As you read the Bible about the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, what ancestor of Jesus Christ keeps coming up, comes up repeatedly in the announcements of Jesus's birth. Now, of course, in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel, according to Luke, both of which record the birth narratives of Jesus Christ for us, you find genealogies of Jesus Christ. Many, many of his ancestors listed in Matthew. It takes it back all the way to Abraham. In Luke, Luke traces Jesus' genealogy all the way back to Adam, the son of God. But when it comes to the actual unfolding of the events of Jesus' birth, when they actually began to take place, whose name is mentioned the most? The answer is David, King David. is the ancestor of Jesus that is mentioned repeatedly. Look with me in Matthew. You don't have to turn there now, but Matthew chapter 1, verse 18, the story you know well. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But, as he considered these things, Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Of course, you know, the announcement there of the angel that they would name Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. The angel addressed Joseph as the son of David. We look over in Luke chapter one, when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary to announce to her that she was going to have a child. He says, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. She was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And so, of course, the angel explains it to her. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. And he described the son that will be born to her. He will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom, there will be no end. The throne of his father, David. Further on, Luke, chapter one, which we already read in our scripture reading this morning, the prophecy of Zechariah as he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Zechariah, the priest who is the father of John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. How does he rejoice in God for what is transpiring in his life? He says, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies. And then Luke chapter two, as the angels now make another announcement, this time to the shepherds that were out in the fields. How do they tell these shepherds what is going on and describe it to them? The angel says to the shepherds in chapter two, verse 10 of Luke, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord. So we hear, as we read about the unfolding, the events of Jesus Christ coming in the flesh, we hear about a son of David. We hear about the throne of his father, David. We hear about the house of his servant, David. We hear about the city of David. David keeps being mentioned. What's so significant about David? I would suggest to you that the answer to that question reveals the reason for the praise of the heavenly host in in Luke chapter 2. When they say, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. Why are they so thrilled at what God is doing and wanting to give glory to Him? They understood the significance. And it's the same reason that moved the angels to praise that fills us with joy as we come to celebrate Christ's birth. So what is so significant about Jesus having David as His ancestor? The answer lies in what God did in relationship to David, not so much in David himself, but in what God did in relationship to David, which is shown to us in 2 Samuel chapter 7. We find here in this text God committing himself to a relationship with David, God, in fact, entering into a special relationship with David, a covenant relationship with David. Well, right. He made promises to David. And here's what's so significant this morning. God made promises to David. God made promises to David which would affect the entire destiny of mankind. God chose David, who was the least of his father's house, the youngest of eight brothers, a shepherd boy. And he took him from following the sheep, from the pasture, and made him into a king. Made him into the ruler of his own people, Israel. God made him great. He gave him a great name. He delivered him from all of his enemies and gave his people Israel's security and peace in the land. And in verses 12 through 16 of 2 Samuel 7, the Lord delivers now promises to David about what he will do in the future, even beyond David's lifetime. what he's committing himself to in relationship to David beyond David's own lifetimes. And the Lord says this in chapter seven, verse twelve, When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body. And I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. There's the heart of that covenant relationship, that father son relationship that God is promising. But he goes on to say this when he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. There are three primary aspects of fulfillment of what God promised David. He promised him a seed, offspring, and a house. That is, his own dynasty. He promised him a kingdom. A kingdom that will be sure. An enduring kingdom. So he'd have an enduring seed and an enduring kingdom. As well as an enduring throne. Not just the place of rule, but his actual rule over it. But how would the Lord fulfill these promises? How would the Lord actually bring it about that David, this man that he had made king, could actually have an enduring, eternal house, seed and throne and kingdom? Well, we might initially think, as you know, the biblical story of David's son Solomon. And indeed, as Solomon came to the throne in place of his father, David, he began to experience many of these covenant blessings that God had promised to his father, David. The Book of First Kings records this for us. For example, in First Kings 5, verse 4, it says, But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, Solomon says, as he prepares to build the temple. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. God had secured his people just like he had promised David he would do. In fact, in Solomon's day, Israel possessed all the land, controlled all the land that God had promised to Abraham back in Genesis 15, that his seed would inherit this land. And in Solomon's day, Israel took possession of and control of all of that land. And by the way, right here we find an important connection. An important connection that Zechariah, by the way, mentioned in his praise to God at the birth of his own son, John. It's a connection between the covenant that God made with Abraham and the covenant that God made with David. These are linked together. The covenant with David advances the promises that God made to Abraham. The Lord had promised Abraham, I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And him who dishonors you, I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed." God promised Abraham that in him, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Now we find God making promises to David and advancing that commitment that he had made to Abraham. Here is how all mankind will be blessed. Here's how all mankind would find life in God, for that's what it means to be blessed. Life with God. Psalm 72 is a prayer based squarely upon those two covenants, the covenant with Abraham and the covenant with David. Psalm 72 is a royal psalm. It's a prayer for the king, the son of David. In fact, it starts off with these words. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son. May He judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May He do everything that this godly King was supposed to do. And so it goes on praying for the King. It gives requests like this in verse 8. May He have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. Here's this dominion that God had promised to David. Now seeing extend, he's praying over the entire world, the entire earth. is what the extent of His dominion will be. He goes on to pray in v. 17 of this text. May His name endure forever. His fame continue as long as the sun. May people be blessed in Him. All nations call Him blessed. What did He just pray, the psalmist there? He prayed that people would be blessed in Him. The Son of David. The royal King. Just like God had promised to Abraham that all people would be blessed in him, now he's praying that peoples will be blessed in this king, the son of David. All nations would call him blessed. Solomon himself actually prayed a prayer based upon the covenant that God had made with his father, David. In 1 Kings 8, at the dedication of the temple that Solomon built, Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven and said, Oh, Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on the earth beneath keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart, who have kept with your servant David, my father, what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now, therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David, my father, what you have promised him. You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way to walk before me as you have walked before me now, therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David, my father. Solomon prayed based squarely. on the promises of God, the covenant that God made to David, his father. And well, might Solomon pray based on those promises, because the happiness of the entire human race depends upon the fulfillment of those promises, depends upon God keeping that covenant. Where will we find blessedness? Where will all nations, all peoples be blessed? In other words, where are we going to find God's favor and thus inherit real life, eternal life? Only in the great son of David. That's the only way that mankind will be blessed. But as you've noticed in our reading of the covenant God gave to David, and in fact, even in this prayer that Solomon prays, The covenant with David would only come to fulfillment with an obedient son, an obedient king. And that right there is a problem, because as great as Solomon was, God making him the wisest man on the earth, God bringing the tribute of the nations to him, God establishing him and giving him peace and security in the territory that he had promised. As great as Solomon was, he failed. First Corinthians, excuse me, first Kings Chapter 11. Says now King Solomon loved many foreign women from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, you shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods. Solomon clung to these in love. And so the text says the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord had commanded. Therefore, the Lord said to Solomon, since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant. Solomon failed. So now the question is, what will happen? Will God keep His promises? How will that actually work? You see, do you realize that it was roughly 975 years, give or take a decade, between the time God gave those promises to David and the time they really began to be fulfilled? And during all that time, His people, God's people, had to trust Him. They had to wait on Him. They had to rest on His character, even when the circumstances around them didn't seem like His promises were being fulfilled. They had to rest on His ability to do what He had said He would do, even when all the evidence seemed to be contrary to the promise. Psalm 89 actually reflects on that very situation. It praises God for His great covenant with David and all the wonderful things He's accomplished, and yet ends with, how long, O Lord? Why are we not seeing what You promised happen? How is this working, Lord? Why? What's going on here? You see, there were two ways God could have fulfilled these promises to David. And as humans, we naturally think of the first way. The first way would be that every generation of David's descendants would have a male heir who would rule on David's throne. That would be simple enough, right? Just keep that line going like that, always in that land, always on that throne, always with that kingdom. But after Solomon's reign, when the northern kingdom of Israel split from the kingdom of Judah, Even then they could have said, well, see, it's still continuing because there was a remnant left, God said, a remnant of a kingdom under David's heir. But then when Judah went finally into exile in 586 B.C., it looked as if all hope was gone now. And yet when God brought back a remnant to the land 70 years later, some hope that this would be the time of fulfillment. Maybe now we will really see all these promises that God has given to David take place. And yet, throughout this entire time that this is all taking place, the Lord sent prophets who revealed more and more about this seat of David who would rule. And what begins to emerge is that the Lord would actually had another way of fulfilling these very promises that he had made. There would come an heir to the throne who would keep the covenant perfectly. as an eternal person. He would keep the covenant perfectly and do so as an eternal person. Isaiah spoke of a shoot from the stump of Jesse, David's father, who would be born of a virgin and called Emmanuel, God with us. The government would be on his shoulder and that the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From this time forth and forevermore, there's going to be a son coming that will rule forever. And so when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son born of a woman. I would ask you today, what made Mary worship at the announcement of the angel and then ponder at the news of the shepherds when her baby was born? It was promises kept. Promises being kept. What made Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, bless the Lord God of Israel? It was promises kept. Promises being kept. What made angels shatter the silence of the night with shouts of praise? God's promises being kept. What made shepherds spread abroad? What was made known to them? promises kept. The hopes and fears of all the years, as the song puts it, were met there in that little baby born in Bethlehem, that son of David. Truly, the birth of Jesus was not the end point of God keeping his promises, but it was the turning point in all of human history. And so I would ask you today, why are you joyful at Christmastime? Why do we gather to sing songs of joy? Why do we have celebrations and things of that nature? Is it perhaps because of Christmas presents? Perhaps children might be tempted to think, this is why I'm joyful at Christmas. Although we are to be childlike, we are not to be childish as Christians. And if material goods are what we rejoice in at this time, then of course, Christmas is a vain thing. You cannot find blessedness there. Moth and rust corrupt. Thieves break through and steal. It wears out. It wears old. It doesn't provide life, blessedness with God. But of course, not being children, we might think that Christmas gives us joy because of family reunions and being together with family. Well, that's certainly much better than merely material goods. People are much more important than just mere stuff. It's good to enjoy one another. And yet if our happiness is based in mere mortals, it will die with them. Just as Israel couldn't pin her happiness on Solomon. Mere mortals cannot provide. Yes, they're good, yes, gifts from God, but all these gifts have to be held in light of what truly is blessedness. Why are you joyful at Christmas? I would suggest one reason for you to be joyful. Is that God keeps his promises and specifically God keeps his promises to David. That's why you can rejoice to this very day. God is keeping his promises. He will keep them forever. Mary rejoiced in this and pondered it in her heart. And I would like to ask you to do the same this week.