David's Exemplary Prayer (1 Chronicles 29)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:07.990 We conclude first chronicles this evening with chapter twenty nine. I have no real 2 00:00:08.070 --> 00:00:12.109 authority to say this, but I wonder if this might be one of the 3 00:00:12.789 --> 00:00:18.149 greatest but most neglected chapters in the Bible. There are so many wonderful things 4 00:00:18.230 --> 00:00:22.500 here in this chapter that I wonder if so many Christians seem to have not 5 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:27.300 even read it. But here it is, right in the middle of chronicles, 6 00:00:27.379 --> 00:00:32.179 and and so excellent and good for us this evening we have given to 7 00:00:32.340 --> 00:00:39.929 us it's great example of piety and this great testimony to the God of David. 8 00:00:41.250 --> 00:00:45.409 So let me read it to you this chapter tonight from First Chronicles Again, 9 00:00:45.450 --> 00:00:52.840 Chapter Twenty Nine, and let's give our attention to God's word. And 10 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:58.399 David the king, said to all the Assembly Solomon, my son, whom 11 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:03.479 God has chose alone, has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the 12 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:08.189 work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for Jehovah, 13 00:01:08.269 --> 00:01:12.870 God. So I have provided for the House of my God so far 14 00:01:12.909 --> 00:01:18.230 as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver 15 00:01:18.349 --> 00:01:22.219 for the things of silver and the bronze for the things of Braun bronze, 16 00:01:22.620 --> 00:01:25.659 the iron for the things of iron and wood for the things of wood, 17 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:32.890 besides, great quantities of Onyx and owns for setting antimony colored stones, all 18 00:01:33.049 --> 00:01:38.329 sorts of precious stones and marble. Moreover, in addition to all that I 19 00:01:38.409 --> 00:01:42.849 have provided for the Holy House, I have a treasure of my own of 20 00:01:42.010 --> 00:01:47.239 gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the House of my God, 21 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:51.319 I give it to the House of my God. Three thousand talents of 22 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:56.040 gold, of the gold of O fear, and seven thousand talents of refined 23 00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:00.560 silver for overlaying the walls of the house and for all the work to be 24 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:04.430 done by the craftsmen. Gold for the things of gold and silver for the 25 00:02:04.549 --> 00:02:09.669 things of silver. Who, then, will offer willingly, consecrating himself today 26 00:02:10.150 --> 00:02:16.860 to Jehovah? Then the leaders of the father's houses made their free will offerings, 27 00:02:17.259 --> 00:02:21.900 as did the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of 28 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:25.979 hundreds and the officers over the king's work. They gave for the service of 29 00:02:27.020 --> 00:02:32.210 the House of God, five thousand talents and Tenzero derecks of gold, tenzero 30 00:02:32.569 --> 00:02:38.090 talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of 31 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:44.009 iron. And whoever had precious stones, gave them to the Treasury of the 32 00:02:44.090 --> 00:02:49.560 House of Jehovah and the care of Jehiel, the Garret Gershenite. Then the 33 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:54.599 people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart. They 34 00:02:54.599 --> 00:03:00.990 had offered freely to Jehovah. David, the king, also rejoiced greatly. 35 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:07.349 Therefore, David Blessed Jehovah in the presence of all the assembly, and David 36 00:03:07.509 --> 00:03:13.379 said, blessed are you, Oh Jehovah, the God of Israel, our 37 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:17.539 father forever and ever. Yours, Oh Jehovah, is the greatness and the 38 00:03:17.699 --> 00:03:23.300 power and the glory and the victory and the Majesty, For all that is 39 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:28.169 in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the Kingdom of 40 00:03:28.289 --> 00:03:34.050 God, Oh Jehovah, and you are Exalted as head above all. Both 41 00:03:34.169 --> 00:03:38.810 riches and honor come from you and you rule over all. In your hand 42 00:03:38.930 --> 00:03:43.759 our power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and 43 00:03:43.960 --> 00:03:47.199 to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, 44 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:53.919 and praise your glorious name. But who am I and what is my people 45 00:03:54.039 --> 00:03:59.870 that we should be able? US to offer willingly, for all things come 46 00:04:00.030 --> 00:04:04.629 from you and of your own have we given you? For we are strangers 47 00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:10.620 before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the 48 00:04:10.740 --> 00:04:15.060 Earth are like a shadow and there is no abiding. Oh Jehovah, our 49 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:20.139 God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for 50 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:27.290 your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. I know, 51 00:04:27.490 --> 00:04:30.290 my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure and uprightness. 52 00:04:30.810 --> 00:04:35.250 In the uprightness of my heart. I have freely offered all these things, 53 00:04:35.930 --> 00:04:41.199 and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely 54 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:46.360 and joyously to you. Oh Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and 55 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:51.949 Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of 56 00:04:53.029 --> 00:04:58.709 your people and direct their hearts toward you. Grant to Solomon, my son, 57 00:04:58.910 --> 00:05:02.230 a whole heart that he may keep your commandments, your testimonies and your 58 00:05:02.269 --> 00:05:08.699 statutes performing all that he may build the palace for which I have made provision. 59 00:05:11.259 --> 00:05:14.620 Then David said to all the Assembly, Blessed Jehovah, your God, 60 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:19.060 and all the Assembly Blessed Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and bowed 61 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:25.610 their heads and paid homage to Jehovah and to the king, and they offered 62 00:05:25.649 --> 00:05:30.370 sacrifices to Jehovah and on the next day offered burnt offerings to Jehovah, a 63 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:35.639 thousand bulls, one thousand rams and one thousand lambs, with their drink, 64 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:42.399 offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. And they ate and they drank 65 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:47.680 before Jehovah on that day with great gladness. And they made Solomon, the 66 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:51.750 son of David, King the second time, and they anointed him as Prince 67 00:05:51.910 --> 00:05:58.430 for Jehovah and Zadok as priest. Then Solomon Sat on the throne of Jehovah 68 00:05:59.110 --> 00:06:03.420 as King in place of David, his father, and he prospered and all 69 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:09.379 Israel obeyed him. All the leaders and the mighty men and all also all 70 00:06:09.459 --> 00:06:14.620 the sons of King David, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. And Jehovah 71 00:06:14.660 --> 00:06:18.209 Made Solomon Very Great and all the sight of Israel and bestowed on him with 72 00:06:18.370 --> 00:06:24.569 such royal magics, or bestowed on him such Royal Majesty as had not been 73 00:06:24.850 --> 00:06:29.689 on any king before him in Israel. Thus, David the son of Jesse 74 00:06:29.810 --> 00:06:33.279 reigned over all Israel. The time that he reigned over Israel was forty years. 75 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:39.560 He reigned seven years and Hebron and thirty three years in Jerusalem. Then 76 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:43.519 he died at a good age, full of days, riches and honor, 77 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.550 and Solomon, his son, reigned in his place. Now the acts of 78 00:06:47.629 --> 00:06:51.350 King David, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of Samuel 79 00:06:51.470 --> 00:06:55.910 this year, and in the chronicles of Nathan the Prophet, and in the 80 00:06:55.949 --> 00:07:00.310 chronicles of Gad this year, with accounts of all his rule and his might 81 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:04.579 and of the circumstances that came upon him and upon Israel and upon all the 82 00:07:04.660 --> 00:07:11.379 kingdoms of the countries. Sends the Reading of God's word, may He bless 83 00:07:11.459 --> 00:07:19.769 it to us well. Here we read of the great conclusion of David's rule, 84 00:07:20.410 --> 00:07:28.850 quite magnificent and as stirring tribute. I'm if you have ever attended a 85 00:07:29.529 --> 00:07:32.560 retirement ceremony of some sort. This is that sort of thing, only on 86 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:40.079 a very, very grand scale. This is a king, a King handing 87 00:07:40.279 --> 00:07:46.470 over the authority that God had given him to his son. Now there are 88 00:07:46.790 --> 00:07:53.509 non inspired works here that God himself recommends to the people. At the end 89 00:07:53.589 --> 00:07:56.829 of Chapter Twenty Nine, we read that we can go, or at least 90 00:07:56.829 --> 00:08:00.980 people once could, go, to various books and learn about King David and 91 00:08:01.100 --> 00:08:05.420 the various things he did. We don't have these anymore, but the good 92 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:09.180 news is we have the best thing and what's even better, which is God's 93 00:08:09.220 --> 00:08:13.529 inspired word itself, where he tells us of these things and has been telling 94 00:08:13.569 --> 00:08:18.889 us. And what we find here in this chapter is, as I said 95 00:08:18.889 --> 00:08:24.930 before, this great example of piety. We see how the greatest of men, 96 00:08:24.009 --> 00:08:30.720 a godly man, humbles himself for the glory of God and in doing 97 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:35.799 so God has glorified in him and indeed makes him great. There is this 98 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:41.309 great and wonderful interchange that's going on between God and his servant, and it's 99 00:08:41.309 --> 00:08:48.950 all on display, excuse me, in this very grand way. I want 100 00:08:48.990 --> 00:08:54.070 you to imagine it for a moment, as we've done before. David is 101 00:08:54.230 --> 00:08:58.659 called this assembly to himself. You can pick which person you want to play 102 00:08:58.700 --> 00:09:03.460 in the audience, whether you want to be a leader or a commander, 103 00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:07.899 part of the mighty men, maybe some of a servant and David's house, 104 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:13.450 maybe Solomon himself, maybe David. But here you all are, gathered in 105 00:09:13.610 --> 00:09:18.970 this great assembly. As a side note, you we read here at the 106 00:09:18.090 --> 00:09:24.320 end of first chronicles that they made Solomon, the son of David, the 107 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:28.600 king the second time. They anointed him as Prince for Jehovah. You remember 108 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:35.000 that there was something of a controversy and a problem earlier on, not recorded 109 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:43.230 in first chronicles but in the other historical books, where Ad Anisia row rose 110 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:46.389 up and Solomon had to be placed in rule. But all in all the 111 00:09:46.429 --> 00:09:50.110 hurriedness and politics of that event, we don't see that here. Here is 112 00:09:50.149 --> 00:09:56.779 the Grand Ceremony in which Solomon is made king. You have these two great 113 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:01.779 kings, David, after serving all of these years, forty years, his 114 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:07.289 son, this assembly of rulers, this huge face that follows thousands upon thousands 115 00:10:07.289 --> 00:10:11.809 of sacrifices. Have you ever gone out into your neighborhood in the evening? 116 00:10:13.570 --> 00:10:18.929 You Go, I think someone's burning a fire somewhere. I think someone's barbecuing. 117 00:10:20.129 --> 00:10:26.159 Can you imagine what it might smell like to have thousands upon thousands upon 118 00:10:26.360 --> 00:10:31.720 thousands of animals being sacrificed under the Lord? I really can't, but we 119 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.029 can say that it would no matter what that it would be quite grand. 120 00:10:37.029 --> 00:10:39.990 I don't even know how many tables this would require that, the kind of 121 00:10:41.149 --> 00:10:46.870 silverware and plates, how the food would be distributed. But anyway you slice 122 00:10:46.950 --> 00:10:50.299 this, we have a great event going on. All the leaders, all 123 00:10:50.379 --> 00:10:54.139 the nobles, all the Great People in the kingdom gathered in one place, 124 00:10:54.379 --> 00:11:01.139 with David and Solomon rising up over it all. In addition to all these 125 00:11:01.220 --> 00:11:05.330 things, that grandness of the events is found everywhere, in these great expressions 126 00:11:05.370 --> 00:11:07.970 of wealth. Here is the king, at the beginning of the chapter, 127 00:11:09.210 --> 00:11:13.850 saying, because of what God has done, I am freely offering lots and 128 00:11:15.370 --> 00:11:20.840 lots and lots of money, gold and silver and bronze and precious stones and 129 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.159 all the rest to the building of the temple. Just to hear of them 130 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:31.799 speaks of its greatness. But no doubt there would be visible elements of this 131 00:11:31.960 --> 00:11:37.909 as well, sparkling things, piles of treasures, examples of this to be 132 00:11:39.029 --> 00:11:43.590 seen even if it weren't brought out of storehouses. So you have these great 133 00:11:43.629 --> 00:11:50.779 expressions of wealth. You have everywhere these reminders of David's mighty rule, including 134 00:11:50.940 --> 00:11:56.659 these servants who are willingly standing up and saying yes, we give to you 135 00:11:56.940 --> 00:12:01.210 our allegiance and even following after David. So He makes this grand speech at 136 00:12:01.210 --> 00:12:05.450 the beginning he says, I give to the Lord all of these things. 137 00:12:05.889 --> 00:12:11.730 WHO's with me? And then they start pouring out their treasures, giving gold 138 00:12:11.889 --> 00:12:16.240 and silver and all the rest, anything that they can find. They're pouring 139 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:24.279 it out to the Lord. How different this is than so many other collections 140 00:12:24.519 --> 00:12:28.480 that we've seen in history. Sometimes we don't call them collections, we call 141 00:12:28.519 --> 00:12:37.350 it taxation or plundering or theft, all different kinds. I'm not equating all 142 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:39.470 of those together, but I'm just saying there are the other ways in which 143 00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:43.700 money can be gathered, and not all of them very pleasant. But that's 144 00:12:43.740 --> 00:12:48.139 not what we see here. And even the people of God are marveling at 145 00:12:48.220 --> 00:12:52.539 it, aren't they? Notice what David says? We read the in verse 146 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:56.659 nine that the people rejoiced because they had given willingly. They're all looking around 147 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:01.610 it each other going this is fantastic, this is a party. We are 148 00:13:01.649 --> 00:13:05.809 all giving freely with our whole heart. Everyone is in it together. There 149 00:13:05.929 --> 00:13:11.649 is excitement and joy in the Lord. Nobody's being pressured, nobody's being forced, 150 00:13:11.730 --> 00:13:16.759 nobody's having their arm twisted to give something they don't want to give. 151 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:24.159 There is pleasure and willingness for with a whole heart they had offered freely to 152 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:31.629 Jehovah. David, the king, also rejoiced greatly. So we have the 153 00:13:31.909 --> 00:13:39.669 sacrifices and these feasting and food and coronations and wealth everywhere. But, as 154 00:13:39.750 --> 00:13:46.220 we've seen again and again throughout chronicles, even in the middle of the grandest 155 00:13:46.379 --> 00:13:54.700 moments politically speaking, David is always pointing up instead of out and around him. 156 00:13:56.049 --> 00:14:01.049 As wonderful as it is, as amazing and grand as all these things 157 00:14:01.090 --> 00:14:05.450 are around him, the people, the wealth, the ceremonies, and on 158 00:14:05.570 --> 00:14:11.440 and on and on, David always sees something greater, even higher. He 159 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:15.679 sees it in God himself. Of course, David's not discontent. He's not 160 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.799 saying well, I wish I had something more. He has something more. 161 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:24.429 He has the Lord, his God. He knows that he has received all 162 00:14:24.549 --> 00:14:28.990 these from his hands, and you see that in this chapter. You see 163 00:14:30.470 --> 00:14:37.389 David's expression, is expression of this thankfulness. Is Good, how God has 164 00:14:37.470 --> 00:14:41.139 been so good to him. You see it in the whole ways the story 165 00:14:41.299 --> 00:14:46.779 is recorded, but particularly in the prayer itself, and I want to point 166 00:14:46.820 --> 00:14:50.820 this out by going through a number of ways in which David draws our attention 167 00:14:52.460 --> 00:14:58.129 not to him, him and his greatness, though great he is, but 168 00:14:58.250 --> 00:15:03.769 to God, who is infinitely greater, notice all of the ways in which 169 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:07.840 David, in the humbleness of his heart and in the greatness of all that 170 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:13.879 God has given to him, bows his heart down to the Lord, his 171 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:20.080 maker and his God. The first thing we see is God's choice. In 172 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.029 Verse One, David the King said to all the assembly, solemn, my 173 00:15:24.190 --> 00:15:28.149 son, whom God a little, excuse me, who, God alone has 174 00:15:28.269 --> 00:15:33.629 chosen? Now, he goes on to say, is he's young and experience. 175 00:15:33.750 --> 00:15:35.779 The work is great. Help him out, be there for him. 176 00:15:35.820 --> 00:15:41.539 I'm serve him, but it's for the way he begins to describe his son 177 00:15:41.700 --> 00:15:46.779 is by saying that he, that Solomon, is this chosen one, chosen 178 00:15:46.860 --> 00:15:50.809 by God. David isn't saying you need to follow him, because I have 179 00:15:52.009 --> 00:15:54.730 set him over, as king this is my choice and my right, as 180 00:15:54.809 --> 00:16:00.169 king to make this choice. He points to the Lord God. We have 181 00:16:00.289 --> 00:16:07.039 God's choice. We also have God's palace. Throughout first chronicles I've been describing 182 00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:11.720 to you the temple of the Lord as a kind of palace or Throne Room. 183 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:15.519 We saw that last week when the Ark was described as the footstool of 184 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:22.350 the king. Here we have it explicitly described as the palace. The temple 185 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:26.029 is God's Palace. It will not be for man, but it will be 186 00:16:26.190 --> 00:16:30.789 for Jehovah, God. These things, this offering that David gives not doesn't 187 00:16:30.789 --> 00:16:37.980 go to Solomon. The offering that the people give don't go to Solomon. 188 00:16:37.740 --> 00:16:44.059 In other contexts that might make sense. The baton is being passed along, 189 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:48.169 the crown is being passed along. It's time for you people to demonstrate your 190 00:16:48.250 --> 00:16:52.529 loyalty, show Solomon that you are behind him, and I'm while I still 191 00:16:52.570 --> 00:16:56.769 have this authority as king. David might say, I'm going to make sure 192 00:16:56.809 --> 00:17:02.240 this happens. That's not what he says. Instead of devoting all of this 193 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:07.000 to Solomon, it's devoted to the Lord. Solomon is going to put it 194 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:11.160 to use, but it is the Lord's it is his palace, it is 195 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:15.789 his place. After noting these things, let's go over into David's prayer, 196 00:17:17.309 --> 00:17:22.670 this beautiful player at prayer, amazing prayer that is worth hours and hours and 197 00:17:22.869 --> 00:17:29.869 hours and years of your study. David begins by talking about the perfections of 198 00:17:30.099 --> 00:17:33.539 God. He points us to the Lord. By talking about the Lord, 199 00:17:34.500 --> 00:17:40.140 he doesn't describe God in a vague and abstract way. He doesn't think of 200 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:45.089 God is just some sort of higher power or nice therapist in his life. 201 00:17:47.130 --> 00:17:52.170 He describes God as God. Look at first eleven. Yours, Oh Jehovah, 202 00:17:52.210 --> 00:17:57.170 or Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the 203 00:17:57.369 --> 00:18:03.480 victory and the majesty for All that is in the heavens and in the earth 204 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.599 is yours. Yours is the Kingdom, oh Lord, and you are exalted 205 00:18:07.640 --> 00:18:14.630 as head above all. Here we have first God's eternality, in verse eleven, 206 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:18.069 when he says or, I'm sorry, in verse ten, when he 207 00:18:18.190 --> 00:18:22.269 says, blessed are you, the God of Israel, our father forever and 208 00:18:22.430 --> 00:18:27.500 ever. God is not like a rock or a stone which is created. 209 00:18:27.660 --> 00:18:33.579 God lives forever and has always lived. He points to God's greatness. There 210 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:38.180 is nothing greater than God. He points to God's power, who upholds all 211 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:45.849 things, who strengthens all things, his power which is indeed irresistible. He 212 00:18:45.970 --> 00:18:49.089 points us to the glory of God. Everything is unto him, all this 213 00:18:49.250 --> 00:18:56.359 splendor, all this glory. David's own service is for God. He points 214 00:18:56.440 --> 00:19:00.039 not only to his eternity, his greatness, his power, his glory, 215 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:04.000 but to his victory. David's God is a God who wins every battle, 216 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:11.269 and it's a day. It's a truth David knows very well. He also 217 00:19:11.269 --> 00:19:15.549 speaks of His Majesty. All of these things belong to him, though. 218 00:19:15.710 --> 00:19:18.029 Here are two great kings, some of the grit too, of the greatest 219 00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:22.829 kings that have ever lived, the greatest being certainly, that ever were under 220 00:19:22.910 --> 00:19:27.740 Israel, and and David is not talking about them. He is talking about 221 00:19:27.740 --> 00:19:36.099 the majesty of the King God. He's talking about his palace, his choices, 222 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:41.009 his perfections, His Majesty. Do you see what the Lord's Great Servant 223 00:19:41.130 --> 00:19:45.849 is doing? Even in all of his greatness, he humbles his heart, 224 00:19:45.490 --> 00:19:48.849 and he does it honestly and openly. As he says later on, you 225 00:19:48.970 --> 00:19:53.279 can judge hearts. You know whether I'm offering this willingly or not. He 226 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:59.440 says to God, my conscience is clear. I give this wholeheartedly to you, 227 00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:06.319 and indeed he does well. In addition to God's choice and God's Palace, 228 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:12.230 David also points us to God's perfections and also to God's will. You 229 00:20:12.390 --> 00:20:17.630 See, in verse twelve, he says we read both riches and honor come 230 00:20:17.869 --> 00:20:22.500 from you and you rule over all. In your hand our power and might, 231 00:20:22.700 --> 00:20:27.140 and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to 232 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:36.569 all. Perhaps David is remembering that he was once a shepherd moving about in 233 00:20:36.730 --> 00:20:44.809 his father's fields, being ridiculed by his older brothers, shamed real least they 234 00:20:44.890 --> 00:20:52.359 tried. David knows that God can bring up rulers and brought them down. 235 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:55.920 He saw that in his predecessor. We saw that at the beginning of chronicles 236 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:02.640 when Saul, who is this great king over Israel, fell on the battlefield 237 00:21:02.680 --> 00:21:10.269 under God's curse. But David points to God, he points to God's will. 238 00:21:10.390 --> 00:21:15.230 He says it is from you that you we receive these things. Anyone 239 00:21:15.269 --> 00:21:18.980 who is great, anyone who is good, anyone who is holy, any 240 00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:22.779 and every good thing, comes only from one place. It comes from God, 241 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:29.619 and David confesses this with his whole heart. He thanks God also on 242 00:21:29.819 --> 00:21:33.009 there. I'm in that same place, and he speaks of his own loneliness 243 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:38.890 in verse twelve, I'm sorry, in verse fourteen, this Great King, 244 00:21:38.970 --> 00:21:48.920 at this coronation ceremony for his son, says, who am I not really 245 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:53.039 establishing his leadership right, going up before the people in reminding them who is 246 00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:57.720 boss. Now he says just the opposite. He says who am I and 247 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:03.630 what is my people that we should be able to thus offer willingly this great 248 00:22:03.750 --> 00:22:07.950 thing that they're all experiencing, this moment of joy and rejoicing? He says, 249 00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:14.309 how is this even possible? Who Are we? This is not possible 250 00:22:14.309 --> 00:22:18.859 apart from God. He says this exactly, and for in the continual second 251 00:22:18.900 --> 00:22:22.819 half of that verse, Verse Fourteen, for all things come from you and 252 00:22:23.180 --> 00:22:29.259 of your own or end of your own, we have given you. See 253 00:22:29.299 --> 00:22:30.769 what he's saying there. He's not saying, all right, Lord, look 254 00:22:30.809 --> 00:22:33.970 at all of this wealth I have amassed and am now giving to you. 255 00:22:34.009 --> 00:22:38.809 You should be proud of me. He's saying who am I and where did 256 00:22:38.890 --> 00:22:42.650 this come from in the first place? It's all yours anyway. It belongs 257 00:22:42.730 --> 00:22:47.440 to you, it always has, and we offer it freely with her own 258 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:53.920 hearts. He calls himself and his people strangers, a quite a significant thing 259 00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:00.470 when you remember that they are not strangers in the land anymore. They're not 260 00:23:00.710 --> 00:23:07.509 wandering about like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. They're stablished. How could they 261 00:23:07.509 --> 00:23:11.910 ever be more established than they are at this moment. But David knows deep 262 00:23:11.990 --> 00:23:17.700 down in his hearts that this thing that God has done is but a shadow. 263 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:22.859 It can pass away and even his own life, as granded as it 264 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:26.529 is, as many good days as he will have, it's a shadow. 265 00:23:26.569 --> 00:23:33.650 He says, he considers himself a stranger and he identifies himself with the promises 266 00:23:33.690 --> 00:23:38.450 of God to his father's a striking thing in lie to the fact that God, 267 00:23:38.690 --> 00:23:44.799 in Chapter Seventeen, made a covenant with David. It's promised amazing things 268 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:49.000 to David, but he identifies himself here in all of his humility. In 269 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:55.200 Verse Fifteen, we are strangers before you and sojourners, as our fathers were. 270 00:23:56.910 --> 00:24:00.029 He speaks to them and identifies himself with these people and recognizes that he 271 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:08.109 belongs to God by God's grace. He also speaks to God's knowledge in verse 272 00:24:08.190 --> 00:24:11.339 Seventeen, which I alluded to. I know, my God, that you 273 00:24:11.460 --> 00:24:15.859 test the heart and you have pleasure and uprightness in the uprightness of my heart. 274 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:19.579 I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your 275 00:24:19.660 --> 00:24:26.210 people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. And 276 00:24:26.369 --> 00:24:30.089 he is also the God of the Covenant. David points us to in verse 277 00:24:30.170 --> 00:24:36.130 eighteen, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel are fathers, keep forever 278 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:41.000 such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people and direct their hearts toward 279 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:47.720 you. David sees this great blessing that has been poured out on the people, 280 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:52.589 not so much in the wealth but in the free, wholehearted giving of 281 00:24:52.750 --> 00:24:57.910 that wealth. He sees the people's hearts on display and he begs the Lord. 282 00:24:57.950 --> 00:25:03.269 He prays to the Lord and says, please, let this continue, 283 00:25:03.349 --> 00:25:07.579 let this go on, because he knows that it can only go on when 284 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:14.859 God keeps him. He identifies himself with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob or Israel 285 00:25:15.660 --> 00:25:22.450 and appeals to them and God's promise as to them in all of these things 286 00:25:22.529 --> 00:25:26.450 and asking for God's grace and asking for him to keep his people. And 287 00:25:26.650 --> 00:25:30.250 even he is son. In Verse Nineteen, grant to my son Solomn and 288 00:25:30.289 --> 00:25:33.730 a whole heart that he may keep your commandments. In all of these ways, 289 00:25:33.970 --> 00:25:38.440 what do we see? We see David pointing US away from himself, 290 00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:44.960 away from the gold, away from the silver and the bronze and the ONYX 291 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:51.430 and the emeralds and all the rest. He points to God and says, 292 00:25:51.430 --> 00:25:56.910 here is where our heart should be, and here is the one who keeps 293 00:25:56.990 --> 00:26:00.269 our hearts. This is his choice, his palace. We worship him in 294 00:26:00.430 --> 00:26:06.059 his perfections. This is his holy will. We are nothing, we are 295 00:26:06.180 --> 00:26:10.980 known by him. These are his covenants. Throughout all of these things you 296 00:26:11.140 --> 00:26:18.049 see David in Great Holiness and exemplary piety, pointing away from himself and relying 297 00:26:18.210 --> 00:26:26.170 holy on his God. Most of us, I think, have a long 298 00:26:26.250 --> 00:26:33.160 way to go before our prayers even begin to come close to this. But 299 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:41.519 as we see this example, we're given US headstart, not just in seeing 300 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:48.670 how we ought to pray, true enough, but more so in seeing the 301 00:26:48.829 --> 00:26:53.829 god to whom we pray. This is the thing that inspires our prayers, 302 00:26:55.390 --> 00:27:00.029 the thing that ignites our hearts and makes us filled with joy. Not by 303 00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:06.019 dissecting David's prayer and saying, all right, if I can follow all of 304 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:07.940 these things, I'll make sure to mention all these, then I too will 305 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:15.450 be godly. Doesn't feel very inspiring, does it. We find that the 306 00:27:15.650 --> 00:27:23.690 heat of prayer we find the joy in the Lord, in the Lord by 307 00:27:23.809 --> 00:27:30.119 setting our minds and our hearts on the god of whom David speaks. Think 308 00:27:30.160 --> 00:27:33.480 about how ironic it would be for us to take a passage like this and 309 00:27:33.680 --> 00:27:37.799 to turn our attention to David, to turn our attention to him and to 310 00:27:37.880 --> 00:27:44.200 give David Glory and honor and praise. It would be exactly contrary to David's 311 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:49.589 intentions. would be exactly contrary to God's intentions, who inspired this word and 312 00:27:49.789 --> 00:27:56.349 wrote it down so that we would know him as king over Israel. We 313 00:27:56.509 --> 00:27:59.539 have an example, sure enough, and I think we should study it and 314 00:27:59.779 --> 00:28:04.259 follow it, but we cannot do that apart from coming to know the god 315 00:28:04.579 --> 00:28:11.220 of whom David speaks. We study this, we think about who God is, 316 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:15.369 in the greatness of his works, in his perfection and his power, 317 00:28:15.849 --> 00:28:21.329 in his glory's and his victory and His Majesty. We think about all the 318 00:28:21.490 --> 00:28:25.009 things that God has done for David, the things that he will do for 319 00:28:25.170 --> 00:28:29.880 Solomon, the time of rest and peace that he has brought them into, 320 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:36.000 the Majesty that he has bestowed upon his people. And when we do are 321 00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:41.279 we will find that our hearts desire to pray and to speak of him in 322 00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:48.230 this way, especially when we consider ourselves, like David, not capable of 323 00:28:48.509 --> 00:28:52.549 these great things, not capable of offering wonderful prayers, not capable of giving 324 00:28:52.630 --> 00:29:00.619 of our possessions and our time and ourselves freely, but as strangers and sojourners 325 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:06.819 and weak people and nothing people. When we begin there, then we might 326 00:29:06.900 --> 00:29:11.849 have a start, because we are turning away from ourselves onto God and his 327 00:29:11.089 --> 00:29:18.210 goodness and His grace. We come to find a joy that David has and 328 00:29:18.329 --> 00:29:22.609 that the people have in this moment. When we find the source of that 329 00:29:22.849 --> 00:29:30.000 joy, the goodness of God and His grace. We find that in humbling 330 00:29:30.039 --> 00:29:34.400 ourselves and we find it in looking to him, as he's displayed these things 331 00:29:36.559 --> 00:29:41.150 not only in David, his son, but also all close in David's greater 332 00:29:41.309 --> 00:29:48.269 son, in Jesus. The greatness of God's works on display here with David 333 00:29:48.269 --> 00:29:55.180 are amazing. They are breathtaking, the goodness that he pours out on David 334 00:29:55.220 --> 00:30:00.059 and his son. But they don't compare, do they, to the greatness 335 00:30:00.099 --> 00:30:06.859 of the glory that God pours out on Jesus when Jesus ascends to the father's 336 00:30:06.900 --> 00:30:14.170 right hand to dwell with him and eternal and heavenly holiness, where he rules 337 00:30:14.329 --> 00:30:18.490 with infinite might over all the world, the heavens and the earth belonging to 338 00:30:18.690 --> 00:30:23.720 him. Every cattle, every blade of grass, every hair on our heads, 339 00:30:23.759 --> 00:30:29.640 all belonging to the Lord Jesus. Every square inch of the earth, 340 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:33.599 every thought that we have, every action that we do, it all belongs 341 00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:40.549 to him. He has more honor and wealth and glory than David even began 342 00:30:40.750 --> 00:30:45.190 to have. And these things, though not always evident now, will be 343 00:30:45.390 --> 00:30:52.299 made manifest on the last day when the Lord Jesus comes with great glory and 344 00:30:52.539 --> 00:30:59.059 victory and power and might. We will not look to David, but will 345 00:30:59.180 --> 00:31:03.740 stand along with him and with all the people here in Israel and with every 346 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:07.730 person who's ever put their heart and faith in God, through his promises and 347 00:31:08.329 --> 00:31:14.809 His grace, and we'll all offer ourselves up, completely and holy and freely 348 00:31:14.890 --> 00:31:22.640 unto the God of our salvation, the God of glory. David is a 349 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:32.990 servant, and we are too. David's honor and his his glory as ultimately 350 00:31:33.230 --> 00:31:38.710 not found in all of these external things. It was found in his humble 351 00:31:38.829 --> 00:31:45.470 heart and in his shining back the glory that God was shining down on him. 352 00:31:45.470 --> 00:31:51.819 And that means that for you, you don't need to be a king. 353 00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:57.180 In order to be like David, you don't need to have a son 354 00:31:57.299 --> 00:32:02.210 whom you are going to pass on a nation to, but a heart that's 355 00:32:02.210 --> 00:32:07.529 humble, in whatever circumstances you're in and whatever God has given to you, 356 00:32:07.049 --> 00:32:12.450 to confess with David that you are nothing and that every good thing that you 357 00:32:12.569 --> 00:32:16.559 have comes from God, to confess that God is everything and that all good 358 00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:22.799 things come from him. In that we will know the goodness of God and 359 00:32:22.960 --> 00:32:28.599 you will find service of the Lord a great pleasure. May God grant these 360 00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:32.430 things to us. Even as David prayed for his son and for his people, 361 00:32:32.470 --> 00:32:37.589 let us also pray for ourselves and ask that God would give us wholehearted 362 00:32:37.670 --> 00:32:42.549 service and delight in him as we put our faith in his goodness and His 363 00:32:42.670 --> 00:32:44.779 grace. So let's pray.