Once In Royal David's City (Psalm 110)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.680 --> 00:00:04.480 If you're able to remain standing, please do and will give our attention to 2 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:09.390 psalm one hundred ten. Psalm one ten, this is the psalm that Jesus 3 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:19.230 quoted back in Mark Chapter Twelve, and it speaks of the kingdom to come, 4 00:00:20.670 --> 00:00:24.739 who it is the Christ will be and what he will do. Good 5 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:31.980 reminders as we think about the birth of the king. So Psalm one hundred 6 00:00:32.020 --> 00:00:39.929 ten, the Lord Yahweh says to my Lord, sit at my right hand 7 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:47.170 until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord Sends Forth From Zion, 8 00:00:47.490 --> 00:00:53.000 your mighty scepter rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer 9 00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:57.200 themselves freely on that day, on the day of your power, in holy 10 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:02.240 garments, from the womb of the morning. The due of your youth will 11 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.790 be yours. The Lord has sworn and he will not change his mind. 12 00:01:07.549 --> 00:01:11.790 You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at 13 00:01:11.790 --> 00:01:15.109 your right hand. He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 14 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:22.379 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses. He will 15 00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:26.459 shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the 16 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:32.969 way therefore, he will lift up his head. Then you may be seated. 17 00:01:38.969 --> 00:01:42.930 In addition to this psalm, Psalm one hundred and ten, we're also 18 00:01:44.010 --> 00:01:47.519 going to be considering the hymn that we will sing after the sermon. This 19 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:52.000 is once in Royal David City, Him Two hundred and twenty five. So 20 00:01:52.040 --> 00:02:10.509 if you want to open that up, you may. Once in Royal David 21 00:02:10.629 --> 00:02:19.020 City begins by setting the setting. All right, in if you open up 22 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:23.259 a novel or an account of history, this is when way that writers will 23 00:02:23.300 --> 00:02:28.659 often bring us into a situation. They'll introduce the setting, introduce the basic 24 00:02:28.860 --> 00:02:34.289 characters of the story and then develop from there. This is true of both 25 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:38.289 fiction and nonfiction, and that's what's going on here in these historical accounts of 26 00:02:38.409 --> 00:02:45.199 Jesus's a birth and the hymn. Once in Royal David City. We begin 27 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:50.439 with this setting and instead of referring to Bethlehem, first of all it's called 28 00:02:50.479 --> 00:02:55.960 Royal David City, Royal David City, and that birthplace of Jesus is very 29 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:05.189 important. It's important because it's connected to David. Want to begin this morning 30 00:03:05.310 --> 00:03:09.469 by thinking about that connection with David as we think about who Jesus is in 31 00:03:09.590 --> 00:03:15.900 his incarnation. Who is Jesus in his incarnation? What is it that he 32 00:03:15.379 --> 00:03:22.659 has come to do? Once in, Royal David's city is important because Bethlehem 33 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:28.250 is important, and Bethlehem's important because David's important, and that's why it's characterized 34 00:03:28.330 --> 00:03:34.650 in this way. Why is Bethlehem called Royal David City? Well, it's 35 00:03:34.650 --> 00:03:37.729 not, because it's the capital from which David ruled, but it was the 36 00:03:37.770 --> 00:03:45.639 humble place of his birth. Why is David Important? David is important because 37 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:51.000 to him Yah way the Lord God, Almighty, the Creator of Heavens and 38 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:55.229 Earth, the God of Abraham, of Isaac and Jacob. He promised to 39 00:03:55.349 --> 00:04:00.310 David that through that a son would be born to him that would establish his 40 00:04:00.509 --> 00:04:08.389 kingdom forever. This is an amazing promise, a promise which is not just 41 00:04:08.750 --> 00:04:13.259 for David but for all of Israel, and not just for Israel but for 42 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:16.379 all the world, because the nations of the world would be blessed through this 43 00:04:17.220 --> 00:04:26.730 kingdom. But there's this funny little thing in scripture, paradox. We've find 44 00:04:26.769 --> 00:04:30.970 it here in Psalm one hundred ten. Jesus addresses it in Mark Twelve. 45 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:36.970 And the question is this. How can David the Great King David say to 46 00:04:38.170 --> 00:04:46.920 his son, my Lord? Fathers don't call their sons Lord. If anything, 47 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:50.800 it's the other way around, right. You Honor Your father, you 48 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:56.350 honor your mother. Those that are above you are the ones that have authority. 49 00:04:58.310 --> 00:05:00.550 But how is it that David Psalm one hundred and tend says a psalm 50 00:05:00.709 --> 00:05:06.139 of David. He says the Lord, that is God, says to my 51 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:14.019 Lord, sit at my right hand and make your enemies your footstool? How 52 00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:17.579 is it that David's son, to whom these promises have been given, will 53 00:05:17.620 --> 00:05:30.490 be David's Lord? This is an amazing thing and something that was challenging to 54 00:05:30.569 --> 00:05:35.720 understand, but it's revealed in the birth of Christ. It's revealed because we 55 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:43.240 see that in the incarnation God takes on humanity. He is born as a 56 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:47.079 son of David, not just by taking on humanity in general, but coming 57 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:53.310 from David's lineage. He is a son of David and there are genealogical records 58 00:05:53.350 --> 00:05:57.470 that show that. So he is a son of David, but because he's 59 00:05:57.589 --> 00:06:01.269 not just a human, not just one of the many kings and many people 60 00:06:01.389 --> 00:06:06.660 that have come from David's line, but he is the incarnate God, the 61 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:13.139 paradox is solved. He is at the same time the son of David and 62 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:20.529 also David's Lord, because he is David's God. That's why it's remarkable when 63 00:06:20.569 --> 00:06:26.290 we ever we think about Bethlehem, whenever we think about Christ and connection to 64 00:06:26.329 --> 00:06:30.529 David, and here is this him begins once in Royal David's city. It's 65 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:35.839 important because what we're doing is we're seeing a paradox solved, and that's not 66 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:42.639 just an interesting theological riddle that's helpful to know, but it's our very salvation 67 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:48.629 to know the connection between this promise that God gave to David and Jesus, 68 00:06:48.990 --> 00:06:56.149 the son of David, the incarnate God. It means that we have salvation. 69 00:06:57.629 --> 00:07:00.910 It means that the promises that were given to David, the promises that 70 00:07:00.990 --> 00:07:04.540 were given to Israel, are for us. Because what did David's son say? 71 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:11.779 Why did David's son come into the world, as Paul said, to 72 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:18.769 save sinners, to save sinners. Here we are seeing the steadfast love that 73 00:07:18.850 --> 00:07:25.209 we spoke about earlier in the introduction of our service this morning, that steadfast 74 00:07:25.329 --> 00:07:30.720 love of God being proven yet again, faithful to his promises, faithful to 75 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:39.399 the prophecies, faithful to carry out his word. Let's think now about a 76 00:07:39.519 --> 00:07:44.430 little more about that place, because there's more that we might understand about our 77 00:07:44.470 --> 00:07:49.269 salvation. As we think about it. Bethlehem was not a grand capital, 78 00:07:49.910 --> 00:07:55.430 but it was a humble place of David's birth and when Jesus was born, 79 00:07:56.389 --> 00:08:01.459 nothing had changed in this very important city. We are not directed in the 80 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:09.579 scriptures to think about castles or grand banquets fancy guests, but a cattle shed, 81 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:15.930 as the hymn puts it in verse one, as a place where animals 82 00:08:15.970 --> 00:08:22.129 are the main residence. But it's not an animal story we read in the 83 00:08:22.250 --> 00:08:26.319 Gospel accounts and it's expressed in this hymn as well, as we will see 84 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:33.200 and sing. It's a story of a a tired mother laying down her newborn 85 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:39.480 son in the best place she could find, a manger. What is a 86 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:46.629 manger? A manger is simply an open box where you put animal food. 87 00:08:46.590 --> 00:08:50.509 Kids, maybe at Home You have the chore of Helping to Fill The dog 88 00:08:50.669 --> 00:08:54.860 food bull or the cat food bull. That's what a manger is, except 89 00:08:54.980 --> 00:09:01.620 it's for cows. It's a open box, it's a bowl or a container 90 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:07.820 in which you can put Hay and and food for animals. That's where Mary 91 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:11.529 laid him. We know that because the scriptures tell us that the angel of 92 00:09:11.769 --> 00:09:16.889 the Lord Actually told the shepherds, go and you will find this newborn king 93 00:09:18.409 --> 00:09:30.360 lying in a manger. After the introduction of this scene, once in Royal 94 00:09:30.399 --> 00:09:35.639 David City stood a lowly cattle shed where a mother, where a mother laid 95 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:39.350 her baby in a manger for his bed, were then introduced to the main 96 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:45.429 people of this story. Mary was that mother, Mild Jesus Christ. Her 97 00:09:45.470 --> 00:09:52.980 Little Child was Mary Mild, probably, but I suppose it depends on how 98 00:09:54.019 --> 00:09:58.059 we think about that. We don't have a lot of details about Mary from 99 00:09:58.059 --> 00:10:03.340 scripture. We know from Luke One hundred and twenty two that she was highly 100 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:07.769 favored among women. I think it's fair to say that among men too, 101 00:10:07.409 --> 00:10:13.090 she was highly favorite of God, but the focus is on her gender because 102 00:10:13.129 --> 00:10:18.450 of the way she was about to be blessed as a woman giving birth to 103 00:10:18.730 --> 00:10:24.039 this child. We also know from Luke about her reaction to this promise that 104 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:28.200 she would conceive and Boor bear a son who would be the savior of the 105 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:35.559 world. When Sarah was promised a baby in the Old Testament, she didn't 106 00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:41.990 believe it, she laughed. Mary instead simply asked how can this be so? 107 00:10:43.429 --> 00:10:48.950 But this question wasn't one of disbelieving, simply not understanding. And one 108 00:10:48.029 --> 00:10:52.539 good reason to believe this is that when she was told how she would conceive 109 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:58.700 this child by the overshadowings of the Holy Spirit, which honestly doesn't explain a 110 00:10:58.860 --> 00:11:05.210 whole lot except that divine nature of this child's birth, she doesn't respond with 111 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:11.169 yet again, how can this be? So she's not incredulous. Instead, 112 00:11:11.330 --> 00:11:16.090 what is Mary say? She says, I am the Lord's servant, may 113 00:11:16.129 --> 00:11:20.440 it be to me, as you have said. And then she responds with 114 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:26.679 a beautiful hymn of praise, which she says my soul magnet or glorifies the 115 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:33.029 lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior. Here we see an 116 00:11:33.070 --> 00:11:39.509 interesting parallel between David and his son and Mary and her son. She calls 117 00:11:39.590 --> 00:11:48.460 her son her savior, her God, her Lord. There are lots of 118 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:52.419 ways, of course, I think we can describe this action. Mild might 119 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:56.539 be one of them. How so, Mary seems to be mild in the 120 00:11:56.580 --> 00:12:01.009 way that she takes everything in, in the way that she doesn't promote herself, 121 00:12:01.889 --> 00:12:07.570 but her lord she doesn't see herself as the savior of the world, 122 00:12:07.490 --> 00:12:15.169 but God and the child she has conceived, or will conceive and will bear. 123 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:22.159 It's a good place to to ask. Why, then, do people 124 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:28.919 worship Mary when Mary herself worships the Savior? Why do people look to her 125 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:37.350 for salvation when Mary herself finds it in her son? If we esteem Mary 126 00:12:37.389 --> 00:12:41.710 as a blessed one of God, which we ought to, if she is 127 00:12:41.909 --> 00:12:48.940 a model saint and an example to follow, let's follow her in her actions, 128 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:56.980 in Worshiping God, Not In worshiping her. This is why the second 129 00:12:56.019 --> 00:13:01.490 verse of once in Royal David City shifts our attention from this mother and child 130 00:13:03.730 --> 00:13:09.409 to the child. That's what the Scriptures always do. They point us to 131 00:13:09.529 --> 00:13:16.320 Jesus over and over again. The second verses He who came to Earth from 132 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.919 heaven, who is God and Lord of all, and his shelter was a 133 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:26.080 stable and his cradle was a stall, with the poor and mean and lowly 134 00:13:26.710 --> 00:13:31.909 lived on earth. Our Savior Holy. Here, in this verse, we 135 00:13:31.950 --> 00:13:37.990 are reminded of his noble origins. He is a great king, but not 136 00:13:37.350 --> 00:13:43.940 only a son of David, but he is the son of God. He 137 00:13:43.100 --> 00:13:50.259 has come from the highest places, from heaven itself, from the eternal generation 138 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:56.289 of God. He is God, he is God of all, and the 139 00:13:56.450 --> 00:14:01.769 contrast between the Glory of Heaven and the humility of Earth is made here and 140 00:14:01.929 --> 00:14:05.889 is made often in our Christmas hymns. Why? Because it is one of 141 00:14:05.929 --> 00:14:13.399 the most remarkable things about this story that he is David's Lord. Is because 142 00:14:13.480 --> 00:14:18.639 he is David's God, that this God would be borne a son of a 143 00:14:18.759 --> 00:14:24.389 man and of a woman. It's one of the most remarkable things about the 144 00:14:24.470 --> 00:14:31.230 story of the incarnation of God and there are many lessons in it. One 145 00:14:31.429 --> 00:14:35.789 is found in the third verse of this Hymn, in the third verse we 146 00:14:35.909 --> 00:14:41.779 read, and through his wondrous childhood he would honor and obey, love and 147 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:46.580 watch the lowly maiden in whomse gentle arms he lay. Christian children almost be 148 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:52.690 my old obedient good as he. Every time I hear this verse it always 149 00:14:52.690 --> 00:14:56.090 sounds like a little bit of scolding to the kids that are listening. Be 150 00:14:56.730 --> 00:15:01.850 Good like Jesus, and maybe that is how it was written. I'm not 151 00:15:01.049 --> 00:15:09.679 entirely sure, but when I sing it I like to try to extend it 152 00:15:09.799 --> 00:15:15.159 a little further than just the little ones among us, because we're all children 153 00:15:15.279 --> 00:15:18.360 of the Lord. We're all called to follow after Jesus, aren't we? 154 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:24.110 We're all called to be obedient as he was, as good as he was, 155 00:15:24.669 --> 00:15:30.909 as humble and as lowly as he was. If this these words were 156 00:15:30.909 --> 00:15:35.419 originally meant for children, fine, but I think they should apply to us 157 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:41.179 all. When we think about our savior and the example that he sets before 158 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:46.779 us, we should be careful to follow it. We should desire to follow 159 00:15:46.779 --> 00:15:50.330 it and look to him. We are his disciples, after all, those 160 00:15:50.409 --> 00:15:56.450 who follow after him. As a child, he would honor and obey his 161 00:15:56.649 --> 00:16:00.169 father as much, and his mother, and throughout his whole life he would 162 00:16:00.169 --> 00:16:04.600 do this as well, especially in his obedience to his heavenly father. This 163 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:10.159 shows us what true obedience is. It's not by doing what we want when 164 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:14.519 we want it, it's by doing what God wants when he wants it. 165 00:16:18.440 --> 00:16:23.350 This is the path that all of God's children must follow. It's a journey 166 00:16:23.389 --> 00:16:27.309 that we are on. It's a walk that Jesus walked and we must learn 167 00:16:27.429 --> 00:16:33.019 to walk it. Of course, that's not easy, is it? Obedience 168 00:16:33.059 --> 00:16:37.299 to the Lord is hard stuff. Humility, suffering, weakness, shame, 169 00:16:38.299 --> 00:16:45.340 these are often the markers of obedience to God, but they're grounded in something 170 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:49.769 big. They're grounded in the steadfast love of God, in the grace that 171 00:16:49.889 --> 00:16:55.610 he has brought into the world. Our obedience to him is grounded in our 172 00:16:55.809 --> 00:17:03.759 trusting that his kingdom has come and he is doing something wonderful. We are 173 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:08.319 trusting that it will end well, that God's promises are sure as even as 174 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:15.079 they were to David, that his is that the end of the journey will 175 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:19.829 be worth the journey itself. The end of the journey is expressed in verse 176 00:17:19.950 --> 00:17:26.670 four, and our eyes at last shall see him through his own redeeming love 177 00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:32.220 for that child. So, dear and gentle it is our Lord in heaven 178 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:37.500 above and he leads his children on to the place where he has gone. 179 00:17:40.339 --> 00:17:45.609 While the beginning of our walk as citizens of this heavenly kingdom is people under 180 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:52.609 the Great King Jesus is indeed humble and inquire and require suffering and shame, 181 00:17:53.289 --> 00:18:00.119 the end we are promised in the scriptures is glorious. The Glorious and and 182 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:06.880 strength of that end is expressed in many places, including in Psalm one hundred 183 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:12.430 and ten. The Lord Sends Forth From Zion, your mighty scepter, rule 184 00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:18.029 in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer themselves freely on the 185 00:18:18.069 --> 00:18:21.710 day of your power in holy garments, in the womb of the morning, 186 00:18:21.750 --> 00:18:25.750 and the due of your youth will be the do of the youth will be 187 00:18:25.910 --> 00:18:30.539 yours. or in Verse Five, the Lord is at your right hand. 188 00:18:30.660 --> 00:18:33.700 He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment 189 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:38.619 among the nation's filling them with corpses. He will shatter chiefs over the wide 190 00:18:38.660 --> 00:18:45.609 earth. This strength of God, when he comes in judgment, is a 191 00:18:45.730 --> 00:18:49.970 kind of glory, but it's only a beginning in which he is bringing about 192 00:18:51.089 --> 00:18:56.119 he is purifying the world to bring about a new heavens and a new earth. 193 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:02.279 Those who are true to him will suffer under the cross, but coming 194 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:08.839 is the crown. This is the promise for all those that are under the 195 00:19:10.150 --> 00:19:15.789 Great King Jesus. So how does this apply to you? How does it 196 00:19:17.029 --> 00:19:22.950 not apply to you? Jesus became human to die for humans. The son 197 00:19:23.069 --> 00:19:29.740 of God became man to die for men. The this birth and this death 198 00:19:29.900 --> 00:19:33.220 were necessary if you and I were to be saved from our sins, that 199 00:19:33.420 --> 00:19:38.210 we might not become one of the many corpses when he comes on the Day 200 00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:44.970 of Judgment in his glory and in his power. That should matter to you. 201 00:19:45.289 --> 00:19:49.769 When the Great King Jesus comes at the end of time to bring thout 202 00:19:49.809 --> 00:19:57.279 all righteousness, to in strength, establish his rule and final victory over all 203 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:02.839 the nations forever and ever, you should want to be on his side, 204 00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:08.349 because not only is the threat of judgment so great, but the promise of 205 00:20:08.509 --> 00:20:15.710 Heaven is so wonderful. Jesus is birth and death were necessary if we were 206 00:20:15.789 --> 00:20:19.430 to if we are to be saved from judgment for all of our sins, 207 00:20:21.460 --> 00:20:25.779 if we are to be saved from all of our brokenness, all of our 208 00:20:25.900 --> 00:20:33.660 loss, all of our pain. Some of you have faced almost unimaginable pain. 209 00:20:36.529 --> 00:20:40.849 Some of you may be facing that kind of struggle and pain right now. 210 00:20:41.730 --> 00:20:47.809 And if I'm to describing you, you know better than anyone how impossible 211 00:20:47.970 --> 00:20:53.160 it is to fix a broken world, a broken heart, even if you 212 00:20:53.400 --> 00:21:00.680 try really, really, really hard. You know how little of a difference 213 00:21:00.759 --> 00:21:06.589 that you can make in your human power. Sure, the next day might 214 00:21:06.670 --> 00:21:11.150 be better than the last, but it only goes so far. And even 215 00:21:11.269 --> 00:21:17.950 the greatest victories that any single person, or even any collective group of people, 216 00:21:17.990 --> 00:21:23.660 be they a community organization or a great empire or whatever. The best 217 00:21:23.779 --> 00:21:30.099 that we have ever been able to do still never comes close to satisfying all 218 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:41.410 of our needs, to eradicating sin and death and brokenness and pain. But 219 00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:48.359 the Scriptures prophesied that one is to come, and indeed has come, who 220 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:56.279 takes everything to the highest level and finally brings completion to all that we need. 221 00:21:56.400 --> 00:22:03.829 Jesus came into the world to take away our sin, to conquer over 222 00:22:04.069 --> 00:22:11.789 Satan, to rule over the grave, to take pain and heal it, 223 00:22:12.029 --> 00:22:18.579 to take war and make it peace, to take sinners like you and me 224 00:22:18.539 --> 00:22:26.980 and turn them into the Saints of Heaven. This World Wide Conquest over sin 225 00:22:27.180 --> 00:22:34.930 and its consequences extends to every nook and cranny of creation, from the greatest 226 00:22:36.049 --> 00:22:42.650 canyons in the oceans to the highest heights of Heaven, from the deepest parts 227 00:22:42.849 --> 00:22:51.240 of your souls to the tips of your finger nails. Jesus promises to fix 228 00:22:52.000 --> 00:23:03.269 everything, glorify everything and place you in an eternal, unmovable, unshakable state 229 00:23:03.549 --> 00:23:15.779 of life and light and love. That's how it applies, Paul says in 230 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:22.220 First Corinthians fifteen forty two and forty three, that Jesus is resurrection from the 231 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:27.809 dead, promises hope for us. He says that we who believe and trust 232 00:23:27.890 --> 00:23:33.809 in him will experience the same new and glorious life when he rose in his 233 00:23:34.089 --> 00:23:40.730 human body from the dead. He says, so it is with the resurrection 234 00:23:40.809 --> 00:23:45.720 of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 235 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:52.160 What is sown in dishonor is raised in glory. It is sown in 236 00:23:52.359 --> 00:24:00.150 weakness, it is raised in power. This is what verse five gets at 237 00:24:00.950 --> 00:24:04.869 of the hymn. Now, in that poor, lowly stable with the oxen 238 00:24:06.069 --> 00:24:10.900 standing by, or sorry, not in that poor, lowly stable with the 239 00:24:10.980 --> 00:24:17.700 oxen standing by, we shall see him, but in heaven, set it 240 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:23.450 God's right hand on high, when, like stars, his children crowned all 241 00:24:23.609 --> 00:24:30.250 in White, shall wait around. That language about stars comes from First Corinthians 242 00:24:30.289 --> 00:24:37.130 Fifteen, where Paul talks about the various glorious things which we will experience in 243 00:24:37.210 --> 00:24:44.000 our resurrection resurrected bodies as a people of God. If you have ever desired 244 00:24:44.279 --> 00:24:48.920 to go back to that Nativity scene, what would have been like to see 245 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:56.549 the Lord Jesus the that would have been wonderful and amazing. But promise to 246 00:24:56.630 --> 00:25:02.910 you is to see him in a much greater and more wonderful way than even 247 00:25:03.269 --> 00:25:07.339 Mary and the shepherds and the others who were there that day saw him, 248 00:25:08.380 --> 00:25:15.380 to see him in his eternal glory as the resurrected son of David, and 249 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:25.130 not just to see him in all that power and glory, but to see 250 00:25:25.130 --> 00:25:30.009 him and know him according to his love and His grace, to not to 251 00:25:30.170 --> 00:25:34.450 stand in heaven as an impostor wondering if you're about to be found out, 252 00:25:36.359 --> 00:25:42.240 but one who has been vindicated by God himself, declared justified by God himself, 253 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:49.430 declared one who is forever forgiven. What a great day that will be. 254 00:25:52.430 --> 00:25:59.869 Will you share in this resurrection? Will you exchange the cross of this 255 00:26:00.190 --> 00:26:04.299 world for the Crown of Heaven? You will if you belong to the king, 256 00:26:07.059 --> 00:26:11.619 if you are one of his. How can you belong to him? 257 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:17.099 How can you be one of his? Simply by receiving the news he tells 258 00:26:17.180 --> 00:26:27.569 us and trusting in him, repenting of your sins and following him. They 259 00:26:27.650 --> 00:26:33.480 God have mercy on us, and May he draw each of you into his 260 00:26:33.640 --> 00:26:37.119 heavenly kingdom. Amen. Let us pray