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2 Samuel 23:5
Verse
Context
David’s Last Song
4is like the light of the morning at sunrise of a cloudless dawn, the glistening after the rain on the sprouting grass of the earth.’ 5Is not my house right with God? For He has established with me an everlasting covenant, ordered and secured in every part. Will He not bring about my full salvation and my every desire?
Sermons
David Wilkerson
A.W. Pink
Thomas BradburySummary
Commentary
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Although my house be not so with God - Instead of כן ken, so, read כן kun, established; and let the whole verse be considered as an interrogation, including a positive assertion; and the sense will be at once clear and consistent: "for is not my house (family) established with God; because he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all, and preserved? For this (He) is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it (or him) not to spring up." All is sure relative to my spiritual successor, though he do not as yet appear; the covenant is firm, and it will spring forth in due time. See the observations at the end of the chapter, Sa2 23:39note).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure--"the light of the morning," that is, the beginning of David's kingdom, was unlike the clear brilliant dawn of an Eastern day but was overcast by many black and threatening clouds; neither he nor his family had been like the tender grass springing up from the ground and flourishing by the united influences of the sun and rain; but rather like the grass that withereth and is prematurely cut down. The meaning is: although David's house had not flourished in an uninterrupted course of worldly prosperity and greatness, according to his hopes; although great crimes and calamities had beclouded his family history; some of the most promising branches of the royal tree had been cut down in his lifetime and many of his successors should suffer in like manner for their personal sins; although many reverses and revolutions may overtake his race and his kingdom, yet it was to him a subject of the highest joy and thankfulness that God will inviolably maintain His covenant with his family, until the advent of his greatest Son, the Messiah, who was the special object of his desire, and the author of his salvation.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Although my house be not so with God,.... So bright, and flourishing, and prosperous as the government of the just ruler before described; or is not "right" (m) with God, meaning his family, in which great sins were committed, and great disorders and confusions brought into it, as the cases of Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah showed; or "not firm" or "stable" (n), through the rebellion of one, the insurrection of another, and the usurpation of a third; yet he believed it would be firm and stable in the Messiah that should spring from him, promised in the everlasting covenant; though the Jewish writers understand this of the firmness and stability of his kingdom and government: "but my house is not so", &c. like the morning light, which increases by little and little, and like the morning, which sometimes is not cloudy, and sometimes is; sometimes the sun shines clearly, and sometimes not; or like the tender grass, which is sometimes flourishing, and after withers; but so is not my kingdom, it is a perpetual one, given and secured by an everlasting covenant; and such certainly is or will be the kingdom of the Messiah: yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure; or, "for (o) he hath made", &c. the covenant by which the kingdom was settled on David and his seed was a covenant that would continue for ever, and would be kept, "observed", and "preserved" (p) in all the articles of it, and so be sure to his seed, particularly to the Messiah that should spring from him, in whom it was fulfilled, Luk 1:32; and the covenant of grace made with David's antitype, with Christ the head of the church, and the representative of it, and so with all his people in him, is an everlasting one: it was made with Christ from everlasting, as appears from the everlasting love of God, the source and spring of it; the earliness of the divine counsels on which it is formed, and blessings and promises of it, with which it is filled, which were before the world was; and from Christ being set up as the Mediator of it from everlasting: and it will continue to everlasting; it is a covenant that cannot be broken, will never be removed, nor give way to or be succeeded by another: it is "ordered in all things": to promote and advance the glory of all the three Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit; to secure the persons of the saints, and to provide everything needful for them for time and eternity: and it is "sure"; it stands upon a sure basis, the unchangeable will and favour of God, and is in the hands of Christ, the same today, yesterday, and for ever; its mercies are the sure mercies of David, and its promises are yea and amen in Christ, and are sure to all the seed. Though things may not be with them God-ward, as they desire, and could be wished for; though they may be attended with many sins and infirmities, the temptations of Satan, divine desertions, and various afflictions, and be guilty of many backslidings, yet covenant interest always continues; and so, though in the kingdom and interest of Christ in the world, there are, and may be, many things disagreeable; it may be attended with persecutions, heresies, scandals, &c. yet it shall continue and increase, and spread, and be an everlasting kingdom: for this is all my salvation: all depends upon this covenant; the safety of David's family, and the security of the kingdom in it, and to his seed, till the Messiah came, depended on the covenant made with him respecting that; and the spiritual and eternal salvation of the Lord's people depends upon the covenant of grace; which was contrived, formed, and settled in it, in which the Saviour is provided, and the persons to share in his salvation are taken into it and secured, with all blessings both of grace and glory: and all my desire; to see it fulfilled; as it is the desire of good men to be led more and more into it, to see their interest in it, to have the blessings and promises of it applied unto them, and to be saved by it, and not by the covenant of works; and there is all that in it that a believer can desire to make him comfortable here, or happy hereafter; and it is what gives him delight and pleasure in all his troubles: it may be supplied he is, as well as "this is", and be applied to Christ, the ruler over men, described, Sa2 23:3; with whom the covenant of grace is made, in whom is the salvation of men; he is the author and the only author of it; in whom it is complete and perfect; "all" salvation is in him, and which they can claim as theirs; to whom is "all their desire"; and in whom is "all their delight", as it may be rendered; on account of the glory of his person, the fulness of his grace, and his suitableness as a Saviour; whom they desire to know more of, and have more communion with: although he made it not to grow; though there may not be at present any growth of outward prosperity, or of inward grace, or even of the produce of the earth, Hab 3:17; though the horn of David is not yet made to bud, or his family in growing and flourishing circumstances, or the Messiah, the man, the branch, does not yet shoot forth, though he certainly would; or, "for shall he not bud forth" he shall, Jer 23:5. (m) "non recta", Cocceius. (n) "Non est re firma", Vitringa in Jesaiam, c. xi. 1. (o) "quia", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator. (p) "scrvatum", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "conservatum", Junius & Tremellius.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
23:5 my family . . . everlasting covenant: David is referring to the prophecy Nathan made about David and his descendants (7:12-16). Jesus is the everlasting king who is the “descendant of David” (Matt 1:1).
2 Samuel 23:5
David’s Last Song
4is like the light of the morning at sunrise of a cloudless dawn, the glistening after the rain on the sprouting grass of the earth.’ 5Is not my house right with God? For He has established with me an everlasting covenant, ordered and secured in every part. Will He not bring about my full salvation and my every desire?
- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
Walking in the Power of the New Convenant
By David Wilkerson6.0K58:342SA 23:5PSA 40:12PSA 89:28PSA 89:34ISA 60:11CO 2:4In this sermon, the preacher explores the story of Isaac sending his son Jacob on a journey with nothing, despite being a wealthy man. The preacher questions why a rich father would send his son without any material benefits. The sermon emphasizes the importance of walking in the power of the New Covenant and the provision that God has made for his children to protect them from trials and temptations. The preacher also highlights the need for a deep yearning and craving in one's heart to know Jesus in a greater way and to walk in holiness and righteousness in a dark age. The sermon references examples from the Old Testament, such as David, who found strength and relief in the Covenant despite facing numerous trials and temptations.
K-441 True Reconciliation (2 of 2)
By Art Katz1.2K29:29ReconciliationEXO 25:402SA 23:5MAT 6:331CO 2:92CO 10:1EPH 3:20EPH 4:2In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of humility and patience in discerning and addressing issues within the church and the world. He criticizes the spirit of pride that often prevails and leads to destructive actions. The speaker also highlights the positive and patient personality of President Reagan, who was able to bring about a solution to the Cold War through his approach. The sermon concludes with a call to prayer and repentance, recognizing that the church needs to demonstrate these qualities in order to be a viable and impactful force in the world.
The Everlasting Covenant
By A.W. Pink1Grace and SalvationCovenant TheologyGEN 3:152SA 23:5ISA 42:6MAL 3:1JHN 8:56EPH 2:12PHP 4:19HEB 8:10HEB 9:15REV 13:8A.W. Pink expounds on 'The Everlasting Covenant,' illustrating how God's plan for salvation was established before the foundation of the world, with Christ as the mediator. He emphasizes that the covenants made with figures like Noah, Abraham, and David were manifestations of this eternal covenant, revealing God's grace and mercy. Pink highlights that these covenants were unconditional promises from God, fulfilled through Christ's sacrificial work, ensuring the salvation of the elect. The sermon underscores the significance of understanding the covenant relationship between the Father and the Son, which is foundational to grasping the fullness of God's redemptive plan. Ultimately, Pink calls believers to appreciate their inclusion in this everlasting covenant of grace.
The Stability of the Covenant of Grace - Part 2
By John Gill0Covenant of GraceAssurance in Christ2SA 23:5JHN 17:23John Gill emphasizes the unwavering nature of the Covenant of Grace, which serves as a believer's support amidst both outward and inward troubles. He reflects on David's acknowledgment of his circumstances while affirming his faith in God's everlasting covenant, which is rooted in divine love and secured by Christ as the Mediator. Gill explains that this covenant is ordered in all things, ensuring that all spiritual blessings and provisions are available to believers, regardless of their current state. He encourages believers to find their salvation and desires fully in this covenant, which remains steadfast despite life's challenges. Ultimately, Gill calls for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the covenant's promises and grace.
In Christ Jesus
By Thomas Bradbury02SA 23:5PSA 25:14PSA 89:19JHN 6:37JHN 6:45ROM 8:11CO 1:30EPH 1:3EPH 2:12PHP 3:9Thomas Bradbury preaches about the believers' union with Christ, emphasizing that all wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption come from God through Christ Jesus. He highlights the covenant relationship between God and His chosen ones, where God reveals His covenant to those who fear Him. Bradbury explains that those in Christ are secure, saved, and blessed, and that their salvation is solely based on Christ's work and not on human efforts. He delves into the struggles of the flesh versus the spirit, the ongoing sanctification process, and the ultimate glorification of believers in Christ.
Of the Concern the Spirit of God Has in the Covenant of Grace.
By John Gill0Covenant of GraceThe Role of the Holy Spirit2SA 23:5ISA 48:16MAT 1:18JHN 16:14ROM 1:42CO 4:13EPH 1:132TH 2:13TIT 3:5HEB 10:22John Gill emphasizes the vital role of the Holy Spirit in the Covenant of Grace, illustrating that the Spirit is not merely a bystander but an active participant who approves and engages in the covenant's promises and provisions for salvation. He highlights the Spirit's involvement in the incarnation of Christ, the application of salvation to believers, and the empowerment of the church through various gifts and graces. The Spirit's work includes conviction of sin, regeneration, and sanctification, all of which affirm His commitment to the covenant. Gill asserts that the Spirit's actions are a testament to His agreement with the Father and the Son in the redemptive plan. Ultimately, the sermon underscores the comprehensive nature of the Spirit's work in fulfilling God's promises to His people.
The Stability of the Covenant of Grace - Part 1
By John Gill0Covenant of GraceGod's Faithfulness2SA 23:5PSA 89:30ISA 54:10John Gill emphasizes the unwavering nature of the Covenant of Grace, as expressed in David's last words, despite the turmoil in his life and kingdom. David acknowledges that his house is not in perfect alignment with God, yet he firmly believes in the everlasting covenant made with him, which is ordered and sure. Gill explains that this covenant remains intact regardless of personal afflictions, family troubles, or spiritual struggles, highlighting that God's love and mercy are constant. The sermon reassures believers that their covenant interest is unshaken by their failings or external challenges, as God's faithfulness endures. Ultimately, Gill encourages the faithful to trust in the stability of God's promises amidst life's uncertainties.
The Great Things God Has Done for His People
By William Gadsby02SA 23:5PSA 126:3ISA 55:3LUK 5:31JHN 6:37JHN 17:6ROM 3:19ROM 8:292CO 3:5EPH 1:5HEB 9:221PE 3:18William Gadsby preaches about the great mysteries of salvation that many struggle to comprehend, including God's saving power for even the worst sinners, the method of salvation through God's electing love, and the role of God the Spirit in revealing and maintaining salvation in the hearts of believers. He emphasizes the need for true surrender and acknowledgment of one's sinful state before experiencing God's compassion and love. Gadsby highlights the importance of being part of God's spiritual family, predestined for eternal life, and the necessity of being brought out of spiritual captivity to truly understand and appreciate the great things God has done for His people.
Examine Yourselves in the Light of God's Grace
By Robert Traill02SA 23:5JOB 40:4PSA 119:128ACT 7:59ACT 15:1ROM 3:21ROM 7:12GAL 2:21PHP 3:8HEB 11:71JN 4:1Robert Traill preaches on the importance of not frustrating the grace of God by seeking righteousness through the law, emphasizing that true believers cannot commit this sin. He highlights the glorious display of God's grace in justifying sinners through the righteousness of Christ and warns against doctrines that darken, perplex, mix, or oppose the grace of God. Traill urges the congregation to test the spirits, align their thoughts with God's Word, and examine their own hearts in light of God's law, Christ's righteousness, and the grace of God.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Tyndale
Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
Although my house be not so with God - Instead of כן ken, so, read כן kun, established; and let the whole verse be considered as an interrogation, including a positive assertion; and the sense will be at once clear and consistent: "for is not my house (family) established with God; because he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all, and preserved? For this (He) is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it (or him) not to spring up." All is sure relative to my spiritual successor, though he do not as yet appear; the covenant is firm, and it will spring forth in due time. See the observations at the end of the chapter, Sa2 23:39note).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure--"the light of the morning," that is, the beginning of David's kingdom, was unlike the clear brilliant dawn of an Eastern day but was overcast by many black and threatening clouds; neither he nor his family had been like the tender grass springing up from the ground and flourishing by the united influences of the sun and rain; but rather like the grass that withereth and is prematurely cut down. The meaning is: although David's house had not flourished in an uninterrupted course of worldly prosperity and greatness, according to his hopes; although great crimes and calamities had beclouded his family history; some of the most promising branches of the royal tree had been cut down in his lifetime and many of his successors should suffer in like manner for their personal sins; although many reverses and revolutions may overtake his race and his kingdom, yet it was to him a subject of the highest joy and thankfulness that God will inviolably maintain His covenant with his family, until the advent of his greatest Son, the Messiah, who was the special object of his desire, and the author of his salvation.
John Gill Bible Commentary
Although my house be not so with God,.... So bright, and flourishing, and prosperous as the government of the just ruler before described; or is not "right" (m) with God, meaning his family, in which great sins were committed, and great disorders and confusions brought into it, as the cases of Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah showed; or "not firm" or "stable" (n), through the rebellion of one, the insurrection of another, and the usurpation of a third; yet he believed it would be firm and stable in the Messiah that should spring from him, promised in the everlasting covenant; though the Jewish writers understand this of the firmness and stability of his kingdom and government: "but my house is not so", &c. like the morning light, which increases by little and little, and like the morning, which sometimes is not cloudy, and sometimes is; sometimes the sun shines clearly, and sometimes not; or like the tender grass, which is sometimes flourishing, and after withers; but so is not my kingdom, it is a perpetual one, given and secured by an everlasting covenant; and such certainly is or will be the kingdom of the Messiah: yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure; or, "for (o) he hath made", &c. the covenant by which the kingdom was settled on David and his seed was a covenant that would continue for ever, and would be kept, "observed", and "preserved" (p) in all the articles of it, and so be sure to his seed, particularly to the Messiah that should spring from him, in whom it was fulfilled, Luk 1:32; and the covenant of grace made with David's antitype, with Christ the head of the church, and the representative of it, and so with all his people in him, is an everlasting one: it was made with Christ from everlasting, as appears from the everlasting love of God, the source and spring of it; the earliness of the divine counsels on which it is formed, and blessings and promises of it, with which it is filled, which were before the world was; and from Christ being set up as the Mediator of it from everlasting: and it will continue to everlasting; it is a covenant that cannot be broken, will never be removed, nor give way to or be succeeded by another: it is "ordered in all things": to promote and advance the glory of all the three Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit; to secure the persons of the saints, and to provide everything needful for them for time and eternity: and it is "sure"; it stands upon a sure basis, the unchangeable will and favour of God, and is in the hands of Christ, the same today, yesterday, and for ever; its mercies are the sure mercies of David, and its promises are yea and amen in Christ, and are sure to all the seed. Though things may not be with them God-ward, as they desire, and could be wished for; though they may be attended with many sins and infirmities, the temptations of Satan, divine desertions, and various afflictions, and be guilty of many backslidings, yet covenant interest always continues; and so, though in the kingdom and interest of Christ in the world, there are, and may be, many things disagreeable; it may be attended with persecutions, heresies, scandals, &c. yet it shall continue and increase, and spread, and be an everlasting kingdom: for this is all my salvation: all depends upon this covenant; the safety of David's family, and the security of the kingdom in it, and to his seed, till the Messiah came, depended on the covenant made with him respecting that; and the spiritual and eternal salvation of the Lord's people depends upon the covenant of grace; which was contrived, formed, and settled in it, in which the Saviour is provided, and the persons to share in his salvation are taken into it and secured, with all blessings both of grace and glory: and all my desire; to see it fulfilled; as it is the desire of good men to be led more and more into it, to see their interest in it, to have the blessings and promises of it applied unto them, and to be saved by it, and not by the covenant of works; and there is all that in it that a believer can desire to make him comfortable here, or happy hereafter; and it is what gives him delight and pleasure in all his troubles: it may be supplied he is, as well as "this is", and be applied to Christ, the ruler over men, described, Sa2 23:3; with whom the covenant of grace is made, in whom is the salvation of men; he is the author and the only author of it; in whom it is complete and perfect; "all" salvation is in him, and which they can claim as theirs; to whom is "all their desire"; and in whom is "all their delight", as it may be rendered; on account of the glory of his person, the fulness of his grace, and his suitableness as a Saviour; whom they desire to know more of, and have more communion with: although he made it not to grow; though there may not be at present any growth of outward prosperity, or of inward grace, or even of the produce of the earth, Hab 3:17; though the horn of David is not yet made to bud, or his family in growing and flourishing circumstances, or the Messiah, the man, the branch, does not yet shoot forth, though he certainly would; or, "for shall he not bud forth" he shall, Jer 23:5. (m) "non recta", Cocceius. (n) "Non est re firma", Vitringa in Jesaiam, c. xi. 1. (o) "quia", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator. (p) "scrvatum", Tigurine version, Vatablus; "conservatum", Junius & Tremellius.
Tyndale Open Study Notes
23:5 my family . . . everlasting covenant: David is referring to the prophecy Nathan made about David and his descendants (7:12-16). Jesus is the everlasting king who is the “descendant of David” (Matt 1:1).