Sermon for Sunday, October 4, 2026 at Unionville Presbyterian Church (BPC)
Old Testament Text:
[1 Chronicles 22:6-10 ESV] – 6 Then he called for Solomon his son and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the LORD my God. 8 But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’
New Testament Text:
[Hebrews 12:3-11 ESV] – 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Gospel Text
[John 15:1-11 ESV] – 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
SermonText:
[2 Samuel 12:24-25 ESV] – 24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.
Introduction
In the year 1626 the Dutch poet and composer, Adrianus Valerius published the hymn, “We Gather Together.” In was written in a time when the Protestants of the Netherland had gone through intense persecutions by Spanish Catholic rulers. And in that hymn, Valerius wrote of God, “He chastens and hastens his will to make known.” The hymn praises God for “the wicked oppressing now cease(ing) from distressing” (an allusion to the persecution of the Catholic Church under the policies of Spain) and extols God as “Thou leader triumphant.” Yet it is that line “he chastens and hastens His will to make known” that might surprise us. It teaches that God is to be praised even through the times when we are chastened; when we are disciplined. The Dutch, even through national suffering and oppression, recognized that God was using those times in His providence to improve their faith, purge complacency, and bring about His divine will. They had gone through severe trials and persecutions and yet, they worshipped the Lord who loved them even through those trials.
Indeed,
The Lord loves his chastened children.
Or to say it another way:
The Lord STILL loves his chastened children.
Don’t think for a moment that when God chastens you – when he disciplines you or bring you through difficult times – that He has ceased loving you! For indeed, the Lord loves his chastened children.
Now, the object of the Lord’s love in our text is not David whom the Lord has chastened, but the baby born to him and Bathsheba; the child named Solomon; he who will one day be KING Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon.
But no doubt the Lord also loves David. Even though David has been chastened in the death of his previously born unnamed son, the Lord still loves David. We know that because the Lord has put away his sin. And, we know that because Solomon is now born to David and Bathsheba.
Lets consider this text in three points:
The Lord Loves Solomon
The Lord Loves the Chastened David
and
The Lord Loves His Chastened Children, including you.
I. The Lord Loves Solomon
The children of David make quite a study in themselves.
Previously we saw the death of an UNNAMED child of David and Bathsheba; the one whom David expects to see in the world to come.
And then I noted that he actually sees the death of FOUR of his children throughout his life. There is the UNNAMED child, then there is AMNON who will be killed, and ABSALOM his murderer who himself will be killed in a failed rebellion. And finally, the fourth son who dies is ADONIJAH.
So frequently in world history is the Royal family COMPLICATED. Or to say it more simply, so often is the family of the King A MESS! It reminds us, in a sense, of the old adage of Lord Acton, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” But it is not so much the power of the king that is corrupting, but the DESIRE for that power of those who stand to inherit the throne.
But moving on from death and corruption, we come to a positive note in the text; the birth of Solomon, and the Lord’s love for him.
Here we have introduced a new major character in the narrative. And Solomon makes it into even the Top 25 “Main Characters” list I’m using for a Bible Study series.
So who is Solomon? And how is he loved of the Lord?
We have just his birth here. But wheat else ought we to know about him?
A. Solomon will build the temple.
That is a great honor. We refer to the first temple even as “Solomon’s Temple.”
– From 1st Chronicles: You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth. 9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days. 10 He shall build a house for my name.
B. Solomon is giveb the gift of Wisdom from God.
God offered Solomon anything he wanted, and he asked for wisdom. And God gave it to him. And much of it is recorded in the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. David is the primary author of the Psalms, but Solomon has three books!
C. Solomon is visited by the Queen of Sheba.
Because of his wisdom she came to visit.
D. Solomon reigns over the peak of Israelite dominance.
Solomon is by no means perfect, as he will marry many wives, even foreign wives who bring idolatry into the nation; but the reign of Solomon represents the height of wealth, and of lands under their control, and of wisdom among kings.
All of these blessings fit with the theme here established at Solomon’s brith that “God loved Solomon.”
Even then, we are given two names for Solomon; the first (Solomon) means “peaceful” like the Hebrew word “Shalom” – their standard greeting of peace.
And the second name, Jedidiah, means “friend of God” or “beloved of God.”
I can’t think of anything better than to be at peace with God and to be beloved of God. That is a good status to have.
II. The Lord Loves the Chastened David
Its no surprise that God loves baby Solomon; he hasn’t sinned yet like David.
The surprise is that God STILL loves David!
God’s ways are not like our ways. We’d perhaps throw David to the curb and go with Solomon now; move on. Not God; he is in the business of disciplining his children with the goal of repentance and reconciliation!
Indeed, the Lord loves the chastened David.
While the verse say, “And the Lord loved him” (Solomon), it is not a stretch to say the Lord loved DAVID as well as Solomon.
David had sinned. Indeed he had. And the Lord chastened him. Should the Lord now be angry with David forever? Should David and God’s relationship forever be strained? OR, has God’s FORGIVENESS RENEWED THEIR RELATIONSHIP? Through Nathan the prophet, we heard “The Lord also has put away your sin.”
Bathsheba too is renewed in the Lord.
In the sin of David and Bathsheba she continued to be called “the wife of Uriah.” Only now, after the chastisement of David (and presumably Bathsheba as well, and their repentance), she is called once again Bathsheba; even “Bathsheba HIS WIFE.”
God has indeed put away their sin.
And now, naming the child “Solomon” (which is related to the word peace), we have a confirming sign that God has forgiven their sins and is at peace with them.
III. The Lord Loves His Chastened Children, including you.
So it is with us.
We have sinned.
The Lord has forgiven us, even as he chastens us and brings us back in repentance.
THE LORD LOVES HIS CHASTENED CHILDREN.
This word is not the most common. You probably know it, but I want to help with some explanation:
Chastening, in the Bible, is the loving, parental discipline and training that God uses to correct, guide, and spiritually mature His children.
What does chastising look like?
Do we have some other Biblical examples?
Jonah is chastised; when he goes against God, God turns him around through a storm and a giant fish!
The Church at Corinth is chastised for their improper behavior during the Lord’s supper, so that they will be corrected, and worship God rightly.
In our days, chastening can look like any one of a variety of occurrences:
It can occur through physical illness,
or the loss of a loved one,
even a job loss,
or financial strain.
In these times God is calling you to rely on him;
Chastising can occur through hearing God’s word and it convicting us of sin, sending us into a depressing before the Spirit pulls us back out.
John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” How does this sanctification take place? By the application of God’s Word to our lives.
The Lord loves us IN that chastening; for he wouldn’t do it for a child that is not his.
And the Lord loves us AFTER that chastening. Don’t think that your relationship with the Lord is forever destroyed because of it, but know that the Lord has drawn you back FULLY into a right relationship with him. FULLY.
In other Biblical passages we hear the message “God chastened/disciplines those whom he loves”
Hebrews 12: 5-6 “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”
John 15:2 – and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
But my point here is slightly different. “God STILL loves you, even though you’ve sinned and been chastened/disciplined.”
Your relationship with God is not permanently ruined by sin.
Of course, by no means am I approving of sin, nor encouraging it.
Rather, I seek to encourage you, in proclaiming the forgiveness of God, even though you have sinned.
Maybe you yet need to be chastened.
Maybe that chastening is ongoing presently.
Or maybe it has already occurred.
Wherever you are in that regard, do not lose sight of the Lord’s love for you.
In our difficulties, we ought not to conclude “God must hate me.” That is a false conclusion.
Rather, your difficulties are often used to bring you back to him; and to strengthen your trust in him.
Over 25 years ago I had a particular situation – the details are unimportant – but so difficult was it that I lost trust in people for a while. And losing trust in people, I found I had only one place to go. Only one that I trusted in; God.
So the encourage is: in your deepest despair, in your many struggles, Go to the Lord. Cast your burdens on the Lord.
Application: Do not fight God’s chastening.
Don’t despise it. Don’t get bitter. But embrace the reality that the LOVING God is drawing you back to him; teaching you something, growing you in holiness.
Why does God chasten?
– For his will to be made know.
– To sanctify you.
– In His love for you.
Applications: Your sins do not disqualify you from God’s love.
We learn more from our failures than from our successes. Or, rather, we CAN learn more from our failures than from our successes, IF we listen to God’s chastening.
Sin does not grow us,
but God’s chastening following sin does.
And each time we sin, we are not disqualified,
but God comes back and loves on us again, giving the discipline to us that only a loving father gives.
Application: The difficult things you are brought through do not disqualify you from God’s love.
Indeed, many times they are themselves God’s love, his disciplining hand, like a good Father.
Don’t be concerned if you are being chastened.
Be concerned if you are NOT being chastened!
IN God’s chastening our sins are not being punished, but corrected for our benefit.
The Lord disciplines those whom he loves. But the enemies of God remain forever in their sins, and their punishment in the end is far more than discipline we receive in this life.
Throughout Scripture, God is the Father who disciplines his children. And disciplining is a primary job of a Father. Let us thank God that in Him we have a Father who cares about us enough to put us back on the right track.
Conclusion:
[Proverbs 3:11-12 ESV] – 11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.
Excellent sermon!