Be Exalted, O God, Above the Heavens

Berean Baptist on September 19, 2016

Psalm 57:11

Many of the David’s psalms were born out of his pleadings to God for relief from oppression. I can imagine that when David was first anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel there must have been at least a small swelling of pride that he was God’s choice. This meant in due time he would enjoy the privileges of royalty. However, it wasn’t long before he discovered God’s favor would cause him to be the scorn of his enemies. Certainly, Saul was none too pleased to learn his family would never become a dynasty, which made David the target of Saul’s wrath. Thus we have this psalm as David plead with God to deliver him from Saul’s intense anger.

David, God’s choice for king, did not write these words from a gilded room in a palace. Rather, he was in a dark, dirty cave where he was hiding while fleeing for his life. David had climbed the rocky cliffs of En Gedi many times in fear for his safety, but though the situation seemed bleak, he knew God had chosen him and he knew his heart was right. Because of this, he fully expected protection from his Lord until he should be brought to his time to occupy the throne.

As I read this psalm, I am reminded of two very special objects of God’s divine choice and protection. The first is the Lord Jesus Christ who was ordained by the Father to bear the reproach of the cross in order to make atonement for our sins. He too was specifically chosen, and yet His path to glory took the same turn as David’s. The exaltation of the throne was to come later until He was made perfect through suffering (Heb. 2:10). In the meantime, the enemy was everywhere trying to take His life before the time. The difficulty of the cross was never a deterrent to Him. He knew what the Father promised. As He prayed in John 17, He knew the Father would restore Him to the glory He had before stepping down to come in human flesh (John 17:5). For this reason, Hebrews says He went to the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2). With His death, He would bring millions to worship the Father before the throne.

The second object of God’s divine choice is me. If you are a believer, you can substitute your name for what I am about to say next. Before I was born, God chose me to a crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4), and to sit in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3-4; 2:6). However, there is a meantime just as there was with David and Christ. The meantime is this life in which God’s people often find themselves at odds with a God rejecting world. Because the world hated Christ, it also hates us which often leaves us the objects of ridicule (John 15:18).

As neither David nor Jesus were greatly discouraged, so we should not be discouraged. We have the same promise given to them. We shall not be left to the destruction of Satan, but as David wrote in verse 3, “He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.”

God’s choice is the same as God’s salvation. The first infallibly leads to the second. I hope you can relate this great truth to the message today as I speak on the eternal election of God. Those whom God chooses He does not fail to bring to glory (Rom. 8:29-30). So, take heart in times of trouble. You were always in the eternal purpose of God. He is able to see you through. “Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Hope for Discouraged Christians

Berean Baptist on July 25, 2015

And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 19:29)

This passage in Matthew is most helpful for discouraged Christians. Jesus knew the exact time to give His disciples encouragement because there were many negative overtones to His teachings. It was necessary for Him to deal with the sinful nature of men and to issue warnings of the wrath to come; and indeed we find much of the Bible is concerned with the destruction of the flesh, the downfall of the world’s systems, and the final punishment in hell for all that do not receive Christ as Saviour. It is also necessary for us to deal with these doctrines because a person must know of his sinful condition and the consequences of it before he can repent of his sins and trust Christ. After this information is given, we must further instruct those that believe concerning the hardships of living the Christian life. Unsuspecting new converts can be shattered unless they know it is not unusual to experience pain and suffering because of their faith. This is an inevitable result of following Christ. As Jesus said, the world will hate us because it hated Him. You can see from this that much of the Bible’s teachings must be negative because we live in a fallen, sinful world.

With so many negatives, is there anything positive? The disciples wondered this as they were being trained because they were graphically living out the negative aspects of following Christ. When Jesus perceived the weight of their present problems was becoming extremely burdensome, He broke through the negatives in scriptures such as Matthew 19:28-29. This is the promise of a glorious future in which He will come to sit on the throne of David and will rule the world in perfect peace and righteousness. This is a wonderful prospect which is far more than they could expect. Just to live in a holy kingdom without pain, suffering, hunger, and the constant attacks of Satan is more than they could ask. These factors alone are great encouragement.

However, in this scripture, Jesus steps beyond His personal ruling authority to let His disciples know they will also have their part ruling in the Kingdom. This is what they hoped for all along even though they did not fully understand what it would take to occupy their places of authority. They would become great in the Kingdom by first becoming the lowly servants of others. But still, without this full understanding, these verses came when they surely needed encouragement. They were on their way to Jerusalem for the last days of Jesus’ life when it would seem discouragement was all that was in store.

One of the great truths of this passage is to teach us not to always focus on our present circumstances. When our thoughts are too much on the present, they spoil the ability the future has to give us hope when needed. Christ taught the disciples in this place to look beyond their current hardships to their glorious future. The coming Kingdom would prove that everything they gave up for Him would be more than equally compensated; it would be exponentially increased with eternal rather than temporal value.

This is the same hope we are to look forward to in this promise made by Christ. These disciples are typical of all disciples—it will be worth it all for all of us. Never doubt the reality of His precious future promises. It will make all the difference in the world of how you are able face life’s challenges.

Pastor V. Mark Smith