2 Samuel 23:1-7: a reflection

1Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse says, the man who was raised on high says, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2“The LORD’s Spirit spoke by me. His word was on my tongue. 3The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘One who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, 4shall be as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through clear shining after rain.’ 5Isn’t my house so with God? Yet he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure, for it is all my salvation and all my desire. Won’t he make it grow? 6But all the ungodly will be as thorns to be thrust away, because they can’t be taken with the hand. 7The man who touches them must be armed with iron and the staff of a spear. They will be utterly burned with fire in their place.”

In the last words of David, the aged king, looking back over his life, rests his confidence not on his own achievements but on God's covenant with him. He has made with me an everlasting covenant, David says, ordered in all things, and sure; for it is all my salvation and all my desire. At the end of his life, what David leans on is God's sure covenant, ordered in all things and certain; that covenant is, he says, all his salvation and all his desire. His confidence at the end rests on God's promise, not on himself.

Notice what David rests on at the end: God's sure covenant, not his own record. He does not look back on his own achievements for confidence; his own house, he knows, has been far from perfect. He rests instead on God's everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure, which does not depend on his own performance but on God's promise. That covenant is all his salvation, all he leans on for hope; and all his desire, what his heart most longs for. At the end, his confidence and his longing are fixed on God's sure covenant, not on himself.

That is worth taking to heart, for at the end, and all along, our confidence is best fixed on God's sure covenant, not on ourselves. We can rest our confidence on our own record, our own achievements or faithfulness; but these are uncertain and imperfect, and cannot finally bear the weight. David rested instead on God's covenant, ordered in all things and sure, which does not depend on us. Do not rest your final confidence on your own record, which is imperfect and uncertain; rest it, as David did, on God's sure covenant, which does not depend on your performance but on his promise. Let God's sure covenant be all your salvation and all your desire, as it was David's at the end; fix your confidence and your longing on God's promise, which is ordered in all things and sure, rather than on your own uncertain record, as David rested his last words on the everlasting covenant God had made with him.

Lord, in the last words of David, the aged king, looking back over his life, rests his confidence not on his own achievements but on your covenant with him. He has made with me an everlasting covenant, David says, ordered in all things, and sure; for it is all my salvation and all my desire. At the end of his life, what David leans on is your sure covenant, ordered in all things and certain; that covenant is all his salvation and all his desire. His confidence at the end rests on your promise, not on himself. Show me what David rests on at the end: your sure covenant, not his own record. He does not look back on his own achievements for confidence; his own house, he knows, has been far from perfect. He rests instead on your everlasting covenant, which does not depend on his own performance but on your promise. That covenant is all his salvation, and all his desire. Take that to my heart, for at the end, and all along, my confidence is best fixed on your sure covenant, not on myself. I can rest my confidence on my own record, my own achievements or faithfulness; but these are uncertain and imperfect. David rested instead on your covenant, which does not depend on me. Keep me from resting my final confidence on my own record; help me rest it, as David did, on your sure covenant. Let your sure covenant be all my salvation and all my desire, Lord, as it was David's at the end.