Lord's Day Sermon, Nov. 29, 2020: "Christmas Psalms of Expectation" (Part 1)

“The Christ Child Comes from the Line of David and He Is King”
Psalm 132:11-17; Matthew 1:1, 17 (cf. 2 Samuel 6-7)

Preaching Minister, Bart W. Newton
To view a simple worship service which includes the sermon from Psalm 132 followed by celebrating the Lord’s Supper, click on the following link: “The Christ Child Comes from the Line of David and He Is King”

• For many Christians, the four Lord’s Days preceding Christmas is known as Advent, is a time of expectation—time of expectation of the coming of Christmas when we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child, the long awaited arrival of the promised king of Israel as well as the whole world for that matter.
• But as Christians it is also a time of anticipation for another arrival of Christ and the consummation of His Kingdom in the new heaven and new earth, usually referred to as the Second Coming.
• Psalms helps us with both.
• Since we’ve been studying the Psalms together for several weeks now, it seems fitting to continue in them until Christmas.

Concerning the Messiah’s birth in the Psalms we find the following:
1. The Messiah will come from the lineage of David (Psalm 89:3–4, 29–36; 132:11–17; Matthew 1:1).
2. The Messiah will be called by God while still in the womb (Psalm 22:10; Luke 1:30–33).
3. The Messiah will know His Father from childhood (Psalm 22:9; Luke 2:40).
4. The Messiah will come for all people (Psalm 18:49; Ephesians 3:4–6).

Today, we consider the first one: The Messiah would come from the lineage of David (Psalm 89:3–4, 29–36; 132:11–17; Matthew 1:1).

• Psalm 132 is a royal or kingship psalm sometimes classified as a messianic psalm. Historical Background is 2 Samuel 6-7
• Possibly written late in Israel’s history after the Babylonian Exile.
• It celebrates the bringing of the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem and puts into poetry God’s covenant with David as recorded in 2 Samuel 7.
Two major parts
vv. 1-9: Prayer that recalls when David swore an oath to God.
vv. 10-16: The response to David’s prayer when God swore an oath to David.
vv. 17-18: Conclusion

• The first half is a prayer that requests That God remember all King David’s acts of devotion.
Vv. 1-5: A Call for God to remember His covenant with David.

A Song of Ascents.
132 1Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
all the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”


• David had endured great hardships in his conquering of Jerusalem and bringing into it the ark of the covenant.
• So there is the request that God remember His covenant promise with David

vv. 6-9: Expectation of the fulfillment of the promise.
6 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found it in the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us worship at his footstool!”

8 Arise, O Lord, and go to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your saints shout for joy.


Transition: v. 10: A prayer for God’s kingdom to come.

10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.


vv. 11-16: God swore an oath to David

11 The Lord swore to David a sure oath
from which he will not turn back:
“One of the sons of your body
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall sit on your throne.”

• vv. 11-12 is a brief paraphrase of 2 Samuel 7:12-16, but especially note 2 Samuel 7: 16: And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (ESV)

The fulfillment of these words of verses 11-12 is in Jesus Christ, the Son of David:

Matthew 1:1, 17: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham….17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. (ESV)

• Perhaps you recall when the angel Gabriel announced to Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the promised Messiah who would sit on David’s throne forever: Luke 1:31-33: 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (ESV)

• And then, after Jesus death, burial, resurrection, appearances and ascension to heaven to the right hand of the Father where He rules as King and Lord, Peter, baptized and empowered by the Holy Spirit preached on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:29-36: 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”


• Psalm 132 continues:

13 For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly bless her provisions;
I will satisfy her poor with bread.


• In the NT, we find in that letter to Jewish Christians who were tempted to turn back from following Jesus and commit apostasy, being encouraged by the writer to remain faithful to Jesus. One encouragement is found in…
Hebrews 12:22-24: 22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. (NLT)

• And back in Psalm 132:16, God said:
16 Her priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her saints will shout for joy.

• And followers of the King Jesus the promised Messiah are reminded of who we are in Him:
1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10: 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (ESV)

vv. 17-18: Conclusion

17 There I will make a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”

• “God’s word of promise contains the Christian hope in the majesty rule, and dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ who as David’s son will put down all of God’s enemies.” --–Willem a. VanGemeren, Psalms, ZNIVBC, V 2, p. 925

Revelation 19:11-16: 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. 14 The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (CSB)

• “The oath of David has been matched by the oath of Yahweh and the world has never been the same since. While pilgrims of the post exile looked forward to the ‘anointed one’ who would fulfill these promises, the Christian is able to look back to the death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation of the ‘anointed one,’ Jesus, who now reigns at God’s right hand and sits on David’s throne forever. God fulfills his promises.” Walter D. Zorn, Psalms, V. 2, p. 441

God is faithful. He keeps His promises!

• As followers of Jesus, Christians, we are to remember that at our confession of faith and baptism, we swore allegiance to King Jesus.

• Each day we must remember our homeland and primary citizenship:

Ephesians 2:6: For [God] raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. (NLT)

• In no uncertain terms, the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 3:20-21: 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. (ESV)

• My whole adult Christian life I have identified not as a member of any denomination but simply as a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. In fact, my primary identity is that of a child of God. It is the same for all followers of Jesus.
• And after studying Scripture, prayer, much thought, and reading, I’ve come to the conclusion that since I am a follower of Jesus who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose kingdom on earth is now but also not yet, and by grace I am a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, then I am to identify not as a Republican or a Democrat but as a Christian.
• Blessed as I am to be a citizen of the USA, I am even more blessed by the grace of God to be a citizen of heaven. Therefore, my heavenly citizenship takes precedence over my citizenship of this nation. In fact, Christianity is its own politic.
• The teachings of Jesus, His prophets, and His apostles are to guide how we think, speak, relate, act, vote, and love regardless of who we might upset whether they be Republican, Democrat, Independent, Socialist, Communist or even others who call themselves Christians.

• Paul Scalia, son of the late Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia and a Catholic priest at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church, VA, said last Sunday, “'There is a greater reality than the state, there's a greater reality than politics, and here we proclaim Christ as King.’" (https://justthenews.com/nation/religion/justice-scalias-son-catholic-priest-wary-kamala-harris-tech-giants-freedom-religion)

• This is why we pray what Jesus teaches us to pray:
Matthew 6:9-10: “Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (ESV)

• When we pray this prayer, we are not just praying for the time when King Jesus’ kingdom comes in its fullness at His return. We are praying that now, in the present, we will keep God’s name holy by living a kingdom lifestyle like it would be lived if we were in heaven.
• We have to pray for His power and the disciple of Christ to do it because to really live out God’s will now, it will be considered scandalous and like Jesus, will suffer for it.

• So we gather each week and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, King Jesus, and one another, and remember our covenant relationship with God the Father through faith in Jesus.
• The Father promised that when we receive the resurrected Jesus and give Him our loyalty, He forgives us of our sins, makes us right with Him unites and clothes us with His Son, makes us His children, and gives us His Spirit, and begins transforming us into the image of His Son.
• But at communion, we not only rejoice and celebrate the gift of life in Christ Jesus and our new identity made possible by the obedience of Jesus in His death to pay for our sins, we are once again saying that we will continue to be loyal to King Jesus as citizens of His kingdom.

• Prayer

The Lord’s Supper

Luke 22: 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

• The body of Christ given for us.

20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

• The blood of Christ poured out for us.

At this time of reflection and celebration, pray for yourself and your brothers and sisters in Christ to be faithful in keeping the New Covenant.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
King Jesus has died. King Jesus has risen. And King Jesus will come again.

Invitation:

 During the message I quotes from a passage in Acts 2, ending at verse 36. I’d like to pick up from there:

·        Acts 2:36-38: 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (ESV)