Thank you.
It astounds you to hear it.
The shock and surprise is evident on all of your faces at this very moment.
But it's true.
Sometimes they lie to you.
Now, we are even now in the middle of an election cycle.
And I would wager if you pay close attention and keep both your eyes open and both of your ears open, you might catch a lie like this.
You might catch one or two half-truths, a few exaggerations of fact, a few hyperbolic detours, a few taking of liberties.
I know it surprises some of you.
But for those of you who are not surprised by this, perhaps there are a few of you who came into church tonight knowing this particular secret already.
Perhaps the greater surprise would be to hear that there may be a ruler who tells the truth.
Perhaps you listen to the news every night, perhaps on your way home or once at home.
You listen to the news with your defenses held high with thoroughgoing suspicion about all the words that come out of politicians' mouths.
Now, if this more accurately describes you, then I suspect our text and this sermon tonight may actually surprise you.
For this sermon is about a ruler who comes and causes to make, he causes his people to flourish.
A ruler who rules in justice and righteousness.
A ruler who keeps every promise he makes.
If you were to find such a ruler, would you vote for him?
Would you even campaign for him?
Would you put a bumper sticker on your car about him?
Would you put a lawn sign out about him?
What precisely would you do if you found a ruler who never lied to you?
Tonight I want to speak with you about a ruler who keeps every promise he ever made.
You won't find the stories about him in the newspaper.
Instead, we have to go to a different text.
The text we're going to look at to discover this ruler is 2 Samuel 23, verses 1 through 7.
You can turn there with me.
We'll be there the whole evening.
2 Samuel 23, 1 through 7.
And my hope tonight is that as we read this text together, we'll see one major point.
This is the one point.
God's children celebrate when God's king is crowned.
Let's look at the text.
2 Samuel 23, verses 1 through 7.
Now, these are the last words of David.
The oracle of David.
The son of Jesse.
The oracle of the man who was raised on high.
The anointed of the God of Jacob.
The sweet psalmist of Israel.
The spirit of the Lord speaks by me.
His word is on my tongue.
The God of Israel has spoken.
The rock of Israel has said to me,
When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning.
Like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
For does not my house stand so with God?
For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and secure.
For he will not cause,
will he not cause to prosper all of my help and my desire?
But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away.
For they cannot be taken with the hand,
but the man who touches them arms himself with iron
and the shaft of a spear.
And they are utterly consumed with fire.
Now in order to understand this text before us this evening,
a bit of context might be useful.
This text tells us that these are the last words of David,
which is a strange designation
because after these last words of David,
David keeps on talking.
He's got plenty more to say after this.
You could read this as a simple error by the narrator,
but even if a cursory proofreading shows us
that this is not the case,
these are not in fact the last words of David,
perhaps something else is intended.
And I suggest that's exactly what is intended.
These are not chronologically the last words of David.
These are rather the culminating words of David.
These words are supposed to describe in a capsule form
the entirety of David's reign.
They epitomize his rule.
These words are presented to us as an oracle,
which is a rare thing for David.
An oracle or a prophetic utterance
that David makes under the influence of the spirit of God.
Do you see that there?
A long introduction.
The oracle of David.
The oracle of the man who was raised on high.
And then in the second verse,
the spirit of the Lord speaks by me.
These are not only David's words.
These are God's words.
David is looking back as a historian over his rule.
But the spirit might be saying something prophetic
as well as historical.
We'll come back to that toward the end.
So there's a little context for what's going on here.
The centerpiece of this passage is verses 3 and 4,
where we find the reason that God's children rejoice
when God's king is crowned.
And that's where I want to spend most of our time this evening tonight,
looking at 3 and 4.
Look at these verses again.
The God of Israel has spoken.
The rock of Israel has said to me,
When one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
he dawns on them like the morning light,
like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
These words David speaks about himself.
He is the Lord's anointed one in this passage.
He is the one who deals justly with his people.
Why?
First off, because he fears God.
He knows himself to be one who is himself under authority.
And therefore, he is supposed to rule over those
over whom he has authority with justice.
And look at the metaphors that are used here
for the reign of this king.
He dawns on them like the morning light,
the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
These are metaphors of flourishing as in a garden,
the things that are required to make the plants
that this king is husbanding flourish,
the unmitigated, unclouded sun,
the mist of rain that waters this garden.
This is a king who serves his people,
who rules on behalf of his people.
That's how you tell a good king,
that he rules on behalf of the people
over whom he has authority.
He does not use the people over whom he has authority
for his own purposes.
He causes them to flourish.
This flourishing metaphor,
this garden metaphor,
I don't think is accidental.
Do you remember what man and woman's first task was?
to go and have dominion,
caring husbanding of a garden,
to bring forth the fruits of the earth,
to cooperate with God in making the world flourish,
to be his agents in the world,
causing goodness and justice and beauty
and love to reign over all the earth.
This is what we were meant for.
This was our first task.
And the good king has not forgotten that.
The good king remembers that he,
as a descendant of Adam,
is charged with the task of being God's agent in the world,
of causing the world to bring forth much fruit,
to beautify the world,
to cause it to abound with goodness.
This is why God's children celebrate
when God's king is crowned.
Because God's king is one who knows
that he is charged with bringing the earth to flourishing.
And the people over whom he rules
rejoice when they see the world
righted from its wrongs,
beautified from its ugliness,
encompassed in love rather than wrapped in violence.
How could God's children not celebrate that sort of thing?
Now, you may be skeptical about this claim
that freedom and flourishing come from
submission to good authorities, rulers.
I'm even using the word kings over and over.
Those of us in the audience who are Americans,
we are taught from our youth
that kings are bad things
and we're supposed to revolt against them.
And here I am preaching to you
about the goodness of a king
that we should indeed even celebrate
when certain kings are around.
Isn't that treasonous to my American citizenship?
Well, I don't think so.
I do think the American ethos
does not train us well
to sympathize with this idea.
We think that freedom and flourishing
mean doing what is right in our own eyes.
But the Bible has something to say about this.
Even this story.
When we remember where this story is
in the overall narrative of the Bible,
we have reason to doubt
our American idea
that freedom and flourishing
are doing whatever is right
in our own eyes.
Do you remember where this story begins?
Even back before the king.
In the book of Judges.
Judges is one of those really depressing books.
Over and over.
They come into the land
and it's racked in evil
and a judge comes up
and takes care of business.
The judge dies
and the text says
there was no judge in Israel.
Every man did what was right
in his own eyes.
We think this is a utopia.
The Bible clearly depicts it as anarchy.
Violence.
The poor and the weak
are not taken care of
when everyone does what he wants.
Something is needed
to solve the problem
of human violence.
And anarchy is not the answer.
And that's where
1 and 2 Samuel come in.
The people want a king.
And God says
okay
you need a ruler.
I want it to be your king.
But if the people
yearn so much for a king
Samuel give them one.
And at first
it seemed like it was going to work.
Saul
the stalwart man
who inspired
hope
and strength
into his people
flourished for a while.
And then he fell away.
And David came.
David
the good king
the man after God's own heart.
Surely
he is the answer
to the problems
of the wickedness
of his people.
Except when you read
the stories of David
it seems like
he is racked
by the same wickedness
of his people.
Samuel.
We know the Bible
the narrative
the long arc
of the Bible
has said that somehow
the answer to our problems
is a king
but not Saul
and not David.
So who?
at the beginning
of 1st Samuel
the passage
that brackets
these ending
songs
in 2nd Samuel
you see the woman
named Hannah
a barren
and lonely
woman
who pleads
with God
for deliverance
for a child.
and when God
provides a child
she sings a song
a song of prophecy
and she says this
the adversaries
of the Lord
shall be broken
in pieces
against them
he will thunder
in heaven
the Lord
will judge
the ends
of the earth
he will give strength
to his king
and exalt
the horn
of his anointed.
She sees
the Lord
is going to do
something
through one
whom she calls
the anointed.
And here in this text
we see David
takes this on
for himself.
Look there
in verse 5
Does not
my house
stand so
with God?
David sees this
as applying
to himself
this is why
he sings this song
toward the end
of his life
David is a historian
chronicling
his own reign
What's the grounds
for him saying
that this
applies to his kingship?
Verse 5 again
He has made with me
an everlasting covenant
ordered in all things
and secure
What's David's
reason for saying
this?
What's the proof
that God has made
a covenant with him?
Well first off
God has spoken to him
Second and thirdly
David over the course
of the last several
chapters
has destroyed
the enemies of God
something that today
looks to us
like a needless
senseless bloodbath
but here's what
he's done
little by little
he has cleared
out a space
of peace
for his son
to construct
the temple
Solomon will not
need to marshal
grand armies
to defeat
any more Philistines
David's already
done that
Solomon can
muster the strength
of Israel
to build the
dwelling place
of God
this is one of
David's greatest
feats
but
if we read this
passage only as
history
then it certainly
must be
pure mockery
for we've already
seen the dreadful
things that David
has done
and this next
chapter after this
one will be no
different
the list of his
mighty men
those come next
the mighty men
that did all
these things
that won all
these battles
with David
do you know
who that last
name in that
list is
Uriah the
Hittite
the narrator
mentions last
Uriah the
Hittite
ensuring that
no matter
who else
the listener
remembers
what other
names
this long
list of
names
the listener
remembers
he will
remember
Uriah the
Hittite
what's so
special about
Uriah the
Hittite
well this
one
of David's
mighty men
had the
prestige of
being killed
by his
king
of having
his wife
stolen
by his
king
David
is guilty
of the
blood
of Uriah
the Hittite
and the
narrator
won't let
us forget
it
he puts
his name
right at
the end
of the
list
and right
after that
David
will take
a census
which shows
his desire
to trust
in his
own
military
strength
rather than
God
and God
is angry
about this
and causes
a pestilence
to come
and kill
70,000
of David's
men
David is
the one
who rules
in perfect
uprightness
the narrator
does not
want us
to read
it so
simply
when these
two
contradictory
pieces
apparently
contradictory
pieces of
information
are presented
to us
side by
side
the narrator
wants us
to think
on the one
hand
the just
one
rules
over
men
this
is
David
ruling
in the
fear
of
God
causing
the people
to flourish
on the
other
hand
he's
imperfect
at best
what the narrator
I think
wants us
to see
is this
that David
in this
passage
is pointing
beyond
himself
indeed
all of
Samuel
is pointing
beyond
itself
it ends
and culminates
with David
but it
ends with
David's
failures
as well
as his
successes
the Bible
has told us
that a king
is necessary
to restrain
human wickedness
and to cause
the earth
to flourish
but David
is not a
great
a perfect
candidate
for this
do you
remember
what I
said
here
that David
speaks
not only
as a
historian
but in
the
Holy Spirit
speaks
also
as a
prophet
David
is looking
forward
to
another
king
that is
to come
that rules
in justice
and righteousness
look here
in verse
five
again
David
says
God
has made
with him
an everlasting
covenant
ordered in
all things
and secure
historically
we know
that a
united
kingdom
only lasted
for about
one more
generation
after David
and the
whole thing
went to
pot
how can
this be
said to be
an everlasting
covenant
Christians know
the answer
to this
the answer
is
that David
was always
supposed to
point to
somebody
the better
David
the true
king
who would
truly
cause
justice
to reign
on the
earth
who would
restore
the garden
that once
was lost
that would
cause
the earth
and all
the people
in his
care
to flourish
and this
king came
in
riding
on a
donkey
was crowned
not in
gold
but in
thorns
was lifted
up not
on a
throne
but on
a cross
and did
not live
over his
people
but died
for his
people
how can
this one
be a
king
Jesus
can be a
king
because he
did not
stay
dead
and after
his death
he rose
again
and after
his resurrection
he ascended
not simply
like a
divine elevator
bumping up
into the
basement
of heaven
no he
ascended
like a
king
ascends
to a
throne
and all
the way
back here
in Samuel
hundreds and
hundreds of
years earlier
we have it
foretold
that a
true king
would come
God's
chosen king
would be
crowned
and God's
cherished
children
would celebrate
so when we
read this
we ought not
think only of
it as
the history
of David's
reign
but also
as the
prophecy
of the
coming
king
the one
who is
the desire
of all
nations
the joy
of every
longing
heart
what is
in this
text
for us
what does
this mean
for us
who no
longer search
for kings
but nevertheless
find ourselves
to be in an
election cycle
I think
this text
tells us a
few things
first for
those who
are in
authority
notice the
way a
just ruler
exercises
authority
they exercise
authority
in such a
way as to
cause the
earth to
flourish
again these
garden metaphors
restoring Eden
bringing the
fullness of
earth
the fullness
of God's
creation
to blossoming
those of you
who exercise
authority in
ways big or
small either in
elected office or
even in a
parent being a
parent or even
in an office
do you have
anybody in your
life whom you
serve over whom
you have
authority
if you do
you have the
opportunity
to work with
God to
cause the
earth to
flourish
to make it
like David
for Solomon
easier for
your children
and those who
come after
you to
worship God
that's a
choice you
have
or
you can be
like those in
verse 6 and
7
worthless men
are like
thorns that
are thrown
away
do you
remember what
Adam's curse
was in the
garden
that his
work would
be marked
by thistles
and thorns
that now
Eden would
be overcome
with these
thorns
and here
David speaks
worthless men
as these
thorns
the very
thorns that
the one who
is to
shepherd and
husband the
garden needs
to cut down
with iron and
steel and
throw into the
fire
for those of
us who
exercise
authority this
is our
choice
to work
with God
in causing
the earth
to flourish
or to be
one of those
thorns that
needs to be
pulled up
and thrown
into the
fire
use your
authority
therefore
to cause
the earth
to flourish
to cause
your children
and your
co-workers
and your
family and
all those
around you
over whom
you have
authority or
not
to flourish
set an
example in
your life
of justice
and mercy
and love
ruling like
this king
in the fear
of God
is your
life lived
in the
tangible
fear of
God
knowing that
you will
give an
account one
day to
this king
Jesus who
now sits
enthroned
over heaven
and earth
this choice
is yours
and David
would beg
you
exercise
your authority
in the fear
of God
causing those
around you
to flourish
pray for the
people that
surround you
be a good
example for
them
encourage them
strengthen them
what about
those of us
who don't have
authority or
who are under
authority
none of us
is president
in this room
and that means
we are all
at least under
one authority
what should we
do what does
this text teach
us about how
we are to
behave under
authority
the first thing
it tells us
is this
do not be
cynical
do not be
cynical about
your leaders
a cynic
is one who
has given
over to
despair
who has
thought our
leaders are
so corrupt
that there is
nothing for
which to
rejoice any
longer
I will never
get my hopes
up
I won't be
fooled again
but this
passage
talks about
just rulers
who bring
flourishing to
their people
and worthless
men who grow
up like weeds
and are fit
only to be
cut down
and burned
this text
thinks there's
a real difference
between these
people
we should pray
that God
might send
good rulers
so that the
lands in which
we dwell
might flourish
like a garden
not wither
like a desert
we ought to
pray to God
that we have
occasion to
celebrate
the crowning
of one whom
God has chosen
to lead
us
we cannot
be despairing
the Christian
is commanded
to hope
hope for what
not that this
world will be
somehow transformed
into heaven
little by little
no
we cannot
be given over
to despair
so this text
teaches us
that we ought
not despair
it also teaches
us that we
ought not
follow false
messiahs
humans
are hard
wired
to seek
for messiahs
that's why
we believe
high flying
rhetoric
every four
years
but that
rhetoric
and those
messiahs
will always
disappoint us
those messiahs
share our
sins
they participate
in our
flaws
you know
the only way
to ensure
that you
will never
be disappointed
by your
rulers
is to plan
to be
disappointed
by your
rulers
the only
way never
to be
disappointed
by your
rulers
is to
plan
to be
disappointed
by your
rulers
they won't
let you
down
if you
plan on
them
letting
you
down
don't
make them
into
messiahs
we
incline
toward one
of these
directions
either
being
messianic
about our
favorite
person
our
favorite
elected
official
or being
cynical
they're all
the same
crooks
thieves
bums
throw them
out
we're tempted
to think
this way
about all
of those
in authority
over us
our bosses
probably
even more
proximate
to us
than the
president
are the
particular
objects
of our
scorn
don't
mess
don't make
a messiah
out of
anybody
above you
don't
be
cynical
claiming
that
there
is
no
real
justice
in
this
world
instead
pray
for your
leaders
pray
for your
leaders
pray
that
God
would
give
us
the
occasion
to
celebrate
the
rule
of
justice
pray
that
God
would
send
ones
to
us
who
would
come
to
us
like
the
morning
light
like
sun
shining
forth
on a
cloudless
morning
and rain
that
makes
the earth
bring forth
grass
be
thankful
for the
small ways
we see
that now
Christians
are taught
to expect
very little
from the
rulers
of this
world
we are
also taught
to thank
the Lord
for every
shred
of grace
that we
see
and for
those who
have eyes
to see
and ears
to hear
there are
millions
of shreds
of grace
for which
to be
thankful
do you
thank the
Lord
when you
come to
a red
light
which has
prevented
you from
smashing
into another
car
coming in
the opposite
direction
there's a
sign of
good
governance
do you
praise
the Lord
with eager
rejoicing
when in
the middle
of the
night
in a
thunderstorm
you are
awoken
by the
scraping
of a
snowplow
out on
the
street
doing
a
job
to
make
sure
you
can
get
to
work
the
next
day
this
is
a
little
shred
of
grace
good
governance
is
happening
when the
mail
arrives
at your
home
assuming
it
doesn't
include
only
bills
we
should
rejoice
something
has
gone
right
in
the
world
today
I
was
not
falsely
imprisoned
there
are
plenty
of
countries
in which
that's
not
the
case
we
ought
to
rejoice
and
be
thankful
for
every
shred
of
grace
we
see
in a
world
that is
given
over
to
cynicism
what
kind
of
people
would
we
be
if
we
were
pervasively
thankful
for
all of
the
shreds
of
grace
that
we
see
we
can
in
fact
in
this
world
get
dim
visions
of
what
it
would
look
like
for
the
dawn
to
come
on
us
like
a
morning
light
and
for
the
sun
to
rise
on
cloudless
mornings
and
the
waters
to
water
the
earth
bringing
forth
grass
we
can
see
these
things
when
we
see
them
we
ought
to
rejoice
and
finally
this
text
teaches
us
to
hope
for
the
coming
king
the
king
that
David
himself
looked
forward
to
because
this
king
is
coming
this
Jesus
has
said
behold
I
am
coming
quickly
with
a real
crown
on his
head
this
time
and
a
real
white
horse
upon
which
he
is
riding
this
king
is
coming
the
flourishing
garden
of Eden
that our
parents
forsook
will
one
day
flourish
again
and
those
who
love
Christ
can
live
there
in
this
garden
in
the
middle
of
the
city
of
the
new
Jerusalem
where
God
himself
sits
enthroned
this
is
the
king
that
our
hearts
yearn
for
every
election
cycle
every
campaign
promise
we hear
that we
allow
ourselves
to
believe
even
slightly
is a
picture
of our
yearning
for
this
good
king
the
failures
and the
successes
of this
world's
leaders
are both
designed
to point
our
minds
to the
coming
of
God's
true
anointed
one
the
successes
of these
leaders
because
they're
only
a dim
picture
of what
full
flourishing
will look
like
when
Christ
is
finally
enthroned
and
subdues
all of
his
enemies
and
the
failures
of this
world's
leaders
ought to
cause
us
to
raise
our
eyes
higher
up
to
that
divine
king
as
well
knowing
that
he
will
never
let
us
down
none
who
trusted
in
the
Lord
were
ever
put
to
shame
this
Messiah
does
not
disappoint
this
is
the
ruler
who
keeps
every
campaign
promise
he's
ever
made
this
is
the
Messiah
our
hearts
truly
yearn
for
and
this
Messiah
is
coming
and
when
this
chosen
king
of
God
comes
God's
children
will
celebrate
at his
coronation
how
will we
celebrate
well
we are
told
in the
Bible
that
not
only
will
this
king
come
and
rid
the
world
of
his
enemies
but
he
will
also
wed
himself
to
his
bride
this
is
a
king
betrothed
to
a
bride
and
we
who
are
in
his
church
are
that
bride
the
celebration
that
will
be
ours
when
this
king
comes
is
a
bridal
feast
it's
a
wedding
supper
it's
a
meal
with
bread
and
wine
there
for
the
taking
and
union
with
our
king
what
a
celebration
that
will
be
and
that
celebration
is
precisely
what
we
look
forward
to
now
as
we
come
to
the
Lord's
table
to
drink
the
cup
and
take
the
bread
so
as
we
come
think
on
the
fact
that
this
king
died
for
us
to
cleanse
us
of
our
sins
and
to
give
us
new
life
think
also
of
that
great
wedding
feast
that
it
foreshadows
to
which
all
those
who
love
Jesus
are
invited
to
come
let's
pray
Lord
we
do
thank
you
for
this
promise
that
you
will
come
and
right
all
of
the
world's
wrongs
that
when
your
king
is
coronated
your
children
will
celebrate
thank
you
that
you
have
put
before
us
the
possibility
of
real
joy
no
the
promise
of
real
joy
promises
from
a
king
who
never
broke
a
promise
stir
our
hearts
with
eager
longing
for
your
reign
Lord
Christ
even
now
as we
come
to
your
table
I
pray
these
things
in the
name
of
Jesus
Amen