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THE KING’S BUSINESS
shall know that I am the LORD, when 1 have broken the bands of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand o f those that served themselves of them.” Wonderful things will result from David’s being their Prince (cf. Isa. 9:6, 7; Jer. 23:5, 6 ; 33:15, 16; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:31, 33; Acts 5:31). Jehovah will make “a covenant of peace” with them, and that covenant will cover the animal world and the physical universe. Even nature will be brought in subjection in that day, “evil beasts” shall “cease out of the land,” there will be perfect security everywhere. The fertility of the soil and the fruitfulness of the field will be marvelously increased (cf. Isa. 55:13; 65:25; 32:15; 35:1), even the physical creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the sons of God (Rom. 8:19- 21, R. V.). For centuries Palestine Las been a dry and, to a large extent barren, land though there has been a great improve ment in that respect in the last few years. But in that day showers will always come down in their season, the “showers of bless ing” will be constantly falling as they are needed. We use these words, “showers of blessing,” in our modern hymnology, in a spiritual sense, which is all right as an application, but the original prediction was of literal showers making the earth to spring forth and grow. The result of it all will be that Jehovah’s people shall know that He is indeed Jehovah, i.e., the eternal I AM, the Almighty, the all-loving, the covenant keeping God. Dark days, the darkest in some respects the world has ever seen, are on-us now, but bright days, glor ious days, are ahead of us. They are hot coming as so many of our superficial states men dream, through a league of nations to promote peace and through the triumph of universal democracy: they are coming through the coming of a King, God’s own King, King Jesus.
and soldiers who are trying to dominate and crush the poor and weak. vs. 23, 24. "And I will set 'up one shep herd over them', and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be , their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a (omit, a) prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” What Jehovah says of Hirrtself in verses 11-16, He here says of David. It may be that David, the son of Jesse, will be appointed to great honor in that day, but David is also a type of Christ and the word concerning David at different places in the Old Testament has its completest fulfillment only in Him who is “the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16). The Lord Jesus, the true David, the man who is perfectly the man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22; cf. Matt. 3:17; 17:5) shall be the Shepherd of Israel and shall reign over them (Jer. 23:4-6; Micah, 5 :2-5). He, Jesus, is the great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4; Ezek. 37:23-25; Isa. 11:1-12; 55:3, 4; Jer. 30:9; Hos. 3:5). In that day Jehovah will be their God and the true David, their Prince. The promise! “I will be their God” is inexhaustible in its depth and wealth of meaning (cf. vs. 30, 31; ch. 36:28 ; 37:23, 27; Ex. 29:45, 46; Isa. 43:2, 3; Jer. 31:1, 33; 32:38; Zech. 13:9; 2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 21:3). '■ vs. 25-27. “And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause evil beasts to . cease out of the land : and they shall dwell safely (securely) in the wilder ness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his (its) season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the- field shall yield her (its) fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe (secure) in their land, and
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