The Right Hand

Thou in the midst of thine enemies, and so on, thy people shall be willing. Psalm 16, please, verse 7. Psalm 16, verse 7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel. My reins also instruct me the late night seasons.

I have set the Lord always before me, because He is at my right hand. And I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, and my flesh also shall rest in hope.

One more scripture in the Song of Solomon, chapter 8. Solomon's Song, chapter 8. Read from verse 3. The bride says that his left hand should be under my head, and his right hand should embrace me. I want to think with you for a few moments at the close of this meeting about the right hand. I think we know that in the scripture the right hand is linked with a number of things, certain truths that are very precious and very important.

The right hand, of course, would speak of a place of honor. Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. As a place that Solomon gave his mother when he was sitting upon the throne, she sat on his right hand.

We associate that with a place of honor and dignity that it rightly pertains to our Lord Jesus. He's at the right hand of God, we read, exalted as a man in a glory, a glorified man at God's right hand. It's a place of honor.

It's also an expression that suggests his strength to support and to save. We have, of course, the right hand of God expressed, delivers people in Exodus chapter 15 in the song of Moses on the bank of the Red Sea and of the Lord's people in that day. Revelation chapter 1 verse 10, again, we're reminded of the right hand of the Lord Jesus and his power.

He has his stars in his right hand. So it's a place of power and strength and ability to save. It's also the place of comfort and the assurance of his presence.

In Psalm 18, we read in verse 35 that he says, thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation and thy right hand hath folded me up and thy gentleness has made me great. So the third thing is it speaks of the comfort of his presence and the assurance of his ability to save. Deuteronomy 33 in verse 2 would remind us that it speaks of his authority and his rule.

He's going to rule with the right hand of power and he's going to be the one who will execute judgment and justice in the world as we've been hearing by our discussion this morning. You'll want to notice these three passages in about 10 minutes here, the three passages referring to the right hand in these scriptures. In Psalm 110, we have the right hand as a place of highest honor and exaltation.

It's a wonderful expression. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. One has remarked that that little word till is that which embraces its entire day of grace.

We don't know when that will take place, when he will rise up from that place, but until then he's sitting at the right hand of God in the place of highest honor and exaltation. It's the only time I believe that we have this expression that the Lord Jehovah said unto me in the book of Psalms. And so it's a decree that comes from Jehovah himself to the Lord, I don't I sit down at my right hand.

As a glorified man, so it's a unique expression, unique passage that's related to the exaltation of Christ. Very interesting that you find this expression three times in the New Testament. This verse quoted three times in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 42.

We have it in relation to proving the deity of Christ. He ascended and he sat down at the right hand of God. There he is as a glorified Christ in the presence of God for us today.

So it proves the deity of Christ in that passage of the context. If you look at that, you'll notice that it's in the context of contesting and arguing against the low estimation that they had of him. He says, what think of Christ? And so we have the one who is proving the deity of Christ.

In Acts chapter 2 and verse 34, we have again, it's his sovereignty in resurrection. He's been raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God. The one who suffered death, the one who had been remembered this morning, who bowed to the lowest, who was in the midst of the thieves on the cross, is the one who is now seated in glory in the resurrection that is his.

It also was quoted in Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 10, where it shows there the superiority of Christ. Unto which of the angels said he at any time, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. And so it shows his sovereignty, it shows his superiority, the greatness of our Lord Jesus.

He's the one who was seated at the right hand of God. I think we can appreciate today, especially as a result of his work when he offered himself without spotting to God and endured the cross and accomplished the great work of our redemption. And all we have and all we remember today is because of his willingness to stoop to Calvary, his bowing to the cross and all of his suffering that he endured.

God has answered that. He's taken him up and given the highest place in glory. And we thank thee there he's interceded for us in the presence of God.

So we can look at that expression, much more could be said of Psalm 110. But there he is at a place of highest honor and dignity. And brothers and sisters, he's worthy of our worship, worship over desire to exalt and praise him and to give him the glory and the honor that is due to his blessed name.

But it's in view of the future anticipation until I love that little, very small word until, until, and brother, we do this until he comes. We don't know how long we'll be here. We don't know how long we'll celebrate the Lord's supper again.

Maybe never. It's until he comes. Do this until he comes.

So in Psalm 16, though, we have the person of Christ depicted for us in his loneliness, his dependence, his pathway of obedience, his perfect humanity displayed as a pathway of a dependent man. He's been supplied with strength that is divine and supply with all that he needs to accomplish the will of God and bring the blessing of God's salvation. In verse one, we notice that he is the one who is preserved, preserve me, O God, for thee do I put my trust.

Brothers and sisters, you and I know nothing of absolute dependence upon God like he did. Perfect humanity moved in dependence. It was absolute.

He could have done everything in his own power and strength, but he submitted himself to the hand of God and yielded himself and displayed all that God desired man to be in a superlative way. He was not only preserved in verse one, but he was prosperous. In verse six, you find his could say that the lines are fallen in me and pleasant places.

Yeah, I have a goodly heritage, a heritage of all that God had given him and all that he has among his people. But he's also preserved in verse 10. We find him there that will not leave my soul in hell.

Neither shall they suffer that holy one to see corruption that will show me the path of life in my in my presence is fullness of joy at the right hand. Our pleasures were evermore. So we have the Lord Jesus presented in his perfect humanity, his willingness to move amongst men and a manner of a servant, a slave to the Jehovah, to Jehovah.

But he was a servant to men and he was among men to serve. And he did so in a perfect way. And you and I look upon the Lord Jesus today.

We don't look at him as someone who is exalted in glory. But dear brethren, we look at him as one who displayed the pathway of perfect obedience and submission to the will of God in such a way that he could say, I've glorified thee upon the earth. I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do.

But when we look at the Song of Solomon, I've been reading the Song of Solomon lately, touches my heart. I'll just divert for a moment. I think there are two times when the bride dreams, she has a dream and the dream fills her heart with horror.

It's a sense that she's lost her bridegroom. She's lost contact with him. Somehow he's come there and she's missed him.

And the thought of it just fills her with dread and fear. I just wonder in my own heart, do I miss the presence of the Lord in the same way? Am I so callous sometimes and careless when he seeks my presence and he seeks me to know his presence? We all, at times, are dull and unresponsive. Anyway, you come to the last chapter here and you find that she's entirely occupied with him.

It's a blessedness of his presence and his constant communion that she's able to enjoy. His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me. She's enjoying the intimacy of his love.

And that's what we should seek to enjoy day by day. We should never think perhaps of the Lord Jesus simply sitting at the right hand of God today as a distant, long ways away from us. He wants us to know him in a very personal way, in a very present way, in an intimate way.

He's a real man. He wants to enjoy the fellowship of his people, and he wants us to know what it is to move in that constant closeness to himself. I believe with all my heart, and this is what touches me, that that's his desire for each one of us.

And I could say, I wish I knew more of it in a personal way. We can know a lot of doctrine and a lot of truth, and it's good, no question. But to know the reality of his presence and to walk in that closeness and intimacy, have nothing between me and him, and to have a sensitivity to his own person, that we might know his right hand embracing me.

So we have three times we have the right hand. Many more could be mentioned, but these three touch my heart. Christ in his glory, exalted and given the highest place at God's right hand.

The one who will say, his right hand is there to support and to strengthen, and his right hand also for intimacy and fellowship.