Good morning. In your Bibles with me to. First chapter of First Kings, First Kings chapter one. Our text this morning. It's going to be First Kings chapter one. Versus 38 through. The end of the chapter. The reign of David is coming to an end. He is old and weak, and another must take his throne. Another must sit where he has sat for 40 years. Last week in chapter one, we observed the drama of David's son, Adonijah, exalting himself and saying, I will be king. and conspiring with Joab and with Abiathar, the priest, to secure the throne for himself. And then Nathan and Bathsheba urging David to act quickly and decisively to coronate Solomon, to say to all of Israel thereby that Solomon is the king that I have chosen and not Adonijah. as he had said he would according to God's promise. Now this morning we are going to move through the rest of chapter 1 and we will see that Solomon is anointed as king and we will also see Solomon's first act as king. Solomon's first act. as king. Now, for the sake of time, I am not going to read our text, but we are going to read it together as we move through it. So let's pray and ask for the Lord's help. Father in heaven, we. We come to hear your word, Lord, we come to hear the word of the Lord. I pray, God, that by your spirit and through your word, you would speak to your people that you would say to us what we need to hear from this text, that you would reveal to us Christ in a deeper way, that you would move us to worship and to obedience, that you would save the lost, that your mercy would be magnified. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. How have you glorified God this week? Have you glorified Him? What great things, large or little, have you accomplished for His namesake? Have you been able to, by His grace, string together a few days of solid obedience for the Lord? Did you forsake sin that he that he might be glorified in you? Did you share the gospel for his glory? Did you obey him when you were otherwise tempted to to gossip or to become angry with your children or with your spouse? Was was your will in submission to his as king of your life? But don't presume that the pious answer is just to say, no, none of that's true of me. I'm just, I'm terrible all the time. Have you obeyed the Lord? Maybe you have. That's good. Good job. Well done. God has received glory through your obedience. And I'm sure that many of you can say honestly and humbly, that I am obeying the Lord. But you also know that it is generally true about you that with every instance in which you obey the Lord, there are ten in which you do not. And the question is, does God still get glory? When you disobey. When you fail. Now when we give Him praise, the praise and honor that He is due and we serve Him, surely He is glorified. But when you fail, when you take a step backward, when you stumble into an old pattern of sin, when you neglect to serve Him, when you prove yourselves unworthy time and time again, is He still glorified? The answer is yes. He is still glorified. How so? It is because his mercy is magnified towards you. His mercy is magnified towards the weak, stumbling, unfaithful, disobedient, unworthy creature. It is great and it grows ever greater. Towards you who are. Unworthy. For you who prove yourselves to be. Now, that is in no way. An excuse for you to sin, that is, mercy may be magnified towards you all the more. Shall we continue in sin that that grace may abound by no means? God forbid. But it is true, nonetheless, and not to move you. To obedience. that though my sins are many, his mercy is more. Your problem is that you think the king's mercy continues with you as long as you prove yourself worthy. That when you when you mess up, mercy must be regained by renewed obedience. And we think, you know, how can I beg mercy from Him whom I've disobeyed? And we forget that before He saved us, that's exactly what happened. That's exactly what we did. His mercy was manifested to us in the person and work of Christ when we believed in Him at first, and it is not any different now. Nothing's changed. His mercy towards you is not conditioned by your performance. Or by how you prove yourself. In fact, even in your failing and sin, His mercy is magnified all the more. I had a young man one time who wasn't coming to take the Lord's Supper, and when I asked him why he wasn't coming to the table, he told me that he felt that he hadn't been doing well enough in his walk with Christ to come to the table, that based upon his recent performance, he was not worthy enough to come, that he hadn't met the condition to be able to receive the spiritual benefits of the supper. And I reminded this young man, don't you know that that God has given the broken body and the shed blood of his son to demonstrate his mercy towards the unworthy. God's mercy isn't reserved only for those who have met some condition of righteous living and obedience, it is for the struggling saint. This table is for the imperfect. It's for the unworthy. You'll see in this text today that Solomon's first act as king is to show mercy to the unworthy. But you will also see that he puts a condition upon that mercy. And with God's help, it is my design to impress upon you the glorious gospel reality that the mercy of King Jesus is greater than the mercy of King Solomon. That you might thereby be moved to obedience to the obedience of praise and prayer and proclamation, which we will gather from our text. Our text will be divided into three sections. One, the coronation of Solomon. Two, the celebration of sin. And three, the condition of safety. Look with me now at the Word of God. Verse 38 through 40. We'll observe the coronation of Solomon. It says this, So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherithites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David's mule and brought him to Gihon. Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon and they blew the trumpet and all the people said, Long live King Solomon. All the people went up after him, and the people were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise." This is the account of Solomon's coronation, and immediately you will notice how it differs from the process by which Adonijah sought the throne. Last week it was aptly pointed out to us that between Adonijah and Solomon, we have the difference between posturing on the one hand and promise on the other. That is to say that one process is counterfeit and the other process is authentic. Adonijah postures. He maneuvers himself like a conspirator. He slithers like a snake in the grass, a mutineer. He took matters into his own hands. And as the text says in verse 5, Adonijah exalted himself. And so, as we examine the coronation of Solomon, we want to contrast the authentic with the counterfeit. We want to spark our examination with the question, how? How is Solomon coronated? The text provides four answers to this question. How is Solomon coronated? That is, by divine appointment, by kingly ascension, by priestly anointing, and forth by the people's affirmation. Let's consider firstly that Solomon is coronated by divine appointment. Again, verse 38 says, So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, they went down. That is, they went to go get Solomon in order to make him king. This is at the command of David. And it signifies the divine appointment of Solomon to the throne because here we have the priest, the prophet, and Benaiah who is acting as the representative of the king in this affair. Prophet, priest, king. These are special offices instituted by the Lord for the people of Israel. The high priest is a man called and set apart by God to mediate between God and men. Hebrews 5, verse 1 gives us a description of the high priest's function. It says, For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God in order to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. A priest is Zadok. Zadok was loyal to David when he was forced to flee Jerusalem because of Absalom. Zadok is then sent back. He's sent back with Abiathar and with the ark. while David is still outside the city fleeing from Absalom to be David's informant. And so Solomon is supported by the high priest who is loyal to the king. And this is signifying. That God's blessing is with him. The prophet. The prophet is a man called and set apart by God to be a mouthpiece for declaring God's message to God's people. When they prophesy, they do so with authority from God to say, thus saith the Lord. The prophet supporting Solomon is none other than Nathan. Nathan is Samuel's successor as the public servant and spokesperson for God. Nathan, he never wavered from his loyalty to King David, but obeyed God even to oppose him and expose the exceeding sinfulness of David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. Nathan was a friend to David. Our best friends are the ones who tell us the most truth, even when it hurts. Because Nathan is a tried and true prophet, obedient to God and loyal to David, it is a clear and public statement to all of Israel when David directs him to accompany Solomon for his coronation. Benaiah. He's acting now as the king's representative in this process, since the king is too weak himself to even get out of bed at this point. And as the king's representative, his presence, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites who serve under Benaiah as the king's bodyguard, shows that he is carrying out the king's decree. David's personal bodyguard is now escorting and guarding Solomon during his coronation. The coronation of Solomon is by divine appointment. We read nothing of Solomon making any moves on his own initiative, nor according to his personal ambition. He does not seek to posture himself, nor to manipulate the situation in his favor. And here in the text, therefore, a contrast is struck between Solomon and Adonijah. Adonijah seeks to position himself to take the throne by a counterfeit appointment, but Solomon is the child of promise. 2 Samuel 7, verse 12, The Lord says to David, When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 2 Samuel 12, 24-25, Bathsheba gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. Now the Lord loved him and sent word through Nathan the prophet And he named him Jedidiah for the Lord's sake. That is, Nathan called him Jedidiah, which means beloved by the Lord. Solomon is promised. Solomon is loved. Solomon is called and set apart to reign as king after David. And this promise is demonstrably fulfilled by having Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah accompany and support his public coronation. But Adonijah, the priest with him is Abiathar. He was high priest who served at Nab. He was the 11th high priest after Aaron. Abiathar was the sole survivor of the slaughter of the 85 priests at Nob by Doag the Edomite back in 1 Samuel chapter 22. He stood with David during the tumultuous days of Absalom's revolt. He was sent back with Saddock, as we said, to Jerusalem with the ark to support David from there, and he was instrumental in paving the way for David's safe return to Jerusalem. But now, in his older age, he's not very old because he became a priest quite young, since all of the rest were slaughtered at Nob. But in his older age, and at the end of David's reign, he stumbles so terribly by supporting Adonijah. And it is a check to us to finish well, to be consistent men. Now, we don't know his motives, but it is possible that he was likewise greedy to secure for himself a prominent position under Adonijah. But now what's remarkable about Abiathar is that he is fourth in descent from Eli, the priest, who we met all the way back in 1 Samuel chapter 1, who had wicked sons who would take the fat of the offerings for themselves and who would lay with the women who served in the doorway of the tent of meeting. The text says their sin was very great before the Lord. But Eli did not discipline his sons. And God said to Eli through an unnamed prophet in chapter 2, He said, Behold, the days are coming when I will break your strength and the strength of your father's house so that there will not be an old man in your house. You will see the distress of my dwelling. in spite of all the good that I do for Israel. And an old man will not be in your house forever. Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar, so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will die in the prime of life. This will be the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, on the same day both of them will die. His two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, they died in chapter 4 at the hands of the Philistines, and now Abiathar will be the last of the house of Eli to serve as priest. And 1 Kings 2 tells us that this happens in order to fulfill the word of the Lord which He has spoken concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. But not only has Adonijah gathered to himself Abiathar, but also Joab, a mighty man, a top general in David's army, instrumental in so many of Israel's affairs and in so many of Israel's victories. But we realize that David, having Joab in such a position for so long, is keeping his enemy close. We will speak, that is, much more about Joab when I preach to you from the latter half of chapter 2. But we see David charging Solomon in verse 5 and 6 of chapter 2 to not let the gray hair of Joab go down to Sheol in peace. Why? Because he murdered Abner, the son of Nair. Because he struck down Amasa, the son of Jether, and he shed the blood of war and peace. And because by his selfish and murderous acts, jeopardized the security of the kingdom. David has not forgotten. Nor will Solomon. The point is this, my dear friends. Adonijah has picked a losing team. He has no prophet with him, but pretends to prophesy on his own behalf, saying, I will be king. But Solomon, he is appointed by divine order, according to promise. This is how God has always moved forward His great redemptive plans. By promise. A promise was first made in Genesis 3.15. The Lord God says to the serpent, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. And so there is a line leading down to the Messiah. And they all remind us of the promise. It is Isaac and not Ishmael. It is Jacob and not Esau. It is David and not Saul. It is Solomon and not Adonijah. And what does Paul say in Galatians 4, verse 28? And you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. You are descendants of Abraham, he says, heirs according to promise. who are justified by faith in Christ Jesus, the promised seed of the woman, not by the posturing of works, nor the maneuvering of oneself into a favorable position before God, like Adonijah, but by divine appointment. By divine appointment. He has chosen you. He has loved you. He is called you Jedidiah. In his great mercy. Let's move on. To answer our second to give our second answer to the question, how is Solomon coronated? We're going to get out of verse 38 eventually, I promise. Solomon is coronated by kingly ascension. Again, verse 38, Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah went down and had Solomon ride on King David's Mewah. This is David's personal mule, the royal mule. And so it's a sign of his kingship. Now, imagine the people of Israel seeing Solomon ride through the streets up towards the city on the king's mule. That's a kingly ascension because Jerusalem sits at a higher elevation. It's really going up. It's like the presidential motorcade. It's like seeing the king ride in the royal carriage. He rides on the king's mule. But Adonijah, he has the counterfeit. Notice in verse 5 of chapter 1, he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen. It is an attempt to appear royal, but it is fake. It's a show. It's an empty show. So Solomon is coronated by divine appointment and by kingly ascension. How else is Solomon coronated? Thirdly, Solomon is coronated by priestly anointing. Verse 39, Zadok the priest then took the horn of oil from the tent and anointed Solomon. This is the holy anointing oil with which kings were to be anointed according to Exodus chapter 30. John Gill says that this anointing was an emblem of the gifts, graces, virtues necessary to qualify a king for the discharge of his office. The oil represents the anointing or the unction of the spirit of God for his kingly duties, that the spirit would come down and unctionize a man for the purpose of his office. But Adonijah, Abiathar did not anoint him. And perhaps he thought that it could wait, perhaps because he knew that they were acting without the king's directive, that he could not gain access to the tent and retrieve the oil without being stopped. But what we have observed is that Adonijah, rather than being anointed, offers sacrifices. And so, pretends that what he is doing is by divine right or is in accordance with the will of God. We saw that last week. He makes a show of honoring the Lord and sacrifices sheep and oxen and fatlings, perhaps in hopes of securing the Lord's blessing. But this is counterfeit. This is performance. It's not by the word of the Lord. It's not with the king's blessing, but it is on the initiative of his own selfish ambition. Jerry pointed out to us last week that the stone upon which he offered these sacrifices is called Zoheleth, which means serpent stone. I don't know why he chose serpent stone to make these sacrifices on, but it is fascinating how this serpent theme is laced through the metanarrative of Scripture and how it shows up in places like this. We see the serpent, of course, in the garden. There is enmity between his seed and the seed of the woman, and that the head of the serpent will be crushed. We find the author of 1 Samuel in chapter 17 describing Goliath as one who is clothed in scale armor, clearly alluding to him as a serpent-like figure whose head is crushed. The serpent as a cosmic creature opposed to the rule of God is featured in Psalms, for example, Psalm 74. Yet my God, yet God is my king from of old who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your strength and you broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan. You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. We have our instance here of Adonijah sacrificing on the serpent stone who is in opposition to the rule of God through His appointed and anointed king. Isaiah uses such imagery to prophesy of the Lord's delivering His people in Isaiah 21. 27 verse 1, it says, In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, with his fierce and great and mighty sword, even Leviathan the twisted serpent, and he will kill the dragon who lives in the sea. We find Ezekiel in chapter 29 speaking of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, as the great dragon. In the same word used to describe Goliath's scale armor in 1 Samuel 17, 5, Kaskasim is used of Pharaoh, the great dragon, in Ezekiel 29, verse 4. Dragon is used 12 times in Revelation to describe Satan. Revelation 12.9, And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Our text undeniably indicates, therefore, that Adonijah is doing the will of his father, the devil. He is conspiring against the rule of God. But he, like Satan, will soon be crushed. For God has promised to Solomon peace on every side. And it is the promised peace of Solomon's reign that foreshadows the peace that we look forward to when we no longer must battle against the world, the flesh, and the serpent. We are encouraged by Paul's words to the church at Rome in chapter 16, verse 20, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. As we consider how Solomon is coronated Let's now observe that He is coronated by the people's affirmation. Verse 39 and 40, Then they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, Long live King Solomon! And all the people went up after Him, and the people were playing flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth shook at their noise. This is a public event. It is done before all the people of Israel. It is done in broad daylight. is an event that is not marked by shame nor by fear because there is no wrongdoing in it, but it is the will of God. The people shout their praise, they rejoice. This isn't a formality. This isn't the people of Israel seeing the commotion and then going through the motions as if they are obligated to shout praises for the new king. This is real. This is genuine joy that the people of Israel are experiencing and expressing that a new king is ascending to the throne. God has provided a godly ruler for us. This is huge. Our text conveys the magnitude of the event and the overwhelming jubilation of the people with the phrase, the earth shook or the earth was split at their noise. But Adonijah, he does not ascend to Jerusalem in broad daylight. He hosts a private coronation outside of Jerusalem, pleasing his guests by filling their bellies. It's counterfeit. This leads us to our second main division of the text, that is, the celebration of sin. Adonijah provided as much food as all of his supporters could eat. Let's read the text together in verses 41-48. Now Adonijah and all his guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Why is this city making such an uproar? While he was still speaking, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, Come in, for you are a valiant man, and bring good news. But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, No! Our Lord King David has made Solomon king. The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherithites and the Pelethites, and they have made him ride on the king's mule. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard. Besides, Solomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom. Moreover, the king's servants came to bless our Lord King David, saying, May your God make the name of Solomon better than your name, and his throne greater than your throne. And the king bowed himself on the bed. The king has also said thus, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has granted one to sit on my throne today while my eyes see it. They are feasting. They are celebrating. Adonai has provided as much as they can eat. They stuff themselves. They are a picture. of those who serve their own bellies in opposition to the rule of Christ. And not only do they feast presumptuously following these presumptuous sacrifices and this mock coronation, but they feast as if they are secure and confident in what they have carried out behind closed doors. They must have been feasting for a long time, as it seems that Solomon went through the whole coronation process while Adonijah and his guests are celebrating. But their celebration is interrupted. And now we want to ask, how is their celebration interrupted? How is their celebration interrupted? We will answer this in two ways. First, by a troubling sound, and second, by a terrible message. First, a troubling sound. Again, verse 41, Adonai and all his guests who were with him heard it. They heard it. As they finished eating, Joab heard the sound of the trumpet. He said, why is the city making such an uproar? The sound of celebration over Solomon being coronated is a troubling sound, making an abrupt interruption to Adonijah's celebration of his sin. Joab's trained military ears hear the trumpet sound breaking through the laughing and the eating and the drinking of the party. And he hears this trumpet. No doubt his heart sinks. No doubt a chill crawls up his spine. The literary form of this portion of our text is called dramatic irony, which occurs when we, the readers, know something that a character in the story does not. Joab, he knows to be deeply troubled at the sound of the trumpet, but he does not know exactly what it means. But we do. We know what it means. Dear friends, the men of this world, they will be feasting, they will be eating and drinking and celebrating their sin, and one day they will hear a trumpet. And what dramatic irony will it be? We will already know what it means. That the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. Revelation 11.15 We will know by the trumpet blast that King Jesus is coronated by divine appointment. that He is the promised seed who crushes the serpent's head, that He is the beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased, that He is the King whom the Lord God has installed on Zion's hill. We will know by the trumpet blast that King Jesus is coronated by kingly ascension. That He has ridden upon a donkey up to Jerusalem and has been crowned with thorns and crucified and risen and ascended to the right hand of the Father. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? who may stand in his holy place. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and who has not sworn deceitfully. He who is no adonijah, but he who is worthy to say to heaven, lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. We will know by the trumpet blast that King Jesus is coronated by the anointing of the Holy Spirit and says, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. We will know by the trumpet blast that King Jesus is enthroned on the praises of His people. Psalm 22 verse 3. We will know by that trumpet blast that God has said, Long live the King, when He raised Him from the grave. And so the feast, the celebration of sin, is interrupted by a troubling sound. Secondly, it is interrupted by a terrible message. A terrible message. We don't know for sure whether or not Jonathan was with the rebellion, but you can see that Adonijah expects him to bring some good news. But Jonathan instead proclaims the coronation of Solomon and recounts its details. And like Adonijah, who expects this young man to come in and tell him what he wants to hear, the world today seems to think that they should only be pleased with what we have to say to them. that all they should expect to hear from the church is that which tickles their ears and makes them feel good and safe and secure. And they get mad. They get quite upset when what we have to say doesn't do that. And we do bring good news. We do bring a gospel, but understand that our gospel is terrible news to those who are in rebellion against King Jesus. It is a terrifying sound to the enemies of Christ. When we go and do evangelism, we are much like Jonathan and we say, no, Christ is king. You exalt yourselves. But God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father. And so it is a terrifying sound to Adonijah and his comrades. Now let's consider, finally, the condition of safety. How do they react to this terrifying message? And we come now to Solomon's first act as king. Let's read verses 49 through 53. Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified, and they arose and each went on his way. And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose, went and took hold of the horns of the altar. Now it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword. Solomon said, If he is a worthy man, not one of his hairs will fall to the ground. But if wickedness is found in him, he will die. So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar, and he came and prostrated himself before King Solomon. And Solomon said to him, Go to your house." Adonijah receives mercy. And here we want to answer the question, how does Adonijah receive mercy? What does he do? Well, he cowers in fear. He clings to the altar. He contends with sovereignty. And then he receives a condition placed upon the mercy that is shown to him. First, he is cowering in fear. His guests flee. They are dispelled with a word, with the announcement of this good news. They run. They hide. And these are, many of them, military men, no doubt, hard men, men who have fought, men who have bled. And with a word, their hearts fail them. It says, Adonijah was afraid of Solomon. He fears Solomon now as his executioner. His brother, who he would not invite to be his guest at his feast. And it's almost as if Psalm 2 is speaking directly to Adonijah. Isn't it? Why do you conspire against the Lord's anointed? The Lord scoffs at you. He terrifies you in his fury, saying, I have installed my king upon Zion. Now, therefore, Adonijah, show discernment, take warning, kiss the sun, that he not become angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath may soon be kindled. He cowers in fear, and like his guests, he flees. Where does he go? He clings to the horns of the altar. This is a desperate last resort for Adonijah. He knows he is guilty, and that if he should stand any sort of trial, it will end in his just execution. Taking hold of the horns of the altar was a kind of plea for mercy from him. The horns of the altar were understood as a sanctuary or a place of refuge. They were the the protrusions on the four corners of the altar. But it was refuge in particular for those who had inadvertently committed certain crimes. Accidents. It was not for those who acted with malice and forethought. Exodus 21, 14, if, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from my altar, that he may die." Though Adonijah clings to it, there is no provision for him in the law to be spared. The law demands his death. And so he cowers in fear. He clings to the altar. And then he contends with sovereignty. It says in verse 51, Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword. It becomes clear in the next chapter that Adonijah's repentance is not genuine. But that's easy enough to discern in this verse alone. It is reasonable to suspect, firstly, that Adonijah is still attempting to manipulate the situation and to control the outcome, even when he goes to take hold of the horns of the altar. Yes, knowing that it is not meant to be a refuge for his crimes, but also knowing that the king and the priests may be reluctant to spill his blood upon it and so defile the place. Not only that, but while we notice his language turning, well, seemingly pious as he addresses the king through his servants, calls him King Solomon, and calls himself his servant, don't let it be lost on you that he still attempts to remain in charge by trying to make Solomon swear and submit to his terms. I will submit to Solomon, but only if he agrees to my demands. This is not genuine repentance. But Solomon is merciful nonetheless. Conditionally. Solomon said. If he is a worthy man. Not one of his hairs will fall to the ground. But if wickedness is found in him, he will die. It appears as though Solomon sees right through Adonijah. He does not speak with an oath here and say, as the Lord lives, he will not die. No, he seems to expect that Adonijah will eventually act again according to his character. Rather, Solomon resolves to show mercy, but with the condition attached, that is, that he proves himself to be a worthy man. But Solomon's mercy will be retracted if Adonijah gives any hint of an attempt to take the throne once again. And so he tells him to go to his house. Go live a quiet life. You'll not be involved in politics. You'll not be in the court of the king. Go to your house. Live in peace. Well, as I've said, we'll see in chapter two that Adonijah will prove himself to be an unworthy man, that he will scheme, that he will seek the throne again. And what becomes of Solomon's mercy? It is taken away. It is removed. The condition has not been met, and Adonijah pays the price. He's executed. May our hearts, beloved, be filled with thankfulness this morning that the mercy of King Jesus is greater than the mercy of Solomon. Dear friend, you are the unworthy man. You are the one who proves himself time and time again to be unworthy, to fall short of the condition. Now, in your natural state, you fell short of the divine standard of righteousness, the meaning of which is the condition for being acceptable to God. All have sinned and fall short of His glory. And then even when you received mercy, in your conversion, in your regeneration. You have still sought the throne. You have still sought to usurp his rule over your life. You have still opposed him. Wickedness is still found in you. But David's son, Solomon, is only a type of David's eternal son. And He meets the condition for you. He proves Himself by His righteous life that He is a worthy man. And no wickedness is found in Him. And then He pays the price for your sin. And He is executed under the wrath of God that you deserve. And you, believer, are shown mercy. God can be merciful to you because King Jesus has met the conditions of righteousness for you. What if I sin again? There is mercy. What if I really, really messed up? There is mercy. In fact, your failings, your sin, your unworthiness, they only magnify his mercy all the more. I mean, imagine. Standing in eternity and having that glorified perspective. I mean, you can't even handle a true view of your own sinfulness. But being able to see to a greater degree just how unworthy you are. You will not be able to help but exclaim. How great is his mercy towards me? Now, that truth, dear friend, if it is in you. Should propel you to want to obey him. And so in light of the greater mercy of the greater King, we should be moved to praise, to prayer, and to proclamation. We should be moved to praise, to rejoice with great joy, even greater joy than the people of Israel rejoiced as Solomon rode on that mule up towards Jerusalem. That the earth would shake at the noise of our rejoicing for our King, rejoicing in Him. that His enemies could hear us and tremble with fear. We should be moved to prayer and pray for the advancement and blessing of our King's reign. As Benaiah prayed, may his throne become greater and greater. And we should be moved to proclamation, to be eager to evangelize and declare like Jonathan did, The minute the feast that God has made Jesus King. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we. We are in awe of your great mercy. Help us to be an even greater awe, Lord. that you would show mercy to the unworthy, even to us. Lord, we thank you for Jesus, who has met the condition on our behalf and has pleased you in our stead so that you could show mercy to us and love us with perfect love. In his name I pray, amen.