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This evening we are returning
to 2 Samuel 23 tonight. And I will be reading verses
1-7. Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares,
the man who is raised on high declares, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel. The Spirit of the
Lord spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue. The God of
Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, he who rules over
men righteously who rules in the fear of God is as the light
of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when
the tender grass springs out of the earth, through sunshine
after rain. Truly is not my house so with
God? For he has made an everlasting
covenant with me, ordered in all things, and secured For all
my salvation and all my desire will he not indeed make it grow? But the worthless, every one
of them, will be thrust away like thorns, because they cannot
be taken in hand. But the man who touches them
must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they will
be completely burned with fire in their place. Let us pray and
ask God's blessing. Lord, we thank you this evening
for your holy word, your word of truth. And now, Lord, cause
this word to dwell in our hearts that we might live by your truth. In Jesus' name, amen. As we draw ever closer to the
end of 2 Samuel, we encounter the last words of David that
may seem obvious and normal to us without any drama or controversy. But as we would page ahead to
the book of 1 Kings, we discover a significant charge that David
gave to his son and successor Solomon. This charge happened
shortly before David died and took place chronologically late
in David's life. So what are we to make of our
passage here tonight? Are these David's last words
or not? My answer to this little riddle
is yes and no. No, these are not the very last
utterances of David prior to his death. those are found in
1 Kings. But yes, these are David's last
words in terms of his official statements. This is David's swan
song, his final official declaration as the Lord's anointed, as the
King of Israel. So as we saw last week in David's
summary song, he is now pointing forward. He is not living in
the past, not relishing his own achievements, but instead he
directs our attention to someone who is yet to come. And so tonight
as we look at this brief passage, I want to start with God's spokesman. Then we're going to examine the
righteous king, and then finally the everlasting covenant. As David prepares to deliver
these last words, there are several descriptions that are given to
commemorate the speaker. And it begins with the simple
fact that David was the son of Jesse. Jesse was something of
a local hero in Bethlehem. He was a successful farmer who
had a large family. His sons were rugged and handsome,
not to mention their courage in serving in the army. Jesse
also had a pedigree of sorts. He was the grandson of Ruth and
Boaz. But in the bigger picture of
Israelite society, Jesse was not really famous. He was an
ordinary person, a common man. David had humble beginnings,
and David was not ashamed of his humble beginnings. After
all, he had come from the pasture where he had shepherded Jesse's
flocks. He is just an ordinary man descended
from an ordinary father. The second thing that is said
is that David was the man who was raised on high. He didn't
climb the ladder through his own efforts, but instead God
reached down and picked David up. The Lord raised David to
become the great man that he was, and David was very conscious
of God's grace in elevating him to prominence. I think these
are two great qualities to pair in a person. He knows where he
came from, and he understands how he attained greatness, that
it was all of God's grace. When people forget where they
came from and how they attained the position that they end up
in, they tend to become proud. They congratulate themselves. They think that because of their
wonderful qualities, they have somehow achieved what they have
experienced. But David maintains that grounded
sense of humility. I am just the son of Jesse, and
if there's anything good about me, it's because the Lord has
done it. He has elevated me. Well, along
these very same lines, it is pointed out here that David was
the anointed of the God of Jacob. He was the Messiah, the Anointed
One, the Christ of God. And this means that David was
specifically set apart by God for service And then he was filled
with God's Spirit. This goes back to the very beginning
of David's experience and journey. When he was a very young man,
he was overlooked, and when Samuel came to examine the sons of Jesse,
David wasn't even brought forward. But eventually the Lord did pick
him out and set him apart. And as Samuel the priest anointed
David with oil, it is the picture of the Spirit being poured out
on David. And so he is set apart for service,
he is filled with the Spirit of God. For the Lord's anointed
had power from on high for the work that he was called to do. This is what being the Christ,
the Messiah, the Anointed One is all about. It's not a meaningless
position, it's not a position for its own purpose, but rather
it's a position in order to do a work, an assignment, a task. The fourth and final identifier
that we find here is that David was the sweet psalmist of Israel. He was the one who penned so
many of the inspired songs used by God's people in worship. And this is a tremendous achievement. He was an artist. Really, as
you look over David's life, you see that he was many different
things. He was a great warrior. He was
an accomplished king. He was the one who built Jerusalem. He was a great administrator
over his kingdom. He was a spiritual leader among
the people, just to name a few. But I think among his greatest
and most enduring accomplishment was his composition of such a
large number of psalms. And certainly the Church of the
Ages is deeply indebted to the sweet singer of Israel for his
contributions to our worship. In this capacity, David now speaks. He is the Lord's anointed, the
sweet psalmist of Israel. And as he opens his mouth for
these last words, he claims to be God's spokesman. He says, the Spirit of the Lord
spoke by me and His word was on my tongue. Not only is he speaking God's
word, not only is God's word on his tongue, But he is actually
receiving that word. He is hearing the message God
wants him to proclaim. And so the God of Israel talks
to him. The Rock of Israel spoke to him. And again, in four different
ways, David is acknowledging here that God spoke to him and
through him. These words, and especially here
we think of the Psalms, are God breathed. David composed these
Psalms under inspiration. The Holy Spirit guided and directed
David's mouth so that David spoke forth the very words of God. That means that David's utterances,
both here and throughout the book of Psalms, are profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every
good work." So as we look into this Psalter especially, we see
these words which are so profitable. They teach us what to believe,
what to think. They reprove us. They show us
our sin. They correct us. They show us
what we should do instead. And they train us positively
in righteous living. So that if we use the Psalms
as they are given to us, we as the people of God will be adequate,
equipped for every good work. Now I know that many of you love
the Psalms. Many of you love to sing the
Psalms. Many of you use the Psalms in your daily devotions. And
you are to be commended and encouraged for that. Now every chapter,
every verse of every book of the Bible is valuable. We don't
discount those. But there is a reason that the
church historically has gravitated to the Psalms. because they're
so valuable for our walk with Christ, our spiritual lives. So all of this reminds us that
we must take David's words very seriously because they are God's
own words. They're not just the ideas of
a king who lived 3,000 years ago. These are the words of God And again, as we know, this is
true for all of scripture. All of it is inspired by God. All of it is useful to us. Well, having heard the introduction
of the speaker and knowing something of the significance of his message,
we now look at what the God of Israel said to David. What did
the Lord, the Rock of Israel, tell to his spokesman? In verse
3 we can overhear the Lord's instructions to him. He who rules
over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the
light of the morning when the sun arises, a morning without
clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through
sunshine after rain. So this is really a declaration
of the rule of the righteous king. The king who rules in the
fear of God. This king is first identified
and then he is described by analogy. This great king is one who rules
over men righteously. He possesses God-given authority,
and he uses it to govern society. There are men who are under his
authority, and he understands his assignment to oversee them. He is really a shepherd over
a flock, responsible for the care, the feeding, the safety
of his sheep. Although we tend to think of
shepherding as primarily an ecclesiastical metaphor, it also has reference
to civil rulers during the Old Testament era. And so the kings
of Israel were rightly shepherds, just as the priests and the prophets
also shepherded God's people. His rule over these men is always
done in the fear of God. As the king, he knows that one
day he will answer to God for how he has administered and conducted
his kingdom. The people under him are not
his private personal possession. No, they are God's people. They belong to God and God has
assigned him to rule over them. Moreover, God will demand an
account for how that rule has been exercised. So when you have
a ruler who is conscious of God's all-seeing eye, who knows that
he will need to give account one day, Well, then he will be
motivated to rule righteously. Now, once again, we're very familiar
with most of these terms, but I think it's good to remember
what righteousness is all about. It's easy to use that term without
really considering its meaning and import. My professor, Dr. Knox Chamblin, used to tell us
in seminary that righteousness is both active and relational. And what Dr. Chamblin meant was
that righteousness is something you do and it is done in relation
to other people. Righteousness is not an abstract
quality. But it really is a very practical
way of treating people. To put it in common terms, righteousness
is when you treat people right. You do right by them, particularly
and especially as right is defined by God and His commandments. And so you don't lord it over
people. but instead you humbly serve
them. You treat them in the way that
you would want and expect to be treated yourself. When a God-fearing
king is conscious of his duty to God, then he will tend to
treat people in the right way. And again, that's according to
God's own word. This righteous king is next described
by several analogies that are drawn from the natural world.
He is like the light of the morning when the sun rises. One thing
that I love to do is to see the sunrise when we camp at Coler
Andre State Park, especially in the summertime. So sometimes
we'll get up early and we'll head down to the beach just to
watch the sun rise over the horizon. And it is so beautiful. It is
so peaceful to watch. It's especially true on a morning
without clouds. If the sky is overcast, then
we know that the sunrise will be quite muted But if there is
a clear blue sky, that sunrise is all the more glorious. And
this is what this godly, righteous King is like. Like a brilliant,
beautiful sunrise on a clear, cloudless day. He is also like
tender grass that springs up out of the earth. These shoots
of grass are fresh and green, and they are beautiful to behold.
They are also sweet and nourishing to any animals that might be
grazing nearby. And again, it's like tender grass
springing up after a gentle rain with the bright sunshine illuminating
it. These different vignettes from
the natural world are all peaceful, beautiful things. Things that
calm our hearts and warm our affections. And that is really
what a righteous king is like. He doesn't frustrate us. He doesn't
stir up turmoil. He is not doing things that are
dangerous or menacing or threatening. He is just governing with wisdom,
with godliness, with restraint, and it is so beautiful, so peaceful,
so delightful. Well, having seen this righteous
King in His beauty, we must now ask the obvious interpretive
question, who is David talking about here? Is he speaking about
himself? And that is certainly possible,
for he was the Lord's anointed king. He had served in that capacity
for 40 years. But as I said last Sunday about
the previous chapter, is it really likely that David is boasting
and bragging about himself in these final statements about
his own life? I still believe that David was
far too modest for that. He's not strutting around saying,
look at how great I have been. Instead, it seems to me much
more likely that David is really pointing people to the ultimate
fulfillment of the righteous kingship to the Lord Jesus Christ,
King of kings and Lord of lords. While these things may be relatively
true about King David, they are absolutely true of King Jesus. And it's far more fitting for
David to point people to the true King and Head of the Church,
rather than seeking to steal his glory for himself in these
waning days of his reign. Well, this Christological interpretation
which I've offered is really only bolstered by what follows
in verses 5 through 7, the rest of our passage. Using words that
are reminiscent of the Davidic covenants back in 2 Samuel 7,
David here celebrates the everlasting covenant which the Lord has made
with him and with his household. God had promised to build David
a house, not an earthly, physical, material house, a spiritual house. He would establish David's household,
and he would put David's sons, David's descendants, upon the
throne of Israel. These covenant arrangements were
ordered in all things and secure according to the king. It was
certain to happen. It could not be prevented. In other words, it could not
not happen. We know that the promises of
the Davidic covenant find their final and ultimate fulfillment
in the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when you bring together
what David says in verses 3 and 4 about this righteous King,
and then what he says in 5-7 about the everlasting covenant,
you blend those together and it certainly seems to be talking
about Christ. And this means that King Jesus
is the covenant keeper. He does all that needs to be
done He secures everything, all of the blessings and benefits
by his own covenantal faithfulness. For this reason, David's righteous
desires and David's salvation will grow and continue to expand. Because King Jesus does everything
for his people that is needful. Jesus meets our desires, and
He saves us to the uttermost. He is everything to us, and He
pours out His grace, His favor, and His goodness upon us. Jesus
is our most tender and faithful friend. He is our constant guardian
and keeper He is the one who carries us through this world
and brings us to our eternal home, so that we can be with
Him forever and ever in the new heavens and the new earth. And when we see Jesus in His
covenant-keeping abilities and progress, we see Him in all of
these beautiful ways. He is like the sunrise on a morning
where there's no clouds in sight. He is like that tender green
grass shooting up out of the earth that's been doused with
an evening rain but is now glistening in the morning sun. We look upon
Him and our hearts are drawn to Him and we say, that is so
beautiful. He is so worthy. I love him with
all my heart, with all my inmost being." King Jesus is also a
covenant keeper in his just judgments upon the wicked and worthless
ones. Those who have refused his grace,
those who have rejected his favor, they will be dealt with in justice
and in judgment. And in the final verses of this
section, they are compared to thorns that must be gathered
carefully to be burned in the fire. They cannot be taken in
hand without protection. Down in my bottom garden, I've
got some boysenberry vines that have thorns on them. Very sharp
thorns. Now I've got some nice thornless
ones that give me no trouble, but this other variety has thorns. And so knowing that Roger Wagner
was coming, I thought, I am going to try and snip one of those
thorny shoots and see if I can root it and give it to him when
he's here. But I knew if I try and just
grab that thing with my hands, I will regret that. And even
with a nice thick leather glove on my hand, I had to be careful
because those thorns can pierce through and they can hurt. And that's what he's saying these
wicked ones are like. You cannot take them in hand
without some protection. The man who tackles these thorny
people must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear. Now
you can almost see this in your own mind. Here you have a warrior
and he's got a nice long spear with an iron point on it. And he takes his spear and he
kind of pulls the thorns together. He won't grab them with his hand,
but he kind of gets them into a bundle and then he lights them
on fire and they burn up. And so you've got to have protection
and be able to carry this out in order to pull off justice. This is what will become of those
worthless fools who have rejected the mercy offered by the King
of Glory. Jesus will deal with them in
wisdom and justice, and He will punish them. He will destroy
them. And in this way, King Jesus keeps
His word as a covenant keeper both in saving His own people
and in destroying all of his and our enemies." So as David
finishes his final words, he is really encouraging and urging
us to look unto his descendant, our Lord Jesus Christ. To look
in faith and to have hope in the righteous King who reigns
in glory and goodness. But David also warns us that
if we refuse him who culls us from heaven, we will find ourselves
gathered into a great pile and burned up like so many thorn
bushes, consumed by the flame until there is nothing left.
And so just as we saw this morning with Jesus' words, now here we
see David saying, Choose ye this day whom you will serve. Will
you put your faith and trust and hope in the Son of God? Will
you follow the righteous King, King Jesus, and live your life
unto Him for His glory? Will you associate with Him? Or will you instead avoid Him
and be ashamed of Him? and run the great risk of your
eternal destruction. Let's pray together. Father,
we thank you for David, for his life, for his ministry, especially
in writing the Psalms. And we thank you, too, for these
last words pointing us to our Savior, pointing us to the righteous
rule of King Jesus. Lord, give us hearts of faith
that embrace and love and follow our Savior, keep us, Lord, from
abandoning Him or being ashamed of Him. For this we pray in Jesus'
name, Amen.
The Last Words of David
| Sermon ID | 1013242320531558 |
| Duration | 31:48 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | 2 Samuel 23:1-7 |
| Language | English |
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