Rejoice in the Lord’s victory.

Sermon Transcript

Already-not yet. If you’re somewhat familiar with Christianity, then you may have heard that phrase before: already-not yet. “Already-not yet” is one way to describe the Christian life and the concept of Christian victory. In Christ we are already victorious, but the war is not yet over; already, not yet. Theologian Oscar Cullman has famously used the events of World War II to illustrate the concept “already, not yet.” Another theologian describes Cullman’s illustration this way: “We celebrate the Normandy landings on June the 6th, 1944 as D-Day, the day when, in a sense, the decisive events that would end World War II actually took place. But the war was not ended until the unconditional surrender of the German forces in May 1945 and of the Japanese forces in August 1945. And those days are often referred to as V-Day…But in the year or so between D-Day and V-Day, there was still conflict, still suffering, and still loss of life. The decisive events took place in the past in 1944, but their full implications would not be worked out until the future, the following year in 1945.” Already, not yet.

In a similar way, followers of Jesus today live between the already of the ultimate D-Day and the not yet of the final V-Day. The ultimate D-Day took place around 33 AD when Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross and was resurrected three days later to win the decisive victory over our three great enemies: the world, the flesh, and the Devil; the world, the flesh and the Devil. Because of the decisive victory of Jesus on ultimate D-Day of the cross and resurrection, all who receive and rest in Jesus Christ as Lord are already free from slavery to the sinful desires of our flesh, free from the tyranny of the Devil who blinds people from the truth about Jesus, and free from the lure of following the way of the world in opposition to God. Our sins are already forgiven. However, every follower of Jesus knows that we are still at war. We are decisively victorious, but we are still at war with the desires of our flesh, the lies of the Devil, and the ways of this world because the final V-Day of Christ’s return when all of his enemies will be vanquished forever is not yet.

Life between the already of the ultimate D-Day and the not yet of the final V-Day is spiritual war. So, how do we fight? According to Psalm 21, we rejoice our way through the battle! Psalm 21:1 provides the primary message of the psalm: O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults. How do we fight between the already of the Lord’s decisive victory on D-Day and the not yet of his final victory on V-Day? The answer is the big idea of our passage this morning: Rejoice in the Lord’s victory. We rejoice our way through the battle. Rejoice in the Lord’s victory. Psalm 21 provides two practical ways to rejoice our way through the already-not yet: 1. Rejoice in the Lord’s past victory (vv. 1-7) 2. Rejoice in the Lord’s future victory (vv. 8-13).

Before we dig into the details of Psalm 21, let me say a brief word about how we’re going to approach this psalm. Psalm 21 is a royal psalm. As the ESV Study Bible says, “Royal psalms emphasize God’s promise to David that he would have an eternal kingdom.” The Lord made that eternal promise or covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13. So, Psalm 21 is about King David. However, since royal psalms emphasize God’s promise to David that he would have an eternal kingdom, the royal psalms look beyond David to David’s ultimate offspring, Jesus Christ, who is described in Matthew 1:1 as the “Son of David.” King Jesus is the offspring that was promised to sit on King David’s throne forever. Psalm 21, therefore, is not ultimately about the victory of King David, but about the victory of King Jesus. And this only makes sense because in Luke 24:44 Jesus said that everything written about him in the psalms must be fulfilled. So, Psalm 21 is about King David, it’s fulfilled in King Jesus, and it’s a guide for praying and living as we follow King Jesus. So, we’re going to approach the Psalm on those three levels (please put graphic on screen): David -> Christ -> Us. Ok. We wage war against the world, the flesh, and the Devil by rejoicing in the Lord’s victory…

REJOICE IN THE LORD’S PAST VICTORY (vv. 1-7)

Psalm 20 and Psalm 21 go together. Psalm 20 is a prayer in trouble. In fact, Psalm 20 begins with the phrase, “May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!” David, Israel’s greatest king, was at war with a foreign army. The eternal throne promised to David’s offspring was threatened. So, in Psalm 20 David prayed. Just that simple example can change your life. The Lord came through for David and Psalm 21:1-7 records David rejoicing in the Lord’s past victory. Let’s begin w/David.

David

Psalm 21:1 – O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults! David doesn’t merely recount the Lord delivering him from his enemies. He rejoices and greatly exults. Yes, this life is war, but the emotional tone of our warfare is joy because the Lord has already won the victory. Psalm 21:2-3 – You have given him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For you meet him with rich blessings; you set a crown of fine gold upon his head. David reveals that the secret to joyful thanksgiving is specific asking. Ask for victories and you’ll have more victories to joyfully give thanks for. Psalm 21:4-7 reveals the extent of David’s victory. He asked life of you; you gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. [5] His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. [6] For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of your presence. [7] For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved. David fights in the present by rejoicing in the Lord’s past victory.

Christ

Now, when we look closely at Psalm 21:4-7, we begin to see that Psalm 21 is pointing us beyond the victory of King David to the greater victory of King Jesus. Psalm 21:4 says that David was given length of days forever and ever. However, we know that King David died and that his days were not actually preserved forever. However, the Son of David, King Jesus rose victorious over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, and Hebrews 7:24 says, “he continues forever.” Similarly, Psalm 21:5 says that splendor and majesty was bestowed on David after his victory, but that kind of intense royal language is usually reserved for the Lord himself. Speaking about the Lord and King, Jesus, Hebrews 2:9 says, “But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” Psalm 21:7 says that through the steadfast love of the Most High David would not be moved. Well David’s dynasty was not moved, in fact it was preserved until the coming of the Son of David and Son of God, Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus with these words, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Here is my point: In Psalm 21 David rejoiced in the Lord’s past victory but his rejoicing pointed to the ultimate D-Day 2,000 years ago when King Jesus, the Son of David and Son of God, died, rose, and was seated at the right hand of Majesty on High, winning the decisive victory over the world the flesh and the Devil.

Christians

So, how do Christians, followers of King Jesus, rejoice in the Lord’s past victory? At least two ways. First, rejoice in the gospel every day. When you wake up, before you check social media, before you review the headlines, and before you busily rush the kids to school or yourself to work, rejoice in the gospel. Open your Bible and read at least one verse that reminds you that King Jesus has rescued you from following the way of this world, being enslaved to your flesh and its love for sin, and from the blinding unbelief of the Devil through his death and resurrection. Rejoice that all your sins were nailed to the cross of Christ 2,000 years ago and that since Christ rose from the grave, you have received eternal life and are no longer under God’s judgment and just condemnation. Yes, you’re still in a battle, but through Christ’s past victory you will be more than a conqueror. Rejoice in the gospel everyday. Secondly, rejoice in yesterday’s victories, everyday. After you rejoice in the gospel, rejoice in the smaller, cross-purchased victories you won yesterday over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Take a few moments and think about the fleshly desires for sin you didn’t indulge, the worldliness you didn’t cave to and the lies of the Devil that you didn’t believe and rejoice because each small victory is a cross-purchased miracle. Rejoice in the Lord’s past victories by rejoicing in the gospel and yesterday’s victories everyday, but especially on Sunday. Psalms were sung in corporate worship. The Lord’s Day is the special day set aside to rejoice in the gospel and yesterday’s victories together. Rejoice in the Lord’s past victories together. Transition: Looking to the past is not enough to rejoice while the battle still rages. To rejoice in the Lord’s victory as we fight the fight of faith, we need to rejoice in the past D-Day of the cross and, secondly…

REJOICE IN THE LORD’S FUTURE VICTORY (vv. 8-13)

Notice, again, that in verse eight that there is a shift in speaker. In verse eight, the gathered congregation, or a representative from the congregation, begins speaking words of encouragement to David about the Lord’s future victory; about V-Day. I warn you that the congregation’s Holy Spirit inspired words of rejoicing in the Lord’s future victory are intense and graphic.

David

Psalm 21:8-12 – Your hand will find out all your enemies; your right hand will find out those who hate you. You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them. [10] You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the children of man. [11] Though they plan evil against you, though they devise mischief, they will not succeed. [12] For you will put them to flight; you will aim at their faces with your bows. Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power. Though the Lord has just won a great victory for King David, there are many battles to come. Battles can weary the strongest warrior. The king needs encouragement that victory is sure. Therefore, the gathered congregation encourages the king to rejoice in the Lord’s future victory over his enemies.

Christ

Like the first half of Psalm 21, there are some clear clues that the second half of Psalm 21 looks beyond King David to a greater, final V-Day. After all, David never did make all of his enemies a blazing oven and the Lord never did swallow up all the enemy nations in his wrath and consume them with fire through David. No, this intense language points us beyond King David to the future, final victory of the Son of David, King Jesus. King Jesus will return and on that final and ultimate V-Day he will swallow up his enemies in his wrath and fire will consume them. I know that we aren’t all used to thinking about the Lord Jesus’ coming in wrath to consume his enemies, but this truth is one way that the New Testament comforts Christians who are despised, rejected, and mistreated for following Jesus as Lord. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9, in language reminiscent of Psalm 21 says, “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering—[6] since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, [7] and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels [8] in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. [9] They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might… Coming is the day when the world, the flesh, the Devil, and all who do not know God & obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will experience the eternal wrath of King Jesus. It will be the ultimate V-Day. Christ will be victorious over all of his enemies.

Christians

So, how do we Christians rejoice in the final V-Day of Christ to come? Answer: We encourage one another in it. The doctrine of Christ’s coming wrath is so important to our faith. What can keep us from being overwhelmed by all the evil in this world? The encouraging news of the coming wrath of Christ when in his victory everything will be made right. What can keep us fighting the good fight of faith against the temptations of the world, our flesh, and the Devil? The confident news that we are fighting defeated enemies whose days are numbered. What can keep us from taking vengeance on and retaliating in anger against those who afflict us? The comforting news that Christ will return and take perfect vengeance. What can make us joyful in all seasons? The humbling truth that we too were born objects of God’s wrath and enemies of King Jesus, but our King is full of mercy and he overcame all our defenses and saved us by his grace and is coming again to bring us safely home forever. The people of God spoke and sang the truth of the Lord’s coming victory and vengeance into David’s heart, and the king was encouraged to keep fighting. We need to do the same for one another. When we meet with one another discipleship groups, when we fellowship with one another in daily conversation, when we gather in our Citygroups, and when we pray for one another, let’s point one another toward the final V-Day to come when Christ returns so that we are strengthened to fight the good fight of faith today. And most importantly, let’s gather each week and sing the future hope into one another’s ears and hearts. When we sing we always sing to our Father and to one another. Lift your voices loud and encourage one another in the Lord’s future victory.

CONCLUSION

Appeal to enemies: lay down your arms, repent, fall in the loving arms of King Jesus.

THE LORD’S SUPPER

HOW DOES THE LORD’S SUPPER REMIND YOU AND ASSURE YOU THAT YOU SHARE IN CHRIST’S ONE SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS AND IN ALL HIS GIFTS?

A. In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup. With this command He gave this promise: First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup given to me, so surely His body was offered and broken for me and His blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely He nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with His crucified body and poured-out blood. -Heidelberg Catechism (1563), Question 75