Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 7:18–29
Well, you can turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 7. We'll look at verses 18 to 29. I'll read the passage, and then I want to remind us of David's prayer. It will not be exactly what we did on Wednesday evening.
I want to remind us of David's prayer, and then I want to apply David's method, focusing primarily on verses 22 to 24. But as I said, I'll read it in its larger context, beginning in 2 Samuel 7 at verse 18. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that you have brought me this far?
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. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Now what more can David say to you?
For you, Lord God, know your servant. For your word's sake, and according to your own heart, you have done all these great things to make your servant know them. Therefore, you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, nor is there any god beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
And who is like your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name, and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land, before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations and their gods? For You have made Your people Israel, Your very own people forever, and You, Lord, have become their God. Now, O Lord God, the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as you have said. So let your name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.
And let the house of your servant David be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore, your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this goodness to your servant.
Now therefore, let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue before you forever. For you, O Lord God, have spoken it, and with your blessing, let the house of your servant be blessed forever. Amen. Well, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father, we thank you for the written word and we pray now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit that he would guide us and lead us and help us as we consider the greatness of God, the greatness of God seen in his being and as well seen in his works. May we marvel and may we adore and may we worship and may these things produce in us what they produced in David. May there be worshipful prayer offered up by your people for Your praise and for Your glory. Again, forgive us now for any sin and wickedness and darkness that affects our minds, and help us to meditate upon Your truth in preparation to participate in the Lord's Supper.
And we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction: David's Prayer and Method
As I said, it will not be a strict exposition of this passage as we saw on Wednesday night, but just a reminder of David's prayer and then an application of David's method. Remember, this is a response to the Davidic covenant. In 2 Samuel 7 and verses 1 to 17, God the Lord makes a promise to David that He will build David a house. It will not be a physical dwelling, it will not be a physical structure, but it will be a dynasty.
A dynasty of kings that ultimately will issue forth in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, even the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. So David hears the promise of God, called the Davidic Covenant, and then David goes to pray. David goes to worship. David goes to adore.
There's something very instructive here for us. As Dale Ralph Davis says, Yahweh's declarations stirred David's devotions. His promises ignited David's praises and prayers. That's how it should be.
When we hear the promises of God, when we hear the good blessings of God, we ought to respond with praise and worship and adoration. And that is precisely what David does. If we were to break this prayer down, we'd see three major sections. In the first place, the confession of his own unworthiness in verses 18 to 21.
David says, who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far? As we mentioned on Wednesday night, David is from Bethlehem, he's now in Jerusalem. This is only about six miles away. David isn't extolling the greatness of God in bringing him those six miles.
David is extolling the greatness of God in bringing him through many trials, and many tribulations, and many difficulties, and many hardships. David was hunted like a dog. David was threatened by Saul. David was persecuted by many, and yet the Lord God Most High preserved him, and David is able to muse and say, Who am I, O Lord God?
What is my house that You have brought me this far? He rehearses God's previous grace. The Lord had blessed him, given him grace. He rehearses the fact that there will be future grace.
There is no way we'll have this promise realized apart from the grace of God. He highlights that it's sovereign grace. He indicates that it's according to your own heart. Not David's plan, but God's own heart.
It's sovereign grace. So David begins with a confession of unworthiness. He then goes on to an ascription of greatness to God in verses 22 to 24, and then he ends the prayer with petition, a petition for fulfillment. David doesn't run into the presence of God and say, give me, give me, give me.
David runs into the presence of God, confesses his own unworthiness, and then extols the greatness of God, and then after doing that he says to the Lord, make good on your promises. The promises of God are the foundation for our petitions to God. It's because the Lord has promised that David then prays that God would bring this to pass, or bring this to fruition. So that's an overview of the prayer.
Let's look at verses 22 to 24. David ascribes greatness to God. Notice in verse 22, Therefore you are great, O Lord God, a fitting response to the grace that he has rehearsed. It's because of God's grace that David has been brought to this point.
A consideration of God's grace promotes David, or provokes David to confess and testify, therefore you are great, O Lord God. Does the grace of God conquer your heart in like manner? Do you muse on where you've been, and do you muse upon the fact that you are presently where you are, extol the goodness and grace of God, and then say, therefore, you are great, O Lord God? David praises God or ascribes greatness to God for God.
In other words, he praises God for God. He praises God for who God is. Notice in verse 22, Therefore you are great, O Lord God. Now notice, For there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
Now David will go on to praise God for what he has done, but before he gets to praising God for what he has done, he praises God for who he is. I used the illustration on Wednesday night. It was always nice to have my children thank me for when I gave them something, or I provided something to them, or I helped them out of a particular problem, and they said, Thank you, Dad, for doing X, Y, or Z. It's always nice to hear your children say, Thank you, Dad, for being Dad.
Thank you for being you. I just love you. Apart from your ad extra works, I love you for your ad intra being. I just love you.
I love who you are, and I'm thankful that you are my dad. It never quite sort of fleshed itself out like that, but you see what David is doing here. He's praising God for God. Brethren, that's legit.
And we're going to apply David's method in a few moments to show you that that's legit. We praise God certainly for creation and providence and redemption. We praise God for His mighty works involving His people. But we praise God for who God is.
And that's precisely what David does. Therefore, you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. Now he moves from a consideration of God as God, God intra, or ad intra, to God as He acts towards His people. Add extra, those works external to God.
And he rehearses three things about God concerning Israel. He speaks of redemption, he speaks of preservation, and he speaks of position. Notice, in verses 23 and 24. And who is like your people?
Like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people. Notice this. And we pointed this out on Wednesday night. Redemption involves two things.
Redemption involves liberation from the problem or the bondage. But it also involves possession to the new owner. You see, God liberated Israel out of Egypt. He brought them out of bondage under His divine ownership.
The same pattern is seen in the New Testament. We are not redeemed by the blood of Christ so that we can do whatever it is we want. We are redeemed by the blood of Christ so that we will submit to our new Master. There is both liberation and possession wrought by God in terms of redemption.
He buys us out of the slave market of sin, not so that we can continue in sin, but that we will now submit to our new master. We will now do His bidding. We will be obedient to the One who owns us, who possesses us, whose slaves we now are by His grace. So this is seen several times in these two verses.
And who is like your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name, and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land, before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations and their gods? That's redemption. Notice preservation, verse 24a. For You have made Your people Israel, Your very own people forever.
It's beautiful, isn't it? Forever. We have eternal security. We will persevere because God will preserve us.
And then notice position at the end of verse 24. And you Lord have become their God. We saw something similar to this in Ephesians 3. You can turn there.
Ephesians chapter 3. This whole idea of David extolling the goodness and power of God displayed through Israel was a means by which he can quantify the statement that God is great. God is great for who God is. God is great because He has redeemed Israel, because He will preserve Israel, and because positionally He is Israel's God.
This is a display of the power and the majesty and the excellence and the greatness of God. Paul does the same thing in Ephesians 3. Notice in verse 8. To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.
Notice verse 10. to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places." Now, arguably, the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places were able to see the greatness of God as God. But in redemption, in the fact that the Lord saved the church, the church now becomes a display case, if you will, of God's greatness and power manifested. Such that when the principalities and the powers look down upon us on the Lord's day, they extol the greatness of God. The fact that we are no longer continuing in patterns of rebellion and sin, and that we have been conquered by amazing grace, and we are here worshipping the triune God, doesn't that scream concerning the greatness of our God?
So that's David's method. Let's apply David's method. Notice, we have not just the Davidic covenant, but we have the New Covenant, don't we? I wonder if we are as responsive to the new covenant blessings that we have received as was David concerning the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7, verse 117.
I said on Wednesday night, in some senses, brethren, at the throne of grace, we ought to out David David. We ought to extol the greatness of God in a way that would not make David jealous, but it would hopefully cause David to say, behold, you know your God. Brethren, we have many, many things to thank and to praise our God for, least of which is the blessing of the New Covenant, the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood for the remission of sins for many, and that we are included among that many. That New Covenant deserves and demands a response.
That New Covenant deserves and demands worship on the part of God's people. That New Covenant deserves and demands this sort of prayer life concerning what we see here in 2 Samuel 7. Notice, as we consider with David in his response to the Davidic covenant, as we respond to the New Covenant, we can break it down in the same way. Those two sections, the being of God, who God is, and as well, what God has done in our lives.
The Being of God
Let's consider the being of God. Now perhaps one of the best ways would have just taken a summary statement and looked at the various attributes said or spoken of God. I just sort of compiled a brief list here. There's no particular rhyme or reason or order.
It's not out of Bavink. It's not out of Birkhoff. But I have four things that I think we ought to consider. As a help, to promote in us this ascription of the greatness of God as we consider God, as we consider who He is.
In the first place, He is the one true and living God.
The One True and Living God
He is the one true and living God. Isn't this what Jesus says in John 17, verse 3? And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Do you understand, brethren, we have what? the Baal worshippers, and the Molech worshippers, and the Asherah worshippers, and the Mammon worshippers, and the sex worshippers, and the drug worshippers, and the comfortable, tidy life worshippers, we have what they don't.
We have the true and the living God. It's not as if there's a pantheon out there. It's not as if there's an A to Z in terms of gods, and we just sort of pick and choose which ones we want. We serve the one true and living God, and as a result, we ought to respond to Him by ascribing greatness to Him.
As well,
The Blessed Triune God
He is the blessed triune God. It's interesting. Jesus says that they may know Thee, the only true God, and, coordinate to that, Jesus Christ whom you have sent. We serve one blessed God in Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20. Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name singular of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We see the triune God in places like Ephesians 1. We see the triune God in Ephesians 4.
Brethren, we see the triune God all over Scripture. We see Father, Son, and Spirit. Yet not three gods, one God. One essence, three persons, all blessed, all equal in power and in glory.
The Unchangeable, Immutable God
Thirdly, we see God is unchangeable. You can turn specifically to James 1, 16-18. God is unchangeable. The precise theological term for this is immutability.
Brethren, this is a reason for us to ascribe greatness to God. All of these things, the one true and living God, the blessed triune God, the fact that we serve an unchangeable God or an immutable God. Notice in verse 16 of James 1, Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
That's a text you can rest your soul on. That's a text you can pillow your head with. That's a text that affords great comfort to the people of God. What are we saying in 335?
It talks about change and decay, and yet God abides with me. 335 specifically. Where are we at here? I know it's in here. I just can't find it.
All around I see. Oh yes. Swift to its close, ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around I see. Isn't that experience? Isn't that life lived under heaven? Isn't that our lot?
I mean, friends come, friends go, relationships grow, relationships break, political leaders are raised up, political leaders are put down, sins are committed, crimes are committed. All around, I see. O thou who changest not, abide with me. Brethren, there is a world of comfort in James 1, 16 and 17.
Thomas Manton, the Puritan divine, It says, but God doth not change. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. The arm of mercy is not dried up, nor do his bowels of love waste and spend themselves. Therefore, as David would say, you are great, O Lord God.
Divine Impassibility
Let's consider, fourthly, a subset of immutability, a doctrine called impassibility. You can turn to Acts chapter 14. I've noticed since the release of the book, Confessing the Impassable God, it hasn't been a groundswell of change in terms of the evangelical landscape. On the one hand, I don't think a whole lot of people have read the book yet, but on the other hand, those who have read it continue to say things like, they're making a big deal out of something that's insignificant.
They're making a big deal out of something that ought not to divide the people of God. They're making a big deal out of something that just doesn't really affect us one way or the other. Brethren, impassibility teaches us that God is not like us. Impassibility is the reason why our confession of faith can tell us that God is most loving, that God is most gracious, that God is most merciful, and that God is most long-suffering.
You see, impassibility teaches that God is not affected by things outside of Himself, nor from things inside, which makes Him increase or diminish, both of which would imply that He was imperfect to begin with. Impassibility describes to us a blessed God, a God who relates to His creatures in the fullness of His being and in His totality. Notice specifically in Acts 14, at verse 14, the scene is simple. There is in Lystra a man who was crippled from his mother's womb.
Paul observes him, sees that he has faith to be healed, says with a loud voice, stand up straight on your feet, and he leaped and he walked. Now the Lystrans respond by wanting to worship Paul. I mean, as far as they were concerned, the gods had come down in the likeness of men. As far as they were concerned, Paul and Barnabas were Hermes and Zeus, and these gods were worthy to be praised.
Notice at the end of verse 13, Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature." Same nature there literally means same passions, like passions, the same sort as you are. What's Paul's implication?
God isn't. God's not of the same nature. God is not of like passions. God is not like creature.
God, rather, is Creator. He goes on to say, we also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them. For Paul, the doctrine of divine impassibility was something that applied to God. And as it was applicable to God, it meant that God alone ought to be worshipped.
That God alone, if I can extend it just a bit to bring us back into 2 Samuel 7 territory, God alone is great. You don't worship men of like passions. You don't worship men of the same nature. You don't worship creature, but rather you worship the Creator, One who is not like us in passions.
One who is not like our nature. Now, unfortunately, the Listerans miss this lesson because the section ends with them continuing trying to sacrifice unto them. The doctrine of divine impassibility, along with its larger doctrine, the doctrine of divine immutability, present to us a great God, an unchanging God, a God who has purposed all things according to His own plan and according to His own will. And He will most certainly accomplish it for the glory of His own name and for His own honor.
The Incomparable God
And then the last thing, I would just say the incomparable God. As I said, there are many sort of attributes that we can look at. Let's just look at two specimen passages just to show us that the New Testament understands that we ought to stand back and extol the greatness of God for Him being God. 1 Timothy 1, verse 17. 1 Timothy 1, verse 17. Paul breaks out in praise.
Paul breaks out in doxology, a consideration of redemption, a consideration of the fact that he had been saved by grace, a consideration of the fact that he was the chief of sinners, but God saved him, leads the apostle to extol the Lord. Verse 17, now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever. and ever. Amen. And then in 1 Timothy chapter 6, notice in verses 15 and 16. which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power.
Amen." Now brethren, it is perfectly acceptable, and I'm going to argue in just a moment, that we ought to praise God and extol the greatness of God. for His work of redemption, for the fact that He preserves us, for the fact that He has positioned us as His people and He is our God. But there is a sense where the church at times is lacking in just coming into the presence of God and worshiping Him for being God. Just acknowledging that He's God, acknowledging that He's excellent, acknowledging that He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Brethren, God is ultimately the object of our worship.
Yes, His works extol His greatness, to be sure, but God, just God, is worthy of praise and worship forever and ever and ever. He is, in the language of the bride in the Song of Solomon, chief among ten thousand. He is, in the language of the bride in the Song of Solomon, altogether lovely. He's just altogether lovely.
We ought to bask in His presence. We ought to enjoy His being. We ought to extol His attributes. We ought to consider who He is, and then worship, adore, honor, and praise.
The Works of God
But notice, we consider the works of God. Redemption. Certainly, as we come to the supper tonight, what do these elements preach to us? They preach to us a bloodied, bruised, battered Savior who shed His blood on our behalf in order that He might redeem us.
Remember His statement in Matthew 20, 28. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. That ransom and redemption are from the same Greek word, the same root, the same idea. He didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give His life, His own lifeblood, as a ransom for many.
He redeemed us.
Redemption in Christ
What is Paul the Apostle saying? Galatians chapter 3. You can turn there. Galatians chapter 3.
Several texts extolling the goodness of God, or the greatness of God, rather, as seen in the work of redemption. Galatians 3.13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Galatians 4.4, but when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to do what?
To redeem those who were under the law. And the same sorts of concepts that are present in that statement of David's in 2 Samuel 7 are true here. He redeems His Israel. through His own precious blood, not so they can continue in paganism, not so they can continue in heathenism, not so they can bow to Baal, not so they can engage in Moloch worship, but rather that they'll be submissive to their new Master, the Lord who has redeemed them. I love this statement in Ephesians 1.
The Apostle uses a verb there that indicates that when He chose us, He chose us for Himself. And he not only highlights that with reference to the Father, but he indicates as well in Ephesians 1.7 concerning redemption. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. You see, the same sort of pattern is evident in the New Testament as we find in David's prayer.
We extol God for His Godhood. We extol God for His works. As we gather tonight, as we sing praises, as we pray in our closets, as we pray together as a church, may the greatness of God so infect our hearts that we would be full of adoration to this God.
Preservation of the Saints
And then notice, He preserves us. Several passages that indicate this. John 6, 40. Several passages more that you will think of, no doubt, because these are not isolated teachings.
Redemption, preservation, and position are taught throughout the New Testament Scripture. I just wanted to highlight a few specimen passages to encourage us to respond to God the way David responded when he considered God's redemption, preservation, and positioning of Israel. Notice in John 6, 40, and this is the will of Him who sent me. that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the last day." If I said, I will go do such and such, there is a margin for error, there is a margin for compromise. If I say to my wife, I will go get you some lawn ornaments for the backyard, I could get hit by a car on the way and never be able to fulfill that particular responsibility.
But when Christ the Lord, the One whom Hebrews 13.8 says is the same yesterday, today and forever, when that One says, and I will raise Him up at the last day, can there be any idea whatsoever that He will not make good on this promise? Or consider John 10, verses 25 to 30, under the head of preservation. Not only does David extol God for redeeming Israel, but for preserving Israel. Not only ought we to praise God or honor the greatness of God for redeeming us, but for preserving us.
Notice in John 10, 25, I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But you do not believe because you are not of my sheep. Note the conspicuous order.
He doesn't say, you're not of my sheep because you don't believe. You don't believe because you're not of my sheep. You were not foreordained before the foundation of the world. There is conspicuous Reformed theology in Jesus' statement there.
You do not believe because you are not of my sheep. The Arminian says, you are not his sheep because you don't believe. Now, Jesus says, you don't believe because you're not of My sheep. Anyways, He goes on, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. Do you ever just ponder such texts and say, wow, amazing. The fact that He's even saved me is amazing.
The fact that He's not going to let me go, wow, this just gets more incredible as the days march on. And then, of course, Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, verses 37 to 39, the whole section is just powerful and rich. 37, Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. He is great and greatly to be praised.
I love what our confession says concerning the perseverance of the saints. This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election. flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father, upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, and union with Him, the oath of God, the abiding of His Spirit, and the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace, from all which ariseth also the certainty and infallibility thereof." You do not persevere because you have grit and determination. You do not persevere because you've got willpower. You do not persevere because you're a bit stronger than that poor slob sitting next to you.
You persevere because of God. You persevere because of what is indicated here. You persevere because our God who has redeemed us will indeed preserve us.
Covenant Position as God's People
And then the last statement David says is concerning position. And you, Lord, have become their God. Pastor Porter read Matthew chapter 6 this morning. How does Jesus teach us to pray?
Our inert, distant, cold, calloused God, if we hold to this doctrine of impassibility. No. Our Father. There's intimacy.
Communion. There's position. We call Him Father. He calls us children.
Hebrews 2, we read that the Lord Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren. Imagine! Christ isn't ashamed to call us brethren. We know Him in a saving way.
Again, John 17, verse 3, This is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. We have been adopted, had we continued to read on in Galatians 4, a passage that has been dealt with several times over the last several months in our church. He goes on in Galatians 4, 5, to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father.
Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. That's our lot. That's our position.
That's our privilege. That's our blessing. And we receive the covenant privilege way back Way back in Leviticus, we see God's covenantal promise, I will be their God, they shall be my people. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 6, an argument as to why we ought not to be unequally yoked.
Notice in 2 Corinthians 6.14, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship is righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion is light with darkness? And what accord is Christ with Belial?
Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? Now note, for you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk among them.
I will be their God and they shall be my people. David sees this as a reason to extol the greatness of God in 2 Samuel 7. He says specifically in you, Yahweh, have become their God. Brethren, we ought to consider redemption, preservation, and our position as those things outside of God, those works that He accomplishes, as reasons why we praise Him, and adore Him, and honor Him, and celebrate the fact that He is indeed a great, God.
And this passage is rehearsed afresh, or rehearsed again rather, in Revelation 21, where it comes to fruition. Revelation 21. Beginning in verse 1, Now I saw a new heavens and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea than I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." I was speaking to a brother this morning. speaking about those who have chronic pain, and perhaps one of the things that persons who have chronic pain like are passages like these.
Because this passage affords to the people with chronic pain this promise that there's a day coming when there will be no more chronic pain. And I suggested to this particular brother that I think in the Sudan or in Ethiopia, believers there are probably able to appreciate the passages that speak of no more hunger and no more thirst. They probably appreciate those passages a bit more than we do, because you see, we have full refrigerators and full pantries. We really don't know what hunger is.
I mean, we say we're starving if we missed a supper. We're not starving, brethren. We really are not. That is hyperbolic.
That is wrong. We ought not to suggest that we missed our morning Wheaties and somehow we're going to pine away and starve to death. But imagine if you were in Ethiopia, you were in the Sudan, and you came to these passages that said, we get Jesus and no more hunger. We get Jesus and no more thirst.
We get Jesus and no more chronic pain. We get Jesus and no more disease. We get Jesus and no more problems or issues and all of that. Brethren, that's a legitimate concern and that's something we ought to refresh and rehearse in our hearts and minds.
But the ultimate thing is we get Jesus. We get Jesus. and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Can there be any more testimony concerning that intimate position I mean, isn't that the language of the parent whose child falls and whose child runs to him and who takes their cloth and wipes the tear from their eyes and bandages the boo-boo and gives it a kiss and hugs the child and embraces them?
That's intimacy. That's position. That's privilege. That's blessing.
That's held out to the people of God. That's in our future. That is our future possession. Because of what Christ has done through His blood, because of what God has done in preserving us, He is going to bring us into His heavenly kingdom, this new Jerusalem, and we will be in the presence of God and of the Lamb.
Truly, brethren, we have a multitude of reasons to ascribe greatness to our God. I shouldn't say we ought to out-David David, because that sounds competitive in a way that ought not to be. But let's try to be Davids. Let's dare to be a David at the throne of grace by extolling the greatness and the mercy and the kindness of our God.
Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for the Holy Scriptures, and we thank you for the consistency that we find the God of redemption, the God of preservation, the God who brings his people into great position. It's the same God from Genesis to Revelation. We praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we extol your greatness, first in who you are, the fact that you are the great and glorious and triune God. As well, we extol you for your works, and we have benefited richly from what you have done in and through your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we eat this bread, as we drink this cup, may we respond with praise and worship and adoration given to you, our God. And we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.