Songs for God’s Elect – Thirst for the Reprobate! Psalm 68:4-6

Text: “Sing unto God, sing praises to His Name: extol Him that rideth upon the Heavens by His Name JAH, and rejoice before Him…but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.”

Psalm 68:4-6. 

          “For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as He said, As I have sworn in My wrath, if they shall enter into My rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” 

Hebrews 4:2-3.

Good morning, elect believer in Christ!  If you are a true Christian believer this morning, it is only because of the Lord God’s Sovereign grace bestowed upon you and I in Eternity – before the very foundation of the Created world.  All was His Creation; all was and is done according to His Sovereign will and Eternal purpose – God is at all times God alone, and the Lord God Almighty makes His Divine determinations according as He alone has pleased to do.  We could not, love, obey, nor serve any lesser Lord God.  Praise and all glory to His Name!

“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.  Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?  But our God is in the Heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.”  (Psalm 115:1-3)

The Lord God, Jehovah (JAH), is an absolute Sovereign Lord God Almighty.  Who would dare to try to stand against His Sovereign will, or deny His Almighty power?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all Spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved…in Whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.”  (Ephesians 1:3-12)

All Arminian believers and honest unbelievers please now commence to tear out this passage from their Bibles – or begin to accept God’s Word in its context and entirety as infallible.  We cannot have both Arminian theology, AND Scriptural infallibility!

“Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy Word is truth.”  (John 17:17)

“Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible seed (the flesh, self-will) but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever…But the Word of the Lord endureth forever.  And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.”  (1 Peter 1:22-25)

Clearly, it is only those that believe and receive God’s Word as absolute truth; are born again of this incorruptible seed of God’s Word; seeking to serve the Living Word, Jesus Christ – that have any real and genuine cause to sing anything!

Verse 4. “Sing unto God, sing praises to His Name: extol Him that rideth upon the Heavens by His Name JAH, and rejoice before Him”

Verse 4. “Sing unto God, sing praises unto His Name.  Sing not for ostentation, but devotion; not to be heard of men, but of the Lord Himself.”

          “And rejoice before Him.  We ought to avoid dullness in our worship.  Our songs should be weighty with solemnity, but not heavy with sadness.  Angels are nearer the throne than we, but their deepest awe is consonant with the purest bliss.”  (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 291)

Great Jehovah, Lord God of the Old Testament, is the same God Almighty we love and serve in Christ Jesus today.  God is immutable, unchangeable, He does not, nor will not ever change.  Sing praises to His Name!

“And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His Name?  What shall I say unto them?  And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  (Exodus 3:13-14)

“Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.  Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.  For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace…”  (Hebrews 13:7-9)

Verse 6.  “God…bringeth out those which are bound with chains.  The author of this Bible Exposition was one such rebel, who was, for his vile terrorist sins 44 years ago, very much bound in modern day ‘chains’; serving justly deserved Life sentences for my terrorist activities here in Ulster (Northern Ireland, UK).  So, I speak openly, and with much shame, from a personal experience of God’s Sovereign grace.  The Lord God granted me repentance from all my sins; saved me for time and for Eternity by Christ’s shed Blood; and brought me out of my penal ‘chains’ to serve Him in the preaching/teaching of the Gospel. Hallelujah!  Sing praises unto God, sing praises, oh my liberated soul!

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a Rock, and established my goings. And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”  (Psalm 40:2-3)

Verse 6.  “But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.  Even where God is revealed on the mercy-seat, some men persist in rebellion, and such need not wonder if they find no peace, no comfort, no joy, even where all these abound.  Of the most soul-satisfying of sacred ordinances, these witless rebels cry, “What a weariness it is!”  And, under the most soul-sustaining ministry, they complain of “the foolishness of preaching.”  When a man has a rebellious heart, he must of necessity find all around him a dry land.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 291)

Thought: It is a humbling thought that we elect of God have songs to sing Eternally, while the reprobate, rejected of the Lord, shall dwell in an Eternally dry land called Hell.  If you have an ear to hear, come to Christ while it is still the day of grace.

Called to Contend in God’s Name! Psalm 68:3

Text: “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common Salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort your that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” 

                                                                                                       Jude 3.

Good morning, truly righteous Christian!  Of yourself and myself, ALL our most righteous attributes are as dung in the soul-searching eyes of our omniscient Lord God Jehovah.  He alone is Holy.  He alone is righteous.  He alone is faultless, perfect, immutable in all His glorious Divine attributes.  Glory to His Holy Name!

At the very best level, all mankind’s moral, decent, kind, unselfishness's count for nought and can never grant us entrance to God’s Eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.  And there is none that calleth upon Thy Name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee: for Thou hast hid Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.”  (Isaiah 64:6-7)

Now think for a moment, dear Reader: IF this above fact is true, and it is – who, exactly, are ‘the righteous’ mentioned in Psalm 68, and verse 3, that are encouraged to “…be glad…rejoice before God…exceedingly rejoice…”?

Verse 3. “But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.”  The only true righteousness the Lord God recognises is the pure and perfect righteousness of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  He alone is the sinless One who ever walked in an incarnate human body.  Give Christ all the praise.  Hallelujah!

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one…there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10-12)

The doctrine of Imputation: Dr C.K. McClinton, on www.ulsterchristians.org.

Imputation:  God’s full righteousness to fully unrighteous man!

Text: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord IMPUTETH not iniquity, and in whose spirit, there is no guile.”  Psalm 32:1-2

        “...Behold the Lamb of God (Christ Jesus) which taketh away the sin of the world.”  (John 1:29)

Definition of the term:  Imputation is a forensic (legal) term that denotes the reckoning, or placing to a person’s account, the merit or guilt that belongs to him/her on account of his personal performance or of that of his federal Head (Adam for all mankind; Christ Jesus for the Christian).

Thus, it was that ‘...Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’  (Galatians 3:6) (Genesis 15:6)

Imputation of Sin:  When our forefather, Adam, sinned in disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden, he did so as mankind’s’ federal head, mankind’s representative in the Covenant made by our Creator Lord God between Himself and His creation - mankind. 

Therefore, when Adam sinned, the guilt of sin was imputed unto all mankind who would be born in Adam’s ‘fallen’ image.  Original sin is thus put to our account, imputed unto us, by a Holy Lord God of wrath against all sin.  We are all naturally born in sin and guilty of sin.

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his image (fallen, guilty of sin!); and called his name Seth.”  (Genesis 3:5)

“Behold (look) I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”   (Psalm 51:5)

“As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one...none that understandeth...none that seeketh after God...none that doeth good, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10-12)

In our natural state, we are all guilty sinners.  We are guilty, by imputation, of the sin of our original representative Adam; and we are guilty of our own continual sins.  We are thus twice worthy of Hell as sinners against our Holy Lord God of fierce wrath against all sin. (Habakkuk 1:13)

Imputation of Righteousness:  God imputes vital righteousness unto all those whom He grants faith to believe and receive Christ Jesus as their own and personal Saviour and Lord.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) (John 3:16)

In this manner, God placed all the guilt and the sin of ‘His people’ on the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus on the Cross, and punished Christ as our Substitute, in order to pay the full penalty for all our sins.

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed (from sin).” (Isaiah 53:5)

Imputation: “Imputation is an act of God as Sovereign judge, at once judicial and Sovereign, whereby He:

          (1)  Makes the guilt, the legal responsibilities of our sins, really Christ’s, and punishes them in Him.  (John 1:29) (2 Corinthians 5:21)         

          (2)  Makes the merit, legal rights of Christ’s righteousness ours, and then treats us as persons legally invested with all those rights.  (Romans 4:6; 10:4) (1 Corinthians 1:30-31) (Philippians 3:9)

“As Christ is not made a sinner by the imputation to Him of our sins, so we are not made holy by the imputation to us of His righteousness.  The transfer is only of guilt from us to Him, and of merit from Him to us.  He justly suffered the punishment due our sins, and we justly receive the rewards due to His righteousness.  (1 John 1:8-9)” (A.A. Hodge, Outlines of Theology, Chapter 30, Question 15.)

Thought: Therefore, the ‘righteous’ people that are to be ‘glad’ in Psalm 68:3-4, are those of us made righteous in Christ’s own righteousness – imputed unto us, by grace, through faith.  It is this Scriptural faith we are called to contend for always.  Amen.

Our Battle-cry in Christ! Psalm 68:2

Text: “As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the Presence of God.”

Psalm 68:2.

Good morning, straight-talking Christian!  When you come before the Living Lord God in prayer, the words that you use are straight-talking words; clear words that are spoken from your very heart in humble submission to God of very God: our Divine Father in Heaven. 

“…Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…”                   (Matthew 6:9)

Human fathers, in love for their little children, can often look down upon them and almost read their tiny minds, knowing what they are about to ask them, before they actually ask.

How much more then, does our Heavenly Father already KNOW what is in our hearts and minds when we come before His Almighty Presence in prayer? 

Therefore, it is of no positive use for us to be what some might call ‘mealie mouthed’ (over-squeamish, especially in choice of words…) in prayer to a Lord God Who already knows what is really in our hearts.  No.  We must strive to be straight-talkers when in the place of prayer with the Lord God.

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.  Be ye not therefore like them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask.” (Matthew 6:7-8)

In today’s Bible text from Psalm 68, we see the Psalmist already well persuaded what he needs to pray for, when focusing on God’s enemies – the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  He is not holding back, or seeking to cover what he really needs to pray for in a covering of false piety, or equivocation.  No.  His prayer is straight-talking prayer to Almighty God, for what the Lord God Himself has seen fit to have written for instruction in His own infallible Word: “As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the Presence of God.”  There is no equivocation in these clear words!

So many professing Christians today, within this increasingly apostate 21^st Century church of men-pleasers, are devoid of what we might define as a Spiritual back-bone.  Too often, we find Pastors, and men in leadership of ‘the church international and universal’, who are so much LESS than straight-talking, Christ-motivated; Spirit-inspired speakers. There seems to be no passion in them!  God’s Word is truth!  Let’s be passionate about it!

“To the Law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.”  (Isaiah 8:20)

Alexander McCaul (1840) comments on Verses 1-3 of Psalm 68: “The words of the text contain a prayer for the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.  As members of the Christian church, we continually profess our faith in the second coming of Christ; and, it may be, that we sometimes meditate upon His glorious appearance; but have we, like David, adopted it as one of the subjects of our address at the throne of grace?... Has our faith ever enabled us to take up the language of the text, and say, Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered: let them also that hate Him flee before Him?  Never shall the honour of Christ be complete, nor His people happy, nor the righteous be glad and rejoice exceedingly, until God arise and His enemies be scattered.”  (Alexander McCaul, in ‘Plain Sermons on Subjects Practical and Prophetic’.)

From 44 years of often harsh experience, I can affirm the fact that straight-talking Christian witnesses, Pastors, Bible-believing Teachers – are seldom fully received in many little ‘holy-huddle church groups’, that are ‘proud of the fact that 'we never offend anyone.’ Groan…

Let me state very plainly, dear Reader, that if you and I, as forthright, straight-talking Christian witnesses - of the new birth in Christ; of the real Cross of Jesus; of a Heaven that’s Holy and a Hell that’s hot – do NOT succeed in often offending our hearers by our straight-talking, there is something lacking in the power of our Christian witness. The truth hurts, and the truth should always hurt the hearts, minds, and very souls of sinners dead in trespasses and sins.  It is such soul-searching words of God’s truth that sets the captives free.

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…If the Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed.”  (John 8:32-36)

“Neither is there Salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”  (Acts 4:12)

If telling our hearers that there is only ONE way to have sins forgiven and to go to an Eternal Heaven – and that way is through the full Atonement Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross – offends them.  So be it!  Truth cannot change to suit hearers.

If I can ‘offend’ a precious soul all the way into Heaven – that is what I must do!

God’s enemies beware – it will not end good for your immortal soul.

Verse 2. “As the smoke is driven away.  They fume in pride; they darken the sky with their malice; they mount higher and higher in arrogance; they defile wherever they prevail.  Lord, let Thy breath, Thy Spirit, Thy Providence, make them vanish forever from the march of Thy people.  Philosophic scepticism is flimsy and as foul as smoke; may the Lord deliver His church from the reek of it.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 290-291)

Verse 2. “As wax melteth before the fire.”  The wicked, Christ-rejecters, and Gospel-haters seem today to stand impregnable and victorious in their anti-Christian stance; their foul-legislations; their oppositions to God’s Word veiled in the words of Human Rights.

 However, have you ever watched a candle’s reaction when once the wick is lit by a flame?  Immediately, the wax of the candle begins to melt into liquid, its back-bone as it were, disintegrates into nothingness; what we thought looked firm and strong, becomes less than weak and watery, and turns to a substance made only to fuel the candle’s fire. (Dr C.K. McClinton 1947-?)

Our Lord God Almighty is a thrice Holy Lord Being Who, in all His three Persons, cannot tolerate sin for a mini-moment.  In order to remain an absolutely Holy Lord God, God must punish all and every sin – in word, thought, and in deed.  Fact.

“Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and fear: for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

Thought: If we Christians believe our KJV Bibles – we must be straight in proclaiming its truths, no matter who is humanly offended.  God’s truth does not change. (Numbers 23:19)