But my mercy I will not take away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before my face.

“So that you ought rather to desist from the love of strife, and repent before the great day of judgment come, wherein all those of your tribes who have pierced this Christ shall mourn as I have shown has been declared by the Scriptures. And I have explained that the Lord swore, "after the order of Melchizedek," and what this prediction means; and the prophecy of Isaiah which says, "His burial is taken away from the midst," I have already said, referred to the future burying and rising again of Christ; and I have frequently remarked that this very Christ is the Judge of all the living and the dead. And Nathan likewise, speaking to David about Him, thus continued: "I will be His Father, and He shall be my Son; and my mercy shall I not take away from Him, as I did from them that went before Him; and I will establish Him in my house, and in His kingdom for ever." And Ezekiel says, "There shall be no other prince in the house but He." For He is the chosen Priest and eternal King, the Christ, inasmuch as He is the Son of God; and do not suppose that Isaiah or the other prophets speak of sacrifices of blood or libations being presented at the altar on His second advent, but of true and spiritual praises and giving of thanks.”

“Again, listen concerning the title Son of God, by which we have called him. They [the Jews] say that "though God has no son, you make that crucified Jesus, the firstborn son of God." Yet he called Israel "my firstborn" when he sent to Pharaoh through Moses and said to him, "Israel is my firstborn; I have said to you, let my son go to serve me, and if you are not willing to let (him) go, lo! I will slay your son, your firstborn." And also through the prophet he testified concerning this and reproved them and said to the people, "Out of Egypt have I called my son. As I called them, so they went and worshiped Baal and offered incense to the graven images." And Isaiah said concerning them, "Children have I reared and brought up, and they have rebelled against me." And again it is written, "You are the children of the Lord your God." And about Solomon he said, "He shall be a son to me, and I will be a Father to him." So also we call the Christ "the Son of God" because through him we have gained the knowledge of God; even as he called Israel my firstborn son and as he said concerning Solomon, "He shall be a son to me."”

“But my mercy shall not depart away from him,.... Which is not to be understood of special mercy and grace, though it is true of these with respect to Solomon, and so to all the adopted children of God, see Psa 89:32; but then this here designs such mercy as may be taken away from another, and as it was from Saul, as it follows: as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee; and therefore must be understood of his mercy and kindness, in giving him a kingdom, and setting him on the throne; this should not be taken away from him, as it was from Saul, whom God rejected from being king; not him personally, but his posterity; but so the Lord would not do, nor did he, to Solomon, in whose posterity the kingdom of Judah continued to the Babylonish captivity.”

“But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul - His house shall be a lasting house, and he shall die in the throne of Israel, his children succeeding him; and the spiritual seed, Christ, possessing and ruling in that throne to the end of time. The family of Saul became totally extinct; the family of David remained till the incarnation. Joseph and Mary were both of that family; Jesus was the only heir to the kingdom of Israel; he did not choose to sit on the secular throne, he ascended the spiritual throne, and now he is exalted to the right hand of God, a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance and remission of sins. See the observations at the end of the chapter, Sa2 7:25 (note). Many have applied these verses and their parallels to support the doctrine of unconditional final perseverance; but with it the text has nothing to do; and were we to press it, because of the antitype, Solomon, the doctrine would most evidently be ruined, for there is neither proof nor evidence of Solomon's salvation.”