Psalm 2:10a) II) The LORD demands all to be warned, the highest to the lowest (Psalm 2:10b) III) The LORD demands that all serve him with fear, the highest to the lowest (Psalm 2:11a) IV) The LORD demands that all rejoice in Him with trembling (Psalm 2:11b) V) The LORD demands that all rebels Kiss His Son (Psalm 2:12a) We are to kiss the Son’s feet in repentance, kiss his hand in faith and obedience, and kiss His face in love and affection. VI. WHAT DOES THE LORD PROMISE REBELS? (Psalm 2:12b-d) I) For those who will not kiss the Son, the LORD promises anger (Psalm 2:12b) II) To those who will not kiss the Son, the LORD promises perishing which will come upon them suddenly, without warning (Psalm 2:12c) III) The LORD promises blessing and happiness to all rebels who do lay down their arms and Kiss the Son, taking refuge in him (Psalm 2:12d) I. USE THESE TRUTHS FOR INSTRUCTION I) The Lord Jesus Christ is King, and there is not a thing anyone can do about it—everyone will give an account to him (Ps. 2:6; Heb. 4:13). II) If you turn from your sin and embrace Christ by faith, he will receive you, protect you, and make you happy (Ps. 2:12d). II. USE THESE TRUTHS FOR WARNING I) Christ will have glory from everyone either in salvation or damnation. You will either “perish in the way” with Christ’s rod of iron or you will be “blessed” with Christ’s scepter of mercy by taking “refuge in him.” III. USE THESE TRUTHS FOR TESTING I) Do you happily submit to Christ’s rule or do you treat his commands like they are chains? IV. USE THESE TRUTHS FOR COMFORT I) Look at the raging and vain plots of rebels who hate Christ and hate you for his sake. Now see the LORD laughing at them. In Psalm 110:2, God the Father says to his Son, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!” and because we belong to this King Christ by his grace, we can say with David in Psalm 23, “You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.” We can say with David, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Because Christ is ruling in the midst of his enemies we can feast in the presence of their hatred and scoffing. Because Christ mockingly laughs at his enemies, we who are united to him can joyfully laugh even when they surround us. V. USE THESE TRUTHS FOR EXHORTATION I) Since Christ is King, believers, preach the gospel and tell everyone to repent and believe (Ps. 2:12). Oh that we believers would pity those still in rebellion to God. We were all there, were we not? but God rescued us, not because of our works but because of his mercy. Therefore pray to God for rebels, proclaim the Law and the Gospel to them, plead with them to Kiss the Son, and promise them that if they bend the knee to Christ he will make them happy and holy. Promise them also that if they do not they will perish in the way. II) Since Christ is King, believers, press his crown rights into every square inch of existence (Ps. 2:11). Press Christ’s crown rights into: (i) Yourself. (ii) Your home. (iii) The church. (iv) Your vocation. (v) The public square. (vi) The civil government. (vii) The nations.

I WILL RECOUNT ALL OF YOUR WONDERFUL DEEDS: Psalm 9:1-10

June 19, 2022 • Brett Baggett • Psalm 9:1–10

DOCTRINE: The Lord’s people praise His name by recounting his wonderful deeds of terror to persistent sinners and deeds of protection to His saints. I. THE LORD’S PEOPLE PRAISE HIM BY RECOUNTING HIS WONDERFUL DEEDS (Psalm 9:1-2) The LORD’s people praise Him: I) By giving thanks to Him for His wonderful deeds (Psalm 9:1a). II) In Gladness for His wonderful deeds (Psalm 9:2a). III) Through song for His glory (Psalm 9:2b). II. THE LORD’S PEOPLE PRAISE HIM BY RECOUNTING HIS WONDERFUL TERRORS TO PERSISTENT SINNERS (Psalm 9:3-6) The LORD is a terror to persistent sinners because: I) He is holy and they are not (Psalm 9:3). II) He is a righteous judge and they are guilty (Psalm 9:4). Nahum 1:3 “The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” III) They have tried to steal God’s glory, and He will share it with no one (Psalm 9:5-6). Isaiah 42:8 “I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other,” III. THE LORD’S PEOPLE PRAISE HIM BY RECOUNTING HIS WONDERFUL PROTECTION OF HIS SAINTS (Psalm 9:7-10) The LORD protects His saints: I) Because He is our just King (Psalm 9:7-8). II) Like a stronghold for wear Christian soldiers (Psalm 9:9). Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” 2 Tim 1:12 “I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” Psalm 119:114: “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” III) Because their faith is in Him (Psalm 9:10). IV) He will never forsake them (Psalm 9:10b). Hebrews 13:5 “He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”