Feast of Tabernacles—Day 3

Key of David  II

Fred R. Coulter—October 15, 2011

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Greetings everyone, all the brethren! Welcome to the third day of the Feast of Tabernacles, 2011. My, time marches on—doesn’t it? Yes, indeed! How many Feasts have you attended in your lifetime? I can look back and the very first feast that I attended was in 1961; that makes it 50 years!

Let’s continue on with the key of David and how important that that is for us in our relationship with God, in our spiritual lives. Here’s something we need to understand: What a blessing it is to live in the last days, even though we’re going to see all the terrible things take place. The truth is, God has given us more understanding through His Word—because we live in the last days—than those who wrote the Old Testament and brought the prophecies. David, because of his relationship with God had more understanding than perhaps any of the other writers of the Bible, with the exception of Isaiah. Isaiah did not have the timeframe.

Daniel had a lot of understanding of the empires of the world, and he was given the ‘70-week prophecy’ leading to the Messiah, yet, he was told that those things are closed and sealed until the time of the end. Then he says in the latter part of Dan. 12, ‘but the wise shall understand.’ The wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked will understand—but the wise shall understand.

Who are the wise? The ones who are wise are ones who love God and serve Him and keep His commandments! And happen to be living at a time when God gives disclosure and understanding of it. Brethren, it’s not something that we have inherently of ourselves. The way we understand is all of the things of God that He’s working out in prophecy hang on the framework of the Sabbath and the Holy Days.

Those in the Old Testament did not understand the Holy Days the way that we understand them today. They had the meaning of them for the nation of Israel, for the ten tribes and the Jews. But for the Church it has far greater meaning. You take every one of the Holy Days beginning with the Passover—which is not a Holy Day—all the Feasts of God and all the Holy Days of God, and every year we grow in understanding in the Truth of God.

Let’s turn to 1-Peter, the first chapter, and let’s see how tremendous that this is for us and what we need to do with it, and how we need to understand that it came to us. Even David, though he understood perhaps any of the other ones who wrote the Bible—because he had this relationship with God and was a man after God’s heart—he didn’t understand many of the things that he gave. We’ll see a little later, he even uttered some of the words that Jesus would utter on the cross. Also some of the thoughts and feelings that Jesus would go through. That’s quite something to really grasp and understand.

There is some similarity between David and us in many different ways. That’s why it mentions the key of David in Rev. 3. 1-Peter 1:2 talks about our calling; why God chose us. That’s an important thing to understand. “Who have been chosen according to the predetermined knowledge of God the Father…” God in involved in your life. The Father! He knows you. He knows me. He knows all those who are His. He’s given His Spirit to them. We are His children (as we have covered). That’s something to really grasp and understand.

“…by sanctification through the Spirit… [‘sanctification’ means to be made Holy; we receive the Holy Spirit, so we’re sanctified through the Spirit.] …unto obedience…” (v 2). Not doing away with the laws and commandments of God, but loving obedience from the heart. That’s why you need to go through the sermon series: God’s Graceand Commandment-Keeping. That will show you how we’re to keep the laws and commandments of God with our whole hearts spiritually.

“…and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ… [because He is our sacrifice. We cannot come into the Holy of Holies in heaven above, except through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice.] …Grace and peace be multiplied to you…. [Now notice the blessing that Peter gives]: …Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (vs 2-3). As we saw, He has the keys to the grave and hell, and He’s going to resurrect us. Tremendous! Notice beyond that.

• We have the greatest hope!
• We have the greatest calling!
• We have the greatest jobs than can ever be!
• We are going to be inheriting the Kingdom of God with Christ!

Do we understand that? That’s why we’re keeping the Feast of Tabernacles. We are being trained—with God’s Spirit—we are being preparedto rule the world!

Verse 4: “Unto an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and unfading, reserved in heaven for us… [and it will be brought by Jesus Christ] …who are being safeguarded by the power of God through faith, for salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (vs 4-5). That’s us, brethren! We’re going to live to see it!

If time goes on, I don’t know how much time God is going to give me. Whatever He gives me I’m thankful for it. However long it may be I’ll yield to God as best I can and do what God wants me to do. Ask Him to lead me and guide me in it; same way in all of our lives, brethren. Ask God:

• to help us
• to bless us
• to lead us
• to guide us
• to uplift us

Then he talks about being in a trial, the proving of our faith, more precious than gold that perishes, how we are to be loving God, looking for the glory that’s going to be given at the revelation of Christ and receiving that.

Verse 10 becomes very important; how about all of those who came before us; came before the apostles. And then all that came before us after the apostles and down through the centuries, down through time, down to the 21^st Century A.D. Here we are! We have the Word of God that God inspired them to write. We have the thoughts and meaning and feeling given to us from David and his relationship with God, so that we know what the key of David is; so that we know how we can relate to God.

Verse 10: “Concerning which salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you have diligently searched out and intently inquired… [They wanted to know; just like Daniel, ‘Lord, when are these things going to be?’] …searching into what way and what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was indicating, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and these glories that would follow” (vs 10-11).

We’re going to see some of the sufferings of Christ that David was inspired to give the exact words that Jesus would say. Isn’t that amazing? When we see them, I’m always just struck! I wonder what David thought after he had written these words down? He knew that God inspired them. I wonder what he thought that would mean? Well, we’re able to find out today.

Verse 12: “To whom it was revealed that, not for themselves, but to us they were ministering these things, which now have been announced to you by those who have preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven—into which things the angels desire to look.” Isn’t that amazing?

I want you to stop and just think about this, right here when we’ve said this. Think about the education of the elite of the world who reject God. Yes, they have their wealth and they have their power. That comes from Satan the devil, because he gives it to them. Think about what we have and how much greater it is, and how much more profound it is to have the Bible—the Word of God!—and be able to understand it. To have God’s Spirit in us! That is amazing, brethren! That is fantastic! That is exhilarating and exciting beyond belief! And humbling, indeed!

Peter writes, 13: “For this reason, be prepared in your minds, be self-controlled, and be fully hoping in the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Then he says don’t conform to your former behavior. Don’t do that! Don’t do that at all!

Paul wrote to Timothy that he was able to understand the Gospel and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus and get that from the Old Testament. What do you know about that? That’s exactly what we have been doing—isn’t it?

• focusing on Christ
• focusing on our relationship
• focusing on what that means for us at the resurrection and coming of Jesus Christ

Let’s come back to the book of Psalms and we’re going to go through a lot of Psalms again. This makes it kind of an easy Bible study concerning these things. Let’s again see the attitude that David had, and see that this is the attitude that we need to have to go forward in truth, in love, and understanding to face the difficult days that are ahead.

Psalm 84:1—we even have a song in the hymnal based on this: “How lovely are Your tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!” Think about what it’s going to be like to be living in New Jerusalem. That will be the greatest tabernacle of all, built by God Himself—places prepared by Jesus, as He said for you and me and all the saints.

Notice the desire, notice the zeal, notice the love, notice all the keys of David that we have studied up to this point.  How they all come together right here in this verse:

Verse 2: “My soul longs, yea, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God…. [That’s what it has to be with us.] …Yea, even the sparrow has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may lay her young, even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God…. [notice the blessing that is coming; he was looking forward to it]: …Blessed are those who dwell in Your house… [and we’re going to be] …they will still be praising You. Selah.” (vs 2-4). Whenever you see ‘Selah’ it means stop and think and meditate on this and derive from it the personal meaning that it means to you as you’re thinking and mediating on these words.

Another blessing, v 5: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You; Your ways are in their hearts; who passing through the valley of weeping make it a place of springs; yea, the early rain also clothes it with blessings.” Notice what it’s going to be. How our relationship with God is going to be. Let these things come upon us now.

Verse 5, again: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You; Your ways are in their hearts; who passing through the valley of weeping make it a place of springs; yea, the early rain also clothes it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appearing in Zion before God…. [That’s a prophecy of coming before God during the Millennium for us—isn’t it?] …O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.” (vs 5-8). Think on that and what it means; anticipating coming to be before God to see God the Father face-to-face as we’ll cover in Rev. 22. This is tremendous, brethren.

Verse 9: “Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of Your anointed, for a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (vs 9-10).

• look at the purity of thought
• look at the purity of mind
• look at the purity of zeal
• look at the purity of love
• look at the purity of understanding
• look at the purity of dedication

Isn’t that something!

Verse 11: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly…. [What is the best of the good things that God is going to give us? Eternal life and living with God the Father, Jesus Christ and all the saints, and ruling the world! That’s what we have to look forward to. See how excited we can be with that, brethren? See how loving and thankful we can be with God? Yes, indeed!] …O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You” (vs 11-12).

VI. David understood the potential of mankind

We find this in Psalm 8. It has to be translated correctly in order for you to understand it, so that we realize that David really understood about the potential that we have as human beings. He looks at man. We’ve already covered here recently Psa. 139, that we are made; that God had His hand in making us from the instant of conception. So here we are!

Psalm 8:1: “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens!” And the heavens reflect the glory of God, the goodness of God, the power of God, the magnificence of God. What a blessing for us today, living in a time where we have the technology where we can have photos, actual photos, of what the stars and galaxies really are like. That’s tremendous!

Verse 2: “Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained strength because of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and the avenger.” That goes right to 1-Cor. 1 about your calling: ‘not many wise, not many noble, but the lowborn and so forth, the weak, to put to shame the things that are.’ That’s why it says there to the Church of Philadelphia, the elite of the synagogue of Satan are going to come before us and worship God before our feet; so that they will know that God loved us and loves even at that point when we’re in the Kingdom of God and really much more so when you understand it.

So, they had a good view of the heavens; not like we have today, but David wrote this. Remember, he came before the tent of the Ark of the Covenant in his house and he sang these psalms to God.

Verse 3: “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him?” (vs 3-4). Yes, indeed!

• Why are we here?
• Where are we going?
• What is your destiny?

David understood a great deal of this, as we will see.

Verse 5: “For You have made him a little lower than God… [Isn’t that something! Not the angels. Oh, we’re lower than angels, because they’re spirit beings and the Septuagint translates this ‘angels.’ But the word here is ‘Elohim’ which is a little lower than God.] …and have crowned him with glory and honor.” What did He say to Adam and Eve? Here’s the whole earth, have dominion over it and multiply and replenish the earth. Look at it today.

Verse 6: “You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the birds of heaven, the fish of the sea, and all that pass through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!” (vs 6-9). That’s something!

VII. David understood personal sin along with correction and forgiveness

Now, let’s understand a little bit more about it. In spite of all this David understood human nature, that it’s vain. He understood the problems with it, and he also experienced and understood sin and forgiveness.

Psalm 38—here we find a time when David had a tremendous illness. We don’t know exactly what it is, but it was very intense. Notice his crying out to God. This is what we need to do when we are sick. But he also understood here, as we will see, that the human flesh is weak and there’s no soundness in it, and that the iniquities—the sin—had overwhelmed him.

Psalm 38:1: “O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your wrath; neither chasten me in Your fury, for Your arrows stick fast in me, and Your hand presses heavily upon me. There is no soundness in my flesh… [I don’t know what it was that he had, but it sure was a terrible sickness.] …because of Your anger… [whatever it was that he did] …nor rest in my bones because of my sin, for my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me” (vs 1-4).

He had wounds, v 5: “My wounds are putrefied and fester because of my foolishness…. [I don’t know what it is that David did, but it was certainly something—wasn’t it?] …I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long, for my loins are filled with a burning; and there is no soundness in my flesh” (vs 5-7). One thing for sure, when you get really sick and it’s quite an intense sickness, you understand that you need the mercy of God. You understand that these things have come upon you.

Once in a while there are things that come upon you that other people do. But look at what he’s going through. Look at how he was appealing to God to help him. “…no soundness in my flesh.”

Verse 8: “I am feeble and painfully broken; I groan because of the anguish of my heart. My LORD, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart pants; my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me” (vs 8-10). What a terrible condition that was. I don’t know if any of us have gone through that. I’m sure there are some brethren who have gone through things similar to this. But notice:

• He didn’t forget God!
• He wasn’t angry against God!
• He didn’t accuse God!
• He didn’t accuse someone else!

He understood his own sin and his own iniquity!

Here’s how bad it was, v 11: “My loved ones and my friends stand apart from my plague; and my neighbors stand far off…. [Don’t go near him, you don’t want to get what he has. It was so bad, maybe he was what we call today ‘quarantined’ because of his condition.] …And those who seek my life lay snares for me; and those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and plot deceptions all the day long” (vs 11-12).

Man! David was really in trouble—wasn’t he? I’ve never been this sick, and I have never gone through anything like this. It comes a close second to what Job went through. Remember, he was covered with boils from head to toe. He had to take a potsherd and scrap them. The puss and blood drained down and the flies came and maggots were there because flies laid their eggs and they were eating up all of the puss and gore. Terrible! Terrible thing!

Verse 13: “But like a deaf one, I do not hear; and I am like a dumb one who opens not his mouth. Thus I am as a man who hears not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs, for in You, O LORD, do I hope; You will answer, O LORD my God” (vs 13-15). What a tremendous thing! God answered and heard him.

Verse 18: “For I will confess my iniquity… [He doesn’t write it down for us.] …I am full of anxiety because of my sin. And my enemies are vigorous; they are strong; and those who hate me without reason are multiplied. And those who render evil for good oppose me because I follow what is good. Forsake me not, O LORD; O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O LORD my salvation” (vs 18-22).

Also, you could take some of these words concerning the enemies, concerning those who hate him, and you could also take some of these things and apply them to Christ while He was hanging on the cross as the sin offering. Not the sickness and disease, because of His sin, but the pain and the sorrow and the agony and the enemies running around at the base of the cross jeering at Him; even those words were uttered by David in Psa. 22.

Here we have quite a thing—isn’t it? Notice the repentance he gave in Psa. 51. This is a vital Psalm for us to really understand. It shows repentance,

• regardless of your condition
• regardless of what you have done
• regardless of how it has been

You can still repent! God will forgive you! Remember this: As long as there’s life, there is hope! David strayed from God at this period of time, with the situation with David and his sin with Bathsheba. Nathan the prophet had to come and tell him, ‘You are this man!’; just before the baby of that relationship was born. It died because of the sin of David and Bathsheba.

Here’s how you recover yourself out of these things, Psalm 51:1: “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your loving kindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out my transgressions.” Notice, just as David was wholehearted in his righteousness to God, in his love to God, so he was wholehearted in his repentance toward God; sorrowful of the transgressions that he had.

He pleaded with God, v 2: “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin… [The washing of the water by the Word, because he says, ‘what You desire is truth in the inward parts.’] (He acknowledged his sin): …for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (vs 2-4).

Verse 6: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts…” When we’re in situations like this and our own self-deception has gotten a hold of us and we have followed human nature and we’re being corrected for it, remember, God wants: “…truth in the inward parts… [So, have all of that iniquity cleansed and wiped away.] …and in the hidden part You shall make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which You have broken may rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities” (vs 6-9). Crying out to God:

• Help me!
• Save me!
• Clean me!
• Be with me!
• Forgive me!

Verse 10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me…. [Notice he came so close that he thought he was going to lose the Holy Spirit]: …Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me” (vs 10-11). That’s amazing! David understood sin, personal sin, and now we’re going to see mercy and forgiveness.

Come to Psalm 86. God is there ready to forgive. Let’s understand something very important: Jesus said that ‘every sin that a man commits shall be forgiven him, except for the sin of the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit.’ That is a total rejection of God. No sorrow! No remorse! No feeling of anything, but hatred and vitriol toward God. And He said, ‘Any blaspheme against the Son of man shall be forgiven.’ Remember this: As long as there is life, there is hope! And there is always forgiveness available. We need that, because as human beings we’re made to be renewed. We have a sinful nature. We need to be forgiven. But we have the Holy Spirit of God so that we can minimize the sins that we do and not create great messes like David did, where he had to be punished the rest of his life in the judgment of God.

Psalm 86:1: “Bow down Your ear, O LORD, answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am Holy; O You my God, save Your servant who trusts in You. Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I cry unto You all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your servant, for to You, O LORD, do I lift up my soul, for You, LORD, are good and ready to forgive, and rich in mercy to all those who call upon You” (vs 1-5).

Look, brethren, let’s understand something which is very important: When you sin and you feel guilty and you really don’t like to go to God, and you say to yourself, ‘Well, I’ll go to God when I get it straightened out.’ You can’t straighten it out unless you repent first. Do you understand that? That’s an important thing for us to grasp. When you sin, He is ready to forgive upon repentance—like we have just seen.

Verse 6: “Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer, and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble… [Not when you work it out to get right and then go to God. You can’t work it out. Only God can forgive you.] …I will call upon You, for You will answer me” (vs 6-7). Always remember that!

• there is mercy
• there is kindness
• there is grace
• there is forgiveness

Never forget this. Keep this in mind always, Psalm 103:1: “ Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His Holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits… [All the benefits of God. What a tremendous and fantastic thing that is.] …Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases” (vs 1-3).

In the case of very serious illness and sickness, there are underlying causes that you need to really search your heart and mind and soul, as we have covered in the sermon series: The Washing of the Water by the Word, that you need to repent of. You need the forgiveness of sin first, and then healing.

Verse 3: “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your desires with good things; your youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (vs 3-5). Of course, when that’s going to happen is at the resurrection—isn’t it? Completely! Yes! This is quite a thing.

Psalm 32—see what happens after you’ve had your sins forgiven. Let’s see how you stand before God. Let’s see that you receive a blessing from God for that. When you’ve had your sins forgiven and you have had them blotted out through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ, then not only in thanksgiving to God, then you need to ask God to give you the strength and desire to put away the foolishness of what you have done. To really come to God for His wholeness, His Truth, His love, His goodness, and to revive you, to restore you—God will!

Psalm 32:1: “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered…. [by the blood of Jesus Christ] …Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no guile” (vs 1-2).

That’s the blessing that comes with the kind of repentance that we have covered here. Doesn’t matter what’s gone on. That’s why you need to go forward. The Apostle Paul wrote in how we grow and change and overcome, he says, ‘Forgetting the things that are behind, I press toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ That’s what we need to be doing here, too, brethren. Yes, pressing toward it.

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VIII. David understood salvation and he understood that we will be like God

Let’s come to Psalm 62 and let’s see with this Psalm we can see David’s understanding only comes from God. It doesn’t come from man, it doesn’t come from the Church; it doesn’t come from anything else, but it comes directly from God. Let’s see how this Psalm starts out and it shows that he realized that only salvation comes from God. We’re talking about physical salvation, spiritual salvation, but more importantly here spiritual salvation. We will see how much David understood, which also is an important thing in understanding the key of David.

Psalm 62:1: “Only for God does my soul wait in silence… [That means you’re not talking back to God, you’re not arguing with Him—you wait for God and let Him carry out what He needs to carry out.] …from Him comes my salvation. He only is my Rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I shall not be greatly moved” (vs 1-2).

That’s an important thing to understand: when you understand that salvation comes from God; when you realize that He alone can bring it, and He will give you strength. Therefore, if something comes along, you’re not going to be moved away from that. You’re going to be faithful! You’re going to be steadfast! You take all the things that we have covered and put all of those together and use those as spiritual guidelines and points of understanding in your relationship with God, so that you can have a relationship with God like David did.

He talks about men who are against him and so forth, v 3: “How long will you imagine mischief against a man? You shall be slain, all of you; you shall be like a bowing wall and as a tottering fence.” Just as I mentioned before: you put your troubles in the hands of God and your enemies in the hands of God, and it’s going to come in a day they don’t expect, and in a way that maybe will be a surprise to you.

I could relate things that have happened in our lives, of those who were enemies of us. God has taken care of each one of them. Let what happened to them be in God’s hands, but just let it be known that God did take care of them.

Verse 4: “They only consult to cast him down from his great height; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse. Selah…. [That’s just the way it is with so many people.] (But compared to that here is how David waited on God. Not complaining, not griping, none of that, but in peace and in joy, and also): …My soul, wait in silence for God alone; for from Him comes my hope” (vs 5-6). There’s no hope in man; it’s only

• In God!
• In Christ!
• In the resurrection!

And we’ve been begotten again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Verse 6: “He only is my Rock and my salvation; He is my strong tower; I shall not be moved,” Notice that he says that ‘he shall not be greatly moved’; then he says that ‘he will not be moved.’ That ties together with what we already covered about being wholehearted, about having your heart fixed, about being steadfast.

Verse 7: “In God is my salvation and my glory, the Rock of my strength; my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah” (vs 7-8) Think on that! That’s something how God has worked this out so that we can understand, through the Psalms. The Psalms are so fantastic, brethren. These will help you develop the heart and mind of David, which is pleasing to God, and follow the keys, the important things, of the key of David.

Now let’s understand not only salvation, but he also understood the ultimate destiny. We’re going to see a couple of very important Scriptures which also relate to Jesus Christ and that the Apostle Peter quoted concerning Jesus Christ, His death and His resurrection.

Psalm 16:7: “I will bless the LORD Who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the nights…. [That is with God’s Spirit and blessing] …I have set the LORD always before Me. Because He is at My right hand, I shall not be moved” (vs 7-8). You see how that ties in with Psa. 62—shall not be greatly moved or I shall not be moved.

Verse 9: “Therefore My heart is glad, and My glory rejoices; My flesh also shall rest in safety.” A place of safety being the grave! I think most of us are going to get there. There’s a generation coming behind us. The question is: What are we going to leave for them? Let’s hope we leave the right things for them, so that God can use them in great and profound ways! Greater than what we have done, brethren. Let’s hope and pray for that.

Verse 10: “For You will not abandon My soul to the grave… [by flesh you shall also rest in safety—a place of safety] …neither will You allow Your Holy One [Christ] to see corruption. You will make known to Me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (vs 10-11). That actually can go forward into New Jerusalem, what it’s going to be like to be living with God, living with all the saints, living in New Jerusalem. What a fantastic time that is going to be. Yes, indeed!

Psalm 17:5: “My steps have held fast to your paths… [Holding fast to God’s way; walking in His path; walking in His way.] …my feet have not slipped. I have called upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my speech” (vs 5-6).

We can count on our prayers being answered. We can count on God

• listening to us
• helping us
• having mercy on us
• forgiving us

Verse 8: “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings… [Boy! We sure need that with the days coming ahead—don’t we?] (Notice how loving, kind, good and tremendous are these Psalms and the relationship that David had with God. No wonder he was called a man after God’s heart): …from the face of the wicked who oppress me—my deadly enemies who encircle me” (vs 8-9). That could also be referring to Christ.

Verse 10: “They have closed their pitiless hearts; with their mouth they speak proudly…. [Talk about what happened to Christ leading up to the crucifixion and the judgment that was brought against Him.] …They have now surrounded us in our steps. They have set their eyes to cast us down to the earth” (vs 10-11). That’s what they want to do, and they’re going to be after us. But God is going to be with us and for us and give us strength, in every way.

Verse 12: “They are like a lion that longs to tear his prey, and like a young lion stalking in secret places. Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him down; deliver my soul from the wicked by Your sword” (vs 12-13). Here’s a good example of how to pray for those who are against you; those who are your enemies. You put them in God’s hands and let Him take care of it according to His will.

Verse 14: “From men by Your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your treasure. They are full of children, and will leave their riches to their babes.” Doesn’t matter how people prosper in the world. Look at some of those things and it says there in one of the Psalms: I looked at the rich and the sinful and they had all the wealth and pleasures and everything and here I am struggling to make it. Don’t worry, that’s their reward now. What is yours going to be when Christ returns and you’re in the Kingdom of God?

Here’s what David said. Some of these could also be the words of Christ and His experience and His ministry and everything that He went through. Verse 15: “As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake… [from the dead] …with Your likeness.”

Remember how we saw on day one that when Christ is manifested ‘we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.’ Here’s a Psalm prophecy of this. That’s really something!

IX. David was given some of the very words of Jesus Christ

• Some of the things that Jesus Himself would pray about.
• Some of the things that Jesus would say openly.
• Some of the things that Jesus personally experienced.

These are the things that when you read them and you think about them, you wonder what David really thought of these things, after he had written it down, after he had sung it, spoke it or read it before the tent of the tabernacle in his house.

Psalm 40 talks about some of the very words of Christ. I’m just going to pick out the words that are the words that we know are the words of Christ.

Psalm 40:4: “Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust and does not respect the proud, nor those who turn aside to lies…. [That’s David, can also refer to Christ.] …O LORD my God, many things You have done, Your wonderful works and Your thoughts which are toward us; there is none to compare unto You; if I could declare and speak of them, they would be more than can be told” (vs 4-5).

Won’t that absolutely be true when God has fulfilled His purpose for us in our lives and we’re ruling and reigning with Christ. Here are the direct words of Christ that are quoted by Paul in Heb. 10:

Verse 6: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire… [Christ never offered any of those] …My ears You have opened… [as the Septuagint translates it: ‘the body you have prepared for Me.’] …burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. Then I said… [direct words of Christ]: …‘Lo, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me… [This is where we get the covenant between God the Father and Jesus Christ. We don’t know where this scroll is, and we don’t know where this book is, but it’s written of Christ. This has to be the covenant between God the Father and Jesus Christ, which we have in the series of Hebrews, #27] …I delight to do Your will, O My God; and Your law is within My heart.’” (vs 6-8). Of course, that was true of Jesus Christ through His whole life—wasn’t it? Yes, indeed!

Verse 9: “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation… [again, of Christ] …lo, I have not kept back my lips, O LORD, You know.” He preached the Gospel regardless of what the circumstances were:

• spoke the Truth
• revealed the way of God
• gave people understanding of why they’re here

These are the words of Christ! This could be part of His speaking to the great congregation.

Verse 10: “I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation… [again, of Christ] …I have not hidden Your loving kindness and Your Truth from the great congregation.” We are the ‘great congregation’ and God is the One Who reveals the things to us. His Truth! He opens it up!

Like we read in Psalm 119:18: “Open my eyes, so that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.” We need to see that out of all the things that God has: the Old Testament and New Testament all combined together. Yes, indeed!

Psalm 40:11: “Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; let Your loving kindness and Your Truth always preserve me… [Again, this can be of Christ] …for evils without number have encircled me… [This next one could not be of Christ because He didn’t have personal sin.]: …my iniquities have taken hold on me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails me” (vs 11-12). Part of that could apply to Christ, because He was the sin offering for the whole world—correct? He took them upon Himself—did He not? Yes, He did! So part of these words could apply to Christ.

Verse 13: “Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me…. [That could be both Christ and David.] …Let them be ashamed and confounded together, those who seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame, those who delight in my hurt” (vs 13-14). That could be some of the words of Christ, as well.

Listen! Jesus was surrounded by a lot of enemies. There were those who were after Him all the time. There were those who were cunning and conniving and scheming and trying to do the things to kill Him and destroy Him. They always plotted on those things—didn’t they? Yes!

Psalm 22 is quite a Psalm. This is the one that is the most startling to me. When you read in the Gospels what Jesus said while He was being crucified on the cross, we find nearly all of them taken from Psalm 22. David never went through anything like this. But these are the very words that Christ would speak. Let’s look at these and let’s see what they can tell us. Remember what a tremendous blessing that it will be when we understand these things.

One of the first things that Jesus said when hanging on the cross, Psalm 22:1: “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me… [that was close to the last thing that He said there. ‘Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani’] …why have You forsaken me, and why are You so far from helping me… [The Father had to leave Him alone on the cross. It says in Heb. 1 that Jesus Christ ‘purged our sins by Himself.’ This is why these words are here.] …and from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not answer; and in the night season, and am not silent” (vs 1-2).

We’re going to learn a lesson here, too. Not every word in this Psalm can be ascribed to Jesus, because the Old Testament is written ‘line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little; here a little, there a little; precept upon precept.’ And the ones who understand these things are the ones who have the Spirit of God.

Verse 6: “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men and despised by the people…. [exactly what it was with Christ] …All who see Me… [that is hanging here on the cross] …mock Me; they shoot out the lip; they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted on the LORD; let Him deliver Him; let Him rescue Him, since He delights in Him!’” (vs 6-8). That’s what was talked back to Him.

Now, here’s what Christ was thinking within, v 9: “For You are He who took Me out of the womb, causing Me to trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth; You are My God from My mother’s womb” (vs 9-10). You can apply that to David and to Christ, even before He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary.

Satan and the demons were circling around the cross. They were probably laughing and gleeful and stirring up the people to mock Him. Verse 11: “Be not far from Me; for trouble is near, for there is none to help.” No man was going to help Jesus. No man was going to take Him down. He was not there to save Himself. One of the thieves on the cross said, ‘Save Yourself and save us. Come down off of there.’ Even the Pharisees and everyone said, ‘You come down off the cross and then we’ll believe You’re the Christ.’ Well, He could have done that, but it would have defeated every purpose of Him being the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Verse 12: “Many bulls have encircled around Me; strong bulls of Bashan have surrounded Me…. [the lead demons of Satan the devil] …They opened wide their mouths at Me, like a ravening and a roaring lion” (vs 12-13). Notice how Jesus felt, the very thing that He was feeling on the cross; those words were given to David. You can see why David was such a man after God’s heart.

Verse 15: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws; dogs have surrounded Me; a band of evildoers have encircled me; they have pierced My hands and My feet; and You have brought Me into the dust of death” (vs 15-16). Could be nothing but the crucifixion and the very thoughts of Jesus Christ. Imagine that! What a tremendous thing this was.

The key of David is for us to understand these things: for us to also realize the kind of relationship that we are going to have with God; the kind of relationship that we are going to have with Jesus Christ; how fantastic it was that God did this.

Verse 17: “I can count all My bones; they look and gloat over Me.” Finally ‘we got Him! Finally, He’s going to be dead!’ So the scourging that He took stripped the flesh away from His bones and He could see His ribs.

Verse 18: “They divide My garments among them and cast lots upon My vesture.” Direct quote. Those soldiers who were doing it, they didn’t know that God was making them do it to fulfill the prophecy. They just thought that His garment was so good, ‘we’re going to cast lots on that.’ Then they parted His garments right there.

Notice Jesus thought when they were doing that, v 19: “But You, O LORD, be not far from Me; O My strength, hasten to help Me! Deliver My soul from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog. Save Me from the lion’s mouth; yea, and from the wild ox’s horns. You have answered Me” (vs 19-21).

Here’s a quote, what was going to take place at the resurrection, after the crucifixion (Heb. 2). Verse 22: “I will declare Your name to My brethren… [Haven’t they done that? Didn’t Jesus say that He came to reveal the Father and declare His name to us? Yes, indeed!] …in the midst of the congregation I will praise You.” That’s going to be at the resurrection, too (Heb. 2).

Now then, it gets down to other people, and then it comes and it talks about the kingdom. Verse 23: “You who fear the LORD, praise Him; all of you, the seed of Jacob, glorify Him; and stand in awe of Him all of you, the seed of Israel.” That’s us, the spiritual seed of Israel; the spiritual seed of Jacob! Praise Him! Stand in awe of Him! That God would do this. That God would divest Himself of His glory and come and be a man and lay down His life willingly. With the covenant with God the Father He was given commandment that He could receive it back. David was given all of these words, all of these thoughts. What is this going to lead to?

Verse 27: “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before You… [during the Millennium] …for the kingdom is the LORD’S and He rules over the nations. All the rich of the earth shall eat and worship; all those who go down to the dust shall bow before Him; even he who cannot keep his own soul alive” (vs 27-29). Acknowledge that life comes from God.

I think that’s going to a lot of these atheists. Aren’t the atheists going to be surprised? Think what it’s going to be like for these atheists when they come up in the second resurrection? They’re going to change their tune—aren’t they?

Verse 30: “A seed shall serve Him; it shall be told of the LORD to the coming generation…. [every generation we’re going to serve him] …They shall come and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall yet be born, that He has done this” (vs 30-31). Of course, we’re that generation. All of those are going to enter into the Kingdom of God when we’re born again. Think of that! This is amazing how much the Bible has with all of these things in it—isn’t it? Yes, indeed! The very words of Christ!

Let’s apply this not only to what David alone was saying, but let’s apply this to the prayer that Jesus offered after He was resurrected, maybe while He was still in the tomb:

Psalm 23:1: “The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want…. [you won’t lack anything] …He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul… [through the power of the resurrection] …He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (vs 1-3). Wasn’t that what Jesus said concerning what He did. He said:

• Of Myself I can do nothing.
• As I see what the Father does, that’s what I do.
• As I hear, that’s what I speak.
• As the Father has commanded Me, that’s how I do.

That’s amazing—isn’t it? Yes!

Verse 4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over…. [Isn’t that true? Didn’t that happen to Christ? Isn’t that going to happen when Christ returns? Yes, indeed!] …Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (vs 4-6). Amazing—isn’t it? Amazing!

Psalm 24 talks about the resurrection, when Christ descended to come back to the Father, to present Himself as that perfect sacrifice; to present Himself as that first of the firstfruits. When He got up toward the Sea of Glass where the Father’s throne is, here’s what occurred up there:

Psalm 24:7: Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be lifted up, O you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you everlasting doors; that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah.” (vs 7-10). And He was the One Who resurrected from the dead.

Amazing! I tell you, the Psalms are so great, and it helps us understand the various facets of the key of David that is said about the Church of Philadelphia. He also understood the Kingdom of God, that the Kingdom of God was going to be on the earth. We will look at the Church of Philadelphia again (Rev. 3) and see what we need to be doing in light of all of this that has to do with the key of David.

Psalm 97:1: “The LORD reigns… [He knows the kingdom He knew; rather the kingdom coming to the earth] …let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of islands be glad. Clouds and darkness are all around Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. A fire goes before Him and burns up His enemies round about. His lightning lights up the world; the earth saw and trembled” (vs 1-4). That’s quite a thing! He understood about the Kingdom of God.

Verse 5: “The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory” (vs 5-6). Yes, it’s going to be quite a tremendous and wonderful and great thing to do.

Verse 9: “For You, LORD, are most high above all the earth; You are exalted high above all gods. You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart” (vs 9-11). Again, talking about the resurrection.

Psalm 99:1: “The LORD reigns; let the people tremble. He sits between the cherubim; let the earth quake. The LORD is great in Zion, and He is high above all the people. Let them praise Your name as great and awesome; Holy is He” (vs 1-3). All of these things David understood. All of these things are part of the key of David.

Now, let’s go back to Revelation, the third chapter, and let’s see what it says to the Church at Philadelphia. Let’s see how we can apply all of these things to our lives to be faithful to God—to love Him, to serve Him—and to see the blessing of what God has for us when we come into our inheritance and rule and reign with Jesus Christ on this earth.

Revelation 3:7: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write: These things says the Holy One, the One Who is true; the One Who has the key of David, Who opens and no one shuts, and Who shuts and no one opens…. [God provides the opportunity and God also opens up our understanding so we can comprehend these things.] …I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no one has the power to shut it because you have a little strength, and have kept My Word, and have not denied My name” (vs 7-8). That’s why the key of David is so important, that we can be faithful—keep the Word of God, not deny His name—even though we may be old and weak. We have a little strength. That’s good, because that teaches us to rely on God. That teaches us to trust in Christ.

Verse 9: “Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who proclaim themselves to be Jews and are not, but do lie—behold, I will cause them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.” God loves us, brethren! Let’s have and use the key of David and the heart of David and the things that David did so we can fulfill what we have here with the Church of Philadelphia.

Verse 10: “Because you have kept the Word of My patience…” That can also mean guard it.

• Hold to the Truth!
• Hold to the righteousness!
• Hold the right teachings and doctrines of the Bible!

Guard it! That’s just like when God told Adam to keep the Garden; it also meant to guard it. He failed to do that. Let us be diligent and not fail to guard the Word of God—the Word of His patience or the Word of His endurance.

“…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…. [And when it comes, then that protection will be with us.] …Behold, I am coming quickly; hold fast that which you have so that no one may take away your crown” (vs 10-11). Yes, there are a lot of men out there who are ‘crown thieves.’ They want to cause, under the inspiration of Satan the devil that leads them to do it, those who know the Truth to stray, to reject it, to be all entangled in this world and give up. No, brethren, let’s not let any of that happen to any of us!

• Love God!
• Love one another!
• Pray for one another!’
• Be strong in the Lord!

Notice what will happen. We have to overcome, and here’s a promise. Notice what it is. This is what we are looking forward to. This goes on clear into, not only the Millennium, but clear on into the rest of eternity (Rev. 20-21, as we’ll see later).

Verse 12: “The one who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall not go out any more; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from My God; and I will write upon him My new name.”

Brethren, this is the meaning of the key of David. Let your heart, let your mind rejoice in God. Remember, we are going to dwell forever in the house of the Lord.

Scriptural References:

1. 1 Peter 1:2-5, 10-13
2. Psalm 84:1-12
3. Psalm 8:1-9
4. Psalm 38:1-15, 18-22
5. Psalm 51:1-4, 6-11
6. Psalm 86:1-7
7. Psalm 103:1-5
8. Psalm 32:1-2
9. Psalm 62:1-8
10. Psalm 16:7-11
11. Psalm 17:5-6, 8-15
12. Psalm 40:4-10
13. Psalm 119:18
14. Psalm 40:11-14
15. Psalm 22:1-2, 6-13, 15-23, 27-31
16. Psalm 23:1-6
17. Psalm 24:7-10
18. Psalm 97:1-6, 9-11
19. Psalm 99:1-3
20. Revelation 3:7-12

Scripture referenced, not quoted:

• Daniel 12
• Revelation 22
• Psalm 139
• 1 Corinthians 1
• Hebrews 10; 1-2
• Revelation 20-21

Also referenced: Sermon Series:

• God’s Grace and Commandment-Keeping
• Hebrews (specifically #27)