The Covenants of Promise - Continued
In the words of the
Apostle Paul, as found in his letter to the Ephesians, we have the term,
"covenants of promise" - plural. While there is but one great
covenant involving the world's redemption, as there is but one gospel, on
account of this having been made in various forms in various times, it is
spoken of in the plural. We have already seen that the covenant was initiated
with Adam, made known to Noah, and still more fully
brought to light to Abraham. Now in the covenant with David, it assumes a more
complete form with respect to its aspect as a kingdom. The kingdom
of Israel had become a fact, and was called the kingdom
of God. Being a type of the everlasting kingdom of God, the time
had come when by it those to whom the oracles of God were committed would be
better qualified to understand the meaning of the gospel of the kingdom of God
as embodied in the covenants of promise, so that the covenant with David deals
especially with a kingdom. Following are some of the testimonies setting forth
this aspect of the covenants of promise:
II Sam. 7:12-16 - And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of
thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an
house for my name; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I
will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit
iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the
children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from
Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established
for ever.
II Sam. 23:1-5 - Now
these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who
was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist
of Israel said, The spirit of the Lord
spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me. He that ruleth over
men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of
the morning when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender
grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house
be not so with God yet he hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure; for this is all
my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.
Psa 89:4, 19-29, 34-37
- Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all
generations. Then thou spaketh in vision to thy Holy One, and saidst, I have
laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.
I have found David my servant: with my holy oil have I anointed him: with whom
my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy
shall not exact upon him: nor the son of wickedness
afflict him. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them
that hate him. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my
name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his
right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God, and
the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the
kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him for
evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make
to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. My covenant will I
not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn
by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His
seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be
established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.
Psa. 110 - The Lord
said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing
in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the
morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lord hath sworn, and will not
repent. Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at
thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall
judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies: he
shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the
way: therefore shall he lift up the head.
Psa. 132:11-18 - The
Lord hath sworn in truth unto David: he will not turn from it: Of the fruit of
thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and
my testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy
throne for evermore. For the Lord hath chosen Zion: he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here
will I dwell: for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her provision: I
will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with
salvation: and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn
of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his
crown flourish.
Isa. 9:6, 7 - For unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon
his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Isa. 16:5 - And in
mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the
tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment and hasting righteousness.
Isa. 55:1, 3 - Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money:
come ye, buy and eat: yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without
price. * * * Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall
live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies
of David.
Jer. 23:5, 6 - Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch
and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in
the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall
be called The Lord Our Righteousness.
Luke 1:30-33 - And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou
hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for
ever: and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Acts 2:29-35 - Men and
brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both
dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being a
prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his
throne: he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his
soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the
Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself,
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thy foes my
footstool.
Acts 15:16, 17 - After
this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is
fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon
whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Rev. 3:7 - And to the
angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These things saith he that is holy, he that is
true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man
shutteth: and shutteth and no man openeth.
Rev. 5:5 - And one of
the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the
Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the
book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Rev 22:16 - I
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Here we have what we
may call the Davidian covenant. It will be seen from these testimonies that
this, like the Abrahamic covenant, leads down to Christ and pertains to the
world's redemption. The kingdom of God, as it had existed under David and was
now about to be transferred to Solomon, consisted of all the elements necessary
to constitute a kingdom. It was not
what is popularly known as a spiritual kingdom. It was real. It was on the
earth, a literal constitution of things. It had territory, subjects, rulers,
laws and a capital. It was complete so far as it was possible for there to be a
complete kingdom in that evil age in which it existed. Now that a covenant was
made with David concerning a future kingdom, the question is, Will it also be
real, literal, having the same elements in its composition as that of the kingdom
of Israel of the past? That this covenant was understood by David to
refer to the future is clear from what he says in II Sam 7:19, "And this
was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of
thy servant’s house for a great while to come." Many people suppose
that this covenant related to Solomon only. While Solomon, no doubt, was a type
of Christ, this covenant reached beyond him. Its realization was not expected
by David in the time of Solomon. It was "for a great while to come."
What does it involve? In the tenth verse it is said, "Moreover I will
appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of
their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness
afflict them any more, as beforetime." Here we have the place in
which Israel is to be planted when the covenant is fully realized;
hence we may safely conclude that the kingdom will have literal territory. Next
we find that He promised to David that His mercy shall not depart from him, the
person who is the subject of the covenant, as it did from Saul, and his house,
David's royal house, and kingdom should be established for ever in his hands;
his throne should be established for ever (verses 15, 16). Hence we have here a
royal house, a king, a territory, a kingdom; and as Israel's laws were heavenly, or laws from heaven, so we may
conclude the laws of this kingdom will be heavenly.
IT WAS
DAVID'S SALVATION
At the time that this
covenant was made, the days of David's natural career were about ended. He
could not hope to live much longer, and did not, and therefore to make such
promises to him would seem like mockery unless they
involved for him a future life. "Thine house and thy kingdom shall be
established for ever before thee" (verse 16). What can the words
"before thee" mean but in thy presence? As in the case of Abraham it
is a matter personally to be realized. Therefore resurrection is here provided
for though not expressed in so many words; it is clearly implied, David was to
die, yet his house and his kingdom were to be established for ever in his
presence. How could this be unless David were to be
raised from the dead? for it was to be "for a
great while to come."
This covenant is made
the subject of David’s last words, which shows that he viewed it as a matter of
the future: "Now these be the last words of
David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the
anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, * * * He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling
in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning when the sun
riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the
earth by clear shining after rain. Although my house be not so with God; yet he
hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for
this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to
grow" (II Sam. 23:1-5). This covenant with David involved "all his
salvation and all his desire," his only hope in the hour of death. It was
the hope in which he lived and the hope in which he died. Like all other
ancient worthies, he "died in faith, not having received the promises but
seeing them afar off," or as he terms it, in a "great while to come."
That this refers to the
kingdom of God in the hands of Christ there can be no question, for we have the
words of the Apostle Peter who, by inspiration, declares that the covenant with
David reached down to the days of Christ's glorious reign on the earth. Not
only so, but he assures us that this was David's understanding of the matter,
for he says, "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the
patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us
unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn
with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he
would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; he, seeing this before, spake
of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his
flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2: 29-31). David being a prophet, then,
foresaw that Christ would be raised up to sit upon his throne. Hence we may
safely conclude that the seed which was promised to David, who should establish
his house and his kingdom for ever, is Christ and that David so understood it,
and in this saw by faith, and died in the faith, that the fulfillment of the
covenant through Christ would bring to him the realization of "all his
salvation and all his desire."
It is impossible for
any one having the least regard for the truth and consistency of the Bible to
say that the promises of the covenant with David have been fulfilled, except so
far as the mission of Christ in his first coming is embraced in the covenant.
Without "rightly dividing the word of truth" in this case, as in that
of the Abrahamic covenant, the Bible will be made to appear as a contradictory
book, and advantage given the infidel. Let us look at the facts in the case.
One of the promises is that God would "appoint a place for his people Israel, and plant them that they may dwell in a place of their
own, and move no more" (II Sam. 7:10). Israel scattered in all the world to day is sufficient to show
that this promise has not yet been fulfilled. If their immovable
"planting" in the place appointed had become a fact, they would be
there now, but they are not there, they are not in a "place of their
own." In Lev 26:31,33 the present scattered
condition of Israel is foretold in the following words, "And I will make
your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not
smell the savour of your sweet odors. And I will bring the land into
desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And
I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and
your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste." In Deut. 28:49-50
Moses predicted the same scattering in the following words: "The Lord
shall bring a nation against thee from afar, from the end of the earth, as
swift as the eagle flieth: a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand: a
nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor
show favor to the young." In verses 64 and 65 he adds, "And the Lord
shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto
the other: and there thou shalt serve other gods, which
neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among
these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have
rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of
eyes, and sorrow of mind." Now with these prophecies on record, God
promised David that He would appoint Israel a place of their own, and they shall never be moved:
neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime.
What shall we do with these apparently contradictory testimonies? We cannot
mistake what they say. We know that the prophecy of Moses in regard to this
scattering has been fulfilled since Christ was on the earth nineteen hundred
years ago. He testified to the truth of what Moses wrote, for He said,
"Moses wrote of me," and "if ye had believed Moses, ye would
have believed me." Moses declared that Israel should be scattered, that their city should be besieged
and that their land should go into desolation. Jesus confirms this by saying,
"And when ye shall see Jerusalem
compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh"
(Luke 21: 20). And then He adds, speaking of Israel, "and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and
shall be led away captive into all nations" (Luke 21: 24). And yet in the covenant with David promise is made that
they shall cease to be scattered, and that they shall be planted in their land,
and be no more moved, neither shall they be afflicted. Have we a contradictory
Bible? There is only one way to escape the difficulty before us. When God spoke
through Moses of scattering Israel He made no mistake. Neither had He forgotten
what He had said to Moses when He promised David that Israel should be planted in the land never again to be scattered.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Saviour predicted their scattering, and that
they are scattered today, there is no difficulty if we accept the truth. The
only solution which the truth will admit of is that the "planting"
spoken of in the covenant with David is yet in the future. If this is in the
future, then the promise concerning David’s seed, or his royal son who is to
sit upon his throne, in whose hands David's house and kingdom will be
established for ever in David's presence, is also in the future. And if all
this centers in Christ, then you can see that the world's redemption is
provided for in the covenant with David.
ITS
PERPETUITY
Again, here we have
God's oath to David that this seed which should be raised up to sit upon his
throne should be David's "salvation and his desire:" that God's mercy
should never depart from him as it did from Saul; that his house and his
kingdom should be established for ever: his, David's seed, it is said, he will
"make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven" (Psa.
89:29). My covenant will I not break," He adds, "nor alter the thing
that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not
lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and
his throne as the sun before me" (verses 34-36). Let us compare with these
promises what we read in Ezek 21:25-27: "And thou profane wicked prince of
Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end. Thus
saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not
be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will
overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no
more until he come whose right it is: and I will give it him." Here is the
overturn of David's throne, and again there is seemingly a contradiction, and
it is contradictory if there is no future fulfillment of the covenant with
David. Suppose we were to read verse 27 thus, "I will overturn, overturn,
overturn it and it shall be no more." Then we would surely have
contradiction, for we have just read in the eighty-ninth Psalm that his throne
is to continue for ever, and here it is said that it
is overturned in the days of Zedekiah and it shall be no more. But this, while
it would be in strict accordance with popular theology, which finds no room for
the re-establishment of David's throne and kingdom, would he perverting the
testimony. We must read the entire verse in order to escape the contradiction,
in order to save the Bible from contradiction, in order to vindicate the
veracity of God. This verse reads when we read it all, "I will overturn,
overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more until
He come whose right it is, and I will give it him." Who is this? Can we be
as sure that the "him" here is Christ as we were that the
"his" in the Abrahamic covenant was Christ? You will remember, dear
reader, that the Apostle Paul assures us that the promise to Abraham, "Thy
seed shall possess the gate of his enemies" refers to Christ, by
saying, "He saith not, And to seeds as of many, but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." We may be sure that
the seed promised to David, the "he" who is to come, and whose right
David's throne is, is the Christ. Christ is in the Davidian covenant as well as
in the Abrahamic, and the world's redemption will also be thus seen to be
involved in the covenant with David. Can we be sure that Christ is involved in
this covenant? Is the seed here Christ? Let the law and the testimony settle
the question. One passage we have given is Isa. 9: 6-7, where we have the
words, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." No one
will dispute the application of this to Christ. We know that this is Christ.
And now what else is promised in this passage in relation to Christ? Mark the
words, "and the government shall be upon his shoulder." What else?
Mark the words again. "Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end." Has this anything to do with the covenant with David?
Has this anything to do with the throne of David? Mark the words again,
"of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon
the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it
with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever, The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." This
ought to settle the question. But let us proceed further. Again let me remind
you that we have read in Ezek. 21: 25-27 of the overthrow of David's throne,
and that it would be no more, until he come whose right it is, "and I will
give it him." Can we again connect this with Christ? Here is what angelic
testimony declares as an answer, "And the angel said unto her, Fear not,
Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall
be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of his Father David: and he shall reign over the
house of Jacob for ever: and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
Connect with this the inquiry of the wise men, who came from the East to
Jerusalem on the occasion of Christ's birth, asking, "Where is he that is
born King of the Jews" (Matt. 2: 1, 2); and again the answer given
to Herod's question, "And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not
the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that
shall rule my people Israel" (Matt. 2: 6), and now that Christ is the
very heart of the covenant made with David is beyond question.
Yes but, some will say,
while we are bound to admit that Christ is the subject of the covenant with
David, we claim that the covenant was fulfilled at His first coming. Now, dear
reader, ask yourself the question, Did the Lord God
give Christ the throne of His Father David while He was here as a "man of
sorrow and acquainted with grief?" He declared, "The foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests: but the Son of man hath not where
to lay his head" (Luke 9: 58).
"Did He then reign over the house of Jacob, as the angel declared to Mary
He should? Is it not a fact that the Jews denied Him, and for doing so, He said
they should be "led away captive among all nations."
Hear the words which came from Him when He wept over the City of Jerusalem, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are
sent unto thee: how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen
doth gather her brood under her wings and ye would not! Behold, your house is
left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye
shall not see me, until the time come, when ye shall say, Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord" (Luke 13: 34-35). In His second appearing we have the solution of the
whole problem He did not fulfill the covenant with David at His first coming.
The covenant requires the re-establishment of David's throne and kingdom, with
Christ reigning over the house of Jacob. This did not take place. But after He
had been rejected by the house of Israel, God said to Him, "Sit thou at my right hand, until I
make thy foes thy footstool." Christ now is in heaven. Israel is scattered, and her land is in desolation: David's
throne is in ruins: Jerusalem is trodden down by the Gentiles. When and by what means
will the covenant with David be fulfilled? Remember the words are, "He
shall build an house for my name and I will establish
the throne of his kingdom for ever." Remember the words of the angel to
Mary are, "And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father
David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever: and of His kingdom
there shall be no end." We are compelled by the force of facts and truth
to conclude that such promises never having been fulfilled, will find their
fulfillment in the future. Not having been fulfilled at Christ's first coming,
will they find their fulfillment at His second coming? Are we left to doubt or
uncertainty in the case, or shall we find words of Inspiration that will assure
us of the truth beyond the shadow of doubt? Listen to the words of Divine
testimony, "And after they had held their peace James answered saying, Men
and brethren hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did
visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree
the words of the prophets: as it is written, After this I will return, and
will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down: and I will
build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue of
men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is
called, saith the Lord who doeth all these things" (Acts 15:
13-17). What was the first thing that James said was to be done? Visit the
Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. When does this occur? The
visiting of the Gentiles commenced after Christ's death and resurrection. We
may safely say that it began when Peter went to the house of Cornelius in Caesarea. The
work of taking out of the Gentiles still goes on through the instrumentality of
the gospel. We know that we are now in the times of the Gentiles. When will
Christ come and build the tabernacle of David? Let Him answer. "After
this," that is, after visiting the Gentiles, "I will return
and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down: and I will
build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up." The question is
settled. There is no room for dispute. Ah! but says
the one who spiritualizes God's words to suit popular creeds, you are too
literal. You are looking for a literal kingdom with Christ as its personal
ruler on the earth. Yes indeed we are. What else can we look for? When it was
said of David's throne, "I will overturn, overturn, overturn
it" was that literal? or was it a spiritual
throne in the skies, in the heavens, or beyond the bounds of time and space?
What was overturned to be no more till he come whose right it is"? That it
was the throne, kingdom and dominion of David which was overthrown everybody knows.
The same testimony that says "it shall be no more, until he come whose
right it is," says also, "And I will give it him." Give
what to him? a spiritual throne in heaven? We know
nothing of David ever having a spiritual throne in heaven, and if there was one
there, it surely was never "overturned." The throne that was
overturned was the one that was to be given to him whose right it is. If
David's throne and kingdom were real and literal, then it will be a literal
throne and kingdom that will be given to Christ. Ah! some
will say with a sneer, that reduces the thing to an absurdity. You are talking
about the literal chair in which David sat. No, we are not talking about the
literal chair, but we are talking about the power and dominion of David. We
don't mean the literal chair in which Queen Victoria sits when we talk about
the throne of England, but in using the term we, of course, mean a real
kingdom, the kingdom of Great Britain, that has territory, a throne, subjects,
laws and rulers; and we mean the very same when we speak of the throne and
kingdom of David which had all and will again have all these elements. We mean
the very same when we speak of giving it, the throne that was
overturned, to him whose right it is. The angel declares to Mary, "He shall
be great, and the Lord God shall give him the throne of his father David. He
shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdom there shall be
no end" these words are too clear to be spiritualized and made
meaningless; for James adds, "After this I will return and will build again."
Mark the word, "again," something that was built before, that had
been overturned and needed building again. Surely the supposed spiritual throne
of David in heaven was never overthrown and needed to be built again. The
testimony continues still more clearly, " I will return and will build
again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down: and I will build
again the ruins thereof." What folly it is to try to spiritualize
this and make it mean anything but what it declares. Inspiration
has anticipated and forestalled all these vain attempts at making the Word of
God of none effect by tradition.
ISAIAH’S
INVITATION TO THE SURE MERCIES OF DAVID
How often do we hear
quoted the beautiful words of the Prophet Isaiah, "Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come, buy and eat:
yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isa. 55:
1). These are words to a thirsty perishing world. They are a call to fallen
man, inviting him to partake of the blessings of salvation. Salvation is what
is offered here. And now the question is, Does this
stand related in any way to the covenant made with David? The words are
frequently quoted without any regard to that which is offered in them and to
which they invite lost men and women. What does God say He will do with those
who respond to this beneficent call, this invitation to salvation?
"Incline your ear," He says, "and come unto me. Hear and your
soul shall live: and I will make an everlasting covenant with you." (Isa.
55: 3) Surely here is the place to settle the nature of this covenant. If it is
that God invites us to a covenant providing for our flight to realms beyond the
stars, we ought to find it here. If on the contrary it is an invitation to the
covenant made with David, involving an inheritance in the earth, when David's
throne and kingdom will be restored and given to His royal Son Christ, King
David the second, then certainly we shall find in it the gospel which provides
for the world's redemption. What is the invitation to? What are we called to?
Mark the words carefully. Receive them as truth and reject everything that
conflicts with them. Here they are, "and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." Now, dear
reader, did you ever find any where in the Scriptures "sure mercies of
David" providing for an inheritance in heaven, or a kingdom in the sky?
David never was in heaven. How then could he have a kingdom there? David died
in faith, not having received the promise, but seeing its fulfillment "in
a great while to come" declares it to be his salvation. Has he gone to
heaven? Has he gone any where except to the dust to await a glorious
resurrection to the realization of these promises? "David, after he had
served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto
his fathers, and saw corruption" (Acts 13: 36). "David is not
ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord,
Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool." Christ is
gone to heaven, but not David. And when we reach the end of the time indicated
by the word "until" "he shall send Jesus Christ, which before
was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began" (Acts 3: 20-21).
If the invitation to
come into covenant relationship with God, is to every one that thirsteth, in
which covenant are "the sure mercies of David," then the covenant and
the gospel must be one and the same thing, because every invitation that is
sent out to fallen man from God is for him to come to a belief and obedience of
the gospel whereby he may obtain salvation. To invite men, then, to believe and
obey the gospel is the same thing as to invite him to the everlasting covenant,
in which are the sure mercies of David, and it is this covenant with David and
with others that the Apostle Paul alludes to in addressing the Church of
Ephesus, saying "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles
in the flesh, * * * at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
commnonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:11, 12). To be a Gentile is to
be an alien from the commonwealth of Israel, and a stranger from the covenants of promise. To be this
is to be without hope and without God in the world. Was heaven ever spoken of
as the commonwealth of Israel? Is the promise of an everlasting abode beyond the stars
ever found in any of the covenants of promise? If not, why believe it? Why
accept another gospel, when the apostle says to do so will bring a curse
instead of a blessing? What can the words "commonwealth of Israel" mean? Commonwealth means a wealth to be enjoyed in
common, and since it is the commonwealth of Israel, this must be a wealth to be enjoyed by Israel in common. Israel means he that hath prevailed and become a prince with God.
Who pre-eminently is entitled to this name, Israel? Who has prevailed where all others of the Adamic race
failed? Who by reason of overcoming has become a prince with God.
That this is Christ there can be no question. He is therefore pre-eminently an
Israelite, yes, the Israelite, in whom was found no guile and in whom centers
the commonwealth of Israel because in him is the power to fulfill the covenants
of promise, and give the promised wealth of salvation and everlasting
inheritance to the Israel of God (Gal. 6: 16). In this, as we shall see further
along, the commonwealth will be enjoyed by the Israel of God, first according
to the spirit, and secondly the nation of Israel restored to the land of their
fathers¾ the former, which constitute the one great body politic, of which
Christ is the head, will be the rulers those who will have overcome, prevailed
and become princes with God, kings of whom Christ is King; "King of kings,
and Lord of lords," will be the rulers, while the twelve tribes of Israel
restored to the land promised to Abraham will be the subjects to be
"planted in a land of their own and never be moved; neither shall the
children of wickedness any more afflict them as before time." Then the sure
mercies of David will find their fulfillment. But what I wish to impress here
is that the apostle says that while we were Gentiles, before we became part of
the Israel of God, we were aliens from this commonwealth, strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Therefore it
is essential, it is a vital question, that we see to
it that we come to believe in the commonwealth of Israel, in the covenants of promise, not in promises that were
never made, but, like Abraham, in the very promises made, to believe which will
be accounted to us for righteousness as it was in Abraham's case. Salvation is
predicated upon this, and it is the same matter as is involved in the gospel of
which our Saviour says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be condemned" (Mark 16: 16). The apostle shows us here that he that believeth in the commonwealth of Israel and the covenants of promise and is there upon baptized
into Christ shall be saved; while he that believeth not in the commonwealth of Israel and in the covenants of promise can no more be saved than he who believeth not the gospel. Hence he
adds, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are
made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:13). When ye were afar off ye were aliens and strangers,
hopeless and helpless, but now having believed the gospel, which involves the
commonwealth of Israel and covenants of promise, and having been baptized into
Christ, you are therefore not afar off, but made nigh by the blood of Christ.
"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together,
groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together
for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (verses 19-22). Of the
covenant with David then we may say the same as we did of the covenant with
Abraham. All the blessings through Christ are promised to David's seed, and to
Abraham's seed, and therefore we must become adopted into the family of Abraham
to become part of the "seed" to whom the
promise is made. Christ is the mediator. "He is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between" the
Jews and the Gentiles. Belief in the covenants of promise, or the gospel, and
baptism into Christ inducts us into the only saving "name* * * given among
men whereby we must be saved." Hence the apostle says, "As many of
you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Gal. 3: 27). And now in this relationship or condition expressed by
the phrase "in Christ," "there is no difference" between
Jew and Greek, that is to say, it makes no difference whether you are of Jewish
descent according to the flesh, or Gentiles by nature. There is therefore no
salvation out of Christ. There is no way into Christ but by believing the
covenants of promise and being baptized, and when these are complied with we
are Christ's. "And if ye be Christ's" says the apostle, "then
are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." That is, heirs
of this Israelitish commonwealth, these covenants of promise made to Abraham
and to David. We thus see that Christ is the pith and pivot of it all, the
heart, the life of the whole matter. All these things were arranged on account
of Him and for Him, and therefore He "is the root and the offspring of
David." He was the Word of God in the beginning and that word, or logos,
was the Father's purpose centered in Christ. That was the root of this great
plan of salvation involved in the covenants of promise. When "the Word was
made flesh," the logos, as it were, assumed personal form and
Christ was personally the exemplification of God's great purpose to bring about
the world's redemption. Hence He says, "I am the way, the truth and the
life." He is called the Word of God. A word is a sign or symbol of thought.
Christ was a sign or symbol, a manifestation of God's purpose in the earth. He
was the kingdom of Israel in its germ form when here upon the earth. According to
the flesh he was the offspring of David; viewing the word David as a
representation of God's plan, He is the outcome, the offspring of that plan. Everything pertaining to the covenants of promise and the world's
redemption centers in Him. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end. He holds "the key of David," in that He holds the key that
shall unlock the bars of the grave, which for the time being holds David in
corruption. "I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold, I am alive for
evermore, amen; and have the keys of hades and of death" (Rev. 1: 18). He
has the "key of David; He openeth and no man shutteth; and shutteth and no
man openeth" (Rev. 3:7). Not only will he use the keys to unlock the grave
for David and all the ancient worthies who "died in the faith, not having
received the promise," but the key of David will open the royal house of David,
the kingdom of Israel, and again bring to the earth a Divine administration of
affairs that will fulfill the Abrahamic covenant, blessing all families of the
earth. Of Him David says, "He that ruleth over men shall be a just one
that shall rule according to the righteous precepts of Jehovah"; and when
David looked down the dark ages that would intervene, he pierced the future
horizon of his hope, and exclaimed, "He shall be like the sun of an
unclouded dawn," or as our translation has it, "a morning without
clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after
rain. Although my house be not so with God," that is, at the time that he
spoke, "Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all
things and sure," and with this hope he closed his eves to await the time
contemplated in the words, "I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy
likeness." Then shall he with all those who are now in the sleep of death
awaiting the realization of the faith in which they died, behold the uprising
of the "Sun of righteousness," which shall arise with healing in his
wings, and burst forth in all his splendor and beauty to "fill the earth
with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
In all this we are not
asked to take visionary flights to worlds unknown, nor need we dream of the
impossible task of reading our "title clear to mansions in the sky;"
for fitting immortal souls for the sky is no part of the world's redemption.
There is a grander and more noble work for the redeemed
in the age to come than playing upon golden streets and revelling in idleness.
There is a lost paradise to be regained, a thousand wrongs to be righted, a
crooked world to be straightened, a lost world to be redeemed, the profaned
name of Yahweh to be honored where it has been despised and rejected, a mocked
and crucified King to be enthroned and glorified, and the sky is no place for
these things to be done. They are needed where social vice is corrupting and
eating out the very life of society; where a false and deceptive religious
system is trafficking for worldly gain in the bodies and souls of men and women
who are ignorant of God's Word and are carried away under high pressure of
excitement and animal magnetism by the cunning tricks of experts; they are
needed where famishing millions are slaves to tyrannical monopolies, and where
the cruel heel of the oppressor is crushing into the earth its helpless
victims: they are needed here, and nothing will effect these grand
results but the King from heaven who will shortly appear in His mighty power
and majestic glory to associate with himself all His worthy ones of the ages of
the past in the great work of restitution of all things, when there shall be
"glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will among
men," and the world's redemption become a glorious fact.