“Now King David was old and advanced in years” (1:1). A long life well lived, though not perfectly, we know. And even here at the end, David’s political instincts seem paramount over all other considerations. In the struggle for succession, David’s choice of Solomon was uncertain. There were those who intended to usurp the throne and, so, David had Solomon anointed king at Gihon. Furthermore, before his death, David instructed Solomon to get rid of those who opposed him. But David’s loyalty to the Lord, his love of God’s Word, and his great hope of the promised dynasty came through above all else as he instructed Solomon, “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel’” (2:2-4). There were family and political matters afoot but, most importantly, the promise of a man, a son, Messiah, was foremost in David’s mind. David could have written these words:
A charge to keep I have,
a God to glorify . . .
Arm me with watchful care
as in Thy sight to live,
and now Thy servant, Lord, prepare
a strict account to give!
Help me to watch and pray,
and still on Thee rely,
O let me not my trust betray,
but press to realms on high. -- Charles Wesley (1762)