The King Foretold Has Come

Turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 17.! Deuteronomy, it's the fifth book of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and then Deuteronomy chapter 17.

! We'll begin reading at verse 14 and read through the end of the chapter. Deuteronomy 17, verse 14. When you enter the land the Lord your God has given you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us.

Be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.

The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, you are not to go back that way again.

He must not take many wives or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law taken from that of the priests who are Levites.

It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees, and not consider himself better than his brothers, and turn from the law to the right or to the left.

Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel. Well, according to Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2, the Christian life cannot be lived apart from fixing our eyes on Jesus.

It says our faith looks to him and rests on him and draws from him that we will have all that we need for life in this world and for salvation itself.

This was the truth that has prompted our present studies on the offices of Christ. We're fixing our eyes on Jesus as he is presented to us in the scriptures as prophet, priest, and king.

For it is in fulfilling these three jobs that he meets our greatest needs and saves us. So our need for Christ in these three offices is seen in that concise way that our children's catechism has put it.

Why do I need a prophet? Because I am ignorant. Why do I need a priest? Because I am guilty. And why do I need a king? Because I am weak and helpless.

This is our condition in which every one of us were born. Ignorant, guilty, helpless. This is what we are left to ourselves without Christ.

Ignorant, guilty, helpless. And this is why we need Christ. To enlighten our minds. To take away our guilt. And to defend us and strengthen us.

And praise God, many of you have looked in faith to Christ. And so he is your prophet. And he is your king and your priest.

And so you are not what you once were. Your guilt has been taken away. That blindness has gone. And you are coming to understand more and more about your God and salvation in Christ.

And you are finding strength in Christ, your king. And yet, it's good for us to remember that even now, apart from Christ, I am lost.

Apart from Christ, right now living as my prophet, priest, and king. And carrying out those ministries and jobs to me. I am ignorant.

I am guilty. I am weak and helpless. And so it's a good reminder to us of what Christ is our prophet, priest, and king has done.

And just how much we need him every day. We come now to fix our eyes on Christ the king. Christ the king of his people.

And I ask you, class, how is Christ the king? He rules over us and defends us.

And why do you need Christ as a king? Because I am weak and helpless. I am weak and helpless without him.

Well, the Bible has a lot to say about Christ as king. There's at least 3,000 passages in scripture that have to do with the word group of king and kingdom found in the Bible.

Now granted, they don't all talk about Christ himself and his kingdom. But many of them do. And all the other ones are pointing towards him as the king of his great kingdom.

So we may take a little more time on Christ as king than we have on the other offices to seek to understand all that Jesus is for us as king.

Each one of these three offices of Christ are prefigured in the Old Testament. We meet in the Old Testament, don't we?

Prophets and priests and kings. And so we want to look at the history of kingship in Israel. Or as we're calling it number one, the king foreshadowed.

That's what we find in the Old Testament kings. The king foreshadowed. In the covenant that God made with the nation of Israel, he was their king and they were his people.

He gave them his laws. In Exodus chapter 20, you can read when he formed them into his nation, his kingdom. He gave them his laws and he said to them, Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom.

And so as king of his people, God appointed Moses to be his leader over his people. And Moses led them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea and through the 40 years in the wilderness.

And he brought them right up to the edge of the promised land. And that was as far as he was going. Joshua would take them into the land. But he's got the whole nation of Israel that has survived through the 40 years of the wilderness.

The younger ones that have now grown up. And there, as they're ready to cross the Jordan River and go into the promised land, what is Moses doing? Well, he's preparing his people for life in the promised land.

Life under their king. And so he's rehearsing the king's laws. And he goes back and reminds them of the Ten Commandments and so on. And in Deuteronomy 17, we see his instructions.

We had it read for us. And if you'd notice, if your Bible is open there to Deuteronomy 17 and 18, that's what he's doing now. They're on the shores of Jordan. They're ready to cross over into the promised land.

And here in these two chapters of Deuteronomy 17 and 18, he has instructions for the three offices in Israel of king, priest, and prophet in that order.

This morning we read from Deuteronomy 17 the instructions that they are to follow concerning a king. You must choose the king that the Lord your God chooses.

He must be one of your own people, a brother Israelite, not a foreigner. He must not return to Egypt for help. He must not multiply horses, wives, or wealth for himself.

And he must write his own copy of God's law and read in it all the days of his life. So that he, as king, might learn that there is a king above him.

And his law is what he must obey and teach his people to obey and to enforce in the kingdom of God that he leads.

Well, Moses, you remember, dies. Joshua takes them into the promised land and they begin the conquest of Canaan. And then God exercised his rule over Israel after Joshua died through judges.

I mean, we're just following. The first five books of Moses are followed by Joshua. Then what? Judges. Because God ruled his people through the judges that he would raise up for them as their leaders.

But then Israel started hankering after an earthly king. They started looking around at the nations around them and they noticed these kings or these nations have real kings that you can see leading them.

We want a king like them. They wanted to be like the nations around them. And so they came to the last judge, Samuel, and they asked him for a king.

Samuel was displeased by the request. He was grieved by it. And he went to the Lord in prayer and laid it out before him. And the Lord tells Samuel, Listen to all that the people are saying to you.

It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. This is what they've done since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day.

I've been their king. And all along the way they've been rejecting me as their king. Now, as a nation, they are trying to throw me off.

They would rather have a human king than to have me, their unseen king in heaven. You see, God was the true king of Israel.

And he saw that behind their request for an earthly king was a heart that rejected his kingship and authority. They wanted a man in the place of God.

And that has ever been the problem of sinful men. We will not have this God to rule over us. And yet, God gave them what they asked for.

Isn't that something? They've not rejected you, Samuel, but rejected me. Nevertheless, do what they say. And God gave them the kings that they asked for.

Because this, too, was part of his plan. To establish the office of king in Israel. That would become a prefigurement of his coming king, Jesus Christ.

Now, we heard in the Sunday school of the mysterious ways that God works in the world. There's another one. They sinfully ask for a king. Rejecting God as king.

And God gives them that because it was part of his plan. Do you know that Deuteronomy 7, 17, happens 400 years before they asked for a king?

There it was. In the law of Moses. 400 years earlier, God is giving instructions that when you ask for a king, this is what must, this kind of king he must be.

And this is what he must do. You see, God even used their sins to bring about his plan. To have kingship in Israel. A human kingship that would prefigure his own son.

The coming king. So, in other words, their sinful request did not surprise God. It did not frustrate his plan. It was rather fulfilled by their sinful request.

So, God gave them kings. But they've got to be the kings he chose. And they've got to lead according to his laws. And so, in that sense, the people, you see, were not really out from under his rule after all.

They wanted to reject him. That was their hard intent. But the king that they set up was to carry out the will of the king in heaven. And his laws.

So, God's still king of his people. The one lawgiver, judge, and king. Isaiah 33, 22. Now, some of Israel's kings were good and some were bad.

If you've read the next book, after Judges, the kings, first and second kings, you see that some were bad, some were good. The better ones gave hints into what it might look like to live under God's perfect king that is coming.

I say the better ones gave hints at that. Solomon, David, Hezekiah, and others. But others' kings ruled with such severity and wickedness that they only served to increase the longing in God's people for his coming messianic king.

They only served to show that, you see, what happens when you want to rule, you want a man to rule, one of your sons, instead of me being your king.

You see, none of these kings, the good or the bad, were able to bring about the perfect kingdom that was promised. This, then, is the history of kingship in Israel.

This is how it came to pass. How this office was established. And it is now meant to foreshadow and prefigure and prepare them for the coming king, Jesus, who would be the perfect king and fulfill this office as none other can.

Even as he has fulfilled the office of prophet as none other could. And as he has fulfilled the office of priest. So that's the king foreshadowed in the Old Testament office of kingship.

Secondly, we want to look at the king prophesied. The king prophesied. In other words, God told them ahead of time about this coming king. He didn't just wait and then surprise them with the king.

No, he told them ahead of time about his coming king. In fact, long before he sent the king, he told them about it. 1,500 years before.

That's preparing a people, isn't it? He began prophesying about this king even before there were any kings in Israel. Even before the nation of Israel was formed at Mount Sinai.

Back in Genesis 49 and verse 10. Genesis 49. Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, the father of the 12 sons that become the 12 tribes of Israel.

Jacob, whose name becomes Israel. Jacob has followed Joseph down into Egypt because of the famine. And he stays there during the famine so that his family can eat.

While he's in Egypt, he dies. But before he dies, he gathers his 12 sons around him and he blesses them. He gives prophetic words from God about their futures and their destinies.

And he comes to Judah. And that's what we have in Genesis 49 and verse 10. And this is what he says about his son Judah. The scepter will not depart from Judah nor the ruler's staff from between his feet.

Until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his. So before there are any kings in Israel, Jacob says to his son Judah.

That the scepter and the ruler's staff, those are the symbols of the king's authority. And so when he says they will belong to Judah, he is saying that kingship will belong to the tribe of Judah.

That will be the line of kings in my kingdom. And it will remain in the tribe of Judah until he comes. One is coming to whom authority really belongs.

And he will rule not just over the tribes of Israel, but over all the nations. A universal king is coming from the line of Judah.

There's three important things about this coming king. He'll come from the line of Judah. All authority will truly belong to him.

We've got to wait to see why that is. And his kingdom will be universal. All the nations. Now, progressive revelation is just that.

It's truth that is revealed progressively clearer the further you go in your Bible. This is the first mention of kingship in Israel. Here in Genesis 49.

But the further we go in the scriptures, the more clear comes these prophesying about King Jesus. So, from the king coming from the tribe of Judah, next we see it's to come through the family tree of David.

Yes, David descended from Judah. And that's the line that this king is going to come from. You remember Saul was the first king in Israel. But he was removed.

Why? Because as king, he did not carry out the laws of the king of kings. And because he rejected God as king, God rejected him as king. So when it came time to replace Saul, when he died, it was not his son, Jonathan, that was placed on the throne.

No, that's the end of the dynasty of Saul because of his disobedience to the king of heaven. Instead, God made David, a man after his own heart, the next king of Israel.

And now in 2 Samuel 7, verse 16, God promises David that he will have an everlasting dynasty of kings to follow him. That the dynasty, the kingship in Israel will never jump to another man like it had jumped from Saul to David.

That will never happen again. Rather, the kingship will stay in the line of David forever and ever. He says in verse 16, So kingship is to never depart from David's line, even as it departed from Saul's.

And so then, the following 400 years, you had a son of David on the throne in Jerusalem. Yet these Davidic kings were flawed men.

You can read about them in the 1st and 2nd Kings. They could not bring about the kingdom of such blessedness that was promised.

Some were out and out wicked men who promoted idolatry and immorality. But none of them were able to root out the corruption in their own hearts or in the hearts of the nation.

And therefore, God's wrath and judgment fell upon the nation. Judgment upon judgment fell. But there was no lasting repentance. They turned to the Lord for a while and then fall back into their idolatry.

And so the prophets are sent to bring further warnings of even greater judgments coming upon them because of their sin and their rejecting of God their king.

And so the hope of this glorious reign of David's son, it became increasingly fading. But the prophets kept hope alive in the hearts of the righteous by speaking of a future unparalleled blessing.

And those prophecies of hope were intermixed with the prophecies of judgments. Judgment is coming because of your sin. But there is coming an unparalleled reign of blessedness.

And those promises of hope centered upon the Messiah King that God would bring to Judah. They focused on the coming of Messiah and the blessings that would abound under his perfect reign.

So Israel is told that their coming Messiah will be a king and a Davidic king at that from the line of David. You can remember in Isaiah 7.14 that we're told that he would be born of a virgin, this king would.

But chapter 9 and verses 6 and 7 of Isaiah tell us more about this coming king. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders.

Because if you've seen someone carrying a burden on their shoulders, that's the picture here. Jesus Christ, this virgin-born son that's going to be born, he will have the government on his shoulders.

All the weight of authority and responsibility of ruling over God's kingdom will be put on his shoulders. But don't worry, he's got capable shoulders. He shall be called Wonderful Counselor.

Talk about wisdom in a king. He will be called Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it from that time on and forever. Establishing it and upholding it in justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Wow. Here's some truth coming to God's people to encourage them about the coming king.

A Davidic king who is mighty God. Oh, now we're beginning to see why the kingship truly belongs to him. He is mighty God.

No wonder the kingship will never depart from him from that time on and forever. A king who will reign on David's throne to establish it and then to uphold it in justice and righteousness.

Perfect equity. And a prince whose government will bring unending peace. These are the forecasts. The prophecies of this coming king.

Micah adds his words from God. But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah. Here's the line of kings Judah and here's the clan of Bethlehem, David's town.

It's a small clan. Nevertheless, out of you will come for me, God says, one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

From the little town of Bethlehem would come this king that God is sending. And he's telling his people 700 years before he's born where he will be born.

Daniel chapter 7, verse 14. Here's 600 years before Christ. And Daniel, speaking by God of a son of man who was given authority, glory, and sovereign power in all peoples, nation, and men of every language, worshipped him.

His dominion, that is his kingdom, is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away. And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. Do you see the way God propped up the hopes of his people as they suffered under these kings of David?

And suffered under the wrath of God for the sins of the nation? What hope such prophecies would give them? Dozens and dozens.

We've only selected a few. I would think they number over a hundred prophecies about this king. And they all say the same thing. The king is coming.

The king is coming. He will put all things right. He'll rule in perfect justice and righteousness. His everlasting dominion will bring an everlasting peace.

That word for peace is shalom. An all-encompassing prosperity of things material and things spiritual, of body and soul. It will be shalom.

Everything will be as it was supposed to be under this king. The king of David is coming. And blessings abound wherever he reigns.

But the stubborn fact that seemed to mock the promises was that for the last 500 years before Matthew and the New Testament, the last 500 years, over 500 years, the nation of Israel had no king on the throne.

They were without a ruling king. Under the captivity of foreign empires, the reign of Davidic kings was cut off.

It was first the Babylonians that ruled over them. And then it was the Persians and then it was the Greeks and then the Romans. And century after century followed with no king of David on the throne.

Where now is the fulfillment of the promise of the son of David on his throne forever? However, the family tree of the family tree of the Davidic kings had been chopped down and reduced to a stump.

And so the Old Testament ends with this tension then between a promised king of David and the reality of no king of David.

And that tension goes on, as I say, over 500 years. And then he comes. We come to point three.

The birth. A king is born. The birth of a king. And the theme of kingship predominates at the birth of Christ.

Of course it does. The whole drum roll coming up to the birth of Christ is that the king is coming. The king is coming. And so when he comes, what would we expect to find but that the king is born?

It's a royal birth regardless of what it looks like. There's more than meets the eye. Don't be fooled by appearances. Is what Matthew is saying in the very first verse of the New Testament.

He says a record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The son of David. The very first verse. The first note sounded as you pass from those 500 years of silence and no king of David on the throne.

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David. Immediately the New Testament is attaching the birth of Jesus to all those prophecies of a coming king of David.

Matthew is careful to show how Jesus belongs to the kingly line of David. And you can follow it in that genealogy in Matthew 1 as it leads up to Christ.

Luke does the same in his gospel. Where in Luke 1.31-33 the angel Gabriel is sent to a virgin Mary. Interesting, isn't it? He will be born of a virgin.

And now an angel Gabriel is sent to the virgin Mary who's a spouse to Joseph. And this is the message the angel brings from God. You, Mary, will be with child and give birth to a son.

And you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.

And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. His kingdom will never end. Familiar words? You bet they are. We just read a few of them.

Dozens of texts that would be ringing in the ears of anyone who had taken the time to read the Old Testament. This is that king that was promised from David's line.

This is the one who will reign forever. And so the connection is clear between the baby in the womb of Mary and the promised Davidic king of the Old Testament.

You remember how Isaiah put it in chapter 11 and verse 1. He had prophesied that though the family tree of Davidic kings was reduced to a stump.

Nevertheless, a shoot would come up from the stump of Jesse. And from his roots, a branch would bear fruit. Yes, it's been reduced to a stump.

We haven't had a king on the throne for over 500 years. But that stump, that least expected stump to produce anything good will send forth a shoot. And it will be the branch.

A name for Messiah. That's the prophecy. And now here he is. Mary, the son in your womb, is that promised Messiah king. You remember that John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for him.

And when John the Baptist was born, his father Zechariah sang a song of praise to God inspired by the Holy Spirit. And he identifies Christ as the horn of salvation.

The strong salvation that God raised up for us in the house of his servant David, as he said through his holy prophets of long ago. So salvation from our enemies and from the hands of all who hate us.

What did the angels say that appeared to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem when Jesus was born? Today, in the town of David. That's Bethlehem.

In the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is Christ. That's Messiah. The anointed. The Lord.

And after Jesus was born, the wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. And what are they asking? Where is the one who's been born king of the Jews? We saw a star in the east and we've come to worship him.

He's a king over and over. You see, in the very beginning of the gospel accounts, we're being told this is the king. The king has come. And the Jewish experts or King Herod is so alarmed at this news that he calls the chief priests of the Jews and their experts in the law.

And he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. Isn't that interesting? They come saying, where is the king of the Jews? He turned. Herod turns and says, where is the Messiah to be born?

Even King Herod knows that the Messiah is going to be a king. Where is this Messiah king to be born? And they have no problems answering.

In Bethlehem in Judea. For this is what the prophet has written. But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people, Israel.

Quoting Micah 5.2. So this is who Jesus is. God's chosen ruler. His king to reign over his people. Can you see in how many ways the birth of Jesus shouts, the king has come?

The message before in the Old Testament, the king is coming. The king is coming. He comes. The king is here. That's the announcement at his birth. 33 years later, Pilate would say to Jesus, so you are a king then?

And Jesus would answer him, you are right in saying I am a king. We have it right out of his mouth. In fact, for this reason, I was born.

And for this reason, I came into the world to testify to the truth. And everyone on the side of truth listens to me. In other words, Jesus is telling Pilate and he's telling us, you will not understand the birth of the baby in Bethlehem if you do not understand that he came to be a king.

Yes, I'm a king. For this very reason, I was born and came into this world. You see, I came into this world.

In other words, I didn't have my beginning here. I've come from another place. I've come. You and I were born. But we didn't come from heaven's glories like Jesus did. And he says, if you want to know the reason I've been born as a man and the reason I've come from heaven as God, you must deal with the fact that I have come to be a king.

I've come to be a king. This is right at the heart of his mission. It's the very reason he's here. And some of you say, but I thought he came to die. Well, he did.

And he also came to reign as a king. It's not either or. He came to be our priest and to die on the cross, making that sacrifice that would take away our sins.

But he also came as a king to establish his kingdom and his rule in our hearts. And to rule over us and to defend us from all of our enemies. And he also came as a prophet to testify to the truth.

The only way of salvation through him and everyone on the side of truth listens to him as their prophet. And trusts in him as their priest.

And submits to him as their king. You see how all three offices of Christ are inseparable, are essential for our salvation.

This is why he has come into the world to save us as a prophet, priest, and king. So that's something of the history of kingship in Israel.

And the prophecies about the coming king and then the birth of the king. And we're going to need to stop there. And I just want to draw three lessons from what we've seen this morning.

And we're done. The history of kingship in Israel. The king foreshadowed. The king prophesied. The king born. It teaches us this. That number one, God's word cannot be broken.

I mean that just kind of sits there on the surface, doesn't it? God's word cannot be broken. What was promised in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New.

And so we find in the book of Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, 1500 years before Jesus is born. Prophecies.

He will be from the tribe of Judah. All authority will really belong to him. And the obedience of the nations will be his. A thousand years before Christ.

We learn that he is to come through the clan of David's line. And that he's to reign forever. 700 years before Christ. Isaiah tells us he'll be born of a virgin.

He'll sit on David's throne. And his kingdom of righteousness and peace will never end. And 700 years before Christ. Micah tells us he'll come from the town of Bethlehem. Dozens of other promises.

Filling out the details of this coming king are given. And as you read the New Testament. It all happens just as Jesus or as the Old Testament said it would.

Not one word failed. For God is not a man that he should lie. Neither the son of man that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act?

Does he promise and then not fulfill? I make known the end from the beginning. From ancient times I make known what is still to come.

And I say my purpose will stand. And I will do what I please. Isaiah 46.10 Do you see how our Lord comes to prop up our faith?

In the prophecies about the coming king? Read your Old Testament. God is saying. See what I promised. And then read your New Testament.

And see how faithful I am. Not one word failed. It all happened just as I said it would. You can trust me. You can trust my word.

Now it seemed to man like this king would never come. And he could never do what was promised about him. But then he did come. And Jesus did do those amazing things.

Prophesied about him. Now the reality is though that there are some things that were prophesied about him in the Old Testament that haven't yet happened.

That's no stumbling block to us. The Bible in the Old Testament talked about things that the king would do when he comes the second time.

And we'll talk more about that in the future. That what he did not fulfill in his first coming he will yet fulfill in his second coming. Cataclysmic judgment of this world in righteousness and truth.

The final judgment of every individual person that's ever lived. The finishing of his new creation in our hearts. Making us like Jesus who are his own. And creating a new heavens and a new earth.

The home of righteousness. That's all coming yet when the king comes back the second time. And you can be sure that it will happen exactly as he said it would.

Because the word of God cannot be broken. How blessed to have a faithful God who's spoken. He's spoken to us in his word. This is his word.

Are you taking him at his word? Are you treasuring his promises? All of them. Are you expecting him to do everything that he said he would do?

You're on solid ground if you do. You'll never be put to shame. Surely that's one of the lessons we see in this sweep of history of Old Testament prophecy.

And then the coming of the king. Are you ready for his second coming? Beneath his cross I view the day when heaven and earth shall pass away.

And thus prepare to meet him. That's the first lesson. God's word cannot be broken. The second lesson that we learn is the failure of all merely human kings.

I say the failure. The whole history of the kings of Israel is a dismal reminder of the failure of human government to deal with the sources of all the world's problems.

All the world's problems which is sin. The governments that exist are indeed instituted by God. For the punishing of the evildoer and for the rewarding of the good.

But they cannot bring in a true righteousness and justice and an everlasting peace. For they cannot deal with sin. Earthly rulers have no power over the sins of their own hearts.

That's the study of kings. Whether in Israel or today. Much less to deal with the sins of their people. All of their wisdom, laws and power are unable to deal effectively with sin and its myriad consequences.

And as I said this failure is not limited to the kings of Israel and Judah. But to all human governments. Our own included. Great empires come and gone.

Promising nations have risen only to fall at last. Our own great nation is now rotting from within. Why? Because of our love of self and sin. The United Nations has not been able to bring a worldwide peace.

And our government has not been able to deal with the problems. There are no answers on either side of the aisle. To deal with sin effectively.

The whole world today is in shambles. It's the sad story of hundreds of unsuccessful experiments in human government. And this past week we saw the world with its eyes riveted on Paris.

Where terrorists in five minutes burst into what was a normally safe environment. And shot up the place and left ten. Brutally murdered in cold blood.

And the whole world mourns and heaves under the weight of such deeds. Sin has destroyed our peace.

But you need to know that every five minutes in this nation. Twelve babies living in the normally safe environment of their mother's womb.

Are invaded. And murdered. Their life snuffed out. And barely a whimper of protest is heard anywhere.

Three thousand. Every day. Over a million. This year. The nations. Are throwing off the king's laws.

You shall not murder. And they throw them off. In so many ways. The king. The king's laws are being trampled. And it's just like Psalm 2. Spoke.

Of a worldwide conspiracy. Of all the kings of the nations. Against the Lord and his anointed king. And they say. Let's break their chains asunder. And cast away their fetters from us.

That's how they view the laws of King Jesus. Their fetters. Their holiness back. And that is the heart in every sinner. As we're born into this world.

Let's throw off. King Jesus law. So all history I say. If you read far enough. Is an ongoing lesson of the failure of human government. And as such it reflects the failure of mankind.

Generally. I mean if the best of man. Their brightest and best. Cannot deal with sin. It shows the whole nation. The whole human race.

The whole body politic. Is found wanting. Mankind cannot govern themselves. We thought we'd find freedom. Apart from God. Apart from the laws of the king.

So we wouldn't have him telling us what to do all the time. We thought that was freedom. And we ran. And we found it was nothing but bondage. And folly.

We set ourselves up as kings. And we did what we wanted. When we wanted. And now the whole machine is broken by sin. And we cannot fix it. We're totally weak.

And helpless. As the children's catechism tells us. A humbling fact for proud flesh to swallow. And so the Bible tells us over and over.

Do not put your trust in princes. In mortal men who cannot save. When their spirits depart. They return to the ground. And on that very day. All their plans come to nothing.

So stop trusting in man. Who has but a breath in his nostril. Of what account is he? Surely the nations. They're just like a drop in a bucket. They're regarded as dust on the scales.

Before him. All the nations are as nothing. They're regarded by him as worthless. And less than nothing. So whatever our problems are. Whether individually or nationally. We dare not trust in man.

Even the best of them. Are but broken cisterns. Who cannot hold water. And so that weak and helpless people. What weak and helpless people need.

Is a ruler whose power is more than outward force. And whose wisdom is more than worldly wisdom. A king whose powerful rule extends to the hearts of men.

That can effectively deal with man's bondage to self. And sin and Satan. The Lord Jesus Christ is such a king. That's what the scriptures are shouting.

He's coming. He's coming. He's here. He's come to set people free. To loosen prisoners from their chains. That bind them.

Dear lost friend. Have you not seen enough of your sin and failure without him? Do you not know that your rebellion will bring you down to hell?

Unless he pardons you. Oh it's my privilege to tell you his name is Jesus. Because he saves his people from their sins. He saves rebels.

Who turn their back on him. And come to him. And bow. And submit to him. And repent of their going astray. And come and say. Lord Jesus. You are the rightful heir to the throne of my heart.

I usurped your place. And I thought I would be king. And I have seen my great sin against you. Oh forgive me. And wash me clean in your blood.

That I might be acceptable. To the father. That I might be a part of your kingdom. A part of your family. And I have it on the word of the king himself.

Who says that whosoever believes on him. Shall not perish. But have everlasting life. The king himself says. Whoever comes to me.

I will in no wise cast out. And dear believers. The word here for us. Is that the more we see of the failure of human governments. The more our hope should be set.

The more our eyes should be lifted up. For our redemption draws near. Fixing our eyes on Jesus. The king of kings. The lord of lords.

The lord of lords. Just as failures of Israel's kings. Were meant to turn the people's eyes.

To long for the coming king. Jesus. So the failures of. Earthly governments today. Should make us not cynical. Should not make us sour.

But should cause us to fix our eyes on Jesus. Our king. To trust in him. Who rules over our wayward hearts. And who defends us. From all of our enemies.

And to long for his second coming. In power and great glory. The last lesson. From this history. Is simply that the king's coming. Should be met with joy. And eager reception.

At last he's come. The rightful heir. To the kingdom of God. O come let us adore him. All authority truly belongs to him. Who is both God and man.

His birth is good news. Of great joy for all the people. Joy to the world. The Lord has come. But even at his coming. We notice. That not everyone rejoiced.

At his coming. We notice a king Herod. That feels threatened. By his birth. And seeks to kill him. And even in that. Early shadow.

We have a forecast. Of future rejection. Of this king. By the whole nation. Indeed by. Humanity. At large. He came to his own. In his own.

Received him not. We'll see more of that rejection. In future. Weeks. The fact that there was no room. In the inn. Seems to be saying something more.

As well. And signaling the fact. That many. Will find no room. In their hearts. For this king. Joy to the world.

Yes. There's joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart. Prepare him room. Come on. If you've been.

You've been. Pushing Jesus out. And you've been king. Let every heart. Prepare him room. Say. Come to my heart. Lord Jesus. There's room in my heart. For you. Come repenting.

Come believing. And he will come. And set up his throne. In your heart. And rule over you. In grace. And truth. And defend you.

From all of your enemies. What is your response. To the coming. Of this long expected king. Those who welcome him. Find great joy. In his coming. His coming. His coming has changed.

Everything for us. Our lives here. And now. And then forever. Ransomed. Healed. Forgiven.

Who like me. His praise should sing. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise him. Praise the everlasting king. He's come.

Let's do that. And sing our praises to him. In number 149. Joy to the world. Why? Because the Lord has come. The savior reigns. And he reigns with truth.

And grace. Just what we need. Stand with me as we sing. 149. And you throw your heart open. Whether for the first time. Or the thousandth time.

And welcome this king. To possess all that you are and have. And have. 149. Thank you.