WHEN I AWAKE IN THY LIKENESS

PSALMS 17:1

A. "AS FOR ME, I WILL BEHOLD THY FACE IN RIGHTEOUSNESS; I SHALL BE SATISFIED WHEN I AWAKE WITH THY LIKENESS"
  1. To awake with the likeness of God was:
    1. The life ambition of David - this truth stands out in most all of the Psalms written by him
    2. His close relationship to God gave him a clear conception of the holiness of God - said he, "Holy and reverent is His name" - Ps. 111:9; "Let them praise Thy great and terrible name, for it is holy" - Ps. 99:3
  2. Moreover, he understood the plan of redemption real well:
    1. That is why he earnestly prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" - Ps. 51:10
    2. "According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from transgressions" - Ps. 51:1-2 B. "I SHALL BE SATISFIED, WHEN I AWAKE, WITH THY LIKENESS"
  3. Three great and comforting truths are found in thy words of our text:
    1. The Psalmist knew that sooner or later he would die - go the way of all the earth
    2. But he knew, also, that there will be a resurrection of the dead - those who sleep in their dusty graves will be raised again
    3. In faith, he was confident that he would awake with the likeness of his redeemer
  4. These facts show:
    1. That David was born again; that he was a child of God
    2. That he was conscious of the Spirit of God working in his life - to change his nature, to restore and perfect the image of his Creator
    3. That all this was the work of the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of grace
    4. These are some of the reasons for the boldness of the man who had sinned grievously against men and God C. THE MESSAGE OF CONSOLATION
  5. The blessed hope that lights up the heart that is filled with sorrow:
    1. The blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead - that is paramount to the Christian's hope of becoming alive again
    2. This hope pictures death as a sleep - a sleep in Jesus - I Thes. 4:13-17
    3. This blessed hope tempers our sorrows and gives us courage to face the future
  6. It looks upon the life of the child of God as:
    1. Being a period of preparation for the world to come
    2. The life of the Christian is a period of training for the next world
  7. The Psalmist sees the preparation of the child of God completed - "When I awake in thy likeness":
    1. The likeness of God was reflected in the life of our first parents - Gen. 1:26- 27
    2. But that likeness was marred by sin - Jer. 18:4
    3. The restoration of the image of God in the believer is the great objective of the plan of redemption
    4. The believers are recreated in the image and likeness of the Son of God, who is the express image of his Father - Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:17-18
    5. Paul, who loved the Lord Jesus with all his heart, longed to become like his Master - Phil. 3:9-14
  8. "I shall be satisfied"
    1. Presently many of us become discouraged at times we feel that our progress in our Christian experience is so slow, we feel ourselves far from what we ought to be
    2. But if we are faithful and live up to the light the Lord has given to us, we will not be disappointed in the end
    3. We are, even now, complete in Him - Col. 2:10
    4. Yes, we shall be satisfied and it will be true what the Psalmist writes about the redeemed, "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing" - Ps. 126:1-2
    5. Yes, I shall be satisfied the way the Lord has led me during my pilgrimage in this world...when I awake in His likeness


Design © John Bryant 2011