‘ONE WHO IS MIGHTY’
James Hutson
Psalm 89: 19; Genesis 22: 6-8; 1 Samuel 17: 17, 18, 28, 29, 32-37, 55-58;
It is in mind to spend a little time as we are together this evening to speak about One who is mighty. Not only One who is mighty in just, perhaps, one or another aspect – there have been mighty men in this world, but the One we wish to be occupied with is One who is mighty in every aspect in which we view Him, none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not only my estimation or the estimation of other fellow believers that He is One who is mighty, but it is God’s estimation. God could say prophetically in this Psalm, “I have laid help”, God Himself laid help “upon a mighty one”. Think of the feelings of the great God as He would have contemplated what that meant to Him, think of Him not sparing His own Son. You say, that sounds more like a gospel preaching, well I do not think that we very get far away from the gospel. But it is the starting point and I thought it would be good to see the way we can view the Lord in various aspects in the types as the One who is mighty.
If we look first at Isaac, the picture so well known to us and Abraham going on this journey, think of the Lord Jesus coming here under the eye of His God and Father, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten son”, John 3: 16. Think of Him moving here in perfection; that perfect sacrificial walk here under the eye of His God and Father. It says twice in the section we read “and they went both of them together”. Never a step in His perfect life and pathway did the Lord Jesus move out of the line of the perfect will of His God and Father, “I do always the things that are pleasing to him”, John 8: 29. There is what was laid upon Isaac here, the wood being laid upon him – what would that speak of? It would speak of the perfect humanity of Jesus going on to bear judgment. Did He have to bear it for Himself? No, He who did not need to face judgment, He who knew no sin (see 2 Cor. 5: 21), was going to bear the judgment that was due to guilty sinners. He was going to bear the judgment so that there could be those that could be sanctified and set apart for His God and Father. Is everyone of us here this evening among those who have been set apart by this mighty sacrificial work of our Lord Jesus! Think of all that it meant for Him to be going on this journey, facing the horror of death, the Lord Jesus going on to Calvary. There was what was laid upon Him. It says in Isaiah 53, “and Jehovah hath laid upon him the iniquity of us all” (v.6). What was laid on Jesus! You and I could not lay it on Him, God did that. It was Abraham who laid the wood on Isaac in view typically of that intrinsically holy offering. Yet, for Isaac there was a substitute. Abraham says in faith, “God will provide himself with the sheep for a burnt-offering”. It took many years, right down until the Lord Jesus Himself came as the Lamb of God when that sheep was provided, for whom there was no substitute. He was my substitute and I trust, dear fellow believer, you can with sincerity He was yours. But for Him there was no substitute. The Lord Jesus went that way. Why did He go that way? Why was it that He could go that way? – because of His mighty moral power, One who is mighty.
We might look at David to see the display of moral power. We see in David one who is a very beautiful type of the Lord Jesus, one who is morally mighty. It is interesting to read the connection in this setting as to David who had been sent here, sent by his father. Think of the Lord Jesus being sent by His Father. It was a sad matter though, as we know of the Lord Jesus, that it says, “He came to his own, and his own received him not”, John 1: 11. That is what we see here in the reaction from his own brethren, sadly they tried to slight David on every hand. They question his shepherd spirit – how David would have felt that, as his shepherd spirit was questioned. Surely he could not have thought of anything worse than to leave that flock of his father’s in any kind of danger, and so it is with the Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the flock. He could not think of anything worse than to turn His back on the flock. Yet persons slighted David on every hand. We see how he was mighty, even before we get to his meeting Goliath and the facing of that awful mighty foe – we see how he was mighty in his secret life as caring for the flock. He could speak of the lion and the bear when before Saul just as the Lord Jesus when he was here was attacked on every side by men, by the Sadducees and the Pharisees and others, but what do we see the Lord Jesus in His mighty moral power bringing them all down, one by one, until in the end it says, “And no one dared question him any more”, Mark 12: 34. His moral power stood. The moral power still stands in Jesus. Oh to get a view of His greatness! But then, we see David going. How could he possibly go against one so mighty as this great awful giant? Where was Saul at this point? Saul was filled with fear and was hopeless. In men’s eyes he had been a mighty man, but there was mighty moral power displayed in David that was never displayed in Saul. It was never going to be displayed in Saul and eventually we see how God rejects him and brings into view this glorious man David. What a type of Jesus! “a youth, and ruddy and besides of a beautiful countenance”, 1 Sam. 17: 42. He had a lovely appearance. We sang of it:
Thy beauties, Lord, Thy holy precious worth,
Surpassing far the deepest joys of earth. (Hymn 293)
Is it true of you and me or are there joys here that would take a place ahead of this glorious mighty One. Let us get things into perspective and have Jesus, the mighty Victor, the One who has overcome this great enemy because of His moral power able to overcome. It says, “annul him who has the might of death” (Heb. 2: 14), that is the devil. It has taken place, the Lord Jesus annulled death and, annulled the devil and he was set aside completely. We see a picture in that type with David; it says that he went up “and killed him completely” (v.51); completely annulled him, and he returns triumphant with the head of the giant. Never again could that giant raise his ugly head against the armies of Jehovah. Why was it that David felt so indignant? It was because they had defied the living God. He had defied the living God, that is what he was feeling, he had righteous indignation. These other persons were afraid for their own skins, you might say, but he was concerned for the rights of God. The Lord Jesus when He came here was concerned for the rights of His God and Father and that is why He went that way in view of securing persons who could have part with Him on the other side of death who would be for the glory of His Father eternally.
We see too the display of His mighty love and, just to touch on that for a moment, think of David as the shepherd of the sheep. He loved those sheep, and the Lord Jesus, as has already been said, loved and still loves His sheep. He could say, No one has greater love than this, that one should lay down his life for his friend”, John 15: 13. That is what the Lord Jesus did, He displayed love in the greatest possible way. What mighty love! Have you ever known a more mighty love than the love of Jesus? Dear friend, do not think you will ever find one and if you try to you will spend a life in disappointment and misery. It is so much easier to come to Jesus and enjoy the moral power and embrace of His love. We sometimes sing that hymn:
What love from this Shepherd did flow,
When in care for the sheep He was led
To stand between them and the foe,
And lay down His life in their stead! (Hymn 103)
Here was David going out in front of the army of Israel. They now had become his flock and he their shepherd and he went out ahead and stood between them and the foe. For David it did not involve his actual death; for our Saviour it did, ‘And lay down His life in their stead!’ – supreme mighty offering, what love! That same love is displayed towards His assembly. It says, “Christ also loved the assembly, and has delivered himself up for it”, Eph. 5: 25. What a price He paid in view of having that vessel which would be for His glory and for His pleasure both in time and in eternity. It is a wonderful thing to know the love of the Christ that surpasses knowledge (see Eph. 3: 19). Just drink it in, it will set you on your pathway rejoicing. Sorrows come into our pathways and we may just touch on that little, but think of the love of this One, the love of the Christ that surpasses knowledge.
We can just touch on Boaz, a mighty man of wealth. What a beautiful type again of our Lord Jesus, what a Man of wealth He is. Everything has been established in the Person of the Son, “established heir of all things”, Heb. 1: 2. What wealth! Could you think of any greater wealth than that, “established heir of all things”? Nothing is left out of it. Men have their wealth in this world, they build up their empires and they crumble down, but I can tell you about One who will never crumble, “established heir of all things”. Established there in His own right and there because God has seen to it that He is the One who has done everything for Him. There are other wealthy aspects in which we can view Christ – think of the surpassing riches of His grace (see Eph. 2: 7). Dear fellow believer, are you proving it in your pathway here? Are you proving the surpassing riches of His grace? Every day we should prove something of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the One who was rich and for our sakes became poor, “that ye by his poverty might be enriched”, 2 Cor. 8: 9. So as we come in touch with this mighty Man of wealth we find that we become enriched, and that is exactly what Ruth found. She set herself. Dear young persons, are you setting yourself to glean something of Jesus? Treasure it! Ruth sought to go and to glean and what blessings she came in to! Boaz could speak to her and he would say and say to each one of us, “Let thine eyes be on the field which is being reaped”. There is a field which is being reaped. It is to be found in the Christian circle; keep your eye on it and you will gain riches that can never be measured. You will gain treasure that will stand the test of time and eternity. Build treasure in heaven, do not build treasure here, do not go after the treasure that fails, that will spoil and spoil you too. Dear young person, lay all ambitions in life aside and get them in perspective with Christ as the main object of your life. We think of the greatness of this One and the wealth that He has. Think of the words of the Lord Jesus Himself, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things to be in his hand”, John 3: 35. What wealth! Everything is in the hand of Christ and, dear believer that includes you and me, each of us are in His mighty hand, so we can know Him, not only as One who is wealthy, but the One who is a mighty sustainer, a sustainer in a pathway which is difficult – yes it is a difficult pathway in a dark world where all is set outwardly against those that love the Lord Jesus and those that desire to follow Him. The greater desire you have in your heart to follow Him, the greater the attacks of the enemy will be; but know this that He is the mighty sustainer and He is ever living to intercede for us. He is on the throne, that wonderful One, that mighty King, that mighty sustainer of life, is there on the throne ever living to intercede for us. Are you proving it? Problems come, how many come, how many tears are wept, but He, the One who is upholding all things, is able to uphold you and me. It says in Deuteronomy, “there is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heavens to thy help, And in his majesty, upon the clouds. Thy refuge is the God of old, and underneath are the eternal arms”, Deut. 33: 26,27. The everlasting arms of Jesus are available and they will support you right through the journey here. I remember hearing of one dear soul whom someone went to see on her deathbed, and they bent over her and said, “underneath are the eternal arms”. He did not know whether that soul was a believer or not, but suddenly her eyes opened and her face was radiant, he was left with no question as she answered him and said, Yes and they are still holding me up. What a response from an elderly believer about to go to be with her Saviour! Will that be your response? Will those eternal arms be holding you up?
The Lord Jesus could say at the end of Matthew, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth” (28: 18). Think of that, “all power” – there is nothing that can interfere. How easy it is, I speak for myself first, to make excuses and say that all that is around is too much, but in the light of what the Lord says at the end of Matthew’s gospel, can we continue to make excuses or can we lean on Him and prove the everlasting arms, and prove His words as He says again, “All power has bee given me in heaven and upon earth … behold, I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”. That is the mighty One whom we have been occupied with. How mighty He is!
We can just close with reading one last section in Revelation 5 to get a final glimpse of the greatness of this One, “And I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and their number was ten thousands of ten thousands and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in the heaven and upon the earth and under the earth, and those that are upon the sea, and all things in them, heard I saying, To him that sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, blessing, and honour, and glory, and might, to the ages of ages. And the four living creatures said, Amen; and the elders fell down and did homage” (vv. 11-14). This is the mighty One we have been occupied with this evening, this One who is the Lamb, this One who is going to have glory and blessing and honour and might which goes beyond even what we read of in Matthew where the Lord says, “I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”. This goes right into eternity. Do you know of anyone else whose greatness and glory and might is going to stand and go right through into eternity? I know of no one but Jesus. May we be drawn ever closer to Him and prove the sustaining power of His everlasting arms. For His Name’s sake.
MELBOURNE
16 August, 2003