The Key of David #1

(Feast of Tabernacles—Day 5)

A man after God's heart; fixed, unmovable, undeterred!!

Fred R. Coulter—October 7, 2020

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Day 5 of the Feast of Tabernacles!

With all that's going on in the world—and there's plenty going on in the world—and all the difficulties surrounding everything that we do, what's going to give us the most important thing so that we can really attain what God wants us to, to enter into the Kingdom of God?

I want you to think on this, and maybe in your Bible study you can check it out yourself. Every single book in the Bible talks about the Kingdom of God!

• the Psalms
• Proverbs
• New Testament
• teachings of Christ
• examples of the patriarchs

all tell us how to get there!

Let's look at two things that are special; one in the New Testament that connects with something in the Old Testament: the key of David, which also has to do with the heart of David! The key of David is what Jesus holds in His hand! Let's analyze this a little bit, and then we will end up by looking at what Jesus promises with the key of David.

Revelation 3:7: "And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia, write: "These things says the Holy One, the One Who is true…'"

Remember when He told the disciples on the Passover night, 'I am a the Way, the Truth and the Life.' He is true!

"…the One Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shuts, and Who shuts and no one opens" (v 7).

That has to do with different opportunities and understanding the Word of God; many things, indeed! Here's another thing to remember: Jesus never said that He's judging you by your faith. Faith without works is dead. You read all seven churches here in Rev. 2 & 3 and he says, 'I know your works,' and He judges us by our works!

Everybody had faith, whether it's true or wrong, and it's summed up this way: You are what you believe! Then you act upon that belief, and that action produces works.

Verse 8: "I know your works…. [He does because the Spirit from the Father is in us] …Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no one has the power to shut it because you have a little strength…"

Remember what Paul wrote, that God's grace is glorified through His strength of those who are weak! When we are weak of ourselves then we're strong in the Lord:

• through faith
• through grace
• through works

Here are the works, He tells us what they are: "…and have kept My Word…" (v 8). Not compromise on it or go back on it!

"…and have not denied My name" (v 8). Think about that! Denying Jesus' name is compromising with fake Christianity and the world!

This is so outstanding that the super-elite of the world who worship Satan the devil are going to be made to come before us and worship God while we watch them in their humility.

Verse 9: "Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who proclaim themselves to be Jews and are not, but do lie…." Notice the difference: truth vs lie!

"…Behold, I will cause them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you" (v 9).

Let's understand that Jesus loves us because we love Him and we love the Father!

Verse 10: "Because you have kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you from the time of temptation, which is about to come upon the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth."

We'll come back to v 11 when we come to the end, but let's see how this develops. There is a prophecy of it in the book of Acts. This was by James, the brother of Jesus, when they had the conference.

Acts 15:12: "Then all the multitude kept silence and heard Barnabas and Paul relate what signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. And after they were silent, James answered and said, 'Men, brethren, listen to me.

Verse 14: "'Simeon…'" [Peter is called Simeon, Cephas and Simon; all meaning Peter, a little stone!] …has related how God first visited the Gentiles to take out a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written, "after these things, I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David… [What was the tabernacle of David? We will see!] …which has fallen, and its ruins I will build again, and will set it up; so that the residue of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called, says the Lord, Who does all these things."'" (vs 14-17).

We've come across these this already in the first part of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Verse 18: "Known to God are all His works from the beginning of the world." I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the Ending!

Let's see where David is quoting about the tabernacle of David, because the tabernacle of David is really quite something when you understand it. Also, it has to do with—as we will see—the closeness of David to God and also the heart of David, his attitude and love of God!

Amos 9:11: "'In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that has fallen, and close up its breaches; and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; so that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the nations on whom My name is called,' says the LORD who is doing this" (vs 11-12).

Now let's see how we can have the heart of David and the key of David so that we can enter into the Kingdom of God in a way that God's wants us to. Our reward is dependant upon our:

• attitude
• loving God
• serving Him
• doing the things that are right

Luke 10 is quite a verse, and this section of Scripture is really quite something! You can add to that everything that God has revealed to us in these last days, which are more than what was revealed to the apostles. None of it could be understood for prophecy in the future until the book of Revelation was written.

Even John—though he wrote it—it came directly from God the Father to Jesus Christ and given to John, and he had to write it.

Luke 10:21: "In the same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit, and said, 'I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You did hide these things from the wise and intelligent…'"

What we're talking about with the Feast of Tabernacles is the Truth of how God is going to solve the problems of mankind. But the 'wise' and 'intelligent,' who are they? The elite, the establishment, the deep state as we call it today! They know nothing about God's plan!

Think of that! Little ole us whom the world doesn't know, has no knowledge of us whatsoever, except that we have a name, social security number, pay our taxes and where we live. But what God has given us is something they do not have!

"'…and did reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do so.' Then He turned to the disciples and said, 'All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows Who the Son is, except the Father…'" (vs 21-22).

The world does not know! They profess, they claim, but they do not know!

"…and Who the Father is, except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him" (v 22)—personally from Jesus Christ to us!

Think about how special we are to God. This is not to lift us up and get vain, this is to make us humble and yielded to God and love God.

Verse 23[transcriber's correction]: "And He turned to His disciples and said privately, 'Blessed are the eyes that have seen the things that you see. For I tell you, many prophets and kings… [Who was David? The greatest king of all, except Christ!] …have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.' Now, a certain doctor of the law suddenly stood up, tempting Him and saying, 'Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'" (vs 23-25).

Notice Jesus' answer, and think about this; v 26: And He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? How do you read it?' …. [he was a doctor of the Law] …Then he answered and said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.'" (vs 26-27). He had it right!

Verse 28: "And He said to him, 'You have answered correctly. Do this, and you shall live.' But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" (vs 28-29). Then Jesus gave the parable! Many, many have wanted to know!

You have to know and understand that in the days of Eli and his two sons: Hophni and Phinehas. They went out to fight against the Philistines, and they took the Ark—which they shouldn't have taken—and they lost the battle, and the Ark was taken by the Philistines.

God dealt with the Philistines in a very unique way. The Ark was special and should have been in the Holy of Holies. But because of the sins of Israel, and the sins of the priesthood, God removed it! We need to think about that in relationship to our experience with the Church of God today.

What has happened to the Church of God? The same thing because of the same sins!

The Philistines were on a high for battle victory; 1-Samuel 5:1: "And the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. And the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it beside Dagon. And when those of Ashdod arose early on the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the Ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again" (vs 1-3).

What did God do? He said, 'All right, I'm going to show the Philistines that Dagon is not 'God'; it's an idol that is going to fall down before Me!'

Verse 4: "And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the Ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands, were cut off upon the threshold. Only the stump of Dagon was left to him."

They did get the message! So, let's see what they did; v 5: "And neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that come into Dagon's house, tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day." Well, it's no longer there, but when this was being written by Samuel that's what it was!

Look at what God did to them; v 6: "And the hand of the LORD was heavy upon the people of Ashdod, and He destroyed them and struck them with hemorrhoids, Ashdod and its borders. And the men of Ashdod saw that it was so. And they said, 'The Ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us, for His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god'" (vs 6-7). The truth is there's a good lesson from this:

• never challenge God
• never tempt Him

Verse 8: "And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines to them. And they said, 'What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?' And they answered, 'Let the Ark of the God of Israel be carried around to Gath.' And they carried the Ark of the God of Israel around. And it came to pass after they had carried it around, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction. And He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and hemorrhoids broke forth in them" (vs 8-9). You're not going to do very much with all of that!

Verse 10: "And it came to pass that they sent the Ark of God to Ekron. And it came to pass as the Ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, 'They have brought around the Ark of the God of Israel to us in order to kill us and our people.' And they sent and gathered all the lords of the Philistines, and said, 'Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, so that it does not kill us and our people,' for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city. The hand of God was very heavy there" (vs 10-11).

1-Samuel 6:1: "And the Ark of the LORD was in the field of the Philistines seven months." They didn't know what to do!

Verse 2: "And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, 'What shall we do to the Ark of the LORD?…."

Verse 4: "And they said, 'If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty; for you shall certainly send a guilt offering to Him….'"

It has to be because they were afflicted with mice and hemorrhoids.

"…and five golden mice, for the number of the lords of the Philistines, for one plague was on you all, and on your lords" (v 4).

They made them, took the Ark and put it in a cart and sent it off.

Verse 11: "And they laid the Ark of the LORD upon the cart, and the box with the mice of gold and the images of their hemorrhoids. And the cows went the straight way to the way of Beth Shemesh, going along the highway, lowing as they went. And they did not turn aside to the right or to the left. And the lords of the Philistines went after them to the border of Beth Shemesh" (vs 11-12). It got there and it stayed there for some time!

Here is where David gets involved. David had it in his heart to bring the Ark of God out from where it was. Here's a great lesson for us: Whatever God says it must be done God's way! Think about that! Does any man have a better way than God? Of course not! Even King David made a mistake here, though he was well-intentioned. Sometimes even the experts give you wrong advice. 

1-Chronicles 13:1: "And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said to all the congregation of Israel, 'If it is good to you, and if it is from the LORD our God, let us send to our brethren, those remaining in all the land of Israel, and with them to the priests and Levites in their cities and that they may gather together to us. And let us bring again the Ark of our God to us, for we did not inquire at it in the days of Saul'" (vs 1-3). Think of that!

Verse 4: "And all the congregation said that they would do so, for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people."

Another lesson: there are times when the majority is not right, though they may be well-intended. Let's learn a really good lesson here. Tie this together to what we covered in Rev. 3: because you have kept the word of My patience. The Philadelphians with the key of David—the understanding of God—kept the Word of God! We will see what happened here, because as good of intensions as they had, it didn't work out, and we'll see why.

Verse 5: "And David gathered all Israel together, from Shihor of Egypt even to the entering of Hamath, to bring the Ark of God from Kirjath Jearim. And David and all Israel went up to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim of Judah, to bring up from there the Ark of the LORD God, He who dwells between the cherubs, Whose name is called on it. And they carried the Ark of God in a new cart…" (vs 5-7).

We're going to do it right; we're going to make a new cart that's never been used for anything, because this is special for God's Ark of the Covenant.

"…out of the house of Abinadab. And Uzza and Ahio led the cart. And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with lyres, and with harps, and with drums, and with cymbals, and with silver trumpets" (vs 7-8).

Quite a thing! Very happy time bringing the Ark of God! What a fantastic thing this was for them to do. I imagine that they were all happy and joyful!

Verse 9: "And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold the Ark, for the oxen stumbled."

Some people who read this and think how awful that was of God. Well, for all who know the Truth, there is the second resurrection. But for those who don't, they look at this and say, 'How can this be a God of love,' because look what happened:

Verse 10: "And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and He struck him because he put his hand to the Ark. And he died there before the LORD." Why did God do that? That ended the party!

Verse 11: "And David was displeased because the LORD had broken forth upon Uzza…. [David was wrong! All the people were wrong!] …And he called that place The Breach of Uzza, as it is to this day. And David was afraid of God that day, saying, 'How shall I bring the Ark of God to me?'" (vs 11-12). He didn't know what to do!

Here's the lesson: When all else fails, remember read the Word of God! That will help you.

Verse 13: "And David did not bring the Ark to himself in the City of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. And the Ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that he had" (vs 13-14).

We're going learn something very important with this! You must do it the way that God says! If you don't do it the way that God says, then you're going to have trouble! That's what happened to David; he asked council of the people, but they didn't read the book! And the Levites with David didn't read the book!

1-Chronicles 14:1: "Now, Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David and timbers of cedars with masons and carpenters to build him a house. And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was exalted exceedingly because of His people Israel" (vs 1-2).

1-Chronicles 15:1: "And David made houses for himself in the City of David, and prepared a place for the Ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, 'No one ought to carry the Ark of God except the Levites, for God has chosen them to carry the Ark of God and to minister to Him forever.'" He failed to do it right the first time, so he learned the lesson!

Verse 3: "And David assembled all Israel together to Jerusalem to bring up the Ark of the LORD to its place, which He had prepared for it." That place was a special tent!

Verse 11: "And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab. And he said to them, 'You are the heads of the fathers of the Levites. Sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, so that you may bring up the Ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place, which I have prepared for it'" (vs 11-12).

Notice that David admitted that he was wrong the first time; v 13: "'Now, because you did not do it at the first, the LORD our God broke forth upon us, since we did not seek Him according to the ordinance.' And the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves in order to bring up the Ark of the LORD God of Israel" (vs 13-14).

So, they put the staves in it, brought it up and took it up there.

Verse 25: "Then David and the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy. And it came to pass when God helped the Levites who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, they offered seven bulls and seven rams. And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen with all the Levites who carried the Ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the music with the singers. David also had on an ephod of linen" (vs 25-27). So, they brought it up!

1-Chronicles 16:1: "And they brought the Ark of God and set it in the middle of the tent, which David had pitched for it. And they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God."

They had outside of the house, outside the tent, they had an altar of whole stones on which they made these offerings.

The Ark stayed there in David's house in this special addition on his house until Solomon brought it up out of David's house when he finished the temple.

Verse 2: "And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. And he divided to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread and a portion of meat and a raisin cake. And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark of the LORD… [so, it was handled properly] …and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel" (vs 2-4). So, they had daily services there doing that!

Verse 5: "Asaph the chief, and next to him Zechariah, Jeiel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and Mattithiah, and Eliab, and Benaiah, and Obed-Edom. And Jeiel praised with instruments of harps and with lyres; and Asaph made a sound with cymbals. Also Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests praised with silver trumpets continually before the Ark of the Covenant of God. Then on that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren in order to thank the LORD" (vs 5-7). All the rest of it in this chapter David gave thanks to God!

David wrote the Psalms, but in order for them to be part of the official recorded they had to be given to the priest, who would keep all of them. We don't know how many more psalms that are not recorded in the Bible, but I'm sure there are plenty.

1-Chron. 17—David was in his house thinking of God, playing on his instrument, praying, thinking about God and the wonderful place that God had given him that was where the tabernacle was placed. He said, 'You know, God dwells in a tent! And I dwell in a house. Why don't we make a temple for the Lord?'

The rest of the story on that was that God said, 'David, you can't because you're a man of war! But Solomon, your son, will build Me a house.'

Now let's look at some of the greatest Psalms, because they are so full of the relationship of David to God and God to David, and David's:

• understanding of the Word of God
• his wholeheartedness
• his complete zeal
• his absolute dedication to God

We're going to learn some very important things when we get into some of the Psalms, because it's really going to be great.

This is going to help us to have the key and the heart of David!

(Break)

Let's see why David was a man after God's heart! Remember that he had the Ark of the Covenant in a special tent in a special addition onto his house or palace in the City of David, which was just south of where the temple would later be built.

Also, it was quite a height at that particular point. Later in the days the Maccabees they cut it down, so today from the Mosque of Omar going south, it's all cut off. Let's also understand that he probably had the closest relationship to God of any other man besides Abraham. Think on that! He was close to God!

• yes, he did make mistakes
• yes, he did have his sins

But let's look at why he was a man after God's own heart! We're going to see what kind of attitude that we need to have, which is the key of David, the heart of David, so that we likewise can enter into a close relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. Today They are dwelling in us!

Psalm 57:1: "Be gracious unto me, O God, be gracious unto me… [that's the way we need to pray] …for my soul trusts in You; yea, in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge until these great troubles pass by."

David always had troubles, battles, fights and wars! I think that today we ought to tell ourselves that in even in our troubles, we haven't had it so bad; so buck up!

Verse 2: "I will cry to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me." We can apply this to us, because right now God is fulfilling His purpose for us:

• with His Spirit
• with His Word

Verse 3: "He shall send from heaven and save me; He rebukes him who would swallow me up. Selah…. [stop and meditate on this] …God shall send forth His mercy and His Truth."

What we have just read here shows you something very important: this is the epitome of the New Testament relationship with God!

Verse 5: "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth. They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me; into the midst of it they have fallen themselves. Selah" (vs 5-6).

Isn't that true? God has a way of going against the enemies IF we're trusting in Him! And He will deliver us!

Now notice that v 7 is what we must have; notice his faith and attitude toward God:

Verse 7: "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed…" That's what we need to do! Our hearts need to be fixed to God, not to anything else, not to any other purpose; to God!

"…I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre!…." (vs 7-8).

There he is before the tent of the Ark and he's playing these beautiful songs to God, pouring out his heart to Him right before that—amazing!

"…I myself will awake the dawn" (v 8). Get up and pray to God before the light of day starts!

Verse 9: "I will praise You, O LORD, among the people; I will sing of You among the nations…" That's what it's going to be when he's in the Kingdom of God!

Verse 10: "For Your steadfast mercy is great even unto the heavens and Your Truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Your glory be above all the earth" (vs 10-11).

Wonderful praise of God, looking forward to the Kingdom of God! All of this will be fulfilled even greater in the Kingdom of God! We are going to see one of the main things of David was his heart was:

• fixed
• unmovable
• unchangeable
• undeterred

Psalm 108:1: "O God, my heart is fixed…" Let's all of us really endeavor:

• with our heart
• with our mind
• with our emotions
• with our words

to see if we can have this attitude of David, that our heart is fixed for God forever!

Verse 2: "Awake, harp and lyre; I will awake early. I will praise You, O LORD, among the people; and I will sing praises to You among the nations, for Your mercy is great above the heavens; and Your Truth reaches unto the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth, so that Your beloved may be delivered; save with Your right hand, and answer me" (vs 2-6). Quite a thing! That's the way to pray to God!

Think of the courage, love and power that's contained in these words!

Verse 10: "Who will bring me into the strong city? Who will lead me into Edom? O God, have You not cast us off? And, O God, will You not go out with our armies? Give us help from trouble, for vain is the deliverance of man" (vs 10-12).

When David went out on these battles, he asked God to be with him in everything! He learned the lesson that when he doesn't trust in God, He's is not there!

Verse 13—this ought to be our lives: "Through God we shall do mighty things, for it is He who will tread down our enemies." God will do that and deliver us from it! Quite an amazing, wonderful thing!

All of these Psalms show David's attitude and how he was a man after God's heart! Let's see if we can put these things into our lives, as well. We're to pray every day and study every day, and to be praying all through the day in the many things we do, where we are and what is happening around us!

Psalm 112:1: "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments."

• Do we do that?
• All the commandments of God?

How great they are!

Look at the world today, they're leaving God at such a fast rate that's it's incredible!

Verse 2: "His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever" (vs 2-3). Again projecting into the Kingdom of God! That will apply to us in the Kingdom of God when we are there!

Verse 4: "To the upright there arises light in the darkness… [during the times we have troubles] …he is gracious and full of compassion and righteousness"—to give to us!

Stop and think about this; this is New Testament doctrine! God imputes the righteousness of Christ to us! Of course, if we have this attitude, yes, He will!

Verse 5: "It is well with the man who is gracious and lends freely; who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he shall not be moved forever; the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance" (vs 5-6).

How important are you to God? So important that:

• He's put His Spirit in you
• He wants you to grow in His love, grace and knowledge
• you are to be in His Kingdom

That's why He's called us! He's depending on us to develop the character and attitude that we see here with David. So that we can attain to the Kingdom, He's going to be there to help us in everything!

Verse 7: He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast… [or fixed] …trusting in the LORD."

So, when trouble comes, the first thing is not to try and figure out how you're going to get out of this trouble or solve the problem. You go to God and praise God and:

• ask Him for the help
• ask Him for the wisdom
• ask Him for the understanding
• ask Him to fight the battle for you

Verse 8: "His heart is established; he shall not be afraid until he sees his desire upon his enemies"—and we will!

If not in this life, when the first resurrection comes we're going to see it, all the saints together upon all the enemies of God! That's going to something to behold!

Psa. 111—again we have this same attitude of love, faith, diligence and a fixed heart, immovable:

Psalm 111:1: "Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart…" Our heart is fixed and we're wholehearted to God!

Not like the man who has one foot in the world, one foot in the Church so he can take advantage in the world, and take advantage of God. Doesn't work that way!

"…in the council of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the LORD are great…" (vs 1-2).

What is the greatest work of God? His conversion in the heart and mind of all the saints, of all those who are His down through the history of the whole world!

"…sought out by all those who have pleasure in them. His work is glory and majesty… [and to give that to us, to all the saints] …and His righteousness endures forever" (vs 2-3).

What is a key, important thing in all of this? The Sabbath Day! You know that that's the day God puts His presence in!

Verse 4: "He has made a memorial for His wonderful works…"—the Sabbath Day! 'Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy; six days shall you work and do your labor, but the seventh day is Holy unto to the Lord, for in it He rested and was refreshed!' That's the memorial!

"…the LORD is gracious and full of compassion. He has given food to those who fear Him; He will always be mindful of His covenant" (vs 4-5). We are in the greater covenant, the covenant of eternal life!

Verse 6: "He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations." Tie in Rev. 20; we'll be kings and priests and rule on the earth!

Notice how all of this is done, and in everything this applies; v 7: "The works of His hands are Truth and justice; all His precepts are sure." Everything about what God says and does, the ideas about everything that He has done is sure!

Verse 8: "They stand fast forever and ever; they are done in Truth and uprightness."

Notice how much of this depends on Truth, righteousness and uprightness with the Spirit of God; our heart fixed!

Verse 9: "He sent redemption unto His people; He has commanded His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom…" (vs 9-10)—the ability to:

• choose God
• yield to Him
• worship Him
• love Him
• be devoted to Him

with a heart that is fixed! That's why David was a man after God's heart!

"…a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever" (v 10).

This is quite a thing when we understand it, brethren! All that God is doing; that is quite a thing! When Christ comes we're going to see that if we yield to God we will be before God in the way that God wants.

Psalm 138:1: "I will praise You with my whole heart… [not half or three-quarters or one-quarter of your heart] …before the gods I will sing praise to You. I will worship toward Your Holy temple… [in heaven above] …and praise Your name for Your loving kindness, and for Your Truth; for You have magnified above all, Your name and Your Word" (vs 1-2)—above everything!

What is the name that Jesus told us to use? Our Father, Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your will be done on earth—in our lives—as it is in heaven! The will of God is always done in heaven! That's the kind of fulfillment that God wants us to trust in Him to give us.

Verse 3: "In the day when I cried, You answered me and made me bold with strength in my soul." Of course, David needed that daily, because he was out fighting, battling and warring almost constantly!

Verse 4: "All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O LORD…" Think about this in relationship to the first resurrection, and the ultimate Kingdom of God! All the kings, and yes, there will be many!

"…when they hear the words of Your mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. Though the LORD is high, yet, He has respect to the lowly; but the haughty He knows afar off" (vs 4-6)—Is that not us? Look at us as a Church:

• Are we important?
• Are we great?
• Are we mighty?

No! But through God all things are possible! If we truly love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and being, and if our heart is fixed, think how pleasing that is to God! Think of the blessings that will come because of that! Things that we will never know, understand or expect until we're resurrected and in the Kingdom of God!

Verse 7: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble…" We have that every once in a while—don't we? As  matter of fact, we have them quite often!

"…You will revive me…" (v 7). God will do that:

• He will strengthen you
• He will raise you up
• He will give you what you need

"…You shall stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand shall save me" (v 7). That's how David won all of his battles! David never lost a battle!

Verse 8—this tells us what God is doing with each one of us: "The LORD will perfect His work in me…"—in you; in everyone who has the Spirit of God! But we have to yield to God in the way that He wants, and have the attitude of David, the heart of David, which is the key of David!

"…Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the work of Your own hands" (v 8). That is something!

Now we will see that the work of God is not just alone what the Church is doing in evangelizing. The work of God has to do with what God is doing in us, and we have to be like the clay, because God is the Potter! He is molding and building in us with His Spirit and Truth and righteousness.

Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this especially is not of your own selves…"

You don't come to God by your own work, energy and everything that you do,and God must recognize you and give you eternal life! NO! NO! NO!

Remember what the doctor of the Law asked Jesus; 'What must I do to receive eternal life?' You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength!

"…it is the gift of God… [there's nothing on earth that you can do to buy it] …not of works… [religious works of this, that and the other; like Judaism, Catholicism or Protestantism] …so that no one may boast" (vs 8-9).

Remember what David said, 'You [God] will perfect Your work in me.' Verse 10: "For we are His workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus unto the good works that God ordained beforehand in order that we might walk in them"—as a way of life!

That's why David said, Psalm 138:8: "The LORD will perfect His work in me; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever…" That's how God is doing it:

• with His love
• with His Truth
• with His power
• with His commandments
• with His statutes
• with His judgments

And everything like that, which is going to be the perfection of what God is working in us!

"…do not forsake the work of Your own hands" (v 8). He's not going to as long as we're with Him! We need to keep that and remember that!

Psa. 119 is a tremendous Psalm that is so profound. I have said before, and I'll say it again, I believe that this shows Jesus' very attitude toward the Laws, commandments and statutes of God. Surely, those of David, as well. But it doesn't say that this is of David. However, it's inspired by the same God! The first part of this Psalm tells us an awful lot.

Psalm 119:1: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the Law of the LORD…. [Walk in it! Do it!] …Blessed are they who keep His testimonies and who seek Him with the whole heart" (vs 1-2). That's blessing of David being wholehearted and having his heart fixed!

That's what we need to do. If you've been slack in coming to God, then resolve before God in prayer that you will fix your heart:

• with God's Spirit
• for God's way
• with God's love
• with God's Truth

Verse 3: "They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently O that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!" (vs 3-5). Showing that sometimes it's a little difficult, but we have to keep at it!

Verse 6: "Then I shall not be ashamed when I have respect unto all Your commandments."

Notice that this is all a part of it. This is one of the greatest Psalms that there is, and one that the Levites had to memorize and sing at the temple.

Verse 7: "I will praise You with uprightness of heart when I have learned Your righteous judgments."

Verse 10: "With all my heart…"—meaning you are completely yielded to God in everything! You don't have part of your heart over here doing something else. You don't have your mind and attitude thinking of other things.

Yes, there are times that we have to think of the things we need to do to live, but we know that we do it because of the blessing of God. So, that all works in there. But when you're praying, studying and thinking of God:

Verse 10: "With all my heart I have sought You; O let me not wander from Your commandments." God will keep you, because what will He do? With His Spirit in you, you will get a warning from God: Don't do it! God will help you that way.

Notice a tremendous principle; v 11: "Your Word… [today we have the whole Bible, so let's think of it that way] …I have laid up in my heart, so that I might not sin against You."

Verse 17: "Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word…. [that has to do with entering into the Kingdom of God] …Open my eyes… [that's the part of our mind that we use for understanding] …so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law" (vs 17-18).

Isn't that true? The most wonderful, tremendous and fantastic things that could be!

You could spend just studying the Psalms—going through them and comparing back and forth, going over them again and again—a long time in doing it. Notice what else it's going to do, and why this is important for us. Notice what David did; he had to fight his own human nature, as well. He had to yield himself to God and put away temptations, just like we do, and to understand that no human is going to do it on his own!

Any human activity—if it's not motivated toward God, from God and through His Spirit, laws and commandments and the love that comes from God—is vain!

Psalm 39:1: "I said, 'I will take heed to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me.'" Hold your tongue! Sometimes it's best not to say a word!

Verse 2: "I became dumb, keeping silent; I said nothing good, and yet, my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: 'O LORD, make me to know my end and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how short lived I am'" (vs 2-4). Quite a statement!

Not only all those other qualities, but David was completely humble as well. Now notice how he views life, because this is important for us, too. There's nothing great that we're going to do of notoriety in this life!

Verse 5: "Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth… [How important are you? Blip!] …and the span of my days is as nothing before You. Surely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah." That's what it is with human beings cut off from God! Altogether vanity!

Verse 6: "Surely every man walks about in a vain show! Surely they are in an uproar in vain. He heaps up riches and does not know who shall gather them. And now, LORD, what do I wait for?…." (vs 6-7).

When you look at all of this, and everything that there is—physically, mentally, etc.—what do you do?

"…My hope is in You. Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the fool" (vs 7-8). All of our transgressions, and that's what God does (1-John 1)! Let's see another part of David's attitude:

• how he came before God
• what he thought about God
• how he really hungered and thirsted after righteousness

that Jesus said if you do you will be filled! Of course, that's on an ongoing basis. You can't do it and then stop. You have to keep at it!

Psalm 42:1: "As the hart pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God…" (vs 1-2).

Think about everything that David was confronted with:

• all those who he had to rule over in Israel
• all of the enemies coming against Israel
• finalizing and getting all the territory back to Israel that they lost because they didn't follow God
• all of the intrigue within the palace
• all of the fight with all of his wives and children
• having to deal with the sin of Bathsheba

Verse 2: "My soul thirsts for God for the living God…"—that's what it needs to be with us!

Don't come along and say, 'I don't know what to study today.' If you're studying every day, you will be anxious to study even more! We have a lot of things to help you, and we'll be glad to send you anything we have so that you can develop this attitude.

"…when shall I come and appear before God? (v 2). He did every day when he came to the tent where the Ark of the Covenant was!

Verse 8: "The LORD will command His loving kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, even a prayer to the God of my life." David knew and understood that in God he lived, moved and had his being!

Verse 9: "I will say to God my Rock, 'Why have You forgotten me?…. [He hasn't] …Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?' As with a crushing in my bones, my enemies taunt me while they say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'" (vs 9-10). Think about what he had to fight against!

Verse 11: "Why are you cast down, O my soul?…. [you would be greatly discouraged in times like this; think on God] …And why do you moan within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the salvation of my countenance, and my God." That's what God has done for us!

Psa. 63 shows the closeness that David had with God. We see that:

• his heart is fixed
• he's hungering and thirsting
• he's yielding to God
• he's desiring God with His whole being

This is the key of David and the heart of David!

Psalm 63:1: "O God, You are my God, earnestly I will seek You! My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You, as in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see Your power and Your glory as I have seen You in the sanctuary" (vs 1-2).

That's quite a statement there, because he had that tent of the sanctuary for the Ark! Apparently, God let him see a form of Him behind the veil. That's something! Stop and think about that for a minute: the relationship that God had with David, and David with God!

When the temple is setup how often can a priest go into the Holy of Holies? Once a year only! If he didn't do it right, he's history! Think about David; every time he prayed to God, he could go to the sanctuary right in his house!

Verse 3: "Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips when I remember You upon my bed and meditate on You in the night watches" (vs 3-6).

That's quite a thing! Thinking about God! Have you ever done that at night? That happened many times!

Verse 7: "Because You have been my help, therefore, in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows hard after You; Your right hand upholds me" (vs 7-8). That's the heart, mind and key of David!

Notice how David prayed. There are times when he came to God, like this; Psalm 61:1[transcriber's correction]: "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer."

• God will!
• He's there!
• He will answer!
• He will hear!

Verse 2: "From the end of the earth I cry to You when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the Rock higher than me." He understood that he couldn't solve his own problems; he had to take them to God!

Verse 3: "For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower against the enemy…. [notice how this fits into the Feast of Tabernacles]: …I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever… [that's what we want] …I will take refuge in the hiding place of Your wings. Selah…. [think about it; meditate on it] …For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name" (vs 3-5). That will be fulfilled when David is king over all Israel forever!

Verse 6: "May You add to the days of the king's life; may his years be as many generations…. [eternal life will do that forever] …May he abide before God forever; prepare mercy and truth to preserve him. So I will sing praise to Your name forever, so that I may daily perform my vows" (vs 6-8).

Tomorrow we will see more about the key and heart of David and why that is important for us!

Scriptural References:

• Revelation 3:7-10
• Acts 15:12-18
• Amos 9:11-12
• Luke 10:21-29
• 1 Samuel 5:1-11
• 1 Samuel 6:1-2, 4, 11-12
• 1 Chronicles 13:1-14
• 1 Chronicles 14:1-2
• 1 Chronicles 15:1-3, 11-14, 25-27
• 1 Chronicles 16:1-7
• Psalm 57:1-3, 5-11
• Psalm 108:1-6, 10-13
• Psalm 112:1-8
• Psalm 111:1-10
• Psalm 138:1-8
• Ephesians 2:8-10
• Psalm 138:8
• Psalm 119:1-7, 10-11, 17-18
• Psalm 39:1-8
• Psalm 42:1-2, 8-11
• Psalm 63:1-8
• Psalm 61:1-8

Scripture referenced, not quoted:

• 1 Chronicles 17
• Revelation 20
• 1 John 1

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 8/5/20

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