December 5, 2012

• fall down, worship Him, open our treasures, present gifts to Him ~ Psalm 72:14-15

  When we think of Christmas time and giving to Jesus, we often think of the wise men, who traveled to worship the expected long-expected Messiah, the King of the Jews...

  Matthew 2:11 "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

  In the midst of the overflowing appeals for charity stuffing our mailboxes (both real & virtual) this season, we are often led to question ourselves... Am I giving what I ought? Am I giving out of a right heart? Are my motives pure, or am I giving to be seen of men? Am I a cheerful giver? etc., etc.

  

  In Psalm 72, we find a wonderful verse tucked away which describes some of the gifts that the redeemed of the Lord ought to be presenting to Him. ... But before we get there, I'd like to set the stage...

  Though Psalm 72 is not considered by all a to be a Messianic Psalm (don't ask me why), this royal Psalm finds its ultimate fulfillment in the everlasting, universal reign of the Lord Jesus Christ: the One greater than Solomon –– the King of kings and the Lord of lords Whose reign has been from everlasting to everlasting and Whose dominion will be from sea to sea, all the way to the ends of the earth; a Kingdom in which every knee in heaven and under earth will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God His Father, and all His enemies will lick the dust (~ see Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:9-11; Psalm 2).

  Eternal redemption was purchased and secured through the shedding of Christ's precious blood:
  

  Hebrews 9:11  But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

  And eternal redemption is received by grace through faith in Christ's precious blood:
  

  Romans 3:21  But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

  Before I go on to talk about our giving gifts to Jesus, you need to examine your own soul. Have you received God's free gift of eternal redemption, eternal life? That's the first and vital thing because apart from believing on Christ, Jesus Himself tells us that our default state is this: "condemned already" (John 3:18). In Romans 6:23, the apostle Paul tells us "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." If you have more questions about this, please read through the first several chapters of Romans and/or leave a comment below and/or message me. (You may also find it helpful to check out the linked posts on salvation at the end of this post.)

  Only after that's settled can you begin to consider your own giving. Your eternal soul is at stake. There will be a day of judgment when Christ comes again, and Jesus warns us: we will either be raised to everlasting punishment or eternal life (Matthew 25:46 - BTW:  the Greek word there for "everlasting" is the same as the word "eternal." In other words, for those of you who have read Rob Bell and believe him –– you are sadly mistaken and deceived into thinking there is no eternity in hell. My friends, if you die apart from Christ, you will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, where your worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Matthew 25:30, Mark 9:48 ~ and yes, those are quotations from the Gospels –– they are the words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the one who is coming again to judge the living and the dead). Today is the day of salvation; harden not your hearts. May God give you ears to hear Him and come to Christ and flee the wrath to come!

  Apart from having Christ's perfect righteousness credited to us through faith, God considers all our best attempts at trying to justify ourselves in the eyes of God to be as "filthy rags." And, in fact, the thrice holy God looks upon us in our fallen state and considers each and every one of us as "an unclean thing" (see Psalm 64:6; Romans 3:9-20). In other words, no matter how good you may look on the outside, no matter how many good deeds you may have performed, no matter whether you've been relatively successful at keeping your own nose clean, no matter if you've been baptized, no matter how many church services you've attended, no matter if you're a church member, no matter how much you've given to the poor, etc., etc.  –– none of that matters in the eyes of God in terms of your standing before Him. After those verses I quoted above from Romans 3, the apostle Paul writes this in verse 27: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law."

  And in the verses following, Paul explains the way of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is for all peoples, for both the Jews and the Gentiles. We've all been born into Adam, we are all credited/imputed with his sin (original sin), and we all are in need of salvation. In other words, no matter who you are, no matter where you live, no matter your nationality, no matter your family upbringing –– your own works can never justify you, they can never give you a right standing before God. A holy God cannot look upon sin or abide even a speck of sin in His presence. All of our best works can never atone for our sin. Malachi 3:2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?" Only through the shedding of Christ's blood is there forgiveness of sins. Each one of us needs to come to Christ to have the slate wiped clean through the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from the guilt of all our sin (past, present, and future), and to have the pure and perfect righteousness of Christ imputed/credited to us, so we might be able to stand before God blameless and unashamed in the day of judgment. Romans 5:18  Therefore, as through one man’s [Adam] offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s [Christ's] righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s [Christ's] obedience many will be made righteous.

  Now, back to Psalm 72...

  The Psalmist is looking forward to Christ's Kingdom and Christ's eternal redemption of the poor and needy...

  For He will deliver the needy when he cries,
  The poor also, and him who has no helper.
  He will spare the poor and needy,
  And will save the souls of the needy.
  He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;
  And precious shall be their blood in His sight.
  (v. 12-14)

  (That's a whole other matter, that we must humble ourselves and become like little children to receive/enter into the Kingdom of God (e.g. - Matthew 11:25-30; 19:13-14; Mark 10:13-16; Luke 10:21-24), that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Prov. 3:34: I Peter 5:5), but that's not my focus here today in this post.)

  After this, the Psalmist describes the fitting and appropriate response of all those Christians who have known their utter destitution: their poverty, their neediness, and their helplessness. As the Holy Spirit works to make us acutely aware of the extent of our own poverty, neediness, and helplessness, it is only then that we begin to value as we ought the richness, the sufficiency, and the help that comes through the Lord Jesus Christ, or more accurately, to treasure the Lord Jesus Christ as we ought! ... being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross... For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ~ Philippians 2:6-8; II Cor. 5:21; Romans 5:6. There was no other who could deliver lost and fallen sinners from the power of sin, the flesh, Satan, and death –– but the God-man, Christ Jesus.

  Near the end of his life, John Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things; That I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour." Like Newton, when we begin to know (really know) that our salvation is all of grace and none of us, as we begin to appreciate that our salvation is all due to the sovereign free grace of God, and own that we are indeed are great sinners and that Christ is a great Savior, that we are wholly unworthy and undeserving, when we realize that we have been truly blessed and privileged to be granted to receive such a great salvation and to know such a great Savior –– as that great sense of the love of God begins to constrain us, as it did the apostle Paul (II Cor. 5:14), how can we not be compelled by that love of God to pour out offerings to our Savior, such as the Psalmist describes...

  And He shall live,
  And the gold of Sheba will be given to Him;
  Prayer also will be made for Him continually,
  And daily He shall be praised.
  (v. 15)

  I'd like to close with two commentaries on this verse:  the first by J.A. Alexander, and the second by Matthew Henry. As you prayerfully read and contemplate the Scripture (and I'd encourage you to read through the entire Psalm, not just those two verses) along with these words below, I pray God might show you in greater measure how wondrous, great His salvation is for you and what a wondrous, great Savior you have, so you might live your life as an offering unto Him in a manner that is worthy of such a great salvation and such a great Savior (~ Romans 12:1-2; Psalm 116)

  

  Luke 7:44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?
  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet,
  but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
  45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.
  46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
  47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.
  But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

  Who are we but dust and ashes, and yet! –– while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us! As we gain a spiritual sight of our Savior as the all-surpassing treasure, we cannot help but freely offer all our treasures to Him, to break our alabaster flasks in extravagant, overflowing, lavish worship, just as the sinful woman did with her alabaster flask (Luke 7, Mark 14, Matthew 26)...  just as our Father did when He gave His only begotten Son to die in our place; just as the Lamb of God did when He willingly laid down His life for His sheep; just as our God, who was rich in mercy, did when He bestowed His gift of salvation upon poor, needy, and helpless sinners like us; just as our God does, as He freely pours out the gift of His Holy Spirit on all those who ask Him. Freely we have received from Him, let us freely give to Him, for He alone is worthy! Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Worthy of all we have and worthy of all we are! Like the wise men who saw the young Child, may the Holy Spirit bless us with a spiritual sight of the glories of the Savior and of His gift of salvation, so we might be constrained by the love of Christ to fall down and worship Him, and open our treasures and present gifts to Him!

  J.A. Alexander on Psalm 72:15 (from "The Psalms Translated & Explained, Volume II, 1850, New York, Charles Scribner")
  

  And he, the poor man thus delivered, shall live, shall be preserved alive, and, in token of his gratitude and willing subjection to such a sovereign, he shall give to him, as tribute, of the gold of Sheba, one of the regions mentioned in v. 10 and famous for its gold; and he, meaning still the grateful tributary, shall pray for him continually, i. e. for the progress and extension of Messiah's kingdom; all the day (long) shall he bless him, i.e. praise him, as well for what he is in himself, as for the gifts which he bestows.

  From Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary:

  That he shall be honoured and beloved by all his subjects (15): He shall live; his subjects shall desire his life (O king! live for ever) and with good reason; for he has said, Because I live, you shall live also; and of him it is witnessed that he liveth, ever liveth, making intercession, Heb. vii. 8, 25. He shall live, and live prosperously; and, 1. Presents shall be made to him. Though he shall be able to live without them, for he needs neither the gifts nor the services of any, yet to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba--gold, the best of metals, gold of Sheba, which probably was the finest gold; for he that is best must be served with the best. Those that have abundance of the wealth of this world, that have gold at command, must give it to Christ, must serve him with it, do good with it. Honour the Lord with thy substance. 2. Prayers shall be made for him, and that continually. The people prayed for Solomon, and that helped to make him and his reign so great a blessing to them. It is the duty of subjects to make prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, for kings and all in authority, not in compliment to them, as is too often done, but in concern for the public welfare. But how is this applied to Christ? He needs not our prayers, nor can have any benefit by them. But the Old-Testament saints prayed for his coming, prayed continually for it; for they called him, He that should come. And now that he has come we must pray for the success of his gospel and the advancement of his kingdom, which he calls praying for him (Hosanna to the Son of David, prosperity to his reign), and we must pray for his second coming. It may be read, Prayer shall be made through him, or for his sake; whatsoever we ask of the Father shall be in his name and in dependence upon his intercession. 3. Praises shall be made of him, and high encomiums given of his wisdom, justice, and goodness: Daily shall he be praised. By praying daily in his name we give him honour. Subjects ought to speak well of the government that is a blessing to them; and much more ought all Christians to praise Jesus Christ, daily to praise him; for they owe their all to him, and to him they lie under the highest obligations.

  ---

  Please see my follow-up posts...

  • Silent Night - Not! ~ "Prayer also will be made for Him continually" ... day and night
  • an advent of a different sort for the "glorious progress of the work of God"

  Other related posts:

  More on salvation:

  • Advent #2 WHY HAS JESUS COME? to give his life as a ransom for many
  • Advent #3 WHY HAS JESUS COME? not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
  • "My situation was so dangerous, so hopeless, that nothing less than the incarnation..." (Payson)
  • Surely none is righteous, no, not one ~ The Pharisee's Warning (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:9-10)
  • Why preach the Gospel? # 1: Bad men need Good News!
  • Why preach the Gospel? # 2: Dead men need Life!
  • Dealing with sin & guilt: Are you wearing the Garment only God can provide?
  • First Week of Advent: The Most Scandalous Bailout Ever
  • Second Sunday of Advent: FAQ about Santa Claus and the Gospel of Christ
  • "Either we accept the atonement of Christ or we repeat it."

  More on giving:

  • from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet...
  • Are you robbing God? Where is God telling you to "Rise and go!" for the joy of others?
  • adopting God's purpose for the nations is for your joy & His glory
  • every brand snatched is a brand dispatched ~ Reflections on 9/11, Redemption & God's Mission
  • Christ was sent & poured out so we might be sent & poured out
  • a story of God and mammon: "the Lord's Calf" from Martyn Lloyd-Jones
  • Things To Look for in a Church, 10: Not Scrooges but Poured-out People

  
  Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Photo credits:

  Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gift-1.jpg by Brynn / CC BY-SA 3.0
  Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jesus_Anointing.jpg / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
  

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