2 Samuel 23:1–7

Now these are the last words of David.

Thus says David the son of Jesse;
Thus says the man raised up on high,
The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

“The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel said,
The Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over men must be just,
Ruling in the fear of God.
And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,
By clear shining after rain.’

“Although my house is not so with God,
Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant,
Ordered in all things and secure.
For this is all my salvation and all my desire;
Will He not make it increase?
But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away,
Because they cannot be taken with hands.
But the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”

By, “the last words” the text doesn’t mean these are David’s utterances on his deathbed. These are just his final, concluding writings. As such, they just ooze prophetic gravitas. David just comes out and says, straight up, “The God of Israel said,” and then, in quotes, says a bunch of prophetic things.

The first line doesn’t translate easily. “He who rules over men must be just,” means something more like, “He who rules as a righteous one.” It’s messianic.

And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises.

The final paragraph should be understood in this light. The house of David is blessed by an amazing, undeserved, everlasting covenant. Will He not make it increase?

And the ending depicts the final judgement. The sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away.