Psalm 85: Sins forgiven – Sin Detested! 1. Sins Forgiven! Psalm 85:1-3

Text: “Lord, Thou hast been favourable unto Thy land: Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people; Thou hast covered all their sin. Thou hast taken away all Thy wrath: Thou hast turned Thyself from the fierceness of Thine anger.”

Psalm 85:1-3.

Good morning, pardoned Christian!  By God’s Sovereign grace, you and the author have been gloriously pardoned from all sin – our Adamic sin, sin inherited within our old nature from Adam/Eve; and all the sins we have ever, or shall ever commit against our Holy Lord God of just wrath against all sin.  Hallelujah!  We are pardoned from the guilt and shame of our vile, disobedient and inherited, sins; and shall never ever be punished for our committing them.   Thank you, dear and Holy Lord God!  Amen. In Christ Jesus, we are forgiven.

“And the Blood (of Christ Jesus) shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the Blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt (Egypt is always a type of the world in Scriptures).” (Exodus 12:13)

“Blessed is he/she whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (by the Blood of the Lamb, Christ Jesus).” (Psalm 32:1)

Old Testament TYPES (the use of typology, earthly illustrations of Heavenly concepts) are all fully enacted in New Testament actions.  Christ came not to abolish the Law of God, He came to fulfil it, every jot and tittle.

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  For verily I say unto you, Till Heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”  (Matthew 5:17-18)

Verse 1. “Lord, Thou hast been favourable unto Thy land: Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.”  God’s favour, or it could be interpreted as His grace, has been shown in the most profound sense, by the sending forth of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to take the sins of His elect upon Himself, go to that cruel Cross at Calvary, suffer, bleed and die the death that He alone could die – and all for to provide full Atonement for ‘His people’, and save us from the penalties and punishments for our sins.  Hallelujah!  What a Saviour! He has come the first time to do what the Lord God told Joseph he would do.

“And she (Mary) shall bring forth a son, and thou (Joseph) shalt call His Name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) (Not ALL people, but His people!)

“…Behold (look, and fully understand) the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

I hear some poor wretch say: “But, Dr McClinton, surely some of my sins are so vile and so blatantly deserving of God’s wrath, and Hell, and the Lake of Fire to follow – surely SOME of my sins will not be forgiven?”

To this sincere question I simply quote God’s written Word on the matter of forgiveness, and God’s Word puts an end to all questioning hearts. (Psalm 85:2)

Verse 2. “Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of Thy people; Thou hast covered ALL their sins.”  Often and often again had He done this, pausing to pardon even when His sword was bared to punish.  Who is a pardoning God like Thee, O Jehovah? Who is so slow to anger, so ready to forgive? Every believer in Jesus enjoys the blessing of pardoned sin, and he/she should regard this priceless boon as the pledge of all other needed mercies.” (C.H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, page 360)

Verse 3. “Thou hast taken away ALL Thy wrath: Thou hast turned Thyself from the fierceness of Thine anger. When the Lord God, in Eternity, elects a sinner to give to His Son, Jesus Christ, to save in time – He causes ALL His wrath that that sinner deserved and continues to deserve to receive, to be taken away.  The shed and sinless Blood of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, the price of the elect sinner’s ransom, is all that the loving and Holy Father sees when He looks upon us as His redeemed people.  What grace!  What love! What a Father!  What a Saviour we have, in Christ Jesus!  Hallelujah! Thanks be to God for His grace! (John 6:37)

“That in the ages to come (right now) He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works (good deeds, good living), lest any man/woman should boast.” (Ephesians 2:7-9)

“Thou hast borne, or carried away, the iniquity. An allusion (type) to the ceremony of the scape-goat.” (Adam Clarke, 1760-1832)

“Thou hast covered ALL their sin. When God is said to cover sin, He does so, not as one would cover a sore with a plaster, thereby merely hiding it only; but He covers it with a plaster that effectually cures and removes it altogether.” (Robert Bellarmine, 1542-1621)

If the Living Lord God Almighty, Jehovah, Creator of all things, be likened unto an Atomic Reactor unto which no human being can approach, without burning up in an instant.  Then, the precious shed Blood of the Living Lord Jesus Christ might be likened unto the thick lead suit of protection, by which redeemed sinners might approach our Father’s throne, without utterly consuming away. Genuine saved sinners are covered by Christ’s sinless Blood.

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

The Lord Jesus Christ, by the offering of His own sinless Blood, has entered into the Holy Place in Heaven on your behalf and on mine – IF we are born again, Bible-believing Christians.  His once-for-all-time sin offering for us, covers ‘His people’, and pays the just penalty for our vile sins.  We are FORGIVEN in Him. He is our Eternal insurance policy!

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own Blood He entered in once into the Holy Place having obtained Eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:12)

Thought: “Therefore (an Eternal conclusion) if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed (or are continually passing) away; behold, all things are become (or are continually becoming) new.”  (2 Corinthians 5:17) Glory to the Lamb!

Psalm 84: ‘The Pearl of Psalms’ Psalm 84:1-12

Text: “Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house: they will be still praising Thee. Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.”

Psalm 84:4-5.

          “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy Presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”

Psalm 16:11.

Good morning, delivered Christian!  Your heart and mine rejoice at the very thought of that glorious day when God the Spirit ‘quickened’ our spirits, breathed regenerative breath into our sin-dead souls; and made us to come alive in Christ Jesus.  Hallelujah!  What Spiritual deliverance!  Hallelujah! What a Saviour we have in Christ Jesus!  Hallelujah! What Sovereign grace God our Father has bestowed upon us who were most definitely on our way to a Christ-rejecter’s Hell.  Hallelujah!  We have been set Eternally FREE!

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

Through the full Atonement Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross, our vile sins – ALL our vile sins – have been atoned for: the price of our guilt and sin has been fully paid; the Eternal punishment you and I justly deserved has been suffered for us by our Lord; the Eternal death our sin demanded has been dismissed by the death of Christ Jesus; we are fully justified (just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned) by Christ’s resurrection from the dead – and we are forever FREE.  Hallelujah!  What a Saviour! What an Eternal deliverance we have!

“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)

In all aspects of our sinful state, our weaknesses, our faults and daily failings – we are delivered by the precious shed Blood of our Holy Lord Jesus Christ.  This is a true deliverance from all that pertains to the Fall of Adam/Eve into sinful disobedience in Eden’s Garden, and all the catalogue of sins you and I have committed before and after we have been saved.  All our sins are nailed to Christ’s Cross, and we are forever free.

Our Living Lord Jesus does not perform half, or part, miracles. We are delivered completely.  In our Standing in Christ Jesus – we cannot sin. Sin is under His Blood.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”  (Romans 8:1-2)

We who have been born-again of God’s Spirit, through and in Christ Jesus, are delivered from the household of Satan, and graciously placed within the House of God.  We are free.

Verse 1. “How amiable are Thy tabernacles. Here the Gospel trumpet is blown, and its joyful sound echoed forth, and songs of love and grace are sung by all believers; besides, what makes these tabernacles still more lovely are the Presence of God here, so that they are no other than the House of God, the gate of Heaven; the provisions that are here made and the company that is here enjoyed.” (John Gill, 1697-1771)

Verse 2. “My heart and my flesh crieth out for the Living God. Many today, in this 21^st Century, are crying out, but not for ‘the Living God’!  Many cry out for meetings in a church-building, but that is not what the Psalmist is crying out for.  No!  The Psalmist is crying out for ‘the Living God’; for full fellowship with the Living Lord Jesus, not for yet another half-hearted, half-baked, half-committed gathering of professing Christians, who too often seem more interested in who has the biggest church hat, or the strictest sour-grape religious face; or the highest number of church-attendances.  This is not Spiritual desire for God’s Presence, this is merely ‘playing church’; this is more legalistic ritual than true close fellowship with our thrice Holy Lord God, Jehovah.  Genuine Christians are delivered from all of that pomp and religious ceremony. We are longing for continued fellowship with God.

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God.”      (Psalm 42:1)

We sinners have been brought into God’s House by grace, through God-given faith in Christ, and in His Sacrifice for our sins at the Cross – this is the real House, not some building made with sinner’s hands.  It is Christ Who is Lord of God’s House, not some fellow-sinner with a dog-collar of religion around his neck, taking the Lord’s Name of ‘Reverend’ in vain!

“He (the Lord God) sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant forever: Holy and REVEREND is His Name.” (Psalm 111:9)

“Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him/her guiltless that taketh His Name in vain.” (Exodus 20:7)

For the genuine Spiritually regenerate soul – EVERY PLACE IS A PLACE OF WORSHIP. In beds of sickness, we worship; locked in prison cells, we worship; castaway on a desert island, we are in a place of worship. How? Because we live in God’s House!  We worship God in Spirit and in Truth.  Real Spiritual Truth IS the Lord Jesus Christ!

“Jesus saith unto him (Thomas), I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6)

Verse 4. “Blessed are they that DWELL in Thy House: they will be still praising Thee.  Blessed is the man/woman whose strength is in Thee (not in some religious building); in whose heart are the ways of them.”  You and I do not ‘dwell’ in church-buildings, we simply go there to gather together to worship, which I am certainly not condemning, but merely pointing out that true worship does not vitally require a building, a congregation, or a Pastor.  True worship is a continual desire, wherever a believer is at any given moment; and always a personally desired privilege of being Christ’s Blood-bought people.

Verse 7. “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.” Can you and I imagine ‘every one of them in Zion’ fitting into a church-building? No! It is the ‘…appearing before God…’ that denotes true worship, seeking God’s Holy Presence in order to worship and adore Him with a thankful, humble, and reverent heart. Anywhere!

Verse 12. “Blessed (blessed with many blessings) is the man/woman that trusteth in Thee. The true Christian faith is, at all times, a personal commitment to Christ, it cannot be undertaken, or practiced, as a mere, ‘signed up member’ of any organised religious group.

Psalm 84, ‘The Pearl of Psalms’, exhorts us to dwell continually in the true House of God.

Thought: “As having hearts full of Heaven, and consciences full of comfort. There cannot but be music in the temple of the Holy Ghost.” (John Trapp 1601-1699)

Psalm 83: An ‘Imprecatory Prayer’ Psalm 83:1-18

Text: “O my God, make them (God’s enemies, the enemies of God’s people) like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.  As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire; so persecute them with Thy tempest, and make them afraid with Thy storm. Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek Thy Name, O Lord. Let them be confounded and troubled forever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish: that men may know that Thou, whose Name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.”

Psalm 83:13-18.

Good morning, entire Bible believer!  Not for you some picky manner of reading Holy Scriptures: reading and believing only the sections of your KJV Bible that seem to fit some ‘oh, we never offend anyone’ spirit, that some Christians seem to want to practice today.

No! You and I are mature enough in faith to realize that, “…All Scripture is given by inspiration (God-breathed) of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect (mature), thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Being ‘entire Bible believers’, we study to show ourselves approved of God, in the Old Testament practice of faith as well as the New Testament belief and practice of Christian belief.  There was no one that quoted Old Testament Scriptures as Divine authority like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!  Glory to His Holy Name! Christ often said: “It is written!”

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” (Understanding, and discerning, and spreading the Bread of Life from Holy Scriptures)”             (2 Timothy 3:15)

Imprecatory Psalms: An ‘Imprecatory Psalm’ is a Psalm, or a Scriptural prayer, containing a plea for God to CURSE His enemies, and the enemies – Spiritual and physical enemies – of Christ’s redeemed people. Psalms 35; 58; 59; 69; 83; 109; and 137 are all Psalms containing a plea to curse, confound, and punish God’s enemies and the enemies of Christ’s redeemed people. Please do not take my too fallible word for this fact, dear Reader – be like a Berean, check out from the Scriptures what I say for yourself!

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore, many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.” (Acts 17:10-12)

Verse 1. “Keep not Thou silence, O God: hold not Thy peace, and be not still, O God. In today’s 21^st Century language, we can understand that the poet-preacher, Asaph, seeing the dangers approaching from God’s enemies, and the enemies of Israel, “…excites his countrymen to prayer by means of this sacred lyric.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 355)

God has set up ‘watchmen’, and granted them faith and Spiritual discernment to clearly SEE the dangers approaching the international church of the Lord Jesus Christ; to recognise the vile intent of ‘the enemies’ – enemies of Christ and, necessarily so, enemies of all those who believe in Christ Jesus and seek to follow Him in obedience to His truth and His Gospel.

Such ‘watchmen’ and ‘watchwomen’ MUST shout out the warning to the rest of the church! Or the blood of those left unwary of the danger shall be upon our heads.

“The watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing…”   (Isaiah 52:8)

“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence.” (Isaiah 62:6)

“Also, I (the Lord) set watchmen over you saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet (Gospel preaching, shouting the Eternal warning of Hell and a lost Eternity). But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore…behold (hear and fully understand), I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto My Words, nor to My law, but rejected it.” (Jeremiah 6:17-19)

God’s prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel – were given this same message, and made watchmen over God’s people to cry out the warning of grave National and Spiritual danger.

“And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore, hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also, thou hast delivered thy soul.” (Ezekiel 3:16-21)

After all these loud-and-clear warnings of impending National and personal doom – nations, and tribes, and individuals closed their ears to God’s warnings, and turned their unbelieving hands and minds to seek the destruction of God’s watchmen and preachers of His truth.

Nothing seems to have changed in that aspect today – Gospel street-preachers are being arrested and locked up by British policemen under orders from a sinful Government!

In the face of such systematic anti-Christian persecution, the church is not without Spiritual weapons to employ, the Lord God has granted us ‘THE IMPRECATORY PSALMS’.

Verse 3. “They have taken crafty counsel against Thy people. Theirs was the policy of extermination. They laid the axe at the root of the matter. Rome has always loved this method of warfare, and hence she has gloated over the massacre of Bartholomew and the murders of the Inquisition.” (C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 355)

Verse 17. “Let them be confounded and troubled forever. We must not hesitate to sincerely pray this imprecatory Psalm when God’s enemies seek to destroy the true Church of Christ. “That men may know that Thou, whose Name is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth.”

Thought: Our Spiritual weapons are powerful – when earnestly used.  Arm yourself, Christian solder of the Lord. The watchman is shouting a clear warning.  Pray now!