JESUS and Salvation (Ps.118)

At first I was not going to write on these passages, but after taking a closer look, I saw that it contained so many references to Jesus.  Psalm 118 definitely has a theme of thankfulness for the LORD's salvation (both earthly salvation and eternal salvation)...

 (Psalm 118:15-18)  The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;  the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
16 The right hand of the Lord is exalted;  the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.
17 I will not die, but live, and tell of the works of the Lord.
18 The Lord has disciplined me severely, but He has not given me over to death.

I'm slightly amused how David is so bold to joyously tell of the works of the LORD - and includes his own experiences of being severely disciplined by the LORD.  But you know when a parent really loves you - that they care enough to discipline you when you need correction.

(Psalm 118:19-21)  Open to me the gates of righteousness;  I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord;  the righteous will enter through it.
21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation.

We need to realize that we are sinners, and when we HAVE committed sins - so we can then ask God to deal with them - so we can seek reconciliation with God.  And we are only able to do this because of Jesus' work on the cross.  That event happened after Jesus was rejected - Jesus was the "corner stone" that was rejected...

(Psalm 118:22-24)   The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing;  it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord has made;  let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Now, the verses above have double meaning.  They refer to Israel's king at that time, who fought the invading nations and God gave Israel the victory;  but it also refers to Jesus...

(Acts 4:10-12) "...let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

It is very clear in the scriptures that salvation is only possible in Jesus' name.  And continuing on with Psalm 118, David includes other references that apply to Jesus, such as "light" and "horns"  (remember the "horn of salvation" - taking hold of the horns on the altar was to seek refuge)...

 (Psalm 118:25-27)   O Lord, do save, we beseech You;  O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;  we have blessed you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God, and He has given us light;  bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

Another reference to Jesus is found in the underlined words above "Blessed is..."  The Jews proclaimed this when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to present Himself as their King.  Clearly, the people recognized Jesus as their King - as their Messiah.  They had connected the dots and this reference from king David...

(Matthew 21:8-9)  Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;  blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;  Hosanna in the highest!”

Because the people rejected Jesus soon after this, Jesus made this statement to them:  that He would not publicly teach them anymore until the Millennium, when they will say those words again and finally accept Him as their King...

(Matthew 23:37-39)  “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.  38 Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! 39 For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Of course, Jesus always knew that He would be rejected.  He knew He would die on the cross for our sins.  Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice... the perfect sacrifice... to establish salvation so we can have everlasting life.  The question is: are you going to reject or accept Jesus?

 (Psalm 118:28-29)   You are my God, and I give thanks to You;  You are my God, I extol You.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;  for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

JESUS, King and Priest (Ps.110)

Psalm 110 is a prophetic song.  David has insight into a conversation that God has with Jesus the Messiah.  David refers to the Messiah as "my Lord"...

 (Psalm 110:1)   The Lord says to my Lord:  “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

This explains to us that Jesus sits at God's right hand - until the battle of Armageddon - then...

 (Psalm 110:2)   The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
 

At the second coming, Jesus will come with His angels, as well as with the Christians who have been raptured before the Tribulation.  Jesus will win the battle...

(Psalm 110: 5-7)   The Lord is at Your right hand;  He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
6 He will judge among the nations,  He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside;  therefore He will lift up His head.

After the battle, Jesus will sit on the throne in Zion (Jerusalem) to first judge the nations, then rule over the people.  ONLY the people becoming believers in the Tribulation will enter the Millennium to enjoy a peaceful "kingdom of heaven" (on earth).  Although, those believers entering the Millennium from the Tribulation will have children.  Those born into the Millennium will be faced with the same decision all of us have - to believe in Jesus or not.  But while Jesus is on the throne for those thousand years, all people (whether believers or not) will be obedient (compliant)...

 (Psalm 110:3)   Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;  in holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.

Why will the people be obedient?  Well, they will have the perfect King on the throne, leading them with His mighty strength, His gracious love, His all-knowing justice and wisdom... And Jesus is not just our King, He is our Priest...

(Psalm 110:4)   The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Why "according to the order of Melchizedek"?  We know Jesus is the rightful King of Israel, because He was born into the lineage of king David;  but Jesus could not have been a Levitical priest because He was born of the tribe of Judah (not the tribe of Levi).  This is why Jesus is associated with another order of priests, like Melchizedek who was a man appointed directly by God to be a king-priest (Gen.14:18, Zech.6:12-13).  Melchizedek was also called "King of righteousness" and "King of peace" (Ps.7:2, Is.11:5-9).  And Jesus, being God, He is more than qualified!!!

(Hebrews 5:1-10)  For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God, in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins; 2 he can deal gently with the ignorant and misguided, since he himself also is beset with weakness; 3 and because of it he is obligated to offer sacrifices for sins, as for the people, so also for himself. 4 And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.

5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

“You are My Son, today I have begotten You”;

6 just as He says also in another passage,

“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

7 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.  9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

What will that mean for the people in the Millennium?  What does it mean for us NOW?...

(Hebrews 4:14-16)  Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

JESUS is Coming (Ps.98)

It is interesting that David speaks in the past tense of how the earth has seen the LORD's salvation, and the earth is and should be rejoicing...

 (Psalm 98:1-3)  O sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things, His right hand and His holy arm have gained the victory for Him.
2 The Lord has made known His salvation;  He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;  all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

The Israelites knew to expect their Messiah, but it's like David simply had faith that God was going to somehow use the Messiah to bless the nations - the world - which was also then a blessing to them in their day - which is actually very true.  There are a few verses in the New Testament like this one, which shows that this righteousness through salvation made possible by Jesus was retroactive...

(James 2:23)  and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.

As well, it's like David didn't even have to know HOW God was going to bring all this about, David just had faith and knew that God WOULD do it.  And even though David was king of Israel, David knew that the LORD was ultimately King!

4 (Psalm 98:4-6)  Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;  break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord

And David in full faith KNEW that the LORD - the King - would come to judge the world fairly and with righteousness...

 (Psalm 98:7-9)  Let the sea roar and [all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy
9 Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;  He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.

Even though not all the scriptures had been written yet, David knew that these things would happen - that Jesus would come to judge the world.  We now know that Jesus has already brought salvation via His work on the cross, but when He came to do that, it was not to judge the world...

(John 3:16-17)  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."

And from scripture verses such as Revelation 19:11-16, we know that Jesus is coming again - and then Jesus WILL judge the world - with righteousness.  Justice will be served.  The sinners will be punished.  But our joy should be expressed louder because when we put our faith in Jesus - He saves us from that punishment.  Hopefully this isn't something we keep to ourselves, but that we boldly tell others the good news...

 (Romans 3:21-26)  But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

JESUS and His Reign (Ps.97)

In Psalm 97, David goes right into another prophetic psalm about Jesus.  The first few verses give a basic description of the battle of Armageddon...

 (Psalm 97:1-6)  The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;  let the many islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;  righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lit up the world;  the earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory.

To back this up using scripture from the New Testament, because I've used Revelation 19:11-16 a few times, I'm now going to use...

(2 Thessalonians 2:8)  Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming...

Then Jesus will sit on the throne of "Zion" (in Jerusalem).  King David describes the various reactions...

(Ps.97:7-12) Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols;  worship Him, all you gods.
8 Zion heard this and was glad, and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of Your judgments, O Lord.
9 For You are the Lord Most High over all the earth;  You are exalted far above all gods.

Right at Jesus' Second Coming, Jesus will judge the nations and the believers will enter the Millennium with Him (as described in Matthew 25:31-46).

(Matthew 25:31-33)  "...But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left..."  

Jesus judges the people with a few examples.  The response from the sinners will be...

(Matthew 25:44-46)  "...Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Back to what David was writing in his psalm - what should our response be?

 (Ps.97:11-12)  Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of His godly ones;  He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11 Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart.
12 Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to His holy name.

This is not a works-based-salvation or faith!  Everything is based on what Jesus has done for us.  When we become Christians, we are (right then) sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14); so no matter what we do or don't do - we cannot lose our salvation!  We are saved by Jesus' work on the cross, and then the fruit that comes from us - is from God!  Not based on our own efforts, but from abiding in God!

(Galatians 5:22-25)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.