Series: Psalms
Title: The Vow Shall
be Performed
Text: Psalm 65: 1-4
Date: May 28,2020
Place: SGBC, NJ
Psalm 65: 1: « To
the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. » Praise waiteth for
thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
Sion is the church of
God (Heb 12:22, Re 14:1). Speaking to
believers, God says,
Hebrews 12: 22: But ye [speaking to believers] Ye are come unto mount
Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem….
Praise waits for God in Sion. The word “waits” means “praise always continues” in his church. You know you have found the true city of God because God’s saints give all the glory and all the praise to God because every blessing we partake of is by God’s free and sovereign grace.
Psalm 84: 4: Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will
be still praising thee. Selah. (Ps 84:4)
Isaiah 45:25 In the LORD shall
all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
“The vow shall be
performed”—a vow is a voluntary, deliberate promise made to God concerning
things lawful, possible, and pleasing to God. As Christ’s bride our profession of faith is a
vow to Christ our Husband. When we
confess Christ we are giving God all the glory for our salvation and vowing to
always give all the glory to God for our salvation. God’s saints shall perform this vow: we shall
give Christ all the glory in our salvation always.
Psalm 56:12: Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee.
Psalm 76:11: Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God: let all that be round
about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
But how is it so certain that “the vow shall
be performed?” It is not because of us. We have no strength in ourselves apart from
Christ. It is because from eternity Christ
vowed to God the Father to pay his vow.
What was his covenant vow to God? Christ vowed to bring forth praise in all
his people. And Christ shall perform the
vow which makes his people perform the vow of giving God all the glory.
Subject: The Vow Shall Be Performed
Proposition: By Christ performing
his vow to his Father he causes his people to perform the vow of giving God all
glory, honor, and praise for our salvation.
THE VOW OF RECEIVING ALL SINNERS
Psalm 65: 2: O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
Christ Jesus performs his covenant vow to God
the Father by receiving all sinners who come to God by him. Our Master declared that this is his vow when
he said: “I, if I be lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all
men unto me.” (Joh 12:32)
Does he mean that
every sinner on this earth throughout time shall come to Christ? Without a doubt, every sinner shall die and
come before Christ to be judged.
Romans 14: 10…we shall ALL [every sinner] stand before the judgment seat
of Christ…12: So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Without a doubt every sinner shall bow and
confess Christ to be who he said he is.
Philippians 2: 9:…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,…And that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.” (Php 2:9-11)
But it is obvious
that not all sinners without exception come to Christ. It is obvious that most in religion do not perform
the vow of giving God all the praise and glory for their salvation. It is obvious from the context of this Psalm
that it does not mean all sinners without exception shall come to Christ. It means all who Christ came to save shall come
and Christ shall receive all who come asking mercy.
John 6: 37: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38: For I came down from heaven, not
to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent
me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day.
All sinners who the
Father gave to Christ shall come to Christ and all that come shall be received
by Christ and kept by Christ. If our
Lord Jesus turned away only one sinner who comes to him begging mercy or if he
allowed one to perish then his covenant vow to God the Father would not be
fulfilled but “unto thee the vow shall be performed.”
Our text also means
that all kinds of sinners shall come.
Sion is made up of all kinds of sinners.
Revelation 5: 9: And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to
take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood OUT OF EVERY kindred, and tongue, and people,
and nation;
1 Timothy 2: 1: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for ALL men;
The context teaches
that Paul is speaking of all kinds of sinners from every walk of life.
1 Timothy 2: 2: For kings, and for all that are in authority;
that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3: For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4: Who WILL
have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
If God our Savior
wills it then he does it. God did not
will for all sinners without exception to be saved or he would save all. But
God willed to save all kinds of sinners from kings to paupers.
1 Timothy 2: 5: For there is one God, and one mediator between
God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
If Christ were the
Mediator of all mankind without exception that word “men” would be “man”. But Christ is the Mediator between God and an
elect remnant from all walks of life.
Therefore it says Christ is the “one Mediator between God and men.”
1 Timothy 2: 6: Who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in
due time.
This is another way
we know that it does not speak of all sinners without exception because Christ successfully
ransomed all for whom he paid the price. A ransom paid is paid for a particular person
and once paid the person is freed. He
gave himself a ransom for “many’—for particular sinners from all races and
people on earth. For example, the Jews
thought only they were the chosen people but listen to Paul.
1 Timothy 2: 7: Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I
speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in
faith and verity.
Here is the important point. The only qualification to come to Christ is
to be a sinner. It does not matter who
you are. Christ is no respecter of
persons. All who come confessing they
are ruined sinners begging for mercy, Christ shall receive and intercede whether
rich or poor, male or female, Jew or Gentile or if there be any other carnal
difference.
For all sinner whom
come to God by Christ our God is “thou that hearest prayer.” Any kind of sinner, no matter how vile, who
comes to Christ confessing his sin and asking mercy, God hears him through
Christ.
Psalm 102:17 He will regard the
prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
Sinner, hear this
good news from God. He says,
Isaiah 55:7: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
The vow shall be performed because all who come
to Christ from among every kind of people on this earth, shall be received by
Christ and Christ shall intercede for us—and we all shall pay the vow by giving
God all the glory for it. We saw in the
golden altar of incense, we even give God the glory for accepting our praise because
our prayer is accepted of God only through the sin-atoning blood of Christ
Jesus our Intercessor.
Hebrews 7:25: Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
THE VOW OF PURGING OUR SINS
Psalm 65: 3:
Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt
purge them away.
Christ performed his vow to the Father by purging the sin of his people.
A sinner—a true sinner—comes to Christ confessing “Iniquities prevail
against me.” A true mercy beggar comes confessing we are nothing but
sinful flesh. Iniquities prevail to make
us unacceptable to holy God except Christ make us righteous. Iniquities prevail to make us think we are
righteous and justify ourselves, except the Spirit of God reveals our
sinfulness and bring us to cast all our care on Christ.
But when the Spirit
of God makes a sinner truly behold his iniquities prevailing against him then the
Spirit of God brings him to Christ confessing his sins and Christ causes him to
pay the vow of praise and thanksgiving by showing him that Christ purged all his
sins away on Calvary’s cross—"thou shalt purge them away.” On the cross, Christ died for a
particular people and purged all our sins away
Hebrews 1:3…when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high.
Do you see that the context declares that “all
flesh” does not mean “all sinners without exception?” Those Christ died for, Christ purged of all
sins. He accomplished it! God will not pour out justice on Christ and
then again on those Christ purged. But when
a sinner is made to come to Christ confessing that his sins prevail against him
then Christ makes him to see that Christ performed the vow that he vowed to the
Father by purging all his people’s sins. In Christ, our old sinful flesh has been
crucified and buried so that God remembers our sins no more. That makes the believer perform the vow of giving
God our Father and his Son, Jesus Christ all the glory! “Unto thee shall the vow be performed.”
THE VOW OF CHOOSING HIS PEOPLE
Psalm 65: 4: Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest,…
Christ brings his people to know that we are saved by God’s sovereign,
free, electing grace. In eternity God
the Father chose Christ.
Isaiah 42: 1: Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth…
In eternity, God the Father chose a multitude in Christ by God’s free
and sovereign grace. It was not based on
anything in us. It was by God’ free and
sovereign grace alone.
Romans 9: 11: The children
being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of works, but of God that showeth
mercy… 15 For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will
have compassion. 16: So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that
runneth, but God that showeth mercy.
Therefore, in the season of his love, Christ performs the vow to God by
choosing his people and making us know he did the choosing.
John 15: 16: Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you…19 If ye were of the world, the
world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have
chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Why do all kinds of sinners come to Christ? Because God our Father chose
us in Christ and Christ made us know he is God that did the choosing. God’s people do not glory in our flesh or in
our faith or anything in us by saying there was something in us that made God
chose us. God gets all the glory for
choosing us by his grace. And Christ
brings us to pay that vow of praise.
THE VOW OF CAUSING US TO APPROACH
Psalm 65: 4: Blessed
is the man whom thou…causest to approach unto thee,
Our successfully Mediator performs his vow to the Father by causing each
one of his redeemed to come to God by him.
We are not called to
faith in Christ by our will or our works.
That would not even be a call. It
is by God’s eternal, immutable purpose that each child he chose is irresistibly
caused to approach unto him through faith in Christ by the Holy Spirit of God.
Jeremiah 31:3: The
LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an
everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
We will not and we cannot come to Christ
unless God the Father and his Son Christ Jesus make us willing by giving us a new
nature—and we have nothing to do with creating that new nature.
John 1:13…Which were
born [again] not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.
God our Father and his Son Christ Jesus causes
us to come to Christ.
John 6: 43: Jesus
therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. 44: No man can come to me, except the Father
which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45: It is
written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man
therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
Psalm 110: 3: Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power…
Those truly drawn to Christ are made to know God did the drawing. So we do not boast that we made ourselves
born again or came to Christ by our sinful will. Those truly born of God and drawn to Christ perform
the vow by giving God all the glory in Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2: 13: But WE ARE BOUND TO GIVE THANKS ALWAYS TO GOD for
you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because GOD HATH from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification OF THE SPIRIT and belief of the truth: 14:
Whereunto HE CALLED YOU by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
The Vow of Making us Dwell
Psalm 65: 4… that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with
the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.
Christ performs his vow to the Father by making his believing child
dwell under the preaching of the gospel the rest of our days on this earth.
Christ makes his people dwell in his courts—in his house of
worship. He does so through the
goodness of his house—the preaching of the gospel of Christ and him
crucified. It pleased God to save
through the foolishness of preaching because this is the children’s bread where
we hear God’s works. We hear that God
the Father is satisfied with Christ’s one offering—“It pleased God to bruise
him.” By one offering Christ satisfied
God’s justice and justified his people. That is the message that makes his newly born
child satisfied with Christ even as the Father.
These are the words of eternal life coming straight from Christ our Life
and we have to have them. That is how he
makes us dwell in his courts.
The apostle Peter said to Christ, “To whom shall we go thou hast
the words of eternal life and we are sure thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” When the vain disciples
ceased assembling with Christ and their brethren that day, it was because they
were not satisfied with the gospel of Christ—“the goodness of his house.” Sinners give every kind of excuse under
the sun for forsaking assembling together but they never admit it is the gospel
of Christ that they are not satisfied with.
But through the preaching of the gospel through the Holy Spirit, Christ makes
his people satisfied with him and his finished work even as God our Father is
satisfied—"we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even
of thy holy temple.” Sinners satisfied
with Christ are content to dwell in God’s church under the sound of the gospel
of Christ because it gives God all the glory.
We have to have Christ our Life and his words of eternal life.
Why did God chose to save through the foolishness of preaching? Why does Christ our Head perform the vow to
God of giving pastors after his own heart to feed us with knowledge and
understanding? It is to make his people
perform the vow of praise to God.
1 Corinthians 1: 29 That no flesh
should glory in his presence. 30 But of
him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31: That, according as it is
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
So it is by Christ alone that it can be said so dogmatically “Praise
waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.” It is because Christ performs the vow to
his Father of making us perform the vow of praise to God alone: by receiving his
sinful people from all walks of life and interceding so that God hears our
prayer for mercy, by Christ purging our sins away, by Christ choosing us freely
by his grace, by Christ causing us to come to God by him and by Christ making
us satisfied with Christ through his gospel so that we dwell in his courts
forever. “Praise waiteth for thee, O
God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.”
Amen!