Last Words

2.Samuel 23:1-5, Revised Version

Now these be the last words of David. [2.Samuel 23:1]

David’s “last words,” as recorded, are a song – a song of trust, of loftiest principle, and undying faith:

“David the son of Jesse saith,
And the man who was raised on high saith,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:
The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me: …
One that ruleth over men righteously,
That ruleth in the fear of God,
He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth,
A morning without clouds,
When the tender grass springeth out of the earth,
Through clear shining after rain.
Verily my house is not so with God,
Yet he hath made me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things, and sure:
For it is all my salvation, and all my desire” [2.Samuel 23:1-5, R.V.].

Great had been David’s fall, but deep was his repentance, ardent was his love, and strong his faith. He had been forgiven much, and therefore he loved much [Luke 7:48].

The psalms of David pass through the whole range of experience, from the depths of conscious guilt and self-condemnation to the loftiest faith and the most exalted communing with God. His life record declares that sin can bring only shame and woe, but that God’s love and mercy can reach to the deepest depths, that faith will lift up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God. Of all the assurances which His word contains, it is one of the strongest testimonies to the faithfulness, the justice, and the covenant mercy of God… Glorious are the promises made to David and his house, promises that look forward to the eternal ages, and find their complete fulfillment in Christ.