Pray with me, please. Gracious Father, Lord, we pray
that you might open our eyes. Open our eyes, Lord, that we
might see Christ. Give us, I pray, a clear understanding
of the picture of Christ's death that we're looking at on this
table this morning. Enable me, I pray, to preach
Christ today And could it be, dear Lord, that we might see
the salvation of souls as people are convicted of their sin as
they look to Christ in whose name we pray and have come to
You in prayer? Amen. Open your Bibles, please, to
2 Samuel 23, verses 1-5. As we come to the Lord's Supper
table this morning, It's my prayer that you can look at this picture
of Christ's death, that you can look at this broken bread and
poured wine, which pictures Christ's broken body and His shed blood.
And as you look at this picture, that you would remember what
Christ has done for you, that you would find comfort in the
covenant of God's mercy and grace. To help you, I'd like for us
to look at King David this morning King David is a type of Christ
who is God's King. And if, as we are looking at
Christ today, you can't tell whether I'm talking about Christ
or talking about David, I hope it's because God, speaking through
David, describes the character of God's King in 2 Samuel 23,
verses 1-5 so very clearly. And much of what's said about
the King of Israel in these verses can also be said about Christ,
who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. In verse 1
of 2 Samuel 23, God's King is described as the man who was
raised up on high. And in Philippians 2, verses
8 to 11, Paul, by the inspiration of God, describes Christ the
King as being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name
which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Then the second
phrase of verse 1 of 2 Samuel 23, God's King is described as
the anointed of the God of Jacob. Christ is the man about whom
the Holy Spirit of God is speaking, and He is speaking through David.
Christ our King is just, ruling over men in the fear of God,
as verse 3 says, and as verse 4 says, He is the light of the
morning, when the sun rises even a morning without clouds, as
the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining
after rain." You see, it's hard to see which king is being talked
about here, isn't it? David is a clear picture of Christ
the King. Christ is the light of the world.
He sprang up out of the earth in humiliation. as the tender
grass. He arose from the dead as the
Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings. And our King is
one with whom God has made an everlasting covenant ordered
in an all things sure. He has no desire but the fulfillment
of that covenant and the glory of God and the salvation of His
people. Now, the King that is being described here in 2 Samuel
23 is not David, but it's Jesus
Christ. While David was a man in whom
these things were exemplified to a great degree, he was not
a king in whom these things are completely found. This king that
David is describing is Jesus Christ, our Savior. But this
morning, as we look at 2 Samuel 23, we're not looking at the
last words of Christ, But we're looking at the last words of
King David, who is a prophetic picture of Christ, our Savior,
and who is speaking the words of God. By the inspiration of
God, David is speaking of Christ who was to come and who is the
King of kings and Lord of lords, who came to save His people from
their sin. This is something special about
a man's last words, isn't there? especially the last words of
a man after God's own heart, a man greatly used by God, whose
words were often spoken and written down under divine inspiration.
When a man is dying, maybe you've had the experience of seeing
somebody die. But it's my observation that
when a man is dying, I'm sure that he must do some serious
thinking. You still have his wits about
him. It would seem strange to me if a dying man didn't think
about his relationship with God or maybe about how he will face
in that great day of judgment, where he's going to spend eternity.
These are the kinds of things a man thinks about when he gets
ready to die. As David thought about death
in his last days, he found his comfort and he found his hope
in God's covenant of mercy and grace. Oh, dear Lord, could I
find my hope in the same thing that David found his hope in? Let's look at these first five
verses of 2 Samuel 23, these last words of David in which
he prophetically describes Jesus Christ, God's King. In 2 Samuel
23, verse 1, the Spirit of God tells us 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. David, the son
of Jesse said these things about Christ. David is a mere man. He was a mortal man like you
and I. He was a son, a father, a husband and a friend to some.
Real blood flowed through his veins and his flesh was earthbound,
as frail as ours is. But that's also a description.
It's a description of God's King. In James 5, verse 15, the Apostle
says, And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the
Lord shall raise him up. And if he hath committed sins,
then they shall be forgiven him. Then the next phrase that David
says in verse 1 is, the man who was raised on high. David was
an object of God's favor and grace, but so was the Son of
God. God took a shepherd boy and made
that shepherd boy a king. In our case, when God saved us
in Christ, God took a beggar from the dunghill and through
Christ made him to inherit the throne of glory. As 1 Samuel
2.8 says, talking about God, He raised up the poor out of
the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them
among princes and to make them inherit the throne of glory.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set
the world upon them. And in Ephesians 2 verses 1 to
7, Paul says, And you has He quickened who were dead in trespasses
and sin? where in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. But God, but God in his rich
mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, by grace,
so you say, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness
towards us through Christ Jesus. Who can tell the great things
that God has done for us in Christ? Can you even remember all the
wonderful things that God has done for you? I can't. I thought about it. And it is
all of my life God has been blessing me in Christ. As 1 Corinthians
2, verses 9 and 10 says, But as it is written, eye has not
seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man
the things which God has prepared for them that love Him. But God
has revealed them unto us by His Spirit, for the Spirit teaches
all things, yea, the deep things of God. And looking at 2 Samuel
23 verse 1, the next phrase is the anointed of God. The language
of Scripture to be anointed is a very, very important thing.
To be anointed means to be consecrated, to be set apart and sanctified. set apart and sanctified for
a very special, sacred purpose. David was anointed as the King
of Israel by Samuel. And he was anointed on the orders
of God, even as we have been made kings and priests by and
through the person and the work of Jesus Christ on the command
of God. In Revelation 5, verses 9 and
10, it says about God's saints in heaven, And they sung a new
song, saying, saying to Christ, Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God by the blood out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation, and hast made us unto God kings and priests,
and we shall reign on the earth. And in 1 John 3, verse 2, the
apostle says, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does
not yet appear what we shall be, But we know that when He
shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is." I pray that you can look at this table in front of us
and both see and remember what marvelous things that Christ
has done for you who are His people. And finally, in the last
phrase of verse 1, the sweet psalmist of Israel said, and
David wrote most of the psalm for Israel, and set them to music. The Psalms of David are sweet
and they're delightful to the ear because they praise and they
magnify the Lord God by singing the Word of God. And in verse
2 of 2 Samuel 23, David says, the Spirit of the Lord spoke
by me and His Word was in my tongue. Doesn't that take on
greater and a deeper meaning for you when you know that the
Word of God is Jesus Christ. David says, the Spirit of the
Lord spoke by me. It was under His tongue. Christ,
the Word of God, was spoken by David. The Psalms or the songs
which David wrote were not the fruits of his own clever tongue.
Oh, no. They were written by David, but
they were given to him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
And so they're not David's words, they're the words of God. In
2 Peter 1, verse 21, it says about those who wrote by the
inspiration of God, it says, for the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Then in verse 3 of 2 Samuel 23,
David says that the God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke
to me. He that rules over men must be
just, ruling in the fear of God. As we look at these last words
of David, and as we see that it is Jesus Christ who is being
described, I don't think that we can overlook something that
I find very interesting when you read verses 2 and 3 together.
because we see God described as the three in one. We see God
the Father, God the Holy Spirit, as well as Christ, all being
described. Look closely at verses 2 and
3 as I read them again. In 2 Samuel 23, verses 2 and
3, David says, The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His
Word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock
of Israel spoke to me. He that ruleth over men must
be just, ruling in the fear of God." As we come to this Lord's
Supper table today, we look to Christ. We remember what Christ
has done as He died to save us from our sin, and so our hearts
pour out to Him in love. But we can't separate Christ.
We can't separate the work of Christ from the Father and His
Holy Spirit. They are one God. The God of
Israel is the well-known title of our Father who is in heaven.
And the Rock of Israel is God's Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And
it was the Spirit of the Lord who spoke by David. God, as He
speaks through David, is leaving us a record for the church of
the work of God and the salvation of his people. What the Spirit
spoke by David is what was intended by God for the instruction of
others, others besides David. And what the rock of Israel spoke
to David is, no doubt then, what the Lord Jesus spoke for his
own personal advantage in the salvation of his church. And
so this word of God brings with it the fullest possible authority
of the triune God. What a great and blessed privilege
and an honor to have the communications of Jesus Christ sent to us along
with the teaching of His Holy Spirit, we have comfort and we
have learning. And so it takes on an even greater
meaning for us when we look at the last phrase of verse 3. It
says, He that ruleth over man must be just, ruling in the fear
of God. David was anointed by God as
the King of Israel. As 2 Samuel 8 verse 15 says,
And David reigned over all Israel. And David executed judgment and
justice unto all his people. But although that was true of
David, it's also true to an even greater degree of the Lord Jesus
Christ, our King of kings and the Lord our righteousness who
rules over all things. Oh, that Christ might rule over
you and me. that we might bow our knees to
Him willingly. Obedience, as God says in Isaiah
11, verses 1-5, through another prophet of God. And there shall
come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall
grow out of his roots. And the Spirit of the Lord shall
rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
Spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of
fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding in
the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge after
the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of
his ears. But with righteousness shall
he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the
earth. And he shall smite the earth
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall
he slay the wicked. and righteousness shall be the
girdle of his loins and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." And
in Jeremiah 23, verses 5 and 6, God says, Behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous
branch and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth. In his days, Judas shall be saved
and Israel shall dwell safely And this is His name whereby
He shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness. Jesus Christ
is a just God and a Savior. As God says in Isaiah 45, verses
21 and 22, Tell ye, and bring them near. Yea, let them take
counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient
time? Who has told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord, And there is no God else beside me, a just
God and a Savior. There is none beside me. Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I
am God, and there is none else." Christ our Lord rules over His
people. He rules by His love, which we
see pictured here on this table. This broken bread and this poured
wine is a picture of God's love as He died for us on the cross. This is what I pray that you
will remember as we come to this Lord's Supper table. This is
what the Lord, our righteousness, accomplished for His people in
His life and in His death when He died on the cross. It was
by Christ's perfect life and by His death that Christ Jesus
enabled God to be just and justifier of all who believe. Romans 3
verses 25 and 26 says about Christ, whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His
righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God, to declare, I say at this time, His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. We are saved, not only by Christ's
death for us, but we are saved also by Christ's righteousness. Jesus Christ didn't destroy the
law, but He fulfilled and He honored the law. He didn't compromise
justice, but He fully satisfied justice. Because as 1 Peter 3.18
says, Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh,
but quickened by the Spirit. And as Paul said about Christ
in 2 Corinthians 5.21, For he has made him sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Oh, dear Father, I pray that you would help us to understand
and to know what Christ did on that cross and to know it in
a personal way. Then in verse 4 of 2 Samuel 23,
God says through David, And he shall be as the light of the
morning, when the sun rises, even a morning without clouds,
as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining
after rain. It's this verse, I think, more
than any other, which proves that although much of what God
is saying applies to David, God isn't talking about David. He's
talking about Jesus Christ. Who else could verse 4 be describing
except Christ, who is the light of the world? Jesus Christ shall
be as the light of the morning when the sun rises, because it
is only Jesus Christ who is the Son of righteousness. as God
says in Malachi 4 verse 2, But unto you that fear my name shall
the Son of Righteousness arise, with healing in his wings, and
you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. Never
did the angels, men, ordinances, graces, or all of the moons of
the night or the suns of the day, never did any of them ever
shine like a morning without clouds, It is only Jesus Christ who has
done away with the clouds of the law and the clouds of religious
ceremony and sacrifice. It's only the light of Jesus
Christ who has brought us in the clear gospel of the day of
the full justification, redemption, and rest in Christ. Jesus Christ
is the light and the glory of His people who guides and directs
them and who makes them cheerful and comfortable. The rule of
Christ is pleasant and delightful to His people. as it brings to
them a promise of a growing and increasing happiness which is
like the morning light in the rising sun. Jesus Christ is the
only true light that shines to drive away the darkness in the
hearts of men. As John 1 verse 9 says about
Christ that He was the true light which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world. And Jesus says in Revelation
22 verse 16, I am the bright and morning star I, Jesus, have
sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and
morning star. The first discovery of Christ,
after sin had brought a night of darkness into the world, was
like the dawn of the morning. And this morning light increased
with each fresh and clear view that the patriarchs were given
by God of Christ after man's fallen Adam. Although until the
birth of Christ, the sun was not up, and it wasn't a morning
without clouds, yet the discoveries which our father Abraham and
the others made of Christ, those discoveries brought joy and love
to their hearts. And their glimpses of Christ
were a sure sign of the sun rising, though it hadn't fully risen
yet. But then when Christ first appeared in the flesh, The sun
of righteousness arose and the light which was Christ scattered
the darkness of the night, both in the Jewish and the Gentile
world, as the light of the gospel was introduced to a greater and
fuller degree than it had ever been in the days of the patriarchs
under the legal dispensation. And then the death of Christ
on the cross made the gospel day bright for all who, by the
power of God, were made able to see Christ clearly as their
Savior who had died on the cross as their substitute for their
sin. That was when the light of the gospel brought a morning
without clouds, because Christ was the fulfillment of both the
moral law and the ceremonial law. So without the darkness
of the ceremonial law, the shadows of which now disappeared because
of the coming of Christ, which the ceremonial law pictured,
And without the storms and the tempests of the moral law, because
its curses had been removed and carried away by Christ's death
on the cross for all who believed, the wrath of God was removed
by the death of Christ. And so that satisfaction for
sin and the reconciliation of God with His people was made
by Christ in His death on the cross. And so continuing in verse
4, David says that Christ shall be as the tender grass springing
out of the earth by clear shining after rain. In the springtime,
after the rain, and when the sun begins to shine, the tender
grass shoots up out of the earth. That's partly due to the rain
that falls in the night, but the tender grass also grows because
of the sun that shines through the day. What a marvelous picture
that is of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel-like
rain falls on the fertile soil of hearts, hearts which have
been prepared by God to receive it. And like seeds of grass,
the gospel grows by the light of the Son of God. It's when
those tender shoots begin to grow that Hosea 6 verse 3 says,
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord, then shall
we know His going forth is prepared as the morning, And He shall
come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto
the earth. But Jesus Christ is even more
beneficial to His people who can be compared to tender grass
because of their weakness in number. He's even more important
to His people than the sun and the rain are to the grass of
the field. Because without the tender, loving
care of Christ, that grass would only wither and die. And in verse
5 of 2 Samuel 23, David says that, Although my house be not
so with God, ye have 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. How natural and good
it is for David when he's thinking and talking about Christ and
the salvation that is only in Christ, David begins to think
about his own condition and what God has done for him in Christ. David is delighting in the assurance
that God has given him of his salvation. I pray that we all
might have that same assurance in Christ which David had. But
then David says a very sad and mournful thing. David says, my
house isn't so with God. Oh, what a trial David's family
was to him. Which of us who have children
can't relate to David and the pain that he feels because his
children have no assurance of Christ as their Savior? David's
own sin had been a horrible influence on his children. To say nothing
about the pain and the suffering that David's sin had brought
on himself. His day was a day of clouds from morning until
evening. How many of David's children
died in their sins, we don't know. But what does David say
about these trying circumstances? David says, Although my house
be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things, and sure. Here's a great sigh, a mournful
song coming from David as he cries out to God, saying, All
my house, my children, my servants, my court, my nations, they are
not right with God. They don't love God. They don't
worship God. And they don't seek His glory.
As it says in 2 Samuel 18 and verse 33, And the king was much
moved, and went to the chamber over the gate. And he wept. And
as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom,
would God I had died for thee. O Absalom, my son, my son. David wept over his children,
he wept over his house and his people, just as Paul wept over
Israel. Paul says in Romans 9, verses
1 to 3, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also
bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness
and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself
were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according
to the flesh. And in Romans 10, verse 1, Paul
says, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel
is that they might be saved. Isn't that our prayer for our
children? Isn't that our prayer for our country, our families?
Yet David says, God has made with me an everlasting covenant. The covenant by which God settled
the kingdom on David and his seed, that covenant was Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ, who is forever.
In Luke 1, verses 31 to 33, the angel of God said to Mary, Behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and he shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be
no end. David is saying that God had given him Jesus Christ,
and that was enough. Jesus Christ is enough because
in Christ, David knew that he had all things. Christ Jesus
was a far better thing to David than a thousand sons. As horrible
and as anguished as it was for David, that his sons did not
have a Savior. And yet for David, Christ was
his all in all. Christ was a sweet consolation
and a glorious relief under all of the afflictions. But this
isn't all that was included in the covenant of God's grace.
The covenant which is in the blood of Jesus Christ and the
righteousness of Christ is the everlasting covenant and it reaches
into eternity. And all of God's blessings are
in Christ for eternity because of this covenant. This covenant
is sure and nothing can break it down. This covenant of God's
mercy can well be called the sure mercies of David. And these
sure mercies of David are a type of the eternal covenant of God's
grace made with Christ from the beginning in which Christ is
the surety. Christ is the Savior. Christ is the sanctifier. Christ
is the mediator of all that was given to him by the Father. As
Jesus said in John 6 verses 37 to 39, all that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And
this is the Father's will that sent me, that of all which he
has given me, I should lose nothing, but should rise it up again at
the last day." And in John 17, verses 2 and 3, shortly before
Jesus goes to the cross, Jesus prayed to his Father and he's
praying about himself. And he said, as thou hast given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. And in Hebrews 1.3, it says about
Christ, who being the brightness of his glory, God's glory, and
the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." All that the
Father chose, the Son redeems. And the Spirit effectually calls
them to come to Christ. And what the Lord does, it shall
be forever. It is without change, as God
says in Malachi 3, verse 6, for I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob,
are not consumed. And as Paul said in Romans 11
verse 29, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
God will save every one of his children and not a single one
of them will be left behind. And so this eternal covenant
in Christ is ordered and ordained and in all things and sure. The
mercies and the grace of God are not left to chance, but they
are decreed, determined, and purposed by God according to
His will. As God says in Isaiah 46 verses
9 to 11, Remember the former things of old, for I am God,
and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like
me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand. and I will do all my pleasure.
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executes
my counsel from a far country, yea, I have spoken it, and I
will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it, and I will
also do it." God will save His people according to His covenant
promise in Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of His covenant
in establishing a perfect righteousness and effectual atonement is not
in the hands of men, but it was given to Christ to accomplish.
As Paul said in Galatians 4, verses 4 and 5, But when the
fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And in
1 Timothy 1.15 Paul says, This is a faithful saying, and worthy
of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief. Paul says, That's why they are
called the sure mercies of David, because Jesus Christ will not
fail or be discouraged. As Jesus said in John 10 verses
14 to 18, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known
of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even
so now I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I
must bring. And they shall hear my voice,
and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Therefore does
my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I may take
it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
of my Father. And in John 10, verses 27 to
30, Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. I and my Father are one." So David says, this
is all my salvation. Jesus Christ is all my salvation,
David is saying. So we come to this Lord's Supper
table. It would be good for us to listen to David when he says,
God's love for me in Christ, God's choice of me in Christ,
God's righteousness fulfilled for me in Christ, and God's acceptance
of me in Christ is all my salvation. Christ is all my salvation. My
salvation isn't my feelings, my work, or my righteousness,
but my salvation is by God's grace given to me in Christ. As Ephesians 2 verses 8 to 10
says, for by grace are you saved through faith. And that's not
of yourselves, it's a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained
that we should walk in them. Not only is Christ all of David's
salvation, but David says that Christ is all of his desire too. Not only do I find comfort and
peace in God's covenant of grace in Christ, David says, but I
find my delight and assurance in Christ. This is my one great
desire, David is saying, that God's purpose in Christ would
be fulfilled, and Christ would have the preeminence, as Colossians
1 verse 18 says about Christ, and he is the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning and firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he might have the preeminence. And as Philippians
2 verses 9 to 11 says about Christ and his covenant, wherefore God
also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is
above every name. that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and
things under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus Christ
is David's salvation. Christ is his delight and his
assurance. But David says, although he make
it not to grow. At the present time there are
not many signs and evidences of what we are and what we have
or what we shall be. But the promise of God is sure,
and we will rejoice in Him. David is saying, as the prophet
said in Habakkuk 3, verses 17 and 18, Although the fig tree
shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor
of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat.
The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be
no herd in the stalls. Yet, The Prophet says, I will
rejoice in the Lord. I will joy in the God of my salvation. And as the Apostle said in 1
John 3 verses 2 and 3, Behold, now are we the sons of God, and
it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when
he shall appear, when Christ shall appear, we shall be like
him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that has
this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. And so as
we come to this Lord's Supper table, I pray that you can come
trusting Christ as David trusted in Christ. I pray that you can
come remembering that Christ died in your place, paying the
penalty for all of your sin, and in Christ's death that you
can see the love of God who sent His only Son to die for you,
which is pictured in the elements that are on this table. Can you
see the love of Christ whose body was broken for you and whose
blood was shed for you so that you might have eternal life in
Christ? Can you see the love of Christ because you believe
that He took your place on the cross, taking your sin on Himself,
and being made sin, He died for you while you were yet in your
sin? If you can, then I invite you
to come to this table in loving fellowship with others of this
body. who can also see the love of God in Christ.