Psalms 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 84, 85, 87; 1 Chronicles 26:20 – 29:30; Psalm 2, 20

As we come to the end of David’s life and reign, it is no wonder he is so beloved by people. We relate to him because he is flawed and faithful. We respect him for the success he exhibited in ruling a nation. We admire him because he found favor with God, the one who judges the heart and not the stature of a man. Now at the end of his life, we watch him put his affairs in order.

When the end draws near and eternity comes into focus, life tends to order itself around the things that truly matter. If your life motto is “He who dies with the most toys wins”, you might spend your time allocating your things among friends and family as you play with your toys one final time. If, like David, your life motto is more “The LORD is my Shepherd”, you will spend your time setting in order the spiritual focus of your family and people while breath in in you. For David, it was all about the house of God his son Solomon would build.

The vast amount of wealth donated by the people for building the temple is astounding. In today’s dollars the value of the gold and silver alone is around $216 billion. It is said the people gave so much and “rejoiced, for they had offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they had offered willingly to the LORD”. David also rejoiced in this offering. They had placed their earthly treasures into a spiritual place. David praised God for the people ordering their lives around spiritual things.

The easy transition of power to Solomon speaks to the properly ordered life of David. He did not cling to earthly power, but allowed Solomon to ascend to his throne and begin his reign. David was not jealous of others, and was not threatened by stepping down. His soul was not in Solomon’s hands, but God’s hands. David looked forward to the reign of Solomon because the temple would be built. Greater still, David penned Psalm 2, looking toward the reign of the King of kings and everlasting kingdom that would come. David did not order his life day-to-day, but looked through the future and into eternity. David’s life was a praise to God because of how he ordered his life.

And so it ended. At least in the temporal. These last psalms of David reflect his view of the greater working of God. While many psalms dealt with daily persecutions and struggles, these speak to the order of the universe. David’s mind was set on things above, not earthly things. Truly, David could rest in peace because his soul was in God’s hands.

So many of our struggles come because we wrest control of our lives from God. We order things in the temporal and the spiritual cannot take precedence. Treasures are stored up in the here and now, not in the heavenlies. Our gaze is downward, not upward. God allows this, and despair is the result. You see, it is simply the order of things. Conversely, when we tend to the spiritual things, the material things recede in significance. Peace, harmony and contentedness result. This, too, is the order of things.

No need to wait until the end of life to set things in order. This is the day the LORD has made. Rejoice and be glad in it. It is the only day you have. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is still a maybe. That is simply the order of things.

Consider His nature.  Consider His ways.  Strive to love Him more!