1 Kings chapter 2 for our scripture reading tonight will come to the last of our studies in David's life and this section deals with his charge to Solomon and his last days. So, 1 Kings 2, I'll ask you to follow. I'm going to read from verse 1 to verse 12. 1 Kings 2. Now, the days of David drew near that he should die. And he charged Solomon, his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man and keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, his commandments, his judgments and his testimonies as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may fulfill his word which he spoke concerning me, saying, if your sons take heed to their way to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, He said, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover, you know also what Joab, the son of Zeruiah, did to me and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner, the son of Ner and Amasa, the son of Jather, whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist and on his sandals that were on his feet. Therefore, do according to your wisdom and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. But show kindness to the sons of Barzillai, the Gileadite, and let them be among those who eat at your table. For so they came to me when I fled from Absalom, your brother. And see, you have with you Shimeah, the son of Gerah, the Benjamite of Bahurim. who cursed me with a malicious curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But he came down to meet me at the Jordan, and I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put you to death with the sword. Now, therefore, do not hold him guiltless. You are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him, but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood. So David rested with his fathers. and was buried in the city of David. The period that David reigned over Israel was 40 years. Seven years he reigned in Hebron, and in Jerusalem he reigned 33 years. And Solomon sat on the throne of his father David, and his kingdom was firmly established. We thank God for this great servant of his, and for this wonderful book, which too, once again, and take one last look at David. We have already looked at David's last formal declaration, his last words that are last words in a formal sense, his formal declaration to Israel. Now we want to look tonight at a personal word. A personal word to his son and his successor, Solomon. I believe that some of the most solemn and sacred moments that I have known have been in the presence of people who have known, and it's been evident, that they are drawing near to the day of their death. And it is a most extraordinary experience, I can tell you. I have on occasion stood at a little bit of a distance away from the deathbed and watched as family members have gathered around, feeling almost like an intruder, but feeling also privileged to take in what really is a sacred scene. And, you know, this is a sacred scene in a very real sense. Here, David is drawing near to the day that he should die. And he brings this final charge to his son. Well, as we listen to this holy exchange, this holy charge, really, we want to learn Let's try and learn three things with God's help. First of all, we're going to see a dying man, and then we're going to consider a faithful father, and then lastly, a confident king. A dying man. David is a dying man. And we need to see that there is a universality to death. David is not the only one who dies. Days of David drew near that he should die, and he charged his son, saying, I go the way of all earth. Be strong therefore and prove yourself a man. David is going to go the way of all the earth. He's going to go the way of all flesh. David will go on in this passage to speak about Joab and Shimei, and they are going to die as well. Not in the same way that David will die, but they will die as well. Verse six, therefore, do according to your wisdom, Solomon, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace. Deal with him the way I should have. And verse 12, rather, verse nine, now, therefore, do not hold him guiltless, Shimei, for you are Solomon is a wise man, and you know what you ought to do to Shimei, but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood. That word grave in both those verses is a word that in Hebrew is sheol. You've heard that word many times, I'm sure. It's a very interesting word. anywhere near as much about the next world and the afterlife in the Old Testament as there is in the New. You have this word, which is many times translated grave, sometimes translated hell, a few times translated death, and a few times translated the pit. And it speaks of Death, sometimes when you see the word Sheol or the grave, it is just speaking about death or the grave. You read, for instance, in Isaiah 38 verse 10, in the prime of my life, must I go through the gates of Sheol and be robbed of the rest of my years? So, must I die? Must I come to the point of death? And so, Sheol refers to that. Or, it refers to the place. or the state in which all men go after they die. Psalm 89 says, what man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of Sheol? And of course, there's Sheol as a parallel to the word death in the first part of the sentence. And so, it's that place, it's that state into which people go after they die. Sometimes there is a hint when you find this word used. Sometimes there's a hint of punishment. There are times when it is used in reference to sinners and an exhortation to sinners to be warned about their sin and about the danger because they will be going to Sheol and they will be brought down to Sheol. And the adulterous, for instance, in Proverbs 5, Her adulterous activities will lead her straight to Sheol. And so there are at times hints of punishment that will face the wicked. Those are clear in the Old Testament. Fourthly, there is indication of the believers being freed from Sheol, being delivered from that place and from the realm of the dead. But God, the psalmist says, will redeem my soul from shale. He will surely take me to Himself. And so not only is there indication of judgment and punishment for unbelievers and for the wicked, but there is indication of wonderful things that lie ahead for believers. Not near as many indicators as you will find in the New Testament, but there are indicators for sure in the Old Testament. God will redeem my soul from shale. He will take me to himself. Or Asaph says in Psalm 73, you guide me with your counsel and afterward you will bring me to glory. And so there is indication of that even in the Old Testament. But the point is this, that this is what lies ahead for everybody. And David is not alone. And there is a universality to death. Everybody dies and everybody goes down into shale. People do not like to talk about these things. People don't like to talk about death. But it is a fact and it is an unavoidable fact and it is an unavoidable reality. A man by the name of Robert Alton Harris in 1992 became the first man in 25 years up to that point who was executed in California. And he was in San Quentin and they administered a packet of cyanide and he was put to death for the murder of two young men. But this is what he said. He made sure that the warden and officials passed this on. These were his last words and he wanted people to know. And he was saying really the same thing that I'm saying to you. He said this. You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everybody dances with the grim reaper. Doggerall, but true. You cannot avoid this. Psalm 89, I quoted to you earlier, what man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? And the answer is obviously no, you cannot avoid this. Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time to be born and a time to die. Hebrews, it is appointed unto man once to die, and then comes judgment. Job 30, I know that you will bring me to death. And the house appointed for all living, God will bring people to that point. It is appointed unto man once to die. And all around us, And at every moment there are opportunities where we might die. There are people who expect to die at a certain point, but the reality is any one of us could die at any given moment. Thomas Brooks said, we carry about in our bodies the matter of a thousand deaths. and may die a thousand several ways every hour, as many senses, as many members, yes, as many pores as there are in the body. So many windows are there for death to enter at. Death need not spend all its arrows upon us, a worm, a gnat, a fly, a hare, a stone of a raisin, a kernel of a grape, the fall of a horse, the stumbling of a foot. All of these have been to others and any one of them may be to us the means of our death. within the space of a few days or a few hours. It is unavoidable. You notice what he says here. Now, the days of David drew near that he should die. This is not an accident and this is not a coincidence. This is not just fate. There is a hint here of control and order. And in fact, Job 14.5 says of man, since his days are determined, the number of his months is with you. You have appointed, and he's speaking to God, you have appointed his limits so that he cannot pass. And he's speaking to God and he says, you have appointed the limits of man. And so when David comes near to the end of his days, he comes near to that day which has been appointed for him. And we talk easily of people as they are battling cancer or the like, and we say that they are hanging on. We see people on their deathbed and we say they're hanging on. But there is a very real biblical sense in which that is simply not true. They will die and each one of us will die on the day that is appointed to us by God. We do not have a choice in the matter. David is a king. He's not called a king here in verse 1 and following, perhaps because the throne is moving on, as it were, and Solomon is enthroned, and David is on his deathbed, and Solomon is the next king. But he was, David was, nonetheless a king. But here we see him at his weakest, because although he is a mighty king, and he was a mighty and a great king, He cannot resist death. Go over to Ecclesiastes chapter 8. Ecclesiastes chapter 8. Human power and human know-how and ingenuity cannot avoid this. Ecclesiastes chapter 8 and verse 4, where the word of a king is, there is power. And who may say to him, what are you doing? He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful, and a wise man's heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and a judgment, though the misery of a man increases greatly, for he does not know what will happen. So who can tell him when it will occur? No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war and wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it. And so you can have a king and he can have extraordinary power during his kingship. But the fact of the matter is that there's a very level playing field when it comes to death. And no matter how powerful you may be in this world, you cannot resist this and you cannot stop it. C.S. Lewis, as some of you will know, married a woman by the name of Joy and she battled cancer. And he wrote in 1957 of the measure of recovery that she was enjoying. And he says, the cancerous bones have rebuilt themselves in a way quite unusual and Joy can now walk. Her general health and spirit seem excellent. Of course, the sword of Damocles hangs over us. Or should I say that circumstances have opened our eyes to see the sword which really hangs always over everyone. And so you cannot resist this and you cannot avoid this and what David faces here and the day to which he draws near in this situation is a day to which you will inevitably draw near yourself. And people do not like to think about it, do they? And people don't like to talk about death. I used to try and talk to my students when I taught high school, and I used to try and talk to them about death. But there was a stubborn resistance to talking about death. And it's not just students and it's not just young people. You can read about Louis the 15th, 14th or 15th, King of France. And apparently he ordered his servants that no one was to mention the word death in his presence. And that's how people are. The Christian attitude is radically different, isn't it? Even in the New Testament, it doesn't even really always use the word death of us when we die, but it says that we fall asleep. Not that it's soul sleep or anything like that, but it's talking about what it seems like, as if we're falling asleep and we will wake up, and indeed we will. But the fact of the matter is that the Christian is not afraid of death. We can say with Paul, and we can understand what Paul says when he says this, that to live is Christ and for us to die is gain. It's not something that we're afraid of, and the reason we're not afraid of it is because of what Jesus has done and because of what our Lord Jesus has accomplished. Just turn over to Acts chapter 2 and verse 25. We understand exactly what Paul is saying in Philippians 1, because the Lord Jesus has done something glorious. Acts 2, and beginning at verse 25, Peter is preaching and he says, David says concerning the Christ, Acts 2.25, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. Therefore, my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad. Moreover, my flesh also will rest in hope, for you will not leave my soul in Hades. Nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of joy in your presence. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you. The patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that his soul was not left to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. And so David did die, and in that psalm he was speaking prophetically of Jesus who would not be left in Hades, but rather would be raised, resurrected, and would prove to be the firstfruits of those who are in Him. So much so that Paul would say in Timothy that Jesus Christ has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. That's why you and I are not terrified of death. That's why we're not afraid what the grave represents, we know that we have life and that we have immortality and Jesus has abolished death for us. And though we may die, yet we shall live, He said. And so we're confident and we are not afraid. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. So we see a dying man, and you and I need to understand the universality of death. And if you're not a believer, you ought to recognize the danger of your situation. And if you are a believer, you ought to glory in the hope which is yours in Christ. That's the first thing. The second thing is a faithful father. David is a faithful father. He is justly criticized for his failures at different points. Go back, for instance, to chapter 1, verses 5 and 6, and we see a comment that is made about his parenting with regard to Adonijah. So, chapter 1 and verse 5, then Adonijah, the son of Haggath, exalted himself, saying, I will be king. So, you see, there's a bit of a power struggle here, and Adonijah wants to be king, despite the fact that Solomon has been designated as such. And so he begins to exalt himself and he says, I will be king. And he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and 50 men to run before him. And his father had not rebuked him at any time by saying, why have you done so? He was also very good looking. His mother had borne him after Absalom. And so David is rightly criticized for his failures in certain areas his parenting. But nonetheless, when it comes to Solomon, here is a pattern for us which we ought to follow. Here is a pattern of influence and exhortation with regard to his son Solomon that is exemplary for you and I who are Christian parents today. So we want to see two things here with regard to David and his son. And we'll see first of all a fervent exhortation. A fervent exhortation, verses three and four, and keep the charge. Well, let's back up to verse two. I go the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God to walk in his ways, to keep the statutes, his commandments, his judgments, his testimony, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. And so it is a of tremendous and the fervent exhortation to his successor to walk with the Lord, to obey the Lord, to be in his word and to obey that word. That is entirely appropriate for a king. If you go back to Deuteronomy and chapter eight, chapter 17, Deuteronomy, chapter 17, a king is to be a man of the word. A king is to be in the word and know the word thoroughly and live the word out in his life. Deuteronomy 17 verse 18, also it shall be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book. from the one before the priests, the Levites, and it shall be with them, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord as God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, but that he may not turn aside from the commandments to the right or to the left, that he may prolong his days in his kingdom He and his children in the midst of Israel. So he's to know the word, he's to be thoroughly rooted and grounded in that word. He's to write the whole thing out. You know how if you have to write things out, you learn it and you understand it better. it becomes part of you. That's the whole idea here. And the idea is that he will know it and he will live it out, he will not depart, he will not drift to the left or to the right, but he'll do exactly what God says. And that's what David is exhorting of his son Solomon and his successor. He says, now you know the Word and do the Word and live it out in your life. All of the Word, His judgments and His precepts and His principles, get to know this and live it out every day of your life. It is an exhortation that is very similar to what God says to Joshua. If you go over to Joshua and chapter one, let's begin at verse six, Joshua, chapter one, verse six, be strong and of good courage for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them only be strong and very courageous. that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. And so Joshua is to trust the Lord. He's to believe in the Lord. He's to walk with the Lord. He's to obey the Lord. And he will see prosperity. And so David says, you and your sons, take heed to your life. You see verse 4? Take heed to your life. Watch your life. You don't just drift along in life. But you take heed to your life. And you watch. Your life. And you walk before the Lord. And there are times when you read about the phrase, walk to and fro before the Lord. So you're conscious that as you go about life, you're walking this way, you're walking that way, you're doing this. But you're conscious all the time that you're doing this in front of God. And His eye is upon you. And that's how you live your life. You walk before the Lord. You walk conscious that He sees your thoughts, your intents, your motives. He hears your words. He sees your action. You walk before the Lord, believing Him and trusting Him and obeying Him and all that He says. And this is David's word to his son as he is on his deathbed. But this isn't the first time that he's talked to a Solomon like this. You go over to Proverbs 4, and you see there what Solomon has to say about his father. Proverbs 4, beginning at verse 1. Proverbs 4, verse 1. Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to no understanding, for I give you good doctrine. Do not forsake my law. When I was my father's son, tender and the only one in the sight of my mother, He also taught me and said to me, let your heart retain my words, keep my commandments and live, get wisdom, get understanding and so on and so on, right down through the rest of the chapter. The tremendous example David sets for us here. The great example for you and I who were fathers. I want to encourage you as a father, let David be your example here. You want to prepare your children for life. You want to prepare your children for life in a variety of ways, but you want to be careful that their spiritual state is your primary concern. A lot of other things that legitimately we make our concern in terms of preparing them for life and for good citizenship and making their way in this world and being good husbands and being good providers. and being gentlemen, being men of dignity and honor. But our primary concern with our sons and our daughters is their spiritual state. And young couples, if God blesses you with children, you'll be very sure from the earliest days that the spiritual state of your children is your primary concern. And from the earliest days, you are inculcating the truth of God in them, and you're teaching the Word of God to them, and you're impressing the Word of God upon their hearts. Remember Deuteronomy. You want to be always doing that. That's the most important thing. From the earliest days, right through all the years that you have them, and you don't have them very long, I'll tell you, And all the time that you have them, you want to let them hear from you the exhortations that David gives to his son, and urging the truth of God upon them, and urging the ways of God upon them, and urging them to know the Lord, and to believe in the Lord, and to trust the Lord, and as once they're saved, to walk before the Lord, and to walk with the Lord. And you want to impress this upon them, not in a nagging, in an obnoxious way. You know, we can do that. We can shove the truth down their throats in ways that are obnoxious and do more harm than good. We can do that. We know how to do that very easily. We don't want to do it in that way, but we do want to impress upon them. We do want to exhort them. We do want them to have no doubt in their mind that their dad thinks their spiritual state is vital. I don't want my kids to think that they're marked of the be-all and end-all. Well, as long as you've got a, you know, whatever the number may be, that kind of great average, that's great, because that'll get you that kind of salary and so on and so forth. Well, I don't want them to be destitute, but their spiritual state, that's the key thing. You can be a prince or a pauper, but if you're right with God, that's what matters. And so we want to impress these things upon them in a passionate and a powerful way. We want to leave them with no doubt that we desire more than anything, more than anything, that they walk before the Lord. And young people, I want to urge you to be in the Word, to obey the Word, and to listen to David here. Prove yourself a man. Keep the charge of the Lord your God. Walk in His ways. Keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, His testimonies, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you go. You see, that is absolutely what we want for you. The Apostle Paul says, for instance, in Colossians chapter one, He says that He prays for them. Colossians 1 verse 9, for this reason, we also since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will and all wisdom and spiritual understanding. He wants those Christians and talking to those of you who are believers now in Christ, you young people, we want you to be filled with the knowledge of His will. Increasingly filled with the knowledge of God. Or Colossians chapter 3 and verse 16. Notice the exhortation of Paul there. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. You need to be rooted and grounded in the word of the living God to know what he wants of you and to know the way in which he wants you to walk. And so there's a fervent exhortation there. But there is also a promise of prosperity, a promise of prosperity. See, verse three, to walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commandments, judgments and testimonies as it is written, the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. And so there is prosperity that is promised. The word prosperity here in this text especially means to be able to act with wisdom, with prudence, with insight. And so you go about your life and you're able to act and able to decide and able to function in a manner that demonstrates wisdom, demonstrates understanding and insight and comprehension into the ways of God and how they ought to be lived out in life. If you go back to Joshua, there's another word that is very similar to this word. This word is also used in Joshua 1, but there's another word as well. You see verse 8. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. The word success is the word that we have in 1 Kings. The word prosperous is a different word. It's a word that speaks of success. It speaks of things going very well and speaks of things that you do and things that you put your hand to being blessed and victorious and turning out successfully. And so David is saying, well, you walk with the Lord and things will go well with you. Walk with the Lord and things will prosper. That doesn't mean that if you walk with the Lord, you're going to be driving a Maserati all the rest of your days. But it does mean that God will bless you spiritually in ways that you couldn't have imagined. Listen to a third John, verse two. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health even as your soul prospers. And so John prays for them that they may do well in physical and material ways, even as their soul is prospering. Well, that's what we want for young people growing up in this church and in our own families. We want to see physical and material prosperity. We don't want them out on the streets, but more than that, we want soul and spiritual prosperity. And what David is teaching us here by his teaching to Solomon is that you need to be in the word and you need to be walking with the Lord and you need to be in communion with God and God will make your way prosperous in the way that he deems best. So, as Paul says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. And the blessings will flow and the spiritual prosperity will be evident. When the Word of Christ dwells in you richly, you are equipped, for instance, for the trials and tribulations that come your way. When the Word of Christ dwells in you richly, you will prosper spiritually, even in situations when temptation comes your way. You remember the Lord Jesus in Luke chapter 4, and He's faced with the temptations of the devil, and how does He respond? How does He combat that? Well, He uses the Scriptures. I read the story of a young man whose family was on a Caribbean cruise, and you know, there's all kinds of cruises nowadays, and some cruises are more geared to younger people, and we're told, I'm told, tend to be more... how shall we put it? There's an awful lot more that goes on there that maybe doesn't go on in other cruises because of the kind of folk who are there. And this young man was on one such cruise where morality was, well, difficult to find. And some of his buddies encouraged him to get into drinking. The text came to his mind. Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise." And he responded in this way to his friends, and they said, come on, and they encouraged him to indulge in drunkenness. Another text came to his mind from Proverbs, that at the last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper. and they pressed him more, and the text came to his mind, if sinners entice you, do not consent. And so he resisted, and his friend said, he says, his friend said, leave him, he's so full of scriptures, we can't do a thing with him. The fact of the matter is that you will find that the scriptures strengthen you, and when you hide the Word of God in your heart, you will be enabled not to sin against it. And you will be equipped for the challenge of temptation that comes your way. The Word of God will do that kind of thing. It will help you in the battle against sin. It will give you grace to overcome worry, for instance. It's not just old people that worry. It's younger folk who have all kinds of things that are anxiety-producing in their lives. You ground yourself in the Scriptures. You fill your mind up with the truth of God. It will help you to overcome worry. grace and strength in terms of sharing your faith. You have the Word of God at your fingertips and you'll know what to say to people who at school or at university are there and are opportunities for you to share the gospel with them. You will be well equipped for that kind of thing. The Word of God also is you are rooted and grounded in it and you fill your mind up with it and you hide it in your heart. By the grace of God, you are transformed. You remember what Jesus says in John 17, 17, sanctify them by thy word, thy truth, thy word is truth. And so we hide the word of God in our hearts and we ground ourselves in the word and we are strengthened and we are equipped for the life that we're to lead. We wrestle with what the will of God is from time to time, don't we? And what should I do in this situation? What should I do in that situation? You will be, maybe you'll be surprised that as you study the word and as you are in the word, biblical principles come to mind and biblical truths are brought to bear upon situations and things become clarified as you work your way through life and so on and so on and so on. So it is key. There is prosperity as we walk with the Lord and are concerned about knowing his will and doing his will in the world. And God will bless and God will enrich our lives. So there you have David's exhortation to his son. He is a faithful father. You and I were fathers want to follow suit. Those of you who are young people, you want to listen to his exhortation. And be in the word, be walking with your God. And then lastly, a confident king. A confident king. Verses 3 and 4. Keep the charge of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. Keep His statutes, His commandments, His judgments, His testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before me in the truth, With all their heart and with all their soul, he said, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. David charges his son to do what is just and to do what is right. And then he goes on, of course, to talk about Joab and Shimei and how they are to be dealt with. And he's exhorting Solomon to deal with them according to justice and as they ought to be dealt with and as he ought to have dealt with them. I don't think at all that this is bitterness on the part of David. No, he's encouraging Solomon to do with them what ought to have been done if David himself had done what was right and just. But he failed to. But now he charges his son to do that. But more than that, of course, as we've seen, he charges his son to press on with the Lord. He urges his son to keep on with God. And he and his sons will know blessing. And David is confident then that God will stand by his word and God will stand by his promise. The promise, of course, he's talking about is in 2 Samuel chapter 7, where God promises that he will bless and God promises he will establish the kingdom and establish the throne. And David will always have someone on that throne and that throne and that kingdom will last forever. 2 Samuel 7. But we also read here, of course, something of a condition. He says, now you and your sons must obey and you must do His will that you may prosper in all that you do, that the Lord may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, if your sons take heed to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. Well, what's going on here? Let me put it like this. I think this writer has it well understood here. He says, the promise that there would always be someone to sit on the throne does not mean that every generation would experience God's blessing. There was a condition for personal blessing, which David reminded Solomon. If your descendants walk before me, with all their heart and soul. So, blessing was not automatic and judgment was a possibility. However, the promise of God with regard to the throne and with regard to the kingdom, that was clearly something which He would unquestionably fulfill. It is that unconditional promise, those sure mercies that I want to think about just for a moment. As David drifts off into eternity, He knows that God will fulfill His promise. God will stand by His Word. Go over to Acts chapter 2 again, verse 29. Acts chapter 2 and verse 29. And we'll see that God did in fact, as we well know, fulfill the promise that He made to David in 2 Samuel 7. Acts chapter 2, verse 29. Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to the day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in Hades, Nor did his flesh see corruption. And so the promise of God was fulfilled. And God promised to David that he would have a man to sit upon his throne forever. And God raised him up. And God set him upon that throne. David's body is in the grave, but his son is upon the throne. And David's body awaits the resurrection, David's son has already been raised and guarantees the resurrection of David and all the rest of us who believe in him. David's soul is in heaven where David's son is at the right hand of God where he reigns until all his enemies will be under his feet. God promised David a king for his throne and he did it. God has promised that he would judge by that king, and he will do it. But God has also promised that he would save through that king, and he will do that. David is an example to us, but he's no help to us. We can learn from him, but we cannot be saved by him. But David's son is reigning. And he is still ruling, and he is still saving, and he is still willing to rescue sinners like you. And so today, you ought to believe in him. You ought to come to him. You thank God for his ancestor, David. May you trust the son of David for your life. and for your salvation. May God grant that. Let us pray. Father, we thank you that we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are unafraid of death because that great son of David died and rose again so that we might live. We thank you for that. We thank you that though death will come to all of us, we are unafraid of it, we who know Christ. We thank you also, Lord, for the privilege that we have as parents to raise our children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. Give us grace, we pray, to do so. We do pray for our young people and pray for our children, pray for them who know the Lord Jesus and pray that you'll give them grace to walk before you, to live before you, to keep their eye upon you and keep your word in their hearts so they might not sin against you. And we thank you, Lord God, that you are the faithful and covenant keeping God and as you promised to David that he would have a king upon his throne. So you have done and he is our king. So we thank you for him and praise you for Jesus Christ our Lord in whose name we pray. Amen.