It's helpful sometimes to keep
the chronology of various passages of Scripture in mind. 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles cover
the same period of history. So when we get to 1 Chronicles,
you'll have some repetition of what we have here. There are
many things in this blessed 24 chapters of 2 Samuel that I simply
have to pass over to give you the message of the book in one
message. If you want to learn something about prayer, go to
chapter 7 and find out how David prayed when he said, Therefore
thy servant found it in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee,
do as thou hast said. Prayer, true prayer, Prayer,
effectual prayer, is prayer according to the will of God. It is the
response of the believer's heart to that which God has put in
his heart. It is an act of faith, and faith
is based upon and arises from the word of God. So prayer is
something God puts in our hearts. And we can pray when God puts
it in our hearts to pray for that which he has purposed to
accomplish. When you get to chapter 12, you
find a tremendous sobering lesson about a believing man and his
sin, his depravity, his corruption, his fall, and God's faithfulness,
God's mercy, God's goodness. and you find there something
about God's providence as well. For the Lord God overruled the
evil of David's sin in the matter of Uriah the Hittite and his
wife Bathsheba, and out of that adulterous union the Lord God
was pleased to bring our Redeemer into this world. Solomon, David's
son, born to Bathsheba, and the Lord Jesus Christ, born in that
same line, came into this world the son of David through the
union of David and Bathsheba. Oh, the wondrous mystery of God's
providence. Wise and happy are those people
who learn to submit to God's providence in all things. We
don't have to understand what God is doing in the immediate,
how he is accomplishing his purpose in the present, but we must recognize
God is doing good, and he is accomplishing his purpose. Let
us bow before him. We learn something, too, about
God's chastisement. God will show his displeasure
with the sins of his people. He will chasten his own because
he loves them, and because he loves them, He loves them eternally
and forever, and he will keep them. He will not leave them
to themselves. It won't happen. It won't happen. And of course, when you get to
the end of the book in chapter 23, you learn something about
God's covenant grace. But I want us to look at the
book as a whole. The first Samuel was a book about three men, Samuel,
Saul, and David. Second Samuel is a book about
one man, just David. But it is not so much a book
about David as it is a book about Christ, of whom David was a type
and picture. Indeed, David stands before us
throughout the scriptures as perhaps the most imminent type
of our Lord Jesus Christ in many, many, many ways. When you read
the scriptures, many of the prophets, many of the Psalms, and you find
David's name, you cannot rightfully or rightly understand those scriptures
unless you read in the place of David, Christ the Lord. Because
the prophecy is clearly speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ,
our Redeemer, in its fullness. For example, look here in 2 Samuel
7. As you read this chapter, there is one word that is used
repeatedly through the chapter, He spoke about David's seed sitting
on his throne forever. He spoke about David's kingdom
being an everlasting kingdom. Those words make it clear that
this statement, this prophecy and this promise could not possibly
refer ultimately and finally and conclusively to any earthly
monarch or to any earthly throne or to any mere earthly physical
nation. The Lord God is here speaking
about the Lord Jesus Christ and his kingdom, his throne, and
his glorious reign. Look in verse 12. And when thy
days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will
set up thy seed as to thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels,
and I will establish his kingdom. And he shall build a house for
my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.'
house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee. Thy throne shall be established
forever.' Now, David, as God's anointed and enthroned king over
Israel, as the nation of Israel was a physical nation, David
their physical king, He was typical of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
is God's anointed and enthroned King, sitting on the throne of
his sovereign dominion as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, particularly,
distinctly, King over God's holy nation, Israel, his church. It's so very, very important
in these days of Prophecy idiocy, and the world is plumb full of
it. Hal Lindsey writes a new book every time something new
comes along on the television news, or something new comes
out in the newspaper about God, and this is it, this is it, this
is it. And folks follow him just like they're going crazy. One
of the ladies who was my wife's roommate in school, Her husband
came through here a while back when they had the Y2K stairs,
wrote books on it, had seminars, wanted me to come hear about
it, I wasn't interested. And then he came back a year
later going to the same churches, and I told her I should ask her
what he's preaching now. Something had to change. God's
promises concerning Israel. And God's covenant with regard
to Israel and God's blessings promised to Israel have nothing
to do with that physical nation over in Palestine any more than
they are to Saddam Hussein and the folks in Iraq. No more. They are altogether spiritual
in their fulfillment, altogether spiritual in their ultimate accomplishment. Let me show you what I'm talking
about. Don't misunderstand me now. I do not suggest that there
is no application of these promises and others, and even those that
are written in 2 Samuel and in the Psalms to David personally,
Indeed, they are. They have an application to you
and I individually as believers. David is the representative of
God's elect, his people as they live in this world, his experiences
typify in great measure the experiences of God's people in this world.
I'll show you that in just a little bit. But the ultimate fulfillment
of David's life and of David's dominion as God's anointed King
must be found only in Jesus Christ the Lord. Now, this is not my
interpretation. I'm not interested in defending
premillennialism, postmillennialism, amillennialism, or any other
doctrine. I'm not interested in defending
any other doctrinal system. What I am interested in is declaring
to you what God's word plainly teaches. Let's look at two passages.
Turn to Psalm 16. I have set the Lord always before
me, because he is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall
rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul
in hell, thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt
show me the path of life. In thy presence is fulness of
joy, at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."
How do you interpret that? Somebody asked me, I was preaching
somewhere just recently, I can't remember where, in Houston. One of the fellows asked me,
he said, When you get to these psalms like Psalm 40 and Psalm
69, where they are clearly messianic psalms and the psalmist is talking
about Christ, how does that apply to him? He's talking about himself.
He's talking about himself. He's crying out to God from his
inmost soul's experience, but he is also writing by divine
inspiration. And this psalm clearly, the Holy
Spirit tells us, is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is
spoken of him. Yes, David is expressing his
delight, his gladness, his hope, his confidence, but he's speaking
about Christ. Now, I didn't draw that out of
my head. You find it in Acts 2. Look at it. The Apostle Peter is on the day
of Pentecost, and the Holy Spirit has been poured out on God's
Church, that is, the display of Christ being seated on his
throne, as Joel hypothesized. He says in Acts 2, verse 22,
verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, verse
22, verse 22, verse 22, verse 22, Him being delivered by the determinant
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain." He says this was God's purpose.
But this wasn't all God's purpose. Look at it. "...whom God hath
raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was
not possible that he should be holding of it." Death couldn't
hold him. He has put away sin, he must rise from the dead. For
David speaketh concerning him." Now, listen to this, he says,
David speaketh concerning Christ. And he quotes what we just read
in Psalm 16. I foresaw also the Lord always
before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should
not be moved. Therefore did my heart rejoice,
and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh shall
rest in hope. Because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, in the grave, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One
to see corruption. Thou hast made known unto me
the ways of life. Thou shalt make me full of joy
with thy countenance.' Then in brethren, Peter says, let me
freely speak. Let me tell you what this is
talking about. Let me speak unto you of the Patriarch David, that
he is both dead and buried, and he is still in the grave. His
sepulcher is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet
and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him that of the
fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne, he seeing this before, spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in
hell, in the grave, neither did his flesh see corruption. Therefore,
he says in verse 33, being by the right hand of God exalted,
and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost,
he hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. For David
is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord
said unto my Lord, Set thou on my right hand, until I make thy
foes thy footstool. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know for certain, know assuredly, that God hath made
that same Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." Let me
describe for you the character of God's King. It's set before
us in 2 Samuel 23. The Lord Jesus Christ is typified
in the person and reign of David as God's King in this book. Here in 2 Samuel 23, David is
on his deathbed. These will be the last words
of David. David, the son of Jesse, said,
The man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God
of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, verse 2, The
Spirit of the Lord spake by me, 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 the 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." Now again,
David is expressing his confidence and his faith in God, leaving
the world in peace and joy. But he is speaking about Christ.
God's King is described here as the man who was raised up
on high. Thou hast exalted him, and given
him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in the
earth, and things under the earth. And every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. He is spoken
of as the anointed of the God of Jacob. He is anointed, the
Lord poured out of him the oil of gladness, the Holy Spirit
without measure. He must be a man by whom the
Spirit of God speaks. Yes, the Spirit of God spoke
by David. But the Lord God Almighty came
and revealed himself conclusively and finally in Jesus Christ,
who is the Word. He must be just, just ruling
over men in the fear of the Lord. Christ Jesus is perfectly just,
and he rules over men with reverence to God perfectly. He must be
a man who is as the light of the morning. When the sun shineth,
even a morning without clouds, the Lord Jesus came into this
world of darkness, and he comes as the light, the light of the
world, to give the light of the knowledge of God in his own face
and in the glory of his being. He must be as the tender grass
springing out of the earth by a clear shining after the rain.
Isaiah describes him in Isaiah 53 as a root out of dry ground.
Here he is spoken of as a tender grass, one who comes in humiliation,
but comes as a clear after the rain, he is brought
into the world by God's good providence, thoroughly preparing
everything for his coming, just as God had prepared the ground
for grass and watered it and nurtured it, and here comes the
blade. So the Lord Jesus came here in the fulfilling of all
things by the will of God. He must be one with whom God
has made an everlasting covenant, a covenant in order that all
things are sure. And he must be one who has no
desire but the fulfillment of that covenant. That's Christ
the Lord. David says, This is all my salvation
and all my desire. And he spoke the truth. He wasn't
being deceitful. He wasn't putting on a good show
of religion. In the core of his being, that's what he wanted.
In the core of our beings, this is what God's people want. His purpose accomplished. His
kingdom established. His glory revealed. And yet we
do have some other desires. Most of them selfish. David submitted
to God's will, and yet when Absalom was slain under the hand of God's
judgment and wrath, he cried, O Absalom, my son, my son, would
God I had died for thee. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't
just cry helplessly after his sons, he died for his sons and
accomplished our redemption by his sacrifice. And the Lord Jesus
Christ desires nothing. nothing but the will of God,
the fulfilling of his covenant, the saving of his people, the
glory of God Almighty in that salvation accomplished. This
King is Christ. While David was the man in whom
these things are exemplified in great degree, he was not the
King in whom these things are completely found. This King is
our Savior. Adner describes the work of God's
king. Verse 17. Adner had communication with
the elders of Israel, saying, You sought for David in times
past to be king over you. Now then, do it. For the Lord
hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David
I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines,
and out of all their enemies. Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. God has given
him power over all flesh for this purpose, that he should
give eternal life to as many as the Father has given him in
electing love. The Lord Jesus Christ has a people,
the Israel of God, his elect. He came into this world, lived,
died, rose again, ascended on high, and took his place on the
throne of God for the saving of his people from all their
enemies. He is now enthroned with universal dominion, having
power over all flesh, and this is what he is doing. Jesus Christ
is saving his people from all their enemies. This is what he's doing. The
Lord Jesus Christ, as he holds the book of God's purpose in
his hand, with one foot on the land and one foot on the sea,
and turns the pages of the book, is but fulfilling God's purpose
for the saving of his people in every detail of his life. For this purpose he's been made
King. Listen to this, you can look
at it later, Acts 5, verse 30. The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus, whom you slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be. That is, he has exalted him for
this purpose, to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance
to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses
of these things. God's King is the man anointed
by him to be King. David was anointed three times.
I don't know that I ever paid particular attention to this
before. He was anointed in his father's house over in 1 Samuel
16. Then he was anointed after Saul
was slain as King over Judah, and then seven years later he
was finally anointed as King over all of Israel, all the tribes
of Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ is God's
anointed. God has given him the Spirit
without measure. The very word Christ means anointed
one. He is that one anointed of God
to be king, the Messiah. He is that one anointed of God
with the oil of gladness without measure above all his brethren.
Though he was God's anointed king, while he was in exile,
Saul ruled over the people. David was the king. Jonathan
recognized this. He said, I know God has made
you king, and I know since God has made you king, I've got to
die, but you're the king. Not my daddy and not me, you're
the king. But David was in exile, and Saul had dominion over all
the people. And though our Lord Jesus Christ
is king, king over all the universe and king particularly and distinctly
over his own people, he is a despised and rejected king. And the Prince
of this world, the Prince of darkness, held sway over our
hearts and over our lives. And we were laid captive by him
at his will, as his willing servants, all the days of our lives, despising
our rightful King, until the day that he saved us by his almighty
grace. And this is what God does in
the saving of his people. to acknowledge the King. And
this is what was done here in 2 Samuel. At God's appointed
time, all Judah were gathered together to David and gave themselves
to their King. You can jot down 2 Samuel 2 in
verse 4. But turn over to 1 Chronicles
12. I'll show you the parallel passage. It states what I want
you to see a little bit more fully. Then the Spirit came upon Emasi,
who was chief of the captains, and he said, Thine are we, David,
and on thy side. Thou son of Jesse, peace, peace
be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers, for thy God helpeth
thee. Then David received them and
made them captains of the band. This is what happens in the joyful
experience of conversion. The Lord God graciously causes
us in the day of his power to approach to the king and kiss
the sword. He conquers our rebellion by
the power of his omnipotent grace and makes us willing servants,
and we come to him and say, I'm yours, Lord. I'm yours. All that I have, all that I am,
I'm yours. I'm on your side. I'm yours. Peace be unto you. Peace be unto
you, O King of Zion. Thou art my King, O God. Thank God for our great King.
He is a King like none other, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
This King, the Lord Jesus Christ, is himself God Almighty, and
yet he is one of us. In 2 Samuel people took care. They said, The king is near akin
to us. Back in Deuteronomy 17, God gave
a law. You dare not take a king that
is not one of your brethren. Every king in Israel must be
a king who was born in Israel, a native-born son. So the Lord
Jesus Christ comes here as one of us. In all things it behooved
him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God,
to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. But not only
is this King one of us, God in our flesh, this King is one with
us, so that he is bone of our bone and flesh of his flesh,
and we are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. as really
and truly one with him, as this hand is one with this body, one
with him, so that all that he possesses in all his kingdom
and in all his fulness is my possession. He is one with us
and one of us, and he is exactly, exactly suited for us, for he
is our near kinsman. And this great King is saving
his people from their enemies. The Lord promised Israel concerning
David, he shall save my people Israel from the Philistines and
from all their enemies. And David started out by slaying
Goliath. And from the time that Goliath's
head hit the ground, David never lost in any way anything thereafter. He was constantly victorious.
Israel was never subdued during his reign by any power. Israel
never lost anything while David sat on the throne. He went forth
conquering and to conquer. And so it is with our Lord Jesus
Christ. He vanquished Satan, Goliath,
He cast out our enemy, he who is the accuser of the brethren,
and bound him with the mighty chain of his omnipotence, and
made us more than conquerors in him by his grace. Turn to
Revelation 20. Our Lord Jesus, just before he
died, said, Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the
prince of this world be cast out, and I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Here in Revelation
20, the Apostle John has this vision of the beginning of the
gospel age, when Christ Jesus came down into this world and
he accomplished our redemption for us. Revelation 20, verse
1, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of
the bottomless pit. and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent which is the
devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years," quite literally
thousands of years, "'and cast him into the bottomless pit,
and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive
the nations no more till the thousands of years should be
fulfilled.' And after that he must be loosed for a little season."
As David took the stronghold of Zion, the Lord Jesus Christ,
our great King with his own blood, entered and walked into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us, and he sat
down from henceforth expected, until his enemies be made his
footstool. For he must reign until he hath put all things
under his feet. The King of glory has come to
us at the time of his saving mercy. at the appointed time
of love, he came to this house, a house that had been taken over
by a usurped monarch from hell, who held this man in bondage
all his life. And when the King came and found
his house possessed of another, he didn't come and knock on the
door and say, Won't you pretty please let me in? I didn't know
he was around until he had knocked the door down and was sitting
on the throne on the inside, and I was glad to have him. How
does he do this? He comes, and by the power of
his grace he binds the strong man and casts him out and sets
up his rule in the citadel of Mansoul in our hearts, so that
we are delighted to have him as King. And his kingdom, of
the increase of his government and peace, there shall be no
end. Jesus Christ is King forever. And this King of grace and King
of glory, our Lord Jesus, sits upon the throne of grace. Remember Hebrews 4.16, Let us
therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The throne
on which this King sits is not Not the kind of throne that other
kings had, not a regal, spectacular throne that you can show off
to me. Oh, no, no, no. The throne on which he sits was
typified in the mercy seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant
in the Holy of Holies. That's his throne. Oh, hear me,
children of God. Here, me, Needy Sinners, the
king of the universe, sits on the throne of grace, to give
grace and mercy in time of need to everybody who wants it. To
everybody who wants it. We have a beautiful picture in
chapter 7, in a thimble shed. That's me. in a far-off land with nothing
to eat, laying through a fog, I swore an enemy to the king.
I'm Saul's son, I ought to be on that throne!" And David seems
to fetch him, and he brings him in before him. And he says, Nephites,
you don't know anything about this, but your daddy, Jonathan,
he and I were the best of friends. His love for me was more than
the love of a woman for a man, sweeter than any love known on
the earth. And I loved him the same way. Before Jonathan was taken out
of this world, he and I made a covenant together, and he required
of me that I swear to him, as he gives the throne to me willingly,
that I swear to him that I would be merciful to his seed after
him. I don't know anything about you
except you're Jonathan's son. And because you're Jonathan's
son, you sit right here at my table and eat continually as
one of the king's sons. That's what God in his grace
does for sinners through Jesus Christ the Lord, because of a
covenant made with his son as our Lord and our Savior and our
King before the world began. And in the mere time of his love
he comes and fetches us to himself and causes us to sit at his table
and feast continually as the King's sons." Now, there's a
picture here, too, of God's people. David is typical of us. He is described in 1 Samuel 13,
verse 14, as a man after God's own heart. He wasn't such a man
by nature. David was a fallen sinner just
like you and just like me. But God had chosen him. The Lord God came to him in grace.
And the Lord God gave him a new heart, and made him to be a man
after God's own heart. Every time I read that, every
time I think of it, I cry to my soul, Oh God, give me such
a heart, make me such a man. The Lord looked upon the heart. We look on the outward appearance
and we are impressed with the outward appearance, negatively
or positively. God Almighty is not impressed
with our outward appearance. He is not impressed with that
which impresses men. But God looks on the heart. What did he see in David? He
saw a believing heart. David believed God. No, he didn't
believe him perfectly. He said once to Jonathan, he
said, My soul, as my soul liveth, there is but a step between me
and death. But he believed God. He believed God's word and said,
I trusted in thee, O Lord, thou art my God. He said, What time
I am afraid, I will trust in thee. I can't tell you how often
I've looked at He said, I'm so thankful he wrote those words. I try my best never to show fear. I try never to show it. If I'm
in a situation with my wife or when we had our daughter, smaller,
we occasionally got in circumstances, made a wrong turn in the wrong
town, wound up in the wrong part of town. And they'd get a little
antsy. And I tried my best, I hope they
never saw it. I hope they never saw it. Inside
I was going to shake it, but I didn't want to show any fear.
I didn't want to show any fear. It seems true that I try to serve
you as your pastor. Oh, what fear I have. But I trust
him. And what time I'm afraid, I still
trust him in the midst of my fears. He described it in Psalm 32 and
Psalm 51. He trusted God's rule of providence
in everything. He said, My times are in thy
hands. What time, I am afraid, I will
trust in thee. Thou hast put gladness in my
heart more than the time of their corn and their wine increased.
I will both lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, Lord, only
makest me to dwell safely. He trusted God's immutable covenant
faithfulness. He said, When my father and my
mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up. He said, I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord looked on David's heart
and saw a broken and contrite heart, particularly when David
was exposed for what he was. In the matter of Uriah the Hittite
and Bathsheba, Nathan came to him, and David cried out, In
sin did my mother conceive me. I was brought forth in iniquity. And he cries to God with a broken
and contrite heart for forgiveness, for mercy, for grace, restoring
to me the joy of my salvation. And no sooner, when we get to
the end of the book, in chapter 24, that David had numbered the
children of Israel, there was another lust that broke out.
Joab, old Joab, he doesn't seem to have known anything at all
about God's grace, but Joab knew right from wrong in some ways.
He said, David, don't do this thing, these are God's people.
Don't number them. But David's heart swelled with
pride. And he said, you go count the people. And he hadn't even
got done, Bobby, and he cried out to God, Oh, I have sinned,
I have sinned. You see, this man, having seen
his Redeemer and his substitute, had known God's grace and God's
faithfulness in the midst of his ungodliness and rebellion,
yet was turned again in brokenness to his God, acknowledging what
he was. That's what brokenness is. It's
not a pretense, it's not a show. Folks
say, boy, that's a real humble man. You can't see it. You can't
see it. What you call humility is just
pride bowing its head. That's all it is. Nothing else. What men look at is, oh, he's
such a meek and humble man. No. What you see is not meekness
and humility. That's something that goes on
between a man and God. It's recognizing who and what
he is before God Almighty who loved him. He chose him, redeemed
him, and called him. David, a man after God's own
heart, was a man whose heart was submissive and obedient to
his God. When Saul persecuted him, oh,
what a man, what a man. Let me go over, the bishop said,
and I'll take his head off his shoulders, nobody's going to
know anything going on, they're all going to stay on the street. David
said, don't you touch it. We'll wait on God. We'll wait
on God. God's work is God's work, not
mine. When Absalom was taken, David submitted. When the son
for whom he prayed The result of that adulterous union with
Bathsheba was taken. David bowed his head and worshiped
God. Shemai came out cussing him,
and man, did he cuss him! He called him everything under
the sun except David. Again, Abishah said, I'll go
over and lift his head off his shoulders. Anyone? You give the
word, I'll take my sword out, and we won't hear his wagging
tongue anymore." And David said, leave him alone, for the Lord
has said to Shimei, curse David. Perhaps the Lord will be quite
good for his cursing, and he did. Submission to God's providence. Oh, how we ought to crave such
a mission, for then we'll find ourselves like David, walking
before God with a peaceful heart at rest with God. The Lord does
all things well. And David was a man whose heart
was devoted and committed to his God. He said, Remember, this was just at the
conclusion of his psalm, where he said, My feet had almost gone,
my steps had wellnigh sniffed, I was envious at the prosperity
of the foolish. Then I went to God's house and said, Oh, my
God, what have I said? What have I done? Whom have I
in heaven but they? There is none on earth that I
desire beside me. With my heart and my flesh, they
that the Lord will lift me up. And this man goes out and worships
God. He goes to buy a place of ground
to set the ark of God. And he does so at great cost. At great cost. Because he would
not worship God without a sacrifice. And before he died, before he
died, the last thing he did is he brought the ark of God home.
and set in his place in Jerusalem. Jesus Christ, our Ark, in his
last act, as a man lifted up from the earth, goes up into
glory, and he takes the Ark of God home and makes peace for
sinners. And David, all the while, was
a sinner still. And he wrote this, when Nathan
said to him, the Lord has put away your sin, blessed is the
man to whom the Lord will not impute
sin. Now briefly, let me show you
one more thing. Turn to chapter 19. You remember there were 7 years
between the time David was crowned King over Judah and the time
he was crowned King over all Israel. And there is a set, perfect
time to be fulfilled, between the time of the Lord Jesus being
established as King by God's hand and being established as
King, acknowledged as such, over all the earth. Here in 2 Samuel
19, We see something about the King's return. David had been
away from Jerusalem for some time because of Absalom's revolt,
and now the rebel was dead and the people longed for David to
come back. In verse 10, Absalom, whom we
anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now, therefore, why speak
ye not a word of bringing back the King? David heard about it,
and he sent messengers. He said, Y'all really want me
back? I'm coming home. Look in verse
14, And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as
the heart of one man, so that they sent this word to the king,
Return thou,