2451. “Blessed In Him”

No. 2451-42:61. A Sermon Delivered On Lord’s Day Evening, February 7, 1886, By C. H. Spurgeon, At The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.

A Sermon Intended For Reading On Lord’s Day, February 9, 1896.

Men shall be blessed in him. {Ps 72:17}

 For other sermons on this text:
   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 27, “External Name, The” 27}
   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2187, “Jesus — All Blessing and All Blest” 2188}
   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2451, “Blessed in Him” 2452}
   Exposition on Ps 72 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2451, “Blessed in Him” 2452 @@ "Exposition"}
   Exposition on Ps 72 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3284, “Sequel to Divine Sovereignty, The” 3286 @@ "Exposition"}

1. I wish that I could speak at my very best concerning the glorious HIM who is mentioned in the text; but I have hardly gotten into full working order after my season of rest. One’s voice becomes rusty, like an unused key, and one does not at first feel quite at ease in speaking after a time of comparative tranquillity. Do not, however, think that my subject is a poor one; if there are defects in my discourse, remember that it will only be the speaker who is poverty-stricken, not the great King and Lord of whom he is speaking. “Men shall be blessed in him.” Oh sirs, if one had the tongues of men and of angels, and if one could only for once use that speech which it is not lawful for a man to utter, — those words which Paul tells us that he heard when he was caught up to the third heaven, — if we could even speak as never man yet spoke, we could not fully describe all the glories of him of whom this text speaks.

2. David’s thoughts, doubtless, rested in part on Solomon when he said, “Men shall be blessed in him”; and our Lord himself spoke of Solomon in all his glory; but what poor stuff is human glory at the very highest! The “Him” mentioned in the text, the higher and the greater Solomon who is truly meant in these words, has a real glory, — not of earthly pomp and fading tinsel, nor of gold and pearls and precious stones, but the more excellent glory of character and the true beauty of holiness. In him all divine excellencies are blended. I cannot hope to describe him as he deserves, I cannot tell you all his virtues and his glories; but, oh! he is very dear to many of us. His name is inscribed on the fleshy tablets of our hearts, and when we lie on our last bed, and all other things shall be forgotten in the decline of nature, we shall still remember that dear name which is above every name, the contemplation of our Saviour’s blessed person shall then absorb every faculty of our being. “Men shall be blessed in him,” the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Son of man, the Saviour, the Redeemer, the God over all blessed for ever, who is also bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

3. Since I should fail altogether to speak of him as he deserves, I will not attempt the impossible task; but will try to speak of men being blessed in him. That is a note a little lower; if we cannot reach the highest octave, we may attain to a lower one; yet, while we speak of the blessing that comes from him, let us still think of him from whom the blessing comes, and let us remember that, since all blessings come from him, it is because all blessings are laid up in him; because every conceivable good is stored up in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, “and from his fulness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

4. I. My first remark concerning the text is, that it makes mention of AN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION: “Men shall be blessed in him.”

5. It is an exceptional condition to be blessed, for, by nature, men are not blessed. We are born under a curse. Our first father turned aside the blessing when he disobeyed God’s command, and in the early dawn of the day of our race, he darkened our sky once and for all. The curse still remains on man, that in the sweat of his brow he shall eat bread, and on woman, that in sorrow she shall give birth to children. How much woe lies in the curse that falls on us as a result of our own personal sin! “Who slew all these” — these comforts and joys of life? Often, they have been killed by a man’s own hands, through his own sin, or through the sins of those who surround him. The trail of the old serpent is everywhere. You cannot open your eyes without discovering that man is not blessed, but often remains under the curse. Put that truth down before you, and then read the text, “Men shall be blessed in him.” Apart from him, they are accursed; they wring their hands, and wish they had never been born, and some sigh and sorrow almost without ceasing. Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward, and it is an exceptional thing that any man should be blessed, so exceptional, that no man ever is blessed until he comes to be connected with the Lord Jesus Christ: “Men shall be blessed in him.”

6. Many people, who forget all about the curse, nevertheless acknowledge that they are unhappy. Go up and down among the whole race of men, and how few you will find who are really happy! I believe that none are truly happy until they are in Christ; but even if they were happy, that is not the word that is used in our text. It does not say, “Men shall be happy in him.” It gives us a fuller, deeper, richer word than that: “Men shall be blessed in him.” To be more happy, may be a thing of time and of this world only; I do not mean that the happiness may not be true and real, but still, compared with all that the word “blessed” implies, the word “happy” has no eternity, no depth, no fulness, no force in it. So that, even if men were happy, they would not come up to the fulness of the promise in our text. But, alas! the majority of men are unhappy — sighing for this, and mourning for that, never blessed, but only hoping to be so. The text, therefore, comes in with its sweet silvery ring, telling that men shall cease to be unhappy, and that they shall rise even above merely being happy, and they shall come to be “blessed in him.”

7. I regret to say that there is a third class of people who, when they rise above the curse, and are not absolutely unhappy, yet nevertheless are in a state of doubt and hesitation. We could not positively say that they are cursed, for we hope that some part of the blessing has fallen on them; we may not call them unhappy, yet we know that they are not eminently happy. They hope that they are saved, or they trust that they shall be safe at the last; but they are not sure that the blessings of salvation are theirs already. Our text does not say that, in Christ, this condition of luminous haze, if I may so call it, — this condition of doubt and uncertainty is all that is to be attained. No, but it says, “Men shall be blessed in him”; and no man can call himself truly blessed until he knows that he is blessed, until he is sure of it, until he has passed the period of dubious questioning, until he has come out of the miry and boggy country of hesitation and doubt, and stands on the firm ground of full assurance, so that he can say, “I am God’s child; the Father’s love is fixed on me; I have a part and portion in the covenant of grace; I am saved.”

8. Now it is to that blessed condition that the text directs our thoughts; it promises that men shall be delivered from the curse, that they shall be raised from their natural unhappiness, that they shall be rescued from their doubtful or their hopeful questioning, and shall even come to be blessed. God shall pronounce them blessed. He shall set on them the broad seal of divine approbation, and call them blessed; and with that seal there shall come streaming into their hearts the sweetness of intense delight, which shall give them a blessing to their own conscious enjoyment.

9. Let me tell you what Christ does for a man who is really in him, and then you will see how he is blessed.

10. The man who comes to Christ by faith, and truly trusts Christ, has all the past rectified. All his sins, whatever they may have been, are pardoned in a moment as soon as he believes in Jesus Christ the Son of God. His iniquities are blotted out, and are as if they had never been committed. Just as the cloud passes away, and is no more to be seen, so the thick clouds of our sins are dispersed by Christ as soon as we believe in him. Nor will they ever return to darken our sky. The forgiveness which God gives is not temporary, but eternal. Once pardoned, you are pardoned for ever; the act of divine amnesty and oblivion stands firm for ever and ever. Is not that man truly blessed, then, who is made free from sin? David says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” This is the blessedness which Christ gives to those who are in him, that, as for the past, in its entirety, with all its blackness, with all its aggravated sin, he has taken it on himself, and borne the penalty due on account of it, and he makes a clean sweep of it, and says of the man who trusts in him, “Your sins, which are many, are all forgiven you; go in peace.” That is one part of the blessedness of those who are in Christ, the past is all forgiven.

11. At the same time, the man who is in Christ receives present favour. As soon as we truly believe in Jesus, there steals over our heart a delightful sense of rest, according to his gracious invitation and promise, “Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And as we go on to serve the Lord, and take his yoke on us, and learn from him, we find rest for our souls, for his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I believe that, often, a child of God, when he understands his union to Christ, feels so blessed that he does not know of anything that could make him more blessed than he is. He says, “I am perfectly satisfied with my Lord, and with what I am in him. With myself, I am always dissatisfied, and always groaning because I cannot entirely conquer sin; but with my Saviour I am always satisfied, I am triumphant in him, and rejoicing in him, indeed, blessed in him.” Some of you know what a blessed thing it is to be a child of God, and an heir of heaven, how blessed it is to have the throne of grace where you can take your troubles, and to have a Helper who is strong enough to deliver you. I spoke, the other day, with a Christian friend, and I said to him, “My life sometimes seems to be like that of a man walking on a tight rope. The walk of faith is very mysterious; one false step, or one slip and where should we be?” My friend replied, “Yes, it is so, no doubt; but then, underneath are the everlasting arms.” Ah! that is a blessed addition to the picture; there is no slipping off the rope on which God calls us to walk; but if there were, underneath are the everlasting arms, and all is well; and the Christian, when he knows that, and lives as one should live who is in Christ, is even now a truly blessed man.

12. But that is not all, for he who believes in Christ has his future guaranteed. He does not know how long he shall live, and he does not want to know, for his Father knows. God knows all that you and I may wish to know; and since he knows it, it is better than our knowing it. Whether our life is long or short, he will be with us to the end, and as our days our strength shall be. He will sanctify to us every trial we meet, and nothing shall by any means harm us. He will bring us safely to our journey’s end, and we shall go through the cold death-stream without a fear; we shall rise triumphant on the shore of the hill country on the other side, and we shall behold our Saviour’s face without a veil between for ever and for ever. All this is an absolute certainty if we are the children of God, for it is not possible that one of the divine family should perish, that one bought with the blood of Christ should ever be cast away. He will keep his own, and preserve them even to the end. Are they not blessed, then, and is not the text full of sweetness concerning this exceptional condition, “Men shall be blessed in him?”

13. Where are you, you blessed men and women? Where are you? Come and enjoy your blessedness; do not be ashamed to be happy. I do believe that some Christians are a little frightened at themselves when they find that they are full of joy; and if, perchance, they should ever break through the rules of decorum, and express their joy, then they blush. It was not like this with the saints of old, for sometimes they spoke and sang so loudly of the joy of their hearts that even their adversaries said, “The Lord has done great things for them,” and they replied, “The Lord has done great things for us; of which we are glad,” and again they lifted up their hallelujahs. Then their mouths were filled with laughter, and their tongues with singing. So let it be with you, for you are indeed a blessed people if you are in Christ.

14. II. Having dwelt with this exceptional condition, I now give you another key-word. The text says, “Men shall be blessed in him.” This is A WIDE STATEMENT.

15. Often, the greatest truths lie in the shortest sentences. There is a great mass of truth within the compass of these few words: “Men shall be blessed in him.” There are only six words here, but to make the wide statement true requires breadth of number. You could not well say, “Men shall be blessed in him,” if those to be blessed were only a very few. It is not possible that the election of grace should consist of a few scores of people making up a specially favoured denomination; otherwise the psalmist would not speak so broadly, “Men shall be blessed in him.” The Holy Spirit is not given to exaggeration, and he would have put it, “A few men will be blessed in him.” But here there is nothing of the kind; it is “Men shall be blessed in him,” meaning the great mass of the human race, vast multitudes of the sons of Adam. I believe that, when this age comes to an end, notwithstanding all the dreary centuries that have passed, Christ shall have the preeminence as for numbers as well as in every other respect, and that the multitudes who shall be saved by him shall far transcend those who have rejected his mercy. The text says, “Men shall be blessed in him,” that is to say, most men, innumerable myriads of men shall get the blessing that Jesus purchased by his death on the cross.

16. But when the text says, “Men shall be blessed in him,” it implies great width of variety. “Men” — not merely kings or noblemen, but “Men shall be blessed in him.” Men, — not working men, or thinking men, or fighting men, or this kind of men, or the other kind of men, but men of all kinds, — “ Men shall be blessed in him.” It is a delightful thought that Christ is as much suited to one rank and one class of people as to another.

    While grace is offered to the prince,
       The poor may take their share;
    No mortal has a just pretence,
       To perish in despair.

17. Christ is the Christ of the multitude. His Father says of him, “I have exalted One chosen out of the people”; but he is equally the Christ of the most refined and eclectic. He comes with equal grace to those who stand in the highest or the lowest earthly position. “Men shall be blessed in him.” Of course, the word “men” includes women and children, it means the human race. “Men shall be blessed in him.” Do not, therefore, let anyone say, “I am a strange, odd person”; for the text puts in this little-big word, “men,” which takes you in, whoever you may be. If you come to Christ, you are included in this promise, “Men shall be blessed in him.” So that there is a width of variety implied here.

18. Our text also indicates length of period:“ Men shall be blessed in him.” Men have been blessed in him; these many centuries, Christ has shone with all the radiance of omnipotent love on this poor fallen world, but his light is as bright as ever; and, however long this age shall last, “Men shall be blessed in him.” Though some of those men are, perhaps, grey with years and decrepit through age, yet still the promise stands, “Men shall be blessed in him”; and while that verse has the word “shall” in it, why should not the greyest head receive the divine blessing? Why should not a man who is on the borders of the grave still lay hold of this blessed text, and say, “I will trust him in whom men shall be blessed?”

19. Further, the text suggests fulness of sufficiency concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a wonderful depth of meaning in this passage when it says, “Men shall be blessed in him.” “Oh!” one says, “Men shall he blessed by philosophy, or by Christ and philosophy.” Not at all; it is, “Men shall be blessed in him.” “But they shall be blessed in him through trade and commerce and the like.” Not so; “Men shall be blessed in him.” Have not we, who are half a century old, heard a great number of theories about how the millennium is to be brought about? I remember that, at one time, free trade was to bring it, but it did not; and nothing will ever make men blessed unless they get into Christ: “Men shall be blessed in him.” The quacks are extolling this remedy and that, nostrums old and new; but there is only one true Physician of souls. It is the Christ of God who alone has the balm that will cure the disease of sin. When he is received, the world shall be blessed; but as long as he is rejected, the curse will still remain on the sons of men. “Men shall be blessed in him.” Oh, that our fellow men would receive him! Oh, that they would bow down before the Crucified, and acknowledge him as their Lord and Saviour! Oh, that all would look up to his wounds, still visible in his glory, and put their trust in him! Then should come that glorious time when wars shall cease to the ends of the earth, and every evil shall be put away. His unsuffering kingdom must yet come. Oh, that it might come speedily! But it can only come through himself, not by any other means. “Men shall be blessed in him,” and anything short of trusting in him will end in eternal failure.

20. You have noted, dear friends, these two things, the exceptional condition, and the wide statement.

21. III. Now I want to dwell for a minute or two, for the exaltation of our Lord, on THE FULL ASSURANCE which is expressed in this text: “Men shall be blessed in him.”

22. The prophet speaks here, my brethren, in a very positive manner; there is no quiver in his voice, there is no hesitancy about his speech. I am afraid that, at the present moment, there are some even of godly men who tremble for the ark of the Lord; and the hand of Uzzah is visible here and there. But the ark of the covenant of the Lord needs no steadying hand from you or from me; the cause of God is always safe in his own keeping. The cause of truth is always secure, for God preserves it. Let us not be afraid, neither let us be discouraged. It is a grand thing to get a sentence like this with a “shall” in it: “Men shall be blessed in him.” “It is not,” “perhaps they may be,” but “Men shall be blessed in him.” Not, “perhaps they may be blessed under certain conditions”; but, “Men shall be blessed in him.”

23. This means, in the first place, they shall not try him and fail. There never was a man, who came to Christ, who failed to get a blessing from him. There never was one who believed in Jesus, and yielded himself up to the gracious sway of the Prince of Love, who did not get a blessing from him. I have never met a Christian yet who, in life or in death, has said, “I have been disappointed in Christ. He has deceived me. I sought and hoped for blessedness, but I have missed it.” This can never be truly said. “Men shall be blessed in him.” If they do really come to him, they shall not miss this blessedness.

24. Indeed, I go further, and say that they shall not desire him, and be denied. There was never a soul that desired to be blessed in Christ, and was willing to yield itself up to Christ, that Christ ever did reject. There is no one in hell who can truthfully say, “I came to Jesus, and he spurned me”; and there never shall be anyone, for it is written, “Whoever comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” The foot that was nailed to the cross never spurned a sinner yet. The hand that was pierced never pushed a penitent away. Christ is all invitation, there is no rejection about him, he constantly invites sinners to come to him, and this text is true for you, whoever you may be, “Men shall be blessed in him.”

25. I am glad to go as far as that, and to say that no one who ever came to Christ failed to get a blessing from him, and that no one who desires to come to him has ever been denied by him; but I am going still further. “Men shall be blessed in him,” that is to say, they shall come to Christ, and get the blessing. Some, alas! will not come to him; but, oh sirs, if any of you refuse to come, do not make any mistake about the matter! You think that, by refusing his invitation, you will thwart Christ, and defeat the purposes of God; by no manner of means. The King’s wedding feast shall be furnished with guests; and if you who are invited will not come, there are others who will; he will send his servants out into the highways and hedges, to compel others to come in, so that his house may be filled. Do not imagine that the result of the death of Christ depends on you, and that it is in your power to prevent the accomplishment of the almighty purposes of the Saviour’s love. No, no; “He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” If you do not believe, I must say to you what Christ said to the Jews, “You do not believe, because you are not his sheep.” His sheep hear his voice, and he knows them, and they follow him, and he gives to them eternal life, and they shall never perish. “All whom the Father gives me,” he says, “shall come to me.” Not one of those whom God has given to his Son shall be left to perish; they shall all come to him, and so the text shall be fulfilled, “Men shall be blessed in him.” Do not imagine that when Jesus hung there on that bloody tree, and groaned away his life for men, he was dying for no purpose. There was behind him the eternal purpose and the covenant that cannot be changed, and the invincible One who, without violating the will of men, can yet achieve the will of God, making men willing in the day of his power, turning them from darkness to light, and from the power of sin and Satan to God.

26. Be of good courage, my brethren; the results of redemption are not left in jeopardy. Those results which God has purposed will, to the last jot and tittle, be fulfilled. “Men shall be blessed in him.” It is not a question for me whether Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God; she shall do it, though I may not live to see it. It is not a question for me whether the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; they must become his. Let us work in this confidence, and believe every promise in this blessed book. If we get downhearted and full of fear, we are unworthy of our Lord. If we served a temporal prince with limited power, we might talk with bated breath; but the banner that gleams on high, above our ranks, is the banner of the Lord God omnipotent, and the shout that shall be heard at the last, is this: “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigns.” I ask you, — Is it not very natural that he should reign? If he really is omnipotent, are not all the certainties as well as the probabilities, in favour of his universal dominion? Must he not reign? Yes, says the Spirit, “He shall reign for ever and ever.” “Men shall be blessed in him.” There is the tone of full assurance about this blessed prophecy; therefore, let us rejoice and praise the name of the Lord.

27. IV. Now, lastly, I want you with all your hearts to think of my text with A PERSONAL APPROPRIATION: “Men shall be blessed in him.”

28. Dear hearers, are you blessed in Christ? Will you personally answer the question? Do not pass it around, and say to yourself, “No doubt there are many who think that they are blessed, and who are not.” Never mind about them; for the present moment, ask this question about yourself, “Am I blessed in Christ?” Some people think that they have Christ as their Saviour, but their religion brings them no blessedness. They go to church or to chapel very regularly; they are, apparently, a good kind of people; but a part of their religion consists in being on the whole as comfortably miserable as they can be. As for anything like blessedness, that does not enter into their minds. Now, if my religion did not make me really happy, I should seriously question whether I was a possessor of the religion of the happy God, for “Men shall be blessed in him.”

29. “Oh!” one says, “but we have so many trials and troubles.” Ah, that we have! Do you know a man or woman who does not get any? I should like you to mark all the doors in London where people live who do not have any trouble; it will not cost you much for chalk. There is no one without trouble. If a man could be without trouble, he would be without a blessing, for in this world one of the rarest blessings, one of the richest, best blessings that God ever sends to his children, is adversity. He sends more blessings on the black horse than he ever sends on the grey one; it is the messenger of sorrow who often brings the choicest jewels to our door. Ah! there is many a woman who has not left her bed these dozen years, or had a fair night of rest all that long time, who is truly blessed. There is many a man who is as poor as poverty can make him, shivering in the cold tonight, and scarcely knowing where to find another bit of coal to keep his little fire burning; yet he is blessed. If it were necessary, I could get some of you to stand up, and testify that, though you have very little of this world’s joys, and very little of temporal goods, yet you can say, “Yes, I am blessed, I am blessed indeed, —

    ‘I would not change my best estate,
       For all that earth calls good or great;
    And while my faith can keep her hold
       I envy not the sinner’s gold.’ ”

30. Well, you have that blessedness, then, enjoy it. What would you think of a man who went thirsty when he had a well in his backyard? What would you think of a person who always went around poverty-stricken, though he had millions in the bank? Think of Mr. Vanderbilt {a} standing in the street, and asking passers-by for a halfpenny. Yet I have seen children of God act like that in spiritual things. A little boy came up to me in an Italian town, and asked me to give him a soldo, he meant a halfpenny. He was quite a moneyed man, for he had a farthing in his pocket! He took it out, and showed it to me, and he seemed delighted with it; but then he said that it was the only one he had in the world. You might think, from the way some people act, that they had about a farthing’s worth of faith; but that is all they have. Is it not so? Oh you who have Christ and God, this world and worlds to come, and whom God has pronounced blessed, — what! are you going to live the starveling life of the unblessed and the unsaved? Please, do not do so. Gentlemen, live according to your quality! Peers of the upper house, for you are such if you are born again, I beseech you, act in accordance with your true nobility. Has not Christ made you princes and kings, and has he not said that you shall reign with him for ever and ever? Look up then; lift up your heads, and say, “Yes, he has blessed me, and I am blessed indeed. My poor spirit dances for joy because of him.

    ‘My heart it doth leap at the sound of his name.’ ”

31. “But,” one says, “I have never enjoyed that.” My dear friend, if you can believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you may enjoy it. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, is to trust yourself with him just as you are, to cast your guilty soul on him. Oh, that you would do it! That one act will mark your passing from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. That one act will be the means of your coming into the glorious liberty of the children of God, and your life shall be totally changed from this time on so that you shall rejoice in God by Jesus Christ our Lord. “Men shall be blessed in him.” Are you to be one of those men? May God grant that you may be!

32. May the Lord add his blessing, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

 {See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Spirit of the Psalms — Psalm 72” 72 @@ "(Song 1)"}
 {See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Jesus Christ, His Praise — Infinitely Excellent” 436}
 {See Spurgeon_Hymnal “Jesus Christ, His Praise — I Will Sing To My Beloved” 438}

{a} The Vanderbilt family is an American family of Dutch origin that was prominent during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthropy. See Explorer "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanderbilt_family"

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Ps 72}

This is a Psalm which relates to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, not as the Man of sorrows, but as the King of glory; — not as David, struggling to secure the throne; but as Solomon, seated on it, and reigning in peace.

1. Give the king your judgments, oh God, and your righteousness to the king’s son.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is both a King and the Son of a King. He is King of kings, and therefore our Sovereign by his own native right; but he is also our sovereign Prince as the Son of God. Oh, that the Lord would visibly give into his hands power over all the people of the earth! “Give the king your judgments, oh God, and your righteousness to the king’s son.”

2. He shall judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with judgment.

It is the particular characteristic of the reigning Christ that he has his eye chiefly on the poor. Most princes rule in the interest of the great ones around them, but our King rules for the good of the poor of his people.

3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness.

The reign of Christ is the reign of righteousness, the rule of true uprightness; and consequently it is the reign of peace, and love, and joy. Oh, that his gentle rule were acknowledged by all the kings of this world!

4. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

This is the King we want to reign over us. Oh, that the day were come for him to take the crowns from all other heads, and to wear them on his own, and to take all sceptres from other hands, and gather sheaves of them beneath his arms, and himself to be universally proclaimed “King of kings, and Lord of lords!” Then the world’s loud hallelujahs would rise as with the sound of mighty thunderings. Oh God, how long shall it be before this glorious King assumes the power that is his by right?

5. They shall fear you as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.

All other kings and princes and rulers pass away; only our King has an everlasting kingdom. Where are the dynasties that have ruled over vast empires? They have passed almost out of memory, but the promise to our King still endures: “They shall fear you as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations.”

6. He shall come down like rain on the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.

The reign of Christ even now is to the poor dispirited sons of men like rain on the mown grass, and when he shall come in his glory as he will shortly come, his coming shall be as blessed to this world as the gentle showers are to the grass that is newly mown.

7, 8. In his days the righteous shall flourish; and abundance of peace as long as the moon endures. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

This is God’s decree. As surely as he has set his King on his holy hill of Zion, so surely will he make him to “have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.” Therefore, I expect greater glory for the cross of Christ than any that the world has seen so far. The crescent shall wane, and fade away in eternal night, but the light of the cross of Christ shall burn brighter and brighter to endless day.

9, 10. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:

Commerce with all its wealth shall yet lend its homage to the Saviour; and every ship that crosses the sea shall yet bear its cargo of praise to his glorious name.

10. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

Their barbaric splendour shall find a higher glory in being consecrated to the King of kings.

11. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.

That is what we look for as the true recognition of religion. The true recognition of religion in a State is not the setting up of some favoured sect to be indulged above the rest, there is something better than that reserved for the Christ of God. He must have the first place all over the world: “All kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.”

12. For he shall deliver the needy when he cries; the poor also, and him who has no helper.

Again I remind you that this is the distinguishing mark of the Christ of God, that he has a special eye for the poor and needy.

13-15. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and their blood shall be precious in his sight. And he shall live,

With all our hearts we cry, “Long live the King!” And our King shall live for ever; to him alone of all kings may it be truly said, “Oh King, live for ever!” “He shall live,” —

15. And to him shall be given the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and he shall be praised daily.

One of the marks of sovereignty is the king’s visage on the coinage of the realm, and the use of his name in public prayer; and Christ claims this homage from all his followers: “Prayer also shall be made for him continually; and he shall be praised daily.”

16. There shall be a handful of grain in the earth on the top of the mountains; its fruit shall shake like Lebanon: and those of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.

The cause of Christ in the earth may be so reduced as to be only comparable to a handful of grain, and that handful of grain may be, as it were, sown on the bleak mountain side; yet it shall grow and increase until it fills the whole earth. His kingdom is without end.

17-19. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever; and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

Is not that double Amen the very mark of the Christ? Often when he preached, he began his sermons with “Amen, Amen”; that is, “Truly, truly, I say to you.” He is God’s great “Amen, the faithful and true Witness.”

But interpreting the word in the other sense, do not you and I most heartily say, “Amen,” and again “Amen,” to this royal prayer? “Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.”

20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

This is the end of the second great division of the Book of the Psalms; it is therefore most appropriately closed with this verse: “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.” But I think that David, when he had reached this point, felt that he could not ask for anything more than he had already requested in this great petition. If the whole earth should be full of the glory of God, the psalmist would then have gained the utmost that he could desire. Is it not so with us also? If the name and the glory of Christ only covered the whole earth, what more could we wish for? What more could we ask from God? Until that blessed consummation is reached, let us keep on praying, “Let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen and Amen.”

 The Sword and the Trowel
 Table of Contents, February, 1896.
 An Extempore Sermon by C. H. Spurgeon, delivered on Lord’s-day Evening, January 31st, 1869, just 23 years before his own home-going.
 Mrs. C. H. Spurgeon’s Work-room. — (1) The room itself. (2) Bishop Ryle and Mr. Spurgeon’s Sermons. (3) A letter answered. (4) “Personal Notes” on a Text. By S. S.
 Our Alma Mater. Reminiscences of the Pastors’ College. By J. W. H. and J. D. Gilmore.
 Cruising in the Gulf of Finland. A Hint to Yachtsmen. (With 3 Illustrations.)
 Be a Light, and Be Alight. By Charles Spurgeon. (Illustrated.)
 Startling Advice. By John Burnham.
 “Our Own Men” and their Work. XXVI. Pastor John Kemp, Southsea. By Pastor Charles Joseph. (With Portrait.)
 “The Time is Short.” An Address by Pastor Thomas Spurgeon at the Watch-night Service at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, December 31st, 1895.
 “Those Charming Bells.” Poetry, by E. A. Tydeman. (Illustrated.)
 Pastors’ College Missionary Association. (Illustrated.)
 A Tabernacle Veteran — Joseph Fryer. (With Portrait.)
 Christmas and the New Year at the Orphanage. By V. J. C.
 Notices of Books.
 Notes. (Presentation Plate of the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Report of the Tabernacle Special Services. Death of Mr. Obadiah Spurgeon. Annual Report of the Religious Tract and Book Society of Scotland. College. C. H. Spurgeon’s Evangelists. Colportage. Baptisms at Metropolitan Tabernacle.)
 Lists of Contributions.
 60 pages. Price, 3d.; or, post free, 4d. Annual Subscription, 4s.
 London: Passmore and Alabaster, Paternoster Buildings; and all Booksellers.

Spirit of the Psalms
Psalm 72 (Song 1)
1 Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
   Does his successive journeys run;
   His kingdom stretch form shore to shore,
   Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
2 For him shall endless prayer be made,
   And praises throng to crown his head;
   His name like sweet perfume shall rise
   With every morning sacrifice.
3 People and realms of every tongue
   Dwell on his love with sweetest song,
   And infant voices shall proclaim
   Their early blessings on his name.
4 Blessings abound where’er he reigns;
   The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
   The weary find eternal rest;
   And all the sons of want are bless’d
5 Where he displays his healing power,
   Death and the curse are known no more;
   In him the tribes of Adam boast
   More blessings than their father lost.
6 Let every creature rise and bring
   Peculiar honours to our King;
   Angels descend with songs again,
   And earth repeat the loud AMEN.
                        Isaac Watts

Psalm 72 (Song 2) <7s.>
1 Hasten, Lord, the glorious time,
   When, beneath Messiah’s sway,
   Every nation, every clime,
   Shall the gospel’s call obey.
2 Then shall wars and tumults cease,
   Then be banish’d grief and pain;
   Righteousness, and joy, and peace,
   Undisturb’d shall ever reign.
3 As when soft and gentle showers
   Fall upon the thirsty plain,
   Springing grass and blooming flowers
   Clothe the wilderness again;
4 So thy Spirit shall descend,
   Soft’ning every stony heart,
   And his sweetest influence lend,
   All that’s lovely to impart.
5 Time shall sun and moon obscure,
   Seas be dried, and rocks be riven,
   But his reign shall still endure,
   Endless as the days of heaven.
6 Bless we, then, our gracious Lord,
   Ever praise his glorious name;
   All his mighty acts record,
   All his wondrous love proclaim.
                     Harriett Auber, 1829.

Jesus Christ, His Praise
436 — Infinitely Excellent
1 Infinite excellence is thine,
      Thou lovely Prince of Grace!
   Thy uncreated beauties shine
      With never fading rays.
2 Sinners from earth’s remotest end,
      Come bending at thy feet:
   To thee their prayers and vows ascend,
      In thee their wishes meet.
3 Thy name, as precious ointment shed,
      Delights the church around;
   Sweetly the sacred odours spread,
      Through all Immanuel’s ground.
4 Millions of happy spirits live
      On thy exhaustless store;
   From thee they all their bliss receive,
      And still thou givest more.
5 Thou art their triumph and their joy:
      They find their all in thee;
   Thy glories will their tongues employ
      Through all eternity.
                           John Fawcett, 1782.

Jesus Christ, His Praise
438 — I Will Sing To My Beloved <8.8.6.>
1 Oh, could I speak the matchless worth,
   Oh, could I sound the glories forth
      Which in my Saviour shine!
   I’d soar and touch the heavenly strings,
   And vie with Gabriel while he sings
      In notes almost divine.
2 I’d sing the precious blood he spilt,
   My ransom from the dreadful guilt
      Of sin, and wrath divine;
   I’d sing his glorious righteousness,
   In which all perfect, heavenly dress
      My soul shall ever shine.
3 I’d sing the character he bears,
   And all the forms of love he wears,
      Exalted on his throne;
   In loftiest songs of sweetest praise,
   I would to everlasting days
      Make all his glories known.
4 Well, the delightful day will come
   When my dear Lord will bring me home,
      And I shall see his face;
   Then with my Saviour, Brother, Friend,
   A blest eternity I’ll spend,
      Triumph in his grace.
                     Samuel Medley, 1789.