Latest / Reformed Thinking / God’s Covenant with David and the Glory of Zion (Psalm 132) | Charles Spurgeon

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God’s Covenant with David and the Glory of Zion (Psalm 132) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Picture a royal monarch in the ancient world, you know.
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Right. Usually when you think of a king
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sitting on a throne, there is this automatic assumption of
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pristine palaces. Yeah, quite authority.
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A sort of aloof majesty, yeah. Exactly.
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Well, you picture a guy just leaning back, enjoying the
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spoils of absolute rule. Right, surrounded by guards and
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servants, making sure his every whim is met.
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But then you step into the world of the specific historical
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record we are looking at today, and suddenly that peaceful
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picture is completely shattered. Oh, it really is.
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Welcome to Reformed thinking. Today we are taking a deep dive
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into an ancient text, specifically Charles Spurgeon's
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Notes on Psalm 132. From his massive multi volume
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work, the Treasury of David. Right.
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And our mission for this deep dive is to unpack this specific
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text, which is labeled as a A song of degrees.
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Which means it was a literal walking song.
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Yeah, a Pilgrim song chanted by the people of Israel as they
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made the steep physical ascent up the mountainous terrain
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toward Jerusalem for their annual festivals.
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And we are going to look at how a King's almost manic obsession
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with locating this lost wooden chest maps out a massive,
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eternal covenant of grace. So for you listening, the
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sources we have stacked up for you today are a collection of
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historical analysis and theological commentary.
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Primarily filtered through the brilliant mind of the 19th
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century preacher Charles Spurgeon.
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Yeah, and we promise you a clear step by step ascent through the
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text, stripping away the dust of antiquity to reveal the beating
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heart of the whole thing. Because this text operates as a
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fascinating sacred dialogue. A dialogue between who?
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Between a King's zealous vows and a sovereign God's staggering
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response. Oh wow.
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Yeah, and what stands out immediately is the sheer
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escalation of the song. As you pointed out, these songs
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of degrees were literal walking songs.
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Right, physical climbing. Yeah, the physical elevation of
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climbing up the mountain mirrored their spiritual
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anticipation. In Psalm 132, the theme ascends
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right alongside the geography. So it starts low and goes high.
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Precisely. We start down in the valley of
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human affliction and anxiety, with a mortal man making rash,
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desperate promises, and we climb step by step into the thin,
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clear air of divine sovereignty, ending with God issuing an
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absolute, unbreakable oath. Man that is an intricate multi
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layered dialogue. It really is. 1st we hear the
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voice of the people pleading for their King.
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Then we hear the King's historical vow.
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Then the people's collective resolution to gather and worship
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right. Yeah, and finally, the voice of
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God himself breaking into the song, answering their earthly
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anxieties with heavenly guarantees.
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So our goal is to carefully trace this ascent.
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We want to examine not just the historical treasure hunt for an
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ancient artifact, but, you know, the underlying mechanics of
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divine grace. We are going to see how humans
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zeal, even when it oversteps the bounds of common sense, is meant
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by a God who measures actions by sincere motive.
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Which is huge. Yeah, and how the temporary
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crown of a human monarch points directly to the eternal,
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flourishing dominion of the Messiah.
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It is a stunning architectural schematic of redemption laid out
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in 18 compact verses. So true.
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Let us unpack this by starting right at the beginning of the
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song. We need to look at the 1st 5
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verses which introduce us to the Sleepless King and his vow of
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affliction. The text begins with a massive,
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audacious plea. Lord, remember David and all his
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afflictions. Now, to understand the climax of
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this song, we first have to examine the intense, almost
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manic state of the man who wrote it.
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Spurgeon makes a crucial point here that we just cannot gloss
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over. Right.
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These afflictions were not general hardships.
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No, we are not talking about bad harvest or standard political
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disputes or, you know, the stress of managing an economy.
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These were specific, agonizing sufferings David endured from
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ungodly factions precisely because he wanted to restore
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Orthodox worship. And let us clarify what that
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means for the listener. Yeah, Orthodox worship in this
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context meant approaching God strictly on the terms God had
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laid out in his law. Which required the presence of
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the Ark of the Covenant, the localized symbol of God's
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presence on earth. So David makes this radical vow,
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declaring that he will absolutely refuse to enter his
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house or give sleep to his eyes or slumber to his eyelids until
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he finds a place for the Lord. He is using extreme hyperbole.
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Saying he will not sleep or even go to bed until this mission is
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accomplished. But here's where I get hung up.
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If we look forward into the New Testament, Jesus explicitly says
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swear. Not at all.
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He does warn against making oaths by heaven or earth or your
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own head. Right, so isn't making such a
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rash absolute vow a terrible idea for a believer?
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It does seem pretty risky. It feels like David is setting
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himself up for failure, writing checks his physical body cannot
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cash, and potentially angering God with an impulsive, legally
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binding oath. Well, if we look closely at the
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historical precedent David is following, his actions start to
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make more sense. Even if they remain risky.
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Yeah, even if they remain risky, David is deliberately mimicking
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the patriarch Jacob, who was famously known as the Father of
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Vows. Oh, right, Jacob.
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Jacob made a massive vow at Bethel when he was fleeing from
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his brother Esau. Promising that if God would
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protect him and bring him back safely, then the Lord would be
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his God and he would give a 10th of everything he owned.
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Spot on, and David highlights this connection by specifically
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referring to God twice in these verses as the mighty God of
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Jacob. That title is intentional.
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It's really intentional. It carries the weight of a God
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who is strong enough to enforce vows and merciful enough to
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sustain his people through their self-imposed afflictions.
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Now, concerning the rashness of the vow itself, Spurgeon and
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other commentators are quite candid in their assessment.
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Yeah, they don't hold back. Yes, David probably went too far
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in his words. Under the light of the New
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Testament instruction you mentioned, it is generally wiser
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and much safer to leave our pious resolves in the hands of
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God in the form of a prayer rather than an absolute oath.
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Because we do not know what tomorrow brings.
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Right. Yeah, and making a vow we cannot
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keep is a serious offense under the law.
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However, what is beautiful here is how God responds to this
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flawed, impassioned promise. He doesn't just strike him down
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for overstepping. No God is so gracious that He
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accepts the sincere zeal behind the vow, even when the vow
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itself oversteps the bounds of complete wisdom.
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Historically, if we look at the book of Second Samuel, God
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actually forbade David from building the physical temple.
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Right through the prophet Nathan, God told David that
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because he was a man of bloodshed, a warrior who had
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spent his entire adult life in brutal hand to hand combat to
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secure the borders of Israel. He could not be the one to
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construct the House of Peace. That job would fall to his son
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Solomon. Yet God completely accepted the
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desire. Which proves A fundamental
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reality about divine grace for you.
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Listening. God measures the actions of His
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people by their sincere motive rather than their flawless
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execution. That is so good.
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He saw the burning love for the ark in David's heart and counted
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it as a beautiful act of worship, even while saying no to
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the actual construction project. Exactly.
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Well, precisely. That concept of God accepting
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the motive is incredibly comforting, but I want to circle
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back to the very first phrase of the song.
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Lord, remember David. Yeah, there is a massive
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theological mechanism working beneath the surface of those 3
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words. There really is.
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When the people of Israel are walking up that mountain and
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chanting the song, they are not just taking a trip down memory
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lane. No, they're using David as a
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shield. David had no inherent merit of
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his own to demand things from God.
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I mean, his reign was marred by severe moral failures.
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Including adultery and murder. Right.
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Yet when the people prayed, Lord, remember David, they were
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pleading the merits of their covenant head.
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Because God had made a specific binding agreement with David in
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Second Samuel Chapter 7. Promising that his throne would
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be established forever. So the people were asking God to
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bless them based on that localized representative
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agreement. They were saying do not look at
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us, look at the guy you made the deal with.
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Yeah, and for you, the listener, understanding this ancient
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political dynamic is crucial. Why is?
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That because it translates precisely to the Christians
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relationship with Christ. In Reformed theology, this is
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often called federal headship, or being a covenant head.
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OK, it is like a union representative negotiating a
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contract for thousands of workers.
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That is a perfect analogy. The workers do not go to the
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management individually, the representative does it on their
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behalf and whatever the representative secures applies
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to everyone in the union. Spot on.
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Christ is the ultimate covenant head.
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We do not approach God asking Him to remember our own flawed
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records, our broken vows, or our wildly inconsistent zeal.
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If God remembered our records, we would be in serious trouble.
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Tremendous trouble. Yeah.
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Instead, we ask God to remember Jesus and all his afflictions.
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His suffering, his perfect obedience to the law, and His
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substitutionary death on the cross.
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That perfect record is the only valid currency in the economy of
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grace. That analogy of the Union
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representative, it perfectly captures the essence of pleading
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a covenant. Yeah, when the believer
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approaches the throne of grace, they are entirely bankrupt on
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their own account. Every plea must be grounded in
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the finished work of the mediator.
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And this sets up a fascinating historical dilemma in our text.
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It does. David has made this massive vow
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to find the Ark and build a house for it, establishing this
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covenantal center of worship. But the obvious glaring question
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is where was the Ark? Right.
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Which brings us to verses 6 through 8.
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And a historical treasure hunt that is almost unbelievable when
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you consider the religious significance of this object.
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The text says we heard of it at Ephrata.
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We found it in the fields of the wood.
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This is astonishing. The Ark of the Covenant, the
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central piece of Israelite worship, the gold covered box
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containing the 10 commandments, Aaron's budding rod and the
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manna. It had been completely lost to
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the cultural consciousness. It was not sitting in a grand
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cathedral. And it was not protected behind
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the walls of a well defended fortress in the capital city.
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It was lingering in a place called Kerjathjiram, which
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literally translates to the Forest City or the City of
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Woods. To fully grasp how bizarre this
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is, we have to look at the history of how it got there.
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Decades earlier, the nation treated the Ark like a magical
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Talisman, right? Yeah, dragging it into a battle
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against the Philistines at AFEC, hoping it would automatically
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guarantee guarantee victory. Instead, God allowed the
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Philistines to capture it. Which was a devastating
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psychological blow to Israel. When the news reached the high
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priest Eli, he fell backward off his seat, broke his neck and
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died. The history of that capture is
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wild, and it explains why the Ark was hidden away in the woods
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for so long. Yeah, think about what happened
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while the Philistines had it. They put the Ark in the temple
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of their fish God Daggone as a war trophy.
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And the next morning, Dagan's statue had fallen face down in
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front of the Ark. They set the statue back up and
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the following morning it was face down again, but this time
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it's head and hands were broken off.
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Then God struck the Philistine cities with terrifying plagues
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of tumors and swarms of mice. The Philistines panic.
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They realized they were dealing with something they could not
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control. So they put the ark on a wooden
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cart, hitched it to two milk cows and sent it back across the
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border into Israel. It arrives at a town called
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Bethshemesh. The Israelites there rejoiced,
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but they made a catastrophic, fatal mistake.
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They treated the holy object with casual familiarity and
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looked inside it. And God struck down thousands of
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the men of that city. From that point on, the Ark
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became a terrifying object to the people.
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It is like a radioactive artifact.
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Oh, that is a fantastic analogy. It is a nuclear core that
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terrifies everyone, so instead of restoring it to the center of
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their worship, they just stash it in Kirjat Jiram, a rural
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logging town, and leave it there for decades.
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It sat there throughout the entire reign of King Saul,
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ignored by the national leaders. Feared by the locals and
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completely disconnected from the daily spiritual life of the
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nation. It is incredible to think that
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David had to institute a massive national search party to find
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the very thing that was supposed to be the beating heart of their
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entire civilization. The historical neglect you just
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described highlights the utter spiritual apathy of the nation
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under the previous administration of King Saul.
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Yeah, the physical symbol of God's presence, the mercy seat
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where the blood of atonement was supposed to be sprinkled, was
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totally neglected. Treated as a dangerous relic to
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be avoided rather than the locus of divine communion and
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forgiveness. But Spurgeon points out a
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beautiful theological irony hidden in this obscure
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geographical detail. Oh I love this part.
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The people say they heard of it at Ephrata, which is the ancient
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name for Bethlehem, and they found it in the fields of the
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wood. Grace is often found in the most
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obscure, unexpected places. Yeah, the Ark was not in a
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pristine palace. It was in a rustic rural
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setting, surrounded by trees, dirt and quiet isolation.
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If we Fast forward through biblical history, we see this
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pattern perfectly replicated in the incarnation of the ultimate
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covenant head. Christ himself was born in
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Bethlehem, which is afraid. Of the exact location mentioned
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in this Psalm. And where was He often found
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during his earthly ministry? He was frequently in the
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wilderness, in the fields and on the mountainsides.
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Deliberately stepping away from the religious elite, the wealthy
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and the politically connected leaders of Jerusalem.
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He was born in a stable, laid in an animal's feeding through and
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spent his ministry walking the dusty roads of the countryside.
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Mingling with fishermen, tax collectors and outcasts.
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Spurgeon notes that if you, the listener, are looking for divine
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truth, you should not assume it is restricted to palaces,
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massive cathedrals, or halls of earthly prestige.
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Right truth is very often discovered in the fields of the
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wood, in the quiet, overlooked and despised places of life.
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God routinely bypasses human grandiosity to establish His
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presence among the humble and the broken.
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Now, once the Ark is finally located in those woods, the
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narrative shifts gears drastically.
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The people cannot just leave it there.
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Finding the Ark creates an immediate, overwhelming demand
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for action, which forces the nation to drastically change
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their posture and behavior. That demand for action pulls us
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right into verses 7 through 10, where we see the architecture of
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worship and the ultimate plea. Having found the Ark in the
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woods, the people unite with a sudden driving momentum.
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They declare with one voice. We will go into his tabernacles.
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We will worship at His footstool.
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Notice the communal aspect of that phrasing, Spurgeon remarks.
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That the word we makes a church. This is no longer just David's
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isolated, manic obsession. It is become a national
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movement. One person's burning zeal has
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ignited the entire congregation. They resolved to worship at
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God's Fist tool, which is a specific, highly reverent
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reference to the Ark itself, and particularly the mercy seat on
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top of it. They understand that God is
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infinite. The heavens cannot contain Him.
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So even the most glorious earthly house they could
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possibly build is a resting place for his feet.
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It is a massive statement of humility.
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Then they offer a very specific set of prayers regarding the
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people who will minister in this new sanctuary.
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They pray for the priest to be clothed with righteousness.
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They pray for the Saints to shout for joy.
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And they ask God, for thy servant David's sake, turn not
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away the face of thine anointed. I want to pause on that last
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phrase because we touched on the covenant head idea earlier, but
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this puts a finer point on it because this is a highly
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specific ancient political prayer tied to a literal
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monarchy and a physical temple. If we are praying today, we
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certainly do not say God, please hear me for thy servant David.
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No, the political entity of David's Kingdom has been gone
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for millennia. So how does this ancient,
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localized plea translate to the daily lives and prayers of
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people living thousands of years later in a completely different
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context? This raises A vital principle
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about how we read and interpret the Old Testament.
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We must look past the immediate historical application to see
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the eternal theological mechanism at work.
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OK, unpack that for us. Pleading for David's sake is a
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direct, unmistakable foreshadowing of the role of the
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mediator. When the Israelites prayed this
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way, they were urging God to show mercy, not because they,
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the citizens, had a pristine moral record.
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Or because their national economy was thriving.
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Or because they had performed A sufficient number of religious
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rituals. They were asking for mercy
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solely based on God's delight in the United King.
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Hid behind their representative. This completely obliterates any
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notion of human works owning divine favor.
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In the Christian framework, the sole basis for a believer being
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heard by the Creator of the universe is the perfect standing
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of the Anointed One, Christ. When a Christian prays in Jesus
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name, they're doing precisely what the Israelites did when
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they prayed for David's sake. But on an eternal cosmic scale,
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yeah. Training in Jesus name is not a
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magical phrase tacked onto the end of a prayer to ensure it
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gets delivered. It is a declaration of
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bankruptcy. You are explicitly telling the
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father not to turn away your face because you are presenting
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the flawless face of his son. Furthermore, this section of the
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Psalm highlights the concept of holy vestments.
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The prayer asks that the priests be closed in righteousness.
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In the ancient temple service, the priests wore elaborate,
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highly specific linen garments mandated by the Levitical law.
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These garments were designed for glory and beauty.
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But the psalmist recognizes that the physical fabric, no matter
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how finely woven or expensive, is absolutely meaningless if it
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is not matched by moral purity. To be clothed in righteousness
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means that their outward character completely matches
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their inward calling. Whoever looks upon God's
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ministers should see holiness above all else else.
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This collective prayer sets the stage for a massive shift in the
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Psalm. Right up to this point, humanity
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has been doing all the talking. They've been making vows,
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searching the woods, gathering together and pleading for mercy.
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But in verse 11, the entire dialogue flips.
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The dialogue flips and the text just explodes with divine
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authority. This brings us to verses 11
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through 14. The people have made their
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requests, they've pleaded the merits of their king, and now
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the sovereign God answers them. He does not just give a passing
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nod of approval, he answers with an oath.
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The text reads, The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, He
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will not turn from it. Of the fruit of thy body will I
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set upon thy throne. This is a staggering response.
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The people ask God to remember David, and God replies by
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revealing that he has bound himself by an unbreakable oath.
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He swears by his own truth, meaning he stakes his very
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character on this promise. Now God does mention a
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conditionality for the earthly descendants of David.
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God says, if thy children will keep my covenant and my
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testimony, that I shall teach them, their children shall also
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sit upon thy throne forevermore. Historically, we know how that
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played out. The earthly kings failed
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miserably. Psalm fell into horrific
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idolatry, introducing foreign gods to the nation.
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Subsequent kings engaged in widespread corruption, injustice
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and violence. Which eventually split the
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Kingdom in half and LED directly to the brutal Babylonian exile.
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The earthly throne was completely shattered.
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But the divine oath remained entirely intact because it was
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always pointing past the flawed human kings toward a flawless
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King Jesus Christ, who perfectly kept the covenant.
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Then we get to verse 13, which shifts the focus from the person
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of the king to the location of the Kingdom.
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The text says, For the Lord hath chosen Zion, he hath desired it
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for his habitation. Here's where the history gets
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incredibly interesting, because Zion was originally just a
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Jebusite stronghold. There's a Pagan fortress sitting
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on a steep hill. When David first went to conquer
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it, the Jebusites actually taunted him, shouting down from
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the walls that even their blind and lame citizens could
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successfully defend the city against his army.
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It is like looking at a hostile, heavily fortified enemy bunker
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and declaring this specific spot is going to be my eternal,
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glorious palace. Why would God choose Zion?
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Out of all the magnificent mountains, lush valleys and
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historically established cities in the ancient world, why pick
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this specific piece of violently contested Pagan real estate?
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The choice of Zion gives us a perfect, crystal clear window
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into the mechanics of sovereign election.
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Which is a cornerstone of reformed theology.
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God did not choose Zion because it possessed any inherent worth,
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majestic booty, or overwhelming strategic value compared to the
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great sprawling empires of Egypt or Babylon.
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It was, as you described, A Pagan Jebusite Fort sitting on a
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rocky outcropping. The choice originated entirely
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and exclusively in God's independent will.
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The text is unambiguous. He has desired it for his
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habitation. That sovereign desire is the
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sole cause of Zion's elevation. God did not look down and see a
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city that was uniquely holy and decide to reward it.
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He decided to make it holy by placing his presence there.
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The theological application for the listener is striking, and it
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strikes right at the heart of human tribe.
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Divine grace does not seek out the worthy, it makes worthy
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those whom it seeks. Just as God looked at a Pagan
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fortress filled with hostile enemies and declared it holy
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through his presence, God looks at spiritually hostile ruined
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human beings and declares them to be his dwelling place.
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He elects a people not because of their moral superiority,
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their intellectual capability, or their intrinsic value.
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But simply because He sovereignly desires to set his
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love upon them. He chooses the foolish things of
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the world to confound the wise. And the guarantee of this choice
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is absolute. In verse 14 God says of Zion,
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This is my rest forever, here will I dwell, for I have
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desired. It this guarantees the perpetual
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security of his people. God is not a restless wanderer
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who will abandoned his chosen dwelling place when the
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inhabitants failed to live up to perfection.
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Even though the physical city of Jerusalem was later burned to
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the ground by the Babylonians and eventually destroyed by the
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Romans in 8070, the spiritual reality of Zion remains God's
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eternal rest. The Church.
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The Global Assembly of the Redeemed.
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He finds deep, abiding contentment in the people he has
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redeemed through the blood of his son.
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The heart of deity is filled with perfect content in Christ
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and therefore God is satisfied with His people, world without
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end. So true.
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If God has chosen this place as His eternal home, and if He has
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declared that He is resting there forever, that prompts a
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very practical question for anyone living in that city.
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What does life actually look like inside that house?
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That brings us to verses 15 and 16, where we see what we can
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call the upgraded feast. God outlines a series of massive
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promises to the inhabitants of Zion.
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He says, I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy
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her poor with bread, I will also clothe her priests with
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salvation, and her Saints shall shout aloud for joy.
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Now I want to zero in on a fascinating discrepancy here.
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Yeah, let us think back to verse 9.
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The people offered a very specific prayer.
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They asked for the priests to be clothed with righteousness.
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But down here in verse 16, God answers that specific prayer by
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saying I will clothe her priests with salvation.
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The people asked for one thing, and God actually gave them a
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massive, comprehensive upgrade. They asked for righteousness,
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which is an incredible request. But God replies with salvation,
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which seems to blow the doors completely off their original
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prayer. It is like asking for a glass of
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water and being handed the keys to the city reservoir.
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That upgrade is a perfect illustration of how God operates
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within the covenant of grace. The Apostle Paul talks about a
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God who consistently gives exceedingly abundantly above all
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that we ask or even think. The people prayed for
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righteousness, which is 1 vital specific aspect of the divine
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blessing. Righteousness deals primarily
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with the legal standing of being right before the law, what
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theologians call justification. Is the judge banging the gavel
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and declaring the defendant not guilty because the penalty has
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been paid? But God answers with salvation,
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which is the total comprehensive package.
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Salvation encompasses the entirety of Deliverance.
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It includes justification, yes, but it also includes
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sanctification. Which is the lifelong, ongoing
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process of being made practically holy, like a patient
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being healed in a hospital. And it culminates in
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glorification, which is the final physical resurrection of
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the body, free from the presence of sin forever.
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God does not just give His ministers a clean legal record,
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He closed them in a total victorious eternal rescue.
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We also need to look closely at the promise regarding the poor.
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God says He will satisfy her poor with bread.
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In the context of Zion, this is not just referring to physical
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food, though God certainly cares for the physical material needs
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of His people and commands the church to do the same.
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It points directly toward the spiritual manna, the bread of
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life. Human beings are born with a
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deep, gnawing spiritual hunger that all the wealth, status,
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political power and entertainment in the world
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cannot possibly satisfy. We try to fill that void with
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money, relationships or career success, but it never works.
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Nothing but Christ can satisfy the human soul.
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God promises that in His house the spiritually poor, those who
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recognize their utter bankruptcy, those who know they
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have nothing to offer, will be filled to the absolute brim.
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And the result of all this abundant provision and
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comprehensive salvation is pure, unadulterated joy.
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The text says the Saints shall shout aloud for joy.
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Spurgeon adds some excellent historical context here that
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challenges our modern sensibilities.
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In Eastern cultures, joy is not a quiet internal feeling that
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you keep to yourself. It is loud, enthusiastic and
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completely unrestrained. It involves physical movement,
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vocal volume, and public declaration.
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This completely contrasts with the quiet, highly reserved, and
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incredibly stoic worship some might expect or demand in a
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formal religious setting. When God dwells with his people,
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when he feeds them with the bread of life and close them in
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complete salvation, the natural, inevitable response is a booming
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vocal celebration. That cannot be contained by
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traditional decorum. The people inside the city are
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fed with the bread of life, they are clothed in total salvation,
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and they are shouting with loud Eastern enthusiasm.
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It sounds like a non-stop festival.
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But a Kingdom is not just about internal feasting and
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celebration. It is also about external
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security. A city with plenty of food but
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weak walls is just a target. What about the kingdom's defense
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against outside threats? This leads us to our final
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section, verses 17 and 18. Where God addresses the King's
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legacy direct with the highly specific imagery of the budding
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horn and the flourishing crown. God promises there will I make
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the horn of David to bud I have ordained a lamp from mine
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anointed his enemies will I clothe with shame, But upon
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himself shall his crown flourish.
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Now I have to stop and ask about this phrasing because it catches
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the modern ear, is very strained, almost contradictory.
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A crown is typically made of metal, gold, silver, bronze,
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usually covered in precious jewels, right?
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How can a solid metal object flourish?
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Plants flourish. Trees flourish.
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Living biological organisms flourish.
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But metal does not grow, it does not bud, and it certainly does
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not flourish. What is going on with this
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specific, seemingly contradictory imagery?
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To decode that specific imagery, we have to step back into the
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world of antiquity and understand how victory was
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celebrated. OK, lay it on us.
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In the ancient world, victor's in massive military battles or
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in the prestigious athletic games were not typically crowned
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with gold or silver. They were crowned with
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vegetative wreaths woven from Laurel, olive branches or Ivy.
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These earthly crowns were highly coveted symbols of massive
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achievement in public glory, but they had a fatal, unavoidable
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flaw. Because they were biological
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matter, cut off from their source, they would quickly
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wither, turn brown and crumble into dust.
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The glory was incredibly temporary.
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The athlete would win the race, wear the crown, and a week later
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the crown was dead foliage. But God is promising a crown for
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his anointed that completely defies the laws of nature.
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He is promising A vegetative crown of victory that retains
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its fresh green vitality forever.
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It will never wither, never turn brown, and never lose its glory.
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It is a vivid, beautiful picture of a Kingdom that is perpetually
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fresh, constantly expanding, and totally immune to decay.
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We see a similarly striking biological metaphor in the
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phrase the horn of David to Bud. In the Natural History of the
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Middle Eastern region, the most potent, recognizable symbol of
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strength and dominance was the horn of a stag.
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A stag's antlers grow with astonishing, almost unbelievable
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speed. During the rapid growth phase,
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they are covered in a soft velvet.
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And the blood flow is so massive and rapid that if you were to
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touch the growing antler, it would feel burning hot to the
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touch. It represents a massive,
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unparalleled concentration of biological strength and rapid,
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unstoppable development. God is using this vivid natural
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phenomenon to guarantee that the strength of the anointed 1, the
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Messiah, will grow unstoppably and with burning intensity
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while. The Kingdom of Christ expands
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with this burning, vital strength.
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All his enemies will be dealt with decisively and publicly.
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The text says his enemies will be closed with shame.
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Notice the contrast here. Just as the priests are visibly
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wrapped in salvation, making their deliverance obvious to
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everyone, the enemies of God will be visibly wrapped in their
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own defeat. Their shame will be inescapable,
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covering them completely like a garment, leaving the anointed
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king to reign over the entire cosmos with an internally green,
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perpetually flourishing crown. That is just beautiful.
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That brings our ascent through this incredible song to its
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peak. We have traveled a massive steep
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distance today. We really have.
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We started all the way down in the valley with a mortal King's
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anxious, sleepless vow, driven by an intense, consuming desire
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to restore Orthodox worship. We followed the historical
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search party into the dark, neglected woods of Kirjeth Jerem
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to recover a terrifying radioactive artifact that the
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nation had ignored for decades. We listened as the gathered
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people offered an audacious communal prayer, pleading the
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merits of their anointed representative rather than their
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own flawed records. And finally, we stood at the
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summit as the Sovereign God himself broke into the song.
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Issuing A staggering, unbreakable oaths, eternal
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provision, complete salvation and unstoppable flourishing
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victory for his chosen 1. Before we sign off, I want to
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leave you with a final thought to ponder as you go about your
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week. We have spent this whole time
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talking about a physical arc made of wood and gold, a
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physical temple made of cedar and stone, and an ancient city
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sitting on a Rocky Hill in the Middle East.
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But consider this theological reality under the New Covenant,
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that physical building is entirely gone.
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The wooden chest is lost to. You, the listener, the believer,
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are the living stones of the new temple.
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If God was this zealous to fiercely protect, abundantly
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blessed, and permanently dwell upon a wooden chest and a stone
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building. How much more zealous is he to
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dwell within, protect and completely satisfy the living,
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grieving people he has chosen as His eternal rest?
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Think about what it means to be the actual living footstool of
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that kind of grace. It changes everything.
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Thank you for joining Reform Thinking for this deep dive into
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the sources. We will see you next time.