Latest / Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons / "The Davidic Covenant" (2 Samuel 7) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

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"The Davidic Covenant" (2 Samuel 7) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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This is a bit of a long chapter, but I think
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in order to really understand it, we really need
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to read all of it. So I'm going to read 2 Samuel
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7, and I ask that you would give special attention
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to this reading of God's holy word. Now, when
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the king lived in his house, and the Lord had
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given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,
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the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now,
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I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God
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dwells in a tent. And Nathan said to the king,
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go do all that is in your heart, for the Lord
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is with you. But that same night, the word of
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the Lord came to Nathan. go and tell my servant
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David thus says the Lord would you build me a
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house to dwell in I have not lived in a house
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since the day I brought up the people of Israel
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from Egypt to this day but I've been moving about
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in a tent for my dwelling in all places where
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I have moved with all the people of Israel did
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I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel
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whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel
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saying why have you not built me a house of cedar
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Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant
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David thus says the Lord of hosts I took you
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from the pasture From following the sheep that
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you should be prince over my people Israel and
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I have been with you wherever you went and have
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cut off all your enemies from before you and
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I will make for you a great name like the name
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of the great ones of the earth and I will appoint
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a place for my people Israel and will plant them
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so that they may dwell in their own place and
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be disturbed no more and violent men shall afflict
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them no more as formerly from the time that I
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appointed judges over my people Israel and I
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will give you rest from all your enemies moreover
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the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make
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you a house when your days are fulfilled and
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you lie down with your fathers I will raise up
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your offspring after you, who shall come from
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your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
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He shall build a house for my name, and I will
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establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
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I will be to him a father, and he shall be to
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me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline
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him with the rod of men, with the stripes of
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the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not
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depart from him. as I took it from Saul whom
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I put away from you from before you and your
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house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever
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before me your throne shall be established forever
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in accordance with all these words and in accordance
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with all this vision Nathan spoke to David then
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King David went in and sat before the Lord and
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said who am I oh Lord God and what is my house
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that you've brought me thus far And yet, this
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was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You
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have spoken also of your servant's house for
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a great while to come. And this is instruction
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for mankind, O Lord God. And what more can David
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say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord
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God, because of your promise. And according to
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your own heart, you have brought about all this
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greatness to make your servant know it. Therefore,
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you are great, O Lord God. for there is none
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like you there is no god besides you according
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to all that we've heard with our ears and who
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is like your people Israel the one nation on
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earth whom God went to redeem to be his people
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making himself a name and doing for them great
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and awesome things by driving out before your
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people whom you redeem for yourself from Egypt
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a nation and its gods and you established for
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yourself your people Israel to be your people
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forever and you oh lord became their god and
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now oh lord god confirm forever the word that
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you've spoken concerning your servant and concerning
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this house and do as you have spoken your name
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will be magnified forever saying the lord of
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hosts is god over israel and the house of your
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servant david will be established before you
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for you oh lord of hosts the god of israel have
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made this revelation to your servant saying will
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build you as a house I will bid you build you
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a house therefore your servant has found courage
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to pray this prayer to you and now Oh Lord God
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your God and your words are true and you've promised
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this good thing to your servant now therefore
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may it please you to bless the house of your
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servant so that it may continue forever before
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you for you Oh Lord God have spoken And with
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your blessing shall the house of your servant
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be blessed forever. This is God's holy and inspired
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word. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we thank
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you for a trustworthy word from you. And we ask
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as we look at this text that you would strengthen
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our faith, Lord, and that if there be any within
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the sanctuary who do not know you, that they
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would know you. God who keeps his promises seen
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most clearly in the promise of your son who came
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To die for our sins grant us understanding by
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your spirit. We pray in Christ's name amen Within
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the fellowship Sunday school class that many
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of you are in we've been looking at the doctrine
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of God's providence Providence of God. That God
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is really intimately involved in every single
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moment of our lives. That God is governing. That
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God is sustaining. That God is providing. And
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yet, if you're like me, many times you wonder,
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what is God doing right now? What is God up to
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in my life? Because it's sometimes difficult
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to see. Theologians have talked about providence
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and how you read it backwards. You can sometimes,
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because of God's kindness, look back and see
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what God was doing. John Flavel, who was a Puritan
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writer, he said, the providence of God is like
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Hebrew words. It can only be read backwards.
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Have you had a moment? or moments in your life
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where you were going through something and you
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weren't sure why. You weren't sure what God was
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doing. But later on, after time passes, you were
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able to look back and see perhaps what he was
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doing. I had a moment like this that stands out.
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Years ago, when I was the part -time youth director
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here and living in the house right there, many
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of you knew and many of you were supporting me
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as I was raising money. to go on the mission
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field, to go to Bulgaria. And yet, as I was raising
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money for this mission, to go for two years,
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the money wasn't coming in as fast as I would
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have liked. And there were many missionaries
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who were left for the field, and they were talking
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to me and being like, hey, this is so great.
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It's amazing what God is doing. Can't wait for
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you to get to Bulgaria. Let us know. And it was
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taking months. And then over a year of raising
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money, and I thought, Lord, what are you doing?
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You've called me to this thing. Why am I not
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there making disciples in Bulgaria? And then
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right about the time the money started coming
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in, I met a pretty young doctor, a pediatrician
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who had moved to Greenville to do residency.
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And you know the story after that. But one day,
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right before I went to Bulgaria, because I still
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went. I was sitting with my grandmother at her
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kitchen table and she said, you know Kenny, if
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you had left when you wanted to, you would not
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have met Brittany. True words. Have you had a
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moment like that? Where you were going through
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something, you're crying out to God for help,
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you weren't seeing what he was doing, but later
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on you're able to reflect back and see that.
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within our text today, we see providence at its
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best. There are multiple levels of prophecy coming
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to fruition in this text or from this text. There
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is an immediate future that we see fulfilled
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within 2 Samuel 7. We see this promise by God
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to build a house for the ark, to build a house
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for God. But David's not the one who does that.
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We see that the immediate fulfillment of the
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prophecy is actually in David's son, Solomon.
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But it goes beyond that, for the ultimate fulfillment
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of this text is in David's greater son. It's
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in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so
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this text here has implications for you today.
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The way that I want to look at this now is I
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think you can split this text up into two big
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parts. So firstly, we're going to look at God's
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promise. And secondly, we're going to look at
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David's prayer. So promise and prayer today.
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When I use the word promise here, I'm using it
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as a synonym for covenant. This text, Second
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Samuel chapter seven, has been called the Davidic
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covenant. You might say, well, what's a covenant?
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Let's start with the basics here. What's a covenant?
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It's an agreement. Right? And agreement sometimes
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between two or more people. You remember David
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and Jonathan making a covenant together. But
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oftentimes in Scripture we have a covenant that's
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made between God and a person, or God and persons.
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And really when we start to look at the overall
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story of Scripture, we realize that it's told
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in covenants. It is covenants that are promised
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through individuals within Scripture. We can
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see the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant,
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and this Davidic covenant. And when you start
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to realize this, you see that there is a great
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framework to Scripture, that there's unity in
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Scripture. And while these are separate covenants
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through these separate people, they're really
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communicating the same thing. The same great
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thing is communicated in these covenants of Scripture,
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and that thing is redemption. That thing is grace.
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They are lumped together in the covenant of grace.
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And that covenant of grace has its beginnings
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in Genesis 3 15. We know what happens in Genesis
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3, right? Abba and Eve, they fall into sin. What
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does God do immediately after that? The promise
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of a redeemer, the promise of redemption, the
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promise of Christ who shall come and stomp on
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the head. And so you see that covenant weaved
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throughout scripture right into our text today.
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Look at the text. You can see how it begins here.
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After all the battles that David has been fighting
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with the Israelites, finally they get a breather.
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They get respite from these battles. And during
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this time of a break, David has this grand idea.
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I'm going to make a house for the ark of the
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covenant. I'm going to make a house for God.
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David has his own place. Why not the ark? And
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so he tells this to Nathan. What does Nathan
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say? He says, in effect, yeah, go for it. Do
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it. But when we keep reading, we see this is
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not Nathan's best counsel. And so the Lord speaks
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through Nathan to David. to give a counter offer.
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David, don't go making me a house. I'm gonna
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make you a house. But you might say, well, David
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already has a house, according to verse one.
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No, it's going beyond bricks. It's going beyond
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stones. What he's talking about, what the Lord
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is talking about through Nathan to David is to
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say, I'm gonna make you a kingdom, David. I'm
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gonna make you a dynasty. And this word that
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he speaks has past, present, and future elements
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to it. You see the past here in verse eight.
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Again, through Nathan, the Lord reminds David
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of where he has come from. I took you from the
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pasture. I took you from the sheep. I took you
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to be the prince over my people, Israel. So the
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Lord reminds David of his humble beginnings.
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Again. Providence. David can look back and see
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these things. But there's also a present element
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to this. The Lord reminds David how he as king
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is able to be successful. Look in verse 9. And
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I've been with you wherever you went and have
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cut off all your enemies from before you. The
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Lord tells David why he's been successful. And
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it's not because David is a great warrior. It's
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not because David has great abilities, right?
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The Lord is saying, I did this throughout this
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text. You can see numerous times where the Lord
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says, I did this, I do this, I will do this.
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The Lord is telling David, and by extension us
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as well, that God is at work. And he's at work
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in the life of David. He's at work in the lives
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of the people of Israel. It's very reminiscent
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of Psalm 127. Part of Psalm 127 says, unless
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the Lord watches over the city, the watchman
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stays awake in vain. The Lord is telling David,
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I'm watching over you and I'm directing all things.
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But there's also a future element to this. The
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Lord tells David here that it's not just that
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David's going to be prosperous, but that he is
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going to have a kingdom that will never fail.
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So this clearly goes beyond David. And this clearly
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goes beyond Solomon. What this text is doing
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is pointing us all the way to God's son, his
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only begotten one, Jesus Christ. Still, there
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is the promise of an actual house for the Lord.
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It's just not built by David. Solomon is the
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one who will do this. But Solomon was not the
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forever king. If you really start to look at
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the text, you see this word forever or a word
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that is similar to it eight different times within
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the text. Three times something like forever
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is used by the Lord. Five times it's used by
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David. David. And so what's happening here is
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the Lord is reminding David and us of prior promises.
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What this is doing is picking up the Abrahamic
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covenant and running with it. If you remember
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these words from Genesis chapter 12 verse 2,
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and I will make of you a great nation and I will
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bless you. and make your name great so that you
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will be a blessing. What the Davidic covenant
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is doing is picking up the Abrahamic covenant
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and running with it. And this is how the covenant
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of grace works. The Lord reminds us of his past
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workings and his faithfulness and his promises,
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and this forms the foundation, the basis for
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our capability of being able to trust God. The
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Lord who has done all things, who is at work
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in every single way is saying, look back and
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see my promises and see how I have fulfilled
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them. So we as Christians on this side of the
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cross, on this side of the resurrection of Christ
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can look back in scripture and say, God was faithful
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here and here and here and here. such that the
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things that are still to be fulfilled, we can
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trust in those. Things like the return of Christ,
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you can trust in the return of Christ because
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Christ has come before. Or you can trust in the
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resurrection of the dead because Christ has been
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resurrected. You can trust in the promises of
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the new heavens and the new earth because God
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has been faithful with all of these things. And
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still, You might be sitting here in the sanctuary
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saying, I still struggle to trust God sometimes.
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I still struggle with my faith. Friends, if you
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are struggling with your faith, if you're struggling
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to believe what is here, look back on these promises
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and see how God fulfills them. Because what God
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does in cutting this covenant is he takes the
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focus off of the covenant breakers and he puts
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the focus upon the covenant keeper. God takes
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our focus and puts it on the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And this is so true, and I believe the Holy Spirit
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wants you to get this, that this passage that
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we look at is quoted, referenced, or alluded
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to at least 40 times in Scripture. If you keep
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this word in your minds and you read other parts
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of scripture, there's a good chance you're going
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to see this again. Look at Psalm 89. Psalm 89
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2 through 4. I'm going to read this and listen,
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see if this sounds familiar to you. Psalm 89
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2 through 4. For I said steadfast love will be
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built up forever in the heavens. You will establish
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your faithfulness You have said I have made a
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covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to
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David my servant I will establish your offspring
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forever and Build your throne for all generations
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and that Psalms not even written by David What
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about another one? Psalm 132, Psalm 132 verse
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11. The Lord swore to David a sure oath from
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which he will not turn back. One of the sons
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of your body I will set on your throne. Now you
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might say, well, that's Old Testament stuff.
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What about the New Testament? Does the New Testament
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use this text in any way? Absolutely, it does.
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Hebrews chapter 1 verse 5, and friends, this
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is a direct quotation of our passage today. Hebrews
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1 verse 5, just a portion of this, the quoted
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part, I will be to him a father and he shall
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be to me a son. And so you see, As you look at
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2 Samuel chapter 7, the ultimate fulfillment
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of this passage is found in Christ alone. Christ
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is the only one whose reign could be characterized
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as a forever reign. But notice David doesn't
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just receive this as pious information. David
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doesn't just say, okay, Nathan, thanks for telling
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me that. I'm good here. No, Nathan takes this
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to heart. Look at. Look at the second half of
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this text here. Look at verse 18, because what
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I want you to see is that David now prays and
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he does so with praises and with faith. Verse
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18, David says, Who am I, O Lord God? And what
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is my house that you brought me thus far? Who
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am I? Doesn't this sound like Psalm eight? where
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the psalmist says, what is man that you are mindful
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of him and the son of man that you care for him?
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David takes this word to heart. He remembers
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his humble beginnings. He's astounded by the
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Lord's kindness. David does not within his prayer
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say, well, of course, Lord, of course you're
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doing this for me. I'm a great warrior. I'm the
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one who took down Goliath after all, right? David
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doesn't do that. He doesn't comment on his own
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abilities. He comments on what the Lord is doing,
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and he praises God for it. He recognizes God's
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grace. Look in verses 22 and 23. Therefore you
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are great, O Lord God. There is none like you.
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There's no God like you. But also David recognizes
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that the kindness of the Lord here goes beyond
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just to David. Look in verse 19. This is a small
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thing in your eyes. Oh Lord God You have spoken
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also of your servants house for a while to come.
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This is instruction for mankind Now commentators
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and different Bibles will translate this a little
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bit differently Instruction for mankind, but
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either way, however, it's spliced I think we
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can definitely say this David realizes this word
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for the from the Lord It's gonna affect people
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forever that it's not just directed to David,
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it's instruction for mankind. But also notice
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not just what David prays, but notice how God,
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how David prays. He does so with faith, and he
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acknowledges the greatness and the transcendence
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of God. He acknowledges the sovereignty of God,
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the past workings of God, and following a section
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in which David has been leading in worship. He
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keeps the praise going. You remember in chapter
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six how that ends. David's dancing, but he keeps
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that praise of God going within this prayer.
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How does he do that? How can we praise God in
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our prayers? Well, one thing we can definitely
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say, David believes this word. Look at verses
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28 and 29. And now, O Lord God, you are God and
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your words are true. You have promised this good
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thing to your servant. How can David praise God
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like this? It's because he believes this. And
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we must believe it too. When the Lord speaks,
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we must listen and believe. When God shares through
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his word the covenant of grace and its finality
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in Christ, we must believe that. especially children
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today, children who are, you're still working
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through these things, you're still understanding
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the Bible, I want you to look to Christ. And
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I want you to know that God gives us a sure word
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that is for you. And you can trust the words
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of God found in the Bible. You can trust that
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Jesus really shed his blood for you. Want to
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take you to one more place in Scripture as I
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begin to conclude if you will turn to 2nd Corinthians
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1 2nd Corinthians 1 19 through 22 I Want you
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to see from this that all of the promises of
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God They have their yes and their amen in Jesus
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So within 2nd Corinthians chapter 1 Paul writes
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to the church at Corinth and says to them There's
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been a change of plans But he says I'm not fickle
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about this I'm not waffling back and forth on
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whether or not I should come to you and he relates
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this to the trustworthy word of God 2nd Corinthians
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1 19 through 21 22 for the son of God Jesus Christ
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whom we proclaimed among you Silvanus and Timothy
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and I was not yes and no, but in him it is always
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yes. For all of the promises of God find their
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yes in him. That is why it is through him that
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we utter our amen to God for his glory. It is
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God who establishes us with you in Christ and
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has anointed us and who has also put his seal
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on us and given us his spirit in our hearts.
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as a guarantee. The promises of God cannot, will
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not be broken. You, they are sealed by the Holy
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Spirit. You who are in Christ, your sins have
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been paid for and you have a sure word from the
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Lord and the Holy Spirit claims you for himself.
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But if I can give you some practical application.
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If you're still struggling. to trust in the word
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of God. You say, there's distractions all around
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me. I have a hard time trusting in God because
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I have people telling me to trust in myself.
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You have culture saying, trust in yourself, trust
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in man, trust in government, trust in technology,
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trust in whatever you want. No. God's word is
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a sure word, and you can trust in this. And so
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how do we do it? Go back to that second Samuel
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7 passage. Look at verse 25. If you're struggling
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to trust God, take this prayer of David and pray
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it back to God, Dear Lord, confirm this word
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to me. Help me to trust it. And as you pray that
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prayer, do so with faith and with gratitude and
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keep those praises going because we have a God
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who always, always, always keeps his promises.
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Let's pray.