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Second Samuel chapter seven. Second Samuel chapter seven. 
Perhaps David material in the Scripture is some of the most 
lively and exciting in the biblical record. David certainly was a 
great man. David had a great God, and in 
this particular instance, the Lord makes a covenant with David 
concerning his throne, and though the word covenant is absent from 
Second Samuel chapter seven of this. agreement or this promise 
of God is called a covenant in second Samuel twenty three and 
verse five, as well as Psalm eighty nine portion of which 
we just sang in verses three and four and then Psalm one thirty 
two verses eleven and twelve. Identify this as a covenant and 
I'll just pick up reading in verse one will read through verse 
seventeen. Now it came to pass, when the 
king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest 
from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan 
the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the 
ark of God dwells inside ten curtains. Then Nathan said to 
the king, Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is 
with you. But it happened that night that 
the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my 
servant David. Thus says the Lord, Would you 
build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a 
house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from 
Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and 
in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with 
all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone 
from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people 
Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? 
Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David. Thus 
says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold from following 
the sheep to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I have 
been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your 
enemies from before you and have made you a great name like the 
name of the great man who are on the earth. Moreover, I will 
appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, and 
they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Nor 
shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 
since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel 
and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also, the Lord 
tells you that he will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled 
and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after 
you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. 
He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the 
throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he shall 
be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will 
chase in him with the rod of men and with the blows of the 
sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart 
from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 
And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever 
before you. Your throne shall be established 
forever. According to all these words 
and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Amen. Well, the covenant of grace is 
the outworking of God's dealings with man in history. God or the 
Bible is structured by a covenant. And we have seen the Adamic covenant, 
the covenant of commencement, the Noahic covenant, the covenant 
of preservation, the Abrahamic, which is the covenant of promise, 
the Mosaic covenant, the covenant of law. And we find ourselves 
this evening looking at the Davidic covenant, the covenant of kingdom, 
the last phase of the last historical covenant in the covenant of grace 
is what's called the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah for one 
instance in Jeremiah thirty one and inaugurated by the Lord Jesus 
Christ. at or on the Lord's Supper or 
the last supper when he says this is the blood of the New 
Covenant in my which is shed for the remission of sins for 
many. The God willing will take up the New Covenant next Sunday 
night and then return to our studies in the minor prophets 
picking up with the Prophet Zechariah. Now, in this Davidic Covenant, 
O. Palmer Robertson has a good presentation 
or a good introductory statement. He says, In the Davidic Covenant, 
God's purposes to redeem a people to himself reach their climactic 
stage of revelation so far as the Old Testament is concerned. 
Under David, the kingdom arrives. God formally establishes the 
manner by which he shall rule among his people. So, it is a 
very significant event in the history of redemption that certainly 
does deserve our study and our desire to learn 
what is going on here. I want to look at three particulars 
this evening. First, the historical setting 
of this particular covenant. Secondly, the design of God. And then thirdly, just rehearse 
some of the prophets and the Davidic covenant as reported 
on in the prophets. And then by way of application, 
we'll notice the Davidic covenant fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the historical setting. Again, 
David's life was filled with excitement. We remember that 
he was anointed as king, and there was that time when Saul 
desperately wanted to destroy David, and David found himself 
on the run in several instances. And after Saul died, David consolidated 
power, and he was recognized As the king over Israel and in 
2nd Samuel chapter five, you can turn back there for just 
a moment. We see Jerusalem established 
as the political center in Israel. Formerly, David was ruling from 
Hebron, which was part of the southern kingdom. And now he 
has conquered Jerusalem and he has established Jerusalem, which 
was central in Israel between the northern and southern tribes. 
as a place of political reign. One man, a historian, said, by 
this move, when he conquered the Jebusites, sent them out 
of Jerusalem and then took over that city. This man says, by 
this move, David both eliminated a Canaanite enclave from the 
center of the land and gained a capital from which he could 
rule a national state. Hebron, located far to the south 
and on Judah's soil, could not have been permanently acceptable 
as a capital to the northern tribes. But a capital in the 
north would have been doubly unacceptable to Judah. Jerusalem, 
centrally located between the two sections and within the territory 
of none of the tribes, offered an excellent compromise. So it 
was a very strategic move on David's part to occupy Jerusalem 
as the political center for his reign. And moving on to 2 Samuel, 
chapter six, we see the establishment of Jerusalem as the religious 
center as well. So not only is it the political 
center, but he makes it the religious center. And by this, David is 
publicly identifying his throne and his reign with God's throne 
and God's reign. In fact, later in the book of 
Chronicles, it talks about Solomon sitting on the Lord's throne. God had so moved in Israel. God had so worked through this 
Davidic covenant that to speak of Judas King was to speak of 
God himself on that particular that not that Solomon and those 
men were God. But that was the Lord's throne 
on Earth. So, in 2 Samuel chapter 6, we 
see the centrality of God's presence in verses 1 and 2. We see the 
danger of God's holiness. This is a brief outline that 
comes from Davis' commentary on 2 Samuel. The danger of God's 
holiness in verses 3 to 11, when they're transporting the Ark 
of the Covenant into Jerusalem, that is that instance where Uzzah 
seeks to study the ox cart and God kills him. God is a holy 
God. If you are not supposed to touch 
the Ark of the Covenant, don't touch the Ark of the Covenant. 
And then we see the celebration of God's servant. Verses 12 to 
23. When the Ark does arrive in Jerusalem, 
what does David do? But he does a holy jig. He dances, 
he celebrates, he rejoices. such that his wife, Michael, 
despises him. She thinks it's a very shameful 
deed. But David isn't doing this horizontally. He is praising and worshiping 
his great God. This was the outflowing of a 
heart committed to the Lord God of Israel. So a second Samuel 
five. We have the political capital, 
the political center established. And in second Samuel, chapter 
six, we have the religious center established. And then here in 
chapter seven at verse one, it says, Now it came to pass when 
the king was dwelling in his house and the Lord had given 
him rest from all his enemies all around. He had rest. This was God's blessing upon 
David and upon the kingdom. They were a warring people. David 
had much blood on his hands. In fact, that is ultimately the 
reason why God did not have the temple built under David, because 
he was a man of war and a man of bloodshed. This temple would 
ultimately be built under David's son, Solomon, whose name means 
peace. and whose reign was one of these, 
which facilitated the construction of this temple, of this stable, 
permanent place where God and sinners would meet together on 
earth. And then in this historical setting, 
we need to notice the desire of David. Verses two and three. The king said to Nathan, the 
prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark 
of God dwells inside tent curtains. dawned on David. I don't think 
it was a sudden revelation, but now that he has peace, now that 
everything is order politically and religiously, he has his palace, 
he has his house of cedar, and now he looks and he says, God 
doesn't have a permanent place. God doesn't have a stable place. God is living in tents. The tabernacle 
was the mobile temple. You remember the tabernacle. 
They put up the tent, they would put up the structure, and then 
they would put in the furnishings, and then they would exercise 
the sacrifices, and so on. Up until this point, it was a 
tabernacle. God dwelt intense among his people. And so David sees some disparity 
here, or he sees some deficiency here. I have a house of cedar. 
I want to build a house for my God. And this was quite typical 
of kings that reigned in this period. When they were victorious, 
when they conquered their enemies, they would build temples for 
their gods. And this God then answers David. Well, first we see Nathan answer 
in verse three. Nathan says, Go do all that is 
in your heart for the Lord is with you. He was not speaking 
as a prophet here. He was speaking as a brother 
in Christ. That's a good idea, David. And then in verses four 
and following, God speaks to Nathan as a prophet and sends 
him as a prophet to stop David from building this particular 
temple complex. So that's the historical setting 
of this covenant. Now, notice the design of God, 
verses four to 16. And the first thing to notice, 
again, following somewhat closely Ralph Davis's exposition, it's 
hard. When you preach on these former prophets not to follow 
Ralph Davis, because I think he has such insight to the tax 
will depart a little bit, emphasize some things, perhaps a little 
more than he does. But notice first the humility 
of God. Now, just to say that sounds 
a bit odd, right? God is a glorious God and is 
worthy of and is due all the worship of every created thing 
that exists. But our God is actually humble. 
Notice, in verse four, it happened that night that the word of the 
Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, 
thus says the Lord, would you build a house for me to dwell 
in? There's a bit of a play on this building of a house thing. OK, David wants to build a house 
for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Lord. God says, David, 
you're not going to build a dwelling place for me. I'm going to build 
a house for you, not a house like a dwelling place, because 
David already has a palace. He's talking about a house in 
terms of a dynasty. David wants to build a structure 
for God. God says, not yet, David, I'm 
going to build a dynasty for you. That's a bit of a play on 
words going on in this passage, in this house building exercise. Notice in verse five, would you 
build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a 
house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from 
Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and 
in a tabernacle. Isn't that a glorious statement? 
It shows forth the humility of God. God has moved about in tents. Some of us don't even like camping 
in tents. In fact, all throughout Chilliwack, 
there's these places that sell these great big campers. Because 
we don't want to humble ourselves to sleep in a tent. Some people's 
idea of camping is a huge trailer with oak furnishings and a truck 
to pull it wherever we want. With antennas and satellites 
and internet connection. Why? Because we're not that humble. We like our stuff. We like our 
amenities. We don't want to be transient. 
We don't want to live in a tent. We don't want to humble ourselves. 
Not so with our God. Up until this point, the Lord 
God has been perfectly content to dwell in tents. Notice in 
verse seven, wherever I have moved about with all the children 
of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes 
of Israel whom I commanded to shepherd my people, people, Israel, 
saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? He's not 
been standing in the wings complaining. He's not been grumbling. He's 
not been upset because the people haven't built in this house yet. 
Listen to what Davis says. He says this is only a pale glimpse 
at the condescension of the covenant. God, the God who will not enjoy 
rest until he gives his people rest. He's not ready for a permanent, 
stable place until his people have their permanent, stable 
place. If they're going to be transient, 
he's going to be transient. If they're going to dwell in 
tents, he's going to dwell in tents. You see that? That's condescension. That's humility. That's God lowering 
himself to commune with his people. He goes on to say, the God who 
scoops down to share the hardships of his people, the God who is 
not ashamed to say he has been traveling around in a tent with 
them. See how close he is to you. You may be forced to revise your 
theology if you think deity and humility are mutually exclusive 
categories. But if you've really paid attention 
to 2 Samuel 7, 6 and 7, you are not surprised that Philippians 
2, 5 to 8. Indeed, you may also have suspected 
as much. That grand passage in Philippians 
two, where it talks about the Lord Jesus and his great humility 
and humbling himself to the point of death, even death on the cross. God is humble. Secondly, he highlights his covenant 
verses eight to eleven. First, he shows David the experienced 
grace that he himself has enjoyed. David was chosen by God, according 
to verse eight. Now, therefore, thus shall you 
say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts. I took 
you from the sheepfold from following the sheep to be ruler over my 
people, over Israel. Remember the selection of David. 
Remember how that happened? Was David the natural one out 
of the sons to be chosen as the king? Out of Jesse's sons, it 
was everyone but David. They all look for the strongest. 
They all look for the most accomplished. They look for the oldest. They 
look for the most experienced. So much so that Jesse says, oh, 
yeah, I have one son left, but he's tending the sheep. What's 
God through the prophets say? Get him. Why? God doesn't look on things the 
way we do. We look for the most accomplished. 
We look for the most polished. We look for the most experienced. 
God looks for the most holy. God looks for the one who is 
like himself. God looks for the one who will 
think his thoughts after him. And so as he gets into introducing 
this covenant, as we have seen in other other covenant institutions, 
God rehearses a bit of history and what he has done in the life 
of the one who is being initiated with. And here he chose David. He speaks of his presence with 
David. And I have been with you wherever 
you have gone. That's a great statement, brethren, 
because as you search and study the life of David, there are 
instances where you might be prone to wonder, where is God 
in all of this? I mean, he's on the run. He is 
being threatened. All things are bad in his life 
and in his situation. And yet God says, I have been 
with you wherever you've gone. And then he speaks of the fact 
that it's been his power that has been operative behind David. And I have cut off from all your 
enemies, cut off all your enemies from before you and have made 
you a great name, like the name of the great man who are on the 
earth. So the experienced grace and 
then in verses nine to eleven, the promised grace, he says that 
he will give them rest. He will give them protection. Notice verse ten. Moreover, I 
will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them that 
they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor 
shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore as previously." 
So the Lord is promising, the Lord is giving them this land. They have enjoyed rest from their 
enemies and now God is instituting this promise of blessing. And then he makes this statement 
concerning in verse eleven. Since the time that I commanded 
judges to be over my people Israel and have caused you to rest from 
all your enemies. Also, the Lord tells you that 
he will make you a house. And there again, it is the dynasty. 
David already has a palace. Notice, in verse 19, it says, 
And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O Lord God. And 
you have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while 
to come. This isn't his earthly palace. 
This isn't his dwelling place. It's his dynasty. It is his legacy. It is the seed that would proceed 
from him that would be established by the Lord God, where that reign 
and rule of God would be fleshed out in this world. And then that 
brings us with reference to the design of God to consider his 
king versus twelve to sixteen. And it's interesting here. He 
tells David, there's three things that cannot affect or annul this 
covenant. There's three things that cannot 
destroy this covenant. The first is death. Death does not annul it. Notice, 
in verse twelve, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with 
your fathers, I will set up your seat after you who will come 
who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. 
He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the 
throne of his kingdom forever. So, in this succession of kings, 
some would come, all of them would die, but there would be 
one ultimately upon whom this fulfillment would usher in, that 
this kingdom would be forever. When you go through the history 
of Israel, when you get to first and second kings, and I encourage 
you to read these things, I understand that a lot of this might sound 
Japanese. If you're not familiar with the Old Testament, you might 
be sort of nodding along going. Yeah, I've heard of David. Yeah, 
I've heard of this. But you got to really have some some general 
understanding of the history of Israel and the way God dealt 
with these people. Because so much of it was typological, 
pointing forward to Christ and to the church and to the New 
Covenant era. In fact, Paul the Apostle said 
these things were written for us. They're in for our encouragement. They're written for our admonition. 
You want to make much of the Old Testament, but as you read 
through first and second Kings, you will see there is a division 
in the kingdom. After Solomon comes his son named 
Rehoboam, and Rehoboam didn't listen to godly counselors. He 
listened to his young friends and listening to his young friends. 
And you know what? That's not the take-home lesson in that 
whole narrative. Well, we can't listen to young 
friends. We got to listen to old godly counselors. Now, God 
had said he was going to tear the kingdom apart. This was of 
the Lord, according to the narrative. But that was how it happened. 
So, Rehoboam does this. Jeroboam from the north rebels. 
God separates the kingdom. Not that way. He separates it 
this way. Ten northern tribes, two southern 
tribes. The southern tribes are the tribes 
of Judah. This is where David's line would 
continue. Throughout the history of these 
kingdoms, there were no good kings in Israel. They continually 
rebelled against God. They continually transgressed 
against God. So much so that in 722 BC, God 
sent Assyria, who was the world power at the time, to destroy 
those northern tribes. To bring people in, to put them 
in the land, to take people out of the land and take them back 
to Assyria. It really undid the balance of 
power there in the northern tribes, never to be recovered again. 
So, Judah continued on. Judah had her good kings. Judah 
had her bad kings. Judah had her bad kings. She 
had her bad kings. She'd have a good king once in 
a while, until ultimately in 586 BC, God used Babylon, who 
was the world power at that time, to destroy the southern tribe. 
We'll look at that in just a moment, because some might say, well, 
there the Davidic line ended and we don't have anything for 
several hundred years until Jesus. That's where I would say this 
Davidic line was typological, pointing forward to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. So the promise of succession, 
as you read through these materials, you will see God say, I will 
not remove him from that throne. In other words, God protected 
very much so Judah and her king, because that is where he chose 
to make his name dwell. He says, secondly, that the presence 
of sin will not destroy this covenant. Notice, in verse fourteen, 
I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, 
I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of 
the sons of men. That's precisely what we find 
as we read through the materials. If a king sinned, if a king rebelled, 
what happened? God chastened him. God took them 
out of power at times because he was protecting this promise. 
And then in verse fifteen, he says, But my mercy shall not 
depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from 
before you. And then finally, the passing 
of time does not exhaust it. So death, sin and time cannot 
destroy this covenant. That's good to know, isn't it? 
That's good to know, as those who have benefited from the kingly 
office of our Lord Jesus Christ. Death, he will not die. He died 
once. Sin or death had no dominion 
over him, according to Paul and Romans. So he rose from the grave. Sin doesn't destroy him. He destroys it. And time will 
never exhaust his reign. Verse sixteen, your house and 
your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne 
shall be established forever. Turn for a moment to Second Kings, 
chapter twenty five. Second Kings, chapter twenty 
five. This is the end of Judah. So, first and second Samuel, 
just a brief overview. We have Saul, we have David, 
and then as we get into first Kings and second Kings, you have 
Solomon, and then the succession of kings, both north and south, 
that ruled and reigned over Israel and Judah, respectively. Second 
Kings 17, it deals with the destruction of the northern tribes via Assyria 
in the 8th century BC. First and second Chronicles. 
Basically, summarizes already. It's not new information. First 
and Second Chronicles do not sort of continue on, but rather 
it summarizes the kings primarily of Judah. That's what Chronicles. That's what the Chronicler is 
all about. So Second Kings 25 records the 
fall and captivity of Judah. The second to the last king of 
Judah was a man by the name of Jehoiachin. Zedekiah was the 
last king of Judah. If you remember, it was Zedekiah. 
When they captured him, they killed his sons right before 
his eyes, and then they gouged out his eyes. And then they bound 
him in fetters and took him off to Babylon. Why would they kill 
his sons? To show that there was no successor. There would be no more king coming 
from Zedekiah to sit upon Judah's throne. So the very end of 2 
Kings is quite dismal. It's quite hopeless. It's quite 
a rainy day. It's quite a cloud over this 
scenario. Except the very last scene here 
with Jehoiachin. He had been taken off to Babylon 
earlier. And he is still there and no 
notice in verse twenty seven of second Kings twenty five. 
Now it came to pass in the thirty seventh year of the captivity 
of Jehoiachin. So this would have been about 
five sixty one B.C. King of Judah in the twelfth 
month on the twenty seventh day of the month that evil Maradoc, 
king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, released 
Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison. He spoke kindly to him 
and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings 
who are with him in Babylon. Opal Robertson compares this 
release from prison and and the subsequent exaltation, at least 
the friendliness to what happened when Joseph was left out of prison. Same sort of language, same sort 
of concepts here. So Jehoiachin changed from his 
prison garments, like Joseph did, and he ate bread regularly 
before the king all the days of his life. And as for his provisions, 
there was a regular ration given him by the king, a portion for 
each day, all the days of his life. That actually is a glimmer 
of hope. If you notice, it refers to Jehoiachin 
twice as the king of Judah. So after all of this mess, after 
all of this covenant breaking, after Babylon has come in and 
done her worse, yet God shows us that there is still a line. There is still a seed. Ralph 
Davis says, I think the writer probably had a reason for twice 
dubbing Jehoiachin the king of Judah in verse 27. And even when 
Yahweh was ready to rip the Davidic kingdom apart, he clearly told 
Jeroboam, I will afflict the seed of David on account of this, 
only not all the days. It seems to me a text like that 
stands behind a passage like this. Or one could simply say 
that Yahweh's second Samuel 7 word is not something either Babylon 
or apostate Judah can falsify. It seems to me that biblical 
theology would lead us to see a ray of hope in this kindness 
done to the exiled Davidic king. So all of this bleak, all of 
this dismal, all of this bad stuff, and yet it ends with just 
a bit of hope. And then Robertson comments on 
this. So the drama concludes with the stage set for a return 
of David's son to the throne of Israel. The consummation of 
God's covenant purposes has not yet been realized. The prophetic 
projection concerning a greater David builds on the surety of 
God's covenant and anticipates the ultimate realization of all 
God's promises. Now I understand that you haven't 
been trafficking in these things like I have. But this is exciting, 
this is like great, this is like glorious, this is the kind of 
stuff that you should be able to do backflips over or be like 
David who danced in the presence of the Ark of the Covenant. God 
is faithful, that's what all this means. When God promises 
in 2 Samuel 7, And then several hundred years transpire where 
it's not a positive, up-going, on-the-rope-to-glory sort of 
a thing. One can get a bit discouraged. 
One could begin to think that maybe God's plan isn't coming 
to fruition. No, these prophets point the 
other direction. So interspersed are at the time 
of the kings. There were prophets who wrote. 
There were prophets who, under the inspiration of the spirit 
of God, recorded data concerning this David, this covenant with 
David. Just want to rehearse a few of 
those, and then we'll look to fulfillment, and then we'll close. 
But one of the most familiar, I think, probably to all of us, 
especially this time of the year, perhaps in another month, is 
Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. When you see that on the Christmas 
cards, when you see that paraded throughout the world at that 
particular time of the year, think of this covenant word to 
David in 2 Samuel 7. For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder, 
and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting 
Father, Prince of Peace. of the increase of his government 
and peace, there will be no end upon the throne of David and 
over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment 
and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the 
Lord of hosts will perform this. You see that Isaiah says there 
is a day coming when Assad will be given to us. There will be 
one upon whom whose shoulders the government will be laid. 
Whose throne is he going to sit upon? He's going to sit upon 
David's throne, consistent with the promise in 2 Samuel 7 that 
God would appoint from the line of David one to rule and whose 
kingdom would be forever and ever. Isaiah eleven records this 
in great detail, but let's just skip to and go through a few 
few passages briefly in the other prophets Jeremiah twenty three 
verses five and six Jeremiah twenty three verses five and 
six. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord. that I will raise 
to David a branch of righteousness, a king shall reign and prosper 
and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days, Judah 
will be saved and Israel will dwell safely. That's language 
applied to the church by the apostle in Hebrews eight and 
ten. When you see this reunification of Israel and Judah, when you 
see those two, those two bodies that were rent asunder, brought 
together in the New Testament, that is the church. It's not 
like we gotta wait for the Ten Lost Tribes, we gotta rejoin 
them up with the Judahites and all that. No, the Apostle in 
Hebrews 8 and 10 says, this takes place in the church. This is 
why Paul can say in Galatians 6.16, and peace be upon the what? The Israel of God. This is why 
Paul can say he is not a Jewish circumcised outwardly, but a 
Jewish circumcised inwardly. Those who have experienced regeneration 
are Jews. Those who have experienced regeneration 
are Israelites or Judahites, if we must use the language of 
the Old Testament. He's talking about reunification 
under the Messiah, under David's greater son and greater Lord. In his days, Judah will be saved 
and Israel will dwell safely. Now, this is his name by which 
he will be called the Lord, our righteousness. And in the realm 
of justification, not where that language is packed. The Lord 
is our righteousness. We don't have a righteousness 
of our own. We need him. We need justification that comes 
from another. Jeremiah thirty three fifteen 
to twenty six is another portion. Ezekiel thirty seven. Ezekiel 
thirty seven verse twenty four. Ezekiel 37, 24, David, my servant, 
shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. 
They shall also walk in my judgments and observe my statutes and do 
them. Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to 
Jacob, my servant, where your fathers dwell, and they shall 
dwell there. They, their children and their 
children's children forever. And my servant, David, will be 
their prince forever. You see, he's talking about Jesus. 
He's preaching Christ. preaching the Lord Jesus in the 
convention that was available to them at the time. Hosea three 
verses four and five. Hosea, the first of the minor 
prophets, the first of the twelve. And by minor, that doesn't mean 
they weren't as important or as significant. Minor simply 
means they didn't write as long as the major prophets Isaiah, 
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. But notice in Hosea three at 
verse three. And I said to her, you shall 
stay with me many days. You shall not play the harlot, 
nor shall you have a man. So, too, will I be toward you. 
For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king 
or prince without sacrifice or sacred pillar without a father. 
He's talking about that time when they would go into captivity. 
They would not have access to their temple. They would not 
have access to the cold. They would not have access to 
worship or to sacrifice in the worship that they were used to. 
It would be suspended for a time, but notice in verse five afterward, 
the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their 
God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and 
his goodness in the latter days. Amos chapter nine, Amos chapter 
nine, a passage that I hope you have in your mind and that you 
will parallel with Acts 15, because in Acts 15 at the Jerusalem Council, 
as they are showing Gentile inclusion into the covenant promises, one 
of the brothers goes or James goes specifically to Amos 9 verse 
11. On that day, I will raise up 
the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down and repair its 
damages. I will raise up its ruins and 
rebuild it, as in the days of old, that they may possess the 
remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says 
the Lord who does this thing. James, Acts 15 says that this 
inclusion of Gentiles in the covenant promises. This is what 
Amos was writing about. We're living in those days. We're 
living under David. We're living under the Davidic 
King, even Jesus Christ. Micah four, Micah chapter four, 
verses one to three. Now it shall come to pass in 
the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house should be 
established on the top of the mountains and shall be exalted 
above the hills and people shall flow to it. Many nations shall 
come and say, come and say, come and let us go up to the house 
or the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob. 
He will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for 
out of Zion. The law shall go forth and the 
word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples 
and rebuke strong nations are far off. They shall beat their 
swords in the plowshares and their spears in the pruning huts. 
Nations shall not lift up, lift up sword against nation. Neither 
shall they learn war anymore. This is connected uniquely to 
the coming king. Notice in chapter five, verse 
two, but you Bethlehem. Though you are little among the 
thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me, the 
one to be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, 
from everlasting. Bruce Waltke says Jerusalem's 
past and future greatness originated from a cradle in Bethlehem. David 
and Jesus. Their past greatness and their 
future greatness originates from a cradle in Bethlehem. So the 
prophets testify and point to this glorious one who is coming 
in fulfillment of this Davidic covenant. And that brings us 
finally to just a few verses. So we can see this applied in 
the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. Matthew 21. When 
Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem in verse nine, 
and the multitudes who went out who went before and those who 
followed cried out, saying, Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed 
is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And when he had come into Jerusalem, 
all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? So the multitude 
said, This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Prior to this in the life and 
ministry of our Lord Jesus, the earthly life and ministry is 
the announcement of the angel in Luke chapter one. In Luke 
chapter one, we see this angel Gabriel come and report the happenings, 
the goings on, the fact that the virgin would be with child, 
the fact that she would indeed give birth. We see his interpretation 
or his explanation of this grand event to Joseph. Notice in verse 
twenty nine of Luke one. But when she saw him, she was 
troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this 
was. Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you 
have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive 
in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name 
Jesus. He will be great and will be 
called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him 
the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house 
of Jacob forever. and of his kingdom there will 
be no end. And then in one of Luke's other 
writings in the book of Acts, he tells us very specifically 
when this event occurred, when the throne of David was given 
to Jesus. He associates it with the resurrection 
of Christ from the dead. Notice in Acts chapter two, beginning 
in verse twenty nine. Acts chapter 2 in verse 29. This is actually very important 
as well for a prevailing type of teaching out there called 
dispensationalism. Dispensationalism teaches that 
Jesus has yet to occupy David's throne that flies right in the 
face of Gabriel's announcement. Luke 1 and Luke's application 
of this promise. in Acts chapter two and so much 
of the Bible highlights this reality, but I just want to deal 
with a few specimen passages. Notice here in Acts two, verse 
twenty nine. Men and brethren, let me speak 
freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and 
buried in his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being 
a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him 
that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would 
raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, 
foreseeing what? Raising up the Christ to sit 
on his throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning 
the resurrection of the Christ. We do not wait for one to occupy 
David's throne. One has occupied David's throne. He rules and he reigns over all 
things for the church and his kingdom shall never end. You get that in you and you will 
have comfort. You get that in you and you will 
have peace. You get that in you and you will 
be protected from bad eschatology and a lot of bad news that circulates 
around churches and pagans and whoever. You keep focused on 
this reality, that your prophet and your priest is your king 
as well. He rules over you, he defends 
you, he protects you, and on David's throne, he is extending 
the borders of his kingdom. Under David and then Solomon, 
Israel saw expansion. They saw their borders grow. 
They saw territorial increase. Well, we ain't seen nothing yet, 
according to Jesus' statement in Matthew 28. All authority 
in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and 
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching 
them to observe all things that I have commanded. And lo, I am 
with you always, even to the end of the age. Christ has taken 
his rightful place on David's throne, where he rules and he 
reigns over all things in fulfillment of Second Samuel, chapter seven, 
in fulfillment of all of the Psalter and all of the prophets 
who testified concerning these days. And we can praise God that 
we live in light of these truths. David is or David's greater son 
has sat upon his throne. Peter continues in his preaching 
and asked to he foreseeing this spoke concerning the resurrection 
of the Christ, his soul is not left in Hades, nor did his flesh 
see corruption. This Jesus God is raised up, 
of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the 
right hand of God, the throne of David, and having received 
from the father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out 
this which you now see in here. For David did not ascend into 
the heavens, but he says himself, the Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that 
God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and 
Christ. So Peter doesn't simply teach 
them theology. Peter brings it and applies it 
to them. And that's where we'll end tonight. 
These things being true, the fact that Christ now sits in 
God's right hand on David's throne, where he rules and reigns over 
all things, having lived, having died, having rose again for the 
salvation of sinners. What think ye of this Christ? 
Are you believing in him? Are you believing on the gospel? 
Are you trusting in this one and in him alone to save you 
from your sins? You may not be able to put together 
any sort of an argument for the Davidic covenant. But what think 
you of Christ? That's the most important thing 
tonight. Do not leave here neglecting David's son. Do not leave here 
neglecting David's Lord. Do not leave here neglecting 
so great a salvation. Peter says, therefore, Let it 
be known, or let all the house of Israel know assuredly. He 
doesn't introduce this with some contingency. He doesn't see the 
biblical writers and the apostles and the prophets. They never 
kind of argue for the probability of something. We don't might 
be the case that Jesus actually did what he said. When we argue 
that way, we dishonored God. When we try to reason to the 
Bible instead of reasoning from the Bible, I believe we dishonor 
God. When we try to give 15 reasons why you ought to believe in God, 
why you ought to believe in his Bible, we are wasting time. Romans 
1 says all men everywhere know God exists. They have the law 
of God written on their hearts, being image bearers of God. Don't 
spend time wasting, trying to prove to them something the Bible 
tells you they already know. Don't try to give them evidences. 
I mean, there's evidences that Christians can enjoy to be sure, 
but we don't reason them to the Bible. We reason from the Bible. 
Look at what Peter says. No, assuredly. There's no contingency, 
there's no probability, there's no margin for error here. Everything 
that he has said is assuredly true. God has made this Jesus, 
whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ. You see, he introduces 
that ethical element. It's not just a matter of you 
accepting information tonight. It wasn't the case that whom 
you crucify. That was their particular set. 
Your particular sin might be stealing. Your particular sin 
might be lying, might be cheating, might be sexual. Your particular 
sin is an offense to the Lord God Almighty. And you need to 
know assuredly that he has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ. 
But this Jesus calls upon sinners to come to believe and to be 
saved. If you haven't done that, do 
that. Do you think that sounds like easy believism? Tough. The 
Bible says, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. That's what we need to hear. 
That's what you need to respond to. That's what each and every 
one of us ought to hang our soul upon is the word of Jesus Christ 
bidding us to come. Well, let us pray. Our father, 
we thank you for David's son. We thank you for the son of God 
who rules and reigns from your right hand. And we praise you 
that he is currently building his church and he is extending 
his kingdom. And Lord, we do pray that your 
kingdom would come through the proclamation of truth. We pray 
that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. 
We pray that we'd honor our king by realizing that, in fact, he 
is our king and that he is our defender and our ruler and our 
protector. and our governor and the one 
who calls us to obedience. And father, for those who have 
not yet bowed to this king, we pray they'd see him as a great 
priest, as one who offered himself up on behalf of sinners, as one 
who has provided that full atonement. We pray that even this night 
sinners would believe and know the joy of everlasting life. 
So with each one of us now, Father, we pray for safety, we pray for 
your protection, and we pray that these thoughts of Christ 
ruling at your right hand would be a comfort to us in times of 
trial. And we ask in Jesus' name, Amen.