Bibles to the book of 2 Samuel. We were there last week. We're going to be there tonight. 2 Samuel chapter 22. 2 Samuel 22. I'll read verses 1 to 31.

So 2 Samuel 22, beginning in verse 1. Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies. and from the hand of Saul. And he said, the Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, the God of my strength and whom I will trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior, you save me from violence. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised.

So shall I be saved from my enemies. When the waves of death surrounded me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of shield surrounded me. The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress, I called upon the Lord and cried out to my God. He heard my voice from his temple, and my cry entered his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven quaked and were shaken because he was angry.

Smoke went up from his nostrils and devouring fire from his mouth. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down with darkness under his feet. He rode upon a cherub and flew. and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.

He made darkness canopies around him, dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. From the brightness before him, coals of fire were kindled. The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice. He sent out arrows and scattered them, lightning bolts, and he vanquished them.

Then the channels of the sea were seen. The foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils. He sent from above. He took me.

He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place.

He delivered me because he delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands. He has recompensed me, for I have kept the ways of the Lord. and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his judgments were before me, and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them.

I was also blameless before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore, the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his eyes. With the merciful, you will show yourself merciful. With a blameless man, you will show yourself blameless.

With the pure, you will show yourself pure. And with the devious, you will show yourself shrewd. You will save the humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty, that you may bring them down. For you are my lamp, O Lord.

The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by you, I can run against a troop. By my God, I can leap over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect.

The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to all who trust in him. Amen.

Opening Prayer

Well, let us pray. Our gracious God and Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for these Psalms of David. We pray that you would guide us now by the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit to understand what is spoken of in terms of his righteousness.

We thank you for the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for your mercy and your loving kindness. We thank you that you have been so kind in saving us from all of our transgressions and iniquities. And we even confess remaining corruption now, asking that you would wash us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we pray in his wonderful name. Amen.

Introduction

Well, our focus this evening is going to be specifically on verses 21 to 25. Last week, we considered the riches of God's grace in the case of David in 2 Samuel 11 and 12. Remember in 2 Samuel chapter 11, David commits great sin. He commits the sins of adultery.

He commits the sin of adultery and then he covers it up by way of conspiracy to commit murder. And so when we consider that, and when we consider 1 Samuel chapter 13, specifically at verse 14, where David is identified as a man after God's own heart by God himself, it might be a difficult thing for some to reckon verse 21 with those gross sins committed by David. Notice in chapter 22 verse 21, The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands, He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His judgments were before me, and as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his eyes." Now there's a few chapters, obviously separating chapters 12 and 22, but in that section we see the consequences of David's sin, and there we see him compound his sin. So tonight I want to try to reckon with this fact that David was a man after God's own heart, David was rewarded by God according to his righteousness, and yet he had engaged in this kind of sin.

Now, when we look at this chapter, it is substantially the same as Psalm 18. A few differences in wording, but it's the same exact thing. And the psalm was likely sung by David during his life, and here we see that it was sung at the end of his life. And it was prepared according to the subscript in Psalm 18 for the chief musician to be included in the Psalter, to be utilized by all of God's people in all successive ages.

And when David comes to engage in this song of praise, he's not praising himself. Now he does allude to his righteousness, but I think by the end of the sermon tonight, we'll understand what he's talking about there. And spoiler alert, it's the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ received by faith alone. So just so you know where we're going with this.

But in terms of this song of praise, notice that he's not praising himself. He's not saying, my military savvy, my ability on the battlefield, my ability to evade Saul, my ability to evade the Philistines. That's what brought me to this place of a hoary head as I muse on my life. No, he ascribes power to God, deliverance to God, praise to God for what God had in fact done in terms of David in his life.

So basically, just an outline of the chapter of the psalm, we see the object of his praise in verses 1 to 4. Secondly, we see the desperation of his condition in verses 5 to 7. Then the manner of God's deliverance in verses 8 to 20. the faithfulness of David in verses 21 to 31 and then finally the psalm ends with the invincibility of his kingdom according to God's power in verses 32 to 51. So that's kind of an overview of the psalm or of the chapter and as I said I want to look first of all at the righteousness of David and then secondly at the theology of David because I think that will help explain why he says what he says in this particular section.

But

The Righteousness of David

in terms of the righteousness of David, note the declaration again. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness. I've already alluded to the Bathsheba and Uriah incident, but turn back to 2 Samuel chapter 13. This is one of the consequences of David's sin as he had committed with Bathsheba and Uriah.

Remember God said the sword would not depart from his house. There would be consequences, temporal consequences for his having gone into Bathsheba and then covering it up by way of murder. 2 Samuel 13 is a very unsavory chapter of Holy Scripture. It's the rape of Tamar. When David learns of the rape of Tamar, notice what it says according to 2 Samuel 13 at verse 21.

But when King David heard of all these things, he was very angry. Now that's a legitimate response. If you had heard that your daughter was raped, there would certainly be an anger. There would certainly be a rage.

There would certainly be a desire perhaps to requite or to engage in vengeance. But that's all that the text says. David didn't do anything. David didn't engage in that.

David didn't recompense. David didn't go after this offender. Davis makes this point. He says, of course, legions of expositors say that David himself found himself a prisoner of his own folly.

After all, how could he call Amnon to account when he himself had violated Bathsheba and eliminated her husband? In other words, he had no moral authority upon which to stand in order to address this crime that he obtained in his own house. He set hardly a solid basis for exercising moral authority, and yet such an argument does not negate David's responsibility. He holds nevertheless the office of a magistrate, one might say, both in his kingdom and in his family.

As both father and king, he is charged with maintaining justice. whether he is personally compromised or not. One may understand David's failure to act. One may not, however, excuse it. So Amnon remains an unpunished felon, Tamar languishes his damaged goods, and Absalom becomes a seething vigilante.

I'm not helping the case. We've already seen adultery with Bathsheba, murder with reference to Uriah, and now sort of a complicitness with reference to the rape of his own daughter. So

Attempts to Explain David's Claim

how do we vindicate David? Well, there's been several attempts to try and explain 2 Samuel 22 away. Some have suggested that this song was not composed by David, that it was inserted by an editor. Some suggest that this song was composed prior to the events recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 11.

So that is one way of trying to evade the perhaps tension that we see in terms of his criminal activity, his sinful activity, and his own declaration here concerning his own righteousness. And some suggest it was written later, after the life of David, and inserted here by an editor. Now,

Scripture's Own Answer

I opt for the fourth position. This is God-breathed scripture. It is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote what he wrote, and with reference to the theology of David, we see how it squares.

We see how he can say what he says concerning his righteousness in light of the fact that he himself had been a great sinner. So

The Theology of David

let's turn to the theology of David now, secondly. And

David's Example in Romans 4

the first line of evidence I want to look at is the example of David in Romans chapter 4. You can turn there. Romans chapter 4. We ought to go to later revelation to help us understand previous revelation.

And in Romans chapter 4, the Apostle Paul is explaining justification by faith alone. And the Apostle Paul is highlighting that this is not a new thing. The only way any sinner has ever entered into the presence of God Almighty is through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is through His blood, it is through His righteousness, whether you're in the New Covenant or whether you're in the Old Covenant.

The way of access to the Father is through the Son by the Spirit. And so when Paul comes to defend or argue with reference to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, he points to two Old Testament examples. He points first to Abraham and then he points to David. So notice specifically the example of Abraham in verses one to four.

The patriarch's background. We don't typically ponder this or think about this, but Abraham was an idolater. In a few verses down, specifically at verse five, notice it says that, to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly. I doubt that for the most of us, we think of Abraham and David, at least at one point in their lives, as having been ungodly.

But that's precisely what they were. See, the gospel doesn't come to righteous men. The gospel doesn't come to accomplished men. The gospel comes to sinful men, to ungodly men.

And this is an encouragement tonight for you if you're not in Christ. The gospel is for sinners. The gospel is about a righteousness imputed by God and received by faith alone. The gospel is about forgiveness for even sins like adultery, and conspiracy to murder, and even being complicit in the daughter's rape, or at least not acting in light of that daughter's rape in a way that is consistent with God's law.

So the gospel comes to the ungodly, and that's precisely what Paul is highlighting here in terms of the glory of justification by faith alone. Abraham's background was one of idolatry. He wasn't brought up in a Reformed Baptist Sunday school. He didn't have his pencil and his cassette tape of Al Martin preaching.

He didn't have his 1689 with his wide margin Bible. He didn't have all that. Terah was an idolater that served other gods and therefore Abraham, his son, would have served those other gods as well. And so when Paul comes to deal with justification by faith alone, he points to this patriarch and he points to King David.

So notice, the patriarch's background. He had been an idolater. The patriarch's righteousness. There's a negative statement and then a positive statement.

Notice in verse 1 of chapter 4. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. So negatively, he condemns the thought of justification by works.

The thought that we as sinners can do enough good deeds to find our acceptance with God. If you reflect for just a moment on Scripture, you will know that's a fool's errand. All we like sheep have gone astray. There is none righteous, no not one.

There is none of us who seek after God, according to Holy Scripture. So justification by works is futile. The doctrine of justification by works, as well, inevitably leads to pride in man. Notice in verse 2, for if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about.

In other words, he can pat himself on the back. He can muse on the fact that he contributed to this salvation. But notice how Paul shuts this down, but not before God. In other words, justification by works is in fact a fool's errand.

Nobody will be able to do this. You'll never be able to stand before God and say, I am here based in large part upon my own performance or upon my own conduct. or upon my own law keeping." He shuts that down. But then there's a positive statement with reference to Abraham's righteousness. So notice in verse 3, 4, what does the scripture say?

Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. In other words, it wasn't his acts, it wasn't his performance, it wasn't his doings, it was rather the righteousness of Jesus Christ received by faith alone. This is James' argument in James chapter 2, when he wants to show that faith justified, that saving faith is the lone instrument of justification, but it's not alone in the person's justified. He demonstrates that by Genesis chapter 22 when Abraham takes Isaac up to Mount Moriah.

That's the demonstration or the evidence of his justified, of his being justified by faith in Genesis 15. So the Apostle handles this in light of justification by faith alone and he says that that's how Abraham came into the saving presence of God Most High. And with reference to this language accounted, it sounds kind of legal and technical, doesn't it? Absolutely, positively it's legal and it's technical.

It's not transformational. Transformation happens by the power of the Spirit working in us in sanctification. Sanctification is the Spirit at work in us. Justification is Christ's work for us.

And it's faith in that that brings us to that place of peace with God, that forgiveness of sins, that righteousness that is imputed. This word accounted means literally to determine by mathematical process, to reckon, to calculate, to count, to take into account. It can also mean to credit, to credit to someone as something. The New King James margin on verse 3 has imputed, credited, reckoned, counted all very good glosses on this particular term and all very much what justification by faith consists of.

It's not us getting better, it's not us engaged in moral reform, it's not us stopping certain things and putting on other things, it is rather Christ for us. And belief in Him, that belief which is a gift given by God, is what brings us into saving union with our blessed Savior. Now notice, he then draws out this implication in verse 4. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt.

In other words, if you can work your way to heaven, that's not a gracious arrival, it's God's indebtedness to you. And again, there is nothing that could be farther from from the ability of a sinful man. Now notice he then points to the example of David. Notice first in verse 5, But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

Now it's not the act of faith that's accounted for righteousness. It's the object of faith. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not my faith brought to the table and God says, Oh, therefore you brought this faith.

I'm going to reward you. No, faith is the instrument by which we receive the benefits secured for sinners by our Lord Jesus Christ. So, but to him who does not work but believes on him, now that does not work doesn't mean go, you know, lay on your couch and watch TV all day. No, it does not work for salvation, does not work for acceptance with God, does not work for his his righteousness with God, to him who does not work, but rather believes on him who justifies the ungodly.

See, that's what the gospel is all about. It's not working your way unto heaven. It's not working your way for salvation. It is rather accepting by God's grace the gift he has provided, the righteousness of Jesus, the forgiveness of sins by Jesus.

And that's precisely what the apostle is emphasizing in this section. His faith is accounted for righteousness. Now notice he points to David. Verses 6 to 8, just as David also.

Isn't that interesting? Just as David also. What should we glean from that? We should glean that the way of acceptance, the way to acceptance rather by God in the old covenant and the new covenant is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

That's clear. It's not two separate ways. The Jews were put under the Old Testament law and they must, you know, meet that law as best as they can. And then they'll be accepted into heaven.

Old school dispensationalism. That's not it at all. When Paul is demonstrating the glory of justification by faith alone, he goes to Abraham and he goes to David. So it's the same thing, it's the same way, it's the same means by which God accepts sinners.

So just as David also describes the blessedness of man, of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works. Now he cites Psalm 32, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin. So the justification of sinners in the New Covenant is the same as justification of sinners in the Old Covenant.

And also notice the content or the subject matter of the Psalms of David. Salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. When we sing the Psalms of David, we enter in with David to praise the God of our salvation. We enter in with David using the inspired Word of God to glorify God for his goodness to us.

Our brother referred in part to, he alluded to Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3. What happens when we sing in public worship? It's an act of prayer, it's an act of praise, and it's an act of proclamation. We teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

We proclaim the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord through the psalms of David, through good written hymns. We sing these praises to God, acknowledging his goodness. But in this instance, again, David says, blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

So in other words, David's not saying this, blessed is that guy out there who is really undone in sin and really gross and wicked and vile. I'm glad that God has forgiven him. You don't think that when David writes Psalm 32, 1 and 2, he's thinking about David? He's thinking about his own sin?

He's thinking about the fact that he himself had engaged in gross immorality in terms of adultery and murder and not acting at his daughter's rape and a whole host of other things. Later on in the application, I'm going to suggest that a man's life isn't just a snapshot. And as well, praise God, there's no second Samuel 11 or 12 about us in the most popular book that has ever been penned and the most popular book that has been as widely circulated as the Bible. What could be your 2 Samuel 11 or 12?

What could be your complicitness or mine? I'm not you wretches. I'm right there with y'all. Praise God most high that not all of us have a chapter in scripture that describes the most heinous act we've ever committed.

I mean, that's grace, grace for us to be sure, but grace to David as well in terms of the display of God's loving kindness and goodness to a man after his own heart, who nevertheless was not a perfect man. So as we come to consider David, we ought to appreciate that what Paul writes here is in fact commentary on the theology of David. You can go back to 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel chapter 22. We see the example of David in Romans 4 at the hand of the Apostle Paul, specifically in verses 5 to 8.

And then the theology of David. David was a king, wasn't he? David had been a shepherd, and then David is anointed by Saul in 1 Samuel 16. He's set apart as the one, the man after God's own heart.

That's announced in 1 Samuel 13, when Saul just continues to engage in folly. I mean, it's a sad and pathetic situation. Who would have been the heir apparent? Who was the heir apparent to the throne?

It was Jonathan. Jonathan suffered for the sins of his father like you know that that was pretty wretched So God basically cuts off the Saulide house and and brings the Davidic dynasty into play So it's in 1st Samuel 13 a couple chapters before David's even anointed where we find out that he's a man after God's own heart And so in 1 Samuel chapter 16, he's anointed by Samuel with reference to the kingdom. But prior to that, he was a shepherd. And then he was a king.

And as well, we know he's a psalmist. But he's a theologian, just like Solomon. How do you read the description of the dedication of the temple in 1 Kings 8 and not realize that Solomon was a very skilled theologian? Well, he had good parentage.

He had David teaching him. And so David's theology is riddled throughout this altar to be sure, but we see it also here in this particular psalm, Psalm 18.

David Recognized His Own Sin

Notice in the first place, David recognized his own sin. He's not suggesting he's a sinless man. He's not suggesting, verse 21, the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness because I'm perfect and I've never done anything bad, never done anything evil. Now I don't take it that this was written later and it was inserted by an editor, perhaps David didn't write it.

David wrote it, David had it inserted, or the author, Samuel perhaps, had it put here. So they're realizing we're not going to forget 2 Samuel 12 by the time we get to 2 Samuel 22. So David's not pretending that he's without sin. Notice what he says in verse 24.

I was also blameless before him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Again, he's talking about the overarching theme of his life, but what does he highlight there? My iniquity. He's not professing perfectionism.

He's not professing sinlessness. He's not suggesting that he is like his greater son will be, wholly harmless and undefiled. He knows he's a sinner. Psalm 51 is a psalm of repentance on the occasion of Nathan's rebuke of his hardened heart.

The Psalter is filled with allusions to David's sinfulness. When I kept silent about my sin, my bones ached. There was a weariness that was happening to David as a result of his silence concerning his sin. So David understood the reality that he was a sinner.

He's not suggesting perfection. He's not suggesting sinlessness. As well,

David Understood the Necessity of Atonement

David understood the necessity of atonement. Turn back to 2 Samuel 12. 2 Samuel 12, specifically at verse 13. If the language isn't used, the concept is certainly present. So when David confesses, according to 13a, so David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.

And Nathan said to David, the Lord also, notice, has put away your sin. You shall not die. The Lord has put away your sin. Isn't that beautiful language?

So that a few chapters later, we can actually read about a man celebrating the fact that God rewarded him according to his righteousness. This culture and many professing Christians would do well to learn from God. How is it when we forgive one another for their sins against us? Do we put them away?

Do we forget about them? Do we go deep sea fishing with them? Because God does. In Micah chapter 7, it says that God takes our sins and he casts them into the depths of the sea.

He doesn't put it into the shallow brook. He doesn't put it in the shallow meadows so that they can bubble back up and be used against us. Sometimes husbands and wives do this. You know, 15 years ago, you said this, and I'm still, you know, I've still got an ax to grind.

This culture, the cancel culture, what does it reflect? It reflects no forgiveness. It reflects no recognition that sometimes people do horrible things, but that horrible things do not define their lives. David understood the necessity of atonement.

Turn to 2 Samuel 21. There's an instance of atonement wrought by David on behalf of the Gibeonites. Notice in 2 Samuel 21 verse 1, now there was a famine in the days of David for three years. That's always bad news in Scripture.

When you see famine in Scripture, it's not like, oh, we got to fix our irrigation system. Better call Southern, get them out here and fix the lines. No, typically the announcement of famine means God is angry. That's usually the way to proceed when there's famine, when there's drought.

They didn't, you know, think in terms of mechanisms. They didn't think in terms of systems. They didn't think in terms of, oh, if we just fix this or we dig, you know, deeper ditches. I guess there's a place for that.

I mean, I think in California they divert lots of water because they're trying to save a particular fish. I mean, that's just folly. Let the fish die and let the people live with water. I mean, that seems, you know, like a no-brainer to me.

But here, notice. Now, there was a famine in the days of David for three years. Year after year. And what does David do?

He inquires of the Lord. And the Lord answered. It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites. So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them.

Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites. The children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. Notice in verse 3, Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement?

That you may bless the inheritance of the Lord. David understood the necessity of atonement. He says in Psalm 65, specifically in verse 3, iniquities prevail against me. As for our transgressions, you will provide atonement.

We see it in 2 Samuel chapter 24 as well at the threshing floor of Aranah. There is atonement wrought for sin committed. David understood atonement. And with reference to atonement, what's the presupposition?

God's holy, we've sinned against him, and his wrath must be satisfied. His justice, rather, must be satisfied. David understood all that. David knew that.

He understood total depravity, he understood the necessity of blood atonement, and he understood as well the imputed righteousness of Christ. He understood it because he celebrates it in Psalm 32. The Apostle appeals to it in Romans chapter 4. The Apostle expounds on it in 2 Corinthians 5 21.

He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Philippians 3 9 that I might be found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law but that which is from God received by faith. So David had a robust, dare I say it, Protestant understanding of justification by faith alone. It was grace that taught his heart to fear.

It was grace that kept him near the Lord Most High. When he sinned, he repaired to God for forgiveness. He came to God for forgiveness. I dealt with that last week.

He was caught And we might be suspicious about that. Well, you know, he got caught. If he hadn't got caught, he wouldn't have come clean. God is the catcher.

God catches us sometimes so that we'll come clean. It's a mercy. It's a grace. It's a good thing.

You've probably heard of some person that sinned, and they got caught, and then they repented. We're always a bit suspicious about that repentance. Repentance is repentance, whether you've been caught or not. Praise God that he caught David through the snare of Nathan the prophet.

And then finally,

The Life of David

let's just look at the life of David. The life of David. Not, you know, exhaustively, but just a few points of doctrine here. First, I would suggest the benefit of Christ's atonement.

I've already made the point that Old Covenant, New Covenant, sinners were saved the same way. We're not dispensationalists, brethren. We are covenant theologians in this church, and we aspire to be. That's what our documents teach.

It teaches covenant theology. Hebrews 9.15 speaks of the retroactive work of the cross work of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, it is the case that everybody who entered into heaven went by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Hebrews 9.15, and for this reason, he, Christ, is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant.

So Christ's blood is the reason why Abel is in heaven. Christ's blood is the reason why Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are in heaven. Christ's blood is the reason Moses is in heaven. Why Isaiah is in heaven.

Why Nahum is in heaven. Why Jonah's in heaven. I mean, Jonah's a curious prophet, isn't he? God says, I want you to go to preach and what does he do?

He goes the other direction. In Chapter 4, what's Jonah upset about? I knew you were kind, I knew you were merciful, I knew you were gracious, and I knew you'd save these dirty, rotten Ninevites. That's an interesting approach to the blessing of God upon needy sinners.

The Bible is filled with interesting people. The Bible is filled with curious people. We've looked at Samson in not too distant past. Jephthah, consider that judge Jephthah.

Now there's a couple of ways to interpret the sacrifice, the burnt offering that came out of his house. And one of them's pretty hardcore if you contemplate it or you ponder it. In other words, God saves sinners. He justifies the ungodly.

And it's based on the fact that Christ went to that hour. That Christ lived, that Christ died, and that Christ was resurrected from the dead. So the benefit of Christ's atonement was David. Secondly, the imputation of Christ's righteousness.

Again, at 2221, the Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness. According to the cleanness of my hands, He has recompensed me. In Psalm 18, that's verse 20. And John Gill makes this observation.

Though it is best of all to apply it to Christ. and understand it of His righteousness, which He, as Mediator, has wrought out for His people. This is perfect, pure, and spotless, and entirely agreeable to the law of God. What will bear the sight of God is satisfying to His justice, is well-pleasing to Him, and is what He accepts of and imputes to them that believe in Christ, and by which they are justified from all things. So the benefit of Christ's atoning work, as well the imputation of Christ's righteousness, thirdly, the forgiveness of sins as a result of Christ's death.

That's Psalm 32. That's why Nathan can say, the Lord has put away this sin. David knew the blessedness of forgiveness. David understood what it was to be cleansed from the sin of adultery, to be cleansed from the sin of murder. to be cleansed from this failure to act with reference to the rape of Tamar.

David understood all too well that it was by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone by which he stood. Fourthly, you have the testimony of others in David's life. Jonathan speaks glowingly of David. Abigail speaks glowingly of David.

But most importantly, you know who speaks glowingly of David subsequent to his death? is the Most High God. Look at 1 Kings chapter 3. 1 Kings chapter 3. David becomes, as it were, a benchmark for the kings of Israel to walk in his paths, to walk in his ways. 1 Kings chapter 3, specifically at verse 14. So if you walk in my ways to keep my statutes and my commandments as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.

Again, brethren, you see how glorious God's forgiveness is. He doesn't always, you know, what was the scarlet letter? She had to wear the A for adulterous wherever she went. That's not God's way.

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. Blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven. Blessed is the man whose sins are cast into the depths of the sea. You probably all have known this or have experienced this, where somebody you find out really hasn't forgiven you.

And a year later, they've confessed to being bitter with you about something perhaps you even forgot about. I'm not talking about my dear wife here. Just talking in general, this happens, right? There is this unwillingness to let it be, an unwillingness to extend grace, an unwillingness to treat others the way that God has treated us.

Aren't we called upon in Ephesians and Colossians to forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave us? Does that mean we hold on to it? We keep a list? We keep it in our phone?

We got a note there. This person sent against me, you know, on August 4th, you know, 2002. And, you know, I'm just not going to let that go. I'm just not going to be done. 1 Corinthians 13, there's a part translated by the NIV.

It says that love does not keep a record of wrongs. Isn't that beautiful? It doesn't keep a record of wrongs. You know, every time you do something, there's somebody right there to hit you with your record of wrongs.

That's not how our God treats us, brethren. It is grace. It is glorious. It is wondrous.

He cast those sins into the depths of the sea. So the testimony of God, and there's another one. You can look at 1 Kings 9.4, 1 Kings 11.33 and 34, 1 Kings 14.8. You get the point.

God says to the kings in Israel and Judah, Northern and Southern tribes. Well, by this time, the North is gone. the Southern Kingdom of Judah, those kings are supposed to walk in the righteousness of David. Now,

David's Faithfulness Contrasted with Saul

the fifth thing is the faithfulness of David as a contrast with Saul. Go back to 2 Samuel 22. 2 Samuel 22, specifically in our section, and notice what he says in verse 23. For his judgments were before me, and as for his statutes, I did not depart from them." Again, brethren, this is not a claim to sinless perfection on David's part. He's already acknowledged that he's a sinner.

He's already recognized the fact that God has provided atonement. But in terms of defection from God, David didn't do it. He didn't. He didn't defect.

He didn't apostatize. Saul did. How does Saul end? We know he ends on the battlefield in a very gruesome way, but prior to that, Saul ends in 1 Samuel 13.

That's the beginning of the end for Saul. In 1 Samuel 13, Samuel says, just wait here, Saul, I'll be back. Samuel's a bit late, so what does Saul do? Saul says, I'm gonna sacrifice to the Lord.

You're not supposed to do that, Saul. You're supposed to wait. First Samuel chapter 15, they go into battle against the Amalekites. What's Saul's instructions?

Utterly destroy Agag and the Amalekites. Don't take any prisoners. Don't keep any livestock. Do the job that God's called you to do.

So he goes to battle. It comes back to Samuel. Samuel says, how'd it go? Oh, it went great.

It went wonderful. So Samuel says, why am I hearing sheep? Why am I hearing cows? The instructions were clear.

You're supposed to cease or keep everybody from breathing amalekites. And it's there that the kingdom is transferred formally to the David dynasty. And then by 1 Samuel 28, what does Saul do when he wants a word from Anhai? Well, God doesn't speak to him anymore, so he consults the witch at Endor.

David never did that sort of thing. Now, again, brethren, I'm not here, you know, go ahead, commit adultery, go ahead, you know, commit murder, and go ahead, you know, despise your daughter, but still come to church and everything's going to be fine. That's not the point. The point is defection.

The point is apostasy. The point is abandoning God. David didn't do that. He never did that.

In fact, one commentator says the distinction between Saul and David, between a rejected king and an accepted one, is not that one is a sinner and the other is not, for both are sinners. Rather, the distinction lies in the very different attitudes to faith and repentance displayed by the two. And at a deeper level still, in the sovereign election of the one, the man of God's own choosing over the other. Matthew Henry said it this way, though he had sometimes weakly departed from his duty, he had never wickedly departed from his God.

Let that simmer, brethren, because that's a big statement that we typically don't think of. There is a difference when Peter denies the Savior before the servant girl. That's horrible. It's wretched.

But it wasn't a calculated defection or apostasy from the gospel. And there was a bitter repentance that we see on the heels of that. Saul didn't repent. Esau doesn't repent.

The godless don't repent. David does. David didn't depart from the Lord. And then

David's Pursuit of Public Worship

the last thing I want to suggest in terms of this brief sketch of the life of David is his pursuit of those things that were pleasing to God. Again, read his psalms, read his songs of Zion, read his songs of praise and the way that he desired to praise God. One instance is back in 1 Samuel chapter 26. I'm going to make a plug here. for public worship.

You can turn to 1 Samuel chapter 26. I am not suggesting that allegiance or fidelity to God is only seen in public worship. There's more to the Christian life than public worship. But there's not less than that.

In many respects, that's sort of the foray into, that's sort of the consistent practice of the people of God, to meet with their God in the place where God has promised to meet with them. in the New Covenant setting? What is it? It's the church! We come to the Father through the Son and the power of the Holy Spirit as we gather together with the people of God.

Psalm 87 makes the statement, Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Huh. That doesn't mean he hates the dwelling places of Jacob. That doesn't mean he's got an axe to grind with the families in Jacob.

But it means that when the saints of God gather together as the people of God, on the day of God, in the house of God, God is especially present with that. And you see this emphasis in David. Specifically in 1 Samuel chapter 26. He had been basically chased, once again, by Saul.

And now David is in a position to bargain with Saul. He could have killed him. He could have had him dead. He could have had his throat cut while he slept.

But David doesn't do that. Touch not the Lord's anointed. Now notice specifically in 1 Samuel 26 at about verse 18. And he said, this is David's response to Saul.

Why does my Lord thus pursue his servant? For what have I done or what evil is in my hand? Now therefore, please let my Lord, the King, hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering.

In other words, if this is of God, then can I sacrifice to God and repair the breach that exists between us all? David, he's perplexed. Why are you trying to kill me? What's happened?

I don't get it. I don't understand. Why are you hunting me like a dog? Why do you want to rid the world of my presence?

So that's the point here. So now therefore, please let my Lord, the King, hear the words of his servant. If the Lord has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, may they be cursed before the Lord.

Now notice, for they have driven me out this day from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord, saying, go serve other gods. Now David's theology proper allowed for him to be worshiped outside the confines of Palestine. But David's theology proper understood there was special blessing and special benefit within the confines of Israel, specifically in the tabernacle and later temple. So for David, this was an argument as to why he didn't like Saul driving him away from his land.

He doesn't say, I miss my wife, I miss my kids, I miss my food, I miss my this, I miss my that. He says, I miss my God. They're telling me essentially get out and go serve the other gods. Notice what he says in verse 20.

So now do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of the Lord. The face of the Lord is present there in the earth where David's blood could fall, specifically in the land. He goes on to say, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a flea as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains. Now two quotes, we're almost done.

John Gill makes this observation in a more technical theological exegetical sense. He says, for they have driven me out this day from abiding in the inheritance of the Lord, meaning not from his own house and family, nor from the palace of Saul, but from the land of Canaan, the Lord had given to his people Israel for an inheritance and from the worship of God in it, which made it dear and precious to him. Brethren, if we were being vacated from our lives, what would it be that would tie us to that life? My job, my wife, my kids, my grandkids, not bad things at all.

In fact, very good things. My dog, my lawn, my car, what is it that we don't want to be driven from? For David, it was the special presence of God when the people of God gathered together to sing his praises and to hear his word. Now listen to David's, his isn't so exegetical, it's a bit more amplification.

He says, didn't David know what every enlightened Christian knows? That you can pray and commune with God anywhere? You've met them. I don't need the church.

I mow my lawn, and I have great times with God. I go sit on the top of mountains, and I commune with God. Now, I'm not suggesting don't commune with God while you mow your lawn. It's a great way.

Instead of listening to your latest podcast, you can pray. You do know that, right? You don't have to get on your knees every time you pray and close your eyes and fold your hands. You can pray to God.

He hears you when you're mowing your lawn. When you're sitting on the top of a mountain, But he thinks that at times, that's a weaselly way out of the church. And then you hear things like, well, the church is full of hypocrites. I always think, what better place for hypocrites to be than the church?

Like saying, you know, the hospital is filled with sick people. Well, good. That's where they ought to be, because hopefully they'll get healed. Hopefully God will heal us of our hypocrisy when we're sitting under the preaching of the Word.

So he says, didn't David know what every enlightened Christian knows, that you can pray and commune with God anywhere? Apparently the writer of Psalms 63, 139, and 142 was well aware of that. But David was more enlightened than many enlightened Christians. He knew that to be cut off from Yahweh's inheritance, verse 19, was to be cut off from Yahweh's face, verse 20.

And when one had left Israel, there was no possibility of public worship. This is not the place to sketch a biblical theology of worship. Suffice it to say that David would have made a poor space-age evangelical. He would never have been content with his study Bible, prayer list, and a quiet cave.

Yahweh's face or presence was especially seen in the sanctuary, Psalm 63, 2. Yet David was being driven away and cut off from the tabernacle and sacrifice, from priest and festival. He was being shut out of the land and sanctuary where Yahweh met with his people. To be cut off from the ordinances of public worship is David's most severe grief.

Would that cause me anguish? Christians have surpassed David in privileges, but few have approached him in appetite." I think he's right. Well, not for you. He's certainly speaking to me here.

We need to value the public worship of God. This isn't all that marks David as one who hadn't defected or apostatized from God, but it certainly plays to that. Saul had to seek out a witch at Endor. David gets on his face and prays to God.

David goes and meets with the people of God. David has, as it were, aligned with God as a result of his faithful walk before God. So

Application

two thoughts and then we close. God's grace is rich. God's grace is glorious. God's grace is able to cover the sins of adultery, the sins of murder, and the sins of even being an ineffective king and an ineffective father.

Again, not go thou and do likewise, but understand that when you bring great sin to God, You bring great sin to a great Savior. He is in the business of taking such people and washing them and cleansing them and justifying them and sanctifying them. That bit in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, when the Apostle Paul says, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? And he lists this list of horrific things, bad things, wicked things, horrible things.

And then he says, and such were some of you. What? You mean these Corinthians weren't these perfect, polished people sitting there just getting blessed by God? No, they had been homosexuals.

They had been idolaters. They had been fornicators. They had been all manner of sin. And yet, they were that because God had justified them freely by His grace.

So for the unbeliever, may I exhort you to look unto the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and find that blessed joy of everlasting life. And for the believer, listen to Davis again, he says, as Christians or to Christians today have surpassed David in privileges, but few have approached him in appetite. You probably do read the Psalms. If you don't, you should.

But as you read the Psalms, pray to God those Psalms. Pray to God that you would have that kind of an appetite, that kind of a dependence. He cites Psalm 63. Psalm 63, David says, because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee." Do we think that way?

God's loving kindness is better than life itself? Well, that's the way David thought. And David is able to muse at the end of his days on the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to him and God's grace that had kept him. Again, for the most part, we have our issues, we have our blemishes, nobody has a spotless record on this side of our blessed Savior.

But the overarching theme and trajectory of David's life was one of pursuing God. Well, let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the Lord's day. We thank you for the house of God and the people of God on the day of God. And we pray that you would be glorified in our local church.

We pray that you would go with us now, that you would watch over us and keep us and protect us and bless us. As well, Father, we pray for the preaching of the gospel throughout the earth, that that word would run swiftly and be glorified. For we know that you are a great God, a gracious God, a God full of mercy, and a God who is purposing to save a multitude that no man can number. And we praise you and we bless you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.

Scripture References

• Genesis 15; 22
• 1 Samuel 13:14; 15; 16; 26:18-20; 28
• 2 Samuel 11; 12:13; 13:21; 21:1; 21:3; 22:1-31; 22:21; 22:23-24; 24
• 1 Kings 3:14; 8; 9:4; 11:33-34; 14:8
• Psalms 18:20; 32:1-2; 51; 63:2-3; 65:3; 87; 139; 142
• Micah 7
• Romans 4:1-8
• 1 Corinthians 6; 13
• 2 Corinthians 5:21
• Ephesians 4:32; 5
• Philippians 3:9
• Colossians 3
• Hebrews 9:15
• James 2