There is a hush in the city of Jerusalem, a quiet stir in the king's palace. The people are anxious and fearful. The king is on his bed. His brow is wet with a cold sweat. His pulse is weak. His palms are clammy. David the king, the great and good monarch of Israel, is dying. He has reigned as King for forty years. He has led Israel in battle after battle, from conquest to conquest. He has ruled the land in righteousness and justice in the fear of God.
For forty years David had led the chosen nation both in civil righteousness and in spiritual devotion. He was both God's king and God's prophet; but now he was dying! What would become of the kingdom of Israel when Israel's king was gone? David had led them in the ways of truth and righteousness. He had spoken to them in the name of God that which was the very Word of God. Would the nation ever hear from God again? David's family and friends were gathered around his bed, anxious to hear his last words. The people were gathered in the palace halls and in the streets of the city, anxious for any word from their beloved King. "Now these be the last words of David." These are the last words of David, the son of Jesse, the man after God's own heart. What will he say?
2 Samuel 23:1 "Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,"
1. "David, the son of Jesse." Jesse named his son well. David means "loving." But when he spoke of himself, David had no reference to the meaning of his name. He thought only of his humble background. This man whom God made to be the King of Israel was nothing but a poor, plain, ordinary shepherd boy.
2. "The man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob" (1 Samuel 16:1-12). God chose David to be king in the stead of Saul. God chose David instead of his brothers; and David never got over the wonder of God's electing love (Psa. 65:4; 2 Sam. 6:21).
Psalms 65:4 "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple."
2 Samuel 6:21 "And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD."
3. "The sweet psalmist of Israel." This man was not only God's King and God's prophet, he was an inspired hymn writer. His blessed, sweet psalms were the hymnbook of the Old Testament. They are always the most worn pages in an old saint's Bible because they express in words the deepest, most constant struggles of our souls.
Second, in verses 2 and 3, David describes his God, the Lord our God, in the trinity, or tri-unity of his sacred persons (1 John 5:7).
2 Samuel 23:2-3 "The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. (3) The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God."
1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
Third, David describes his Psalms and prophecies (v. 2).
2 Samuel 23:2 "The spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue."
His compositions were not his, but God's. They did not originate with him, but with God. He wrote only that which God the Holy Spirit dictated to him and directed his pen to write (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).
1. Every word he wrote in the Sacred Volume was his, an exact expression of his thoughts, emotions, and experiences.
2. Yet, every word he wrote was the Revelation of God to men, the very Word of God, as completely the Word of God as if no man had part in it.
Fourth, David describes his rule (vv. 3-4).
2 Samuel 23:3-4 "The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. (4) And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain."
Read in the present tense, these verses, are a declaration by David of his faithfulness as God's servant. He is saying, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." What a way to leave this world!
Fifth, In verses 3 and 4, David also describes his great Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Read prophetically, these words certainly refer to and describe the Son of God, our Savior, great David's greater Son.
2 Samuel 23:3-4 "The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. (4) And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain."
Now, I want us to look at verse 5. Here the sweet singer of Israel declares his dying hope and comfort. He gives us the pillow of consolation upon which he laid his dying head.
2 Samuel 23:5 "Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow."
Proposition: When David lay on his dying bed, he found comfort and hope in God's everlasting covenant of grace, so, too, may all who trust the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mediator and Surety of the covenant.
Divisions: The title of my message is The Everlasting Covenant. Taking David as an example of all who are born of God's Spirit and given faith in Christ, I want to show you four things in this verse of Scripture. I trust that God the Holy Spirit will be our Teacher.
1. David's Sigh - "Although my house be not so with God."
2. David's Solace - "Yet, he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure."
3. David's Salvation - "This is all my salvation."
4. David's Satisfaction - "This is all my desire, although he make it not to grow."
I. First, we must hear DAVID'S SIGH.
As the man of God lay upon his death bed, looking within himself and looking around upon his family and friends, he remembers many, many things that caused him sorrow and pain. He sighed, "Although my house be not so with God." He makes this concession, and it must be made by us all. So long as we live in this world, in this body of flesh, things are never altogether right with God's saint. Nothing here is really as we wish it to be.
A. The words "my house" may be properly applied to four things.
1. Perhaps David was saying "my kingdom," my nation is not so with God.
A king's house is his kingdom. Certainly the nation of Israel was not as David desired it to be. Though David ruled in the fear of God, his people did not walk in the fear of God. Because she forgot God, the kingdom of Israel was a tottering kingdom and ready to fall. Godly men lament a godless nation.
2. By the words "my house," David may have been referring, at least in a typical way, to the church of God.
David's house was typical of the church. The Church of God in this world is ever a house in need of repair.
3. The words "my house" certainly refer to David's physical family.
His heart was heavy because many in his household were without grace, life, and faith. Few in his family knew and worshipped his God.
4. Once more, when David says, "Although my house be not so with God," he is talking about himself, his own life in this sinful estate, in this body of flesh.
Though God did not remember his sins, David could not forget them. Even on his death bed, this saint of God speaks as one whose heart breaks with repentance. David knew and acknowledged his sin.
NOTE: David found no comfort in himself. His "good works" gave him no reason for joy, but only grief and sorrow. His comfort was found in his God, his Savior, and the covenant of grace made and executed on his behalf.
B. Let all who are wise learn the obvious lessons taught us by this lamentation and sigh from the heart of that man who was the man after God's own heart.
1. Grace does not run in bloodlines, only corruption (John 1:12-13; Rom. 8:11-16).
John 1:12-13 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Romans 8:11-16 "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (15) For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (16) The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:"
2. The afflictions of God's people, both personal and domestic, are the fruits of God's covenant grace, not indications of his wrath or displeasure (Psa. 89:30-34). They are not for our destruction but for our good (2 Cor. 4:17-5:1).
Psalms 89:30-34 "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; (31) If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; (32) Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. (33) Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. (34) My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (18) While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
2 Corinthians 5:1 "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
3. The sins of a faithful man's family are not an indication of evil in him or a bar to his usefulness.
4. The sins of a believer do not destroy his hope, haunt him with fear in the hour of death, or rob him of his everlasting inheritance in Christ (Psa. 32:1-5).
Psalms 32:1-5 " Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. (2) Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (3) When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. (4) For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. (5) I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."
II. Next, I want us to hear DAVID'S SOLACE - "Yet, he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure."
David knew something about covenant mercy, covenant promises and obligations, and covenant blessings. He had made a covenant with Jonathan. When the time came, he performed his oath to Jonathan upon Mephibosheth. When David looked on Mephibosheth, when he did something for Mephibosheth, he saw Jonathan. Here he says, that is what God has done for me! When God does something for us, he does it for Christ. When God looks on us, he sees Christ. When God hears us, he hears Christ. When God accepts us, he accepts Christ! Let me talk to you for a minute about this covenant.
A. It is not the covenant of works that God made with Adam, which he broke and we broke in him (Rom. 5:12-18).
Romans 5:12-18 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (13) (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. (14) Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. (15) But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. (16) And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. (17) For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. (18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
B. It is not the covenant of circumcision which God made with Abraham, for that was for the Jews only and was abolished by God's own word (Gal. 5:2, 4).
Galatians 5:2 "Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."
Galatians 5:4 "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."
C. It is not the legal, Sinai covenant that God made with Israel through his servant, Moses, for that legal covenant has been abolished by him (Heb. 8:6-7).
Hebrews 8:6-7 "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second."
The law of God was not abolished; but the covenant of the law was, the curse of the law was, the constraint of the law was, and the condemnation of the law was.
D. The covenant which of David spoke, the covenant that comforted his heart and soul in the hour of death, is the covenant of grace, and peace, and life (Isa. 54:10; Mal. 2:5).
Isaiah 54:10 "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee."
Malachi 2:5 "My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name."
1. It is a covenant of pure, free grace (Psa. 89:19-35; Jer. 31:31-34; 32:38-40).
Psalms 89:19-35 "Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. (20) I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: (21) With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. (22) The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. (23) And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. (24) But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. (25) I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. (26) He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. (27) Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. (28) My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. (29) His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (30) If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; (31) If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; (32) Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. (33) Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. (34) My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. (35) Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David."
Jeremiah 31:31-34 "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: (32) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: (33) But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."
Jeremiah 32:38-40 "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: (39) And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: (40) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."
2. It is a covenant made with me in my covenant Surety, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Heb. 7:22; Psa. 89:19).
Hebrews 7:22 "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament."
Psalms 89:19 "Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people."
3. It is an everlasting covenant - Both ways! (Prov. 8:23-31).
Proverbs 8:23-31 "I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. (24) When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. (25) Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: (26) While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. (27) When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: (28) When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: (29) When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: (30) Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; (31) Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men."
4. It is an ordered covenant - Whatever the covenant required, it also provided (Eph. 1:3-14; 2 Tim. 1:9).
Ephesians 1:3-14 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (8) Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; (9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (10) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: (12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
2 Timothy 1:9-10 "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, (10) But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:"
5. It is a sure covenant - It's mercies are "the sure mercies of David" (Isa. 55). That is to say, they are sure to all who are heirs of the covenant. Sure to…
6. Once more, this is an immutable covenant (Psa. 89:30-37).
Psalms 89:30-37 "If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; (31) If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; (32) Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. (33) Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. (34) My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. (35) Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. (36) His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. (37) It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah."
III. Thirdly, I want you to see that the covenant itself is here set forth as DAVID'S SALVATION. "This is all my salvation."
There is much more implied in those words than I can declare at this time, but I want to simply state some things that, when understood, will thrill your soul and fill your heart with wonder and praise to God for his amazing grace.
A. Christ our Surety, with whom the covenant was made for us is "all our salvation." "Mine eyes have seen thy salvation" (1 Cor. 1:30).
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: (31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."
B. In a sense, our salvation was complete when the covenant was made in eternity (Rom. 8:29-30; 2 Tim. 1:9).
Romans 8:29-30 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
2 Timothy 1:9 "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,"
C. All our salvation springs from, is determined by, and depends upon this glorious covenant (Jer. 32:38-40).
Jeremiah 32:38-40 "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: (39) And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: (40) And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."
John Gill's letter to his nephew. "I depend wholly and alone upon the free, sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love of God the firm and everlasting covenant of grace, and my interest in the persons of the sacred Trinity, for my whole salvation; and not upon any righteousness of my own; nor anything in me, or done by me under the influences of the Holy Spirit; not upon any services of mine, which I have been assisted to perform for the good of the church do I depend, but upon my interest in the persons of the Trinity; the free grace of God, and the blessings of grace streaming to me through the blood and righteousness of Christ, as the ground of my hope. These are no new things to me, but what I have been long acquainted with; what I can live and die by. I apprehend that I shall not be long here, but this you may tell to any of my friends."
Just before he died, Gill said, to one of his friends standing by his bed, "I have nothing to make me uneasy." Then he quoted one verse of a hymn, written by Isaac Watts, in honor of that Redeemer whom he loved, trusted, and served…
D. This covenant is the believer's title to heaven!
Revelation 13:8 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
IV. Now, in the last place, I want us to see, hear, and echo DAVID'S SATISFACTION - "This is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow."
Look at the last words first - "Although he make it not to grow," means, "although I do not yet see the covenant fulfilled and manifest in me, I am fully confident that God will fulfill his Word of grace!"
"This covenant" David says, "is all my desire." Matthew Henry wrote, "Let me have an interest in this covenant and the promises of it, and I have enough. I desire no more." John Gill said, "It is the desire of every (believer), who knows anything of the covenant of grace and the scheme of salvation by it, to be saved this way, by and through the covenant of grace, and not of works."
We who believe on the Son of God are heirs to this everlasting covenant of grace of which David spoke with joy on his dying bed. Read Ephesians 1:3-14 one more time.
Ephesians 1:3-14 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: (4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (5) Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, (6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. (7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (8) Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; (9) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: (10) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: (12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, (14) Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory."
To be an heir of the covenant means that… A. I am elected by grace!The gospel of God's everlasting, covenant grace proclaims a Savior in whom is everything you need forever.
Illustration: "Almost well!" (Richard Baxter). "Preacher, it's good to know that everything's under the blood." (Harold Martin).Philip Doddridge
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