2 Samuel chapter 23, and we're going to read the first
five verses. 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, The Spirit of
the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 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. 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. 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. It's reading down through verse
5, 2 Samuel 23. Our message this morning is the
dying sinner's only hope. The dying sinner's only hope. King David, a man after God's
own heart, a leader, a father, is on his deathbed. Today being
Father's Day, this is a most appropriate text of an old man
dying. But it's not for fathers only.
What we're going to consider from this passage is the only
hope of any sinner, man, woman, boy, or girl. The record of the
Chronicles, verse Chronicles 29, verse 28 says, that David
died in a good old age full of days, riches, and honor. It's some kind of testimony.
That's the divine record. But on the deathbed, as this
man surveys his life, what it's been, what it ought to have been,
what it could have been maybe, his successes, his failures, At this hour, if a person is
in their right mind, it is a time of very serious and sober thinking. It's not a time when a person
tries to impress anybody. It's no time to speak hypocritically. It's time to just tell it like
it is. The man says, I'm dying, and
here's how it is. He speaks from his heart. All
the nation of Israel is in a state of mourning their beloved king
and leader who for 40 years had led them through many conflicts
and victories. And the text begins, now these
be the last words of David. Surely they're some of the most
important words he ever spake. And he begins with an acknowledgment
of the calling and control of God in his life, as any child
of God will do, not only on the deathbed, but every day that
we live. And what a healthy exercise that
is for our minds and hearts to meditate on and acknowledge the
calling and control of God in our lives. David says here, I
was born not to a rich politician, but I was born to a poor sheepherder
named Jesse. I was nothing. I was nobody.
It was never a consideration among men, and especially my
own family, that I would ever be a man of any importance in
the public eye, let alone a leader of any kind, let alone the king
of Israel, but God. Verse 1, he says, the God of
Jacob, the God of sinners, the God of supplanters, the God of
deceivers and rebels, He chose me. And he took hold of the reins
of my life. And he's been in the driver's
seat all the way. That's what David is saying.
He would say the few times I thought I could run things is when I
got into real trouble. The Lord reminded David back
in the seventh chapter. That it wasn't David who made
David what he was and who he was, but it was God. He told
David, it was I who took you from the sheep coat, from following
the sheep, to be ruler over my people. And I was with thee whithersoever
thou winnest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy
sight, and have made thee a great name, likened to the name of
the great men that are in the earth. So David, here on his
deathbed, is not hesitant to acknowledge this, that it's been
God all the way across the miles and the wars and the years of
His life. What kind of fool would lay dying
and say, well, I think I've done pretty good. There's lots of
them. Not David, not God's man, not
God's child. He says it's been God and His
grace. all the way. Now, some of you
have swallowed the religious lie that some of the things that have
come in your life, the Lord Himself would have rather they hadn't
have come and He would have prevented it if He had only known about
it in time. No, he knew about it in time.
Matter of fact, he knew about it before he created the world. He has never been surprised at
anything. He has never been disappointed
in anyone. He knows what we're made of for
he made us. Not we ourselves. Now he's been
displeased many a time. But he's never been disappointed.
You see, disappointment means an outcome other than what's
anticipated. But nothing has ever happened
that God never knew how it would turn out. So the word disappointment
cannot apply to him. A lot of people will create a
crutch to lean on. seem like all their lives. I
was born to the wrong parents. I grew up in the wrong neighborhood.
I went to the wrong school. I married the wrong person. I
chose the wrong career. I made that one big mistake I
ought not have made, and if it hadn't been that, I'd have been
a, oh boy, I'd have been a much I, I, I have done everything. In other words, God hadn't been
in a million miles of my life. What a fool. What a fool. God's
been there all the time and all the way through all your mess
ups and all your foolishness. He's God. He's God. Thinking back this week, my life
has been steered by specific transition points. And the more
I thought about it, the more I remembered, so I had to quit
thinking about it. Some of the more bitter crises, 1967, 1968,
1970, 1976, 1983, 1993, 1998, 2008. And I'm sure you have a similar list. that you could make things in
life. Well, if the Lord really wanted
it some other way, he was certainly able to make it another way. So don't give the devil credit.
Don't give yourself credit for messing God up. You hadn't done
it. You hadn't done it. The devil hadn't done it. God
Almighty is right on track and right on schedule. Now, next,
David confesses that even though the Lord has done all he purposed
to do with my life, I haven't done all I should have done with
it. And in reference to Christ here, he speaks of what a real
king ought to be. He said in verse 3, He that ruleth
over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he, this
is the perfect king, shall be as the light of the morning,
when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds, as the tender
grass springeth out of the earth by clear shining after rain."
Such perfection. David describes here could belong
to none except the Lord Jesus Christ The Lord Jesus Christ
is not just the subject of the New Testament He's the subject
to the whole Bible see So David's talking about Christ here and
he continues by saying this this King this perfect King He said
it's not me verse 5. He says although my house is
Be not so with God. I'm a dying man and I haven't
made the grade. That's what he's saying. But
wonder who he's talking about here when he says, my house,
although my house, be not so with God. To whom is he making
reference? Does he mean the entire kingdom,
the nation of Israel? In a sense, that was his house.
Or does he mean the redeemed, the household of faith? Or does he mean his immediate
family, his own children, when he says, my house? Or does he
simply mean himself, the house of his own flesh? Perhaps he
means all of the above to some degree. It's certainly a sad
picture to look at the lives of his family, his children.
That house looked hopeless. And the house this morning of
many God-fearing dads and God-fearing mothers looks hopeless. But I
think David refers chiefly to himself. He knows he has been
God's king, but he knows he hadn't really been God's king. God's king is perfect, which
is Christ, his only begotten son. And so David is confessing
on his deathbed, I've not really made the grade. My house is not
so with God. He is speaking this truth of
his own heart and how very precious it is when a person is brought
to do that. There is mercy. There is grace
for failing and fallen Sinners it is those who are making the
grade that scare me Y'all can say amen, it's alright, okay
Now I think it's right for children to honor father Honor mother
certainly that's right Not just one day a year, but every day
all year So don't misunderstand what I'm about to say I Many,
many dads, including myself, are being honored today, knowing
in our hearts that really we've been a poor excuse for a father. While all Israel is in mourning, Thinking back what a great success
David has been. What a great man he's been. What
a great king he's been. He's on his deathbed thinking
of Christ and saying what a great failure I've been. What a mess
I've made. What a great sinner I am. And now coming to our message titled
the dying sinner's only hope. What is it? What is it? What
hope is there for such a sinner as I? Well, any sane person asks that question
often. What hope is there for any such
sinner as I? In verse 5, after having said,
Although my house be not so with God. David says yet. And this is the pivotal word
yet. In spite of the mess I've made
yet God. You see that yet God. Yet he God made. With me. an everlasting covenant. He made with Israel a temporary
covenant of works that they could not and would not live up to. And that's the thing most religion
in this country is still pressing on folks this morning is that
old covenant that never could or would be lived up to by Adam's
race. But David says the covenant God
made with me is not dependent on me or my works. It's not even to be realized
in my lifetime. It's to come in my seed after
me. Not meaning the Jews, but meaning
Christ. Christ, Jesus himself. Here's
what the Lord told David in 2 Samuel 7. And it's easy to apply some
of this to Solomon, who would ascend the throne after David.
But the prophecy is ultimately concerning Christ alone. And
here's what the Lord told David, 2 Samuel 7, 12 to 16. And when thy days be fulfilled,
and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed
after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will
establish his kingdom. Now that can be either Solomon
or Christ. Next verse. He shall build in
house for my name, And I will establish the throne of his kingdom
forever. That can only be Christ. I will be his father. He shall
be my son. If he committed iniquity, I will
chasten him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the children
of men. But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took
it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house
and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne
shall be established forever." That text in 2 Samuel 7 was when
David wanted to build the temple. And the Lord sent him word through
Nathan the prophet, tell David, he'll not build my house. I'll
build his. David was talking about a material
construction. The Lord was talking about an
everlasting kingdom. And David makes reference on
his deathbed that God made this covenant with me. God gave me
His Word, what He would do, and it's an everlasting covenant. The terms of it, upheld by Christ
my Redeemer, are good forever. There is no expiration date. It is an everlasting covenant,
He said. It is a grace covenant. not depending
on my performance, but on Christ's performance. What exactly is
a covenant, you might ask? A covenant is an agreement between
two parties with mutual responsibility to each other to uphold and fulfill
the terms agreed on. Now, since the covenant of grace,
the covenant of our redemption, is from eternity, before we were
even created. Man cannot be one of the parties
in that covenant. No. We have no part in our redemption. No. The covenant was between
the Godhead, the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This was the determinant counsel
spoken of in Acts 2. The triune God met in eternity
past. The fact that you and I were
uncreated as yet and unfallen as yet did not hinder almighty
God in his infinite wisdom from setting in motion his purpose
to redeem his chosen people. So the father decreed salvation,
the son consented to purchase it on the cross, and the spirit
pledged himself to communicate it to God's elect in the earth. The father chose, elected his
family, his people, his church, and gave them to his son. Remember
that's what Christ prayed in John 17 to the Father. I've come
to give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. That's
why I'm here. Christ committed himself to die
for them and to redeem them from sin and shame. And the Spirit,
the Holy Ghost committed to inform the elect that God chose us and
Christ died for us. the covenant of grace, the covenant
of redemption. It's not dependent on our doing
anything. You say, well, a person has to
believe God's elect do. Well, what if they haven't heard?
They will. In God's time, hear the voice
of the shepherd. And when they hear they'll believe.
and they'll follow. David says, I've missed the mark. And I say to you this morning,
I've missed the mark. There's no help for us in us.
I can't say that too often. There's no help for us in us. But this covenant, David says,
is not only everlasting, But he said it's ordered in all things,
that is, God forgot nothing. He took care of every detail.
It's ordered in all things and sure, it's a certain agreement,
a certain covenant. Since God, who cannot lie, the
Father cannot lie, the Son cannot lie, the Holy Ghost cannot lie. And these are the parties of
the covenant. Then it's sure. It's sure. And this covenant,
David says is all my salvation. I've looked my life over and
this promise of God is all I have worth holding on to this covenant. This word from God is all the
hope I have. It's all my salvation. Not part of it, but all. A double L. All my salvation. It's not this promise plus this,
that, or the other that I do. David said, this word from God
is all my salvation. There's nothing more worth speaking
of. And it's all my desire. There's nothing else I want.
There's nothing else worth a nickel in this hour. I'm dying. David took his last breath looking
to Christ. It's the only way to die well. It's the sinner's only hope. Verse five concludes with these
words, although he make it not to grow. The seed hadn't been born yet. David says, I don't have one
speck of evidence to show that it's coming to pass. All I have
is God's word on it. He promised. If his word is no
good, I'm in big trouble. It's all I have. And I'm going to trust him. I'm
going to believe he'll do what he said he'd do. Can you trust
him today? Not if you're trusting in yourself. and your doing and your reputation
and how much better you are than such and say this and that. No. The standard is Christ. Perfection. So you can just rule you out.
There's no help for you in you. That's what we're saying. Your
doing, your faithfulness, your sincerity. You've got to look
away from you. You've got to look outside of
you and look to Christ alone. A whole lot of folk today don't
realize this and don't believe this, but I'm going to tell you
a little secret. It's not so important that you
die rich. It's not at all important that
you die famous. It's not even important that
you die successful in men's eyes. But it is important that you
die trusting no one and no thing other than the Lord Jesus Christ. See, that's the thing. And this
is the culprit we talked about in our Bible class. It's not
your sins. That'll keep you from Christ.
He forgives sins. He befriends sinners. But it's
that awful, stinking disease of self-righteousness that makes you special, you think. You've been in church all your
life. You haven't done this or that. You're a whole lot better
than that person on the pew beside you. You're quite convinced that
the Lord is extremely proud of you. That'll damn you thinking like
that. You say, well, now if God's already
elected and chosen whom he's going to save, why would you
even say something like that? Here's why. Because on this day,
in this place, in this moment, One of God's little sheep might
be listening. And this could be the day he'll
turn the light on. In your heart. This could be the day. He'll bring some heart to give
up on self. And trust Christ completely.
And look to him alone. What I'm saying is that in our religious activity
through the years, it's those bonus points some
people think they have built up that gives them an advantage
over others. That's the dangerous thing. That's
the damning thing. This morning, if you have anything
to plead but mercy, you'll lose your case. If there's anything in you that
you think God should save you, He won't. You cannot share in the work
of redemption. Either Christ did it all for
you or you're left with it all. It's one way or the other. I'm
going to leave it alone. I'm going to trust Him with it.
That's the dying sinner's only hope. Not that I ever have or will
make the grade, but that Christ made it for me. This is the truth
of this book. Romans 5, 8, God commended his
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. That's my hope. Romans 5, 6,
when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. That's my hope. Romans 6, 23,
for the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's my hope. John 3.16,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
that whosoever believeth. That's me. That's me. Don't use that verse as a proposition
to unbelievers. It's a promise to believers. It's not whosoever decides to
believe. Or whosoever you can twist the arm and persuade or
choose to... No, it's whosoever believeth.
That is, them that do. That's who the promise is to.
Do you believe? Do you believe? Whosoever believeth
in Him absolutely shall not perish. And whosoever believeth in Him
absolutely shall have everlasting life. That's my hope. That's
my hope. In Philippians chapter 3, Paul
the Apostle said, I took all my religious past, all my doing, all that I thought
was worth something, all that I thought recommended me to God, And he said, I threw it out and
it's to me now nothing more than a pile of dung. That's what I count it to be
with no value whatsoever. If Christ is all, then I'm nothing
and Christ is all. Paul's message to the Galatians.
If I am anything, Christ is nothing. But I'm nothing, and Christ is
all. That's the story. The Lord Jesus Christ, prophetically,
in the book of Psalms, dying in my stead, he said, I am a
worm. But looking at myself this morning,
as David looked at himself, I can clearly see I am the worm. I am the worm. He's the sinner's only hope. Are you a sinner? Then there's
hope for you. Not all men will claim that title. Do you know that? They'll say, well, I'm not perfect,
but I wouldn't exactly say I'm a sinner. Well, I would. The old hymn writer said, a sinner
is a precious thing. The Holy ghost hath made him
so. But the sinner. is who all God's
mercy and grace is promised to. The self-righteous are without
hope. The Lord Jesus didn't do nothing to give them fellers
a fit the whole time he's here. He said, I've got nothing for
you. I come for sinners. I come for sick people. Not for
you that thinks you're in perfect health. I didn't come to call
the righteous like you fellows think. I came for sinners. I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The self-righteous are without
hope and don't even know it. But in Christ, sinners have hope. David said in his dying words, Go ahead and write your books.
Go ahead and tell all the stories you want to tell about me. But I want you to know this.
After it's all done and said, Christ is all I've got. He's
all I've ever had. He's all I want. Because He's
the only hope. for dying sinners like me. And that's what we all are today,
my friend. And Christ is our hope. Amen. Stand with me.