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[0:00] As we turn to the preaching of God's word, we do pray that the Lord himself will attend his word with his power. Our text this morning is found in verse 34 of the section of the chapter read, Acts 13 and verse 34, where we read, And perhaps especially the words, The sure mercies of David.

[0:48] Now, we know from this verse that Paul is speaking not only of the patriarch David, but also the Lord Jesus Christ.

[1:10] And his object in quoting this text, which some of it comes from the Psalms and some from Isaiah 55.3, his purpose in quoting from this text is to prove that the resurrection is spoken of in the Old Testament.

[1:41] That the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is clearly foretold in the Old Testament. For David saw corruption. We know that David was buried and that his body did decay.

[1:57] But we see that this covenant that was made with David is typical of another covenant.

[2:09] And we see that David himself, the great king of ancient Israel, is typical of the great king which is to come, even the Lord Jesus Christ.

[2:24] And so, with that in mind, realizing that Paul's purpose in quoting this text to these Jews and God-fearers and proselytes in the synagogues is to prove that the resurrection is spoken of in the Old Testament.

[2:46] And that it is a typical thing that we are looking at when we look at King David and when we look at the covenant made with King David.

[3:02] Typical of the new covenant which was to come. And so, after that brief introduction, I first of all want to let us consider together in whom and in what our salvation lies.

[3:24] In whom does our salvation lie and in what does our salvation lie? Well, straight away, when we think upon it, we can say immediately that it does not lie in ourselves.

[3:43] We can say that if we are honest with ourselves, for as we think upon our lives, and upon how we have led our lives, and the problems we have got ourselves into on many occasions, we can soon see that there is very much truth in the scripture that says, all have sinned and fallen short.

[4:10] We know ourselves that we are sinners, that our hearts are deceitful and wicked above all things, and that there is no good thing within us.

[4:25] And so, we, as we look at our lives, can say with the Apostle Paul that we can take all that we may count as gain and throw it on the downhill.

[4:42] Paul says in Philippians 3.8 that all that I have counted as gain to me in this life, I now think of as dung, as of no earthly use at all to me in standing before God.

[5:00] And we remember that Paul excelled in the ways of man. So where then can we find our salvation?

[5:12] Well, when we look at the scriptures, and when we look at the Old Testament scriptures, we see a king there, David, who was a great king of Israel.

[5:29] And as we look at David in the scriptures, we see, firstly, that he was one who was despised at first, and rejected.

[5:42] We see that when the Lord sent Samuel to anoint a king, he came to the house of Jesse, and Jesse, who had been forewarned, had all his sons dressed in their finery, and so on, all ready to present to the prophet when he came.

[6:11] But David wasn't even considered worthy of being given such an honour. He wasn't considered. He was sent out to the fields to watch the sheep, to look over the flocks, and so on.

[6:26] And so he was rejected, and he was despised. The farm workers would think of him as being on a par with them, not worthy of any great honour at all.

[6:45] And yet, it was this David that when the Philistine armies came against the Israels, it was this David who sent to take supplies to his brothers at the army, that he was shocked at the blasphemy of the Philistine Goliath, and it was he who went and said that he would go forward and fight for God's honour.

[7:18] He wouldn't allow this Philistine, this pagan, to continue bringing dishonour upon his God.

[7:29] And so he went forth, and we all know what happened. He wrought a great victory over this giant. We see that David, who was the despised and the rejected one, brought deliverance over the enemies of the people of God, that he was victorious.

[7:52] Now, when we look at the Lord Jesus Christ, we see the same thing. We see that Jesus was the rejected one and despised.

[8:03] We read in Isaiah 53 that he had no comeliness or beauty that we should admire him, but he was despised and rejected of men, and we esteemed him not.

[8:17] Despised and rejected. And yet, we see the Lord Jesus Christ bringing and delivering a great victory over death and over Satan on the cross at Calvary.

[8:33] And so, in the same way, we see that the despised, the rejected one, was victorious over Satan and over death. And so, we see that Old Testament Israel and New Testament Israel, their deliverance lay in the rejected ones.

[8:57] We see that. Yet, in spite of these victories that David wrought on the one hand and that the Lord Jesus Christ wrought on the other hand, we see that both men are still persecuted.

[9:16] We see that David, even after his great victories and deliverance from the Philistine hordes, that Saul still persecuted him and only wanted to put him to death.

[9:30] He hunted him like a stag on the mountains. He threw his javelins at him and would pin him to the wall and so on. We all know that. We are familiar with the scriptures.

[9:42] And we see that David was still being persecuted and hunted. And how true that is of the Lord Jesus Christ, the persecuted one.

[9:56] After his rejection, after his victory, after his resurrection, he is still in these days rejected and despised.

[10:08] And his name is still blasphemed. The Lord of glory, Jesus Christ, being trampled underfoot by men.

[10:19] the world would still crucify the Lord Jesus Christ. They would.

[10:34] You see, for a while the prince of the power of the air, for a little season, has control and rules in this world.

[10:45] And so, we see this persecution that takes place. And yet, victory is sure and victory is certain.

[10:59] Jehovah, God, says, yet have I set my king upon my holy hill in Zion. and he is higher than all the kings of the earth.

[11:18] You see, our salvation lies then in those with whom God has made his eternal covenant.

[11:30] His eternal covenant. Even the sure mercies of David. But now, what are the sure mercies of David spoken of?

[11:45] What are they? And what is meant by this expression? Well, you see, God dealt with Israel in mercy.

[11:57] He dealt with her in mercy. He took a man whom he had chosen. And he made him king to bring blessing.

[12:11] And we think of the blessings that David brought. David brought many. There was never a king like David in the whole history of Israel.

[12:23] David, when he was king, extended the borders of Israel from the Great Sea to the River Euphrates. It was never so large as when David had dominion.

[12:34] God subjected David's enemies, held them in subjection. David defeated all those nations round about that wanted to exterminate Israel and bring her into subjection.

[12:52] David was victorious all around, wherever he saw, and he brought peace. And he established trade routes. he took Jerusalem.

[13:04] Jerusalem was in the hand of the Jebusites, the holy city. David overcame. David drove them out. David set up his kingdom.

[13:17] David brought the ark of God into Jerusalem so that God was dwelling with his people. There was never a king like David. riches that were undreamed of in the past were now Israel's.

[13:33] And it was all David, the sure mercies of David. God was with him and his strong arm and he delivered him and gave him great blessing.

[13:47] And so God, dealing with Israel in mercy, chose the man and set him over them. Now regarding our salvations, our salvation, God has done the very same thing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[14:07] We have the sure mercies of the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ with whom the eternal covenant has been established.

[14:21] You see, you cannot help yourselves, but the Lord Jesus Christ can help you. He can help you. And whatever it is that you may need or you may lack, Christ can supply it.

[14:40] It doesn't matter what you are feeling at this very moment. The Lord Jesus Christ can meet your every need. if you have nothing, the Lord Jesus has everything.

[15:06] If you're weak, the Lord Jesus is strong. If you're bad, the Lord Jesus is good. and if you're sorrowful, the Lord Jesus will give you joy.

[15:24] And we didn't even have to pick him. We didn't even have to pick our own saviour. But God chose him.

[15:37] God appointed him. God anointed him. and God gave him power. And he gave him authority.

[15:52] And so he is able to do all that has been promised. He then is able to save.

[16:04] He is able to save you to the uttermost. And already it is that millions of people who have died in the Lord Jesus Christ are with him in glory in a pleasant land.

[16:23] And they shall not be lost. They are there, saved by the son of David, millions of them, saved from Satan and saved from death.

[16:38] God. And so these are the sure mercies of David. That's what he's talking about. The sure mercies of David.

[16:48] Deliverance to a land of blessing by the one that is anointed to act. But also David's enemies are overthrown.

[17:04] we sung it in Psalm 89. David's enemies are overthrown. Psalm 89. God's arm is strong. And God's arm is able to do.

[17:17] And so all malicious foes are beaten down. All of our malicious foes. And we can think of that in the temporal situation, in our own lives, in our work situations, we have enemies.

[17:32] People want to get on. I know I've been there. They want to get on. You get stabbed in the back. You get put away. You have enemies.

[17:43] Your neighbours can be your enemies. We read so much about neighbours from hell. There can be thieves break into your house. You can have enemies in the church.

[17:56] We have seen a lot of that too. And it's been going on since the church began. men have been against one another.

[18:08] And so we all have enemies. You may think, well, I haven't got an enemy. I don't think I have an enemy. But you have. Because Satan is your enemy.

[18:22] You may be one who is liked by all, but there are very few and far between. if there are any. I don't think so. But perhaps you are. But even so, Satan is your enemy.

[18:37] And your sins are your enemies. And they will bring you down. But Jesus Christ is the captain of our soul and he is able to overcome all of our enemies.

[18:56] Even as God delivered David from all the enemies of Israel. So Jesus, the captain of our salvation, shall overthrow all of our enemies.

[19:07] And we can be certain and sure that despite those who rage against us, in any situation, because you're a Christian, you get persecuted.

[19:20] People look at you as though you're queer. to do. But they will not overcome you because the Lord Jesus Christ shall give you the victory.

[19:38] And we shall not be lost out of the hand of the Lord. But thirdly, wherein does the certainty of the sure mercies of David lie?

[19:55] Where are they and where do they lie? How can we be certain? How can we be assured? Where is our assurance? Well, firstly, it is because they are in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David.

[20:14] The sure mercies of David. They are in the Son of David, in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

[20:26] He does not change. His promises to you are sure and certain, and they will not fail. remember how Pharaoh built store cities in ancient Egypt.

[20:44] He saw the prudency of being prepared, and so they built huge store cities to hold corn and food and supplies of all various kinds, even water.

[21:01] And when there was famine and want and so on, Pharaoh would say to his people in times of need and dire straits and so on, he would say to them, go to Joseph.

[21:17] Go to Joseph and Joseph will supply all that you need. There is no want here. Well then, the sovereign God is saying to you, go unto Jesus.

[21:36] You have a need, go unto Jesus Christ for all of the blessings of the covenant. Because they're all stored in him.

[21:50] It is all there. Go to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ. You see, there is real mercy there for real sinners.

[22:05] It's not a sham. It is not a case of a priest saying absolvete. But it is real, it is factual.

[22:16] It is forgiveness for sin through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you ever really feel the conviction of sin?

[22:32] Well, I did. I did. And it's not nice because you feel so bad and you feel so terrible.

[22:46] and even as you speak and even as I speak of it, I feel the terribleness of the whole situation.

[23:02] Conviction of sin is a terrible thing. But we don't despair. For in the sure mercies of David there is real forgiveness for real guilt.

[23:21] And so we might shout in our despair unclean, unclean, don't even look upon me Lord.

[23:33] But we can be sure and certain that the forgiveness that is provided by the Lord Jesus Christ is real. Real forgiveness for real guilt.

[23:46] And so you need cleansing. You need cleansing? Well, washing the blood of the Lamb. That's what to do. And your sins, though as scarlet, as the scriptures say, will then be as white as snow.

[24:02] No matter how great they may be, no matter how awful they may be. You know, we spoke on Wednesday night about the old man, the man of sin, the old man that dwells within you, the sins of the flesh, the sins of the body.

[24:25] And these affect us right through our lives. We are never in a right state before God in and of ourselves.

[24:38] You may think we're okay, but we're not. The old man would pull us down. He would lay us on the floor.

[24:52] But Jesus Christ can lift us up. And if we believe on him and his name, you shall have the sure mercies of David in this life and in the life to come.

[25:09] You see, there is no more condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. No more condemnation. That was what we read in Romans 8 and Wednesday.

[25:22] There is no more condemnation because the atonement is certain and sure. And the Lord is greater than all of your sins, awful as they may be.

[25:35] The atonement is sure and certain. But lastly, how is it that the sure mercies of David are connected with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ?

[25:52] How are they connected? Because we read there in our text about the resurrection. How are they connected with the sure mercies of David?

[26:02] Well, God promised to David that his seed would always sit upon his throne. And so, if Jesus then dies, then the covenant is broken.

[26:20] And it is not possible for the covenant to be everlasting. everlasting. Now, in the crucifixion, Jesus then bows in death.

[26:35] He goes down to death and to Tades, and yet he must live. He must live, else the throne is vacant.

[26:49] Jesus must rise from the dead, otherwise the covenant is broken, and rise he did. And so, he is no longer a babe in his mother arm, as we often see him depicted.

[27:07] He is no longer dead on the cross, as we often see him depicted. But he is victorious and he sits on David's throne, at the right hand of God.

[27:22] God. And because he rose, there is no trickery of the devil that can bring you, nor the devil himself, that can take you and prevent you from that salvation and all the blessings that you have been promised.

[27:49] there is no possibility if you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have confessed his name, there is no possibility that you will lose that salvation, the perseverance of the saints.

[28:10] Once saved, always saved. Once forgiven, always forgiven. the sure mercies of David in the eternal covenant of God with his kings.

[28:27] My friends, the mercies of David are sure because David himself lives.

[28:39] You, David, lives. Jesus Christ himself. and he will make sure that you receive every blessing.

[28:50] There shall be nothing short. It will be all given through faith in him. Now will I tell sinners around what a dear saviour I have found.

[29:10] I will point to thy redeeming blood and say behold the way of God.

[29:23] You see he died to purchase these mercies for you and he lives to make them certain and sure.

[29:37] Amen and may God bless to us that sermon from his word. To him be the praise and the glory.