It is a glorious privilege to be here to sing our story, to sing our song of salvation. And that's actually what we're going to be doing this morning is looking at the song of salvation, the song of the covenant, the song of the great king. sung by David in his last words in 2 Samuel 23. So I invite you to turn to 2 Samuel chapter 23. We're gonna be focusing in on verses one to seven. And I'm gonna pray again. Lord Jesus, you are the exalted King that this song speaks of. We are asking for your Spirit, the same Spirit who descended upon you, the same Spirit who caused you, the God-man, to be conceived in the womb of Mary, the same Spirit who raised you from the dead, the same Spirit poured out at Pentecost. We're asking for that Spirit, your Holy Spirit, To strengthen us and help us and illuminate your word to us that we might see your glory that we might be transformed and changed by the sight of your glory and be Equipped to more faithfully proclaim this gospel and be transformed And bear the fruit of the Spirit So we're asking for your help and your grace and we thank you that you promised that to us in Jesus name. Amen. I In our 15 years of marriage, the Lord has blessed my wife and I with eight precious children who knew I would be giving this example this morning, so they didn't come. Just kidding, my wife and children are worshiping at our home church this morning. But it's amazing that in God's providence, there's a noticeable pattern in the order of our children. Another way to put it is there's a chiasm. Biblical scholars talk about a poetic arrangement or a pattern called a chiastic structure, a chiasm. Well, in other words, in our four boys and four girls who range from the ages of 14 down to one, there's a chiasm. For instance, The oldest child, a girl, Natalia, who's 14, matches with the youngest, also a girl, in a few ways. One, their birth pictures and toddler pictures look identical. They have the same kind of a beautiful textured hair. As my wife is from Angola, and I'm an Irish, Scottish, Polish, German, Englishman in America, so our children have all different kinds of hair. Well, Natalia and Sophia have the same hair, so one matches with eight. You could say Natalia is letter A, and Sophia in the chiasm is A prime. Well, our second oldest, who is our oldest boy, Micaiah, he's B in the chiasm. Micaiah, since he was a small boy, was dad's beloved son. He's the firstborn son. And it's interesting, he matches with, he corresponds with the second to youngest child, Timothy Jr. who is not the first born, but he bears the name of his dad. And that's Timmy. He's B prime. Makai is B. So we have AB and B prime, A prime. But then the third and fourth They look like twin girls, Maralina and Evangeline. We'll call them C in the chiasm. They look like twins. People always ask if they're twins, but guess what? They match with C prime in the chiasm, which is our fifth and sixth born boys who actually are Irish twins, 11 months apart and look very similar. So we have the oldest girl, youngest girl, oldest boy, the firstborn son, matching with Timothy Jr., second to last, and then a set of near twin girls matching with a set of near twin boys. So it forms a chiasm, and they just love it when I tell them that. Well, the reason I give you this example is because this is very similar to the pattern at the end of 2 Samuel. In fact, In 2 Samuel 23 we find ourselves in the very middle of a chiasm and I would ask you before we read this passage to turn with me to the left one page to 2 Samuel 21 where we have letter A in the chiasm. And the features of A in the chiasm have to do with David, although a king, acting like a priest. And many of you know, a priest represents God's people in worship, but also in offering up sacrifice to bring forgiveness of sins, to make atonement. And that's because Saul had made a covenant with the Gibeonites that he broke and therefore a plague, a curse, the judgment of God is upon Israel because of Saul's sin and David has to offer up a sacrifice of atonement to turn away the fair, just wrath of God. And he does so Then, and so if you're comfortable writing in your Bible, some people are not comfortable writing in their Bible, that's okay. So either with a pencil or in your mind, you can put A next to 2 Samuel 21. But then at verse 15 of that same chapter, 2 Samuel 21, 15, we have the theme of war, and it's David's kingdom men, his mighty men. And in this section, David's mighty men reflect David. How so? Because they are giant slayers. In fact, one of David's mighty men, in particular in verse 19, slays a giant named Goliath. And we learn in 1 Chronicles that it's actually Goliath's brother. Well, King David the anointed of the Lord, slew the strong man Goliath, and it sets a pattern for his mighty men, who also slay giants. That's B in the chiasm. Then C is 2 Samuel 22. 2 Samuel 22 is essentially Psalm 18 in the Psalms. nearly identical and it's a song of praise to God for his steadfast love that's his promise covenant keeping love to David and to his anointed to his offspring we see that at the end of 2nd Samuel 22 look at verses 50 and 51 now this is important because these are the two verses right above our passage that we're gonna focus in on. 2 Samuel 22, 15, 51. For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations and sing praises to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king and shows steadfast love to his anointed, that's to his Mashiach, his Messiah, his anointed one, his Christ at that time in redemptive history, namely David, to David and to his offspring. Forever. And many of you know one of Jesus's main titles for himself is son of David. He is the far off grandson of David in whom these promises are fulfilled. And so if that's letter C in the chiasm, C prime corresponding with it is our passage here in 2 Samuel 23, one through seven. A shorter song about God's faithfulness to this promise to set up an eternal king in the family of David. Well, notice right after that is B, B prime that is, in 23.8. where it's talked about David's mighty men, who were also discussed earlier, and they are those who strike down Philistines, just as David, who strike down a lion, just as David did, and the Lord works salvation through them. That same phrase is used for David and it's used for them. In other words, David the king sets the pattern for his kingdom warriors, his disciples. And then, to close out 2 Samuel, in chapter 24, there is another plague, another judgment from God. The wrath of God is upon His people, not because of the sin of Saul, but because of the sin of David, who when he arrogantly had a census to count all the people in his kingdom and did not follow the laws prescribed in the earlier parts of scripture to offer up atonement when you do a census, the wrath of God has come upon Israel. And so what does David do? He builds an altar to the Lord. Look at 2 Samuel 24, verse 25, the last verse of 2 Samuel. This is crucial. 2 Samuel 24 verse 25 and David built there and by the way that there is Mount Moriah exactly where Abraham offered up his son Isaac as a burnt offering and yet instead of Isaac it was a ram in the place of Isaac, the firstborn son, because Abraham knew the Lord would provide the lamb. David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burn offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land and the plague was averted from Israel. The wrath of God was turned away from Israel. So essentially, David is functioning like a priest in letter A and A prime. That's the bread at the top of the sandwich, and at the bottom of the sandwich, David is a priest offering up atonement. We often don't think of David as a priest, but it says in 2 Samuel 8, David's sons were priests. And all through Samuel, David keeps wearing the ephod. the clothing that was only for the priests. And David represents the people of God in worship. That's a function of a priest. But then, in letter B in B prime, it's David the king in his kingdom victories, which set the pattern for his warriors. But in the very, you could call that the condiments on the burger. If A in A prime is the bread on the top and bottom, the condiments giving it flavor is kingdom war. kingdom victory, and then the meat in the middle is worship. It's the songs of God's promises of kingship. And so with that in mind, we can turn now to 2 Samuel 23, verse one, and let's read it. 2 Samuel 23, one. 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. For 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 all my desire? But worthless men are all 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. May the Lord bless the reading, the hearing, the believing, and the obeying of His word. As the last words of David, says in verse 1 this poem this song is David's final legacy written to his offspring to his sons his royal sons as a way of passing down the truth of God's promise that the Lord promised David in 2nd Samuel 7 namely God will establish the throne that is the kingship of David forever. That God will raise up for David an offspring, a seed, a son who will sit on David's throne and rule righteously and build God's temple, God's house, God's place of worship. But this song is not just written to David's offspring, it's written about David's offspring, who is actually the central focus of God's promise to David and God's covenant with David. Now, the last words of David. This is meant to remind us this is written at the end of David's life, so you could think about it as his last song. This is his last track on his last album before he retires. But last words can be translated, the end time words, the words about the last things. So these are not just the final words of David. in terms of chronology, but they're concerning things about the last things, the future, things beyond himself. So just like the song in the prior chapter, the song of David rehearses God's faithful promise to raise up for David a righteous king, a righteous ruler, who will bring new creation light, in life, who will bring satisfaction and salvation, but who also cut off the wicked in judgment. So therefore it's safe to say David's song is prophetic. God is prophesying through David. He's declaring his promise in advance that God will keep his promise to bring Jesus Christ. So here are four points about this prophetic song. First, there's the prophetic singer. Second, the prophetic source. Third, the prophetic promise. And fourth, the prophetic warning. Point one, the prophetic singer is King David in verse one. Now, these are the last words of David. That's the heading of the song, just like you see in the Psalms, a superscription, a song of David, something like that. But the actual song begins with, the oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who is exalted, who is raised on high. Notice the parallel poetic lines. Some of you guys are familiar with this Poetic device in Hebrew in particular where one line is said and then a parallel line is said that Unpacks that form that first line. So we notice that David which means beloved in verse 1 the son of Jesse is further unpacked by being the man who was raised on high and And then the anointed of the God of Jacob is further specified as the sweet psalmist of Israel. Now, at first glance, in verse 1, it might seem like David is full of himself. He's singing about himself. Is he a secular rapper, boasting in himself? No. Everything that David says about himself, all of his titles, are actually pointing toward what the Lord has done in and through David. Moreover, everything David says about himself are a pattern and a mold and a type for the greater David. But these titles as beloved david as son of jesse as the man exalted raised on high as the anointed the messiah of the god of jacob the sweet soul most of israel they give weight to david as the lord spokesman just as paul would rehearse not any authority that he has in and of himself, but because of Christ's call to him to share the authority as apostle, so that the church would receive his words as Christ's words, so too David is laying out his authority as God's prophet, his spokesman. Notice he's the anointed one. Again, the Messiah, which is the word here, in this era of redemptive history. And look who he's been anointed by. He's been anointed by the God of Jacob. Now, many of you know that this word for anointed one comes from the fact that a priest, a prophet, and a king were anointed with oil poured out of a ram's horn, symbolizing the strength and the salvation of God, and the oil representing the Holy Spirit. And we can tell that's the case from David's own anointing in 1 Samuel 16. When Samuel the prophet pours oil, anoints him with oil, the Spirit of God comes down upon him to enable him, to empower him, and set him apart for service as a king and as a prophet. in an interesting, hidden, but clear way as a priest as well. But it's the God of Jacob who's anointed him. What's significant about this name, God of Jacob? One commentator writes, God of Jacob is the one who transforms twisted human material like Jacob. Messed up, jacked up dudes and dudettes like Jacob. and David and us. In this way, at the end of David's life, he thinks of himself as one in need of transformation. David has repented of many sins at this point. And as we see later in the book, he's not done sinning. And unfortunately, neither are you until you're in the grave and raised up out of it. But the point is that he's been anointed by the God of Jacob, but that reminds us of the fact that God has made royal promises to Jacob. In the book of Genesis, in God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 17, he not only promised Abraham offspring, a son you would bless all nations and land, but he said through you will come kings. This promise is reiterated to Jacob in Genesis 35. And God said to Jacob, I am God Almighty, therefore be fruitful and multiply. A nation, and literally a congregation of nations, a congregation of different people groups, shall come from you. And kings shall come from your body. Now God not only made promises of kingship to David and to Jacob, he made promises through Jacob. In Genesis 49, at the end of Jacob's life, he lines up his 12 sons and he declares prophetic things that will occur in the last days. And it's interesting that he skips the firstborn, skips the second and the third, and to the fourthborn son, Judah, Judah, the king's scepter, the king's rod will not depart from you, Judah. Remember, the unfolding story of God up to this point is that this promise of kingship, this new Adam king, that will come through the line of Jacob and through the line of Judah, it's come down to David. He's the son of Jesse. He is the Judah king, but he isn't the last one. In fact, this promise to David, it's partially fulfilled in him, but it goes beyond David, which is why the very first verse of the New Testament is what? The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. Matthew's way of saying, he's the one. He's the one God's been promising all along. Look here, though, in 2 Samuel 23 verse 1, this last description of David, the sweet psalmist of Israel. This word sweet here means pleasant or beautiful. It's not necessarily just referring to David's outward appearance, or even just the excellence of skill that God equipped him with to write prophetic songs of deliverance, used to lead God's people in joyful worship and thanksgiving. Just as we have a songbook this morning. Israel had a songbook, the Psalms. It's not just referring to how beautiful the songs are. but rather referring to the God of the songs and his beautiful work of salvation. And notice that anointed one is parallel in this verse with sweet psalmist. Perhaps 1 Samuel 16, 14 to 23 is in view. When right after David was anointed by the Holy Spirit, as the anointed of the Lord, before he went out and slew Goliath, he was hired by Saul to play his harp, to play his lyre, so that as he played music skillfully, worshiping the Lord, evil spirits would be driven out from Saul. David is the prophetic singer. But the prophetic message comes from the Lord. That's our second point. The prophetic source is the Lord himself. We can see in verse one, twice, it says the oracle of, the oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high. Oracle is a signal that David is claiming prophetic speech here. This word Oracle can be translated, the prophetic declaration of David, as that word is often used by prophets to say, thus says the Lord. It's how a prophet starts off his prophetic speech. What I'm about to say, people of God, isn't from myself. I'm declaring it on behalf of the Lord. My words are his words. Reject me, you're rejecting the Lord. Don't shoot the messenger. So essentially in these first three verses of our passage, David is calling himself a prophet. We often think of David only as a king, and that is definitely what's emphasized most in the scriptures. But no wonder Peter calls David a prophet in his sermon in Acts 2, 30 to 31. Listen to Peter explaining Pentecost. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he, David, foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ. David is also a prophet. And we see this in verse two, check it out. The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me. Which can be translated, the Spirit of the Lord speaks through me. I am his microphone, but he is the mouthpiece. He is the speaker. I am the instrument through whom the Lord is speaking. His words are on my tongue, is parallel there. His words are on my tongue, very similar to the promise of an end time prophet in Deuteronomy 18, who Moses spoke of. The Lord said, I will raise up for them a prophet like you, Moses, from among their brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all I command him. Is David the prophet like Moses? Partially. But this same sentiment of God putting his words in his prophet's mouth is seen in Jeremiah, in Ezekiel, even in John the Apostle. But David here is giving weight to the fact that all of his prophetic songs are from the Lord. It's the Lord speaking to him, as verse three says. It's the God of Israel who has spoken. It's the rock of Israel who's talking to me here. The Lord is the author. He is the source of this prophetic speech. Now what we have laid out for us, brothers and sisters, in 2 Samuel 23 is a very important aspect of the doctrine of Scripture. The teaching of what the Bible is. God's words. God's words. When you sit down in the morning to do your devotions, or at night, or when you come to church, or when you get into family worship with your family, You're reading God's words, and that's how you should think of it every time you come to the scriptures. How do we know they're God's words? Because the Lord says they are. Theologians call this the self-attesting nature of scripture, in which the Bible itself claims to be the words of God. In other words, if you put God's word on trial, in the courtroom and say, prove your God's words. Who's the witness? God's words, his word. The Lord in scripture talking, he doesn't need a better witness outside himself, because there is none. He swears by himself, by his own name. The Lord gives His own evidence that He is talking in His word. So if you don't believe that the Bible is God's words, you have to deal with Him. You have to give an account to Him and say, Lord, now I can tell you're the Lord here at the judgment when every human being who ever lived and every angelic creature who ever lived is standing before you and I can tell you're the Lord. So Lord, I think you're lying. Essentially, if you don't believe God's words, you're calling him a liar Listen to how John puts it in first John 5 if we receive the testimony of men The testimony of God is greater because this is the testimony of God that he has made about his son whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself and Whoever does not believe God Has made him out to be a liar because he has not believed in the testimony. That's the court testimony That God has borne witness about his son 1st John 5 9 to 10 But the reality is the characteristics of the Living God and his righteousness and perfection is reflected in scripture the Bible bears the marks of its author and Righteous are you O Lord and right are your rules? psalm 119 37 And one of the main ways we can tell that the word is the perfect words of God is because the Lord has kept all his Promises and they're not just random promises. They are a covenant Which is our third point the prophetic promise the covenant of David The prophetic promise that David lays out for us is the covenant of David in verses three to five. So what is the rock said to David in verses three to five? To summarize it in a sentence, when the Davidic king rules in righteousness, it brings light in life to those in his kingdom. And this is guaranteed because of God's promise in His covenant. Now, in verse 3, there's one Hebrew word used to translate when one rules. Also there, ruling. And it means ruler. He who rules. He who rules over mankind justly. literally the ruling righteously over man one. The word men there is Adam referring to humanity in its collective sense. It brings into view the fact God always intended to rule over humanity through a human vice king, a vice regent, which is why God gave Adam dominion. We know Adam fell. And so God picks up this plan to rule as the great king through his human ruler with David and David's offspring. But this important word, to rule, is a crucial key word. that tells the story of the Bible. For instance, this word to rule, mashal, it's used in Genesis 1 for God's kingdom order, where the sun rules over the day, and the stars and the moon rule over the night. And then it's used again in Genesis 4 to talk about the rule of sin. Because even though God intended to rule through Adam, Adam fell, Adam sinned. And therefore, Satan, in sin, in death, began to rule over humanity. Not above the rule and reign of God, sovereignly orchestrating all of this, but Jesus himself calls Satan the ruler of this world. Paul calls him the prince of the power of the air. So in Genesis 4, when Cain is being tempted to murder his brother, the Lord says, sin is crouching. It's described in beastly terms. It's crouching at the door. Its desire is against you to have you, but you must rule over it. Does Cain rule over it? No. Sin rules over Cain and over every human since the fall of Adam and Eve. Seeing King But then this word is picked up again as God promises a ruler Who will rescue his people from the reign of sin the reign of death in the reign of Satan? Notice how this word to rule is used in Micah 5 But you Oh Bethlehem Ephratah who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be a ruler. Same word from our passage. In Israel, whose coming forth is from old, from eternity, from ancient days. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. Verse 5, He shall be their peace. Now in 2 Samuel 23, when one rules justly, this word justly is the word for righteous. It means righteously. And justice and righteousness go together in Scripture. Now this could easily be a quick proof text for many voices in our current culture and Political sphere who one rules justly who justice justice catchword, isn't it nowadays? And it's good on one level because it shows humans are made in the image of God and they know There is a God of justice and they want to see justice and yet do they want God's justice Not always necessarily What's the standard of right and wrong for your justice? Usually itself. But see what David is talking about here with this word righteous is the biblical concept of God always acting according to the standard of himself. The Lord's character is the standard for his righteousness. And notice in the passage, when one rules justly, righteously, it's parallel with what? What's the next line? Ruling in the fear of God. So to rule justly or righteously means to rule in the fear of God. Where is that standard laid out in the Bible for that ruler? It's in Deuteronomy 17, 18 to 20. Listen to God telling Moses to declare to Israel that when you come in the land, don't get a king like the nations. who unfortunately Saul was. He was a Gentile, wicked, idolatrous type king. Get a king who I choose, who rules and reigns based on my standard. And listen to this, Deuteronomy 17, 18. When he, when this king sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law. That's the standard for the king, the law laid out in Exodus and Deuteronomy and in Leviticus in Numbers, approved by the Levitical priests. and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes in doing them, so that his heart may not be lifted up like Saul above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom." How long? Forever. He and his children in Israel. One who rules justly is one who rules according to the standard of God's Word, in Deuteronomy 17 in particular. He will fear the Lord, because he will be clothed with the Spirit of the Lord. The spirit of wisdom and understanding and counsel. The spirit of strength. The spirit of might. The spirit of the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11. One from the shoot. One from the stump of Jesse. In other words, this king, he will not be partial to anyone. He won't play favorites with either the rich or the poor. He won't play favorites based on skin color or ethnicity. He will not take a bribe. He will not abuse his authority or take advantage of others who can't protect themselves. He will rule righteously. He won't seek to please man, he fears the Lord. And he will cause his people to be righteous, to be declared righteous, and to live righteously. Now in verse four, we're given a rich word picture with vivid imagery to help us understand what's this king like? When one rules justly, ruling in the fear of God, what's he like? Verse four, he dawns on them, dawning on the subjects of his kingdom, he dawns on them like the morning light, which is like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, which is like the rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. He's like a day like today, a cloudless morning, where it rained the day before, and therefore, the dew and yesterday's rain combined with the sunlight brings life and light. Isaiah picks up this imagery of light shining on those who are in darkness, Isaiah 9.1, where the glory of the Lord will shine upon his people with the same brightness used here. Isaiah chapter 66 uses the same image of new creation life being like the grass. This is what this king's rule and reign will be like. A new creation life in light, eternal day as the son of righteousness. Now moving to verse five, it's actually the meat in the middle of the song. So if chapter 23 is the bottom burger, the top burger is Psalm 18, 2 Samuel 22, this is the middle of the middle of the burger. In which David begins and finishes the verse with a rhetorical question. The rhetorical question that our brother who led worship asked, that was a rhetorical question. Lord, if you keep track of sin, Lord, who can stand? It's a rhetorical question. The answer is nobody. For does not my house stand so with God? And then the verse ends, for will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? Absolutely yes is the answer to both rhetorical questions. But notice the connection of verse 5 back to verse 4. In verse 5, it starts off with what word? For, F-O-R, which means namely, but also, a few words in, you see the word so, which means in this way or thus. For in the same way that this king will bring new creation, light, and life, so is my house going to be with God. What is your house, David? Your house, your crib, your home? No. In 2 Samuel 7, verse 16, the Lord says, your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. David's house is his kingdom. It's referring to the legacy of kings who come through the line of Judah. fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. David, the prophet, is saying the shining of light that gives life. Is this not the case of my house, my kingdom, with God's help? How do I know this is true? Look at the very middle of the very middle of the middle of the chiasm. For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. How do I know it's true? For because he, the Lord, has made with me an everlasting covenant. What is a covenant? We gotta know what covenant means if we understand our Bible. We gotta know what covenant means. Simply put, the way that my younger kids put it, covenant is a very special promise that God makes and he'll never break. Covenant is a very, very special promise. And at the heart of it, I will be your God and you will be my people. But a covenant is one, a promise that God will never break. Notice it's an everlasting covenant, an eternal covenant. And it's interesting that all the covenants in the Bible, within the one covenant of grace, are called an eternal covenant. God's covenant with Noah. God's covenant with Abraham, everlasting eternal covenant. His covenant with Israel made on Sinai, through Moses, everlasting covenant. His covenant with David here. it's all fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ who in Hebrews 13 20 sheds the blood of the eternal the everlasting covenant okay so are there many eternal covenants or one yes but at the end of the day there's one everlasting covenant And notice the way that elsewhere in scripture, God's eternal covenant with David is connected in particular to the new covenant. This is Ezekiel 37. On the heels of the promise of God giving a new heart. After talking about resurrecting the people of God in the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones. Listen to Ezekiel 37, 21 to 28. Thus says the Lord God. Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and I will gather them from all around and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king over them all. And they shall no longer be two nations. As you read the book of 1st and 2nd Kings, you know David's sons who were disobedient caused the nation to be split, and there were kings of Israel and kings of Judah. I'm going to bring it all back together again, the Lord says. Verse 23. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions, their sins, but I will save them from all their backslidings, all their apostasies in which they've sinned, and I will cleanse them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. My servant David shall be king over them, Ezekiel says. But Ezekiel, David's been dead a few hundred years now. I'm talking about another David, the greater David. He shall be king over them. They shall have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. The purpose of the king in scripture is to cause God's people to walk in God's ways. When there was no king in Israel, the people did whatever's right in their own eyes. Book of Judges. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever. And David, my servant, shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. I will set in them. I will set them in their land and multiply them. And I will put my holy place, my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them. I will be their God. They shall be my people. Then the nations will know I am the Lord who sanctifies, who sets Israel apart when my sanctuary, my tabernacle is in their midst forever. the word became flesh and dwelt and tabernacled among us. John 1 14. So in a nutshell, God promises in his covenant of grace to accomplish everything we need for our salvation. In other words, it's ordered in all things and secure What are the all things that this eternal covenant is ordered and arranged so perfectly in? What are the all things while it's unpacked in the next line? God causes to prosper all my help and all my desire, my help. Literally my salvation in the Hebrew. David, using wordplay here, as son of Jesse, Jesse, yeshi. My help, Yeshi, the root for Yeshua. David had rhymes, David had bars too, so you see, don't get it twisted. But at the end of the day, the all that God provides in His covenant is all the aspects you need and I need and anyone else who's in this covenant by faith in Jesus Christ, everything we need for our salvation. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ, 2 Corinthians 1.20. And notice my help, my salvation is connected to all my desire, my delight, my satisfaction. Because at the heart of the covenant of grace, at the heart of the gospel, is God's promise to rescue you from desiring idols that can never satisfy you, to delight and desire Him, for Him to be your satisfaction and your treasure and your all in all. That's what God has promised. He will cause it to prosper. Now, I love the ESV. There's other great translations. We're blessed with a plethora of wonderful English translations. For some reason, the ESV editors, and the way they translated the Hebrew Bible, they only translate this word prosper here, and all 33 times it's used. Everywhere else, it's to sprout, to branch forth. Listen to how it's used in Psalm 132.17. As the ESV puts it, I will make a horn to sprout for David. So this prospering, this sprouting, this branching forth is a person. In his name is the branched forth one, the branch, which is used five times for Messiah in the Old Testament. Once in Isaiah, twice in Jeremiah, twice in Zechariah. The Messiah, the son of David, is called the branch. Listen to Zechariah 6. You can turn there with me if you'd like. Zechariah 6. This is the last time we're gonna turn outside of our passage. Pastor Anthony should have told me that he usually goes an hour. So I was planning to go about 35 minutes, which means probably 45 minutes, but thank you for your patience, brothers and sisters. In Zechariah chapter 6, starting in verse 9, listen to this. In the word of the Lord came to me, Zechariah says. Now Zechariah, if you haven't found it quite yet, second to last book of the Old Testament before Matthew, Zechariah 6, 9. And the word of the Lord came to me, take from the exiles, Haldai, Tobijah, and Jedidiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah, take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Set the king's crown on the head of the high priest. And say to him, thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, the man whose name is the branch. He's the man. How many people know he's the man, the man whose name is the branch. That's the noun, the branch. He shall branch out. That's the verb from his place. And he shall build the temple of the Lord. Jesus Christ builds the temple of the Lord. Yes. Jesus Christ said in John 2, destroy this temple in three days and I'll raise it up. Now he was referring to the temple of his body and he pours the spirit out on his Jew Gentile church and they're called the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor and he shall sit and rule on his throne and there shall be a priest on his throne. Is it a king or a priest? Yes! And the council of peace shall be between both. Brothers and sisters, just as with David, the prophetic and the king office are coming together and converging, the priests and the king office are starting to come together, tributaries all coming to the life-giving river of Christ himself. And the crown shall be in the temple of the Lord as a reminder to Halem, to Obijah, Jedidiah, and Hen, the son of Zephaniah. And those who are far off, that's us, In Ephesians 2 and 3, those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord. Those who are Gentiles, that is. What a glorious promise, the way it unfolds in scripture. The righteous branch who will reign as king and deal wisely, who will be the Lord our righteousness in 2 Samuel 23. Now in closing, in our last point, Everybody will get Christ as their king in one way or another. Either you get him as the king of your salvation or he is your king who is your judge. And notice the way that the song ends in verse six and seven with our fourth point is the prophetic warning judgment. The same ruler from verse three, who rules righteously to give life and light to his people, he's also appointed as the judge of the wicked in verses six and seven. He's the same man, but the man, verse seven, but the man who will touch, who will strike them, the worthless men from verse six, when he comes in judgment as a warrior king. Just as David is king. ruled and reigned righteously over God's people. For their hearts to be subdued to the rule and reign of God, he brought judgment on those who would not surrender to the Lord. In a typological type way. Just as the king, the righteous king and his rule is like something in verse 4, well look at verse 6. Worthless men are compared in contrast. They're like something. But worthless men are like thorns. that are thrown away. Thorns. Same word from Genesis 3 as thorns are symbolic for the curse brought in by Adam and Eve in their sin. They're thrown away in judgment. They're like chaff thrown to the wind. They are utterly consumed with fire. Verse 7. Worthless men. Verse 6. Worthless ones. What are worthless men and women? What are worthless boys and girls? This is not referring to someone who feels worthless. I just feel like I have no value. Not one who maybe goes to a psychologist to help them have more self-worth. Look in the mirror and tell yourself, I love you self. No, this isn't talking about that kind of worthlessness. A worthless person in scripture is one who loves worthless things. A worthless person in scripture is one who loves worthless, empty idols. It's one who is worthless in their character. Proverbs 6, 12 defines it. A worthless man is a wicked man who goes about with crooked, lying speech, with perverted, twisted heart. He devises, he plans evil. always sowing discord, always bringing beef and friction and tension and conflict around those he's with. Therefore calamity, evil disaster will come upon him suddenly. In a moment, he'll be broken beyond healing. Worthless men is used many times in 1st and 2nd Samuel. The sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. That's the verse. Now, the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the Lord. A worthless person doesn't know the Lord in love and in worship. A worthless person rejects God's appointed king in 1 Samuel 10. A worthless person is like Nabal, a hard-headed, stubborn, arrogant, obstinate fool. Sheba is called a worthless man in 2 Samuel 20. He tries to usurp the throne of the king, but instead he got his head cut off like Goliath. And what's the outcome? They're like thorns thrown away. They're consumed in the fire. Now what's very interesting, is the way that worthless men have been used so far in the book of 1st and 2nd Samuel. It's people who are in the covenant community. That's scary. It's not just talking about outsiders from the covenant community, but those who grow up in homes where the Lord is worshipped. And so boys and girls who are here today, kids, Your parents are teaching you the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you can maybe pretend you go along with it and you'll come to church and do the outward and sing to God. But if you don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust him as your Lord and Savior, you're one of the worthless people. You have to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ too. And adults, those who have been baptized, They can still turn away from the Lord, not if they're truly saved, but Jesus talks about branches who are in one way, at least outwardly in him, who are broken off and thrown into the fire. Notice, David's song is so similar to John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ's kingdom preaching. It promises the coming kingdom of God and his salvation, but also the judgment that corresponds with it in which the wicked are thrown into the fire. And Jesus even says in Matthew chapter 13 that his kingdom is likened unto wheat that grows alongside of weeds. And when the Son of Man, Davidic King, comes on the last day, the wheat are picked up and thrown into the barn to be saved, but the weeds are thrown into the fire. Wheat and weeds looked similar. Sheep and goats looked similar until the time, until the end. And so if you are convicted that you are in danger of this judgment in which this son of David King will come with iron and with the shaft of a spear to consume you with fire, You can still repent today. You can still confess your sinfulness, your worthlessness, that you're not branching forth, you're not sprouting forth with the fruit of the spirit. And he will have mercy on you. You can surrender to this righteous king and he will give you his righteousness. How can he do all of that? Because in the gospel, Jesus, the anointed son of David King, went to the cross wearing a crown of thorns to bear the curse and take the punishment for our worthlessness. See, in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, when he died on the cross, he was stabbed with the shaft of a spear. so that you won't have to face him coming back with a shaft of a spear, verse seven, when he comes again in judgment. Jesus Christ is the prophet, is the king, is the priest who didn't shed the blood of an animal, but who shed his own blood, the blood of the everlasting, eternal covenant for the forgiveness of sin. So you can repent and run to him today, and he will have mercy on you. But for those of you who have already trusted Christ, let us go to the Lord's Supper with these last few closing applications. See Jesus as the greater prophetic singer. Jesus is the sweeter psalmist. And the way that the New Testament applies the Psalms to Jesus is there on His lips. He sings as the worship leader before his father, leading us in worship forever. And so sing to him because your songs are pleasing to the father through the priesthood, through the intercession in the mediatory work of Christ. He takes our songs that come from a sinful heart and he makes them pure to God because they come because of his merits, because of his perfect life, because of his shed blood and his resurrection. High priestly ministry. Jesus is the one who sings over you, Zephaniah 3, who sings over you until the day of your death and into resurrection life. Make his song your story of your life. He is the final prophet. Long ago at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets like David, but in these last days, last days, he has spoken to us by his son. Jesus is that prophet. Listen to him, believe him, obey him. Second application, see Jesus as the promise of the covenant. The promise is not just benefits, not just blessings, but the blessings and the benefits and the salvation is a person, it's Christ himself. Jesus is the son of David, the son of Jesse, the man exalted on high, the anointed, the Messiah, the sweet psalmist, the exalted king of glory. And so in this climate and in this culture where there is talk of a need of a ruler over America, of a governor, of a president over America who will rule righteously, vote wisely, vote prayerfully, but at the end of the day, our confident is not in the president of the United States, whether it's who we want or we don't want. But ultimately, a king is coming to establish his righteous rule, and in the meantime, he's begun his righteous rule. Where? Here, in his church. Acts 13 calls the church the raised-up booth, the raised-up Ten of David, the kingdom of David. That's us. And finally, Allow the righteous ruler, Jesus Christ, to come into your heart and rid your soul of all worthlessness. Allow Him to be who He is in verse 6 and 7, but to come into your heart and remove the thorns, those ways in you that cannot be taken with the hand, those stubborn, stiff-necked ways. Allow Him to come and strike and touch those disobedient ways in you and consume them with the fire of His Word. As Romans 6 promises, sin cannot rule and reign and have dominion over you in Christ. Sin does not rule you, Christian. The Lord Jesus Christ does, both in his forgiveness and in his transforming grace. Let's pray to him. Lord Jesus, we worship you. You are our story. You are our song, oh Lord. And we're so amazed that that story doesn't just begin in the New Testament. The first four fifths of the Bible, the Old Testament, is all about you too, Lord. Show us your glory more and more. Not just to see cool, neat connections, but so that we can be transformed and changed and have you rule over us. Lord, increase our faith in your faithfulness as the God of the covenant who keeps your promises in Christ. And Lord, I pray for any who are here who are aware of their worthlessness, that they would bow before this righteous King now who's willing to give them forgiveness and righteousness and cleanse them and wash them. and that they would know Him as their great King forever. We worship You, O Lord. It's in Your name we pray. Amen. Thank you, brothers and sisters. Pastor Anthony. Just be prepared to come to the Lord's supper, and we'll gather you up. We even were the worthless ones. Thank you for watching. I don't know. Thank you for joining us. We'll be right back. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Thank you so much for having me. We'll be back. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you for joining us today. We'll see you next time. That's right. That's right. That's right. We're going to go ahead and get started. We're going to go ahead and get started. I don't know what to do with my life. Oh, it's exciting. It's exciting. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Thank you so much for having me.