Though the verse is literally speaking about King David, the relation of David to Christ means the verse also prefigures the preeminence of King Jesus. The throne, through David’s line, would last forever through Christ.
Gill’s Exposition says,
Also I will make him my firstborn,…. Or, “make him the firstborn”; make him great, as Jarchi interprets it; give him the blessing, the double portion of inheritance: so Christ is made most blessed for ever, and has all spiritual blessings in his hands; and is heir of all things, and his people joint-heirs with him. Christ is God’s “firstborn”, or “first begotten”, Hebrews 1:6, being begotten by him, and of him; … even him the Father promises to make “higher than the kings of the earth”; having a kingdom of a superior nature to theirs, and a more extensive and durable one; and even they themselves shall be subject to him; hence he is called “King of kings”, Revelation 19:16.
The King of Kings shall reign forever, His Kingdom shall endure.
I saw a meme on Facebook that made me laugh. I can’t find it again, but it went something like, ‘I have prayer ADHD, I start, drift into thinking other things, then come back saying ‘Where was I, Lord?’
I think we have all had the same experience. Our fleshly minds want to think of anything except compass point north, Jesus Christ. It zones out on us, drifts off, creates a grocery list, listens to the birds outside, or the traffic, anything but laser focus on the throne of grace.
Why is it so hard? Praying is an act of war, spiritual war. We are opposed at every turn by the evil one and his minions, and when we clasp our hands together, we are effectively sounding a trumpet to those demons that we are entering another battle with them.
In his book The Hidden Life of Prayer by David MacIntyre, we read that,
The main reason for this unceasing insistence is the arduousness of prayer. In its nature it is a laborious undertaking, and in our endeavor to maintain the spirit of prayer we are called to wrestle against principalities and powers of darkness.
Dr. Andrew Bonar used to say that, as the King of Syria commanded his captains to fight neither with small nor great, but only with the King of Israel, so the prince of the power of the air seems to bend all the force of his attack against the spirit of prayer.
If he should prove victorious there, he has won the day. Sometimes we are conscious of a satanic impulse directed immediately against the life of prayer in our souls; sometimes we are led into “dry” and wilderness-experiences, and the face of God grows dark above us; sometimes, when we strive most earnestly to bring every thought and imagination under obedience to Christ, we seem to be given over to disorder and unrest; sometimes the inbred slothfulness of our nature lends itself to the evil one as an instrument by which he may turn our minds back from the exercise of prayer.
Because of all these things, therefore, we must be diligent and resolved, watching as a sentry who remembers that the lives of men are lying at the hazard of his wakefulness, resourcefulness, and courage. “And what I say unto you,” said the Lord to His disciples, “I say unto all, Watch!”
How do you pray? I used to kneel but my knees and back can’t take that any more. So now I sit in my chair and pray aloud. Praying out loud helps me focus and not drift off. However there is no one particularly commanded position for praying. I don’t imagine Paul had too many options for prayer positions when he was chained up in jail.
Hannah famously prayed a whisper prayer in the temple. The priest watching her thought she was drunk. But no, she was just agonizing in spirit and pressing that agony upward to the LORD. (1 Samuel 1:9-17).
Jonah prayed to the LORD in the belly of the great fish, he also cried out (Jonah 2:2). I think his cries were probably pretty loud, too!
David no doubt prayed silently but no doubt he prayed aloud too. David had an active prayer life with the LORD. His prayers were appeals, praises, repentance, appreciation for provision, imprecations…his type of prayers are a good model for us, because he conversed with the Savior through prayer as if the LORD was standing right beside David. In effect Jesus was, and David knew that.
No matter how you pray, the point is, pray. It’s a mechanism that is commanded, after all, but it is also a grace that we have been given as a gift. Practice focusing on what you are saying to the Lord and not drifting off, because He is standing right there with you (and me) after all.
In the end, when Hannah finished pouring out her prayer to the LORD, “her face was no longer downcast.” (1 Samuel 1:18). What a blessing to be able to commune with Jesus.
“Our first act in prayer ought to be the yielding of our souls to the power of the blood of Christ”. ~The Hidden Life of Prayer, by David MacIntyre.
We’ve been commissioned by Jesus to share His Gospel with everybody and make disciples with those who convert. (Matthew 28:16-20).
And we do. But… There are some people, especially those close to us, who refuse to hear it, but we keep trying, for the sake of their eternal souls.
On the other hand we are told,
Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. (Matthew 7:6).
How do we know when to stop sharing the Gospel with someone who refuses? How many times do we share it? After all, we are supposed to forgive seventy-seven times. (Matthew 18:20-22). Do we share it that many times with the reluctant hearer? How do we know when to leave the peson who refuses aside? This is hard to do when it’s your dad or yrou uncle or your brother.
Here is where developing our discernment helps us. Matthew Henry has some advice.
As a rule to all in giving reproof. Our zeal against sin must be guided by discretion, and we must not go about to give instructions, counsels, and rebukes, much less comforts, to hardened scorners, to whom it will certainly do no good, but who will be exasperated and enraged at us. Throw a pearl to a swine, and he will resent it, as if you threw a stone at him; reproofs will be called reproaches, as they were (Lu. 11:45; Jer. 6:10), therefore give not to dogs and swine (unclean creatures) holy things.
Note, [1.] Good counsel and reproof are a holy thing, and a pearl: they are ordinances of God, they are precious; as an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is the wise reprover (Prov. 25:12), and a wise reproof is like an excellent oil (Ps. 141:5); it is a tree of life (Prov. 3:18). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible
Warren Wiersbe also has some good advice.
As God’s people, we are privileged to handle the “holy things” of the Lord. He has entrusted to us the precious truths of the Word of God (2 Cor. 4:7), and we must regard them carefully. No dedicated priest would throw meat from the altar to a filthy dog, and only a fool would give pearls to a pig. While it is true that we must carry the Gospel “to every creature” (Mark 16:15), it is also true that we must not cheapen the Gospel by a ministry that lacks discernment. Even Jesus refused to talk to Herod (Luke 23:9), and Paul refused to argue with people who resisted the Word (Acts 13:44–49).
The reason for judgment, then, is not that we might condemn others, but that we might be able to minister to them. Notice that Jesus always dealt with individuals according to their needs and their spiritual condition. He did not have a memorized speech that He used with everybody. He discussed the new birth with Nicodemus, but He spoke of living water to the Samaritan woman. When the religious leaders tried to trap Him, He refused to answer their question (Matt. 21:23–27). It is a wise Christian who first assesses the condition of a person’s heart before sharing the precious pearls. Wiersbe, W. W. The Bible exposition commentary
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It’s imperative that we constantly train ourselves in discernment skills. Discernment is not only for the detecting of false teaching, but it is also an aid for helping us in witnessing, (among many other reasons!)
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebews 5:14).
I love biblical art, and I’m entranced with a few particular pieces. One I come back to a lot happens at Christmas time, and I love to look at it. I’ve written about it before, here, in December 2015, and here, in December 2017. It is called The Nativity, by Gari Melchers.
When preaching about this moment in history, Pastor S. Lewis Johnson emphasized the virgin conception rather than the virgin birth. He preached that the birth was typical, human, bloody, and messy. It was the conception that was immaculate. The art by American painter Gari Melchers depicts a scene more reflective of a birth than most nativity scenes usually do.
Here, we see a deeply concentrating Joseph gazing at his newborn son, perhaps pondering the spiritual implications of this new life that promised to bring new life to one and all. Note his furrowed brow. Mary, exhausted, drooping, leans against her husband sleepily, a recently used washbowl and cloth by her side. Is the glow from the Babe’s head, or the lantern that has been set by Him? The scene depicts exhaustion, wonder, light, and hope.
Julius Garibaldi Melchers (1860-1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, according to Wikipedia.
As for the setting itself, it is unusual in that it does not show the usual display of a barn or stable, with animals around. Certainly the Wise Men from the East were not present. Historically we know that appeared up to two years later, when Mary and Joseph were living in a house and the babe was a toddler. This is another reason I’ve always liked this painting, above all others. It is more closely historical and accurate than many people know in setting the scene in a house.
It was highly likely, almost certain, that Mary gave birth in a house. Perhaps the house was crowded with other relatives who’d arrived for the census prior to their arrival, so the only spot left was the downstairs entry where the animals were usually kept. Here is information about the likelihood that Jesus was not born in a barn or stable, but in a home, and probably a relative’s domicile. The essay also discusses what is meant by “inn”, and more.
The mention of a ‘manger’ in Luke’s nativity story, suggesting animals, led mediaeval illustrators to depict the ox and the ass recognising the baby Jesus, so the natural setting was a stable—after all, isn’t that where animals are kept? (Answer: not necessarily!)
The third issue relates to our understanding of (you guessed it) the historical and social context of the story. In the first place, it would be unthinkable that Joseph, returning to his place of ancestral origins, would not have been received by family members, even if they were not close relatives.
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15)
Amy Carmichael was a missionary to India, arriving in 1895 to Dohnavur, just 30 miles from India’s southern tip. Once in South India she began evangelizing women and learning the difficult Tamil language. She developed a special burden for the many children who were dedicated by their parents to temple life, which included prostitution, and committed herself to rescuing them. She would travel long distances on hot, dusty roads just to save one child. Over her years there she saved over 1000 children from a dissipated, amoral, and spiritually barren life.
She retired from active missionary life in 1931 due to ill health, but remained in country, writing, helping incoming female missionaries, and encouraging those around her until her death in 1951. Amy wrote nearly 40 books, and penned hymns and songs, too. She died in 1951, having expended her life in sacrificial love for her Savior and through her work with missions in a difficult, dusty, hot country. She served there for 55 years, without furlough. Above, Amy with children, source Wikimedia.
While serving in India, Amy received a letter from a young lady who was considering life as a missionary. She asked Amy, “What is missionary life like?” Amy wrote back saying simply, “Missionary life is simply a chance to die.”
One of her writings was a short book about Calvary love in common life. Based on 1st Corinthians 13, it’s simply titled, If. It’s a little book with a huge understanding of what Calvary love means in our everyday lives. The book is a beloved classic, and quite powerful. The book is based on a series of If – Then statements. Here are a few excerpts:
Amy Carmichael’s If – Then statements encapsulating her life’s aim–
If I love to be loved more than to love, to be served more than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If souls can suffer alongside, and I hardly know it, because the spirit of discernment is not in me, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I belittle those whom I am called to serve, talk of their weak points in contrast perhaps with what I think of as my strong points; if I adopt a superior attitude, forgetting, “Who made thee to differ? And what hast thou that thou has not received?” then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I can easily discuss the shortcomings of any; if I can speak in a casual way of a child’s misdoings, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I rebuke without a pang, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I find myself taking lapses for granted, “Oh, that’s what they always do,” “Oh, of course she talks like that, he acts like that,” then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I can enjoy a joke at the expense of another; if I can in any way slight another in conversation, or even in thought, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If I can write an unkind letter, speak an unkind word, think an unkind thought without grief and shame, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
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Cut to 80 years later. There is a different sort of woman now, the women who create ministries apart from any church. Whose aim is to raise up women to lead (not to serve? Not to die?). Who delight in promoting their ministry with softened photos of feminine tables on manicured lawns, laid with china and fresh cut flowers.
This is a different sort of woman from Amy Carmichael, whose life among the dusty-hot roads of Tamil Nadu meant hardship and sacrifice. These are more modern evangelical-ish women, laughing joyfully as they skip through shallow Bible studies and look forward to being the next generation of leaders. These women have an If-Then statement too. Here it is.
If God is real…then what?
I wonder what Amy would have thought about their IF-Then statement. Perhaps she had women like these in mind when she wrote:
We [Protestants] have had some who have gone back to the early ideal, and lived it out. But they have had to press through the solid weight of modern Christianity, a sort of piled up decorousness, comfortableness, utter negation of the Cross as lived, shocked surprise at the bare thought of that.
It’s good to look back and see where we were and look at now and see where we are. The incremental creep away from biblical living and Calvary loving is hard to detect unless one deliberately shocks the system with cold, hard facts like this comparison between Amy Carmichael’s If-Then statements of Calvary love, and the foundational premise of a ministry based on doubting that God is even real.
Paul wrote, Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1). We all have a choice in who to imitate.
A South India street, circa 1900, from book Things as They Are, by Amy Wilson-Carmichael
the-end-time.org 