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FBC Travelers Rest sermon from December 17, 2023 by Pastor Rhett Burns
Psalm 89 this morning, Psalm 89 at least to start with, we're continuing our Advent series on knowing Christ. And I mentioned last week, as one part of the sermon, that the Son of God becoming man in order to save the world was not some sort of plan B concocted by God when things fell apart with Adam, but rather that God had made a plan for the redemption of the world.
And so it wasn't like God was surprised by Adam's sin and went scrambling trying to figure out a way to fix things. Rather the plan of redemption was planned before the foundation of the world in eternity.
Theologians have referred to this as saying that the Father and the Son made a covenant together in eternity to secure the redemption of the world and this morning we want to focus on Christ's covenant.
That will be the subject of our sermon today. I want to anchor things in Psalm 89, but this is one of those topics where we're going to look at a few other places in scripture and so we'll do that as well, but first let me read from Psalm 89 verses 1 -4.
Psalm 89 verses 1 -4, and the word of God says, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, mercy shall be built up forever.
Your faithfulness you shall establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn to my servant David. Your seed I will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations.
Amen.
This is the word of God to us this morning. This psalm begins with singing about the mercy of the Lord and the faithfulness of God and we'll return to this singing about mercy that we see in verse 1 a little bit later towards the end of the sermon.
Verse 2, we see that the mercy of God is from eternity to eternity. God's love and mercy established in the heavens and it shall be built up forever to all generations. We see that in verse 2 and verse 4.
Because of this, we sing of God's mercy. What we see in verse 1, we sing in response to this eternal mercy and love and faithfulness of God. Then verse 3 tells us a bit more about God's faithfulness and his mercy and his loving kindness that was established in the heavens saying this, I have made a covenant with my chosen.
I have sworn to my servant David. Now there are two ways you could understand this verse and I think both of them in the end kind of cash out to the same meaning. So the first way you could understand this verse is that my chosen there at the end of verse 3, that that refers to the son, that refers to Christ and that God the father made a covenant with God the son, his chosen one and it is a covenant to give him a people and to give him a kingdom.
What we see there in verse 4, I will establish, your seat I will establish forever and build up your throne to all generations. And that this covenant then is the foundation of the mercy and faithfulness that we see in verse 2 and it's sworn to David as a type of King Jesus who is to come, who was to come.
That's one way to understand the verse. Another way to understand this verse is that my chosen refers to David and so that the psalmist is using parallelism, a common literary device where he refers to the same person, same subject and back to back clauses of that couplet.
And so he promises I made a covenant with my chosen and I have sworn to my servant David and my chosen and servant David are the same person, he's using parallelism to point that out and to say this about this covenant that he's making.
But even then when we interpret this psalm through the lens of Christ, when we interpret it messianically, we see that Jesus is the greater David. That David points to Jesus, that Jesus is the greater and the true David, the type of King Jesus to come.
And so in this interpretation there's something of a double fulfillment, something that we see often throughout the Old Testament, specifically in prophecies where there's an immediate fulfillment. So in this case God has made this covenant with David and David assumes the throne of Israel and then his son and his sons after him reign and so there's an immediate fulfillment, David's house is established and his son reigns after him and then there's the ultimate fulfillment that a son of David, the greater son of David, Jesus will take the throne and reign forever.
And ever.
So either way you read this I think you get a covenant with and a promise to David that points to a covenant with and promise to Jesus, God's son. And it's that covenant and promise to Jesus that I want us to consider this morning.
So what is the covenant that God the Father made with his chosen God, the Son? Well the first thing I want us to see is that God the Father made a covenant with Jesus, God the Son. And so I think we see this in Psalm 89 .3, I have made a covenant with my chosen, which one way or another speaks of Christ, but where else in scripture do we see this?
I just want to read kind of a smattering of verses and then point out some of the themes, common themes among them that point to this, that point to the covenant between Father and Son before the world began.
So Isaiah 42, 1 says, Behold, my servant whom I uphold, my elect one, or my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. John 17, 4, I have glorified you on the earth.
I have finished the work which you have given me to do. 2 Timothy 1, verses 9 and 10. Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
But has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. First Peter chapter 1, verses 20 and 21. He was indeed, excuse me, he indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through him believe in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.
Titus 1, 2, in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time.
Began.
And then last one here for now, John 5, verses 36 and 37. For the works which the Father has given me to finish, the very works that I do bear witness.
Of me.
The Father has, that the Father has sent me, and the Father himself who sent me has testified.
I know that's a lot there, a bunch of verses to take in at once, but I believe in these verses we see a few common themes. We see that Jesus is the servant of God, the chosen one. We see that the Father has given him works to do, and that the Son does these works.
We see that this arrangement happened when? Before time began, before the foundation of the world. And that it is through this before time began arrangement and its manifestation in history that death is abolished, sinners are saved, eternal life is granted, and Christ is glorified.
Our Baptist fathers summarize the Bible's teaching on Christ's covenant in this way in the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. I'm going to read from a modern English version. This is talking about this covenant of grace whereby sinners are offered life and salvation through Jesus Christ, and so the confession reads this way.
This covenant is based on the eternal covenantal transaction between the Father and the Son concerning the redemption of the elect. God was pleased in his eternal purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them.
To be the mediator between God and humanity, God chose him to be prophet, priest, and king, and to be head and savior of the church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world. From all eternity, God gave to the Son a people to be his offspring.
In time, these people would be redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified by him. And so, I just read a lot to you, right? So we see it from various places in the Bible. We see it from older confessions of faith that the Father and Son made an arrangement from before time began for the redemption of the people that the Father was giving to the Son.
If you read Jesus' high priestly prayer in John 17, you're going to see this theme all throughout that prayer of Christ doing the works of his Father, that the Father sent him to do. It talks about his people that the Father has given him.
So we see this in the Bible, we see it in older Bible teaching, and with those then as our foundation, I want to ask the question, what is this covenant that God the Father made with his chosen God the Son?
And the short answer is this, it's the happy, voluntary covenant agreement made by the Trinity in eternity past. It's the happy, delightful, joyful, voluntary covenant agreement made by the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternity past.
So a covenant, what is a covenant? A covenant is an oath-bound relationship. We see them throughout the Bible. It's an oath-bound relationship, an agreement that has conditions and it has rewards. And so I want us to look at what we can ascertain from the scriptures about those conditions.
And rewards.
So in this covenant, the Father, he will send the Son, and he will give the Son a people. And he's going to set the conditions for which the Son must meet as the incarnate man. So when Christ becomes man, takes on human flesh, what must he do?
Well the Son must, first he must assume human flesh and assume humanity, become a man, be very God, a very God, very man, a very man that we saw over the last couple of weeks. Not only that, he must keep the law perfectly and he must make atonement for sin.
And then the Father also promises that in giving these tasks to the Son, that he will assist him and he will protect him. So this is the Father's side of the covenant. For the Son, in this covenant, the Son will voluntarily submit himself to the terms of the covenant and his conditions.
It's important that Christ voluntarily does this and that he's going to keep the conditions. So the conditions are set by the Father and the Son will keep those conditions set by.
The Father.
So Jesus assumed human flesh, Jesus assumed humanity. Philippians 2 says it like this in verses 6 and 7, talking about Christ, who 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.
He took on human flesh. The other condition set by the Father is he was to perfectly keep the law. And so Galatians 4 tells us that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law.
Jesus perfectly kept it. Hebrews 4 .15, Jesus was in all points tempted as we are yet without sin. Jesus perfectly kept the law. And then, Jesus atoned for our sin. What was prophesied in Isaiah 53, that by his stripes we would be healed and we would have our iniquities forgiven.
Jesus did.
Romans 3 .25 tells us that God set forth Jesus as a propitiation by his blood, a satisfaction for the wrath of God by his blood. Hebrews 9 .26 tells us that Jesus put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Hebrews 10 .12 says that after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, that he sat down at the right hand of God. You see, Jesus made atonement for your sins. And he kept the condition set for him by the Father.
Or as Jesus says in the Gospel of John, he did the works that the Father gave him to.
Do.
And the greatest work that the Father gave him to do was to make atonement for your sins.
On the cross.
And to be raised from the dead. These works were done as the Father had appointed and ordained them to be done as prophet, priest,.
And king.
Jesus is the perfect and the true prophet and priest and king. And so what we see here is that in this covenant, the Son will voluntarily submit himself, he'll keep the conditions, and the third thing is that he will win his people and his kingdom.
He will win his people and his kingdom. The Father promised the Son of people from eternity, and by his life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, Christ has won his people and his kingdom. He has ransomed what Revelation 5 tells us.
He's ransomed the people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. This was the Son's work, and he did it. Covenant also involved the Holy Spirit. The Father had promised to protect and assist the Son, and so he sent the Spirit, who gave power to Jesus as a man, who ministered to Christ, and who strengthened him.
And the Spirit, who points to Christ, and exalts Christ, and lifts him up. So, these are the conditions that each person of the Trinity agreed to. What about the rewards? Well, the reward is that Christ is exalted.
The reward set before Christ. We read about it in Philippians 2, verses 8 -11. We see the covenant faithfulness of Jesus and the reward of the Father. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death of the cross.
Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those of earth, those under the earth.
And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God.
And so Jesus' covenant obedience to the point of death on the cross won him exaltation from the Father, the name that is above every name. Christ is exalted to the glory of God the Father. We also see that he's made head of the church.
We see that in Ephesians 1, Colossians 1. We see that he's made king of the world. We read about that prophecy in Daniel 7. We read about it in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 24 -26. We read about it in Psalm 72, where he shall have dominion over land and sea.
We see that Jesus is crowned with eternal glory. And he ushers in a new creation, redeemed and restored. So he has satisfaction in that. These are the rewards set before him. Hebrews 12, 2 says that for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising its shame.
And what was the joy? The rewards and the promise put before him by God the Father. And so now, having seen this before time began covenant between Father and Son, and considering the conditions of it, the rewards of it, how should we respond?
What does it mean for us? Well, the whole point of this series during Advent about knowing Christ is that your mind and your heart will be focused on Christ to know him better and to love him more. I want you to love Christ in light of this covenant.
Now, seeing that before the foundations of the world were laid, before the first tick of the clock ticked, before the first sunrise, before God ever said, let there be light, before that, Christ voluntarily, happily committed himself to you and your redemption.
Seeing that, how can you not love Christ more? That from the beginning, the eternal Son of God said, put it all on me, put it on my shoulders, I'll take care of it. I who made the stars will sleep beneath them.
I who made the galaxies as big as they are will become a tiny baby. That I who filled the oceans with their water will thirst in the desert. That I who gave the law to Moses will obey it. That I who made the trees will carry a cross on my back weighed down with the sins of the world.
That I who have enjoyed eternal fellowship of love with God the Father will suffer his wrath and be forsaken by him and be struck down and cast into a grave. That I, the author of life, will descend into Sheol, the realm of the dead.
And without coercion, but voluntarily, with love, Jesus kept his word in all of this.
He did it all.
And he committed to do it before time began. And knowing this was the plan, he still created all things, knowing the plan was for his suffering, for the lashes on his back, and the nails through his hands, and the crown of thorns on his brow, and for the blood to flow out of him and to take his last breath.
Knowing that was the plan, he still created all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. He still created it all because he committed to it with his Father.
And so the covenant of Christ should move us towards love for God, love for Christ who did this. It should also fill us with joy. The Father delighted in the Son, fulfilling the covenant. The refrain from the Father throughout the Gospels, booming from the heavens, is this, This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased.
And again, Hebrews 12, 2, that Jesus, for the joy set before him, endured the cross despising his shame. I've mentioned the book Knowing Christ by Mark Jones, kind of using that as a topical guide, this table of contents, and drawing from that book some.
In that book, Jones quotes the Puritan Thomas Goodwin, suggesting that there was, quote, Never such joy in heaven as upon this happy conclusion and agreement. The whole trinity rejoiced in it. End quote.
Referring to this agreement made before time began. And so if Christ's covenant fills the trinity with joy, it ought to fill us with joy too. And so we go back to Psalm 89, verses 1 and 2. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever.
With my mouth I will make known to your faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever. Your faithfulness you shall establish in the very heavens. The mercy of the Lord goes back to eternity past, established in the heavens.
And it should move us to song where we sing of the mercies of God. We sing of the faithfulness of God, the loving kindness of God. It's a joy in Christ. It wells up within us and it overflows in song.
This is called, which is glorified speech. Now usually when I make application from the Bible, what I want to do is give you something concrete to hold on to. Something practical and concrete, tangible in this world that you can do.
But today's application, just to be honest with you, is just a little bit more subjective than that. Even though I don't believe it's any less significant. The application is for you to love Christ and delight in Christ.
To love Christ and have joy in God. Now it's true that love for Christ is best expressed in obedience. Jesus told us, if you love me you'll obey me. And so that's still very much in view. But I also want to encourage you this morning to discipline your emotions to delight in Christ out of love for Christ.
To be joyful in God out of love for Christ. To be filled with joy because of the eternal, established in the heavens, mercy of Christ that is poured out on you by the Spirit of God. And I want you to sit there with that mercy, with that joy, and enjoy Christ.
Look, I know that might sound a bit touchy-feely to some of you. Particularly, depending on your makeup, it might make you feel just a little bit uncomfortable.
And I get that.
Here's the thing, I simply want you to be filled with happiness in God. I simply want you to be filled with happiness knowing that Christ is committed to you and has been since before time began. Before the foundations of the earth.
And that leads us to the last bit of application, that Christ's covenant should comfort us. I know that Christmas time, while often the most wonderful time of the year and the most joyful, can also be the hardest time for some of us.
It could be because of relationships that have been broken and life just hasn't quite turned out the way that you thought it would. Or because loved ones have died and maybe you face the first Christmas without them.
Or the 50th Christmas and it's still hard. Maybe it's because money is tight and you just can't do for others like you wished you could or used to could. Or maybe it's because you've been sinned against in some way and it's just hard to get in the Spirit this year.
You can fill in the blank with your own situation. I know of situations in this room. Christmas is hard this year. All of these things are the result of a fallen world. That sin has broken. But it is this precise world that Jesus agreed to redeem beforehand.
With all its sadnesses and with all its sorrows. You see the Father gave Christ works to do and He did them every last one. And He did them to redeem the world. To restore the world. To make all the sad things become untrue.
To wipe away every tear. And to make all things new. And so my encouragement to you this morning is to be comforted with the comfort of Christ. It doesn't minimize your hurt. It doesn't minimize your grief.
It doesn't minimize your pain. But it maximizes the comfort of Christ for you. It maximizes the mercies that are established in the heavens. And poured out on you by the Spirit. Be comforted with the comfort of Christ who has loved you with an everlasting love.
And has shown you mercy which is built up forever. And then lastly be comforted with assurance. Many Christians wrestle with doubts and fears about their salvation. They wonder am I good enough? That time when I said I believed in Christ was I sincere enough?
Did I pray the right prayer? Did I do the right thing? Do I really right now believe with my whole heart? You know the common word in all of those questions is I. If I ask you this morning I want you to know you have your focus in the wrong place.
Don't look at I.
But with your eyes.
Eyes of faith. Look to Christ. He is the author and perfecter of your faith. He is the author and perfecter of your faith. Jesus is the one who committed to your salvation before the foundation of the world.
Jesus was good enough. We wonder if we're good enough. Jesus was good enough. He was perfect actually. We wonder if we were sincere enough. Jesus was sincere enough.
He was pure and holy.
Jesus did the right things. He lived in your place. He died in your place. He resurrected so that you too could be raised to a new and everlasting life. Jesus did that.
We look to Christ.
Jesus through the Spirit gives you genuine faith in your heart. And so your salvation does not depend ultimately on you. It depends on Christ. So don't look at yourself. Look to Christ. And believe and trust in Christ.
Who agreed before time began to do that which is necessary for your salvation. And so trust Jesus. And rest assured. Your salvation depends on Him. And so the covenant of Christ secured the glory of Christ.
The recovery of sinners. The destruction of the wicked. The redemption of the world. And the hope of the life to come. Therefore let not your hearts be troubled. But be of good cheer.
And be of good comfort.
For Christ has saved the world. Let's pray together. Our Father in heaven. I pray that you would encourage us with the truth. That you're more committed to our salvation than we ever could be. And I pray that you would encourage us.
Knowing that before time began. You had a plan. To save the world including us. And I pray that it would move us to love. That we would love you with our hearts, minds, souls and strength. That you would motivate us to love our neighbor as ourselves.
I pray that we would be filled with deep joy. Not passing fleeting worldly happiness. But deep and abiding never changing joy. Even amidst the sorrows of life. The kind of joy that comforts us in sorrow and sadness.
And Lord I know there are those among us. That sorrow is made most acute at Christmas time. Will you be with them to comfort them. You are the God of all comfort and the Father of mercies. And Father I also pray.
If there are any here who are doubting salvation. You would comfort them with assurance. They would look to Christ. The author and perfecter of their faith. Knowing that he is enough. And lastly Father if there are any here.
Who do not know you.
They have never repented of their sins.
And trusted you.
I pray that they too would look to Christ. And be saved. They would look to Christ. And they would turn from their sins. They would look to Christ. And they would believe.
And they would trust.
That you would welcome them into the kingdom. And welcome them into the family. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus.
