2 Samuel chapter 23 is our text, verses 1 through 7. The Lord willing, over the next two Sundays we will complete our lengthy study of the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, just in time for the summer, and we will have a summer series that I'm not going to tell you what it is, so you have to come back to find out. We will also be welcoming our intern in just a few weeks, and he'll be preaching a good bit in the evening, and that will be intermixed with our study of the Psalms, which will continue on in the evening as well throughout the summer. But for now, here are these words of the living God from 2 Samuel 23. Now, these are the last words of David. The oracle of David, the son of Jesse. the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. The spirit of the Lord speaks by me. His word is on my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken. The rock of Israel has said to me, when one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. Does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? But worthless men are like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand, but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire. The grass withers and the flower falls, but God's word is forever. The hymn we just sang is based on the last words of the Scottish Puritan minister Samuel Rutherford on his deathbed. He said, glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land and Centuries later, a hymn writer took that and ran with it and created a beautiful hymn. What we come to now are the last words of David, but they're the last words in a different sense than Rutherford's were. They are not the final words that he breathed before passing into eternity. You can find those, though, they're in 1 Kings 2. These are rather his last official words. The last words that he wanted on record for his time as king, of course, all the attention in the news recently has been stuff going on in the Vatican and with the passing of the Pope, there were final words that were spoken, his last words before he died, and they were spoken to his doctor. But a few weeks before that, on Easter, he gave his final address. So this is more like the latter. This is a final official address that David is giving. It's a moment where David, recognizing that his time on earth is coming to a close, gathers some important thoughts and puts them into the historical record. And he calls this speech an oracle, which is to say it's actually a statement from God more than it is a statement from David. This is God speaking through David as his king, in one final way, and some of you might be thinking, so what? Why does that matter for us today? What do the final words of a king in a far off land living over 2,000 years ago have to do with me today? I mean, after all, I'm just 10 years old. What does this have to do with my life? Or maybe you're thinking, after all, I'm 80 years old. I'm preparing for my own departure. Why do I need to spend time thinking about political speeches like this? And I love the way that Alistair Begg answered that question. He said to that objection, what we have here is the answer to your life. What we have here is the answer to your life. And it's everything to do with every one of us, every part of every one of your lives. And why is that? It's because what David is really announcing here is the hope for humanity that is found in Jesus Christ alone. Jesus is the answer to your life. The answer for every problem that we'll ever face is found in Jesus Christ. That certainly matters, whether you are young or old. This is the hope for every one of us. It's the hope for Kalamazoo. It's the hope for Michigan. It's the hope for America. It is the hope for the whole world. So let's unpack what David says here. And to do so, I want to draw three major themes or three words that can help us navigate our way. There's identity, there's prophecy, and there's destiny. identity, prophecy, and destiny. That is to say, first, David is going to say something about his personal identity, and I think we'll learn something about ours in what he says. Second, he points us forward with a prophetical word, a prophecy, and then finally he gets us thinking about our destiny. First, David's identity. David says, basically, in this oracle, I'm just an ordinary guy who is used in extraordinary ways. That's sort of the summary. What is David talking about here? What's he saying? I'm an ordinary guy who is used in extraordinary ways. Look at how he begins. This is the oracle of David. And who are you, David? I'm the son of Jesse. Well, who's Jesse? Just a shepherd in Bethlehem. Nobody really that important in the big scheme of things. David is just a kid from the country, but he became, as he says, the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel. David, who is just a mere man, was chosen by God to be a Messiah for his people. makes that specific, that messianic claim, because that's what the word anointed means, the anointed, the Messiah of the God of Jacob, and he draws out that messianic role by pointing to its three key constituent elements, its prophetical aspects, its priestly aspects, and its kingly aspects. He was a prophet, priest, and king for the nation. So he's raised on high, seated on the throne of Israel. He's a king. But he is also the sweet psalmist of Israel. Now that latter phrase can be somewhat tricky to translate. It either means that David wrote Israel's songs or that he was the subject of Israel's songs, and both are true. He wrote songs about himself. But we certainly know that he is referring in some ways to his prophetic role here, especially if we look at verse 1, talking about the oracle of David. The oracle of the man who was raised in high, again he's saying God is speaking through me and then he says that specifically in verse 2. The spirit of the Lord speaks by me, but the spirit used David in a particular way to write worship songs for people. He wrote the Psalms that were included in their hymnal. This is what they used as they worshiped the Lord and so David, like a priest, led the people into the worship of God. So what we're told here is that David rules in the place of God, not in place of, but in the place of God as a king. He leads people in the praise of God as a priest. He speaks on behalf of God as a prophet. He is the anointed of God. But the main thing that he's underscoring is that he did not do anything to deserve this or to attain that privileged position. just an ordinary guy used by God in extraordinary ways. David doesn't hoist himself up. He says, I was raised on high. I didn't raise myself. God dealt kindly with David. And that's remarkable, not only because David is an ordinary guy from the country, not very remarkable just to consider his biography, but it's also an extraordinary thing, an amazing thing, because David was at times a extraordinary sinner. But now, as he surveys his life, David is not recounting the loss of losses. Oh, I was the anointed of God. I used to do these wonderful things, but then I sinned and I screwed it up and God took it away from me. Those aren't his final words. To the very end, he is the anointed of God. To the very end, the Spirit of the Lord speaks by him. After his massive failings, God is still using him. After his massive moral failings, he is still used by God. And what makes you think that things would be any different for you, sinner that you are? You know, in the most basic sense, I am just Jonathan, son of Drew. Jonathan from a small town in the middle of Pennsylvania. Nothing special about me. And maybe that sounds like the start of your biography as well. But what's true for every single one of us as Christians? Peter tells us, you are a chosen race. You are a royal priesthood. You are a holy nation, a people for God's own possession so that you can proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, now you are a people. Once you had not received mercy, now you have received mercy. That's what David is saying. Once I was a nobody, but because I belong to God, I am by his grace a somebody. That's what every one of us say. That's every Christian's testimony. I was lost, but now I'm found. I was dead, but now I've been made alive. Once I was not a people. Now I belong to the people of God. And in Christ, friend, you are even more anointed than David. David calls himself the one anointed of the God of Jacob. I wonder if you remember the Heidelberg Catechism question, why are you called a Christian? And the answer is because I share in Christ's anointing, not David's. But Christ's anointing, and the answer goes on to say, therefore I am anointed to confess his name like a prophet, and to present myself as a sacrifice like a priest, and to strive with a free conscience against sin and the devil, and afterward to reign with Christ for eternity as a king. We share in his anointing our identity, is that we were nobodies who have been made somebodies and we, even that is too poor a way to put it, isn't it? We are much more than just mere somebodies when we are united perfectly with the living God through his son. Well, David speaks of his identity and he's reminding us of the privilege that is ours to belong to the Lord, that he uses us despite our sin and that he'll preserve us even through our sin. But for David, the most astounding thing was not simply that God would use him but that he would specifically establish a covenant with him. So look at verse 5 with me. Verse 5, does not my house stand with God for he has made with me an everlasting covenant ordered in all things secure, ordered in all things and secure. David refers back to 2 Samuel 7 where God made this promise. 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. And so as David prepares to die, he's remembering God's promise that won't die with him. Something is going to continue on after his death. It's a promise that will be fulfilled in the future when a son of David reigns on David's throne forever. So he's looking forward now in prophecy, right? Yes, there's a moment where he looks back. This is what God has said historically in the past. But what God said has implications for the future, and now David is looking forward, and he wants us to look forward as well to the reign, the eternal reign of one of his sons. And what will that reign be like? Well, we're told, we've already been told in verses three and four, so let's scan our eyes across those words once again. He says there, when one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless day, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. The scope, think with me about what he's saying about this kingdom, the scope of it, the scope of this coming Davidic king and his rule is wider than David's kingdom because this is one who will rule over men or more literally mankind. David did rule over men and women and boys and girls but in a tiny part of the world and for a tiny point of time in history. But this king will rule over all people so it's a wider scope. Here's how one Old Testament scholar translated this verse to draw its meaning. A ruler over the human race will arise, a just ruler, and will exercise his dominion in the spirit of the fear of God. We don't have that, right? We don't have any single ruler over the whole human race. And although we might have people who are vying for that position, If they were to get it, they would not do so in the spirit of the fear of God. David is speaking about Jesus. He's prophesying. Jesus, who says, Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it has been written of me in the scroll of the book. Jesus, who does all things well, when Jesus comes to consummate his kingdom at the last day, Now we're told what it will be like. Not only will he rule over all mankind, but he'll do so perfectly and it will be like a perfect morning. It's beautiful imagery, isn't it, that we're given here. He dawns on them. The king is like dawning, like a dawning on the people that he rules over. When Jesus comes again on that last day, it will be like the sun shining after the night. It is light defeating darkness and there will be no more night there. It's a perfect morning and a perfect perpetual day. He says that it's a cloudless morning that David envisions. I think that means it will be warm. And he says it's also not just like light after darkness but it's like the sun after a storm, the sun after the rain has fallen And when the light shines on the wet grass, it acts as a catalyst to activate that rainwater for growth and for health and life. God warned of thistles and thorns in Genesis 3, and now God promises a perfect lawn. Who here would like that? This time of year, everywhere you look, dandelions. And maybe you've worked really hard in your lawn over the years, and you do all the things that Scott says to do, and you put in the right times of year, and you work hard, and there's no weeds, but you can't enjoy that lawn. Why? Because your neighbors haven't done it. So you still see their dandelions. And that's sort of like life in a fallen world. That even if the problem isn't right in our face, It's still well within our view. We still see suffering, even if we might not be suffering. Oh, we have peace now, but we're hearing about wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East. Maybe I have my health right now, but I'm concerned for a loved one who doesn't have theirs. Even if the problem isn't right in our face, it's always well within our view. And that's because this world is a wilderness of woe. And so the Christian's hope is in the dawning of this sun which will bring perfect growth. The Christian's hope was put like this by one hymn writer, I am waiting for the dawning of that bright and glorious day when the dark some night of sorrow shall have vanished all away. Jesus can do that. Jesus will do that. He will usher in an entirely new world. Don't you want that? Apparently not everybody does. That's what we learn in the conclusion, verses six and seven. Not everybody wants this kingdom. There are those who value this coming kingdom and the world that it will bring, but there are others who have an entirely worthless estimation of it. In so doing, they make themselves entirely worthless, so that pristine lawn that David envisioned is contrasted against the wickedness of men, which is like thorns. One commentator explains, just as thorns are handled with the appropriate elements, a tool of iron, the end of a spear, and will ultimately be burned with fire, so the wicked who reject the Lord will be subjected to the sword of divine justice and will be cast into the fire of a lost eternity. And some people here might be thinking, see Jonathan, this is why we prefer you to preach from the New Testament more often. Give us the happy God. Give us the happy Jesus, not hellfire and brimstone, not this God of judgment that can be such a downer on a beautiful Sunday morning. But the reality is, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, that nobody speaks about hell more vividly or more often in the entire Bible than Jesus himself. The fire prophesied here is preached with greater clarity and with more frequency by Jesus than by anybody else in the whole Bible. Look at one of those places with me as we come to a close. Turn to Matthew 13. And verse 40. Jesus picks up similar language that's used here. He says, just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, it will be the same way at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin. and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears, let him hear." That's the call that goes out to every one of you this morning as well. You need to hear. You need to consider. You need to think about this. You need to think about your destiny. And you don't need to live in suspense, like, I wonder where I will end up. The Bible is very clear. The one who loves the Son of God and who is longing for his appearing will be saved from this terrifying picture that's given for us all throughout the Bible. Those, though, who despise him will be despised by him. C.S. Lewis said it so well. Do you remember he said, there's only two types of people in the world? There are those who say to God, thy will be done, but then there are those that God says, thy will be done. You don't want me? Fine. You don't have me. You're separated from for eternity, from the comfortable presence of God. That's the language our larger catechism used to describe what happens to the souls of those who have not put their faith in Christ. It says they're separated from the comfortable presence of God. It does not say they're separated from the presence of God. God is very much present in hell, but not to comfort, only to condemn. And God says, if you don't want me, Fine. Have it your way. And that way leads to hell. If you want Jesus, though, friends, you get him. And you get to be with him forever. Not because you deserve it. Not because you are less deserving of hellfire than those who end up there. But because for those who love the Lord, he has taken on that hellfire for them. That's Calvary. The entirety of the curse worn the whole way back in Genesis 3 is poured out on the Son of God for you if you have placed your faith in him. He takes it all and he gets a whore in hell, you get a happy heaven. Not because you deserve it, but because he took it for you. The Catechism says that if one perishes apart from Christ, they will endure most grievous torments in soul and in body without intermission in hellfire forever. It's a place of pain. Why would you prefer that? It must be a place of immense pain, for why would Jesus suggest it would be better never to have been born? than to go to judgment if it were not so? Or why would he teach that it would be better to endure unimaginable pain in this life if the pain in the next life wasn't exponentially worse? Here's how one writer summarized Jesus' point in the gospel. He says, to pluck out a right eye or to cut off a right hand would be a pleasure and a recreation in comparison with being damned in hell. Friends, this is hard to think about, and that's why many people don't. But today you must. Today you must. Where will you go? What will your destiny be? And the answer to that question is found in the answer to another. Whom do you love? Whom do you love? John Newton put it in a poem like this. He says, what think you of Christ? That is the test. to try both your state, your condition, and your scheme, the way you think. What do you think of Christ? That's the test, to try both your state and your scheme. You cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of him. And he goes on to list the different responses that people have to Jesus. So this is the question, this is the question you're thinking about right now. What do you think of Christ? And he says, well, as some people, I think he's just a regular guy, maybe he's even an angel at best but certainly not worth trusting for salvation. He says, some people call him savior in word but mix their own works with their plan and hope his help will afford when they have done all that they can. That's a Jesus plus me salvation. Like I do it all and then he's my safety net at the end. Is that what you think of Jesus? A safety net? He says, others style him the pearl of great price and say he's the fountain of joys, yet they feed on folly and vice and cleave to the world and its toys. False professors. What do you think of Jesus? Who is he to you? Do you see the beauty of our text? He dawns on them like the morning light. Are you longing for the sunshine of the Son of God? What do you think of him? Here's how Newton concludes, he says, if asked what of Jesus I think, although my best thoughts are but poor, I'd say he's my meat and my drink, my life, my strength and my store, my shepherd, my husband, my friend, my savior from sin and from thrall, my hope from beginning to end. my portion, my Lord, and my all. What do you think of Jesus? Friends, I want to say to you that you need a lot of help. I need a lot of help. We're sinners and we're sufferers. We're weak, we're finite creatures. We need all the help we can get. Jesus gives you all the help you need. but he'll do you no use if you do not take him by faith, if you do not take him today. Let's pray. Father, we've considered weighty matters today from an old book and these things can combine to give us difficulties in knowing what this has to do for us and how we can apply it and do we even want to apply it. So we plead with you to send your Holy Spirit now as the after preacher to impress upon us the truth that is in your word. If I've said anything that's wrong or an error or not helpful Lord would it be quickly forgotten but all that was spoken that was true let it be true in the hearts of those who listen and all that was convicting let it convict and let that conviction have its full course that could lead even for some to conversion. We need to consider these things, Lord, and your word puts that before us and causes us to do that. So guide us by your spirit, we pray for Jesus' sake. Amen.