Introduction: Yesterday we were hearing all about the good characteristics of God and talking about the thorough blessedness of those living in a close relationship with God. Suddenly we have this sentence thrown into the Psalm, ‘Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: etc‘. Who is the ‘you’? and who is the ‘chosen One’ spoken to in a vision?
19 Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:
“I have granted help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
21 so that my hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him. – ‘Your godly one’ in line one is not necessarily the ‘one who is mighty’ in line two. What do you think? As I read on I thought that the one who is mighty is probably, and pretty obviously, David. Does the psalmist say when addressing God, and quoting history, the bit in parenthesis? So is the ‘you’ at the beginning God? Is ‘your godly one’ in v 19 Samuel? Remember he was told in a vision to anoint David! – and he did.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his horn be exalted. – Samuel could not promise these things to David! So I assume that what we now have recorded is what God said about David to Samuel and remember that God promised David that his kingdom would be the beginning of an everlasting kingdom (1 Samuel 16)
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’ – David’s kingdom was great! As we can see in the attached map the yellow and purple portions, which make up about a third of the outlined red area was the land which God appointed for Israel! Certainly as one reads in the Psalms which David wrote he called God ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth. –
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
But David died and by the time Solomon his son died the kingdom was split into two and certainly for the northern kingdom (the bit coloured yellow) the kings were basically rotters! And the south also ended up under foreign domination! So where does ‘I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.‘ fit in?
The Psalm isn’t finished and nor has God! I think that this is a Messianic Psalm!
2 Sam 11-16 – ‘Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ….. I will discipline him with the rod of men, ….. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’
Prayer: Thank You that we have the Bible as context for isolated passages!